# In defence of Russia **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 6, 2022, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166 "2022-08-06T00:49:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 54
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2023, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/1061 "2023-05-07T00:21:25Z")
> [@Kedikat](#): > > Wagner will rotate out. Other forces, maybe Chechen will replace them. Unilaterally announcing to the defense ministry that you are obliged to withdraw to lick your wounds after making a video calling them fucking animals and telling them they will have their insides eaten out in hell isn’t force rotation, numb nuts. Not to worry though, [Kadyrov already vows to send troops to Bakhmut to replace Wagner’s forces](https://www.newsweek.com/putin-ally-vows-send-troops-bakhmut-replace-wagners-forces-1798722). It is again astounding that you don’t see the problem with sending the Tik-Tok warriors in to replace Wagner. Wagner at least was a reasonably competent military force at one point, more so than the rank-and-file Russian military. Even the Russian army thinks Kadyrov’s Chechens are a joke. > **[Kadyrov's Tik-Tok warriors: how Chechen mercenaries are organized](https://theins.ru/en/politics/254095)** > > Fighters from the Chechen battalions have emerged as Ukrainian war figures most touted by the media - some of them involuntarily (as, for example, the Akhmat fighter Ochur-Suge Mongush, who tortured a Ukrainian prisoner on camera), and some quite... > No other Russian military unit has as many cameramen on its roster as Kadyrov’s army. Professional cameramen, handling two cameras each, record Kadyrovites’ “victorious feats” on a daily basis. Kadyrov’s troops are distinguished by their expensive gear, brutal appearance and ostentatious shouts “Akhmat is power”. Even under fire, every Kadyrovite who has a camera pointed at him is obliged to address his Padishah and assure him that he is carrying out his orders. Because of their narcissism and restless passion for social networking, the Kadyrovites have been nicknamed “Tik-Tok warriors”. Most of the videos are staged - they show the Kadyrovites firing in bursts at the windows of an empty high-rise, shooting up a railroad track for some reason, or “rescuing” civilians from the basement, to which they first had forced them to move. > > In reality, Kadyrov’s mercenaries are hardly equipped for real military operations - they have no heavy weapons, no artillery, no aviation; all they can do is invade a territory that has already been seized, terrorizing civilians. The notorious recent [story of the sadist Mongush](https://theins.ru/en/politics/253877)from the Akhmat battalion, who tortured a Ukrainian prisoner on camera, is just one example. In reality, Kadyrov’s forces have been involved in many war crimes, such as the Bucha massacre. Being completely unprepared for a real war, they often suffer heavy losses themselves, for example, in the first days of the invasion of Ukraine their convoy was attacked by Bayraktar drones, and dozens of Chechen mercenaries were killed. > > Even the Russian side often voiced skepticism about the combat readiness of the Kadyrovites. For example, Alexander Khodakovsky, commander of the Vostok battalion of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the unrecognized DNR, [spoke](https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/374269/) in this manner. He not only gave a low opinion of the actions of Kadyrov’s troops, but also said they were suitable only for second- and third-tier operations, namely for mopping up occupied territories and checking IDs. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2023, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/1062 "2023-05-07T01:59:08Z")
Jesus, you really are fucking stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2023, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/1063 "2023-05-07T06:02:48Z")
> [@Kedikat](#): > > I distrust the casualty figures from both sides. What you should actually distrust is the bizarre creations of your own diseased imagination. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2023, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/1064 "2023-05-07T08:57:37Z")
> [@Kedikat](#): > > Hehe. > Oh such a happy bunch that I posted again! > I noted someone seemed to be pining for me. Even searching for me. Happy? Pining? I guess that explains why you are so horrible at parsing even the information from your own links. You simply do not understand the meanings of the words. > [@](#): > > You folks have some issues. Now you’re getting the hang of humor in English! Actually, though, many posters on this site have attempted to explain to you what the issues you have and your hero has are. > [@](#): > > Reality will out. What do you know? You’re even getting the hang of irony. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2023, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/1065 "2023-05-07T13:25:36Z")
