The money we've spent on Ukraine has a very high risk vs reward ratio to us. Not only for the obvious reasons of setting back Russia, but mostly because of what it has shown we should stop spending money on (like tanks, etc) and what we should be spending money on instead (drone development). If the war had ended quickly I think our MIC would be much slower to adapt to this technological change in warfare.

To be fair, there is not much to report. Battle lines have not shifted much in months. I encourage you to check out UnderstandingWar.org for updates on on-going conflicts (independent, non-partisan, fact-based, free analysis) or Warfronts on youtube.

Eliminatus said:

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5Amp said:

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Russia will crater any day once Ukraine starts their spring offense (TA 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026)

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Ukraine will not be able to resist against the Russian juggernaut for much longer. They are stupid for fighting for a lost war. (Also TA, circa 2022,2023,2024, and smattering in 2025 and I don't even think the most zealous of the Russian propaganda eaters are even willing to say that in 2026. )

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The real time evolution of tactics necessitated by drone warfare is insane.

I saw the other day that Russia is now using squadrons of ninja bikes and atv's as fast attack units to evade the Ukranian drones.

Sounds like something out of Max Max or Water World.

CS78 said:

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The money we spent on Ukraine is the best defense money we've ever spent. Crippling a major adversary for years to come. Which has also crippled their allies like Iran and North Korea in the process. Helping destroy a lot of russian equipment that could have later been used against us in no telling what crap hole country. We've recovered a lot of high end Russian equipment to help with counter engineering. Having front row access to all the drone and counter drone tech and innovation that has taken place as a result of this war is invaluable. That knowledge will absolutely save American lives in the future.

Spending money on Ukraine is the best thing for OUR future. Unfortunately, the whole process was tainted from the start by Biden corruption, and a lot of people don't want to look past that, to see what is best for our future. Prosecute the Bidens but dont be blinded in good decision making, due to the past.

Im convinced if Putin would have invaded when Trump was in office, a lot of people would be taking a totally different viewpoint.

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I forgot I even started this thread but this one of the more amazing things I've ever read.

Teslag said:

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The idea that the Ukraine-Russia war is some kind of mega grift to launder money is one of the laziest takes ever taken.

You have four years of hundreds of thousands of casualties. Leveled cities up and down the front. Multiple Russian ships, including their flagship sent to the bottom of the sea. Russian oil infrastructure crumbling on the back of an advanced in house Ukrainian drone and cruise missile industry (that they've largely built over the last 3 years). Not to mention the ammunition, armament, air defense, and infrastructure to support it all on the ground.

And now Ukraine is retaking territory and pushing Russia back. How many billions in weapons do you think it takes to do everything I just mentioned and lock up a former superpower for four years? Frankly I'm amazed they did it all for $200 billion.

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Until I read this.

Let's give 'em another 100 billion more, shall we?!

It's all too hilarious for me to even add my commentary/thoughts, tbf, but for the massive bloodshed. I stopped following this conflict once Trump won, again (outside of the oval office visit/farce, which was also utterly hilarious).

johnnyblaze36 said:

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Waffledynamics said:

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You're confusing "is my news coverage showing me this?" with "is it still happening?" This is, quite frankly, an insane take.

The war is absolutely still happening and is extremely intense, with rapid advancements in drone warfare and Russia losing huge amounts of soldiers every month. There is a years-old thread cataloging as much information as possible about current updates.

Do you assume the wars in Sudan, Yemen, Congo, or Burma are not happening because we don't have constant coverage of them?

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No. And you just proved my entire OP. Thank you!

Why did we get so much coverage of Russia vs Ukraine but zero of the other conflicts you mentioned?

The answer is money. Then it dried up and apparently nothing to see here.

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what is your actual point? because frankly you sound unhinged.

are you claiming that the media stops covering a massive war in Europe because "something something money"?

I mean, there is LITERALLY a war still going on in Ukraine every day- so besides talking about some "chinese-North carolina (!!!) flu

just state explicitly what you are failing to imply.

Sometimes it is great to be blissfully ignorant of what's happening in the rest of the world. Like being those uncontacted peoples.

Just don't freak out when it hits you in the butt on occasion and you could have just read a newspaper.

johnnyblaze36 said:

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Waffledynamics said:

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You're confusing "is my news coverage showing me this?" with "is it still happening?" This is, quite frankly, an insane take.

The war is absolutely still happening and is extremely intense, with rapid advancements in drone warfare and Russia losing huge amounts of soldiers every month. There is a years-old thread cataloging as much information as possible about current updates.

