Ivan Kozhedub - Allied Ace of Aces and His First Victories

Ivan Mykytovich Kozhedub was a Soviet Ukrainian fighter pilot who achieved the highest number of aerial victories among all Allied pilots in WWII. And yet, he doesn't seem to be given enough attention, at least not in the West. In this video, we will learn a little about his background and see how his fighter pilot career got off to a shaky start.
Sources:
- Кожедуб И.Н. - Верность Отчизне
- George Mellinger - LaGG & Lavochkin Aces of World War 2
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[@PaIaeoCIive1648]

Like several future aces Kozhedub had a shaky start in combat. Lucky to make it down alive after being hit early on and not scoring a kill until Kursk months later. Also making risky head-to-head attacks on ME109s and emerging victorious more than once. To survive as a Red Air Force frontline fighter pilot from 1942 until the war's end was quite an achievement - as was his 62 kills.

[@showtime112]

Exactly! I find it particularly interesting when a really successful pilot struggles initially.

[@edw9124]

Great vid! Always been a fan of the pilot and the LA series of fighters

[@vadimpm1290]

We must not forget that Alexander Pokryshkin is said to have downplayed the number of his kills at the expense of his wingmen, so his final score may be higher than that of Kozhedub.

[@PaIaeoCIive1648]

@@vadimpm1290 That's right, many pilots also had shared kills after being unsure which of them was responsible for downing the enemy plane. Kozhedub shot down Mustangs in self-defence near the end of the war which weren't added to his tally for political reasons.

[@Siddich]

@@showtime112i heard to score hits with guns, it has to „click“, once that happens, skill decides, if he is good or just average…

[@baselhammond3317]

An interesting thing I read in one of his interviews was that he would often sit in his former La-7 white 27 (preserved in a museum) decades after the war - just to get that boyhood thrill and exhilaration of flying again.

[@showtime112]

Thank you for contributing! That's understandable, to those veterans the was was the most intensive experience they would ever have.

[@yeetboi911]

Yet another masterpiece of a story brought to us by showtime. Well done, i really liked this one

[@showtime112]

Thanks, I'm glad to hear it!

[@ghostb9339]

Great video about person who was born to fly! I am proud we share common motherland.

[@showtime112]

Thank you for this comment!

[@i.setyawan]

I've heard of Kozhedub's name, but I never knew any details of him, particularly his early career. Thanks for yet another excellent episode. It's also very nice to see Il-2 game footage again. Used to play it almost 20 years ago, but sadly not anymore.

[@showtime112]

Thank you for commenting and enjoying the video. I actually used War Thunder for it as I've acquired more proficiency with its mission editor.

[@i.setyawan]

@@showtime112 Oh, I see... My mistake

[@showtime112]

@@i.setyawan No problem. It's easy to confuse the two if you are not currently playing them as these games evolve constantly.

[@schwarzz6784]

Main Il-2:1946 juga mas?

[@i.setyawan]

@@schwarzz6784 Main yg Il-2 keluaran awal. Udah lama enggak lagi, sih. Terakhir main udah lebih dari 15 tahun lalu. Hehe

[@MarceloBorba-t5m]

Thank you again for one more excellent video. These men and women who fought against the evil must not be forgotten. Again, excellent video.

[@showtime112]

Thank you for such a positive feedback!

[@robgraham5697]

Thanks once again for an interesting video about a little known facet of aviation history. Much enjoyed.

[@showtime112]

Thank you for appreciating the video!

[@m.m.w.8773]

as a german..... i really neverver heard of him, which is quite sad. Thx for telling this story, and R.I.P. sir

[@showtime112]

Thanks for commenting! This aspect of WWII history deserves more attention for sure.

[@gerometorribio2127]

Excellent content and production applied to an overlooked subject. The black and white newsreel effect at the start, along with the patriotic accordion music, are masterful.

[@showtime112]

Thanks a lot! I had fun experimenting with some techniques I haven't used before to get the 'old' effect. It can be done better (and I probably will when I get more time). The music is the march of Soviet Anti-Aircraft Defense. Not 100% appropriate but close enough :)

[@ernstwiltmann6]

@@showtime112 The Lyubimy Gorod (by Mark Bernas) is a haunting Soviet Song, which would go well with another Video about a Soviet Fighter Ace. Also Smugljanka Moldavanka = The Moldavian Dark Haired Girl. As seen in the Movie "Only Old Men go to War"!

