I saw it said but thought it hyperbole. No, Putin really is having migrants flood borders as a noise tactic. Madness.
Guess we know now where Ron DeSantis got his idea from.
Putin scratches head as plan to storm Finland with African migrants backfires. True.
*Putin instead offers sanctuary for all migrants voluntary or even ones flown in to storm EU borders. Putin rushes in government support to settle them in the sparse Eastern States. Not true.
I'm still waiting for you to show where I actually advocated surrender or said Ukrainians are being forced to fight. You don't seem able to do so, so you just keep changing the topic?
Well it’s a good thing the Brits didn’t adopt your attitude during WW2 when they definitely not have enough weapons and things looked bleak
We be having this conversation in German now
Quote exactly where I "implied" that Ukrainians are being forced by anyone to fight needlessly.
If you can't then I assume you actually know you're talking sh*te
EU starting to check/block oil shipments in the Danish straits, including shadow fleets.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4sMGJahYlM
To absolutely nobody's surprise, turns out the North Korean ammo is pure sh1te.
Sneaky sneaky
You implied that Ukrainians are dying needlessly because they are being forced to do so, instead of just giving up and settling for nonexistent Russian peace
Zelensky is the one saying they will recapture their land and people and join the civilised EU, and best of wishes to them in achieving their aims at least it’s a positive aim unlike Putin’s vision for a mafia led oligarchic dystopia with a sprinkling of 19th century imperialism and a side dish of plain old nationalistic fascism
Former Russian air force general who criticised lack of training hours found dead along with his wife.
Lt. Gen. Vladimir Sviridov, 68 — who commanded Russia’s 6th Army of the Air Force and Air Defense from 2005 to 2009 — was found dead in bed Wednesday at his home in the village of Adzhievsky in the Stavropol region.
Bad luck with a gas appliance? Maintenance engineers now involved with the war? Something more sinister?
A detailed inspection of the gas appliances in his house determined that a key valve malfunctioned during a power outage in the village about a week ago
Where did I say Ukraine is a CIA puppet? Absolutely nowhere.
I said Ukraine's ability to win the war is dependent on the West delivering more and better weapons. Zelensky has said the same himself, many times. This is not a controversial statement, despite your desperation to make it one.
Zelensky is the one setting the goal, he is the democratically elected and wildly popular leader of the Ukrainian people
As opposed to a mafia boss with delusions of imperial grandeur who hides behind long tables for 24 years and feeds his men into a wood chipper when not busy sending his doubles to visit multiple locations on camera at same time
There is no need to propagate conspiracy theories that Ukranians are some sort of puppets of the CIA, the only serfs here are those in Russia literally dying for nothing
It sounded very much like you were lumping me in with the peace at any cost group, whereas I am not at all on that side.
My stance is simply that saying Ukraine must fully liberate all territory to teach Russia and other rogue states a lesson is great in theory but irrelevant if they don't have the weapons to do it, and at the moment they don't. Ukraine's own military experts have said this, