# 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:** 63
**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:** [December 21, 2022, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/1254 "2022-12-21T14:48:13Z")
He addressed the Canadian Parliament by Zoom last spring and spoke entirely in English. Was very powerful. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/1255 "2022-12-21T15:06:14Z")
I wonder if in his speech today Zelensky will quote Ronald Reagan? Obviously he won’t want to get involved with internal US politics and parties But Reagan’s phrase “the evil empire” is absolutely accurate and appropriate. Often, history doesn’t offer simple choices about which side to support… ,But this war is very,very simple, black-and-white, good-vs evil. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/1256 "2022-12-21T15:16:17Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Also as an actor, he probably would study the speech phonetically in this case to improve his delivery. Actually, his English in that video sounds rather halting, like he’s reading it and doesn’t understand the language very well. > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > He addressed the Canadian Parliament by Zoom last spring and spoke entirely in English. Was very powerful. You mean this speech? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/gGHFvfBThUY/maxresdefault.jpg "WATCH: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses Canadian Parliament") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGHFvfBThUY) He’s not speaking English. I think you and I both misremembered, because he had a translator for his speech to the US congress too, and I remembered it as him speaking English for that one. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/1257 "2022-12-21T15:36:38Z")
I bet he speaks English tonight. Firstly, it’s in person, not via Zoom. Secondly, it’s the US, not Canada. This is a much, much bigger deal. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/1258 "2022-12-21T15:46:37Z")
Aw, poor Canada catching shrapnel. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/1259 "2022-12-21T15:47:02Z")
I think he might speak mostly in Ukrainian with a translator and then add some parts in English to drive home the point. I think i remember him doing that in other speeches to English speaking audiences. Mix and match like that is about all I’d be able to manage speaking to an audience of Dutch, for example. “Bla bla blabla, bla, bla, bla bla. Dank u wel en tot ziens!” ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/1260 "2022-12-21T15:47:44Z")
Zelenskyy speaks some English. Here, he talks with French president Macron shortly after the invasion began: > ---
**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:** [December 21, 2022, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/1261 "2022-12-21T15:53:53Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Yes. I doubt he’s flying United. A guy holding a Mr Z sign at the airport would be pretty funny. I’m curious if he puts on a suit for his meetings. The green fatigues have become very identifiable with him. ---
**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:** [December 21, 2022, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/1262 "2022-12-21T16:45:55Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > I think he might speak mostly in Ukrainian with a translator and then add some parts in English to drive home the point. I think i remember him doing that in other speeches to English speaking audiences. He does this in his long-format interview with David Letterman (which is recommended viewing, btw). And I agree that a callback to Reagan’s “evil empire” would be very smart and hard for GQP traitors to dismiss. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/1263 "2022-12-21T17:24:10Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > And I agree that a callback to Reagan’s “evil empire” would be very smart and hard for GQP traitors to dismiss. Yes, but Saint Ronald defeated the Evil Empire - the new Putin government has nothing to do with them and is entirely unlike them. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/1264 "2022-12-21T17:26:08Z")
Not sure if this was posted yet - David Letterman interviewed Zelenskyy last week, and Zelenskyy told a great joke: 'Two Jews meet in Odessa. One asks the other: ‘And how is the situation there? What do they say?’ ‘Well, what do they say, they say there’s war,’ says the other. ‘What war?’ ‘Russia is at war with NATO.’ ‘So how’s the war going?’ ‘Well, the Russians lost 70,000 troops, all rockets were used up, a lot of military equipment was destroyed.’ ‘And how about NATO?’ ‘Well, what about NATO? NATO has not arrived yet.’ > **[Zelensky laughs at Putin with gag about war in Letterman Netflix show](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11532929/Zelensky-mocks-Putin-gag-war-David-Letterman-Netflix-special.html)** > > In an underground bunker 300ft beneath a Kyiv subway platform, David Letterman, 75, met with Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss the ongoing conflict in his country. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/1265 "2022-12-21T17:26:18Z")
