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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[–] barsoap@lemm.ee 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

including things like the 2014 NATO-backed coup of Ukraine

AAAAaaaa

What you just said should be a bannable offence. President reneged on his election promises, people demonstrated, president sent out goons (both criminal and police) to deal with them, more people demonstrated, president passed laws (without having the votes) to make the country authoritarians, more people demonstrated even more, NATO countries "backed" protestors by sending... politicians. Who talked and negotiated, recommending compromises, the protesters were having none of that. After a while Yanukovich fled to his masters in Russia and, being AWOL, got removed from office.

None of that was a coup, which involves toppling of the government by government insiders. It wasn't really a revolution either because nothing fundamental about the state changed, though yes Berkut got dismantled over the egregious police violence they committed, but that's reform, not revolution.

Then, there have been multiple completely democratic elections since then. So all in all, big picture glossing over details: President didn't want to keep his election promises, people were opposed and wanted a different president, then they had themselves exactly those elections. Call it a special electoral operation I'm not even using that term tongue in cheek. In more mature democracies where presidents don't take orders from foreign governments it would've taken the form of "presidents wants something, people are vehemently opposed, president resigns, new elections".

[–] Dr_Gabriel_Aby@hexbear.net 27 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I wonder how American would act if Chinese leaders showed up at protests for Black Lives Matters protests, or Russian leaders showed up for Jan 6th protests?

Victoria Nuland showed up to the protests, and she has multiple emails that basically call it a coup.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26079957.amp

Also 2 weeks later was the Maidan Sniper incident that has overwhelmingly evidence of a false flag operated by the Ukrainian far right.

I know it’s hard to see that the world isnt Disney level “good vs evil”. It’s actually a little more complicated

[–] barsoap@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I wonder how American would act if Chinese leaders showed up at protests for Black Lives Matters protests, or Russian leaders showed up for Jan 6th protests?

Well Russia did stoke a ton of that culture war bullshit in the US. On both and all sides, of course, they don't care who comes out on top all they want is the US being dysfunctional (well, more dysfunctional than usual). The more controversy the better.

What makes you think they didn't do the same in Ukraine? Just that unlike Yanks, Ukrainians actually understand how Russians operate.

Victoria Nuland showed up to the protests, and she has multiple emails that basically call it a coup.

Foreign diplomat is abroad doing diplomacy. Curious. Coincidence? I think not.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26079957.amp

Coup? Where? All I see is American arrogance. Americans also still believe that they started Libya and that it had something to do with Hillary.

Also 2 weeks later was the Maidan Sniper incident that has overwhelmingly evidence of a false flag operated by the Ukrainian far right.

You mean Berkut gave Right Sector rifles, then Right Sector shot protestors (including their own people), then Right Sector gave those rifles back to Berkut so the bullets in demonstrators could be matched to Berkut rifles? Overwhelming evidence like that?

Hey but at least you didn't claim Azov was involved who didn't even exist yet.

I know it’s hard to see that the world isnt Disney level “good vs evil”. It’s actually a little more complicated

Indeed.

[–] Dr_Gabriel_Aby@hexbear.net 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Victoria Nuland was not a diplomat. She ran the Bureau of Eurasian Affairs in an office based out of Washington DC. She deliberately flew to and took part in demonstrations against a democratically elected government. Again if Chinese or Russian officials did the same during Black Lives Matter 2020 or Jan 6th 2021 I think it would be negatively recieved. I understand you need to pretend that’s not true so you don’t have to admit to being wrong.

Added to that, the person Victoria Nuland picked to be prime minister in the phone call about the the 3 named opposition leaders became prime minister that very same month in an UNELECTED designation by an alliance of far right parties like Svoboda. Svoboda was specifically tied to the shootings in the square on February 20th. 7 days later they were helping choose the US picked prime minister. This wasn’t some magical event of peace, it was clearly deeply effected by US interests and has led to a decade of violence in the country. I’m sorry to hear you enjoy people dying for self righteousness, but here at hexbear we just want senseless violence to end.

[–] barsoap@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I read "Bureau" and thought it was a state institution, and she diplomatic corps. I have no idea who she actually is.

And, no, politicians taking part in demonstrations isn't exactly unheard of in Europe. Also abroad. I mean for one you have to go to Belgium to protest the EU so there's that.

She saying "yeah he should be prime minister" also doesn't mean that she dictated that he should become one... a couple of years back I said that Biden should become President of the US. Does that mean that I putsched the US? Nah, it simply means that I think he's a (vastly) better idea than Trump.

And in any case none of that matters as there were elections quickly after that. The interim government was in power for only a short while, and btw right-wing parties lost heavily in those elections, and elections since. Any iffiness that may or may not have existed during and directly after Maidan was cured afterwards, as befits a democracy, by elections.

[–] Dr_Gabriel_Aby@hexbear.net 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I just don’t even know what to say anymore. You are an Internet poster, you are not running the US state department for Eurasian affairs. Saying what your opinions are is not the same as a Bureau Chief at the state department.

Added to that, Nuland goes out of her way to dismiss the EUs interests in those leaked phone calls. The US doesn’t want what’s best for Ukraine, or the EU. They are funding this war out of self interest. If you can’t see that I got nothing left to say.

[–] barsoap@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The US isn't funding this war Europe is. The US is sending military surplus that should largely be assigned negative monetary value because if Ukraine did not take it the US would have to pay to decommission it.

Gods the fucking US exceptionalism wafting through all that supposedly leftist talk. "Nothing ever happens without the CIA being behind it". Guess what, beyond the brink of your burger are people making their own decisions.

And speaking as a EU citizen: Please stop worrying about us. No the US is not some imperial overlord telling us what to do. Stop the pretence.

[–] Dr_Gabriel_Aby@hexbear.net 14 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Do you enjoy being wrong constantly?

Also I bet you can’t wait to be supplied solely by US energy companies the next century. You will really see just how wonderful of a place we are.

[–] barsoap@lemm.ee 0 points 1 year ago

Financial vs. military, exactly what I said.

Also no we're not buying US gas. We don't import much LNG in the first place but mostly from Norway and the LNG we import is mostly Quatar. We still consider the US's talk about NordStream to have been nothing but commercial self-interest how naive do you think us to be.

Down the line we're going to import ammonia from Canada and Namibia, completely replacing natural gas.