The Official Russian Invasion of Ukraine Thread

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DiabloWags
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movielover said:



"It most certainly is not true, as the president has suggested repeatedly, that other NATO countries owe us money," said Christopher Preble, vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute. "The 2 percent figure refers to what each country spends on its defense, as a share of that country's GDP. It does not imply owing the U.S. anything."


You and the other two fools who starred this post are as IGNORANT as the Orange Buffoon.
You certainly did not graduate from CAL and I cant imagine what you do for a living.
I really cant.

"Cults don't end well. They really don't."
oski003
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DiabloWags said:

movielover said:



"It most certainly is not true, as the president has suggested repeatedly, that other NATO countries owe us money," said Christopher Preble, vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute. "The 2 percent figure refers to what each country spends on its defense, as a share of that country's GDP. It does not imply owing the U.S. anything."


You and the other two fools who starred this post are as IGNORANT as the Orange Buffoon.
You certainly did not graduate from CAL and I cant imagine what you do for a living.
I really cant.




Narcissist. You only think you are right because you lack reading comprehension and are too busy patting yourself on the back. Your post in no way invalidates movielover's post. You are sick.
DiabloWags
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oski003 said:



Narcissist. You only think you are right because you lack reading comprehension and are too busy patting yourself on the back. Your post in no way invalidates movielover's post. You are sick.

Cool story.

Who are these NATO countries supposed to be making "payments" to?
Are you really this dense?




"Cults don't end well. They really don't."
movielover
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From The Guardian: "On Wednesday evening he [Trump] tweeted: ".... I got along great with the NATO leaders, even getting them to pay $130 Billion a year more, & $400 Billion a year more in 3 years. No increase for U.S., only deep respect!" "
oski003
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DiabloWags said:

oski003 said:



Narcissist. You only think you are right because you lack reading comprehension and are too busy patting yourself on the back. Your post in no way invalidates movielover's post. You are sick.

Cool story.

Who are these NATO countries supposed to be making "payments" to?
Are you really this dense?




Here is some good reading.

Read this

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/reading-comprehension-improvement-strategies

And then this.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.brookings.edu/articles/strategic-responsibility-rebalancing-european-and-trans-atlantic-defense/amp/

It might be easier to digest the text if you aren't distracted constantly patting yourself on the back. I further suggest rereading movielover's post, so you actually get what he is expressing. You may be too biased with hatred against Trump to understand his dealings with NATO.
movielover
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NATO:

The 2% defence investment guideline

"In 2006, NATO Defence Ministers agreed to commit a minimum of 2% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to defence spending to continue to ensure the Alliance's military readiness. This guideline also serves as an indicator of a country's political will to contribute to NATO's common defence efforts since the defence capacity of each member has an impact on the overall perception of the Alliance's credibility as a politico-military organisation....

"...In 2014, three Allies spent 2% of GDP or more on defence; this went up to nine Allies in the first half of 2022...."

Unit2Sucks
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movielover said:

From The Guardian: "On Wednesday evening he [Trump] tweeted: ".... I got along great with the NATO leaders, even getting them to pay $130 Billion a year more, & $400 Billion a year more in 3 years. No increase for U.S., only deep respect!" "
I don't know if it's possible for me to dumb it down enough for you. Trump didn't understand how NATO works and neither do you. None of this money went into NATO. Further, he lied and what he called an annual amount wasn't. I could point you to the truth, but let's be honest - you are completely resistant to facts.

For anyone else reading and wonder how dump Trump and his minions are, here's what Trump was lying about:
Quote:

Mr. Stoltenberg announced that in 2019 defence spending across European Allies and Canada increased in real terms by 4.6 %, making this the fifth consecutive year of growth. He also revealed that by the end of 2020, those Allies will have invested $130 billion more since 2016. Based on the latest estimates, the accumulated increase in defence spending by the end of 2024 will be $400 billion.
You will note that this is cumulative which is different from annual.

But, since you agree with Trump, let's show more of what Trump said when he talked about increasing military spending (which, again, didn't go into NATO funding at all).

