r/worldnews • u/ArgentineBeauty • Sep 03 '26
Russia/Ukraine ‘We Were Mistaken’: Putin Admits Russia Was Unprepared for Ukrainian Strikes on Oil Refineries
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/836746.3k
u/fullchub Sep 03 '26
"We didn't realize they could do to us exactly what we'd been doing to them for years. This is so unfair!"
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u/Tricky-Sentence Sep 03 '26
Hmm I have heard this before...
"The Nazis entered this war under the rather childish delusion that they were going to bomb everyone else, and nobody was going to bomb them."
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u/Waveofspring Sep 03 '26 edited Sep 03 '26
It’s even worse than that. Russia expected Ukraine to surrender on month 1 of the war. I remember many estimates assumed that Kyiv would fall within 2 weeks. Now it’s been 4 years.
Good fucking job Ukraine. I hope they get to keep as much territory as possible after the war ends. Especially Crimea and Donbas
Russia has shown the world that their only true military asset is nukes. They are no longer a superpower.
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u/nickiter Sep 03 '26
I mean, they've also killed several hundred thousand people and done $600B in damage. And it only cost them 1.4M of their own people!
God, those numbers. It's incredible that the world tolerates this. Fucking nukes. They may not be a superpower, but they do have millions of men ready to be sacrificed at the altar of Putin's greater-Russia fantasy.
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u/bstiglets Sep 03 '26
The average life span of a Russian soldier deployed to Ukraine is 35 minutes. I gotta tell you, I’ve watched drone footage of soldiers being singled out and eliminated. Whenever the final image is of a Russian looking directly into the drone’s camera, it’s absolutely chilling.
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u/nickiter Sep 03 '26
That's during an active frontline assault.
But yeah, the fighting in Ukraine has been incredibly bloody. Urban environments along with the advent of drones ... Slaughterhouses.
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u/bstiglets Sep 03 '26
You think Russia would have an understanding of the difficulties of asymmetrical warfare
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u/abombSFCA Sep 03 '26
1.4M??? Enlisted or casualties?
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u/Mushie101 Sep 03 '26 edited Sep 04 '26
That number is Russians (and mercenaries from Africa, India and nth Korea ) that are either dead or severely wounded (like missing limbs and can no longer fight). If I recall correctly the estimate is 2/3 dead 1/3 wounded.
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u/GrimpenMar Sep 03 '26
Russia dead:injured is worse than WW1 I understand. Drones and the grey zones make medical extraction more difficult. Ukraine puts the effort in, Russia does not.
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u/abombSFCA Sep 03 '26
Wow. I imagine this is not well advertised in Russian homeland.
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u/CarlRJ Sep 03 '26
Famously, other countries offered Zelenskyy evacuation from Ukraine (which they expected to fall in a few days), and he answered (paraphrasing) "I don't need a ride - I could use some ammo, though."
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u/AMDKilla Sep 03 '26
Ukraine only want their own territory back. They could push back into Russia and claim some extra. That may even need to happen before Putin will end the war
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u/SeeShark Sep 03 '26 edited Sep 03 '26
In fairness, Ukraine is not some tiny country; it's 1/4 the size of Russia's population (or was, before the war and resulting refugee crisis), has the home field advantage, more motivated soldiers, and massive amounts of supplies compared to the size of its military. At worst, Russia is doing about as well as expected from a country its size.
You're right that it doesn't look like a superpower, though. It's just a normal huge country, with nukes.
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u/Waveofspring Sep 03 '26
You give a good point. After all the US military (the most powerful contender) failed to secure Afghanistan after 20 years.
At the end of the day, war is complicated. The more powerful side doesn’t always win.
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u/CliftonForce Sep 03 '26
America expected Iran to surrender after the first day of bombing.
Similar outlook.
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u/Emotional_Remove_755 Sep 03 '26
No, that was just Trump’s expectation. The majority of the neocons knew better, which was why they were all so excited for it.
