..."surrender"....

Its pretty much over in Mariupol, Ukraine, the Russians and DPR people have won. As Lancaster states, most of the city has been cleared of any Ukrainian fighters for over a month, the holdouts-- what was left of the Ukie Marine regiment, the "Azov Battalion" "National Guard" and their various "friends" have been hold up in a massive old steel making plant called "Avozstal". Yesterday, about 300+ surrendered, including a number of wounded. The Ukrainian government has declared the fighters in the Avozstal plant "military mission over" but most of the western media calls what happened yesterday an "evacuation" as if these guys are going back to Ukie government controlled territory, For some, that may happen in time, for the ones having various "interesting" tattoos, not for a good long time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa7lW6b7ZLs

P.S. The U.S. Senate voted 89-11 to fund 40 BILLION more for the Ukrainians to fight the Russians.

P.S.S. The exchange rate today of the Rus ruble to the USD was 65 to 1, up 30+% in ruble purchasing power vs the USD since March 5

40 billion to Ukraine , but we couldn't get 5 billion to secure our own border on the south


Some real bs

Us senate sucks

Finland and Sweden are joining NATO.
Putins big blunder has backfired on him.
Those countries were previously non aligned.

Boco- So, how does the calculus change if Sweden and Finland join NATO...? They have a combined population of 16 million people and can bring about in short order about 50,000 to fight. The reserve strength is much higher but that is reserve and would take time and money to bring to bear. The Swedes have some industrial ability to make their weapon systems, the Finns less so. Neither has fought any sort of war in 80 years (for the Finns), hundreds for the Swedes. Again, in the end, how does that really change things?

I know, the Finns kicked the Rus butt in the "Winter War". Yes, this is correct for round 1, but that is not the whole story of the Winter War. In the end, the Finns made a deal with the Russians because in round 2, the Finns were going to lose against the much larger Russian military and industrial/natural resources might. Again, that is history. How does that translate to now...?

Same way Putin didn't want Ukraine to join....allows us to have bases and nukes at his border.

One time Boco is spot on, Putin tramped in it if his stated reason for invading Ukraine is true.

Check out a map. If Sweden and Finland join Nato it immediately upgrades the air defense capabilities on the eastern flank of Nato.........Air and anti air systems are the weak spots in Nato defense in the eastern half of the alliance. Both countries already spend more on defense, relative to GDP, than other Nato countries. They have well trained, high tech air defense systems already in place.

But even more than that.......take a look at the island of Gotland. It sits right in the middle of Russia's main access point to the Atlantic. That would bottle up Russian navy vessels and require that they launch from ports like Murmansk which may not be ice free when they need them.

Add that to the Dardenelles....controlled by Turkey ( Nato) and Russian naval operations could be severely restricted.

Also, there is a good bet that Putin attacked Ukraine because it wasn't a Nato member.

Seems like a win-win for Nato if they join

How many ethnic Russians living in Finland and Sweden getting harassed and warred on for the last 8 years...?

Getting out of the Baltic and the Black Sea have always been problems for the Russians. The Danes and Norwegians already control tight spots, not only Sweden and Gotland island. Turkey has always controlled the 2 tight spots getting out of the Black Sea. One reason why the Russian fleet there hasn't been overly large.

Of course, you all are assuming that the Swedes will fight. They haven't fought a war since when, the mid-to-late 1700s?

I guess we'll find out how well all the smaller NATO countries fight the Rus when an Article 5 incident gets done and the bigger NATO boys and girls decide to go kinetic besides what they're doing now. Summer solstice is just over a month way, should give plenty of photo period for everybody to play war for real in all of Europe...

Why are you so pro-russian? Why do you identify with and support our country's adversary?

Keith

You confuse the adversary of our government-media-multinational corporation ruling class with the rest of us. There is a difference. Some people get it, some don't. We have been lied to for years but the last 5 or so have been more blatant than ever before as the people mentioned above run this land into the ground. I took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States against enemies, both foreign and domestic. I didn't take an oath to uphold corrupt, self-serving politicians, lying media talking heads, and multi-national corporation leaders who wouldn't give 2 ***ts whether you lived or died.

You want a real war and regime change with and in Russia, go for it but its going to cost a lot of coin that we don't have and a lot more American blood than you think. And that's if it stays within the bump pads of a conventional war. Go put Auntie Lindsey Graham and much of the rest of the DC swamp creatures that war so bad and let them kill Russians on the Donbas front if that's what turns them on. But of course, that will never happen, it will be our kids and grandkids doing it and us, and the generations that follow writing the checks, if the country survives.

So, its not so simple as "our adversaries". You see my angle yet...?

Just another commie lover,thats why.

Hahahahahahaaa!!!! Get 'em tiger

Putin makes our thieves look like amateurs if that's why rooting for him.

You'd soon beg for our thieves back.

There are plenty of communist to kill right here in the good old U.S.A. Yet folks worry about commies getting killed in foreign lands. If you war hawks insist we kill commies on foreign soil, I'm all in for the Chinese communist. After all their little biological attack has killed many Americans, my brother included among them. Open your eyes, the enemy is in the Whitehouse, bought and paid for by the CCP, not the Kremlin.

Some in this country are now infatuated with authoritarians. It's sad and unamerican.

If the Russians invaded U.S., the Putin lovers would no doubt welcome their KGB hero with open arms.

I'm more closely aligned with NonPCfed than you. By a longshot.

Cool. Y'all should start a Putin Fan Club.

I'm not a fan of Putin and his war. I'm not a fan of Ukraine either. Why in the world should we be involved in this in any way, shape or form? If Russia wants to conquer Ukraine... fine. If Ukraine wants to conquer some country weaker than it... cool... no skin off my nose either way.`

WHY are we sending money to Ukraine? How does that benefit our country in any way?

And OT but WHY are we sending troops to Somalia again too?

Are we still hating on Putin while supporting the far more insidious European socialists? Maybe their "free" healthcare and draconian gun laws can overcome the evil oligarch.

Let them butcher each other... Without my tax dollars and the hardware I helped pay for.

Mike

Because we didn't botch it up enough the first time... After Afghanistan I guess they figure we can do a better job of losing more money, hardware, and American lives this time around.

I can't believe there are people here who voted for this moronic administration.

Mike