Here's what he said in a debate with Joe Biden, who following Trump's abysmal 4 years in office managed to destroy Trump in a landmark election by ~7 million votes, in part due to enough people seeing through Trump's obvious lies and BS. Obviously not ML though as he lacks the requisite skillset, despite believing in himself.
Quote:

You know, I've got the NATO countries to put up an extra 130 billion, going to $420 billion a year, that's to guard against Russia. I sold while he was selling pillows and sheets I sold tank busters to Ukraine. There has been nobody tougher on Russia than Donald Trump. And I'll tell you, they were so bad. They took over the, the submarine port. You remember that very well during your term, during you and Barack Obama. They took over a big part of what should have been Ukraine. You handed it to them. But you were getting a lot of money from Russia.
Reminds me a lot of the word salad you often spew (including clearly lying about certain facts because he was too dumb to even understand the subject matter). So do you agree with Trump that NATO should be strong to guard against Russia and that we should be tough on Russia or do you believe we should abandon Ukraine and allow Russia to run roughshod?

LOL, ML at his finest self-delusion.
movielover said:


I can make the needed judgements



movielover
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Has AntiochWags taken you for a drive yet?
Unit2Sucks
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Russia is so dumb that they stored ammo in the same building with their troops so Ukraine was able to fire a couple of HIMARs and do a lot of damage. Russia really needs to pack it in - quite sad to see the number of people dying for a pointless war in order to protect Putin's sh(thole petrostate kleptocracy. At what point will Russians tire of sending off people to die for nothing?



















dimitrig
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Unit2Sucks said:

Russia is so dumb that they stored ammo in the same building with their troops so Ukraine was able to fire a couple of HIMARs and do a lot of damage. Russia really needs to pack it in - quite sad to see the number of people dying for a pointless war in order to protect Putin's sh(thole petrostate kleptocracy. At what point will Russians tire of sending off people to die for nothing?






















The Russian reaction by the politicians and the public is ridiculous.

A Ukrainian sympathizer must have tipped off the location. Ya think? Why would they do that?

How dare those Ukrainians kill our boys who are standing on Ukrainian soil!

Those in charge must be held accountable! Just as long as we don't mention who sent those soldiers into Ukraine to begin with!

They still really don't get that they are fighting a war and that Ukraine doesn't want them there and will kill them until every last Russian has been sent home in a body bag - or will die trying.

movielover
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What's true, and what's propaganda? Ukraine and their supporters are celebrating the KIA of 60, to possibly 400 men. That's not a big number in a war like this. (If the Russia 'supporters' are correct that they're killing 15,000 a month, that's 500 a day.)
Unit2Sucks
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Such strength. Such strategy.








movielover
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If Ukraine is doing so well, why are they so giddy about one strike that killed between 100 and 400 Rooskies?

Who knows. Maybe Russia is a paper tiger, maybe Putin's military upgrades since 2014 were a sham. We'll see. I try to find less-biased reports.

Judge Napolitano guest - some mercenary ad hoc group - claims Ukraine shot down 90% of Russia's drones. Claims early independent fighters left bc of the bureaucracy, but are now being enticed back to fight. He's surprised Ukraine hasn't gone on the offensive as this is Russia's weakest point, and predicts a longer war which Ukraine will win. Predicts Spring offensive.

Retired CIA hack on the same show claims Ukraine shot down 100% of Putin's drones. 100% certain Ukraine will win. Predicts Spring offensive.

Various sources claim Russia is using Chechin and Wagner fighters, up to 50,000, in current battles. Wagner reportedly capable and well armed. Are Russian flag fighters less capable, being retrained, or preparing for the upcoming offensive?

Pro Ukraine sources emphasize Russias previous use of old tanks, etc.; Russia now using the modern T90 tank. Business Insider claims Russia has abandoned 30 T90 tanks, and that some withdrawals were organized, and some weren't.
movielover
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Colonel McGregor and the retired CIA pro Ukraine guy. High points:

- the ground is freezing in Southern Ukraine; in 2 weeks, Russia can launch an advance if they choose to.
- Ukraine reportedly suiting up 16-year-old boys - reportedly seen on various unnamed channels.
- Ukraine seeking outside mercenaries not a good sign.
- CIA guy makes inane comparisons to Afghanistan.
- the politization of military leaders.
- Col McGregor claims Ukraine has 450k injured?

