I'll assume your numbers are correct. I would say the chances of all of those being ready for action, is 0%. Their current losses of personnel aren't sustainable either.
Trump was very much the useful idiot rather than accomplice, managed through stroking of ego combined with feeding of inherent biases.
Just as the Tucker Carlson's and remainder of the reactionary right remain useful idiots to the Kremlin spreading their rank conspiracies and both sides nonsense.
In a similar manner elements on the reactionary left also serve as useful idiots (see Mick Wallace / Claire Daly)
The main reason large numbers of people are travelling on to the rest of the EU is that Poland, Romania, Moldova etc simply haven't got the resources to accommodate 3m+ refugees, especially if the idea is to quickly try and get the refugees into work, education, receive good healthcare etc. The current EU dispersal idea (including tens of thousands coming to Ireland) seems the only sensible solution.
Good on that woman for protesting. She's getting criticism for being a part of the propoganda for so long but changes of opinion should never be unwelcome.
Isn't that what we are hoping from Putin's inner circle.
Trump was not an idiot. Ignorant about many things, not a well-read man by all accounts and tenuous understanding of history & geography. But he's still smart in other ways. He's been successful in his life and that's hard to do when one is a total "idiot".
Obviously he's going to start losing weight now, but it's a bit late.
Dammit, I was drinking a nice cuppa, now I have clean it all off my monitor! 🤣
Abramovich was on the scene in the time of Yeltsin. It was he who recommended that Putin be the person to succeed Yeltsin. Abramovich also recommended Medvedev be made president when Putin had to step down. He is a bigger player than he would like the public to believe.
https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-uk-announces-sanctions-against-350-more-russian-nationals-and-entities-12566712
Unfortunately, it might actually be.
As of 2021, 850 T-72B3, 550 T-72B3M, and 650 T-72B/T-72BA are in operation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-72_operators_and_variants
Think @JoChervil s point was relevant (if irc that is distinction Orwell tried to make).
Suppose it depends how you define "nationalism" exactly (if you are calling it the "parent of patriotism"?), and how you identify the excesses of it or the misuse of national feeling which has obvious harmful effects and is a bad thing and can itself lead to "imperialsm". It is a powerful force and very tempting for right wing politicians like those in power in Poland to misuse.
Comparing and contrasting Ukraine and Poland...Ukraine is really under attack from Russia and fighting for survival as a nation.
Poland is not really under attack from the EU (or more liberal member states in the EU) and it never has been, but you'd think so listening to Polish govt. down the years and it suits them to do that mythmaking and get the "nationalist" dander up to win votes.
At the risk of getting jumped on for saying it, Trump was enough of a wildcard that it kept Putin more conservative. He was an idiot with no morals or principles and that's a dangerous thing.
Yes, it's crazy stuff. Going down the 'rogue economic state' route is a one way route to hell. They will quickly go bankrupt and even the IMF won't bail them out in that instance.
Hopefully
Years of stealing equipment, selling it, cooking the books, living like a lord.
It shows on the jowl and it's a lot of the reason their forces are taking the losses they are.
That might dry up if Russia's Oil & Gas is sanctioned fully.
On the refugees, really the best solution is somewhere between the Brits and the "have at it" position. Leave most of the money etc. flowing to Poland to do the front line work. Start off with family unification, then start expanding. It's in the best interests of the people fleeing as well, it's better to let them go where they have at least some kind of support locally than end up with 100s of thousands across Europe all with no support when it wasn't necessary.
Has to be said, excellent job by the mods on keeping this thread clean
David McWilliams had a good article about him in the Irish Times on Saturday. Says he basically swindled his way into acquiring wealth in the 1990s along with the other oligarchs.
I also wouldn't be quick to dismiss the prospect that Putin knows full well the narrative benefits involved in pulling this stunt while Biden is in office rather than Trump. The right wing conservative types will yammer on endlessly how Putin would never have dared attack Ukraine while a hard, tough, no-nonsense "conservative" Republican was in power -- but he did so gleefully when the soft, unisex toilet, gender pronoun liberals were ruling the roost. That's a narrative that suits the Kremlin, who would love to see Western liberalism destabilised and discredited.
Personally, I find it hard to believe that Vladimir Putin saw Donald Trump as anything less than a complete buffoon on international relations even if Donald Trump felt there was a kind of 'big guys doing big guy things talking about bug guy stuff' mutual admiration between them.
But still, the American right and others of similar persuasion will content themselves with the idea that Putin is somehow less intimidated by Biden than Trump.
One thing I've noticed a lot about some of the Russian 'generals' and other high ranking members as well as those pilots that were shot down, is they seem to be very out of shape. This general seems a bit of a fatty. Obviously he's going to start losing weight now, but it's a bit late.
Doesn’t Abramovich receive hundreds of millions a year in dividends from their stakes in the Russian oil/gas companies ?
No countries will ever lease them planes again, and they will have difficulty maintaining the leased planes they are about to acquire steal. They are doing so much self-inflicted permanent damage it's incredible.
He's lost about £1.2b just on Chelsea. That would hurt any rich guy. Remember these guys don't actually have multi billions in cash in the banks. Much of it is tied in assets and shares. Elon Musk is worth a fortune, only if he sells his shares. He's still worth a lot now, but his actual wealth is tied into his companies.
He's one of putins gangsters , hopefully they take off him
No. Nationalism is the parent of patriotism, the parent of solidarity and the anvil Which imperialism has always been broken, whether that be British, French, Ottoman, German Reich or Communist Russia.
MM holding an "urgent video conference"
Discussing accepting up to 500 people.
Nearly as bad as BJ , they're on the periphery of aid but want to be seen to be acting
He has unimaginable riches… loosing a few jets/yachts won’t affect him
I guess we now know why Abramovic was in Israel for about 5mins then straight to Istanbul, then from there to Russia. These "close ties" to Putin are bullshit by the way.
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://we.vanillicon.com/v2/e050b53be62f0ae2404c620976170938.svg)
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://w5.vanillicon.com/v2/5117ec177439400b1e5944f4d30acdda.svg)
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://w9.vanillicon.com/v2/9429a6e87ca90295fb14e1083556c0c3.svg)
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://w2.vanillicon.com/v2/282101dc2976956f9dfc87f7a2ef2413.svg)
