All in all the northern part of the country got relatively little damage. The front line in the Donbass looks like this, pretty much nuked down to basements:
Areas like Marinka have received kilotons of conventional artillery. Z-channels on Telegram call this process "city-cide" (gradocyd, something like that).
I've been to Ukraine recently and what's really heartwarming is the amount of reconstruction going on in the Kyiv Oblast. Many of the bridges north of the city are almost rebuilt. They were blown up to slow down the Russian armored assault.
I love the project, but the whole premise is broken. People brainwashed into supporting Russia do not deny the scale of devastation and human tragedy. They just attribute it to the Ukrainian military.
So, while documenting the terror is a commendable thing to do, it will not change anyone's mind. Zombies will simply take it as evidence that their propaganda was right all along. "See for yourself how ruthless these Ukrainians neonazies are, killing their own people just to spite the big Russian brother."
>People brainwashed into supporting Russia do not deny the scale of devastation and human tragedy. They just attribute it to the Ukrainian military.
So I completely disagree here, because it's not an either or. You're right that people brainwashed into supporting Russia will, in certain circumstances, accept that the destruction is real but attribute it to Ukraine. And I completely agree with your pessimism.
But the logic of propaganda, and of a brain consumed by propaganda, is a hall of mirrors full of contradictions. Where convenient, and where possible, the scale of destruction will be denied, and where it can't be denied, it will be explained away.
Propaganda can't be defeated by disputing individual one-off statements, the totality of the system of propaganda has to be shown to be so full of contradictions that it takes more effort to sustain than it does to accept the truth.
This guy absolutely gets it. However I'd just like to add a small detail:
It is not enough to try and fish one person out of propaganda because often on some deep level they know. They have lost trust in their friends, family, society, so they go along with the lie because they are sure everybody else will go along with the lie. So they pick the blue pill. They know.
> They just attribute it to the Ukrainian military
Not always, often they just say its an unfortunate consequence of the war.
I also think the use of "brainwashing" here is inappropriate. The issue here is divergent sources and selective sampling mostly, not some systematic rewriting of how they process evidence.
Give anyone access to just the information your average Russian is fed and they'll reach a similar conclusion.
I wish everyone was as rational as you. I see people constantly celebrating the death of Russian soldiers and it grosses me out. They're dumb 19 year olds who believe dumb, wrong shit for the same reason most Americans believe dumb, wrong shit. American interventions overseas since 2001 have killed hundreds of thousands of civilians, including women and children, yet many Americans don't seem to ever think of our troops as problematic.
The headline on CNN right now is "Putin is scaring the world to distract from his problems". If anyone reads that and doesn't immediately recognize it as propaganda (or at best, not real journalism) then they're doing as poorly as the Russians who are pro-war.
> Zombies will simply take it as evidence that their propaganda was right all along.
Dehumanisation of enemies is as old as the propaganda, and you are doing here exactly that. But to your defense, at least you used the term Zombie instead of Ann officially blessed Orc.
Street 14, Kharkiv. I remember battles in that area. I remember when some of the houses there got hit. One night specifically, I was on a base a ways away, and I heard one of the loudest explosions I’d heard during the war. The curtains in our room even lifted, halfway to the ceiling.
I suspect the intensifying divisions in our society are also a result of Russian/Chinese psyops. The "post-truth" era is just a prelude to a greater war the west will eventually have to fight against them.
We must give more powers to the FBI to remove misinformation. Not only on Twitter, but in schools, grocery stores, and kindergartens. Just hammer the truth through their thick skulls 24/7.
No. What made you reach that course of action recommendation based on a suspicion?
Combating misinformation is an important issue, any efforts to do so must be balanced with considerations of free speech, government power, and practicality.
It may be more effective to focus on promoting accurate information and critical thinking rather than trying to force people to accept the "truth."
War is undoubtedly one of the most catastrophic events that can occur in any society. It brings about unimaginable destruction and devastation, leaving behind irreparable damage to both human life and infrastructure. Innocent civilians, including women and children, often become the primary victims of war, leading to severe physical and emotional trauma. In addition to the loss of life, war can also lead to the displacement of millions of people, causing untold suffering and hardship. Furthermore, the economic consequences of war can be severe, as countries are forced to divert their resources towards military spending, leaving essential needs such as healthcare and education underfunded. Finally, the impact of war extends far beyond the battlefield, as it can leave deep scars on a society's psyche, leading to long-term social and psychological trauma. In short, war is an utterly destructive force that brings nothing but pain, suffering, and despair to those affected by it.