Eastern Oregon Bear
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"During their reckless effort to avoid the natural dominance of their Russian neighbors, Ukraine has had 500,000 soldiers killed and 1,000,000 injured. At least 7,500 of them had overdue library books with unpaid fines." - Eastern Oregon Bear - 1/4/2023

Since I have an even more negative take than Farmer McGregor, I look forward to movielover quoting my preeminent expertise about Eastern European military matters.
tequila4kapp
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Is there something in McGregor's CV that I'm missing that makes him an expert on Ukraine/Russia. Because from what I can find he beat a war game handily, led a successful military operation in Iraq, wrote a book calling for the reorganization of the Army to mimic certain elements of the Marine Corp and has a reputation for being an outside the box thinker. Oh yeah, and he pissed off his superiors enough that he was passed over for promotion to General and retired a Colonel. Exactly why should we pay attention to anything he says?
movielover
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Wikipedia: "He played a significant role on the battlefield in the 1990-91 Gulf War and the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. His 1997 book Breaking the Phalanx established him as an influential if unconventional theorist of military strategy. His thinking contributed to the US strategy in its 2003 invasion of Iraq."

West Point (B.S.)
University of Virginia (Ph.D.)

"Macgregor was the "squadron operations officer who essentially directed the Battle of 73 Easting" during the Gulf War.[3] Facing an Iraqi Republican Guard opponent, he led a contingent consisting of 19 tanks, 26 Bradley Fighting Vehicles and 4 M1064 mortar carriers through the sandstorm to the 73 Easting at roughly 16:18 hours on 26 February 1991 *** destroyed almost 70 Iraqi armored vehicles with no U.S. casualties in a 23-minute span of the battle.[3] *** He was at the front of the formation in the center with Eagle Troop on the right and Ghost Troop on the left...."

"At a November 1993 exercise at the Army's National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin, Lt. Col. Macgregor's unit vastly outperformed its peers against the "Opposition Force (OPFOR)." The series of five battles usually end in four losses and a draw for the visiting units; his unit won three, lost one, and drew one.[3] Macgregor's unit dispersed widely, took unconventional risks, and anticipated enemy movements."

"Macgregor was "one of the Army's leading thinkers on innovation", according to journalist Thomas E. Ricks.[5] He "became prominent inside the Army" when his book Breaking the Phalanx was published in 1997, arguing for radical reforms.[5] Breaking the Phalanx was rare in that an active duty military author was challenging the status quo with detailed reform proposals for the reorganization of U.S. Army ground forces...."

The Patton Problem? "Many of Macgregor's colleagues thought his unconventional thinking may have harmed his chances for promotion.[3] While an Army NTC official called him "the best war fighter the Army has got," colleagues of Macgregor were concerned that "the Army is showing it prefers generals who are good at bureaucratic gamesmanship to ones who can think innovatively on the battlefield."[3] Macgregor was also seen as blunt, and to some, arrogant...."

"Macgregor was the top planner for General Wesley Clark, the military commander of NATO, for its 1999 attack on Serbia."

Post Military Career

"] In 2014, he stated that U.S. Army is designed to benefit four-star generals, not brigade readiness."

[Hence 40 4-star Generals and Admirals?]

"In 2019, Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi, Chief of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) General Staff made MacGregor's 2003 book, Transformation under Fire, required reading for all officers in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and above. On February 17, 2020, Macgregor traveled to Israel as a guest of the IDF Chief of Staff to meet with the IDF General Staff, and many of his senior officers to discuss General Kohavi's ongoing initiative to transform the IDF for future warfighting missions in the 21st century."

Critics say he is pro-Russian, anti-Muslim, racist, etc. He has blamed George Soros for some of our problems, and believes in protecting the southern border. Not a proponent for affirmative action in the military.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Macgregor
movielover
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Dave Smith on Joe Rogan, including Steven Colbert outtake. Acknowledging the backstory to the Middle East, and to Ukraine. Victoria Nuland, NGOs, the peace plan Boris Johnson (USA) nixed.

