#Slava Ukrainii

[originalleftist]

So, this just happened (taken from Spoutible)

Yeah, Ukraine literally just kicked the Russian navy out of Crimea and made them go running all the way across the Black Sea.

People can talk all they want about a stalemate or Ukraine losing ground on land, but Ukraine is WINNING the naval war emphatically. And without those ships, it will be far harder for Russia to support its troops on land.

They lose the bridge to Crimea, they will probably lose Crimea.

Also, it will never not be both awe-inspiring and completely hilarious that Ukraine is winning a naval war against a major power while having no warships.

[scifimagpie]

Donation call for Ukraine

If you can, please help with hospital reconstruction and emergency care for neonatal and war injured children in Ukraine. The genocide is still ongoing.

"On the morning of July 8, a russian missile struck Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital in Kyiv. So far, more than 20 people have been injured; 7 of them children. 2 adults, including an Okhmatdyt doctor, were killed. Rescuers, together with Kyiv residents, continue to clear the rubble.  

Okhmatdyt is the largest children's hospital in Ukraine, annually treating more than 20,000 children from all over the country. The missile completely destroyed the operating rooms, entire toxicology wing, and life-saving equipment. Other buildings were also damaged. The children have been evacuated to other hospitals. 

Our goal is to help Okhmatdyt recover. To save children again. To give them hope. 

russia is targeting the most innocent and vulnerable – help us protect the future of Ukraine in the aftermath of this war crime. 

Every donation matters – join in!"

https://donorbox.org/okhmatdyt

[tsevis]

Faith. Struggle. Victory (Ukraine) by Charis Tsevis Via Flickr: Віра. Боротьба. Перемога (Україна) A mosaic artwork of a Ukrainian woman made out of traditional Ukrainian ormanents and photos from the Ukraine.

[dontforgetukraine]

Oleksii Mes, a Ukrainian F-16 pilot, was buried on 29 August, on the Day of Remembrance of Fallen Defenders. He destroyed three cruise missiles and one UAV during his final mission on F-16, when Russians launched the largest missile and drone attack on Ukraine.

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Together with Andriy “Juice” Pilshchykov, Oleksii "Moonfish" Mes advocated for Ukraine to receive F-16s.

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Adam Kinzinger: When I met with Ukraine pilots Juice (left) and Moonfish (right) I had a sick feeling they wouldn’t make it through the war. Juice died in Aug 2023, Moonfish died on Monday. They fought like hell for Ukraine, and the F16. Nickel on the grass men. Slava Ukrainii

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If the West hadn't restricted Ukraine from hitting Russian airbases, maybe there wouldn't be so many damn missiles flying around. Ukraine would still have this F-16, and most importantly, its pilot.

Planes can be replaced, unlike people. This is a loss.

Contact your representatives. Donate to your trusted organizations. Stand with Ukraine and spread this message: Let Ukraine Strike Back.

Sources: Euromaidan Press, libkos

[thefudge]

how are you?? how are things over there?

hey, we're good, thanks for asking!

gonna put some stuff under the cut, because it might upset some folks who don't wanna see me be a huge bummer

i'm currently just incredibly angry with Belarus and that disgraceful idiot, Lukashenko. We're also hearing worrisome reports that Putin has no intention of backing down, since this is his legacy now, it's life and death for him... Honestly, at this point, i'm praying someone takes him out. One fucking lunatic will hold us hostage for years to come (because the territory of Ukraine can never be neutral; even if Putin does take over, which I pray won't happen, he will have to have troops constantly posted and active there, so it will be an indefinite harrowing, battlefield, making all European countries stay on alert). sigh, sorry to be such a bummer. i feel incredibly grateful to be safe and have so many comforts the Ukrainians are currently missing, but to see this happen to our neighbors and to see it go on to such an extent is so fucking infuriating and depressing. There's also bombing going on in Transnistria, very close to our border, which has been done (among other reasons) to prevent us from sending help through that region...so yeah, i want to choke Putin with my bare hands. anyway! Slava Ukrainii!

[originalleftist]

A reminder now that Trump is officially the nominee again:

Stop Trump.

Literally nothing matters more.

