Atheist Forum

Hydra009 wrote: Sun May 03, 2026 8:52 pm ... Twitter - yes, they actually called it by its deadname.

I would argue that is not it's deadname because the current official name was never alive.

Lots of interesting developments lately. It would seem the war has finally come home to Russia, with the majority of the major events taking place on Russian territory, not Ukrainian territory. Also, Ukraine now has the initiative, with Russia reacting to Ukrainian moves rather than vice versa.

Ukraine strikes Primorsk - Russia's largest oil exporting port on the Baltic Sea - as well as two oil tankers, a missile ship (capable of firing Kalibr cruise missiles, carrying 8 on board), and a patrol boat

Update from the April 30th attack on a Russian anti-saboteur boat: 9 crew members killed (it's supposed to have a crew of six, so there were likely additional forces aboard, likely gunners or divers). A Russian patrol boat was also struck. Together, they're supposed to protect the Crimean bridge from submersible drones and saboteur divers.

Sweden seizes sanctioned oil tanker, Syrian-flagged ​Jin Hui.

Ukrainian flamingo strikes rain down on Russia - several are in the air as I type - one such strike hit a critical Russian military-industrial site in Cheboksary

That war factory produces components used in Shahed drones, Iskander cruise missiles, and guided aerial bombs, as well as electronic warfare components - all very important Russian war equipment.

In Moscow, a luxury high-rise building reportedly hit by Ukrainian drone

The Mosfilm Tower is situated in an elite neighborhood within the city, close to nearby embassies and diplomatic residences.

This certainly seems like a strange target, since Ukraine typically leaves civilian targets alone. Perhaps it was thrown off-course by jamming?

Moscow is a scene of unusual panic, with lots of videos of residents recording either the aftermath or arrival of Ukrainian drones. A common refrain is that they do not feel safe.

With so many important facilities to guard, Russian air defense is stretched thin, especially because Ukraine already blew up over 1300 Russian air defense systems (batteries + radars) over the past 4 years - including roughly half of Russia's Pantsir systems. So, what would you do in the Tsar's shoes? Both the frontlines in Ukraine and military/industrial facilities deep in Russia must be protected, but there's not enough air defense to adequately protect everywhere. So what do you prioritize?

If you said "yourself", ding ding ding, you are a winner. Russian air defenses have concentrated near Moscow and thinned out somewhat in other parts of Russia. It's unclear if it's to protect the planned military parade on May 9th or just Putin.

Here's what Russian air defense around Moscow looks like now:



Here's what it looked like 6 months ago:



While I'm not going to count the dots - there are still plenty of them - the organization of them has noticeably shifted from an orderly array of concentric rings to a hodgepodge layout with noticeable gaps along the eastern section. Another clear signal that the 3-day special military operation is not going according to plan.

A rattled Putin is reportedly hiding in one of his bunkers

Putin announced a special extremely temporary ceasefire on May 8-9th - essentially begging Ukraine not to bomb his parade while stating that Russia will continue bombing Ukraine immediately before and immediately after said parade. This after he announced a ceasefire for Easter and immediately violated his own ceasefire. This is what Trump calls a man of peace.

Zelenskyy did him one better and announced that Ukraine will cease firing on the night of May 5th, saying that they will not fire unless Russia fires first. Zelenskyy is essentially forcing Putin to choose between an earlier and longer ceasefire than Putin planned or risk his parade being ruined. What a dilemma! Russia has typically been the one to deliver terms - especially during that "peace summit" where the Russian delegation demanded that Ukraine hand over Donbas without a fight or lose Donbas and additional territory after a fight. Nowadays, they're no longer so cocky and no longer able to credibly back up such threats. Now, it is Putin who must either accept Zelenskyy's terms or face devastating attacks.

Jeez, internet/mobile blackouts in these three cities and possibly all other major* Russian cities. Might as well start playing swan lake.

(* to be fair there's a huge dropoff from second to third place, so "major" might be a bit of a stretch here - Moscow is 14 million, Saint Petersberg is 4.7 million, and all the other cities are 1.3 million at most.)

Russia violated the ceasefire almost immediately

Putin, and by extension, Russia has shown no real interest in peace and has repeatedly tried to intensify and expand the war. Putin has violated every ceasefire so far, including ones he himself proposed. Therefore, Ukraine is under no obligation to ensure the safety of his little military parade.

Hungary just returned the cash/gold taken from a Ukrainian bank convoy by Orban

Two Oschadbank armored cash vehicles containing $40 million usd, €35 million, and 9kg of gold.

Orban previously released the employees, then the vehicles, but kept the cash/gold. His successor Magyar returned the money to its lawful owner.

Zelenskyy: Russian AA focus on Moscow "opens Strike Opportunities"

Ukrainian intelligence also reported growing economic losses in Russia as a result of Ukrainian long-range strikes.

According to Zelensky, the strikes are having a particularly negative impact on regional budgets and on production and export infrastructure.

Guest list for the sans-tanks tankie parade in Moscow:

President of the Republic of Abkhazia Badra Gunba and his wife

President of the Republic of South Ossetia Alan Gagloyev

President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko

Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Robert Fico

President of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic Thongloun Sisoulith

King of Malaysia Sultan Ibrahim

President of Republika Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina) Sinisa Karan

President of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska Nenad Stevandic and his wife

President of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik and his wife

Two Russian-occupied "separatist" republics that aren't recognized by anyone, Belarus Dictator Lukashenko, the only European delegate is Fico (who won't be attending the parade, only talking to Putin), President of Laos, Malaysia's billionaire king (yes, really), and a semi-autonomous state within Bosnia-Herzegovina that I doubt most Europeans would be aware exists let alone a global audience. Way to pad the hell of out the list with three entries for the same quasi state.

You know who's not in attendance? All of Russia's remaining allies - not China, North Korea, or Iran. None of the CSTO member states except Belarus, so no Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, or Tajikistan. No one from Europe except Fico. No one from North America or South America or even Africa, which is quite something considering that Russia does have some influence in Africa.

This is the equivalent of throwing a birthday party for yourself and only your cats and the mailman attend. It's really quite sad.

Zelenskyy announced that Russia's parade will be safe - specifically, only the Red Square and only during the parade. (Russia always wanted security guarantees, and now I guess they have one)

So, I guess the Russians should enjoy their stupid little parade - the one without tanks, without internet, and without cell service. Enjoy the bread and circuses, it won't change the war.

Hydra009 wrote: Fri May 08, 2026 8:08 pm Zelenskyy announced that Russia's parade will be safe - specifically, only the Red Square and only during the parade. (Russia always wanted security guarantees, and now I guess they have one)

So, I guess the Russians should enjoy their stupid little parade - the one without tanks, without internet, and without cell service. Enjoy the bread and circuses, it won't change the war.

LOL. It's actually a smart power move by Zelensky. He is the one "letting them" have a safe parade.

I really hope that the Ukrainian prisoners of war will be released back to Ukraine. I've heard about how badly they're treated by Russia. They're supposed to trade 1000 prisoners apiece.