Real World Event Discussions

Russia Invades Ukraine. Again

POSTED BY: captaincrunch
UPDATED: Sunday, September 6, 2026 21:09
VIEWED: 562266
PAGE 1021 of 1104

Sunday, May 24, 2026 4:59 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by second:
There is a connection between Russia's first nuke in 1949 and NATO's formation the same year.



There is a connection between Russia's first nuke and Horoshima and Nagasaki, stupid.


-----------

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger

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Sunday, May 24, 2026 5:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Quote:

Originally posted by second:
There is a connection between Russia's first nuke in 1949 and NATO's formation the same year.



There is a connection between Russia's first nuke and Horoshima and Nagasaki, stupid.


-----------

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger

That is very Russian of you to forget that Russia has been threatening to nuke everybody in the West that gets in its way, but it has not because the Russians in charge are cruel cowards afraid of being hurt.

You also forget that the US, at least until Trump, a cruel coward afraid of being hurt, was not issuing nuclear death threats to the world, but there is no shortage of courage in America among the people who would never vote for a guy like Trump. Among the Trumptards, cruel cowardliness is the main force driving them, along with sex, gluttony, and greed, just like Trump's psychology.

I have been amused for years that little 6ixStringJoker has never understood that his misfortunes are caused by defects in his personality, but then all Trumptards are highly defective in the same ways. At this point, 6ix usually comes back with some sneering reply about me claiming to be perfect, always missing the point that you don't have to be perfect to be successful in America, but you can't be successful if you are anything like a Trump. Trump seems successful, but he did it by cheating at every opportunity. His dishonesty and bragging make him very attractive to people who share his defective characteristics.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Sunday, May 24, 2026 5:51 PM

Putin Can No Longer Hide His Catastrophe

The Russian dictator has lost control of the narrative. In armed conflicts between nations, major momentum shifts occur when one of the combatants loses control of events—when its rulers can no longer convincingly tell themselves or their public that their side is on the cusp of victory.

By Phillips Payson O’Brien | May 23, 2026, 8:45 AM ET

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/05/putin-lost-control-russia/68
7269/?gift=BQHDq1p24LRO8cUUEyLQ6_6Vgz0eQYQh_GBzcWPnV88&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share


The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Sunday, May 24, 2026 5:54 PM

Four Russian satellites are now within striking distance of an ICEYE radarsat

“This capability is not common for satellites conducting typical missions.”

By Stephen Clark – May 22, 2026 5:50 PM

https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/05/a-satellite-company-supporting-u
kraine-appears-to-be-in-russias-crosshairs
/

At least four Russian military satellites changed their orbits to match that of a Finnish-American radar surveillance satellite in the last week, raising questions about Russia’s intentions amid an ever-expanding standoff high above Earth.

The maneuvers were identified through open source orbital tracking data. Greg Gillinger, a retired Air Force space intelligence officer, revealed the orbit changes Friday in a special edition of his Integrity Flash newsletter, published by Integrity ISR, a private business that provides “combat-proven operational support and elite training that enhances mission success across ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance), cyber, space, and targeting domains.”

The Russian satellites in question, designated Kosmos 2610 through 2613, launched together on April 16 on a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. Over the last week or so, the four satellites adjusted their inclinations—the angles of their orbits to the equator—by less than a degree.

That may sound insignificant, but such “plane change” maneuvers use up a lot of fuel. The delta-v, or velocity change, required for a plane change maneuver of this magnitude is equivalent to the impulse needed to raise altitude by more than 100 miles.

The upshot is that these four Russian satellites are now positioned to routinely pass near a commercial radar surveillance satellite operated by the Finnish-American company ICEYE. This imaging platform, named ICEYE-X36, is part of a fleet of satellites providing all-weather overhead radar images to the US military and European governments. ICEYE also provides imagery to Ukraine’s military in its fight against Russia. ICEYE’s co-founder and CEO, Rafal Modrzewski, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last year.

According to Gillinger, the cross-track distances between the four Russian satellites and ICEYE-X36 now range between about 500 meters (1,640 feet) and 22 kilometers (13.7 miles). All of this is taking place in polar orbit at an altitude of approximately 340 miles (547 kilometers).

Russian satellite operators are now in a position to close in on the ICEYE satellite with “minor adjustments” in “satellite eccentricity and average altitudes,” Gillinger wrote in his newsletter. A fifth satellite from the same Russian launch last month now appears to be performing a similar set of maneuvers to move closer to ICEYE-X36.

Co-planar or cosplay?