Trump has promised to be "dictator on day one"- and thanks to SCOTUS's presidential immunity ruling, he legally would be.

He has promised a "unified reich".

He has retweeted "the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat".

He has given Putin a green light to invade Europe.

He has pledged to accelerate the climate crisis.

It won't be like last time, as horrible as that was. They're more prepared now. Trump will have legal immunity from a loyal Supreme Court. If Trump wins, the world burns. Millions will die. Maybe billions. Do you understand? There will not BE an America. Or a Ukraine. Or a Europe. Or a Palestine, either.

There is LITERALLY NOTHING more important than preventing this.

It's easy to give up, and say it's hopeless. It's easy to say both sides are bad, or my vote doesn't matter. But all that only helps the fascists. The future is not written in stone. Everyone thought the fascists would win in France too. They didn't. Everyone thought that they'd win in Ukraine. They haven't.

Its only over if we, the people, decide it's over. And I am not ready to lie down and die.

Vote Blue. Give it your all. Campaign. Volunteer. Donate. Even if you hate the candidate. Even if you think it's not fair. Every ballot, every race.

And get ready to strike when they try to overturn our votes.

And the Convicted Felon will NEVER be President again.

[originalleftist]

The first F16s, a shipment of 18 from the Dutch, are imminently due in Ukraine, with dozens more to follow.

Let's see if this breaks the deadlock on land (Ukraine has already been gloriously victorious at sea this year).

Eat fire from above, Vlad.

[originalleftist]

The largest protest in American history is said to be Black Lives Matter, with up to 26 million participants over the course of the protests. The largest single day protest is said to be the 2017 Women's March, with between 3+ and 5+ million in one day.

Tel Aviv, Israel-one single city-mustered 500,000. Half a million protesters, in a country with less than 1/30th America's population. As a percentage of population, that's equal to about 17 million Americans. One one day. In one city.

Then the whole country followed it up with a general strike the next day, with the backing of the leader of the political opposition.

And yet, fringe Western Leftist activists have the fucking presumption to condemn all Israelis, while entertaining fantasies of a Leftist revolution in the US. When it is Israelis (along with Ukrainians when they kicked Yanukovych out, and have resisted fucking Russia ever since) who have set the world gold standard in recent years for resisting corrupt, incompetent, authoritarian regimes.

As a citizen of the US and Canada, I fucking wish I could believe that either of my own countries' people would do one half as much, should a MAGA government take power here.

Maybe that's part of why the radical Left hates Israel/Jews (and Ukraine) so much- you're jealous that they're much better at this than you.

[originalleftist]

"Trump has promised to end Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine within 24 hours if elected but has declined to publicly elaborate on how he plans to do so. Two top Trump advisers also recently proposed a plan that would cease military aid to Ukraine unless it agrees to hold peace negotiations with Russia.

One of the sources told Politico that Trump "would be open to something foreclosing NATO expansion and not going back to the 1991 border for Ukraine."

This treasonous motherfucker.

I wonder if this was a topic of discussion while his plane was parked next to the Russian embassy jet for two fucking days at the airport.

[originalleftist]

Ukraine has now advanced 22 miles into Russia and seized a Gazaprom natural gas facility.

I like that the article draws a parallel to the Wagner coup attempt last year, which nearly reached Moscow in a matter of days before stopping for... some reason. I thought then that it showed how vulnerable Russia was to invasion. After all, if Wager could do it... why not Ukraine? Why not any other neighbour of Russia's, for that matter?

I suppose nukes, ultimately, but Russia is probably not going to want the escalation of using nukes first unless it's literally that or lose Moscow.

I also appreciate the article flat-out stating, without any hedging or euphemisms, that "the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, is aligned with Russia and Putin".

[originalleftist]

As Ukraine continues to advance deeper into Southern Russia, and once more expose Vladimir Putin's regime as shockingly weak, incompetent, and unprepared, I honestly think that every Western government should feel crushing shame at how we've let this jumped-up mob boss in charge of Russia run circles around us for decades.

Actually, I think that's behind a lot of the smug, arrogant insistence from many Western "experts" (those not outright on or friends with people on the Kremlin's payroll) that Ukraine can't win, and must be pressured by said wise Western experts into concessions to Putin.