[@showtime112]

@@ernstwiltmann6 Thank you for your suggestions. I'll check out if these songs are copyrighted.

[@ariannescharfi9366]

A video of Alexander Pokryshkin would be awesome since that guy was a beast!!

[@showtime112]

I agree! Plus, he flew P-39s which makes his career even more interesting in my opinion.

[@ernstwiltmann6]

@@showtime112 Than there where Achmed Khan, a Crimean Tatarian Ace flying for the Soviets (26) , that Shhut (54), Glinka (21), and some more I can not recollect right now by names.

[@PappaBear_yt]

Great video and I really like the intro! Not the fan of ads, but congratulations on sponsorship! 👍🏻👏🏻💪🏻🍻🍻🙋🏼‍♂️

[@showtime112]

Thanks Pappa, I was happy with the intro too. Everyone hates the ads but sadly, we need them to survive in this cut-throat business :)

[@branka4226]

Nice video 👍

[@showtime112]

Thanks!

[@il-2forsale57]

Great job! Now we need video about Pokryshkin

[@showtime112]

Thanks! There will be something like that, hard to say when exactly because my inspirations are hard to predict 😁

[@il-2forsale57]

Good night!@@showtime112

[@soumadip_skyy_banerjee]

❤ Another awesome video! Loved it

[@showtime112]

I'm happy to hear it!

[@dante666jt]

10:20 this is a head on dogfight... where only the bravest will survive..

[@showtime112]

As any WT player knows, it's a gamble.

[@dante666jt]

@@showtime112 absolutely! I respect the pilots here as no one chickened out in the end!

[@yveaux500]

Great storytelling. And good to see that ST112 is finally getting found by sponsors. Hope this will enable to channel to stay "in the air" (pun intened)

[@showtime112]

Thank you! Sponsors are not too frequent but they help me keep my head above water :)

[@dominiqueroudier9401]

2nd.....was at work😢

[@showtime112]

Still a podium finish :)

[@dominiqueroudier9401]

@@showtime112 watch later now in LIDL shopping 😛

[@emanuildimitroff]

The ambient of the video is superb!

[@showtime112]

I'm glad you think so. Getting the ambient right is half the job.

[@kevinmccorkle7476]

Love the historical videos. All of these pilots and crews bear remembering.

[@showtime112]

Thank you very much! I certainly agree with that.

[@juancarlosperezcortes9259]

An interesting story. Thanks for share it

[@showtime112]

Thank you for appreciating it!

[@1joshjosh1]

I'm continuing to watch Showtime 112

[@showtime112]

I'm happy to hear it :)

[@jeannezehner9450]

Excellent idea for speaking about a russian ace during world war II. They have been forgotten by Western military story which have forgotten Pat Paddle, the Commonwealth ace, or the first western allied pilot with 51 aerial victories. In the Eastern front, there were a lot of planes, and the battles were huge, gigantic, so you were more able to score more easily. There's Alexandre Pokrychkine, an other ace russian pilot who has 65 victories but not all was confirmed and some was gained by cooperation. So officially Kozhedub is the ace of the aces of the allied camp.

[@didierdenice7456]

One thing very rarely explained is that one should be careful to compare apples and pears ! 🤔 Russia, like France, Italy, Romania ... kept the same scoring system from the First World War where one shared victory was counted as a full victory ! Kozhedub score, though undoubtedly great... includes full as well as shared victories all mixed in one bag with no distinction.

[@gbcb8853]

To be accurate, he wasn’t Russian he was Ukrainian, and he flew with the air force of the Soviet Union. Two years ago I wouldn’t have known the difference myself, but history happened.

[@jeannezehner9450]

@@didierdenice7456 The victories is very complicated to determine with precision, each country had his own system, that's true. For an european pilot in second world war, which is not german, the highest top score is due to a finnish guy with 92 victories. But Finland had fought against USSR and after on 1941 was allied with the German Reich until 44.

[@jeannezehner9450]

@@gbcb8853 Yes, it's true, he wasn't born in Russia, it was an ukrainian. But he was a soviet citizen, it's more simple like this, because it was USSR period. USSR was an Empire and inside an Empire there's no borders only administrative boundaries. So, the nationality was not very important at this time, its decorations are soviet. But it stay an allied pilot, it's the essential. Pokrychkine was borned in Russia, at Novossibirsk it's the reason why I have wrote this I was thinking about him.

