# Russia invades Ukraine {2022-02-24} (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** ukraine-invasion, breaking-news\ **Created:** [February 24, 2022, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037 "2022-02-24T08:30:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 135
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2681 "2022-03-18T01:24:28Z")
Not only a well crafted speech, but impeccably delivered. My respect for Arnold has gone up about six notches. Sometimes when an actor is elevated to high office you get Reagan. But sometimes you get Ah-nold. A Republican I can actually respect. He had some interest in running for president, but of course isn’t qualified under the Constitution, which in order to ensure total loyalty in such an important office requires the candidate to be a native-born American. So instead, in 2016 we got a demented criminal Russian stooge elevated to the American presidency. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2682 "2022-03-18T01:29:48Z")
Belarus media report, via Ukrinform: > **[More than 2,500 bodies of Russian servicemen shipped to Russia from Gomel,...](https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3432924-more-than-2500-bodies-of-russian-servicemen-shipped-to-russia-from-gomel-belarus-media.html)** > > Many wounded Russian servicemen are being treated in hospitals in Belarus’s Gomel region, while the bodies of those killed in action are being shipped to Russia by rail and air. — Ukrinform. > An employee of the Gomel Regional Clinical Hospital told the newspaper that as of late last week, more than 2,500 corpses had been taken from Belarus to Russia by rail and air. > Another source from among the medics told the newspaper that “about a hundred Russians underwent surgery in Mozyr on Sunday alone.” > Apparently, the wounded are now being brought not only by PAZ buses with a red cross, but also by helicopters. “The wounded don’t stay long there. They get ‘patched up’ here and taken to Mozyr and Gomel. Corpses are shipped by rail from Mozyr to Russia,” city residents report. These will be casualties from the north of Ukraine. Casualties from the east – Kharkhiv region has seen some particularly heavy fighting – would be taken directly across the Russian border. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2683 "2022-03-18T02:10:10Z")
I feel like Belarus is going to keep dragging their feet on joining in. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2684 "2022-03-18T02:15:04Z")
Yep, like Italy in 1940, waiting until (France in that case) was completely on the ropes before sending troops into southern France (where against minimal forces they were pretty much stopped). Led to Winston Churchill’s quote “The hand that held the dagger has plunged it into the back of his neighbor”. If it looks like Russia has the Ukrainians on the edge of defeat, the Belarus dictator will send a couple divisions across the border to show how he ‘helped’. May the bastard end up like Mussolini, too… ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2685 "2022-03-18T02:38:26Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > He had some interest in running for president, but of course isn’t qualified under the Constitution, which in order to ensure total loyalty in such an important office requires the candidate to be a native-born American. So instead, in 2016 we got a demented criminal Russian stooge elevated to the American presidency. We just have to pass the 61st Amendment and he’ll be all set! ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2686 "2022-03-18T03:13:11Z")
Reported March 17 at 10pm central. I don’t believe encircled Mariupol will hold out much longer. Russia just keeps escalating. Even the Ukrainians say Syrians were recruited for urban warfare. > [@](#): > > The **Ukrainian military** has released its daily operational [report](https://www.facebook.com/MinistryofDefence.UA) as of 10pm local time, claiming Russia is taking up measures to “make up for the loss of personnel at the expense of foreigners” while preparing for a possible attack on Kyiv. > > “According to available information, the **Russian occupiers have already picked up 1,000 volunteers from the so-called army of Bashar al-Assad and Hezbollah** ,” the ministry of defence said, adding that the main requirement for foreign fighters is the experience of fighting in the city. > > Officials said they believe the main efforts Russian forces are focused on are maintaining the previously occupied borders and carrying out measures to **prepare for a possible attack on Kyiv.** > > However, the losses inflicted on Russian personnel, low morale and psychological condition of privates and sergeants, as well as the lack of experienced commanders of tactical units make it impossible to resume offensive operations in the near future, the report adds. > > Russian forces continue to partially blockade the city of Chernihiv and carry out artillery shelling of the city while attempting to replenish stocks of ammunition and fuel in order to resume offensive operations on the cities of Sumy and Kharkiv. > > Troops are also encircling of Mariupol, the Ukrainian military adds. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2687 "2022-03-18T03:19:06Z")
This maniac is killing Ukrainian children even his own soldiers over absolutely nothing. Fuck Putin. Somebody needs to assassinate him. I don’t care who, I don’t care how. Seal Team Six? Anyone in the MI6? It’s all about him. Sanctions will never personally hurt him. Enough money and protection to last decades unless there’s a fantastic kind of overthrow. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2688 "2022-03-18T03:27:26Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > CBC News covers Arnold’s impassioned speech, including the full video clip. CNN has yet to mention it (although, being CNN, they do bring us the vital information that Kanye West was banned from Instagram for 24 hours 🙄 ). In fairness, CNN has finally picked up the story. They’re just slow. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2689 "2022-03-18T04:13:41Z")
I am informed that Putin’s word noises (or a translation of) was heard by a noted gentleman name of Mike Godwin, who then commented that we would never believe whom this guy reminds him of. ---
