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PaperclipPerfector  6d ago (text post)   23463 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of October 12, 2026

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You're confused because you're not living in reality.

The generally accepted number is that 75% of Ukraine's soldiers are conscripts, although we'll never know the exact number because it's a state secret.

Pork, I know Ukrainians, I have relatives fighting, and the poem "The beginnings" applies to all of them. I'm British but the force of the Ukrainian's fury would impress Kipling, and I would not want to be a Russian over the next few decades after their sowing of the wind.

As per reality, I can strongly predict reality based upon all of what I posted, for example the pro/anti war/Russia direction of Zelensky's future challenger. Would you make a prediction there?

The UK had a similar level of conscription in WW2, what does that prove? Did you think that after Coventry and London that we wanted peace? Gently, where is any of what you are saying coming from other than vibes?

Trust me bro!

Polling suggests otherwise

The most recent data does show Ukrainians have largely given up on outright military victory and want a negotiated end, but they overwhelmingly reject terms that amount to capitulation. The dominant position is a third option: freeze the war on roughly the current line, without legally giving up territory or disarming, still fighting. All of those require fighting Russia to a standstill, and are based on the assumption that is the correct thing for Ukraine. I am perfectly aware of the polls, they match my descriptions above, and Zelensky's challengers are attacking him from that position, there is no popular capitulation position. What's your "trust me bro" information I'm missing?

You claimed to have special insight. I was being perhaps too snarky.

In any event, freezing the lines today means de facto you are giving up territory as opposed to de jure. That is, it would be capitulation.

Fair, but I feel you've missed the important detail that lots of the polling holds implicit but might not be obvious - Ukrainians who want a negotiated end to the war/freezing along current lines are supporting ongoing fighting until that is achieved by definition, the option in the poll for taking Russia's current offer is defined as "capitulation".

It's maybe a subtle point, but hugely important, in a sense you're right, it's capitulation to outsiders as they would end up with less territory, but it's also fighting until Russia is forced to accept the Ukrainian red lines, security agreements or whatever ends up in there. It's a very important distinction to the population and why many are fighting so hard - to give the best chance that this is an end to the war, not a temporary pause.

The dominant position is a third option: freeze the war on roughly the current line, without legally giving up territory or disarming.

So basically, it cost a few million lives for Russia to annex the part of Ukraine [that observably were unconcerned with who governed them] just because some old decrepit dulce-bag halfway across the country couldn't fucking let it go.

The complete and utter lack of unionist-on-separatist violence in the areas currently occupied isn't helping my assessment; lots of rooftops, lots of angles, lots of opportunity for novel autonomous weapons systems placed in book suppositories. They had nearly a decade and not once did "devise a way for a Kiev-friendly operative to deniably deliver an explosive device straight up a separatist's ass, or buy that from a sympathetic nation" cross their minds? Kind of painting a picture there- they're not a serious country either, but at least they'll have fun playing with the West's cool toys that we were just about to send to the boneyard.

Who knew that World War III was mostly going to be a non-nuclear redux of trench warfare, just with loitering mortar shells? I sure didn't have that on my jingo bingo card.

Weaponized book suppositories? Is that a manifestation of Freudian anal-explosive fixation?

Where do you get that number from? I have never heard it before.

Ukrainian National News

https://unn.ua/en/news/the-ratio-of-volunteers-to-mobilized-servicemen-in-the-army-is-13-defense-ministry

Thanks! While 2 years old, it is definitely food for thought.

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