Do you assume the wars in Sudan, Yemen, Congo, or Burma are not happening because we don't have constant coverage of them?

---

No. And you just proved my entire OP. Thank you!

Why did we get so much coverage of Russia vs Ukraine but zero of the other conflicts you mentioned?

The answer is money. Then it dried up and apparently nothing to see here.

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Because it was new and involved Europe and a supposed military superpower, igniting Cold War fears again. It's completely different from Africa which tends to stay in it own backyard.

ts5641 said:

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The MSM will decide if it's still going on or not by how they cover it and narrative shape it.

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I think the current death rate of 6k+ per month is what determines that the war isn't over.

johnnyblaze36 said:

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CS78 said:

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The money we spent on Ukraine is the best defense money we've ever spent. Crippling a major adversary for years to come. Which has also crippled their allies like Iran and North Korea in the process. Helping destroy a lot of russian equipment that could have later been used against us in no telling what crap hole country. We've recovered a lot of high end Russian equipment to help with counter engineering. Having front row access to all the drone and counter drone tech and innovation that has taken place as a result of this war is invaluable. That knowledge will absolutely save American lives in the future.

Spending money on Ukraine is the best thing for OUR future. Unfortunately, the whole process was tainted from the start by Biden corruption, and a lot of people don't want to look past that, to see what is best for our future. Prosecute the Bidens but dont be blinded in good decision making, due to the past.

Im convinced if Putin would have invaded when Trump was in office, a lot of people would be taking a totally different viewpoint.

---

I forgot I even started this thread but this one of the more amazing things I've ever read.

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It is pretty amazing how little we spent to gain all that we did, I fully agree. Bargain deal!

The Peter Blaber interview, former Delta Force commander, on the Shawn Ryan show has some interesting takes on the war. As I recall he called it a propaganda war.

Except at the same time our "allies" were still doing a ton of business with Russia while demanding we send money. The warkawks excused it but it shows that Russia isn't a "real" enemy to EU.

CS78 said:

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The money we spent on Ukraine is the best defense money we've ever spent. Crippling a major adversary for years to come. Which has also crippled their allies like Iran and North Korea in the process. Helping destroy a lot of russian equipment that could have later been used against us in no telling what crap hole country. We've recovered a lot of high end Russian equipment to help with counter engineering. Having front row access to all the drone and counter drone tech and innovation that has taken place as a result of this war is invaluable. That knowledge will absolutely save American lives in the future.

Spending money on Ukraine is the best thing for OUR future. Unfortunately, the whole process was tainted from the start by Biden corruption, and a lot of people don't want to look past that, to see what is best for our future. Prosecute the Bidens but dont be blinded in good decision making, due to the past.

Im convinced if Putin would have invaded when Trump was in office, a lot of people would be taking a totally different viewpoint.

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I agree with most of this except the Trump opinion on a hypothetical invasion on Trump's watch

If Trump Beats Biden there would not have been an invasion there would have been a return to the regime that existed prior to Z

Putin with a little help from American Assets would have brought back a Pro-Kremlin puppet regime like the one in Belarus

The US under Obama helped bring about the end of the Pro-Kremlin regime and Trump would have just reversed that decision if he had served 2 consecutive terms

Trump is a pro-oligarch nationalist and would have liked to carve up Ukraine like a Thanksgiving Turkey

Back when Trump was attempting to negotiate the end of the war it was obvious that a free independent Ukraine was not a priority

It's no mistake that Ukraine/Russia started when we exited Afghanistan. We have to have war so the Epstein class can launder/make money. This is how our forever government workers get rich. We have been involved in war for 25 years in case no one has noticed. We will forever be in some type of war to much money to be made.

lol. Ok. Proof?

We continue to spend money on Ukraine we don't have while ****ing upper class and letting so many people be moochers, see bottom 50%, and not pay their fair share and some even take money from the government.

Ukraine can remain free and independent but they need to do it with their own money.

backintexas2013 said:

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Except at the same time our "allies" were still doing a ton of business with Russia while demanding we send money. The warkawks excused it but it shows that Russia isn't a "real" enemy to EU.

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We all were doing business with Russia and trust me, there was TONS of criticism then and now for it. The "warhawks" as you call them, almost always led that outrage from the front.

As to the reality though, much of it was tied up in energy and much of Europe was dependent on Russia for it at the outbreak of the war. No modern country can decouple from their primary energy and start up another and go to that in a very timely manner. That's honestly insane to think that is even close to being feasible. And yes, they still caught tons of flak for it even so. They have done a commendable job of moving away since without destroying their own economies and styles of living in the meantime. It's a ****ty reality of the war and very, very few are happy with it.

