December 5th's update is here on the site and here in the comments.

December 6th's update is here on the site and here in the comments.

December 7th's update is here on the site and here in the comments.

December 9th's update is here on the site and here in the comments.

December 10th's update is here on the site and here in the comments.

Links and Stuff

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Examples of Ukrainian Nazis and fascists

Examples of racism/euro-centrism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict

Add to the above list if you can, thank you.


Resources For Understanding The War Beyond The Bulletins


Defense Politics Asia's youtube channel and their map. I recommend their map more than the channel at this point, as an increasing subscriber count has greatly diminished their quality.

Moon of Alabama, which tends to have good analysis (though also a couple bad takes here and there)

Understanding War and the Saker: neo-conservative sources but their reporting of the war (so far) seems to line up with reality better than most liberal sources. Beware of chuddery.

Alexander Mercouris, who does daily videos on the conflict. While he is a reactionary and surrounds himself with likeminded people, his daily update videos are fairly brainworm-free and good if you don't want to follow Russian telegram channels to get news. The Duran, of which he co-hosts, is where the chuddery really begins to spill out.

On the ground: Patrick Lancaster, an independent journalist reporting in the Ukrainian warzones.

Unedited videos of Russian/Ukrainian press conferences and speeches.


Telegram Channels

Again, CW for anti-LGBT and racist, sexist, etc speech, as well as combat footage.

Pro-Russian

https://t.me/aleksandr_skif ~ DPR's former Defense Minister and Colonel in the DPR's forces. Russian language.

https://t.me/Slavyangrad ~ Gleb Bazov, banned from Twitter, referenced pretty heavily in what remains of pro-Russian Twitter.

https://t.me/asbmil ~ Now rebranded as Battlefield Insights, they do infrequent posts on the conflict.

https://t.me/s/levigodman ~ Does daily update posts.

https://t.me/patricklancasternewstoday Patrick Lancaster's telegram channel.

https://t.me/riafan_everywhere ~ Think it's a government news org or Federal News Agency? Russian language.

https://t.me/gonzowarr ~ Front news coverage. Russian langauge.

https://t.me/rybar ~ One of the really big pro-Russian (except when they're being pessismistic, which is often) telegram channels focussing on the war. Russian language.

https://t.me/epoddubny ~ Russian language.

https://t.me/boris_rozhin ~ Russian language.

https://t.me/mod_russia_en ~ Russian Ministry of Defense. Does daily, if rather bland updates on the number of Ukrainians killed, etc. The figures appear to be approximately accurate; if you want, reduce all numbers by 25% as a 'propaganda tax', if you don't believe them. Does not cover everything, for obvious reasons, and virtually never details Russian losses.

https://t.me/UkraineHumanRightsAbuses ~ Pro-Russian, documents abuses that Ukraine commits.

Pro-Ukraine

Any Western media outlet that is even vaguely liberal (and quite a few conservative ones too).

https://discord.gg/projectowl ~ Pro-Ukrainian OSINT Discord.

https://t.me/ice_inii ~ Alleged Ukrainian account with a rather cynical take on the entire thing.


Last week's discussion post.

  • MelaniaTrump [undecided]
    ·
    edit-2
    2 years ago

    wtf is a Russian arms dealer gonna do after being in prison for over a decade lmao

    it’s not like this guy was personally moving guns and his on the ground network is probably all old boomer men with joint problems at this point

    so what’s the reason the media is flipping out about him getting released

    • Spectre_of_Z_poster [they/them]
      ·
      2 years ago

      Because America got owned in the exchange and humiliated, so western media is coping and seething. A minor sports figure gets traded 1:1 for an internationally infamous arms dealer that the US probably spent tens of millions of dollars catching and extraditing.

      • Commiejones [comrade/them, he/him]
        ·
        edit-2
        2 years ago

        There will be articles in the NYT about how USA released and Ebil Mastermind and he is single handedly supplying missiles and artillery rounds to the front from his secret stash in his volcano lair. He spent 15 years in prison getting totally jacked and now unloads every truck himself by hand. He cradles and strokes an artillery shell because it reminds him of his white cat that died of starvation while he was in prison.

    • Yanqui_UXO [any]
      ·
      2 years ago

      Maybe because it's very unAmericanly to exchange 1 on 1. At some point Russia offered 15 to 1 for him. So it might look like a big concession to some. But then again, the guy sat in prison for 15 years whereas Griner got exchanged basically as soon as she got sentenced so.. Strange event that can be spun ever which way.

      • AssortedBiscuits [they/them]
        ·
        2 years ago

        IMO, this trade was done so both sides can save face. The US can say they released a Russian asset that's completely compromised and thus useless from the Russians' POV, and Russia can say Bout is more important than a comparatively insignificant sports lady, so they got more out of the exchange.

    • jontifa [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      for me, the question is what do they honestly think happened to the arms trade after Bout went to prison? all of his associates and the other dealers just sat twiddling their thumbs and writing letters to him? i’m willing to bet even Bout’s own operation kept running relatively smoothly with him incarcerated

      • edge [he/him]
        ·
        2 years ago

        Everyone knows when you take out the bad guy boss the whole organization collapses immediately.

    • Tervell [he/him]
      ·
      edit-2
      2 years ago

      movie trailer narrator voice

      just when he thought he was finally out... they pulled him back in... for ONE LAST JOB

      THIS SUMMER... (who's a hollywood guy with a sufficiently good mustache to play Bout?) IN "THE DONBASS JOB"

      • Leon_Grotsky [comrade/them]
        ·
        2 years ago

        Get Nicholas Cage to do Lord of War II, just bring back his mustache from Raising Arizona

        Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage) was largely based on the exploits of international arms dealer Viktor Anatol'yevich But, a former Soviet officer, who was finally arrested by Thai authorities in March 2008. Bout, known as the "Merchant of Death", was trying to make a deal with American agents posing as F.A.R.C. insurgents when he was apprehended. After languishing in a Bangkok prison awaiting extradition by the U.S., he was tried and found guilty, and awaits sentencing in a Manhattan prison. The quote from Orlov seems appropriate, "I know that just because they needed me that day, didn't mean that they wouldn't make me a scapegoat the next." As a further reference, Orlov's father is named Anatoly, just like Bout's father.

      • edge [he/him]
        ·
        edit-2
        2 years ago

        who’s a hollywood guy with a sufficiently good mustache to play Bout?

        I looked him up and my brain immediately went to Tom Selleck, though young Tom Selleck would look more accurate.

    • BynarsAreOk [none/use name]
      ·
      edit-2
      2 years ago

      Know-how? Experience? Reputation? Favors left to collect? Seems a straight forward path to me for someone that spent decades in that industry.