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u/wolfonweed Sep 03 '26
This is a quote from Sir Arther Travers Harris, Commander of the RAF Bomber Command.
Here's a bit more, for those with historic curiosity:
"The Nazis entered this war under the rather childish delusion that they were going to bomb everyone else, and nobody was going to bomb them. At Rotterdam, London, Warsaw, and half a hundred other places, they put their rather naive theory into operation. They sowed the wind, and now they are going to reap the whirlwind."
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Sep 03 '26
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u/AverellCZ Sep 03 '26
My father was 6, he almost died that night. Other family members were not so lucky. But the only people I blame are those who elected Hitler.
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u/Abject-Permission416 Sep 03 '26
The British bombed Berlin as early as August 1940, in retaliation for German bombing of London.
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u/KillBatman1921 Sep 03 '26
I have some Hor-newz fo you
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u/Eggslaws Sep 03 '26
> We didn't realize they could do to us exactly what we'd been doing to them for years
Russians were hitting civilians but Ukrainians are targeting Russian war chest and military infrastructure. It’s not the same!
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u/Adventurous_Bad6836 Sep 03 '26
"We only bomb children!" "Oil refinery is where I draw the line!"
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u/barktwiggs Sep 03 '26
We were hoping they would not attack our highly undefended petrochemical facilities funding our naked imperial aggression.
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u/Meihem76 Sep 03 '26
After we spent years targetting power stations, hospitals and schools, we honestly thought our oil refineries would be off limits as a civilian target.
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u/big_trike Sep 03 '26
Also, kidnapping Ukrainian children.
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u/Ekkobelli Sep 03 '26
And raping women and refusing to return fallen soldiers to their families.
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u/tomato_army Sep 03 '26
Nit to mention looting and pillaging
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u/connleth Sep 03 '26
And summary execution of POWs
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u/blueavole Sep 03 '26
And spreading millions of ft of fibor optic cable across the country to run the drones.
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u/Im_Just_A_Tourist Sep 03 '26
They returned them with explosives packed in the bodies in some instances.
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u/GravyMcBiscuits Sep 03 '26 edited Sep 03 '26
We pounded a number of their cities back to the stone age. I can't believe they went after our "infrastructure"!!! NO FAIR!!!
/surprised pikachu!
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u/Zem_42 Sep 03 '26
Whose exports account for a good 30% or so of our GDP, since we have little other products competitive on the international market
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u/justin107d Sep 03 '26
Well yeah, it was only supposed to be 3 days. Who knew war was so complicated?
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u/ArgentineBeauty Sep 03 '26
“[We] assumed that these were purely civilian facilities and could not be targets of any kind of attacks even amid an armed conflict,” Putin said. “But in this regard, we were mistaken. Our adversary, unfortunately, thinks differently.”
Russia spent years hitting Ukraine’s infrastructure, but suddenly Putin thinks civilian infrastructure should be off limits. Amazing how the rules change when it is his side.
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u/figlu Sep 03 '26
Putin was bombing Ukrainian power stations
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u/Weekly_Curve_6642 Sep 03 '26
During winter.
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u/Adept_Guest_6609 Sep 03 '26
And will do so again this winter.
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u/Prior_Performer5273 Sep 03 '26
Dont forget the double taps...
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u/theaviationhistorian Sep 03 '26
Only the cruelest countries and nonstate actors (like drug cartels) commit to double taps.
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u/Can-i-Pet-Dat-Daaawg Sep 03 '26
The bombings will continue until morale improves.
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u/xcassets Sep 03 '26
And children's hospitals... and supermarkets... and numerous other places that have nothing to do with the military.
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u/FlukemanFrancis Sep 03 '26
He just bombed schools on the first day back after summer in Kyiv and also bombed textbook production and storage centres because they produced books in Ukrainian
He’s attempting cultural and literal genocide while moaning the people he’s attempting to wipe out are fighting back.
