Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

The words do not have to be perfect.

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

No one could have predicted…

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

Take your GOP plan out of the witness protection program.

The GOP is a fucking disgrace.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Republicans in disarray!

I really should read my own blog.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / War for Ukraine Day 358: Another Day Another Admission of a War Crime

War for Ukraine Day 358: Another Day Another Admission of a War Crime

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(Image by NEIVANMADE)

Last night we covered the new Yale Human Rights Lab report on how the Russians have stolen more than 6,000 Ukrainian children, which was published two days ago. Two days later…

Here’s President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript below:

Dear organizers, participants,

friend of Ukraine Sean,

and guests of the 73rd Berlin Film Festival!

Ladies and Gentlemen!

In preparing for this address, I remembered a phrase that you are all well familiar with. “Break the fourth wall.”

An imaginary border between the one who is on the screen and a viewer.

At the same time, cinema is able to overcome other walls and barriers existing in the world. Both real and ideological.

It is enough to mention the story of the great German director Wim Wenders. In my opinion, in a certain sense of the word, he broke the Berlin Wall two years before its actual fall. In the outstanding film Der Himmel über Berlin, where the divided city is united by Angels flying freely over the wall. At that time, Wenders could not even imagine that one day, in basically the same place, he would open the 50th Berlinale.

Where once there was a wall and emptiness – now life is booming and the heart of the Berlinale beats.

And it seems very symbolic to me. For many years, Potsdam Square was “cut through” by the Berlin Wall. Formally, it divided West and East Berlin. It divided the free world and the totalitarian one. And it is not only about state borders on the map.

The wall divided different worldviews, philosophies, different values. Today, Russia wants to build the same wall in Ukraine. A wall between us and Europe.  To separate Ukraine from its own choice and its own future. A wall between freedom and slavery. Between the right to life and missile attacks. Between progress  and the ruins that Russia leaves behind. A wall between civilization and tyranny.

A logical question comes up:

On which side should culture and art be? Are they still out of politics?

Russia has been waging a full-scale war against us for almost a year. For almost a year it has been shelling and destroying peaceful cities, for almost a year it has been killing people, killing women and children, threatening the world with a nuclear attack, provoking food, energy, environmental, migration and other crises on all continents. Can art be outside of politics? Should cinema be out of politics?

This is an eternal question, but today it is again extremely relevant.

I think about it when I hear strange calls for representatives of Russian sports, read about strange invitations to perform for Russian musicians, discussions about scientists, cinema, and culture in general. I was thinking about this… last night when Russia launched yet another massive missile attack on Ukraine. 36 rockets and Iranian drones!

Culture and cinema can be outside politics. But not when it is a policy of aggression. Not when it is a policy of mass crimes, murders, terror, the desire to destroy other countries and other peoples. When it is a policy of total war. That is, the politics of today’s Russia.

Under such circumstances and at such times, art cannot be neutral. Cannot be “out”.

Culture makes choices in times like these. Culture chooses the side. Or speaks out in different ways fighting and standing against evil. Or – ovelooks and remains silent – and, in fact, helping the evil.

When art is indifferent and its voice is not heard, in this silence the loud speakers of evil sound stronger and more convincingly.

Of course, in a global sense, cinema cannot change the world. But it can influence and inspire people who can change the world.

A good movie evokes emotions. Cult cinema causes change. In humanity’s struggle against any evil, there are always two voices – truth and propaganda.

For a while, propaganda can muzzle the truth. But it is not able to win completely. If art does not stop the struggle and understands that standing aside means being close to evil.

The Berlinale made its choice. And confirmed the truth of my statement. Professing the principles of openness, equality, dialogue without borders and the cinema from all over the world, the Berlinale made a choice. Institutions and persons supporting the Kremlin and films made with Russia’s support are not admitted to this year’s festival. We appreciate it and are grateful for it. This is really important.

