Earlier quoted context omitted.
>Information from either side is to be taken with a grain of salt, although Ukraine is winning the social media ops-game hands down. At lest in the west where our information is censored to provide a Pro-Ukrainian perspective. I can only guess at how the social media ops-game is playing out in Russia and China within their own propaganda bubble.
Hint: they blame the USA and NATO for Putin invading
Prediction that Kyiv falls to Russian forces by April 2022 goes from 90% to 26%
231–240 of 419 posts
Re: Prediction that Kyiv falls to Russian forces by April 2022 goes from 90% to 26%
#232Earlier quoted context omitted.
They are also getting fresh soldiers. I saw a claim from a Canadian vet in Kyiv that 40,000 foreign fighters were already in Kyiv. The Canadian was part of a 500-man exclusively Canadian urban battalion. There was also a report on BBC that Russia had summoned foreign ambassadors in Moscow to complain about foreign volunteers traveling to Ukraine to fight against Russia [1]. I've also been on Telegram channels helping…
Eventually the question becomes "if these guest fighters are successful, at what point do they consider going north through the contested border and attacking Russian (or, more likely, Belurussian) cities?"
Re: Prediction that Kyiv falls to Russian forces by April 2022 goes from 90% to 26%
#233Earlier quoted context omitted.
>There was also a report that Russia had summoned foreign ambassadors in Moscow to complain about foreign volunteers traveling to Ukraine to fight against Russia. I am absolutely dying laughing at the absurdity of such a complaint (if true), lol.
Meanwhile Russia is busy trying to recruit foreign soldiers themselves from Kazakhstan and Syria. Kazakhstan told them no, despite begging Russia to send their troops into their country when riots broke out a few months ago.
Plus the experience of the Chechen volunteers -- who generally got hit hard from the looks of it -- is something the Kazakhs can look at and say "nah".
Re: Prediction that Kyiv falls to Russian forces by April 2022 goes from 90% to 26%
#234Earlier quoted context omitted.
Did you wanna include the part where outlets corrected themselves? Stories change - you do your best to verify, and then report the change once more information comes out. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/27/ukraine-island...
Media reporting falsehoods then later correcting them doesn't mean the media isn't reporting falsehoods. Retractions always - ALWAYS - get less attention than the initial story. They aren't in the business of spreading truth, they are a business with incentives to gain people's attention.
For all the mentioned stories it is clear that these weren't drafted up in a backoffice (such as Putin's propaganda about the genocide in eastern Ukraine).
Re: Prediction that Kyiv falls to Russian forces by April 2022 goes from 90% to 26%
#235Earlier quoted context omitted.
What are some examples of "propaganda" that proved to be false a day later?
It took a little longer, but the mobile crematoria were stated as fact pretty early on.
Who - UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace makes a claim
What - Russian forces have prepared a mobile crematorium for use in any future conflict with Ukraine
Where - Ukraine
Why - to avoid the problems with bringing bodies back
When - Now
There's no claim beyond that, however they do also highlight protests from Russia about missing and dead soldiers
I haven't seen anything debunking such a claim, although I haven't seen anything backing it up either. It's a fact that Wallace made that claim, and the company involved refused to respond.
The Snake Island incident is perhaps a better example.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60522454
Which reports that
Who - Ukraine officials say
What - Russia killed their soldiers
Where - Snake Island
Why - to occupy the island
When - Recently
And they also say
Who - Russian officials say
Why - Soldiers surrendered it to them voluntarily
Where - Snake Island
Why - to occupy the island
When - recently
The BBC says the reported audio is unverified
Later events showed that at least some of the soldiers were not killed.
Re: Prediction that Kyiv falls to Russian forces by April 2022 goes from 90% to 26%
#236Earlier quoted context omitted.
Eventually the question becomes "if these guest fighters are successful, at what point do they consider going north through the contested border and attacking Russian (or, more likely, Belurussian) cities?"
Probably not at all. I doubt there will be any will to invade Russia. Crimea and Donbas would be hard enough.
UA forces are doing a good job holding out and fighting defensively, but a genuine attack will require serious concentrations of troops and equipment. Outside of local counterattacks, or maybe special forces raids (blow up rail lines, etc), large scale assaults probably aren't feasible.
You only need a few NLAWs and a yoga mat to sleep on if you're fighting in Kherzon, but you'll need a lot of fighting vehicles and gas if you want to launch an offensive. See also: Russian logistical problems.
Re: Prediction that Kyiv falls to Russian forces by April 2022 goes from 90% to 26%
#237Information from either side is to be taken with a grain of salt, although Ukraine is winning the social media ops-game hands down. I think since after the 1st week of troop movements it's pretty clear: - Russia aims at encircling cities, draining the resistance there, forcing them into negotiations and so that enemy combatants can evacuate into western Ukraine (like they did in Syria) - Ukraine aims at short-term lu…
I think they officially said they were doing exercises and will not invade Ukraine. So no worries.
Re: Prediction that Kyiv falls to Russian forces by April 2022 goes from 90% to 26%
#238Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hint: they blame the USA and NATO for Putin invading
I assume you were talking about me. I think blame is a stupid and fruitless framing for discussion. I do think the Eastward advance of NATO was a strategic and moral mistake.
Re: Prediction that Kyiv falls to Russian forces by April 2022 goes from 90% to 26%
#239Information from either side is to be taken with a grain of salt, although Ukraine is winning the social media ops-game hands down. I think since after the 1st week of troop movements it's pretty clear: - Russia aims at encircling cities, draining the resistance there, forcing them into negotiations and so that enemy combatants can evacuate into western Ukraine (like they did in Syria) - Ukraine aims at short-term lu…
>Ukraine aims at short-term luring them into cities (e.g. preventing humanitarian corridors, In what way is Ukraine "preventing" humanitarian corridors? Ukraine is requesting them daily, but Russian troops keep bombing them and disrupting the evacuation of civilians, daily.
Re: Prediction that Kyiv falls to Russian forces by April 2022 goes from 90% to 26%
#240Earlier quoted context omitted.
> we forget that Ukraine is not just Kyiv, it is slowly being swallowed up from all directions Except we haven’t forgotten, news orgs are reporting on things happening outside of Kyiv. Russia seems to have really overplayed their hand because they were barely able to take Kherson after like a week, and can’t even take bigger cities like Kharkiv, even with intense shelling. Russia may not be a paper tiger, but they su…
> they sure can’t do much against an enemy many times smaller than them. Neither could the US. Another factor here is that Ukraine isn't Afghanistan or Vietnam where natural barriers offer chance for insurgency to hide out, regroup. Russia here can absolutely level cities and buildings and it is impossible to construct underground tunnels in flat lands known for its ability to soak up water (the tunnels would not be…
In this analogy, doesn't the wild animal then typically get killed?