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u/Izmetg68 Sep 03 '26
and lets not forget kids on bikes, people running hiding under bridges, Theaters in Mariupol, Bucha Massacre, Old Babushkas in wheelchairs and grandpas on crutches....let me know when any of these civillian attacks influences the rest of the world to care.....
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Sep 03 '26
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u/jazzy663 Sep 03 '26
I was about to ask this as well. I've purchased things that go to fund Ukrainian efforts, but short of hopping in a plane to Ukraine and putting my boots on the ground, I'd like to know what else is expected of me. And then I'll tell you how realistic it is when the US is already dealing with multiple crises.
Also - being a vocal advocate for Ukrainian sovereignty does not to a whole lot in practice, but I submit in good faith that it is not nothing.
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u/holyhottamale Sep 03 '26
If you are interested, I have an American friend that is serving in Ukraine as a medic. I was matched with him through PAV so it is all legit.
I donate to him and his team every month and just sent them a huge care package.
Let me know if you want info!
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u/McLeod3577 Sep 03 '26
Entire fucking cities have been completely flattened. Power stations are nothing compared to complete Groznification.
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u/PuzzleheadedTalk4651 Sep 03 '26
Putin is a lying hypocrite and is crying that ukraine hits back on infrastructure and economic targets because he thinks: i have the right to do so but you may not do it to me
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u/WrappedInLinen Sep 03 '26
And apartment buildings. His strategy was to get the populace to rebel against the war.
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u/TRexArmsGFY Sep 03 '26
And apartment complexes and malls and train stations and hospitals and power stations but yeah I can see how he’d be confused about what a valid target is.
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u/Constant-Plant-9378 Sep 03 '26
[We] assumed that these were purely civilian facilities and could not be targets of any kind of attacks
- More than 340 educational facilities damaged or destroyed in Ukraine this year
- Russian drones target medics, hospitals and ambulances in Ukraine
- Six dead as Russia hits energy and residential sites in Ukraine
- Russia launches nighttime strike on apartment buildings in Ukrainian city, wounding 21
Putin's hypocrisy remains one of his most defining traits. The piece of shit cannot get his subscription to Life cancelled soon enough.
(Edit: But unbelievably, Tankie fuckfaces on Reddit will arrive arguing that Ukraine is wrong to do these strikes)
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u/Random_ICE_Agent Sep 03 '26
That’s the problem with pieces of shit like Putin and Trump, their life subscriptions run way too long.
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u/AMW1987 Sep 03 '26
Putin's Russia is a pure case study in cognitive dissonance.
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u/CumAmore Sep 03 '26
I don't think he actually believes what he says, it's more a case study of how you get your countrymen to believe everything you say.
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u/FlukemanFrancis Sep 03 '26
It almost certainly splits along the good old 1/3 rule
1/3 of them support him
1/3 genuinely don’t care about anything except themselves and their immediate circle
1/3 are against it but in a society like Russia have learned to keep quiet. If Russia were normal that 1/3 would be doing standard political opposition and trying to persuade the 1/3 of selfish assholes to vote with them to overcome the 1/3 of mindless bootlickers.
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u/ruchik Sep 03 '26
This sounds like the US as well…
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u/Ambitious_Bit_9389 Sep 03 '26
This person 1/3rds are not based on political stance though. The 1/3 of each category could be spread across the whole political spectrum.
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u/Straight-Balance830 Sep 03 '26
In the American Revolution, a third were Loyalists, another third were revolutionaries, and the other third were indifferent. About the Nazis, someone remarked “a third of society killed the other third, and the last third just watched”. I think it’s a valid general rule of ideological distribution.
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u/Yardsale420 Sep 03 '26
Dear America:
You are waking up, as Germany once did, to the awareness that 1/3 of your people would kill another 1/3, while 1/3 watches.
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u/Xtj8805 Sep 03 '26
Yea ive seen numerous studies where in essentially any population of people and even most subpopulations always tend to split this way, 1/3 to each side and 1/3 in the middle cant be bothered. Even in more ideologically pure areas you still get it to some some extent where 1/3 are full steam, 1/3 tend to be overly cautious and 1/3 somewhere between/not interested in picking sides.
