Oddbean

https://cms.zerohedge.com/s3/files/inline-images/2024-11-21_06-57-31.png?itok=8cjEIrGD russia launched an ICBM with a conventional warhead in response to the several NATO long range missiles that have been flung at kursk #ukraine #russia #ww3

when the war started i was living in Varna, on the west coast of the black sea i had to get out of there after seeing the flood of exchange students from india and all the ukrainians lining up to get residence permits at immigration, i don't think it's going to get better for some time yet, the megalomaniacs have got the momentum at this point

i can't even imagine how it is to live in a country with war going on in the south and east so close by... some of my colleagues at my remote job are from kiev and all, i couldn't get away from varna fast enough when it started, i can't even comprehend it, like, do you not understand that just down the road people are firing guns at each other and launching volley after volley of mortar shells to rain destruction on other people, launching drones to spy out positions and then shooting rockets at them? really, do you not comprehend how fucking dangerous this is?

This is an escalation that looks like it was intended to signal nuclear readiness and that their nuclear saber rattling isn't a joke. The US claims this didn't happen. Russia hasn't said either way. Ukraine could escalate in retaliation. But I don't think there is any escalation path they can take that would move them into a stronger negotiating position without Russia simply responding much more forcefully.

with all this stuff i think, what the hell... ukraine is a big country by land and a lot of land and a lot of wheat and minerals but it's really nowhere near as well equipped for war as russia is... and russia has the largest territory on the planet, and more resources available than anyone but i remember in 2014 when this actually all started there are people who just want to see as many people as possible die