This is not a formality. This is justice. We are grateful for Ukraine’s support, attention to Ukraine, solidarity with Ukraine.

Proof of this is the official badge for participants and guests of the Berlinale – the Golden Bear, which this year has become blue and yellow. These are the colors of Ukraine. The colors of our flag. We will do everything to return him to his rightful place and free all our lands.

Your support in this is important and invaluable to us. Now there are thousands of kilometers between us. But we are side by side.

We speak different languages, but there is complete understanding between us. Only a virtual border separates us. But there is no wall between us.

Ladies and Gentlemen! 

In 1951, the first Berlin Film Festival took place. You all know the slogan and purpose of the first Berlinale. This is the Showcase of the free world.

Today, Ukraine is the Fortress of the free world. A fortress that has stood for almost a year. A fortress that protects itself, Europe and the world. A fortress that cannot fall. A fortress that will definitely stand. And will win.

I believe that you will all be convinced of this, after seeing our “Superpower” – the superpower of Ukraine.

Glory to Ukraine!

Another 100 Ukrainian POWs are coming home!

Here’s former NAVDEVGRU Squadron Leader Chuck Pfarrer’s most recent assessments of the situations in Bakhmut and Kreminna:

Bakhmut (I reckon):

Vuhledar:

Kharkiv:

Here is US Ambassador to the OSCE Michael Carpenter’s response to the Yale Human Rights Lab report on Russia’s theft of over 6,000 Ukrainian children:

The Russian Federation’s Ongoing Aggression Against Ukraine

As delivered by Ambassador Michael Carpenter
to the Permanent Council, Vienna
February 16, 2023

As we approach the one-year mark of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin continues its brutal campaign of seeking to wipe out a sovereign Ukraine from the map of Europe. Last Friday, Russia fired over 100 drones, rockets, and missiles across the country, again targeting Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure. And last night, Russia fired an additional 36 missiles into Ukraine. We’ve also seen reports Russia is deliberately draining the Kakhovka Reservoir which could have a profound impact on Ukraine’s people and environment, posing risks to the safe operation of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant. We have and will continue to condemn Russia’s actions like these. We also remain committed to sharing the experiences of Ukrainian civilians who have needlessly suffered, and continue to suffer, as a result of Russia’s unconscionable war of choice.

These include the traumas of Ukraine’s children, who are among the most vulnerable to Russia’s brutality. The Ukrainian government has collected information on close to 15,000 Ukrainian children forcibly deported to Russia. The real number is likely much, much higher. Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab has also documented how Russia is holding at least 6,000 children across Russia and Russian-occupied Ukraine in a far-flung system of political re-education camps. The large-scale network of at least 43 camps runs from Russian-occupied Crimea all the way to Magadan in Siberia and to Russia’s Far East. Again, the real number of these camps is likely much larger than what has been documented thus far. These re-education camps hold children as young as four months old to teenagers. Teenagers at these facilities are reportedly given military training and indoctrinated into Russia’s imperialistic view of the world. When children enter the camps, Russia’s officials actively work to block communication with family members in Ukraine, prevent children from returning home, and attempt to brainwash them into being pro-Russian.

Medvezhonok is one of the largest camps that has been identified, at one point holding at least 300 children from Ukraine. Officials there originally told the children’s parents they would come home at the end of summer, but later refused to specify a date of return. In the case of one boy from Ukraine, camp administrators said he would go home only if Russia’s forces retook the town of Izium. Another boy was told he could not go home due to his “pro-Ukrainian views.”

The evidence collected so far makes this appear to be yet another clear cut case of Russia choosing to violate its wartime responsibilities to protect civilians. This systematic effort of “re-homing” Ukrainian children reflects decisions made and actions taken at all levels of the Russian government. Again, Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Center describes the operation as “centrally coordinated by Russia’s federal government” and involving federal, regional, and local figures, many of whom were personally appointed by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, whose support for these efforts is a matter of the public record.