Trump fans, for the most part, care as much about Reagan as they do about Teddy Roosevelt. Ancient history. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/1266 "2022-12-21T19:16:45Z")
Zelenskyy arrives at the White House: > ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/1267 "2022-12-21T19:33:13Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > Yes, but Saint Ronald defeated the Evil Empire - the new Putin government has nothing to do with them and is entirely unlike them Well, not so much unlike as new and improved. The Evil Empire. Now With 400% More Evil! ---
**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:** [December 21, 2022, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/1268 "2022-12-21T19:52:26Z")
Was that Russian protesters yelling at Volodymyr Zelenskyy? How did they get close enough to disrupt the moment with Biden and Jill? You just begin to hear them at the end of the clip. I watched live and the yelling dragged on until Biden lead everyone inside. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/1269 "2022-12-21T20:25:24Z")
Probably journalists yelling questions. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/1270 "2022-12-21T20:26:54Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > A guy holding a Mr Z sign at the airport would be pretty funny. I kind of doubt that he would be glad about getting into a vehicle with a “Z” on it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/1271 "2022-12-21T20:33:40Z")
He’d probably say he doesn’t need a ride. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/1272 "2022-12-21T20:48:09Z")
Capabilities in the State Department’s $1 Billion December 21 PDA package are expected to include: - One [Patriot air defense battery and munitions](https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/patriot-missile-batteries-in-ukraine-would-be-top-targets-for-russia); - Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS); Unitary or BB blaster warhead not disclosed. - 500 precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds; Excalibur most likely. - 10 120mm mortar systems and 10,000 120mm mortar rounds; US/NATO stuff, probably HE and perhaps some Illum. Multioption fuzes. - 10 82mm mortar systems; Whoa! Found a bunch of Warsaw Pact stuff. - 10 60mm mortar systems; Probable US/NATO. - 37 Cougar Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles; - 120 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs); - Six armored utility trucks; - High-speed Anti-radiation missiles (HARMs); Doing a job on the Russian Air Defense. - Precision aerial munitions; GPS/INS wing kits for Mk8X series bombs. See JDAM. - Over 2,700 grenade launchers and small arms; - Claymore anti-personnel munitions; - Demolition munitions and equipment; - Night vision devices and optics; - Tactical secure communications systems; - Body armor and other field equipment. Capabilities in DoD’s $850 Million USAI package are expected to include: - 45,000 152mm artillery rounds; Warsaw Pact/Russian/UKR compatible, bought somewhere - 20,000 122mm artillery rounds; Ibid - 50,000 122mm GRAD rockets; Ibid - 100,000 rounds of 125mm tank ammunition; Ibid - T-72/T-80/T-64/T-90 main gun. - SATCOM terminals and services; - Funding for training, maintenance, and sustainment. In addition:Congress is working on a $44 billion spending plan for assisting Ukraine. - $9 billion to arm, equip and train Ukrainian forces. - $7 billion for the Pentagon to fund the surge of U.S. troops and gear to Europe, which are intended to stand as a bulwark against a potential Russian escalation onto NATO turf. - $687 million for Army ammunition plants, to build capacity in the domestic munitions industry, according to a Senate Republican summary. This is on top of a [$2.7 billion five-year munitions procurement plan](https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/spurred-by-ukraine-massive-munitions-restocking-plan-in-proposed-pentagon-budget) in the National Defense Authorization Act. - $300 million for Ukrainian police and border guards, in part for the rescue and protection of civilians caught in Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s population centers and civilian infrastructure. - $13 billion in economic assistance to Kyiv. - $4 billion to aid Ukrainian refugees. - Millions to the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the State Department’s Office of Inspector General to track the spending and monitor Ukraine’s use of U.S. funds. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972/1273 "2022-12-21T20:48:57Z")
Didn’t mean to snark on Canada - they’re a great ally and have been a great help to Ukraine as well, but it’s just a fact that the US is the single most important ally for Ukraine. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972.md?page=62) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-2022-02-24-part-2/973972.md?page=64)