Unit2Sucks
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First wave of convicts who have completed their tour of duty being released into the wild in Russia. I wonder how long before they are rounded up and sent back to the front lines. These criminal survivors are probably Russia's best soldiers.

movielover
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CNN: "President Vladimir Putin told his Turkish counterpart on Thursday that Moscow is open to "serious dialogue" regarding Ukraine, but Kyiv must accept "new territorial realities," according to the Kremlin.

[i.e. Russia will now want the Donbas.]

US President Joe Biden said that the United States intends to supply Ukraine with Bradley armored vehicles. And Germany will provide Marder infantry fighting vehicles and an additional Patriot air defense battery,"
bearister
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Unit2Sucks said:

First wave of convicts who have completed their tour of duty being released into the wild in Russia. I wonder how long before they are rounded up and sent back to the front lines. These criminal survivors are probably Russia's best soldiers.




Erik Prince will hire them to serve as the Praetorian Guard for tRump's dictatorship.
Cancel my subscription to the Resurrection
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside
movielover
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Russia also declaring a cease fire for 36 hours for Orthodox Christmas.
tequila4kapp
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movielover said:

CNN: "President Vladimir Putin told his Turkish counterpart on Thursday that Moscow is open to "serious dialogue" regarding Ukraine, but Kyiv must accept "new territorial realities," according to the Kremlin.

[i.e. Russia will now want the Donbas.]

US President Joe Biden said that the United States intends to supply Ukraine with Bradley armored vehicles. And Germany will provide Marder infantry fighting vehicles and an additional Patriot air defense battery,"
That seems like a non-starter.

Russian sympathizers leave Donbass, move to Russia, Ukraine keeps the territories. Whoever stays in Donbass by X date is recognized as a Ukrainian, regardless of language or culture. Russia pays all expenses for moving, housing and assimilating the new population.

Ukraine recognizes Russia right to Crimea.

Maybe a DMZ alike in Korea.

Ukraine outlaws Nazism.

Ukraine doesn't join NATO but gets some pseudo NATO designation that formalizes their support/safety.
Unit2Sucks
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Remember the dire predictions from the mass purveyors of misinformation in this thread that Europe would run out of gas this winter and would have to stop supporting Ukraine? Turns out that Kremlin propaganda and wishful thinking wasn't enough.

Reason 1000 why those propagandists should be ignored by everyone - they pretend to be experts but have no idea what they are talking about and never bother to go back and acknowledge how wrong their predictions were because that would make it hard for them to continue to pretend like their future predictions have any merit.



The EU remains fine and is stepping up its commitment to Ukraine. A number of countries have begun to provide armored vehicles to help defeat Russia. The US is sending over Bradleys as well.



Cal88
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Unit2Sucks said:

Remember the dire predictions from the mass purveyors of misinformation in this thread that Europe would run out of gas this winter and would have to stop supporting Ukraine? Turns out that Kremlin propaganda and wishful thinking wasn't enough.

Reason 1000 why those propagandists should be ignored by everyone - they pretend to be experts but have no idea what they are talking about and never bother to go back and acknowledge how wrong their predictions were because that would make it hard for them to continue to pretend like their future predictions have any merit.

As a low-info, high aggro poster with an insular (if not outright xenophobic) mindset, you have a very limited idea of what is really going on in Europe now. Despite record mild winter conditions, the economy is reeling due to skyrocketing electricity rates. A lot of small and medium sized businesses are shutting down, especially those like manufacturers or bakeries where energy inputs are not negligible.

Here is an example of a second generation family business, a restaurant, which has gone out of business due to their energy bill going from 2000 Euros/mo in December (which was already more than double their bill from pre-war levels) to 19,000 Euros for January, his utility bill is now over 15 times what it was pre-Ukraine war:




Quote:

The EU remains fine and is stepping up its commitment to Ukraine. A number of countries have begun to provide armored vehicles to help defeat Russia. The US is sending over Bradleys as well.