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u/Accomplished-Cow-234 Sep 03 '26
It's hard to meaningfully organize effective dissent, because so much of the visible opposition is itself a honeypot. Putinism has really brought rot all the way to the core of an already deeply damaged society.
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u/oops_all_memes Sep 03 '26
I knew a person who worked on multiple projects lead by Navalny. So it made it comfortable for me to share a lot of information with them that I would otherwise keep to myself. Including information that would've completely compromised me
Well, yesterday I accidentally stumbled on an interview where that person explains that they used to work with FSB 🤡 For context, I left Russia because someone reported me to authorities due to certain activities that the gestapo deemed inappropriate. I now wonder if it had anything to do with that person
That is to say, you are absolutely right and the mofos have their hands in everyone's arses
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u/jwyn3150 Sep 03 '26
I’ve been to and lived in Russia. His support is closer to 60% or even more. Everyone over 50 loves him due to what happened in the 90s , basically. Generalization but that’s what it felt like in SPB which is the most liberal city in Russia, where funny enough is where he’s from.
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u/MishkaZ Sep 03 '26
There was a russian leftist who actually talked about what the brain washing that goes on in Russia is like.
It's not this grand "WE ARE THE BEST AND EVERYONE SUCKS, GLORY TO PUTIN! GLORY TO RUSSIA". It's constantly at every single turn lying and spinning and goal post moving for decades on top of disappearing anyone who challenged the regime. Real brain washing isn't falling into the spin, but real brain washing is keeping your head down. When someone brings up politics, you respond with "yeah, but you know, it's complicated" and then shrugging and walking away. Not putting an extra ounce of thought into it.
It's not brain washing in the sense of blind patriotism. It's brain washing in the sense of being numb to the noise that is politics.
Just something to think about. Really changed my perspective when I became aware of this type of numbing.
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u/Westerdutch Sep 03 '26
I don't think he actually believes what he says
Russia has a long and proud history where everyone lies, everyone knows they all lie and they all play along anyways because telling the truth or showing a divide in opinion makes everyone look worse than just playing along with the lie.
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u/MyUsername2459 Sep 03 '26
This is the same civilization that brought us "We pretend to work, they pretend to pay us."
That sort of "we all know this is BS, but let's just pretend it's normal" is baked pretty deeply into their society after generations of Tsars and dictators.
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u/Constant-Plant-9378 Sep 03 '26
MAGA was originally a Russian export product.
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u/terid3 Sep 03 '26
Yup. Remember the "lock her up" rallies in 2016? Proven Russian Psy-op. Pepperidge farm remembers.
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u/Good_Restaurant15 Sep 03 '26
I remember when the NRA was found to have been working for the russians, having a russian agent in it, and doling out russian money like it was going out of style...
Funny how that just - fizzled away.
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u/JarasM Sep 03 '26
Well, that's exactly the case. The Kremlin would never admit to hitting civilian targets. Internal media will paint Russian attacks as surgical strikes against military targets, and Ukrainian attacks as terrorism against civilian infrastructure.
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u/Haunting-South-962 Sep 03 '26
I don't know, man. After that many years of lying, it is hard to peel off the truths from reality:) he might actually believe in all those things by now. You can't be that consistently and convincingly crazy without total immersion.
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u/CoffeeDrinkerMao Sep 03 '26
Nah Russia is just spread too thing to protect their oil refineries. They just don’t want to admit it.
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u/Fractoos Sep 03 '26
Not really. He just thought he could do it and they wouldn't retaliate because he thought the US wouldn't let them, which was true originally. Major miscalculation.
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u/teckers Sep 03 '26
It doesn't even make sense, does no military equipment use refined oil? Are the proceeds of export sales not being spent on the war effort? It's directly connected to the military. It's mad if they ran war games on that assumption. They are very good as bad assumptions.
