This might be a little tougher than Putin thought...
- Thread starter Nole Lou
- Start date
A Russian lawmaker has proposed sending men who seek a divorce to the front lines. I don't know how serious or rational this is, but there is no shortage of really dumb stuff coming out of Russian politicians these days.
https://www.newsweek.com/russian-lawmaker-proposes-sending-people-who-seek-divorces-war-1862448
https://www.newsweek.com/russian-lawmaker-proposes-sending-people-who-seek-divorces-war-1862448
Ukrainian hackers infiltrated Russian military systems and stole a large amount of data about Russian military installations.
https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-blackjack-hackers-russia-defense-military-sites-1862139
https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-blackjack-hackers-russia-defense-military-sites-1862139
I made the comment back on the Olympics as he was talking. I said, He Would Kill Us All.
However 30 years ago and even through the 90s Russia was in disarray. Yeltsin was anything but a threat to the west or Ukraine through the 90s. It was then the west should have poured money into Russia and Ukraine.
The Soviets were never after world domination. They were a paranoid bunch of codgers that were paranoid of each other, their citizenry, and especially Ronald Reagan. Reagan totally misread them. They didn't collapse because we forced them to spend on the military, they collapses because they didn't keep up their oil infrastructure and the western bankers pulled their credits.
There are two big events that caused unrest that we don't think much about. Russian and Ukraine are meat-centric cultures. Of all people Carter with the grain embargo (which clobbered Iowa) caused significant unrest as they liquidated their herds. When young Russians/Ukrainians were able to access Beatles records, the young people became less satisfied with traditional ways.
Russians and Ukrainians alike can withstand a lot of hardships...what Americans would consider undoable. Russians/Ukrainian culture looks forward over decades. They also place huge importance on food and military security. Ukraine was a handful for the Soviets after WW2 with military action against the right wingers (that supported Hitler) into the 1950s and it didn't stop until Stephan Bandera was killed in I think Germany.
Americans and most westerners think about right now. It's why we operate our food supply on a just enough and just in time basis. Ukraine will cut off exports when supplies get lower even though it would help their farmers to get better prices as keeping people fed is very important to them in preventing unrest.
What should the US have done? Poured in support in the 90s for Yeltsin and others.
Stronger incentives to force Ukraine to adopt the discouragement of corruption at a level Americans can't believe. Same thing in Russia during the 90s. In Ukraine you pay judges. He who has deeper pockets wins usually. Bombings, fires, tax auditors and prison sentences keep people in line.
More recently, Biden should have never....EVER been allowed as a sitting VP (and John Kerry who escapes this) dabble in Burisma and the Donbas development. Regardless of what the media tells you, the Bidens were in it deep. Putin would only take that as a threat.
Looking from Moscow to the west the terrain is largely prairie. Much of the east 2/3 of Ukraine looks like Iowa/IL with in a lot of cases better soils. There is NO natural barrier once out of the mountains to the west to use as a military barrier. Hitler took advantage of that only was delayed because Italy invaded the Balkans and got into trouble. The Russian absolutely don't trust NATO weapons being that close to Moscow and they want the Black Sea open to them to block vulnerability. The US has never had a major incursion war on our soil since the War of 1812. Russia has been devastated over the years.
Another item, the US 101st Airborne should never have trained Svoboda, Right Sector, and Azov (and others) militarily, though Azov kicked Russian but at Mariupol 10 years ago which is why Putin destroyed Mariupol this time around. The Ukrainian military was unbelievably bad. Similar (and a lot of Russia military groups) to what we used to watch on Rocky and Bullwinkle with Boris and Natasha fighting Moose and Squirrel.
How might I approach things currently?
-First, secure better relationships with China.
-Work to undermine Putin politically. It can be done
-Move in US military assets and put up boundaries we will not cross. Station them at Kyiv west with minor forces at Poltava/Kremenchuk. Absolutely put the line at the Dneipro in the southwest of the fighting area, Poltava in the NE, Donbas in the SE.
-Pour money into the economy. 15 years ago the Hr was 4-1 to 5-1 to USD. At the time Russia invaded it was about 40-1. Now I think it's 25-1.
-Extreme pressure to fight/reduce corruption.
-Don't put in a President with an American wife name Kathy/Katcha.
-Putin will not make it to 80. Not that long.
-Stop Ukraine from hitting Russia
-Give up Donbas but try incentives
-Let Russia have Crimea
-Bolster Odesa.
Not defending Russia, but Russia does have an Islamic problem. Let them focus on that.
Fighting Islamics did hurt the Soviet economy in Afghanistan but not as much as previously mentioned items.
This can go on a very long time and Russia has more resolve than the west. Unless Russia collapses they aren't giving up. Longer it goes on that could happen, but also increases the chance of exchanging Des Moines for Rostov.
It was Boris Yeltsin to hand-picked Putin as his successor.
More than likely due to Kompromat the latter had on him.
True, but Clinton praised Yeltsin's handling of the crisis facing Russia and it was severe. The thought in part was that Putin would be a stronger leader to face the challenges. Behind the scenes, who knows what really happened. During that time, in Ukraine, former collective managers were solidifying their personal control in Ukraine and everyone destroyed collective buildings (for salvage) to get what they could. Both nations were in chaos. One former collective I've worked with and not controlled by a manager under the system had locals lay down around tractors to prevent them from being stolen.