> [@Dissonance](#): > > “And are dying for you to be rolling in clover in your mahogany offices. Keep that in mind!” That sounds really messy. Imagine the carpet stains. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/1066 "2023-05-10T16:59:56Z")
> [@Kedikat](#): > > Bakhmut is lost. The cost to hold it was too high. The strategy to grind up Ukraine forces there was a success. Um… about that. You may have jumped the gun a little bit with that, Komrade. And before you tell us this is just Ukraine propaganda, even your Wagner hero admits that the Russian forces ran away. > **[Ukraine unit says Russian brigade flees outskirts of Bakhmut](https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-unit-says-russian-brigade-flees-bakhmut-outskirts-2023-05-10/)** > > A Ukrainian military unit said on Wednesday it had routed a Russian infantry brigade from frontline territory near Bakhmut, claiming to confirm an account by the head of Russia's Wagner private army that the Russian forces had fled. > **[Ukraine confirms claim by mercenary leader that Russian unit left Bakhmut:...](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2023/05/09/ukraine-russia-war-live-updates/70198250007/)** > > Western "arrogance" is driving a "real war" against Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a Victory Day parade on Moscow's Red Square. ---
**Author:** ![Mikkel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikkel/32/13151_2.png) [@Mikkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikkel)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/1067 "2023-05-10T17:45:31Z")
> [@Kedikat](#): > > Currently Ukraine forces hold only a couple square kilometers of the area. And three square kilometre more today. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/1068 "2023-05-10T18:09:08Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Um… about that. Kedikat is such a fuckin dummy. And a masochist, too, apparently, coming back over and over for no reason beyond having his analytical ass handed to him. What a maroon. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/1069 "2023-05-10T23:22:03Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > You’ve told us which sources you use, and that’s why you’re always wrong. And big surprise, he’s wrong again. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/1070 "2023-05-11T00:45:31Z")
Still, not again. He’s _still_ wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/1071 "2023-05-11T01:15:24Z")
Ten months. Ten months the Russians have been trying to take Bakhmut. The assault to take Bakhmut started on August 1, 2022, and even before yesterday’s reverse the Russians have never been able to claim that they have taken the city, and it’s pretty small as far as cities go. Not to get lost in the shuffle, Prigozhin obliquely called Putin an asshole the other day as well. Looks like there’s trouble in Komrad’s Wagner-Putin slash fanfic paradise. > **[Wagner Chief’s Latest Rant Attacks Unnamed ‘Grandpa’](https://www.kyivpost.com/post/16843)** > > In his latest video, Wagner's chief is uncomplimentary about a nameless 'grandpa', but the context and his words make his identity obvious to everyone. > “But what should the country do, what should our children, grandchildren, and the future of Russia do, and how to win the war if, by chance, I just assume, it turns out that this grandfather is a complete a\*\*hole?” he adds. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/1072 "2023-05-11T01:34:24Z")
Point of order: The ground Ukraine regained yesterday was not in Bakhmut itself, but is southwest of Ivaniske. It’s about 10km from Bakhmut. ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/1073 "2023-05-11T05:28:00Z")
Correct. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/1074 "2023-05-11T15:35:37Z")
> [@Dissonance](#): > > Not to get lost in the shuffle, Prigozhin obliquely called Putin an asshole the other day I wonder how long it will be until we find out about his allergy to gravity? ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/1075 "2023-05-11T16:45:23Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > I wonder how long it will be until we find out about his allergy to gravity? Maybe he can fly, like a pigeon. He’s been making coup-ing noises lately. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/1076 "2023-05-11T19:29:15Z")