Its shear embarrassment, and unwillingness to accept that a "minor", "developing" country is doing what the entire Western world couldn't (or chose not to)- stopping the Russian superpower in it's tracks, and reducing it's leader to a laughing stock.

Russia was supposed to be the arch enemy of the US, the world-ending, apocalyptic threat that America spent half a century preparing for mutually assured destruction with.

How dare Ukraine upstage us by kicking its ass?

[originalleftist]

Ukraine sends 1,000 tons of food aid to Palestine, in first of three shipments. It will be enough to feed 100,000 families for a month.

I'm sure the House Kremlin Caucus (aka the Republican Party) will be all over this, demanding aid be cut to Ukraine again because "they don't need it if they can send aid themselves" and "they're supporting terrorists". The latter point is obviously false to anyone who isn't a raging racist who wants all Palestinians to starve. As to the former point: Ukraine needs ARMS, because it's fighting for its existence against a nuclear superpower. I very much doubt it needs grain-of which it remains an exporter.

Nonetheless, I do think it is notable that Ukraine, which is fighting for its own survival, would offer such aid to others. America isn't (except against its own internal fascists), and many Americans still wouldn't.

Edit: Title fixed.

[originalleftist]

Ukraine has captured almost 400 square miles of Russian territory since it launched its counteroffensive into Kursk Oblast on Tuesday.

Hey Vlad, how about you give back Crimea in exchange for Kursk Oblast?

[originalleftist]

Over the last few days, Ukraine has launched a major counter offensive into Russian territory, with perhaps 10,000 troops involved, penetrating deep into Kursk Oblast.

This is obviously a huge gamble for Ukraine, especially with Russian forces still advancing in parts of Ukraine. It could also, from a certain perspective, be seen as an escalation, a line the Kremlin will doubtless push, having already declared the attack a "provocation" (Of course, the actual provocation was their invasion of Ukraine, seizing its territory, attempting to overthrow and murder its elected government, and committing genocide against its culture and people). However, what it actually means is that Ukraine is now no longer fighting overwhelmingly on defence. Russian territory has been taken by Ukraine. Not territory that Russia invaded and stole from Ukraine being taken back, but Russia itself.

Obviously, Ukraine does not have the ability to invade and occupy a country the size of Russia. Nor can it march on Moscow and carry out regime change- if nothing else, tactical nukes would prevent that.

So, what is the point? Three things come to mind:

a) This will, as the article notes, force Russia to redeploy forces to halt the Ukrainian advance. RUSSIA is now on defence, and every soldier redeployed to defend and retake Kursk Oblast is a soldier not invading Ukrainian soil.

b) It may strengthen Ukraine's bargaining position in any future negotiations. I've seen some discussion around this.

c) Psychological. It reminds the world that Ukraine can still make gains, that this is not just a slow war of attrition toward inevitable Ukrainian defeat. It also brings the war home to Russia, in a big way. Zelenskyy has made it very clear that this is a factor here.

Who knows? Best case scenario, maybe this will embarrass Putin enough that another one of his generals makes a coup attempt. It will certainly erode Russian morale.

[originalleftist]

Democrats panicking and saying we can't win should learn a lesson from Ukraine.

Plenty of "experts" said Ukraine couldn't win. That it couldn't survive. I pretty much thought so too, at first. The general expectation IIRC was that it would fall in weeks, or days. That any war would be not the conventional war we have seen, but an insurgency in a Russian-occupied Ukraine. Zelensky was offered a flight out to escape. He refused.

Go back further, too. Unlike Americans, who are now faced with a choice between a democratic republic and a Kremlin-aligned fascist regime, Ukraine started this struggle already under the rule of a Russian proxy ruler. They rose up and threw him out in 2014. They built a new, more democratic nation, and they have defended it valiantly for over a decade.

We don't know how the war will end. Maybe Russia will win in the end. Maybe not. But Ukraine has already survived more than two years longer as a sovereign country than those "experts" thought it could.

[originalleftist]

There will be peace when the Kremlin's troops and weapons and spies are back in Russia, it's collaborators around the world are in prison, and Vladimir Putin is before a war crimes tribunal, or dead. And not before.