Ukraine is losing the battle of Bakhmut/Soledar. This is the most important battle in the war so far, with up to 60,000 Ukrainian troops currently massing in the main eastern Donbass front, including tens of thousands of reservists who have been rushed there to replace their casualties, which have been building up at a very high rate.

Soledar is being overrun and encircled, the main highway to Bakhmut has been cut off and the Russians have gained the high ground. The Ukrainian field commanders will have to decide if they are going to keep throwing thousands of bodies into the meat grinder or evacuate Soledar & Bakhmut and retreat to the last line of defense in the Donbass.

This is a very useful presentation, it goes over the latest development in the Donbass front, but also describes the nature of this war, which boils down to a 21st version of trench warfare, explaining why progress is slow:



Ukraine is running out of manpower, they have been conscripting 16 year olds, and are now trying to force conscript their expat men in Poland and other European countries:


Even pro-Ukrainian observers are now seeing the morbid futility in the all-out war to the last Ukrainian:





Cal88
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World-famous French glassware manufacturer Duralex has shut down its production indefinitely, after their energy bill went from 12,000 Euros per month to nearly half a million/mo.



Quote:

"Electricity prices for the last quarter and the beginning of next year would have been inexplicable, brutal, crazy prices which did not allow production to continue under normal conditions," CEO Jose-Luis Llacuna told Reuters in the factory in central France.

Other notable shutdowns in France include the largest producer of canned foods after their power bill has jumped by more than tenfold. This is going to have a serious impact over the price of food, with the supply of canned goods going down.
Unit2Sucks
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Here's an interesting puff piece in FT about life in Moscow these days. The author lives in Moscow and will probably accidentally fall out of an open window soon.


Quote:

Outwardly, Moscow still looks a lot like it did before the war. Oligarchs, showbiz stars and pro-Putin politicians still power-lunch at restaurants proudly bearing their Michelin guide rating. The boutiques behind the Bolshoi Theatre still sell the latest in high-end Italian fashion and French cosmetics. In hip loft-style buildings, the state companies that dominate Russia's economy are still serving real champagne at their Christmas parties.

But you don't have to scratch hard at the facade to see the rot setting in. The oligarchs and crooners are all under US sanctions, and the Michelin guide has withdrawn all its Russian ratings. A good third of the shop fronts in Moscow's malls are empty after big-name western brands pulled out. Kremlin-connected executives quietly raise a glass for peace in 2023 then grumble that even they are powerless to speak out against the war, which they fear so much as mentioning in public.

Most of those who did mention the war fled in its early days, after the Kremlin shut down independent media and police arrested nearly 20,000 people, often violently, for protesting. Others plotted their exit more slowly as they applied for visas in Europe. Then, in September, Putin mobilised Russia's reserves, causing more than 1mn people to flee the country in a matter of weeks.



Cal88
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Unit2Sucks said:

Here's an interesting puff piece in FT about life in Moscow these days. The author lives in Moscow and will probably accidentally fall out of an open window soon.


Quote:

Outwardly, Moscow still looks a lot like it did before the war. Oligarchs, showbiz stars and pro-Putin politicians still power-lunch at restaurants proudly bearing their Michelin guide rating. The boutiques behind the Bolshoi Theatre still sell the latest in high-end Italian fashion and French cosmetics. In hip loft-style buildings, the state companies that dominate Russia's economy are still serving real champagne at their Christmas parties.

But you don't have to scratch hard at the facade to see the rot setting in. The oligarchs and crooners are all under US sanctions, and the Michelin guide has withdrawn all its Russian ratings. A good third of the shop fronts in Moscow's malls are empty after big-name western brands pulled out. Kremlin-connected executives quietly raise a glass for peace in 2023 then grumble that even they are powerless to speak out against the war, which they fear so much as mentioning in public.

Most of those who did mention the war fled in its early days, after the Kremlin shut down independent media and police arrested nearly 20,000 people, often violently, for protesting. Others plotted their exit more slowly as they applied for visas in Europe. Then, in September, Putin mobilised Russia's reserves, causing more than 1mn people to flee the country in a matter of weeks.


Yes of course, Russia is in a deep crisis, a state of national turmoil -no- a real economic and social armageddon because Michelin is no longer starring their top restaurants and the Louis Vuitton and Gucci stores have shut down!