We know little about what these particular Kosmos satellites can do. Perhaps, as one retired US military space official recently told Ars, this is another example of Russia rattling a dull saber. Russian military officials seem to enjoy probing US and allied forces, often flying strategic bombers near US and European airspace.

This same behavior now appears to extend into space, with Russia’s launch of several military spacecraft shadowing the US government’s most sophisticated spy satellites in low-Earth orbit several hundred miles above the planet. US officials believe at least some of these Russian satellites are part of an anti-satellite weapons program.

More recently, a mysterious Russian military satellite arrived in geosynchronous orbit more than 22,000 miles over the equator. Circumstantial evidence suggests this, too, may be part of a Russian anti-satellite system. The US Space Force dispatched one of its own inspection satellites in geosynchronous orbit to get a closer look.

Targeting a single spacecraft, such as ICEYE-X36, in a constellation of similar imaging satellites would do little to inhibit the access of Ukraine or other Western nations to radar surveill

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Sunday, May 24, 2026 6:00 PM

The Trump Administration Pivots, The Reason Why Is The Important Thing

By Phillips P. OBrien
May 24, 2026

https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/weekend-update-186-a-primer-on-
the


. . . both Vance and Rubio are being dishonest in their own way, which in and of itself is no shock. However the interesting thing is that they are being dishonest to try and convince the American public that the administration was and is more pro-Ukraine and anti-Putin than in reality it has been.

The reason why can only be because the intelligence that the administration is receiving is that Russia is struggling and Ukraine is doing much better than the administration both publicly and privately was saying. Remember this is the administration that not only said Ukraine had “no cards” it also built into its national security estimates that Russia had the upper hand in the war and was going to get a peace deal on its terms. . . .

. . . And now the administration is boasting about helping Ukraine? That does not happen by accident—it is because they are understanding that everything they said in 2025 was wrong. They would not do it otherwise. You know why? Because Trump himself remains wedded enough to Putin not to join the chorus. The administration does not want Ukraine to do well. Its fundamental outlook remains unchanged.

However it is being forced to try and pretend it is more pro-Ukraine than it has been, and that is important.

So take that as a good sign, just do not let these fraudsters get away with it.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Sunday, May 24, 2026 8:51 PM

'Damage in every district of Kyiv' — Massive Russian ballistic missile, drone attack kills 4, injures 100

By Dmytro Basmat, Luca Léry Moffat, Nick Allard | Updated: May 24, 2026 3:46 pm

https://kyivindependent.com/russian-attack-may-24-2026/

. . . Zelensky confirmed that Russia used its Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile during the attack, the third time Russia has used the sophisticated weapon against Ukraine. The strike targeted Bila Tserkva, a town 50 miles south of Kyiv. . . .

. . . Russia first used an Oreshnik against Ukraine in November 2024 in a strike on the city of Dnipro. The missile was most recently used in an attack on western Lviv Oblast on Jan. 9. . . .

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Sunday, May 24, 2026 10:32 PM

The Pride of Russia’s Defense Industry Dismantled Over the Past Month

By Ivan Stupak, Kyiv | May 21, 2026 21:10

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4125970-the-april-followers-of-th
e-cruiser-moskva.html


. . . The Zoopark-1M is one of the key components of Russia’s counter-battery warfare capabilities. The system is specifically designed to calculate the trajectory of incoming shells or rockets within seconds and determine the firing positions of Ukrainian artillery, mortars, and multiple-launch rocket systems. In essence, it functions as an artillery “hunter” — a critically important asset in modern battlefield warfare.

The cost of a single Zoopark-1M system is estimated at roughly $25 million, while production remains limited due to chronic shortages of electronic components and other critical parts. As a result, the Russian military is increasingly forced to redeploy these radars between different sectors of the front, effectively patching holes in its surveillance network.

Consequently, the destruction of every Zoopark system represents far more than a localized tactical loss. Each strike weakens Russia’s overall counter-battery architecture, forcing the command to expose other sectors or stretch already limited resources even further.

The broader pattern was becoming increasingly clear: Ukraine was not simply destroying individual pieces of equipment, but methodically eroding the interconnected systems that enable the Russian army to detect, track, coordinate, and respond on the battlefield. . . .

. . . Perhaps the most illustrative aviation episode of April was the strike against the Shagol airbase in Chelyabinsk. According to Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, the April 25 attack put two Su-57 fighters, one Su-34, and another aircraft from the Su family out of action. The latter was reportedly blown apart so completely that it proved impossible to determine the exact modification from the remains left at the burn site.

