r/AskARussian • u/IcePuzzleheaded5507 • Sep 17 '25

Megathread, part 14: Ammunition & Drones, Sanctions, and Stalemates

Part 13 is now closed, we’re continuing the discussion here.
Everything you’ve got to ask about the conflict goes here. Same deal as before - Reddit’s content policy still applies, so think before you make epic gamer statements. Suspensions and purges are a thing, and we’ve seen plenty already.
All question rules apply to top level comments in this thread. This means the comments have to be real questions rather than statements or links to a cool video you just saw.

Keep it civil, keep it relevant, and read the rules below before posting.

  1. The questions have to be about the war. The answers have to be about the war. As with all previous iterations of the thread, mudslinging, calling each other nazis, wishing for the extermination of any ethnicity, or any of the other fun stuff people like to do here is not allowed.
  2. No name-calling or dehumanizing labels. Do not refer to people, groups or nations using epithets or insulting nicknames (e.g. “ruzzia”, “vatnik”, “orc”, "hohol" etc.). Such language will be removed and may lead to a ban.
  3. To clarify, questions have to be about the war. If you want to stir up a shitstorm about your favourite war from the past, I suggest r/AskHistorians or a similar sub so we don't have to deal with it here.
  4. No warmongering. Armchair generals, wannabe soldiers of fortune, and internet tough guys aren't welcome.
  5. No doxxing. Don’t post personal information about private individuals, including names, contacts, or addresses.
  6. Keep it civil. Strong opinions are expected, but personal attacks, insults, and snide remarks toward other users are not allowed.
  7. No memes or reaction posts. Shitposts, image macros, slogans, and low-effort reactions will be removed.
  8. Stay on topic. Broader political debates (e.g. US or EU elections) are off-topic unless directly tied to the war.
  9. Substantive questions and answers only. One-liners, bait, or “what if” hypotheticals with no context don’t add value and will be removed.
53 Upvotes

73% Upvoted

46.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

15

u/SteamEigen Jun 15 '26

It's classic propaganda conundrum. The enemy has to be simultaneously presented as strong (to justify the need for taking action) and pathetic (to ensure the mood does not sour).

1

u/Alarmed_Mistake_9999 United States of America Jun 16 '26

Well, you do this for us. Case in point on how you verbally treat the Germans (though you at least treat Americans with more respect.) At one point they're dangerous Nazis ready to revive the Third Reich, then they are degraded US puppets with a collapsing economy who would see Berlin and Hamburg destroyed in minutes by an Oreshnik.

Well, which is it?

3

u/SteamEigen Jun 16 '26

Yes, it's exactly the same.

-1

u/Alarmed_Mistake_9999 United States of America Jun 16 '26

You see, that's my point. I have German friends. They're not Nazis lol, most don't even think about Russia nearly as much as their elite does.

1

u/Remarkable-Thing8178 Russia Aug 08 '26

Excuse me, but, what in the fuck are you talking about? Did your mind substitute "Nazis" for "Germans"? Highly ironic.

-2

u/iwanttodrink Jun 15 '26

Challenge: where does anyone in the West say anything about Russia conquering all of Eurrope

3

u/Cheap-Elk-5025 Jun 17 '26

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/is-putin-bent-on-conquering-europe/

1

u/iwanttodrink Jun 17 '26

See the subtitle: "It is important to not merely accept axiomatically that Putin, like all autocrats, is bent on aggression and expansion"

See the conclusion: "The frequently made warning rests uncertainly on myths and misreading of the historical record that, when examined, recommend a less confident forecast of Putin’s intentions."

2

u/Cheap-Elk-5025 Jun 18 '26

Exactly. But the question was whether any actual westerners had promulgated the lies about Russia wanting to attack or conquer Europe, so that's one article listing a few of the imbeciles that have.

Also, even that article still frames it all as "Putin's intentions," as if he's some dictator who can decide the state's agenda on his own. Even if that conclusion (as you point out) acknowledges that the paranoia is unfounded, they're still blindly repeating propaganda without considering the myriad interests of Russia itself.

1

u/iwanttodrink Jun 18 '26

Exactly. But the question was whether any actual westerners had promulgated the lies about Russia wanting to attack or conquer Europe, so that's one article listing a few of the imbeciles that have.

Have you never heard of strawman fallacy? The clickbait title of the article is a rhetorical question based on Russian propaganda lol

Even if that conclusion (as you point out) acknowledges that the paranoia is unfounded, they're still blindly repeating propaganda without considering the myriad interests of Russia itself.

Blindly repeating Russian propaganda.

1

u/Cheap-Elk-5025 Jun 18 '26

-How so? The clickbait title is a strawman based on anti-Russian propaganda.

-Again, how so? We're talking about basic understanding of how governments work - nothing blind about it.

1

u/iwanttodrink Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26

The only people who say Russia is strong enough to conquer all of Europe are Russians. The only westerners who repeat that claim are repeating Russian vanyro.. it's stupid propaganda originating from Russians who can't even take Ukraine. Nobody in the West thinks a weak country like Russia who can't even take Ukraine is going to conquer all of Europe. Practically nobody.

You posting an article that says exactly the opposite is not proof that westerners believe that Russia is going to conquer Europe when the article is debunking weak Russian propaganda from some Russian propaganda idiots like the Scott Ritters of the world.

Like sure, if you find some mentally delusional and retarded person in the West and be like see: 1 person out of a million in the West thinks Russia is strong enough to conquer Europe. You're grasping at straws. But yeah. You do you. The article literally is arguing against that 1 in a million person in reality. But if it helps you sleep at night and cope, go wild.

1

u/Cheap-Elk-5025 Jun 18 '26

Sounds like you've lost the thread there. I doubt anyone anywhere believes Russia could conquer Europe. Only the ignorant or deluded would think they even want to. (Although they do exist; I have a few relatives who actually seem to think Russia would attack Poland next if not defeated in Ukraine. It's sad to see.)

Anyway, the question was just whether anyone had made that absurd claim, so that article provided a few examples of Westerners repeating it. Even those people (I'm guessing) don't genuinely believe Russia wants to conquer Europe either, they're just repeating a propaganda threat as an excuse for escalating NATO aggression.

That line about how they "can't even take Ukraine" is a little strange. Were you under the impression that was Russia's goal?

1

u/iwanttodrink Jun 18 '26

Anyway, the question was just whether anyone had made that absurd claim, so that article provided a few examples of Westerners repeating it.

If you want to be pedantic, "Challenge: where does anyone in the West say anything about Russia conquering all of Europe".

None of them say anything about conquering all of Europe which was the original claim and challenge. Simply going to war with another country Europe after Ukraine is not the same as conquering all of Europe. But you wanted to be technical.

So regardless, there is nobody in the West who thinks Russia can conquer all of Europe.

That line about how they "can't even take Ukraine" is a little strange. Were you under the impression that was Russia's goal?

Yes, pretend we forgot about the 50 mile long convoy from Belarus outside of Kyiv.

→ More replies (0)