[@dominiqueroudier9401]

Tous les 2 ont volé sur La 5 et 7. Pokryshin à tâté d'abord du P39 Airacobra. Avion mal aimé du côté ouest. Le La7 était plus puissant, 1800hp et 3x 20mm ou 23mm canons. Faut pas oublier le finlandais Elmo Jutilaainen

[@bjornsmith9431]

USSR aces are the rarely mention in the Western historian.

[@showtime112]

True. This video isn't going to change much but it's a small step.

[@randallturner9094]

The Russian Air Force in ww2 was unbelievably inept from beginning to end. Every new bit of research turns up more falsifications and cover ups. Until Russia actually declassifies ww2 records we won’t have a clear picture of what happened.

[@wongarnold2879]

Ivan deserves more praises, he’s the best pilot of the allies in ww2.

[@BruceK10032]

Wonderful! Lots of stuff I didn't know.

[@showtime112]

Then the purpose of this video is fulfilled. Thanks for the feedback!

[@eduardodeandres3864]

Hola. Muchas gracias. Extraordinario video. Muy bueno. Gracias

[@showtime112]

Thank you, I am glad you liked it!

[@ISSH-nu7rn]

Excellent job 👏

[@showtime112]

I appreciate your comment!

[@offshorequest]

I was not familiar with him. Thanks !

[@showtime112]

Thank you for commenting! This aspect of WWII is not known well enough outside the former USSR.

[@Kay-51995]

Not someone I know much about, always interesting to see.

[@showtime112]

Most of my viewers don't seem to find it very interesting but what the heck, I had fun doing the video 😁

[@mikemosier3497]

I certainly do! Keep doing what you do.

[@ratagris21]

Excellent work by Showtime 112! We can always expect the unexpected in these presentation. Aviational history kept alive as a blast from the past. ♠️🎩🎯🎱🇺🇸🏁🇮🇱🇺🇦🔱🌻🏵️💮🌸🌼🏴‍☠️🏹

[@showtime112]

Thanks again! I enjoyed this topic. I know it might not be the most popular thing among my viewers but that might change :)

[@didierdenice7456]

One thing very rarely explained is that one should be careful to compare apples and pears ! 🤔 Russia, like France, Italy, Romania ... kept the same scoring system from the First World War where one shared victory was counted as a full victory ! Kozhedub score, though undoubtedly great... includes full as well as shared victories all mixed in one bag with no distinction.

[@TK57477]

No, you are wrong. In Soviet system personal and shared scores were apart from each other, which was marked in pilot's logbook and other documents. For example, Kozhedub shot down 62 aircraft in person (+ 2 USAF P-51, which were not officially counted due to politics) and 45 aircraft in an element

[@TK57477]

Also, victory count was very strict in the VVS. To score a downed aircaft for himself pilot need to have a confirmation from two sources: another pilots in the area AND ground observation posts or from ground troops. Actually, if there is no wreckage in the vicinity you probably will not get the score. A lot of damaged German aircraft that fell not on the frontline (70-100% of damage according to Luftwaffe system) were never scored because of VVS rules, but nobody cares ^^

[@leighjones5551]

Nice work very interesting

[@showtime112]

Thanks for the comment!

[@coldwaterhunter8176]

Hey Showtime, I just got word the Panther hit DCS. You know what time it is. :)

[@showtime112]

It's Korea time :) But it looks like Essex class carrier is coming out too later. I'm thinking whether to wait for it for the full experience.

[@sohrabroozbahani4700]

He earned his stripes through the rise of soviet union as a super power, and he died with it as well... such a poetic fate... as the Romans had a saying... there is no greater glory for a man, than to die defending the ashes of his forefathers, and the temples of his gods.

[@showtime112]

And he was born roughly at the same time USSR was created. That generation had a very very tough time, not just because of the war.

[@TK57477]

@@showtime112 in Russia we consider this generation a blessed one of sorts. Tough, but meaningful and glorious life.

[@branka1980]

👍

[@showtime112]

Hvala!

[@dharmendrasharma1458]

Amazing content as usaul, happy u got that sponsor 🎉 id like to recomand an interesting incounter when p2v neptune downed a russian mig15 during the korean war

[@showtime112]

Thank you for the positive feedback! The incident you recommend is interesting and it could make a good video. The problem is that we don't have the Neptune in DCS or WT Perhaps it will show up someday.