Hawkeye: War isn’t Hell. War is war, and Hell is Hell. And of the two, war is a lot worse.
Father Mulcahy: How do you figure that, Hawkeye?
Hawkeye: Easy, Father. Tell me, who goes to Hell?
Father Mulcahy: Sinners, I believe.
Hawkeye: Exactly. There are no innocent bystanders in Hell. War is chock full of them — little kids, cripples, old ladies. In fact, except for some of the brass, almost everybody involved is an innocent bystander.
-M.A.S.H. Season 5, Episode 21, The General's Practitioner.
See my other comment for footage from Marinka. Marinka is an eastern suburb of Donetsk City.
Avdiivka, Soledar, Bakhmut, Vuhledar, ... all the famous names of the current phase of the war look about the same, since they received about the same level of artillery pressure (kilotons, but of conventional explosives).
I've got a source for you: this Ukrainian is serving in Bakhmut right now. He's a "YouTube guy" in his unit, consistently uploading good quality footage. Skip the talking part and watch
https://www.youtube.com/@MotoLifeUA/videos
Unfortunately there is no (easily discoverable) link to report site faults. Hopefully site admininstorss read this thread eventually.
The 'streetview' canvas doesn't render correctly on Firefox 111.0.1 Linux amd64; instead it shows coloured vertical stripes that slowly 'scroll' from right to left.
Thank-you!
Since the expected permission request pop-up didn't show first time I visited the site, and the address-bar didn't highlight any blocking, and the settings dialog doesn't make it clear whether or not canvas is currently blocked (it has a question and two buttons, neither highlighted) I misinterpreted the default setting.
There is a before/after toggle for the second street. Pretty dishonest to compare summer photos with green trees with winter photos and trees without leaves, they should fix it.
Readit News
https://www.reddit.com/r/ukraine/comments/10ee9at/destroyed_...
Areas like Marinka have received kilotons of conventional artillery. Z-channels on Telegram call this process "city-cide" (gradocyd, something like that).
I've been to Ukraine recently and what's really heartwarming is the amount of reconstruction going on in the Kyiv Oblast. Many of the bridges north of the city are almost rebuilt. They were blown up to slow down the Russian armored assault.
Dead Comment
So, while documenting the terror is a commendable thing to do, it will not change anyone's mind. Zombies will simply take it as evidence that their propaganda was right all along. "See for yourself how ruthless these Ukrainians neonazies are, killing their own people just to spite the big Russian brother."
So I completely disagree here, because it's not an either or. You're right that people brainwashed into supporting Russia will, in certain circumstances, accept that the destruction is real but attribute it to Ukraine. And I completely agree with your pessimism.
But the logic of propaganda, and of a brain consumed by propaganda, is a hall of mirrors full of contradictions. Where convenient, and where possible, the scale of destruction will be denied, and where it can't be denied, it will be explained away.
Propaganda can't be defeated by disputing individual one-off statements, the totality of the system of propaganda has to be shown to be so full of contradictions that it takes more effort to sustain than it does to accept the truth.
It is not enough to try and fish one person out of propaganda because often on some deep level they know. They have lost trust in their friends, family, society, so they go along with the lie because they are sure everybody else will go along with the lie. So they pick the blue pill. They know.
How the USSR Collapsed on Soviet TV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgT-wR29aIU
Not always, often they just say its an unfortunate consequence of the war.
I also think the use of "brainwashing" here is inappropriate. The issue here is divergent sources and selective sampling mostly, not some systematic rewriting of how they process evidence.
Give anyone access to just the information your average Russian is fed and they'll reach a similar conclusion.
The headline on CNN right now is "Putin is scaring the world to distract from his problems". If anyone reads that and doesn't immediately recognize it as propaganda (or at best, not real journalism) then they're doing as poorly as the Russians who are pro-war.
Dehumanisation of enemies is as old as the propaganda, and you are doing here exactly that. But to your defense, at least you used the term Zombie instead of Ann officially blessed Orc.
Combating misinformation is an important issue, any efforts to do so must be balanced with considerations of free speech, government power, and practicality.
It may be more effective to focus on promoting accurate information and critical thinking rather than trying to force people to accept the "truth."
How so? By whom?
Avdiivka, Soledar, Bakhmut, Vuhledar, ... all the famous names of the current phase of the war look about the same, since they received about the same level of artillery pressure (kilotons, but of conventional explosives).
If they can even still drive the streets they drove last time.
The 'streetview' canvas doesn't render correctly on Firefox 111.0.1 Linux amd64; instead it shows coloured vertical stripes that slowly 'scroll' from right to left.