The Russian commander of the “Vostok” Battalion fighting in southern Ukraine said on Thursday that Ukraine will not be defeated and suggested that Russia freeze the war along current frontlines.

Alexander Khodakovsky made the candid concession yesterday on his Telegram channel after Russian forces, including his own troops, were devastatingly defeated by Ukrainian marines earlier this week at Urozhaine in the Zaporizhzhia-Donetsk regional border area.

“Can we bring down Ukraine militarily? Now and in the near future, no,” Khodakovsky, a former official of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, said yesterday.

“When I talk to myself about our destiny in this war, I mean that we will not crawl forward, like the [Ukrainians], turning everything into [destroyed] Bakhmuts in our path. And, I do not foresee the easy occupation of cities,” he said.

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[–] DauntingFlamingo@lemmy.ml 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

And the person posting them produced no sources.

Tell you what: I'll post a picture of Martha Stewart and Snoop (there are lots of these photos on the interwebs) and then I'll start telling everyone Martha is Snoop's secret lover. I've presented a narrative that cannot be proven and is not the real story, BUT THERE ARE PICTURES! You see, without some sort of context and verification, any picture can be used to present a false narrative.

[–] Flaps@hexbear.net 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Okay well

presented a narrative that cannot be proven and is not the real story

Ukraines problems with the far right HAVE been proven tho

www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-far-right-menace-radical-militants-ultranationalists/amp/

Interesting last part of linked article:

Acknowledging that reality does not turn the Kiev government into a nest of fascists, as Kremlin propaganda has claimed, nor does it absolve Russia of its assault on Ukraine’s sovereignty and illegal seizure of Crimea. Ignoring Ukraine’s far right, on the other hand, can have dire consequences for the very dream of a free and democratic country which so many Ukrainians have fought, suffered, and died for.

Guess what you're doing?

Next link is an article by The Guardian. It includes a collection of pictures, too. Are you going to tell them to identify every single person in those pictures, too?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/11/ultranationalism-in-ukraine-a-photo-essay

Another one by The Guardian:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/10/azov-far-right-fighters-ukraine-neo-nazis

Next article is by Reuters. The article opens with said paragraphe:

As Ukraine’s struggle against Russia and its proxies continues, Kiev must also contend with a growing problem behind the front lines: far-right vigilantes who are willing to use intimidation and even violence to advance their agendas, and who often do so with the tacit approval of law enforcement agencies.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cohen-ukraine-commentary-idUKKBN1GV2TY

Please note I've used exclusively western sources of which I suspect you'd refer to too. There are more, but I'm doubting your intellectual honest and curiosity, as these links were just one Google Search away.

And before you call me a putler bot or anything, as your types often do, fuck putin, the war is horrible and the fact he started it is unforgivable. Russia is a neoliberal state that in no way aligns with my own ideology. This doesn't mean I have to all of a sudden voice support for the Ukrainian state or nato for that matter, considering the many crimes of said state and military pact. It's a war between neoliberal, highly corrupt states in which the Russian and ukrainian working class stand nothing to gain.

What I'd wish to see (apart from revolutionary defeatism on both sides and a socialist takover of both states) is an end to the killing, the full return of Russia to the 2021 borders, independence for loehansk and donetsk, a neutral ukraine as a buffer between nato and Russia. But nothing points to Russia willing to give up gained ground, or to Ukraine being able to break through the russian defences. Looking at a map showing the gains after two months of counteroffensive makes this clear, it's something I feel we can't deny. To think ukraine is going to reach the sea of azov or crimea is nothing but hopeful idealism at best.

So, assuming you too want and end to the killing, and view the saving of human lives as more important than regaining the regions currently occupied, we'd have to think about the fastest way to do that. Is it to keep sending shipments of weapons and ammo to Ukraine? Well, NATO has been doing that for a year and a half now, not exactly to great effect. Note that in that time, hundreds of thousands of people were killed or injured. We can scream that putin should just retreat back to the border, but we both know that's just not going to happen, no matter how many conscripts are sent into Russian minefields and artillery kill zones.

Well.. Then what remain? In my mind, it's negotiations. Ukraine will be presented with terms they deem unacceptable, but if they don't want to run out of Ukrainians, they'll have to accept. I suspect they'll have to wave goodye to the donbas region, but I also believe the citizens of said region would rather be either independent or integrated as Russian territory.

What would you like to happen, and how do you see that happening? Oh and if you ever get around to identifying the Russians in those pictures, hmu.