Cross-posted from: https://feddit.de/post/9202260

Vladimir Putin will spark a third world war if the Russian president is allowed to declare victory in Ukraine, according to the boss of the country’s biggest private employer.

Yuriy Ryzhenkov, chief executive of Metinvest, which ran the sprawling Azovstal steelworks that became the site of a relentless Russian assault at the start of the 2022 invasion, warned of the consequences of a Kremlin victory.

“I don’t believe that if Ukraine fails, Putin will stop,” he said in an interview ahead of the two year anniversary of the war in Ukraine. “The Baltic states, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia are the next targets.”

  • nuscheltier@feddit.de
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    8 months ago

    And supposedly the people of those regions voted to leave Ukraine, right?

    Supposedly. One side says it were fair elections the other doubts that. So, who is right? The side that had soldiers at the voting booths, oppresses the people there, deports and kills the people living there, or the one to which the regions belong that wants to live in peace?

    Best we can do is resolve it as peacefully as possible. I see democracy as the same as simulated war: one side has 20,000 men, one has 15,000, let’s just assume the bigger army will win and skip the war altogether.

    1. The war shouldn’t have broken out. Why? Budapest Memorandum. Russia was supposed to respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine. So Russia doesn’t need to adhere to treaties because they have more soldiers?
    2. If we’re talking about active soldiers, how about North Korea annexes just about everyone? They have about 7 million soldiers (soldiers, reservists and paramilitaries). So they can just say that everyone should bow to their will? So they can just say “We take the United States”? [1]

    Since I made these points over and over again that the votings for independence are not fair and equal, that Russia is violating international law, and they are attacking an independent country, I will stop here since we’re going round in circles.

    • Thief_of_Crows@lemmy.ml
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      8 months ago

      I mean, I believe the side not allied with a country known to rig elections and openly spread propaganda about their victims. Recently the US president claimed to have personally seen videos of Hamas beheading babies, which never existed. Russia spreads propaganda internally too, but historically only about internal affairs, not shit like claiming Venezuelas election was rigged in order to install a puppet.

      Obviously using larger army as a metric doesn’t make sense in the long term. It only works in spots where you’ve already committed to a war.

      Saying it wasn’t a legit election because Russian soldiers were there is stupid. That can just as easily be used as proof that it was legitimate. I’m sure Britain looked like the peaceful side during the US revolution as well, does that make France the bad guys in that war?

      • gian @lemmy.grys.it
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        8 months ago

        Recently the US president claimed to have personally seen videos of Hamas beheading babies, which never existed.

        Given that other people had seen them and people are now starting to speak about the horrors they witnessed (or have been subjected to), I would doubt it. But still, not the point.

        Saying it wasn’t a legit election because Russian soldiers were there is stupid. That can just as easily be used as proof that it was legitimate.

        Sure. Already asked: then what do you think is a rigged election ?

        • Thief_of_Crows@lemmy.ml
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          8 months ago

          A rigged election is when you disregard the outcome of the votes. Such as venezualas in 2018 (attempted). All agreed that the votes said Maduro won, but America claimed it was rigged, and thus their puppet actually won. Or if the things trump supporters claimed were actually true, that’s a rigged election.

          Nobody has ever disseminated the videos Biden claimed to have seen, or verified any of the IDFs claims. Other people claimed to have seen them, and people have claimed anything they can think of about Hamas. None of it has been verified. Believing anything the IDF says at this point is essentially malicious incompetence, nobody who has done research on the topic would actually believe the BS being spewed. Biden is either an idiot for believing it, or lying. I lean towards idiot in this case.

          • gian @lemmy.grys.it
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            8 months ago

            A rigged election is when you disregard the outcome of the votes. Such as venezualas in 2018 (attempted). All agreed that the votes said Maduro won, but America claimed it was rigged, and thus their puppet actually won. Or if the things trump supporters claimed were actually true, that’s a rigged election.

            Ok, that is one way that you can have a rigged election. Don’t you really think this is the only way, right ? Or are the North Korea ones not rigged ?

            Nobody has ever disseminated the videos Biden claimed to have seen, or verified any of the IDFs claims. Other people claimed to have seen them, and people have claimed anything they can think of about Hamas. None of it has been verified. Believing anything the IDF says at this point is essentially malicious incompetence, nobody who has done research on the topic would actually believe the BS being spewed. Biden is either an idiot for believing it, or lying. I lean towards idiot in this case.

            Aside the fact that we have multiple journalists around the world that had seen the video.
            Aside the fact that we have phone record of “eroic hamas warriors” telling his mom that “I killed 10 jews” and was played on the news. Aside the fact that we have photos of jews girl on the back of a van brutally beated (if not already dead) that were paraded, photos that were shown on the news.
            Aside the fact that we have what the hostages said to have seen (or have suffered) what happened.

            But hey, it is ok. After all if Hamas said that they don’t kill innocent people, who we are to doubt it ?

            One last point.
            I get what kind of person you are, it is useless to have a discussion with you. Let’s end here and now.

            • Thief_of_Crows@lemmy.ml
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              8 months ago

              I’m sure that one or two, or hell, maybe 1-200, of the 1000-1500 people Hamas has killed, were not IDF. However, literally every Israeli over the age of 15 is IDF, so that is itself pretty suspect. And maybe 1 or 2 were done so as horrifically as the IDF claims. All groups have horrible people in them in small numbers. But that has never been shown to be true. You’re simply taking people’s word for it. Basically nothing the IDF has ever said has been independently verified, while most of what Hamas has claimed has been. So yes, I believe the group that doesn’t lie, and not the one who does.