Mr. Chair, the unlawful transfer and deportation of children is a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians, and as such, constitutes a war crime. Furthermore, the transfer of children for purposes of changing, altering or eliminating national identity can constitute a component act of the crime of genocide.

The harrowing experiences of Ukraine’s children are not limited to those in Russia’s re-education camp system. Take 16-year-old Vladyslav, who was forced into Russia’s filtration system after soldiers found pro-Ukraine content on his phone while he was trying to escape to Zaporizhizya. He was held for 90 days in a police cell. After Russia’s forces reportedly tortured other prisoners, Vladyslav – remember 16 years old – was forced to clean the blood and filth off the cell floors.

Let’s also consider the case of 12-year-old Sasha. Sasha was injured by a missile attack during Russia’s siege of Mariupol. Russia’s forces captured Sasha and his mother when she tried to find medical treatment for him. Separating the mother from her crying son, the soldiers sent Sasha to Russia-occupied Donetsk where he was told he would be adopted by Russians because “he had no parents.” Sasha was forced to speak Russian, was told that Ukraine was bad, and that Ukrainians were evil. Sasha knew he had to get back to his family, so he found a way to call his grandmother, Lyudmila. Lyudmila traveled from Ukraine to Poland, then to Lithuania, then to Latvia, and finally to Russia, and eventually made her way all the way back to Russia-occupied Donetsk to find her grandson. Lyudmila was lucky. She was able to bring Sasha home. Other families have not been so lucky.

I fully anticipate later today you’ll hear Russia’s representatives yet again attempt to mislead, distract, and justify what Russia is doing to the children of Ukraine. Let’s see what sort of lies they come up with today. But please remember what Václav Havel said about authoritarian systems: “if the main pillar of the system is living a lie, then it is not surprising that the fundamental threat to it is living the truth.” That’s why it’s vital we hear the truth about those who lived through, as well as those who died, in the course of Russia’s neocolonial war against Ukraine. Their individual stories give us all a better understanding of the depths of Russia’s deception, of the true nature of what it is trying to perpetrate in Ukraine. We must have no illusion: the only way Russia’s abuses in occupied areas of Ukraine will end is when those areas are liberated and completely freed of every single Russian soldier.

Mr. Chair, Russia needs to provide the international community with the lists of children it has taken from Ukraine and allow these children to be reunited with their families in Ukraine. Unfortunately, we all know the likelihood of that happening, at least for the time being, is low. Because of this, we need to energize our activities here to protect Ukraine’s children. We need to think creatively about ways we can help Ukraine record and track where Russia has taken Ukraine’s children. History will not be kind to us if we choose to do nothing in the face of such systematic depravity.

That’s enough for tonight.

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Reader Interactions

59Comments

  1. 1.

    Freemark

    Thanks again for the updates Adam!​
     
    I hope UKR forces can take advantage of the overextended Russian lines above Krasna Hora.

  2. 2.

    Anonymous At Work

    Marina Yankina, the head of finance for Russian Defense Ministry western military district died today of windowitis, amid reports of winter gear shortage after a key general’s 22-year-old son was put in charge of ordering gear.

    I don’t like death, but if you’re going to work in Russia, you’re going to work for the military and Putin eventually and you should be prepared for sudden onslaughts of windowitis.
    Oh, and it’s still below freezing in St. Pete’s, so I expect the windows still had a lot of cover on them.

  3. 3.

    Bill Arnold

    M. Carpenter’s address was vigorous and honest, but this
    “in the course of Russia’s neocolonial war against Ukraine”?
    Is that a typical usage of “neocolonial”? That very long column of armored vehicles approaching Kyiv in the first part of the war seems not very “neo”.

  4. 4.

    jackmac

    Ukraine President Zelensky delivered a shout out to German director Wim Wenders and then another well-tailored, pitch-perfect message, this time to attendees at the Berlin Film Festival.