[@oveidasinclair982]

Alright I just got off of double secret probation and can post on KZbin once again. This Bolshevik pilot was actually lucky to have survived the war flying La5 and the previous Lag3, although by late in the war the Soviets had far more aircraft in the air then the Jerry's

[@timonsolus]

He never flew the LaGG-3.

[@showtime112]

You've been naughty? 😁 It is correct that Soviet pilots had huge casualty rates. But once they gained enough experience, they could achieve remarkable careers.

[@oveidasinclair982]

You bet ya😇@@showtime112

[@SilentGeorge]

So when Germans had far more and far better aircraft over soviet skies to get triple digits of kills it was ok? La-5 wasn't inferior to any german plane.

[@timonsolus]

@@SilentGeorge : In 1941-42, the German Bf 109F had a sizeable performance advantage over most of the Soviet fighters (except the speedy MiG-3). Although the Germans were still using a lot of Bf 109E’s at that time, which were slower than the F. However, the Germans were massively outnumbered by the hordes of Soviet fighters in 1941, and were still outnumbered in 1942 after the enormous losses of older Soviet fighters in 1941.

[@1joshjosh1]

Another wonderful song for the soundtrack. And he didn't pick one of the top 10 so to speak songs. Nice.

[@showtime112]

It's the march of the Soviet Anti-Aircraft Defense. That one was in my waiting list for a long time.

[@TyroneSayWTF]

I assume this video was made with the War Thunder combat sim - or is it some other combat sim?

[@showtime112]

It's War Thunder.

[@dominiqueroudier9401]

Thank you for a not well know russian top ace. His friend was Alexandre Pokryshin, 59 kills. Best plane was La7 with powerful engine and 3x20mm Guns or 23mm

[@showtime112]

Thank you for watching! Speaking of Pokryshkin, I definitely need to cover P-39 in the Eastern Front. Nothing like a good 'it sucked in one front but it excelled in another' kind of a story.

[@dominiqueroudier9401]

@@showtime112 and dont forget finnish ace elmo jutilaainen

[@johnforsyth7987]

I agree 100%! Mr. Pokryshkin's story would be a great one for your channel. @@showtime112

[@janlindtner305]

👍👍👍

[@showtime112]

Thanks for the comment!

[@jankutac9753]

The aircraft is called "Lavochkin five"

[@Tadeo_Carrizo]

I love your videos , i think we need a Jalil Zandi video , the most successful pilot of the F-14 achieved 11 kills , being the most successful pilot in the Iran-Iraq war, greetings from Argentina 🇦🇷❤

[@showtime112]

Thank you very much! I agree that I should do more videos on Iranian F-14s in the war with Iraq. Sadly, I've only done one so far.

[@Tadeo_Carrizo]

@@showtime112 Yeah , Iran F-14 pilots have some crazy stories

[@edtim1984]

Did you have an idea to visualize the events of May 13, 2023 over the Bryansk region of Russia? Let me remind you that 2 planes and 2 helicopters (Ukraine claims 3 helicopters) were shot down almost in one moment. At that time, many versions were put forward, but even to me, a person far from aviation, it was obvious that it was a long-range SAM. The USA just handed over the Patriot air defense system to Ukraine, and it became clear what exactly they did. Moreover, a few weeks later they published a video where 2 airplanes and 3 helicopters with the date May 13 were painted on the Patriot. You can Google it, you saw the video, or a scan from the video of this moment. One Ukrainian aviation expert explained almost immediately after that what could have happened. The Russians once again flew to bomb the border regions of northern Ukraine. The Russians had the following tactics: Su-34 armed with Glide bomb, Su-35 covering it from Ukrainian fighters, two Mi-8MTPR-1 with the Rychag-AV electronic warfare system and one Mi-8 to evacuate possible downed pilots. From a high altitude, before reaching the border with Ukraine, the Su-34 launches a Glide bomb. A few days before that, the Patriot air defense system had shot down Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missiles over Kyiv. The Ukrainians probably secretly moved the Patriot air defense system to the border with Russia (somewhere in the Chernihiv region) and intercepted Russian planes and helicopters that regularly bombed Ukraine before that. The only thing that is unclear is the third helicopter. There are videos of 2 planes and 2 helicopters falling. There is even a video of the moment when a large missile hits a helicopter (why I immediately understood that it was a long-range anti-aircraft missile). And, of course, all the crash sites are clearly known (except for the third helicopter). Therefore, all information can be submitted with distances relative to the border and to each other. Of course, we do not know the exact location of the Patriot air defense system, and I think we will never know. Maybe you can, like a detective, recreate the whole picture of this day. I think the video could be very interesting. And no one in the world has done this before. Sorry for my bad English. I hope you understood what I wrote.