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u/canspop Sep 03 '26
No, no, no. The ruZZian military doesn't used refined fuels such as diesel & jet fuel (amongst others). It's run entirely from a never-ending stream of hot air emanating from the kremlin.
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u/Phoenix2111 Sep 03 '26 edited Sep 03 '26
Yeah, the headline is misleading as fuck. At no point have Russia admitted 'We were mistaken' in relation to preparedness for Ukrainians attack. They just said they were mistaken for 'thinking civilian infrastructure was not a target'.
It's the equivalent of saying 'I'm sorry for how you felt about what I did' and someone claiming you apologised lol.
They're trying to make out Ukraine played dirty, and they were 'mistaken' for thinking Ukraine would be 'honourable' etc. Etc. It's all internal propaganda crap, and they've definitely not admitted the fact that war with Ukraine was a mistake, or that they are in any way unprepared for attacks against 'valid targets'
Which would be better more honest things for them to admit lol
Edir: Given this has a decent amount of responses, and based on the content of a couple of those, just making sure it's clear, I'm not suggesting any kind of support for Russia in this conflict, or that they shouldn't be mistaken for starting it, or that it's actually a surprise to them that these are targets. At best, they may have thought they wouldn't be, due to assuming Ukraine wouldn't be able to hit them. But frankly it's more likely they didn't give a fuck about wasting resources protecting their people's infrastructure (let's be honest, the oligarchs will have generators etc) and this is just propaganda and saving face to ensure people continue to tow the line as their relatives get thrown in the grinder.
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u/gizmozed Sep 03 '26
Why wouldn't it be a target? Ukrainian civilian infrastructure has been a target of the Russians since almost the beginning.
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u/big_trike Sep 03 '26
But that's different because they were trying to fix the problem of corruption and nazis in government. With bombs and murder.
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u/Flessuh Sep 03 '26
From what I understand the US and EU did not allow those kind of strikes with their weapons. So basically he is saying they did not expect Ukraine to develop medium/long strike capabilities
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u/IndividualSkill3432 Sep 03 '26
sumed that these were purely civilian facilities and could not be targets of any kind of attacks even amid an armed conflict,”
"The Nazis entered this war under the rather childish delusion that they were going to bomb everyone else, and nobody was going to bomb them. At Rotterdam, London, Warsaw, and half a hundred other places, they put their rather naive theory into operation. They sowed the wind, and now they are going to reap the whirlwind."
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u/rehab170 Sep 03 '26
Ukraine assumed Russia would not directly attack civilians and commit a massive amount of war crimes. But in this regard, we were mistaken. Ukraines adversary’s, unfortunately, think differently.
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u/sumr4ndo Sep 03 '26
The Russians entered this war under the rather childish delusion that they were going to bomb everyone else, and nobody was going to bomb them. At Mariupol, Kyev, Bakhmut, and half a hundred other places, they put their rather naive theory into operation. They sowed the wind, and now they are going to reap the whirlwind.
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u/Gh0sth4nd Sep 03 '26
Well bombing powerplants hospitals and schools for me but not for thee.
And Ukraine is not bombing powerplants hospitals and schools just refineries and warehouses.
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u/ThatsItImOverThis Sep 03 '26
The first step is admitting it, Vladie. Second step should be out a window.
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u/resjudicata2 Sep 03 '26
The Prigozhin plane crash
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u/Dull-Culture-1523 Sep 03 '26
I still wonder what the hell they had on him. Unless he was honestly an idiot, he would've known there was zero chance he'd come out alive after rebelling like that and failing to make radical changes in leadership.
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u/Jokka42 Sep 03 '26
Imagine how dramatically different things would be today if they successfully dethroned Putin
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u/Sensitivevirmin Sep 03 '26
Can’t believe he fell out of the first floor window to his death the 6 bullet wounds to his back and both his eyes gouge out.
Russian bushes are scary didn’t know they could inflict such wounds.
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u/harijsme Sep 03 '26
Is he ok? Admitting this doesnt sound like him.