    Culture makes choices in times like these. Culture chooses the side. Or speaks out in different ways fighting and standing against evil. Or – overlooks and remains silent – and, in fact, helping the evil.

  6. 6.

    The Moar You Know

    15 year old?  Stole em from their parents, that you likely killed?

    Have fun getting murdered in your sleep lady.

  7. 7.

    Anonymous At Work

    Adam,

    Aside from not seeing another tank push like The Rout At Vuldehar again, what’s the impact of RU having such a high burn rate on their tanks and assault vehicles?
    And where’s a good source of info on the RU depth of main battle tanks and Sukhoi planes?  Best I can find is UA sources, which are loudly trumpeting each unit they take down but aren’t without certain conflicts of interest in reporting.

  8. 8.

    Bill Arnold

    @Adam L Silverman:

    It is in that the colonial period is considered by western scholars to have ended decades ago.

    OK.
    The Russian not-imperialists are very proud that they recently liberated a salt mine. :-)

  9. 9.

    Cheryl from Maryland

    Incredibly powerful speech by President Zelenskyy at the Berlinale.  When I first started working at the Smithsonian, two of the most impressive exhibitions were of what the Nazis termed “Entartete Kunst” (Degenerate Art) and Czech Posters promoting freedom from the USSR and Våclav Havel.  Ukraine is overflowing with excellent artists, such as Neivanmade and others,  Their art speaks the truth loudly.

  12. 12.

    bjacques

    If those Wagnerites need shells from the Russian MOD, maybe they could trade for them, at an exchange rate of one pound of Prigozhin per shell. That’s good for a couple hundred of shells.

  13. 13.

    Anonymous At Work

    @Adam L Silverman: I figured that much but aside from a drop in daily artillery fire, it’s not stopping RU generals from launching human wave attacks UA forces and pushing them back in spots.  I’m a worrier, so I am worried that UA’s window to have enough forces left to mount a decent offensive is closing.
    Am I wrong?

  14. 14.

    Anonymous At Work

    @bjacques: You trade the ability to hit a blind-folded and hog-tied Prigozhin with a baseball bat, one-hit-for-one-shell.  NATO would trade in shells at that point.

  16. 16.

    Amir Khalid

    @Adam L Silverman:

    And how exactly does neocolonialism differ from old-school colonialism, aside from happening after some arbitrary date? I don’t see a real difference between, say, colonialist 19th century Britain and colonialist 21st century Putin.

  17. 17.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Amir Khalid: I’m guessing that the choice of wording implies that the speaker is implying that neocolonialism and old-skool colonialism are … pretty similar in all relevant respects except one: that the former is a new phenomenon, not lineally related to the latter.  Now, that might not actually be true: I certainly believe that Russia just hasn’t changed and its imperial ambitions today are just the latest manifestation of the same ambitions they had in the 19th century and probably earlier.  But one might say that by granting otherwise, one avoids a lot of arguments around the question “Russia can’t change” that might get a lot of sensitive souls bent-out-of-joint.

  18. 18.

    Roger Moore

    @Anonymous At Work:

    I’m a worrier, so I am worried that UA’s window to have enough forces left to mount a decent offensive is closing.

    The thing to understand is that the Russians only seem to have unlimited troops.  In reality, every one of their soldiers who dies in a fruitless attack is one who isn’t available to defend when Ukraine launches its offensive.

  20. 20.

    Another Scott

    @Anonymous At Work:

    Defense.gov (from yesterday):

    Russia is pouring men and materiel into Ukraine, [SECDEF Austin] said. “Those people are ill-trained and ill-equipped, and because of that, we see them incurring a lot of casualties,” Austin said. “That’s their strength: They have a lot of people. Our goal is to make sure that we give Ukraine additional capability so that they can be, not only be marginally successful, they can be decisive on the battlefield and their upcoming offensive.”

    […]

    The ministers looked at the progress made to date and laid the foundation for the next NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. That summit will look to a new defense investment pledge to ensure that the alliance has the resources to carry out these new plans, the secretary said.