Even Russia’s own AI is turning against it: > **[Zombie alert: Russian lawmaker complains about rogue design algorithm](https://www.reuters.com/article/ukraine-crisis-russia-kandinsky-idCAKBN2WN1R8)** > > A leading Russian lawmaker said on Wednesday he had filed a complaint about an online art tool promoted by the country's largest bank, saying it consistently generated negative images of Russia. The Kandinsky 2.1 art AI was generating ummm… not exactly the most Z-positive art when inputting certain terms. Roman’s latest video is on the topic, and he shows the results that you used to get by inputting terms like “Russian flag” which gave the Serbian flag design on a building, “Ukraine”, “Ukrainian”, “Donbass is Russia” - which gave a picture of a soldier in front of a ruined city with the prevalent colors being those of the Ukrainian flag. The bit on the AI generated images and the pictures of the ‘unpatriotic’ results starts at about 9:15 in this video [Russia's new 'Patriotic AI' is really bizarre - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hHu5HI3E4A). The most interesting is what Kandinsky 2.1 used to decide to paint when given the input “I am a Z patriot” before they neutered it: [![](https://imgsrv2.voi.id/_9sdIviVPwu2665Ql10d8T-VsiEDeW5NkYEFC8rWYPs/auto/1200/675/sm/1/bG9jYWw6Ly8vcHVibGlzaGVycy8yNzU1NDEvMjAyMzA0MjcwNzM5LW1haW4uY3JvcHBlZF8xNjgyNTU1OTczLmpwZw.jpg) ](https://imgsrv2.voi.id/_9sdIviVPwu2665Ql10d8T-VsiEDeW5NkYEFC8rWYPs/auto/1200/675/sm/1/bG9jYWw6Ly8vcHVibGlzaGVycy8yNzU1NDEvMjAyMzA0MjcwNzM5LW1haW4uY3JvcHBlZF8xNjgyNTU1OTczLmpwZw.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2023, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/1077 "2023-05-13T01:40:43Z")
Ukraine continues to push in this area. With some more success. If they can push through to the canal crossing, they might be able to force further Russian retreat. Maybe open up a supply route a bit more. The Russians have close fire cover of it so far. Maybe the Ukraine forces can push that back. The route will still be dangerous. But under less accurate fire. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2023, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/1078 "2023-05-13T02:22:45Z")
> [@Kedikat](#): > > Bakhmut is lost. The cost to hold it was too high. You said this just 6 days ago. You’re an idiot, a buffoon. You’re this wars equivalent of Comical Ali. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2023, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/1079 "2023-05-13T02:26:26Z")
\*Прошу прощения, что не нашел эту статью на русском языке. Let’s take a gander at a [legitimate news source](https://www.yahoo.com/news/russian-attempt-cover-bakhmut-retreat-165520875.html): > **Russian Attempt to Cover Up Bakhmut Retreat Majorly Backfires** > > Russia’s Ministry of Defense confirmed its forces are retreating from Bakhmut, Ukraine, which Russia has been trying and failing to seize for months. > > Russia has regrouped to “more advantageous defensive positions” north of Bakhmut, [Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov](https://www.moscowtimes.ru/2023/05/12/minoboroni-zayavilo-o-peregruppirovke-posle-obvinenii-v-begstve-iz-pod-bahmuta-a42740) said Friday. > > The news comes after months of Russian efforts to take Bakhmut, which officials set their sights on as an important city to capture, believing it could determine the course of the war. Bakhmut has an intersection of rail and roads that lead to strategically important cities in the Donbas. Russia finds itself on the back foot as Ukraine prepares to launch a counteroffensive sometime this spring or summer, according to U.S. intelligence assessments. _More at the link_. \*(I apologize for not finding this article in Russian.) ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2023, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166/1080 "2023-05-13T03:22:52Z")
> [@Kedikat](#): > > Bakhmut is functionally encircled. You also said this brilliant gem of insight 7 weeks ago, yet amazingly Ukraine has been able to keep their ‘functionally encircled’ force supplied this whole time. Funnily enough, with the rout of the 72nd Brigade southwest of Bakhmut it looks like the Russians are on the way to having to evacuate the southern salient of their long failed pincer and go back to Klischiivka to avoid being actually encircled themselves. Enjoy the growing blue color of recently recaptured Ukrainian territory southwest of Bakhmut in just the past 24 hours on DeepStateMap Komrad! Or at least make a more convincing effort to act like you’re on Ukraine’s side and not a Russian bot you worthless shit. [DeepStateMAP | Day 443 | Map of the war in Ukraine](https://deepstatemap.live/en#13/48.5614/37.9373) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166.md?page=53) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defence-of-russia/969166.md?page=55)