# Russia invades Ukraine {2022-02-24} (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** ukraine-invasion, breaking-news\ **Created:** [October 29, 2022, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972 "2022-10-29T17:49:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 178
**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:** [April 22, 2023, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3600 "2023-04-22T23:35:59Z")
I remember this recruitment drive last year. Most people considered the recruits cannon fodder. Apparently that wasn’t entirely true. It’s smart PR to fulfill the pardons. > [@](#): > > Many are believed to have died in Ukraine, but those who survived the six months in the group’s ranks have earned presidential pardons and are now returning to their home towns. According to the notorious Wagner head Evgeniy Prigozhin, more than 5,000 former criminals have already been freed. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3601 "2023-04-23T01:51:03Z")
AND, they are killing little old ladies holding strawberries with axes. > **[Murder, alcohol and prostitutes: Wagner convicts pardoned by Putin return to...](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/22/alcohol-and-prostitutes-wagner-convicts-pardoned-by-putin-return-to-terrorise-home-towns)** > > Violent criminals who served with the notorious Russian militia in Ukraine are terrorising the communities they return to ---
**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:** [April 23, 2023, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3602 "2023-04-23T02:16:23Z")
A surge in local violent crime would normally create headlines in the papers. But Putin has shut any criticism down. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3603 "2023-04-23T02:22:53Z")
He might have shut down the newspapers, but I don’t think that even Putin can shut down the gossiping babushkas. ---
**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:** [April 23, 2023, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3604 "2023-04-23T02:36:54Z")
Who could have predicted that giving a bunch of convicted criminals PTSD and then letting them loose with no oversight would have negative consequences? ---
**Author:** ![lum\_s\_husband](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lum_s_husband/32/3698_2.png) [@lum\_s\_husband](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lum_s_husband)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3605 "2023-04-23T02:46:17Z")
When you allow strawberries to obtain axes, there is sure to be trouble. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3606 "2023-04-23T04:36:37Z")
And these were the ones mean enough to survive. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3607 "2023-04-23T11:27:30Z")
[Belgorod was partly evacuated](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/22/thousands-evacuated-in-russias-belgorod-after-bomb-scare) after an explosive device was found. ---
**Author:** ![FrenchDunadan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frenchdunadan/32/5449_2.png) [@FrenchDunadan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrenchDunadan)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3608 "2023-04-23T14:39:41Z")
Don’t know if it has the news elsewhere: the Chinese ambassador in France was answering questions on TV and let slip, on the subject of Ukraine, that Ukraine, as all the others nations issued from USSR, had no legal existence. All the European nations, especially Baltic, are really upset, to say the least. Sorry, French link only. > **[Crimée: Paris "consterné" par des propos de l'ambassadeur de Chine en France](https://www.bfmtv.com/international/europe/ukraine/crimee-paris-consterne-par-des-propos-de-l-ambassadeur-de-chine-en-france_AD-202304230041.html)** > > L'annexion de la Crimée par la Russie en 2014 est "illégale au regard du droit international", a rappelé le ministère français des Affaires étrangères. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3609 "2023-04-23T17:22:00Z")
From the [Guardian.](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/23/france-and-baltic-states-condemn-china-envoy-remarks-over-ukraine-sovereignty) ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3610 "2023-04-23T17:58:41Z")
> [@FrenchDunadan](#): > > let slip, on the subject of Ukraine, that Ukraine, as all the others nations issued from USSR, had no legal existence. I can’t think that this was an accidental statement or slip of the tongue by the Chinese, so why say it? ---
**Author:** ![Ssounder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@Ssounder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ssounder)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3611 "2023-04-23T18:05:18Z")
I’m not sure, but maybe a person with a screen name of FrenchDunadan, who links to a French based source might not have English as their first language? If so, his English is certainly better than my French. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3612 "2023-04-23T18:07:23Z")
Sorry, I misspoke. I meant “why would the Chinese mention it”, not why the poster said “slip of the tongue.” It seemed pretty deliberate in their case. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3613 "2023-04-23T18:39:12Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > I can’t think that this was an accidental statement or slip of the tongue by the Chinese, so why say it I read it as saying that the Chinese envoy said the quiet part loud. « Let slip out » is not the same as « slip of the tongue » ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3614 "2023-04-23T18:48:42Z")
yeah, it doesn’t seem like a quality ambassadors exactly cultivate, blurting out whatever they’re thinking in public places. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3615 "2023-04-23T18:57:47Z")
Sure, China cares about nothing in this conflict except how they can profit, and they’re making lots of profit by trading with Russia, but I wonder how long it’ll be before they realize that they could make even more profit by just annexing huge swaths of Russian land, and that in the current climate, nobody would even particularly object. Well, except Russia, I’m sure they would object, but it’s becoming quite clear that they’re not in any position to do anything about it. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3616 "2023-04-23T19:37:55Z")
A few months into the war, I was reading Daily Kos every day as they were doing by far the best job of covering it. Kos himself is a vet with a strong interest in military logistics. I wrote (here, I think) that Russia was heading toward being a satellite state of China. Nothing has developed to change my opinion as yet. ---
**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:** [April 24, 2023, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3617 "2023-04-24T13:25:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > they could make even more profit by just annexing huge swaths of Russian land, and that in the current climate, nobody would even particularly object. > > Well, except Russia, I’m sure they would object, but it’s becoming quite clear that they’re not in any position to do anything about it. But they still have nukes. Sure, everyone is now wondering if the state of their nukes mirrors that of all their other military equipment, but even if only 10% of their known arsenal is functional, that gives them more working nukes than China. China might offer to _buy_ a big chunk of Siberia, and Russia might accept that offer, but there won’t be anything like even a mildly-hostile takeover. No one wants to roll those dice. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2023, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3618 "2023-04-24T14:31:00Z")
Russia would not be foolish enough to sell off any land that it has now, due to the vast raw material resources that continue to be uncovered due to global warming. China would have to take it by force becasue Russia doesn’t care if its people suffer. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2023, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/3619 "2023-04-24T15:16:22Z")
oh, we’re not buying, we’re just investing . . . oh, we’re not invading, we’re just moving our workforce in to those factories we invested in . . . oh, we’re not taking over, we’re just setting rules for this area that now has so many of our citizens in it, and this is only so few kilometers over your border, you’re not going to start a nuclear war over that, now are you? . . . (rinse, repeat) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972.md?page=177) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972.md?page=179)