    Austin said the ministers looked at problems with the NATO nations’ defense industrial base. “We also discussed our progress in building up ammunition stockpiles and boosting defense industrial capacity,” Austin said. “But we still have much more to do. Even as we rush to support Ukraine in the critical months ahead, we must all replenish our stockpiles to strengthen our deterrence and defense for the long term.”

    [ image ]

    The alliance will not be drawn into Putin’s war, Austin said. The nations will continue to support Ukraine as it defends itself, and the NATO nations will ensure they retain the ability to defend every inch of NATO territory.

    “We will never waver in carrying out NATO’s preeminent task,” Austin said. “And that task is to defend this great alliance, its people and their territory. America’s commitment to that core mission is unflinching. America’s commitment to Article Five is ironclad. And we’re proud to work alongside our NATO allies to defend the forces of freedom and to build a safer world.”

    (Emphasis added.)

    Ukraine will get the support she needs. Probably not as quickly as we would like, but Ukraine is going to win this war. And NATO and the west, and Ukraine, are all going to be stronger when this is done.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  23. 23.

    Snarki, child of Loki

    The systematic removal of children from their families should be considered, and treated as, a crime against humanity.

    That applies to the Trumper-ICE-fascists as well as the Putin-fascists.

    Short drop, long, twitching dangle.

  24. 24.

    Anonymous At Work

    @Snarki, child of Loki: With fascists, they only respond to violence.  Putin won’t stop unless killed or threatened to be killed or the economic violence threatens to have his followers kill him.  Crimes against humanity mean nothing without being arrested and thrown into prison (judicial violence).  Condemnation is just words, not action or violence.

  25. 25.

    Sparkedcat

    Ukraine will win this war.

    @Another Scott: Agreed. Ukraine will win the war. This summer when the ground is dry Ukraine will launch an offensive led by the Leopard battalions that are currently being trained by NATO.

  29. 29.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Chetan Murthy: from that article:

    • Efforts to reunite families have been complicated by some agencies failing to keep organized records of who was separated and what happened afterward.
    • The task force launched by Biden and led by Michelle Brané has identified more than 3,900 migrant children who were separated during Trump’s tenure — more than 2,900 of whom have been reunified, many before Biden’s efforts.
    • The total number of separated families continues to grow as new families come forward, according to DHS.
  30. 30.

    Kent

    @Amir Khalid:And how exactly does neocolonialism differ from old-school colonialism, aside from happening after some arbitrary date? I don’t see a real difference between, say, colonialist 19th century Britain and colonialist 21st century Putin.

    Old school colonialism didn’t seek to erase whole cultures and people, just exploit them.  The British, for example, didn’t try to erase the identity of Kenyans, Egyptians, or Indians.  Russia, on the other hand is literally seeking to erase Ukraine and Ukrainians from the map

    What Russia is doing isn’t colonialism.  It is genocide, more like what Americans did to most of our native populations.

  31. 31.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Kent: If Ukraine had rolled-over and submitted, Putin wouldn’t have tried to destroy Ukraine: it’d have just been murdering the entire leadership of the country, but the rest of the population would have suffered like any other republic in Russia.  It was their *resistance* that caused him to decide to destroy them.  Also, I think there are other cases where empires have pretty much genocided entire populations: the US, in Brazil, the Congo, probably elsewhere too.

  32. 32.

    smith

    @Kent:Old school colonialism didn’t seek to erase whole cultures and people

    Tell that to the native peoples of the Americas, Australia, and the South Pacific. Colonialists absolutely did try to erase their cultures and languages.

  33. 33.

    Kent

    @Chetan Murthy:@Kent: If Ukraine had rolled-over and submitted, Putin wouldn’t have tried to destroy Ukraine: it’d have just been murdering the entire leadership of the country, but the rest of the population would have suffered like any other republic in Russia.  It was their *resistance* that caused him to decide to destroy them.  Also, I think there are other cases where empires have pretty much genocided entire populations: the US, in Brazil, the Congo, probably elsewhere too.

