Theologische Universiteit Utrecht
Joined December 2021
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Nothing has changed since 2022: Russia is still the brutal aggressor, Ukraine is still fighting for its survival.
The only thing that has changed is that the West has grown tired of a war it does not fight, while Ukraine is exhausted but cannot afford to give up.
"I'm sorry". It’s wild how easily Russia manipulates people and instils guilt. Russia itself accused the West of provoking the war and claimed to be at war with NATO.
You can call for someone’s resignation for any reason, but not on the basis of a tweet from the Russian Embassy.
I'm sorry @rusembassynl, but @DilanYesilgoz clearly has no idea what an 'enemy' actually is. She doesn't speak for the Dutch people, regardless of her government role. The Dutch public already supported 'Russia is not my enemy' en masse a month ago.
Indeed. It’s striking how those claiming to oppose “the elite” can be so dismissive of ordinary people’s power. They refuse to believe in popular protest and civic spirit.
Western politicians did nothing on the Maidan. And the Maidan viewed them with contempt for their hesitation
Ik denk dat velen dat wel weten, maar goedpraten. Ik ken in ieder geval minstens één demonstrant die als weerwoord geeft: wat deden al die westerse politici dan op Maidan? Daarmee geef je dus gewoon toe dat de demonstratie niet om vrede ging, maar om druk op het Westen om Oekraïne niet meer te steunen.
While it is true that the Sloviansk–Kramatorsk area is the strongest defensive sector, I don’t think that is the main reason Russia demands it. Nor is the main goal to provoke internal conflict in Ukraine (though it is true that much of Ukrainian society would not accept it). 1/8
Zelensky called Donetsk region "the question of this war." Let me explain why in one paragraph, because most Western commentators can't.
Sloviansk–Kramatorsk–Kostiantynivka is a fortress belt Ukraine built over ten years, the last high ground before flat steppe to the Dnipro. Hand it over "for peace" and the next war starts 100 km closer to Kharkiv and Dnipro, with no wall in between.
Russia isn't asking for territory. It's asking for the starting line of 2029. That's why Kyiv says no, and why anyone who says "just the Donbas" has never looked at a contour map.
If Ukraine then refuses something - for example, a limit on the size of its armed forces - it will be portrayed (not only by Russia, but also by many "peacemakers") as the side sabotaging the negotiations. After all, the defeated side is expected to accept the terms. 7/8
Flattery is the only diplomatic skill they’ve learned. But they fail to understand that flattery doesn’t work on everyone as effectively as it does on Trump.
Witkoff: "President Putin, thank you so much for having us. We were sitting outside just now, me, Jared, Kirill, Yuri, and we were talking about, when we retire, we'll have all these incredible stories and memories, and yours will be right at the top of it all."
Just sickening! So much butt-licking toward a literal war criminal.
Your stories will be of trying to force the victim of horrible aggression to surrender while cozying up to the biggest monster of our time.
“De zogenaamde zelfverdediging van Oekraïne.”
Het is verbazingwekkend hoeveel minachting voor de waardigheid en het lijden van een volk verpakt kan worden als medeleven met datzelfde volk.
Als tegenwicht: een citaat van Niebuhr.
Klopt.
Poetin hoopt nog steeds op de overwinning, ondanks de trage opmars en enorme verliezen. Vrede komt pas als hij beseft dat die overwinning onhaalbaar is. Pas dan is hij bereid tot echte onderhandelingen. 1/4
Wie vrede wil, zou Oekraïne daarom moeten helpen het front te houden en met aanvallen op afstand de Russische economie schade toe te brengen. Juist dát is de weg naar vrede. 3/4
Wie overtuigd is van Ruslands onoverwinnelijkheid, ziet ook de opgehoopte haat erbinnen. Om Rusland tot een nederlaag te brengen, moet je die negatieve energie niet naar buiten laten gaan, maar naar binnen laten keren. Je moet alleen het deksel op deze pot sluiten.
Wat vooral ook veelzeggend is - misschien is dit een tik van me - is het taalgebruik van deze huilende Russin. Blatj, nachoei: het zijn extreem grove scheldwoorden waarvan het veelvuldig gebruik aangeeft hoe endemisch de verruwing is in dat land. Dit is het resultaat van decennia van communistische kampterreur, genocide, oorlogen, diepe armoede, emigratie van hoogopgeleiden (veel Joden), alcoholisme, drugsgebruik en overheidspropaganda: een dolende, grotendeels immorele en gehersenspoelde bevolking in een corrupte samenleving, met een hoogst cynische elite die in het bezit is van kernwapens. Ik zou niet al te vroeg juichen over de mogelijke ineenstorting van Poetins Potemkin-bouwwerk, gezien de duisternis die er onder schuil gaat:
Blaming the U.S. for the war while hoping for the U.S. to end it — a classic.
As the saying goes: the two things Russians want most are to destroy America — and to get a green card.
Russians are convinced: Ukraine will capitulate — Der Spiegel
The German magazine interviewed Lev Gudkov, director of the “Levada Center” — public opinion research institute in Russia — about Russian attitudes after nearly four years of war:
- 66% support the Abu Dhabi negotiations, while only 26% favor continuing the war — the lowest figure since 2022.
- Russians pin their hopes on Donald Trump and the U.S. to pressure Ukraine‼️
- They believe the war will end only on Putin’s terms and that Ukraine will surrender.
- 70% would approve halting the war now, yet 60% would not agree to withdrawing Russian troops.
- 80% blame the U.S., 70% blame NATO, and only 6–8% blame Russia itself.
- 92% think Russia is surrounded by enemies — the highest level since 1994.
- The most aggressive attitudes are found in Moscow’s wealthy and educated circles.
- A majority expect the war to last another year or longer.
According to official data, about 220,000 people attended churches in Moscow on Christmas Day — less than 2% of the city’s population.
t.me/GU_Moscow_Rosgvard/9855
Given that many Orthodox Christians attend church only on major holidays, this says a lot about Russia's religiosity.