And the KGB or whatever it's called today, is no doubt plotting to KILL the author of that article for having revealed to the world that state of national panic in Russia, where the latest approval poll for Putin is 81%.

This is what Russia looks like in 2023:


Video won't play/linking disabled, perhaps a middle-aged British dude walking around in an average Russian town during the holidays is far too subversive to share - you can watch it by googling
"Life in Russia in 2023 After Sanctions - Real Life in Russia Today"
tequila4kapp
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DiabloWags said:

oski003 said:



Narcissist. You only think you are right because you lack reading comprehension and are too busy patting yourself on the back. Your post in no way invalidates movielover's post. You are sick.

Cool story.

Who are these NATO countries supposed to be making "payments" to?
Are you really this dense?
I've never looked into it but I always read it to mean they agreed to increase their internal defense spending. They weren't "paying it" to anyone, they were simply reallocating their own national spending. I also understood Trump's words to be loose, but obviously (to me at least) intended to mean that if others meet their agreed upon burden the US will "spend less" the next time NATO is needed.
dimitrig
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Cal88 said:

Unit2Sucks said:

Here's an interesting puff piece in FT about life in Moscow these days. The author lives in Moscow and will probably accidentally fall out of an open window soon.


Quote:

Outwardly, Moscow still looks a lot like it did before the war. Oligarchs, showbiz stars and pro-Putin politicians still power-lunch at restaurants proudly bearing their Michelin guide rating. The boutiques behind the Bolshoi Theatre still sell the latest in high-end Italian fashion and French cosmetics. In hip loft-style buildings, the state companies that dominate Russia's economy are still serving real champagne at their Christmas parties.

But you don't have to scratch hard at the facade to see the rot setting in. The oligarchs and crooners are all under US sanctions, and the Michelin guide has withdrawn all its Russian ratings. A good third of the shop fronts in Moscow's malls are empty after big-name western brands pulled out. Kremlin-connected executives quietly raise a glass for peace in 2023 then grumble that even they are powerless to speak out against the war, which they fear so much as mentioning in public.

Most of those who did mention the war fled in its early days, after the Kremlin shut down independent media and police arrested nearly 20,000 people, often violently, for protesting. Others plotted their exit more slowly as they applied for visas in Europe. Then, in September, Putin mobilised Russia's reserves, causing more than 1mn people to flee the country in a matter of weeks.


Yes of course, Russia is in a deep crisis, a state of national turmoil -no- a real economic and social armageddon because Michelin is no longer starring their top restaurants and the Louis Vuitton and Gucci stores have shut down!

And the KGB or whatever it's called today, is no doubt plotting to KILL the author of that article for having revealed to the world that state of national panic in Russia, where the latest approval poll for Putin is 81%.

This is what Russia looks like in 2023:


Video won't play/linking disabled, perhaps a middle-aged British dude walking around in an average Russian town during the holidays is far too subversive to share - you can watch it by googling
"Life in Russia in 2023 After Sanctions - Real Life in Russia Today"



Do Russians speak openly and truthfully to pollsters?

Probably not.

"Do Russians tell the full truth when asked about their support for the war? Based on our experiment, we can safely conclude that they do not."
-- London School of Economics researchers

(Source : https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-support-ukraine-war-polls-putin/31791423.html )



movielover
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I.E. "new tanks". "Pro Russia" commentator Scott Ritter notes:

- how long will Ukrainians train to operate them?
- where will they keep spare parts, mechanics, and technicians?
- how well will these stored tanks work?
- tanks that operate alone will be picked off
- how long will it take to train soldiers, and deliver them. 3 months, 4 months?
- Ritter claims tanks will have to be removed from Ukraine for repair bc of the above

The Ukranian General in The Economist said he needed many things, including 300 tanks.

I've never heard this before, but Ritter claims we have broken every peace deal and agreement going back decades - Minsk (I knew this one), START (there have been several - unsure what he's referring to).