[@showtime112]

Thanks for the suggestion, your English is more that good. For now, I mostly stay away from current conflicts as there's usually not enough information for a proper coverage. Let's hope the war ends soon so researchers can dig for precise information. Also, current simulations I use might not have all the necessary assets for such reenactments but that might change.

[@paulhickie6974]

Kick ass pilot 🤘🤘.

[@showtime112]

Certainly. Thank you for commenting!

[@geordiedog1749]

What is super cooling if an engine? I can’t seem to find any info on it. Plenty on overheating but not on the opposite.

[@showtime112]

I believe it simply means that engines were sometimes running too cold and unable to achieve normal temperatures.

[@TK57477]

Well, if engine is overcooled it works not properly, resulting in faster deterioration of components and loss of power. Finally it may result in a breakdown that will lead to loss of aircraft. Soviet WWII engines had pretty low service hours, so pilots needed to be very careful when putting temperature mode of the engine.

[@geordiedog1749]

@@TK57477 I guess it was how an engine that’s got thousands of tiny explosions creating masses of heat inside it every minute can get “super cooled” is my question?

[@damnmedic1986]

​​@@geordiedog1749during the dive, to meet these thousands of tiny explosions, the air flow moves at a speed of about 600 km/h IAS.Oh yes, it is also cooler than the operating temperature of the engine by about 100 ° C.

[@Whitpusmc]

I am sure he was a skilled and brave pilot. Given the difficulties with information gathering due in my war time, given occasional lapses in diligence in scorekeeping even among democracies with a free press, and the difference in scoring methodology, there’s little chance he was the top allied ace. Still, hardcore, lucky, brave and skilled. Undoubtedly one of the best allied pilots of the 2 WW.

[@showtime112]

Thank you for the comment! It is true that methodology was different for various nations and that some of them were more strict in recognizing kills than others. If we use the common denominator (i.e. official number of individual kills), then he does come on top. If someone was to investigate every single kill of every major ace and try to corroborate them, it might give different results. (of course, that will not happen 😁)

[@Whitpusmc]

@@showtime112 Darn, my comment got put the in wrong place or I screwed up… Also, to be clear, I think you do an excellent job of your videos, and I’m not saying anything intentionally to take away from the quality that you produce .

[@jerrymail]

Often, you have the feeling that Soviet pilots, as Soviet tankers, were hastily trained and quickly shot down. It's obviously wrong.

[@showtime112]

Generally, they were but this was especially true early in the War. As it progressed, level of training was getting better and some very good pilots emerged from it.

[@timonsolus]

No, it's correct. But there were some Soviet pilots who were both lucky and skilled, and they racked up high scores. Just like British pilots in WW1, the vast majority were shot down before becoming aces, but some scored very many kills.

[@Whitpusmc]

The USAF has revised its kill counts occasionally over time, there was just a revision published last year of one pilot if memory serves. I don’t know if I’m actually in favor of it unless some indisputable evidence comes mea forward as witnesses and other evidence is long gone. I completely understand the reasons a country might deliberately inflate a kill count, or like in the case I think of great Britain during the blitz, not rigorously investigate every shoot down claim. But I think we need to take the Soviet unions WW2 kill claims with a grain of salt. How large a grain of salt can be debated. I think mine might be a little bit larger than yours, but you’re probably better informed. Watch the 1950s edition of the movie Stalingrad to see the lengths the Soviets were willing to go to to manage “history.” But to be very clear, I am taking nothing away from the dedication to bravery, the hard work, and the skill of the individual in question.

[@showtime112]

I am aware that the official score of many pilots may not necessarily reflect reality and that the Soviets might be more guilty in that aspect than other. But that is very hard to quantify. Unless someone compared all the records carefully. But I have no doubt that Kozhedub was still one of the most successful and skillful Allied pilots. And if we go by the officially recognized victories, his score is the highest. Also, YT video titles need to be at least a little exaggerated and sensational, otherwise they are ignored. Thank you for contributing!