    Not true.  Putin signaled all of this in his speech a year before the invasion.  They weren’t looking to install a puppet government but absorb Ukraine.

    And yes, there are lots of examples of genocide in world history.  But we should be clear.  What Russia is doing is not the same as 19th Century colonialism.  The British, for example, didn’t seek to erase Arabic and Islam in Egypt.  What Russia is doing is genocide plain and simple.

  34. 34.

    Baud

    @Kent:

    Yeah, it’s weird to talk about colonialism without a colony.  The U.S. westward expansion wasn’t colonialism because the U.S. absorbed that land.  The U.S. control of the Philippines was colonialism.

    If Putin wanted to absorb Ukraine, that seems more like genocide.

  35. 35.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Kent:

    They weren’t looking to install a puppet government but absorb Ukraine.

    I guess it’s a matter of interpretation.  I think Ukrainian culture would have become like the cultures of other subject peoples of the Russian Empire: I mean, the Buryats have a culture, but it’s pretty much subordinate to Russian culture.  And the Buryats are “absorbed” into Russia, yes?  That’s what lies ahead for Belarus too, of course.  But this is still a long way from the genocide that Russia is *now* executing, and I feel that that’s due to Ukrainian resistance.

    But I do agree that one could see his words (and hence plans) differently.

  37. 37.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Kelly: If UA gets the outcome we all want (UA pushes RU out completely), BY is gonna rise up: I can’t imagine that either UA or the CEE countries are going to refrain from funding and supplying a partisan insurrection, and there won’t be much ol’ Lukashenko can do about it.  RU will have its hands full on all its borders, and no troops to enforce its will.

    I read yesterday over at dKos that, from crude realist politics, the outcome where it takes UA 2yr to grind the Russians out of their land, is a better outcome *for the West* (not for Ukraine, obviously) than one where UA does it in 90 days …. b/c the latter way, Putin has most of his army and most of his army’s heavy weapons intact.  This way, he’s lost most of both.

    I’m sure Tsikhanouskaya (sp?) is preparing her supporters in BY for the aftermath of UA’s victory.

  38. 38.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Chetan Murthy:

     I think Ukrainian culture would have become like the cultures of other subject peoples of the Russian Empir

    You are wrong. Read his words. Russia’s intentions have been clear all along.

  39. 39.

    Kent

    @smith:Tell that to the native peoples of the Americas, Australia, and the South Pacific. Colonialists absolutely did try to erase their cultures and languages.

    We have to be precise about language here.

    I was responding to the comment that what Russia is doing is no different from 19th Century Colonialism.

    I’m arguing that what Russia is doing is even worse.

    19th Century colonialism is different from what happened in the Americas which was, in fact, also genocide.  Colonists and colonialism as a 19th Century economic system are not the same thing.

  40. 40.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Gin & Tonic: Could be; I certainly do believe that he intended & *planned* to murder the entire political and cultural leadership of the country: every single politician, leader of any significance, writer, poet, musician, etc, of any significance.  What I don’t believe (and I coudl be wrong about this) is that he intended to literally destroy Ukrainian culture completely, rather than merely render it completely subjugated to Russia.  B/c that sort of destruction wasn’t consistent with the force he sent in and the assumptions he made about how his invasion would have gone.

    I think the “staffing” of his invasion force was consistent with “we’re taking over the government” and (those OMON forces, mobile crematoria, etc) “we’re killing everybody of any stature whatsoever”.  But not “we’re going to kill everybody besides the children, and those we’ll deport”.  After all, he needed the Ukrainian population (of “Little Russia”) to augment that of Great Russia and White Russia.  He wouldn’t get that, if he went and killed them all.

