Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin – the Russian mercenary leader whose plane crashed weeks after he led a mutiny against Moscow’s military leadership – shows what happens when people make deals with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

As Ukraine’s counteroffensive moves into a fourth month, with only modest gains to show so far, Zelensky told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria he rejected suggestions it was time to negotiate peace with the Kremlin.

“When you want to have a compromise or a dialogue with somebody, you cannot do it with a liar,” Volodymyr Zelensky said.

  • Veraticus
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    -110 months ago

    I actually definitely believe the US was looking to do some light ethnic cleansing in Iraq. But even so, there’s many documented instances of Russia doing it; so no need to compare them to the US. Their war aim seems to include some amount of ethnic cleansing.

    Look up the articles I linked you. Children are being shipped to ghettos; adults are being moved to death camps. While not as endemic as Nazi Germany it is still clear what Russia is trying to do. That the machinery is not as advanced as the actual Holocaust doesn’t mean it isn’t a genocide.

    It doesn’t matter if their belief is sincere or how real their anxiety is. There is no justification for a war of territorial aggression on territory a dictator has clearly coveted in the past and the genocide of its native population. Literally this is the same level as excusing Hitler’s aggression against Poland. It doesn’t matter how encircled a country feels; it does not justify a war of territorial aggression and the murder of the country’s native inhabitants.

    If their goal is not to murder Ukrainians and take their territory, why is that exactly what they’re doing and what they’re claiming? Literally today a Russian general said Ukraine is simply the first stop to an invasion of Europe. How much more proof do you need that this has nothing to do with NATO or the west, and is only Putin’s mad ambitions for expanding the Russian empire?

    • @gnuhaut@lemmy.ml
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      10 months ago

      adults are being moved to death camps

      Can you point out exactly where it says that? This is the first time I’m hearing of death camps.

      Literally today a Russian general said Ukraine is simply the first stop to an invasion of Europe.

      I just debunked this in another thread, let me quote myself:

      The article links to this tweet here as a source.

      I don’t speak Russian, but I’m transcribing the English subtitles:

      Interviewer: How long will the war last?

      Mordvichev: I think there is plenty of time to spend. It is pointless to talk about a specified period. If we are talking about Eastern Europe, which we will have to… of course, then it will be longer.

      Interviewer: Ukraine is only a stepping stone?

      Mordichev: Yes, absolutely. It is only the beginning. I think all kinds of ideologists and instigators of this war will not stop here.

      Since he’s a Russian general, I assume that by “instigators and ideologists of this war” he means someone higher up in the US or NATO. Certainly he’s not referring to Putin or the Kremlin. And he’s saying they will not stop here.

      This btw, is totally consistent with what I said before. Russia thinks they are being provoked and that the next step after NATO encirclement is them getting attacked.

      • Veraticus
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        -110 months ago

        Yes, here you go: https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/graphics/2023/05/30/from-a-war-zone-to-a-remote-camp-an-illustrated-explanation-of-russias-deportation-of-ukrainians/11477766002/

        The quote says literally exactly what the article is saying: that Ukraine is a stepping stone to the rest of Europe (Poland probably being next).

        Russia has been reversing victim and offender for this entire war. It is clear the general means this in exactly the sense that Ukraine deserved being invaded in a war of territorial aggression and its people deported. Their ambition does not stop in Ukraine, but they will blame the innocent countries of Eastern Europe for forcing Russia to invade them.

        It’s literally Hitler’s playbook, just done by Putin.

        • @gnuhaut@lemmy.ml
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          010 months ago

          This does not describe an extermination camp at all. I guess you’re referring to this (I have to guess since you failed to point out exactly what you’re referring to):

          Russian soldiers used physical force against civilians, sometimes resulting in death, according to Ukraine 5 AM Coalition

          This isn’t even part of that eyewitness account. This is just an NGO alleging this, without pointing to the exact source document. An NGO that doesn’t disclose its funding on its website as far as I can see. This isn’t even describing a death camp, which is what you were confidently stating is a thing. What am I supposed to do with this?

          The quote says literally exactly what the article is saying

          No it doesn’t. He alleges that instigators of the war (meaning not Russia, since he doesn’t believe Russia instigated the war), will not stop in Ukraine. He’s not referring to Russia, clearly. Given how he answers the “stepping stone” question like that, he obviously thinks that Ukraine is a stepping stone for those western instigators to attack Russia.

          I’ll paraphrase: Is Ukraine a stepping stone? – Yes, the western warmongers won’t stop at Ukraine.

          This is obviously what he means.

          This is two examples of you misrepresenting sources in one comment. How am I supposed to take you seriously?

          • Veraticus
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            -110 months ago

            It’s sad that you’re so committed to this you’re willing to literally believe anything but the truth. You have literally no reason to doubt any of these accounts but you’ve elected to do so anyway; I don’t know why anyone would want to simp for a murderous madman and his genocidal regime and their war of territorial aggression. Like you haven’t even linked any sources that disagree with me, you’re simply asserting the sources are wrong and that the generals mean exactly the opposite of what they’re saying.

            Why? What have they ever done to you to earn your trust? Why do you believe that literally every source reporting these things is wrong, when you have no proof?

            I hope you recover from whatever has led you to apologize for the most brutal regimes and worst people on the planet. But that journey will occur without me because I’m not interested in trying to help you realize the truth any more.

            • @gnuhaut@lemmy.ml
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              10 months ago

              you’re simply asserting the sources are wrong and that the generals mean exactly the opposite of what they’re saying.

              I implore you to read this again, seriously. Nobody can be this bad at reading comprehension. Do you actually think he’s referring to Russia when he says “I think all kinds of ideologists and instigators of this war will not stop here.”. He does not think Russia instigated the war! Are you just utterly incapable of assuming someone else’s perspective? Because that would explain a lot.