Spain now joining the many other countries providing weapons to Ukraine.
He needs taking out, as soon as.
I wonder about the credibility of, and if true whether it could encourage Russian assassins, regarding this Russian businessman who's supposedly put a $million bounty on Putin's head.
I think the question is more like:
Considering Russia has invaded one sovereign state without any real justification; what is to stop them from doing it to other states?
And they also have plenty of less overt options on the table such as sabotage of global infrastructure like undersea cabling, satellites, oil and gas pipelines, etc. I mean if technology companies don't want to operate in Russia and Russia blocks most of the Internet anyway then sure why would they let the world have their information economy?
This seems to have gone largely unnoticed. Ultimatum from Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova to Finland and Sweden over their moves to join NATO.
"It’s obvious that if Finland and Sweden join NATO, which is first of all a military organization, it will entail serious military-political consequences, which would require retaliatory steps by the Russian Federation,” Zakharova said at a news briefing Friday"
https://news.yahoo.com/finland-sweden-brush-off-moscows-133243866.html
Whats next, Putin invading Sweden and Finland?
The Swedish and Finnish seem to be brushing the threat off for the moment.
We have the luxury of having one or two folks here on the thread who would say that your position on this is biased. Let's see if they drop in....
I think you're on to something there. When the Russian state controls all the media, they know what to expect from the people and they know there is no strong opposition. But it also means they can't prepare for anything unexpected - if the public opinion suddenly changes against the war (let's say they hear about the growing bodycount, or see details about civilian deaths in cities), then a large protest movement might start. Maybe not enough to topple Putin, but force him to stop the war.
With all the indiscriminate killing of children, women and whole families, my initial belief - like yourself and many others - was that Putin is a lunatic, mad, etc... but the reality is more than that.
It's now my opinion that he's not mad or crazy in the sense that he's lost his marbles. The crazy that applies to him is "power crazy", just like Hitler. Both men of small stature, revelling in the control and power that leading a country affords you. Always having to go that one step further in self-confirmation of that power. Eventually wanting to control the world.
Now here's the thing...
They say that the eyes are a window into a persons soul. Hitler had wild, crazy eyes. And so does Putin.
The eyes can betray a person. And Putin's eyes are the epitome of all that is evil.
All this talk about war crimes tribunals, The Hague, life imprisonment, whatever. It's too good for him. We're not savages but he is. So when he's eventually held to account I believe an appropriate punishment should be to strip him naked and place him in a large secure hall. Let him go without food and water for 24 hours or so and sweat, then allow into the hall a few dozen of the mothers, fathers and family of some of the thousands of children and young Ukrainian soldiers and civilians who've senselessly lost their lives by the orders of this monster. Savage I know but justice comes in many forms.
For the naysayers, doubters, Nato and USA bashers, Russian sympathisers, Putinbots and trolls who've frequented this thread.... I hope you're proud of yourselves defending a cold blooded butcher that is prepared to kill children and whole families, displace a million, and threaten the entire world with nuclear weapons.... all over his paranoia about non-existent threats, and land grabbing. Over a dozen of my family died in WW2 laying down their lives to stop Hitler's atrocities. Shame on you for defending his reincarnation.
The clue is in the eyes...
Feel free to quote this post as much as you want - so the trolls are constantly reminded of the evil butcher they are defending.
There's anger, hate, malice and dread emanating from these eyes...
The WE again who is weee .
An assessment of events to date, from a group of full-timers. Hour long.
Already a day or two out of date, mind. The only catch, these are more intel types than operational folks.
If it doesn't get out of Russia then the globe is going to face a wave of revolution and breakdown.
If that last scenario happens the chaos, suffering, and refugee waves will be borderline uncontrollable.
No argument at all that it's a card he could play, I just think it's unlikely, especially wrt fuel, as he can't do without the income.
That being said, if shipping companies won't ship to or from Russia/Ukraine then it could be a case that the wheat harvest just can't be sold to global markets. This is already happening with Russian oil which has been heavily discounted but remains unsold as no tankers are going to ship it for fear of sanctions.
We can modify agriculture here more than most, we have a lot of good land and a reasonable climate.
Across much of Western Europe land has been whipped hard, in Asia it's incredible Fertilizer application rates that drive yield.
Who knows but it and energy are his big aces. The Ukraine alone is a key food source for 500mn people, 200 million of whom are on the Med and need that grain for each meal.
Who knows but if you want to reorder the world, buying favour with food, forcing EUR to deal with tens of millions of hungry neighbours etc is a good bargaining unit.
This keeps being mentioned, Putin holding the world hostage using fuel/food/fertiliser, and while I don't disagree that its a possibility, it is also highly unlikely given the currency he gains from the sales of these items.
IMHO, what is an equally likely possible outcome is many nations pivoting their energy production away from fossil fuels faster and modifying their agricultural methods while also tightening the proverbial belts. Doing this would allow for stability in their economies while at the same time further restricting access to funds for Putin.
Safe to say there's a long way to go with this yet and there are a few scenarios that could still come true. Having a nutter like Putin at the helm means you can't really rule anything out.
It's hardly rocket science.
His only advantage is his country is a global power in energy and especially in food. In fertilizer they are a key global player.
They have it within their power to make food a global crisis.
Vulgar concern is a good way of putting it. Also our culture has failed (and even denigrated) farming and manufacturing, while those sectors made us fat and provided us with utensils.
Can you provide with the rest of his plan, seems as how you are privy to it?
The additional concern is that he and Xi in China will control over half of the world's food.
Food being seen as a vulgar concern in Europe but it is quite important to people.
The impact of this war globally is much more than we currently appreciate.
10% of the world's wheat looks like it's under threat in Ukraine.
It is a concern that if there is starvation and chaos in various countries people will forget his attrocities
Not saying it's part of a Putin masterplan but I'm concerned about the realities of rising energy input costs for manufacturers too.. which is coming on top of supply chain issues, rising prices in commodities and a labour shortage. We're in trouble, but we are lucky compared to places like the Middle East and Niorth Africa, which will see a huge rise in food poverty and increased starvation.
This video looks like another one of these massive explosions, looks like it was recorded much closer to the epicenter. The whole sky lights up then a few seconds later the shockwave hits
https://twitter.com/imtiagoalves/status/1499186538009268227
Fine👍its worth a watch anyway imo
I'm reading an interesting thread about how Russian military vehicles are hopelessly ill suited to the Ukrainian landscape, especially when it's muddy (it seems the type of tyres they use is a big factor). Apparently they would have worked much better in snow or on frozen ground. It might explain why their progress is so slow.
Jesus that makes me so angry. Senseless destruction to appease a lunatic in Moscow.
Oh sorry, I was watching one with John Simpson. Sorry I'm exceptionally tired after the last week watching this horror show
Are you sure its the same one, this programme was about Dozht an independent tv channel in Russia and its founder and employees, having said that I missed the first part
I wouldn’t count on it
To be honest, he had no choice. A large part of the Russian military are conscripts. Poorly paid and when the **** hits the fan, motivation would be a big issue. People act like it’s a big plan or physch to send in the fodder to grind down, and then the heavy guys to finish them off. But if he was to send in the heavies at the start and it didn’t go to plan, the fodder at the back won’t be able to do **** to help.
plus it shows Putin to be the despotic fuckwit we all know he is. Doesn’t give a **** about any of of these troops.
The country was being wracked by civil unrest just over a month ago due to spiraling fuel prices. The police and national guard had to use some pretty harsh methods to restore order as well as a number of government ministers being fired in order to end the violence.
Sanctions hitting Kazakhstan now, so soon after all that, would probably bring down their government.
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