**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:** [March 18, 2022, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2690 "2022-03-18T06:47:56Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I feel like Belarus is going to keep dragging their feet on joining in. My Belarusian neighbor (who is definitely not a regime loyalist, but is a broken-hearted patriot, if that makes sense) says he has been “very carefully” talking to friends and family back home — first to make sure they’re safe, and second to get a report on what’s going on. He says things are “very quiet,” no protests, everyone staying home and close to the news, just waiting for whatever’s next. He also says that people inside Belarus have the same belief that has been reported as rumor in the West, that overtures were made to the military to join Russia’s invasion, and everyone from the middle-ranking officers down “rejected” (his word) the plan. While he cautioned that nobody he knew had solid proof of this, he did say that it’s the general belief of regular Belarusians. I asked how the military can simply refuse an order in an authoritarian regime. He said Lukashenko’s hold on power is somewhat precarious after the last couple of years, and that he’s relying even more heavily on the stabilizing influence of the military’s strength inside the country, so it would be risky to alienate them. He’s in a bind between Moscow, which views him as a puppet and puts demands on him, and the military that effectively keeps him in power, which is happy to _ally_ with Moscow but doesn’t want to be reduced to their mindless cannon fodder. Normally in a situation like this, he says, Moscow would just move tens of thousands of troops into the country for “exercises,” as a reminder who’s really in charge, but Ukraine is such a crippling distraction that this isn’t happening, which means internal Belarusian politics are more important than would be normal. They’re also aware that if the Russian political calculus changes and they decide to abandon the Ukrainian adventure, a lot of troops will be retreating into Belarus, which is an unpleasant prospect. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2691 "2022-03-18T08:29:41Z")
[![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FOHGGmuXwA4Etx2?format=jpg&name=small) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FOHGGmuXwA4Etx2?format=jpg&name=small) ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2692 "2022-03-18T09:45:37Z")
Thanks for posting these. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2693 "2022-03-18T10:23:03Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > CBC News covers Arnold’s impassioned speech, including the full video clip. . . . > > > > [Schwarzenegger to Russians on Twitter: You're being fed misinformation about this 'illegal war' | CBC News](https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/schwarzenegger-twitter-message-russians-1.6388524) > > This is a master class in how to talk to people, with whom you radically disagree, and have some chance of getting them to listen to you. Also, we never hear much from people whose families were on the losing side of WWII. Arnold has always spoken passionately about the damage the war did to his father. This was speaking from a place of empathy for the losing side rather than vindictiveness or anger. I think this is possibly the finest example of his public speaking. Hate/oppose the responsible government, not the people as a whole. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2694 "2022-03-18T10:23:10Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > This maniac is killing Ukrainian children even his own soldiers over absolutely nothing. Fuck Putin. Somebody needs to assassinate him. I don’t care who, I don’t care how. Seal Team Six? Anyone in the MI6? Time for someone to slip some polonium into his tea and paint his doorknobs with novachek. But it’s best it comes from within Russia, as Russians will not respond well (from our viewpoint) to external assassins. Or… he could do the job himself. [![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FMZXeZfVIAED6z5.jpg) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FMZXeZfVIAED6z5.jpg) ---
**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:** [March 18, 2022, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2695 "2022-03-18T10:51:54Z")
Behold: > Some absolutely majestic, world-class, and _savage_ shade from Canada, responding to Russia’s laughable proposal for a resolution in the UN. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2696 "2022-03-18T11:48:45Z")
thx for that perspective … seems to be in line with “common(?) perception” or reading of what is going on in Belarus… Ironically an autocrat that now has to treat extremely lightly vis-a-vis his people (and needs to do what is “popular” in his country) b/c he could be overthrown any moment he is probably also aware that - before long - he might end up in a short video like the ilks of Ceausescou/Ghaddafi/Hussein ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2697 "2022-03-18T12:03:21Z")
Lukashenko being toppled in Belarus would be the cherry on top of the cake of Putin’s failure. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2698 "2022-03-18T12:04:12Z")
Great response from Canada! It would be funny if it wasn’t so true. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2699 "2022-03-18T12:24:33Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > Lukashenko being toppled in Belarus would be the cherry on top of the cake of Putin’s failure. I think we will be surprised of things to happen in the next couple of years … The soviet union imploding was - partially - due to them losing the Afghan war … now think of what this Ukr. war might mean for that neck of the wood (Georgia, Armenia, satellite-states w/in and outside russia etc…) - if russia cannot project any significant power any longer, and what flare-ups to expect next. Things might not happen necessarily in 2022 but the seeds have been put out in March 2022… I see a lot of potential (if the war should drag on) of a lot of those states to “go-full-italian” and start fighting together with ukr (and themselves) against russia, knowing that russia cannot open another 2-3 fronts in other countries. **A NOW OR NEVER MOMENT for sure!!!** (aggravated by the sanctions … The only way for Georgia et al. to avoid being thrown back into a Breshnew-1970 landscape is to become independent (and get help from the west) … I thinks there are lots of talks going on right now on a diplomatic level. I think it is another revolution forming right in front of our eyes - and we human beings are notoriously bad in detecting those geopolitical earthquakes. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037/2700 "2022-03-18T12:32:32Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > now think of what this Ukr. war might mean for that neck of the wood (Georgia, Armenia, satellite-states w/in and outside russia etc…) - if russia cannot project any power. I’ve been thinking about exactly that since this mess started. Another explanation of Belarus staying out of the active fight is that the Ukrainians have put the lie to how “powerful” Russia really is. Belarus has gone along with Russia in part over fears of what Russia would do to Belarus if they opposed Russia. But now, a lot of people there have to be re-thinking that. “_This_ is the vaunted Russian army? What were we so afraid of?!?” When your power is based on people fearing you, that power vanishes when they start laughing at you instead. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037.md?page=134) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-1/960037.md?page=136)