[@damnmedic1986]

The applications of any countries that took part in that war should be treated with skepticism. However, the fetish accounts of fighter pilots were in Nazi Germany, not in the USSR. You are unlikely to find an overclame higher than 10 to 1 for one fight on the part of the pilots of the anti-Hitler coalition, and for example, the guys from II./JG5 28.Vl.44 drew themselves 27 victories in one battle (Soviet losses - 2 aircraft).

[@Ruweisat]

War Thunder? I thought it might have been made using IL-2 Great Battles but it’s not.

[@showtime112]

Yes, it's War Thunder. It offers a very wide selection of aircraft and I'm probably more proficient with its mission editor that with IL-2's.

[@philipfoster7269]

62 actual or 62 claimed but not verified?

[@showtime112]

62 confirmed by the Soviet Air Force. This basically means that his superiors believed the claims (or chose to believe them). As far as I know, claims of Soviet aces haven't been precisely compared by German records (and they probably won't be)

[@damnmedic1986]

​@@showtime112No, such work is being carried out by Russian historians, including with regard to the applications of German pilots on the Eastern Front. For example, Vasily Stalin officially counted two shot down, and now it has been established that he can claim one (for the plane lost by the Germans in the area of his combat departure, there is another application from a pilot of another regiment).

[@raypurchase801]

I distrust the claims of a Soviet pilot in the same way that I the Soviet claims about who committed the Katyn Forest Massacre.

[@Siddich]

Ivan Kotzebub

[@Narses_the_aremnian]

he died with his country

[@showtime112]

Same time, yes.

[@Narses_the_aremnian]

@@showtime112 i am kinda happy he didnt have to see the country he fought for so hard collapse

[@TK57477]

@@Narses_the_aremnian yes, he was lucky. For example, Meliton Kantariya, a guy who put Soviet banner on Reichstag outlived his comrade and USSR, was forced to leave his home due to one of post-Soviet civil wars, being a 90 years old refuge in a new Russia who had another problems to deal with. In his last interview he regretted living up to 1991 :(

[@SilentGeorge]

Ukrainian and Allied? Lol Quite laughable how the author avoids words "soviet" or "red army" in the title. :) Afraid to be ashamed? Kozhdub was Ukrainian by ethicity, soviet citizen, flew for Red Army Air Force and yes, he was a pilot of antihitler coalition till the end of the war. As a Soviet pilot he then was on the other side of course.

[@showtime112]

It's laughable what some people think as laughable :)

[@SilentGeorge]

@@showtime112 Yeah, same sort of laughable with "politically correct" statements from politicians like "7 million ukrainians fought nazies in allied ranks." LOL, like if they had their own army. They were part of Red Army and fought along side other 23millions soldiers of dozens of nationalities. They were Soviets. But some people deliberately distort meanings nowadays or are afraid to say things as they are to don't get pointed or to don't get hit by "cancel culture" train of modern politically correct trends ;) Your videos are good though. Keep up the good job.

[@krzysztofgawe1089]

There are no books about Kozhedub because it's still impossible to realistically verify russian combat reports. It's not that that they're not coherent with german reports. It would be understandable. The problem is, that russian squadron reports don't match russian regiments reports. Russian regiments reports don't match russian division and corps reports, and so on... Add german reports to it, and you become a mess that no serious historian can decipher. Most literature is either pure propaganda and are written without any reality consideration, or totally opposite: Written to discredit famous ace. Neither of them are good.

[@showtime112]

Thank you for providing the insight.

[@Chilly_Billy]

How ironic that the leading Soviet Ace was Ukrainian.

[@showtime112]

Yes, you could say that. I wonder how he would feel about the current situation.

[@SilentGeorge]

Why? 7 millions of Ukrainians were fighting in Red Army. 500.000 of them were from Galicia. And only 70.000 western ukrainians collaborated with nazies, but now are glorified as heroes. There is nothing ironic that leading ace was Ukrainian. It's actually absolutely normal given the time.

[@Dog.soldier1950]

Just a reminder. The Soviets were co-belligerent not allies of the west

[@showtime112]

Not according to every single historical source I've ever seen. Here's the definition from Britannica for example: www.britannica.com/topic/Allied-powers-World-War-II

[@TK57477]

In WWII our countries were allies, learn history properly. It doesen't means that we share all the causes in common. Russia always was and will be contender to your country, it's OK, I guess. The situation of last 10 years reminded us this truth.

[@chups1447]

👍

[@showtime112]

Thanks Chups!