What makes this episode particularly remarkable is geography: Chelyabinsk lies roughly 1,700 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

And once again, the issue extends far beyond the sheer financial cost of the losses, although that alone is substantial. The Su-34, valued at approximately $35–50 million, serves as Russia’s principal frontline fighter-bomber and has become one of the key instruments of Russian aerial pressure along the front line. Ukraine’s Defense Forces have destroyed these aircraft before.

But the reported disabling of two Su-57s belongs to an entirely different category of losses within the growing pantheon of neutralized Russian “wonder weapons.”

The Su-57 remains Russia’s most advanced and expensive serially produced combat aircraft — the flagship prestige project of the Russian defense industry and one of the very few platforms Moscow attempts to present as a true fifth-generation fighter. For years, the Kremlin showcased the Su-57 at international air shows as a symbol of technological superiority and as Russia’s answer to the American Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.

And then reality intervened.

The symbolic impact of the strike may ultimately prove even more painful than the material losses themselves. The Su-57 program has long suffered from limited production rates, technological bottlenecks, sanctions-related component shortages, and chronic delays. Russia possesses only a small number of operational aircraft of this type, meaning that every damaged or destroyed airframe immediately becomes a strategic and reputational problem.

Moreover, the strike on Shagol demonstrated something else that would have seemed almost unthinkable just a few years ago: Ukrainian drones are now capable of threatening not only tactical aviation near the front line, but also Russia’s most prestigious military assets deep inside the country’s strategic rear.

Much more at https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4125970-the-april-followers-of-th
e-cruiser-moskva.html


The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https:

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Monday, May 25, 2026 5:35 AM

Why Putin continues warring

Sun, May 24, 2026 - 23:57

Despite internal problems, Putin's approach to the war has not changed. According to two sources with access to the president, he has made it clear to his inner circle that Moscow could allegedly capture the entire Donbas region by the end of the year.

"Putin is fixated on Donbas and he will not stop before that," an interlocutor said.

A Ukrainian intelligence official said that Russian generals have convinced Putin of the possibility of capturing Donbas by the end of the year. "Fabricated reports are being fed up the chain of command, claiming victory is imminent," he said.

Military analysts say that at the current rate of Russian advance, it could take years to fully seize Donbas.

https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/war-and-economic-pressure-spark-frustr
ation-1779655802.html


The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, May 25, 2026 5:48 PM

Sun 24 May 2026 01.00 EDT

Putin has made clear to his inner circle that he believes Moscow can capture the entirety of the Donbas region by the end of the year, two sources with access to the president said. “Putin is fixated on Donbas and he will not stop before that,” one of them said.

Speaking after the 9 May Victory Day parade, Putin surprised many by suggesting the war was “coming to a close”. The remark made headlines, but those familiar with his thinking caution that it should not be interpreted as a sign he is prepared to compromise. Instead, it suggests Putin believes a military breakthrough is imminent.

For now, Moscow’s goal is the capture of the Donbas, and Russian negotiators have made clear that Moscow would be ready to sue for peace once this happens. Yet those close to Putin say his ambitions may increase again if he senses Ukraine beginning to collapse. Then, two people familiar with his thinking said, he could push further, crossing the Dnipro River, in an attempt to seize all four Ukrainian regions that Russia claimed to annex in 2022 but still does not fully control.

“He is not a long-term strategist,” one of them said. “His appetite grows as he eats.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2026/may/24/there-is-
profound-disappointment-in-him-mood-in-russia-turns-against-putin


The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, May 25, 2026 5:49 PM

Russia Launched $361 Million in Missiles and Drones at Ukraine in Overnight May 24 Barrage

By Ivan Khomenko Updated May 25, 2026 12:00

https://united24media.com/war-in-ukraine/russia-launched-361-million-i
n-missiles-and-drones-at-ukraine-in-overnight-may-24-barrage-19123


The enemy used 690 air attack vehicles - 90 missiles and 600 UAVs of various types:

• 1 average-range ballistic missile "Oreshnik" - $50 million;

• 2 aeroballistic missiles X-47M2 "Kinzhal" - $10 million;

• 3 M22 Zircon anti-ship missiles - $16.2 million;

• 30 Iskander-M ballistic missiles, S-400 - $120 million;

• 54 cruise missiles X-101, Iskander-K, Kalibr - $135 million

• 600 strike UAVs, ramming munitions and drones of the type - $30 million.

https://armyinform.com.ua/2026/05/24/oryeshnik-czyrkony-ta-balistyka-k
ombinovana-ataka-na-kyyiv-koshtuvala-rosiyanam-361-mln
/

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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