Outside the energy sector, yeah some scummy war profiteering from individual companies for sure. Always going to get that with capitalism though.

Go back and look at the Ukraine threads. They defended EU doing big business with Russia. Sorry if they are the "enemy" they should have stopped doing business. Don't demand money from us while sucking Putin.

backintexas2013 said:

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lol. Ok. Proof?

We continue to spend money on Ukraine we don't have while ****ing upper class and letting so many people be moochers, see bottom 50%, and not pay their fair share and some even take money from the government.

Ukraine can remain free and independent but they need to do it with their own money.

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No, we don't. Trump has ixnayed all new funds to them and has since began his second term. There is some auxiliary spend used in projects FOR Ukraine, but that is a trifle and keeps those forces involved trained and ready. Which they have to be anyways.

backintexas2013 said:

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Go back and look at the Ukraine threads. They defended EU doing big business with Russia. Sorry if they are the "enemy" they should have stopped doing business. Don't demand money from us while sucking Putin.

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Bah, no we didn't. There might be a few outliers out of the tens of thousands of replies but come on now, you are an adult and should know that trying to conflate the absolute minority of a sports fan site political forum does not equal the global population and their views. And this isn't defending those viewpoint either. We are actually on the same page here. We just have to live in reality as well and how fast these things can happen to transition over. It's a messy situation, no doubt and it sucks.

And again, it is almost impossible to decouple your modern country overnight from it's main power source and just...move to another like it's nothing? What is difficult to understand about that?

Vox Clamantis said:

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Eliminatus said:

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5Amp said:

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Russia will crater any day once Ukraine starts their spring offense (TA 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026)

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Ukraine will not be able to resist against the Russian juggernaut for much longer. They are stupid for fighting for a lost war. (Also TA, circa 2022,2023,2024, and smattering in 2025 and I don't even think the most zealous of the Russian propaganda eaters are even willing to say that in 2026. )

---

The real time evolution of tactics necessitated by drone warfare is insane.

I saw the other day that Russia is now using squadrons of ninja bikes and atv's as fast attack units to evade the Ukranian drones.

Sounds like something out of Max Max or Water World.

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One of my greatest fascinations of this war has been the degradation of the Russian armed forces fighting in Ukraine.

-They went from BTGs (battalion tactical groups) which were roughly analogous to out Brigade Combat Teams. Those were destroyed.

- Then they went to mercenary/penal battalion groups. Those were destroyed.

- Then they tried Storm Units. Those were destroyed.

- Then they opted for infiltration groups of 4-12 men with trucks and APCs. Those were destroyed.

- Then they landed on those ninja bikes and utvs like you mentioned. Those were destroyed.

- Now, we are at individual/ two man teams getting dropped off tens of kilometers from the front and just walking towards the front lines to do....something? And those are currently being destroyed as we speak.

Absolutely wild to see in just a few years time, and they still keep sending them in non-stop to die. Majority of them dying before they even get close to seeing a Ukrainian.

Waffledynamics said:

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You're confusing "is my news coverage showing me this?" with "is it still happening?" This is, quite frankly, an insane take.

The war is absolutely still happening and is extremely intense, with rapid advancements in drone warfare and Russia losing huge amounts of soldiers every month. There is a years-old thread cataloging as much information as possible about current updates. There are frequent threads debating our support.

Do you assume the wars in Sudan, Yemen, Congo, or Burma are not happening because we don't have constant coverage of them?

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I missed this story of the China-North Carolina war against the United States. What stalwart media outlet covered that one? Newsmax? The New York Post?

Did Virginia and South Carolina at least try to cut off North Carolina from China with a well executed pincer movement?

Feb 28, 2025 …. remember that awkward White House moment when Trump and Vance were yelling/telling Zelensky he had no cards? Fast forward 15 months - Ukraine's C3 and drone tech have arguably culminated Russia's war sometime in Q1 2026. What we're seeing now in Q2 are things like Ukraine attacking supply lines deep into the land-bridge supplying Crimea/Kherson … and daily long-range attacks on every major refinery in central Russia. Ukraine now has cards.

benchmark said:

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Feb 28, 2025 …. remember that awkward White House moment when Trump and Vance were yelling/telling Zelensky he had no cards? Fast forward 15 months - Ukraine's C3 and drone tech have arguably culminated Russia's war sometime in Q1 2026. What we're seeing now in Q2 are things like Ukraine attacking supply lines deep into the land-bridge supplying Crimea/Kherson … and daily long-range attacks on every major refinery in central Russia. Ukraine now has cards.