    And the various subject peoples of the Russian Empire today still have their cultures, albeit surviving under great suppression from Russia and Russian culture.  But I could be wrong.

  41. 41.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Chetan Murthy: I want to be clear: you are wrong, and doubling down will not make you right.

    But not “we’re going to kill everybody besides the children, and those we’ll deport”.

    Here:

    Anna Dolgareva, Russian propagandist, says: “denazifying means they all need to be killed, all adult population of Ukraine who resist – physically destroyed. And their children raised in Russian spirit.” pic.twitter.com/iNSUY8PDfn
    — Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) February 16, 2023

    russian media is full of these examples, and has been for over a year. “Kill them all” is *precisely* the position that is being taken.

    I follow this more closely than you do. Listen to what I am saying.

     

  42. 42.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Chetan Murthy: I think Ukrainian culture would have become like the cultures of other subject peoples of the Russian Empire

    Haven’t the Ukrainians already been there and done that?  Isn’t that why they are rather strenuously saying no to the chance to get eaten up again?

  43. 43.

    Anonymous At Work

    @Gin & Tonic: Agreed.  Katyn Massacre all over again.  RU would have murdered political leadership, religious leaders, artistic and cultural figures would have disappeared as would anyone who talked about or showed UA history or cultural works.  Important buildings would “have been damaged” [by Russians], requiring “their safe demolition”.
    All of this would be transparent, badly-defended, crudely-effected, but as I said earlier, fascists don’t care about verbal condemnation, only violence.  Mass murder that draws UN and EU condemnation means nothing; only the EU or NATO attacking would have meant anything.

  44. 44.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Gin & Tonic: [try again] Re: “russian media has been full …”

    I know it’s been full of these since the invasion, but I don’t remember them from before the invasion.  To be clear, I know that *now*, that’s their plan, and they’re executing on it.

    [sorry, messed-up my nym/email, caused comment to go into moderation]

  45. 45.

    Bill Arnold

    @Anonymous At Work:

    RU would have murdered political leadership, religious leaders, artistic and cultural figures would have disappeared as would anyone who talked about or showed UA history or cultural works.

    Russian propagandists have openly talked (as in that linked video) about killing several millions of Ukrainians; anyone who in any way resists Russia(==”Nazis”). It’s not just leaders/inflencers; they advocate for mass murder of a genocidal nature.

  46. 46.

    Amir Khalid

    @Baud:

    The U.S. westward expansion wasn’t colonialism because the U.S. absorbed that land.

    To do that, though, the US still took control of other nations’ lands and subjugated the people. I am not so sure that that merits distinguishing between mere expansionism and colonialism.

  47. 47.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Omnes Omnibus: 100% agree here: being consumed by the Russian Empire is a fate nobody should want, and UA are 100% right to resist with every fiber of their being.

    I guess what I’m saying is, I don’t see what Russia is doing as much different from previous colonial empires: they also were 100% ok with the natives peacefully surrendering to be done with as cattle, or as subhuman workers, or whatever, as the imperialists desired.  And typically the imperialists only resorted to genocide when the natives resisted (even a tiny bit, sometimes).

  48. 48.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Amir Khalid: “Manifest Destiny” was colonialism: we just murdered enough of the natives, that we took over all the land.  Hitler recognized it as such, and wanted to do to Eastern Europe and all the Slavic lands, what we had done to the North American continent.  He took his plan from our history.

  50. 50.

    Eduardo

    @Amir Khalid: for what I remember, in Cuba they called *neocolonialism* to a real or supposed subordination of one country to an *empire* while the *neocolony*  is formally independent. Thus, Cuba and most Latin American were considered neocolonies of the United States.  Doesn’t apply to what Russia is trying to do to Ukraine.

  51. 51.

    Anonymous At Work

    @Bill Arnold: A few millions murders is really hard to do.  So, the hyperbole of the statements I take as granted.  The intent those statements reveal is as you say.  RU would have had their victory parade, the top-tier people would disappear, the RU commanders would have let their troops run rampant to destroy things, and finally the “helpful” Russians would have moved in to do repairs, “resettle” Ukrainians in other places, etc.