              I don’t know how NK rigs elections. How do we even know for sure they do? I mean I obviously don’t believe American media about it. Does Chinese or Russian media say they do? Or Al Jazeera? But assuming they do actually do it, what was your point about rigged elections again?

              • gian @lemmy.grys.it
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                8 months ago

                I’m sure that one or two, or hell, maybe 1-200, of the 1000-1500 people Hamas has killed, were not IDF. However, literally every Israeli over the age of 15 is IDF, so that is itself pretty suspect. And maybe 1 or 2 were done so as horrifically as the IDF claims.

                And even if this is true, what’s your point ? That it is right to kill them ?

                All groups have horrible people in them in small numbers.

                Yes. Unluckily I am old enough to remember all the supposed good people of Gaza celebrating on the streets the Twin Towers attack. And in these good people there were also woman and children. But ok, this is not on Google, so it does not happened.

                But that has never been shown to be true. You’re simply taking people’s word for it. Basically nothing the IDF has ever said has been independently verified, while most of what Hamas has claimed has been.

                True, like you are taking the word of Hamas for it.

                So yes, I believe the group that doesn’t lie, and not the one who does.

                They are pretty open about their strategy: “kill their civilians, hide behind out civilians so that when the IDF hit one we can cry to ask the world to made IDF to respect the Geneva convention, because most people are too stupid to even understand that we are sistematically violating what we ask the IDF to respect”.

                So yes, they don’t lie. They only don’t say all the truth, omitting just the part that make them look bad.

                I don’t know how NK rigs elections. How do we even know for sure they do? I mean I obviously don’t believe American media about it.

                The description of the North Korea elections comes from a NK official, so I suppose we can entrust it. Of course the person could have lied.

                Does Chinese or Russian media say they do? Or Al Jazeera? But assuming they do actually do it, what was your point about rigged elections again?

                No nation would ever admit to rig the election, don’t you think ?

                • Thief_of_Crows@lemmy.ml
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                  8 months ago

                  No, I mean does Russia, China, or Al Jazeera say that NK rigs their own elections. Or any country/paper that doesn’t stand to gain from lying about NK in the same direction as the US media stands to gain.

                  Yes, it is good to kill IDF soldiers. They are committing genocide. Hamas isn’t hiding behind civilians, they ARE civilians, who have been radicalized by the genocide. Also it’s literally impossible to position an army base somewhere in Gaza that is not next to civilian housing.

                  But to be clear, even if Hamas IS using human shields, it is still a crime against humanity to target that shield. Source on them systemically violating it though? I’m mostly interested to see if your source is blatant propaganda. Presumably "100 Gazans got in the way of our missiles last week, but they were actually all Hamas anyway due to living within a mile of a hospital “Military base” ".

                  IDF is the bad guys here, not sure how much clearer they have to make it. Even if they didn’t have a history of never telling the truth, they wouldn’t be trustworthy.

                  • gian @lemmy.grys.it
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                    8 months ago

                    No, I mean does Russia, China, or Al Jazeera say that NK rigs their own elections. Or any country/paper that doesn’t stand to gain from lying about NK in the same direction as the US media stands to gain.

                    Man, how the North Korea elections are done come from a North Korean Officier, not a West jounalist, and then every country that don’t rigs their own election said “well, maybe these elections are rigged, and if they are not rigged they are just a show” (then yes, the NK guy could have lied, but why ? )

                    Yes, it is good to kill IDF soldiers. They are committing genocide.

                    If IDF is committing a genocide, it is the worst carried out genocide in the history of humankind. The Gaza population grow from a little less that 1 million people in the 1950’s to the actual 5.5 millions.

                    Hamas isn’t hiding behind civilians, they ARE civilians, who have been radicalized by the genocide.

                    Then why they always refuse any kind of solution ? A two state solution was offered multiple times. Beside, Israel left Gaza in 2005, on October the 7th Gaza was free from any IDF occupation for 18 years.

                    But let me educate you a little more, before you will say what I know you will say: historically speaking is the Gaza population that need to be thankfull to be able to stay there, not the Jews. In fact the Jews where there way earlier is a way or another. The name Palestine were given to this area when the Roman Empire annexed the territory in 63 BCE and after the revolts of 66/70 CE. And the name was given as a dispregiative against the Jews.
                    End of today story lesson.

                    Also it’s literally impossible to position an army base somewhere in Gaza that is not next to civilian housing.

                    That is not a justification. Maybe it could be a reason to look for a peacefull solution, if only Hamas would care for their civilians.

                    But to be clear, even if Hamas IS using human shields, it is still a crime against humanity to target that shield.

                    True, but it is also a crime to use human shields. So, eventually, we are even. But wait, there is more. The Geneva convention clearly state that if you violate any of its articles then you loose any right to be tratead as dictated by the Geneva convention

                    Source on them systemically violating it though?

                    This war itself ? The fact that they don’t even try to evacuate the civilians ? The interview where the Hamas leader esplicitally said that they are using their civilians as cannon fodder to make the pressuse against Israel from the world to increase ?

                    I’m mostly interested to see if your source is blatant propaganda. Presumably "100 Gazans got in the way of our missiles last week, but they were actually all Hamas anyway due to living within a mile of a hospital “Military base” ".

                    Photos of missile systems on the roof of hospitals.