On the surface, Putin is very engaging and likable. He has even invoked a populist tactic of bringing Christianity into "doing the right thing". He's softspoken, effective, in control (image wise). Kind of like Pence only much more likeable in image.
Not sure if this is very smart politically by Zelenskyy.
https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Internat...toric-ukraines-war-russia-dangerous-106537191
https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Internat...toric-ukraines-war-russia-dangerous-106537191
Zelensky is desperate anyway and likely done if Trump is elected (which I highly doubt). Zelensky is likely done soon whether things improve on the battlefield or not.
I just tossed another Ryan troll account into the ignore burn pile.
More on the drones attacks on Russian cities.
"They are all cities in south-eastern Russia - but Tina is considerably closer to Moscow than to the border with #Ukraine ."
"They are all cities in south-eastern Russia - but Tina is considerably closer to Moscow than to the border with #Ukraine ."
How do you feel about that Mr Putin admirer?
Who is a Putin admirer? What you fail to understand is that Putin is charming in Russia within that culture. If you understood any Russian and listened to how he speaks...
You would do well to listen and engage in productive dialog. The guy is a former KGB officer an a master of deception. It isn't hard to get Russians to look at the US as the bully.
Most Americans don't know that US troops moved into Russia at the end of the Revolution and were there a couple of years (actually got hit pretty hard) Every Russian knows that. Within the culture there is a deep seeded distrust of the US. Every Russian thinks the US delayed Normandy and wouldn't move into Germany to take pressure off of the Soviet Army. Most Americans think the 2 atomic bomb drops on Japan were to make Japan surrender. Russia culture believes it was to scare the hell out of Stalin to avoid a North Japan.
Nothing in that suggests "pro Putin". Just discussing what the culture thinks. Bring up American "exceptionalism" and you'll get a dose of how the Soviet Union was demolished by WW2 and the US has never had a foreign invader since the war of 1812.
Americans that haven't spent much time abroad don't have a good understanding of how parts of the world think of the US.
Putin is wildly popular in Russia. In Ukraine it varies from east to west, but most people I know are Russian speaking Ukrainians and they overwhelmingly do not want to leave Ukraine and that is true even in Donbas. However, they don't won't their homes and families blown up. Crimea is pro-Russia though.
"Videos of a powerful explosion during the attack on Tula appeared"
"Another video of the fire at the terminal of the village of Ust-Luga, Leningrad region of the Russian Federation, appearedNote that the terminal is located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea."
"In the village of Ust-Luga, Leningrad region of the Russian Federation, explosions were heard near the oil terminal of the seaportThe causes and consequences of the explosions are not reported."
"In the village of Ust-Luga, Leningrad region of the Russian Federation, explosions were heard near the oil terminal of the seaportThe causes and consequences of the explosions are not reported."
I wonder if the 400,000 casualties liked Putin? Heard he’s a great man….and loves Christians
You missed the point of his post. He wasn't commenting necessarily on the Russian's love or hate for Putin, although it is higher than I expected. He was commenting on YOUR support / acceptance of Russia. As an American, that isn't a winning approach unless you are deep deep MAGA. Your comment about the long term benefit of calling a ceasefire (or some version of that), it unacceptable. esp since Russia has made it clear they don't want an independent Ukraine, and really don't want Ukraine to survive at all. Hell, at least in the US, we hate based on racial differences. We don't want to go to war with Alabama just because the are Alabama.
So all of your words above are irrelevant because you not so subtly slid the discussion point to a more friendly area. Which is definitely a Bonny trait. Which does make me wonder if the Russian troll farm has been refunded.
I blocked Farm Troll awhile ago. My Ukraine thread experience improved immediately.
I try to not do it, it helps to know what to watch for. But some are more insufferable than others. Honestly, I have kids starting to use the internet and think about it all the time, how to help them ID the fakes.
It's clear he's another Russian bot. I feel sorry for his miserable existence. But ultimately I do not find any sorrow for the miserable life's and deaths of Russians as a result of Putin's actions.
IIowaFarmBoy = Miss Interpretation
The West must get serious about strangling Russia’s ability to produce weapons.
According to some data, up to 95% of the foreign-produced critical components found in Russian weapons destroyed in Ukraine come from Western countries.
These are not government actions but rather private firms, and the exports entering Russia are not necessarily military goods but also dual-use or civilian products and even domestic appliances.
Whatever they are, they end up flying into Ukraine to commit war crimes, kill people, and destroy critical infrastructure. Ukraine would require less assistance and would lose fewer lives if all of the murky schemes and sanction evasion loopholes were thoroughly tracked down and completely closed.
The West has the best financial intelligence, experts, and specialized bodies that have the capacity to track down such schemes and disrupt them.
A lion’s share of responsibility lies with the companies themselves: they must control the end-users of the goods they sell abroad and make sure that their spare parts do not end up in weapons killing people.
Disrupting supplies of these spare parts to Russia requires large-scale, concerted efforts by the private and public sectors. But it will save the lives of many civilians in Ukraine and disarray Putin’s war machine.
My wife has a friend at work who is Russian and who claims the US is just leasing Alaska
My wife has a friend at work who is Russian and who claims the US is just leasing Alaska
Don't see any legit sources (had to check) but did find this article about Russia taking over management control of multiple foreign businesses operating in Russia.
But there was someone posting on the app formerly known as Twitter that the idea was discussed. https://www.newsweek.com/putin-ally-hints-russian-plot-reclaim-alaska-1851019
Still a long stretch and funny.
