AFAIK Ukrainians don’t care that much whether westerners say KEEV or KEY-ev and it’s slightly awkward to have conversations that go: “I heard they’re trying to take KEEV right now.” “What?” “Oh, KEY-ev.” “Oh.”
This situation is relatively easy for the region. I’ve been to Lviv and I’m still not entirely sure how to pronounce it. I butchered Chișinău so badly people didn’t even know wtf I was saying when I was trying to find a bus to there. And let’s not even get started with Poland.
It matters politically.
We should just call them what they want us to call them. It would also be nice if people could use the proper name of Canada as well, please refer to us as Canuckistan or I will be offended.
I might be hitting the hopium pipe too hard, but I don’t see what Putin can possibly get from prolonging this war that is worth the economic disaster that’s bearing down on Russia. If that’s true, then Putin should be looking to end the war and get out from under sanctions at any price. As you suggested in your earlier post, I don’t think it’s really possible for Ukraine to agree to any concessions on Donbas/EU/NATO, ergo Putin has to give on all those. The Western side is (or should be) desperate for this crisis to get resolved, so we give on everything else (Crimea, sanctions, maybe some arms control/security agreements for optics).
That’s the deal that ends this thing, but I am aware that it’s a long shot.
Although now it appears that they’re starting a terror bombing campaign against Kharkiv, so maybe Putin has lost it and we’re just going to descend into a black hole of chaos and death from which there is no escape.
https://twitter.com/christogrozev/status/1498262958287302658?s=21
The Daily has had good episodes on the war. You won’t learn anything and it’s not news related but it’s a captivating point of view from a journalist there.
This all makes sense but only if Putin is acting rationally. But if he just believes that Russia’s natural place is on top of the world and that God put him on earth to fulfill that destiny, you can’t reason with that. Just think of all the Americans that believe completely and unshakably that the US is The Greatest Country In The World and any real or perceived deficiency is just the temporary consequence of Weak Leadership. Are we sure Putin doesn’t believe that about Russia?
I can’t imagine being a soldier and being ordered to bomb bunch of civilians. I’d probably either desert or shoot myself, depending on what I thought would happen to me if I deserted.
Why wouldn’t you shoot or bomb your superiors who ordered you to do it?
Well, could do that first I suppose, then shoot myself.
“I am in a world of shit”
Seems obvious that the solution to this crisis has to come from the inside of the Russian Government.
I think this is why invaders commonly try to portray civilians as dangerous collaborators.
I dunno, the whole point of being a dictator is that you can do what’s best for you and you don’t have to convince a bunch of voters that it’s a good idea. Like Ze literally cannot agree to annexations in the east. He can say it, but no one will go along with it. Putin has the power to agree to whatever he wants. He has the power to not agree to things too, of course.
This is what a rational person would say. But what would a Russian Nationalist zealot say?
A Russian nationalist zealot dictator would say whatever he thought it was most advantageous for him to say! What would he truly believe? It’s hard to see how we could ever know…
Russian central bank rate at 20%. Lmfao
Haven’t listened yet, but this is likely really good:
EDIT: Unrelated, but apparently the Snake Island people did the right thing and surrendered rather than dying for no reason. It was bad propaganda even if was true, especially when there are so many better stories of Ukrainian heroics floating around:
https://twitter.com/iaponomarenko/status/1498266613002424325?s=21