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Which is great because it means we can stay disengaged and focus on things that actually matter to the US.

Waffledynamics said:

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johnnyblaze36 said:

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Waffledynamics said:

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You're confusing "is my news coverage showing me this?" with "is it still happening?" This is, quite frankly, an insane take.

The war is absolutely still happening and is extremely intense, with rapid advancements in drone warfare and Russia losing huge amounts of soldiers every month. There is a years-old thread cataloging as much information as possible about current updates.

Do you assume the wars in Sudan, Yemen, Congo, or Burma are not happening because we don't have constant coverage of them?

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How do you know what my news sources are?

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Are your news sources telling you that the war is over?

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If he's watching MSM they aren't telling him anything about it. My wife watches the evening news, and I hear it, and haven't heard one word about Ukraine for a long, long time.

stetson said:

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Waffledynamics said:

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johnnyblaze36 said:

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Waffledynamics said:

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You're confusing "is my news coverage showing me this?" with "is it still happening?" This is, quite frankly, an insane take.

The war is absolutely still happening and is extremely intense, with rapid advancements in drone warfare and Russia losing huge amounts of soldiers every month. There is a years-old thread cataloging as much information as possible about current updates.

Do you assume the wars in Sudan, Yemen, Congo, or Burma are not happening because we don't have constant coverage of them?

---

How do you know what my news sources are?

---

Are your news sources telling you that the war is over?

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If he's watching MSM they aren't telling him anything about it. My wife watches the evening news, and I hear it, and haven't heard one word about Ukraine for a long, long time.

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MSM is basically entertainment in that they are vying for eyeballs. This has been true since before TV was invented. If the story isn't new and shiny, it's not making the front page. "War isn't over yet" isn't much of a headline.

stetson said:

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Waffledynamics said:

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johnnyblaze36 said:

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Waffledynamics said:

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You're confusing "is my news coverage showing me this?" with "is it still happening?" This is, quite frankly, an insane take.

The war is absolutely still happening and is extremely intense, with rapid advancements in drone warfare and Russia losing huge amounts of soldiers every month. There is a years-old thread cataloging as much information as possible about current updates.

Do you assume the wars in Sudan, Yemen, Congo, or Burma are not happening because we don't have constant coverage of them?

---

How do you know what my news sources are?

---

Are your news sources telling you that the war is over?

---

If he's watching MSM they aren't telling him anything about it. My wife watches the evening news, and I hear it, and haven't heard one word about Ukraine for a long, long time.

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The MSM focuses on whatever Trump is doing, for the most part, because it's about as low-hanging fruit for them (clickbait for their viewers) as possible.

In the real world:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/22/russia-falters-in-ukraine

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/23/ukraine-war-briefing-putin-promises-revenge-after-blaming-kyiv-for-luhansk-attack-he-says-killed-six

https://understandingwar.org/research/russia-ukraine/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-may-22-2026/

https://www.thetimes.com/world/russia-ukraine-war/article/ukraine-russia-war-gamification-brave1-epoints-pqgm98j7s

And all I did was type "Ukraine war" in Google and these are just a few of the news stories that popped up

Also, if the war was over, and especially if Ukraine lost, Putin's sycophants would be on F16 and Twitter like stuff of feces creaming all over each other at how an invaded country fell.

How it must kill them (figuratively of course) to see that Ukraine is still standing, and, on top of that, because they're doing so well with drones againt Putins army.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr5llg0e9g9o

https://www.businessinsider.com/firm-helping-us-allies-stop-iran-drones-ukraine-presence-key-2026-5

Quote:

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MILITARY & DEFENSE
A company helping US allies counter Iran's drones in the Middle East says its tech wouldn't be where it is without Ukraine

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The Ukraine War is one big MIC playground, especially now. 100% testing ground for next generation of war fighting. No one cares about the people on the ground. It's just a big experiment at this point.

When will Ukraine get their land back?

Next best chance for this war to end is when Putin dies. Could be soon; could be a few more decades.

PlaneCrashGuy said:

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When will Ukraine get their land back?

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If I knew that I'd be playing the lottery every night.

Still, that Ukraine even exists says something about their people's resolve.

No Spin Ag said:

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PlaneCrashGuy said:

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When will Ukraine get their land back?

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If I knew that I'd be playing the lottery every night.

Still, that Ukraine even exists says something about their people's resolve.

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Username does not check out.

Yes, the war is still going on. My wife is in Kiev with her parents and is looking to move them out of the city. Her father who is very ill wanted to die in his own Country, which is why they left the US. The drone attacks are occurring every night. They are in shelters every night when we talk.