Several Ukrainian military leaders seem convinced Russia will attack in the spring.
Cal88
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movielover said:

I.E. "new tanks". "Pro Russia" commentator Scott Ritter notes:

- how long will Ukrainians train to operate them?
- where will they keep spare parts, mechanics, and technicians?
- how well will these stored tanks work?
- tanks that operate alone will be picked off
- how long will it take to train soldiers, and deliver them. 3 months, 4 months?
- Ritter claims tanks will have to be removed from Ukraine for repair bc of the above

The Ukranian General in The Economist said he needed many things, including 300 tanks.

I've never heard this before, but Ritter claims we have broken every peace deal and agreement going back decades - Minsk (I knew this one), START (there have been several - unsure what he's referring to).

Several Ukrainian military leaders seem convinced Russia will attack in the spring.

They can use these western tanks fairly soon with mixed crews of Ukrainian tankers and NATO tank commanders. Ukrainian tankers can be trained quickly to handle the more basic tank tasks like loading and driving, operating under a Polish or German tank commander. Or they can even use all-Polish crews, as Poland already has several thousand troops in Ukraine. The Leopard 2 and Abrams are very heavy tanks though in the 65T range, they are going to have a hard time operating in muddy conditions.

As far as maintenance, spare parts etc, their shelf lives aren't likely to be very long, so it's a minor concern. Right now Ukraine is in a very bad shape in the main battlefront of the Donbass, and so NATO is ratcheting up its military support.

The next step up will be F16s from Poland and other NATO countries flying under the Ukrainian flag, it could happen later this year as Ukraine's military prospects become even more desperate.
movielover
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Col McGregor - Not Good Strategy

Many good general points.

- Elon Musk providing the valuable Starlink system to Ukraine
- Ukraine started out with 600k trained troops
- delves into George Soros a bit, and the billionaire funding two Nazi regimes
- brief mention of Victoria Nuland
- Taiwan and China


movielover
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A cross dresser acquaintance who has relatives in England says canned goods are already being hard to come by / rationed.
Cal88
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dimitrig said:

Cal88 said:

Unit2Sucks said:

Here's an interesting puff piece in FT about life in Moscow these days. The author lives in Moscow and will probably accidentally fall out of an open window soon.


Outwardly, Moscow still looks a lot like it did before the war. Oligarchs, showbiz stars and pro-Putin politicians still power-lunch at restaurants proudly bearing their Michelin guide rating. The boutiques behind the Bolshoi Theatre still sell the latest in high-end Italian fashion and French cosmetics. In hip loft-style buildings, the state companies that dominate Russia's economy are still serving real champagne at their Christmas parties.




Yes of course, Russia is in a deep crisis, a state of national turmoil -no- a real economic and social armageddon because Michelin is no longer starring their top restaurants and the Louis Vuitton and Gucci stores have shut down!

And the KGB or whatever it's called today, is no doubt plotting to KILL the author of that article for having revealed to the world that state of national panic in Russia, where the latest approval poll for Putin is 81%.

Do Russians speak openly and truthfully to pollsters?

Probably not.

"Do Russians tell the full truth when asked about their support for the war? Based on our experiment, we can safely conclude that they do not."
-- London School of Economics researchers

(Source : https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-support-ukraine-war-polls-putin/31791423.html )

The imagery conveyed here is that these polls are conducted with two KGB goons standing behind a pollster, ready to send some hapless undisciplined Russian to the gulag at the drop of a furry hat... Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has been in the business of reinforcing cold war cliches for a very long time. In any case, the poll has a "don't know" third answer for those uncommited.

Quote:

RFE/RL broadcasts in 27 languages to 23 countries.[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Free_Europe/Radio_Liberty#cite_note-9][9][/url] The organization has been headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, since 1995, and has 21 local bureaus with over 500 core staff and 1,300 stringers and freelancers in countries throughout their broadcast region. In addition, it has 700 employees at its headquarters and corporate office in Washington, D.C. Radio Free Europe is often seen as an outlet for American propaganda and US interests more generally.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Free_Europe/Radio_Liberty

FYI the poll I've cited was conducted by the Levada Center, an NGO which is not aligned with Russia authorities and actually more politically aligned with Russia's small opposition.


This being said, this is a good song:

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