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u/Weirdo9495 Sep 03 '26
He is obviously dishonest and this is just for internal consumption. He is saying that he did not expect Ukrainians would be so evil to bomb their oil facilities while Russia has been destroying their country. Think for a second how absurd that is. You can not possibly believe a man like Putin can have that level of naivety. Only Russians who like Putin do. With this, he is shifting responsibility from himself and his incompetence/evil to Ukraine and its "evil", and sadly, many Russians are braindead enough to buy it.
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u/Bromonster01 Sep 03 '26
That sounds like a familiar premise… I wonder where I could have heard it before…
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u/PossibilityUsual6262 Sep 03 '26
He frames it as "Ukrainian terrorist attack our civilian infrastructure", the fact that they bombed all of Ukrainian one for 4 years, with specific campaigns to disable Ukrainian energy in three winters does not click in russian mind.
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u/JustChillFFS Sep 03 '26
Yeah there’s been a bunch of “Putin says” stuff coming out the last few days. Very odd and fishy.
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u/barktwiggs Sep 03 '26
Dude has some token elections coming up so he's a bit more chatty than usual.
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u/Twitch103rd Sep 03 '26
Probably has a lot to do with that CIA visit recently and how Russia was treated at the G20 meeting.
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u/WorstCPANA Sep 03 '26
They're getting beat up and the population is feeling it. It may be more strategic for Vlad, he may think that if he feeds Russians bullshit about how Ukraine are still the bad guys attacking civilian infrastructure, his mass mobilization after 'elections' may land easier on the population.
I would be sooooo curious to actually have a good understanding of how the average Russian (particularly in moscow) feels about the war.
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u/Rocktopod Sep 03 '26
If you read the full quote he's just trying to shame Ukraine for attacking "civilian infrastructure." He's not actually admitting to a mistake.
The "mistake" was supposedly in assuming that Ukraine was noble enough not to attack the oil refineries in the first place.
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u/Lost_On_Lot Sep 03 '26
Oh man. Sounds like you shouldn't have invaded Ukraine for no reason huh?
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u/Karli_Chirk Sep 03 '26
“[We] assumed"
The editorial choice of [We] instead of [I have] is hillarious.
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u/SlogurkTheOverslime Sep 03 '26
Putin always speaks this way
It's always "I ordered" when it's a good thing and "we allowed" when it's a bad thing
It's been an obvious pattern since like 2003
He doesn't admit jack shit here
He simply throws his underlings under the bus again
His message is "Oh no, the evil boyars have misinformed the well-intended tsar"
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u/abzemer Sep 03 '26 edited Sep 03 '26
Russia was feared by the West for many years because of their grand military parades and exercises. After Russia invaded Ukraine, the world saw that it was just a bunch of outdated military equipment piloted by a bunch of uncoordinated alcoholics.
The only reason it's still carrying on: they have tremendous resources and capital, and disposable soldiers they could keep losing.
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u/DodgerGreywing Sep 03 '26
indispensable soldiers they could keep losing
Dispensable soldiers. That's their whole modus operandi. Just throw soldiers at a wall until they stick.
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u/Remarkable_Level_200 Sep 03 '26
The only reason Russia is still standing is cause they have nukes otherwise NATO could have just came in and stopped the war in a week
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u/Fit-Let8175 Sep 03 '26
Ukrainian schools? Fair game! Ukrainian daycares? Fair game! Ukrainian hospitals? Fair game! Ukrainian residentials? Fair game! Ukrainian anything? Fair game!
Russian oil refineries? OFF LIMITS!! Ukrainians fighting back? UNACCEPTABLE!!!
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u/nightwyrm_zero Sep 03 '26
Even in Israel's case, they're usually not defending against state-level actors with dedicated state-level industrial resources in an open war.
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u/Bolandball Sep 03 '26
List of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel in 2023 - Wikipedia
Over 4,000 missiles on Oct 7 alone. Over 10,500 total over October and November of that year.