  53. 53.

    NutmegAgain

    @Kent: Which 19th c colonialism would that be?  The Dutch in Suriname and Indonesia: 1600s – WWII. Portuguese in Goa, all over Africa, coastal South America, starting in the 1440s – 1970s. Brits, well the sun doesn’t set ha ha. Did you know that when the towns outside Boston were composing their responses to the Committees of Correspondence 1760’s , they mentioned the Bengal famines currently happening (white colonists complaining about it), anyway Brits at least from 1600s to what do we call the Commonwealth? Germany (Brandenburg) had some holdings in Africa in the 1600s, captured by the French, then the next appalling move was–yes–late 19th century: Tanganyika and Namibia, lots of other bits of Africa too, all administered with the gentle touch familiar to much of Europe in the coming decades. In South West Africa the Germans just killed all the indigenous people–known as the Herero and Nama genocide. The few remaining descendants are still seeking adequate reparations and recognition, whatever that might be.

    Anyway, what was the conversation?  Oh, yeah, some cockamamie idea that there was a non-harmful, possibly even “uplifting” colonial practice. Yeah, nope.

    [Oh, and PS, I wasn’t trying to be a PITA with Kursk yesterday evening–I was just doing a quick read though and it jumped out at me.]

  54. 54.

    Princess

    The term neocolonialism is there to tell us something we’re doing now is like the colonialism of history. Not to suggest what we’re doing now is different/worse/better.

    And genocide is not always a part of colonialism but it is entirely compatible with it. The two are not exclusive of each other.

  55. 55.

    Steve in the ATL

    @Amir Khalid:
     

    I don’t see a real difference between, say, colonialist 19th century Britain and colonialist 21st century Putin.

    Well, for one thing, the British were a whole lot more successful than Putin has been!

  56. 56.

    Carlo Graziani

    @Anonymous At Work:

    Aside from not seeing another tank push like The Rout At Vuldehar again, what’s the impact of RU having such a high burn rate on their tanks and assault vehicles?

    As Adam indicated, definitely debilitating for Russia. It’s never as easy to see the weakness of one’s enemy as to perceive one’s own however, and this is a constant anxiety of war.

    Here is how U.S. Grant dealt with it, on the occeasion of the Battle of the Wilderness:

    A general officer came in from his command at this juncture, and said to the general-in-chief, speaking rapidly and laboring under considerable excitement: “General Grant, this is a crisis that cannot be looked upon too seriously. I know Lee’s methods well by past experience ; he will throw his whole army between us and the Rapidan, and cut us off completely from our communications.” The general rose to his feet, took his cigar out of his mouth, turned to the officer, and replied, with a degree of animation which he seldom manifested : “Oh, I am heartily tired of hearing about what Lee is going to do. Some of you always seem to think he is suddenly going to turn a double somersault, and land in our rear and on both of our flanks at the same time. Go back to your command, and try to think what we are going to do ourselves, instead of what Lee is going to do.” The officer retired rather crestfallen, and without saying a word in reply.

    Campaigning with Grant, Horace Porter

    I often feel that I learned more about war from this quotation than from piles of other reference books.

  58. 58.

    Yutsano

    @Anonymous At Work: ​

    I figured that much but aside from a drop in daily artillery fire, it’s not stopping RU generals from launching human wave attacks UA forces and pushing them back in spots.

    Jesus Tapdancing Christ! It’s the fucking Iran-Iraq war all over again with even the promises of salvation for the victims soldiers who get mowed down in the waves! I’m fucking sick now.

  59. 59.

    Geminid

    I just wish Mr. Carpenter had said “aggressive war” instead of “neocolonial war.” Why drag a word carrying so much mixed baggage into his argument when a simpler, more straightforward term would have worked perfectly well?

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