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Old 04-30-2022, 11:21 AM
swaghauler swaghauler is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Raellus View Post
I don't know how they're doing it. I wonder if they really are going to "fight to the end". What end? Will they surrender when their ammo runs out? When their food and water and medical supplies are exhausted?

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...ed-steel-plant

They must realize that there will be no rescue. I suppose their main objective now is to tie down as many Russian forces as possible for as long as possible. Perhaps they're hoping for the kind of immortality won by Sparta's 300 at Thermopylae but, really, how many people are actually willing to go that far and fight to the death?

Whatever happens from this point on, I really admire their bravery and resolve. The Azov Battalion's (now regiment?) political origins and alignment are troubling, to be sure (those, I don't admire), but maybe this ordeal will somehow be redemptive, in that regard.

Do they fight to the death, or surrender with honor? What do you think?

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What choice do they have? Putin and the Russian Military leaders have been VERY CLEAR about what they are going to do to those fighters. Look at what happened in BUCHA Ukraine when Putin was pushed back from Kyiv.

If your only choice is between being tortured to death and fighting to the death, which would you choose?

Ukraine is CLEARLY winning the STRATEGIC WAR here. When they capture Russian soldiers, the Ukrainians do not torture or abuse them. The prisoners are fed and treated medically. Ukraine then allows them to call family or friends to tell them that the soldier is ok. Also, when the Ukrainian fighters engage the Russian conscripts in battle, if a pause occurs, the Ukrainians will tell the conscripts if they drop their weapons and flee, they will NOT be fired upon. Many Russian conscripts are doing just that.

This allows three things to happen. FIRST (and most importantly) it gives the low-morale Russian conscripts an "out" in a fight. They KNOW they can just flee and the Ukrainians won't shoot them in the back. Every time this happens, those surviving troops tell other Russian conscripts what happened. This causes THAT RESPONSE to spread through the Russian Army like an infection.
SECOND, it allows Ukraine to take possession of desperately needed resources they might have otherwise had to destroy.
THIRD, It shows that despite everything Putin and Russia have done to Ukraine that she retains her civility and dignity. This puts her on the "right side of history" once the war crimes trials begin.

There are outliers but I can understand (if not justify) the motives behind those actions. There are videos showing certain Ukrainian units (mostly in the Donbas) shooting surrendering Russian soldiers in the lower legs. From what I have gathered on the internet (and not from the most reliable sources), this was done in retaliation for Russian abuse of Ukrainian POWs who were returned with broken legs and injuries consistent with beatings. There is also a practical (if barbaric) reason for this... the now-wounded Russian conscript cannot be returned to the lines. It does violate the Geneva and Hague conventions but so does shooting civilians in the head.

Last edited by swaghauler; 04-30-2022 at 12:21 PM.
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