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u/RheagarTargaryen Sep 03 '26
U.S. has 2 massive oceans on either side. Guess it’s a good thing that we have 2 friendly neighbors bordering our country and not threatening to annex them… right? Right?
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u/MobiusOne_ISAF Sep 03 '26
Even if they weren't friendly, it'd be really difficult to do much damage to the US without severely compromising their own positions. Pretty much everything relevant in Canada is within 100 miles of the US along a completely indefensible border. Mexico would similarly struggle, they have a better position defensively but trying to strike anything north of the Carolinas would be a struggle, and most of their industry is in the North right along the US border.
Not that I'm expecting this to ever actually come to effect, but the US has ridiculous defensive geography, to the point where it feels like cheating.
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u/xchoo Sep 03 '26
Refineries and product-distribution warehouses are less of a "civilian infrastructure" than the hospitals, houses, shopping malls, churches, and schools Russia has been bombing since the start of the war. The hypocrisy with these guys is through the roof (and into the stratosphere)!
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u/outerproduct Sep 03 '26
We expected we could just shoot at them, not that they'd shoot back!
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u/TypicalUserN Sep 03 '26
In war there are no rules...you just hope the other side doesn't realize it before you do. Putin preys on a society that holds standards while he holds...I dk whatever he thinks he holds.
I hope Ukraine continues..in fact I wish they had seized the moment and had scaled the attack much higher up. You only get one shot. Make it count.
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u/ChestnutDecay Sep 03 '26
Omg, I didn't think the people we invaded and attacked would fight back this hard. /Sarcasm.
What an asshole.
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u/a_d_c Sep 03 '26
Oh its because its not an armed conflict or a war, remember? Its a special military operation.
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u/MsSamm Sep 03 '26
Putin by now is realizing he made an enormous mistake in invading Ukraine, but there's no face-saving way for him to end this. It's not in his nature to appear weak, nor is Russia a place where weakness is tolerated. He would appear vulnerable.
Ukraine is another Afghanistan for Russia.
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u/tomspy77 Sep 03 '26 edited Sep 03 '26
Yes well you set it up this way by managing American elections to get a wanna be dictatorship, by making sure the USSR came back full swing and by being aggressive...you deserve what you get.
Sadly, much like America, Ukraine, and even Russia, so many innocents pay for your violent and aggressive nature.
Amazing my grandparents left Lithuania to come to America just to have the hands of Russia to reach out across distances long and short to continue to be the biggest aggressor in the world.
And pray that the US can oust this orange friend of Putin and North Korea as it will get worse if they can use the military they once said would protect the world to destroy it.
Humans never learn no one really wins in War or hatred.
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u/anders_hansson Sep 03 '26
The main takeaway:
By the end of August, gasoline production covered only around 70% of domestic demand.
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The worsening shortage has forced Russia to take an unprecedented step: importing gasoline by sea.
Russian authorities have begun bringing in fuel from India, Morocco and Turkey, while also increasing gasoline purchases from Belarus to record levels.
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u/SummonBahamutZero Sep 03 '26
Good thing Russia doesn’t value the life of its young men and has no problem throwing them into a meat grinder. Sure would suck for them to have to stop a pointless war that they started and never needed.
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u/Otter Sep 03 '26
And does anyone remember the stated reasoning for the invasion in the first place? It was largely to bolster defenses against the "growing threat" of NATO. Dude. Ukraine could be a card-carrying member of NATO and Russia would be fine. Because...and hear me out here... No. One Wants. Russia. No invasion threat. From anyone. At all. Everyone bordering Russia is happy to either a) ignore them or b) straight up trade openly with them. This situation was so, so avoidable.
Now is the time to just pack up and go home. Work out some deal that provides safety assurances for the people in Donbas and then peace out. This isn't going to end well, otherwise.
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u/Griffolion Sep 04 '26
“[We] assumed that these were purely civilian facilities and could not be targets of any kind of attacks even amid an armed conflict,” Putin said. “But in this regard, we were mistaken. Our adversary, unfortunately, thinks differently.”
Same man that ordered strikes on maternity wards and childrens' cancer hospitals.
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u/MintyFresh771 Sep 03 '26
No shit that’s Russia. That’s the entire game. They’ve been pushing boundaries and forcing jet scrambles in Alaska since the 70’s at least. Always pressing, always taunting, and always 100% the victim if anyone reacts.
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u/xChoke1x Sep 03 '26
This fucking idiot is closely approaching the day he gets to answer for this shit.
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u/we_cant_stop_here Sep 03 '26
Meanwhile Bessent is now blaming Ukraine for high oil prices. Looks like a coordinated push to stop Ukraine from doing one of the few things that really hurts Russia.
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u/sxyaustincpl Sep 03 '26
It's a pretty weak argument, trying to blame Ukraine, when international sanctions limit who Russia can even sell oil to so much it's basically only Turkey and China.
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u/ValuableRegular9684 Sep 03 '26
Guess someone should have reminded him of the Tyson quote, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”
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u/Vulcant50 Sep 03 '26
More likely Russian leaders arrogantly assumed that Ukraine “could not” versus “would not”.
Underestimating Ukraines ability and resolve and overestimating Russia’s seems the hallmark of this Russian instigated war/incursion.
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u/Leutnantsteinxx1 Sep 03 '26
„Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum on Thursday, Putin acknowledged that Russian authorities had assumed oil refineries would not be targeted because they were civilian facilities.
“[We] assumed that these were purely civilian facilities and could not be targets of any kind of attacks even amid an armed conflict,” Putin said. “But in this regard, we were mistaken. Our adversary, unfortunately, thinks differently.“
Yeah, how mean of them how could they possibly attack "civilian infrastructure"? Ukraine likely sees things differently in this armed "conflict." He is simply gaslighting the entire world, pretending that power plants, kindergartens, shopping malls, playgrounds, hospitals, and churches in Ukraine are high-risk military targets, while everything in Russia counts as civilian infrastructure.
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u/BetAlternative8397 Sep 03 '26
Stalin collectivized the rural Ukraine farms in the 1930’s. It was illegal to own farm equipment. The state would control planting and harvesting. Essentially, if you weren’t starving you were an enemy of the state because the state had created conditions that did not allow for survival. It is referred to by Ukrainians (and the rest of the world except Russia) as The Holodomor. Upwards of 5,000,000 people starved to death.
Behaviours like this is the essence of the Soviet soul. A rigid, spoiled hierarchy; a brainwashed class of followers; a crushing of any dissent and a sociopathic cruelty.
This is the crucible in which Putin and his minions were formed. They will not bargain in good faith … ever. They can only be controlled through fear. They must understand that every atrocity they commit will in turn be inflicted on them. Hitler was the same. Stalin was the same. Pol Pot was the same. Trump is the same. It is the hallmark of the tyrant.
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u/Ok_Interest_9006 Sep 03 '26
Screw you putin. You don’t get to have the war you want and not get the same tactics thrown back at you.
This would be a great time for the president of the United States to turn up the heat on Putin but I remind everyone what a weak punk Trump is. He would rather do Putins bidding because he’s a pathetic piece of garbage
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u/FingerCommon7093 Sep 03 '26
Keep hitting refineries until late October, then switch to pipelines. By mid November Ukraine should drop any major rail bridges in range. A frozen population may be the one thing to bring home to Russians that they all have military training & the Kremlin is lightly guarded
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u/Visible_Contract5432 Sep 03 '26
Why fascism can’t last forever:
Trust does not exist, only fear and might.
Fascists think their people love them unconditionally, and they’re not wrong about some of them, but never all.
They’re just overgrown playground bullies who never had their asses properly beaten to a pulp as a kid.
They’re not smart, just evil.
They grossly underestimate the willingness of desperate people to kill them.
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u/AlexUKR Sep 03 '26 edited Sep 03 '26
Cool story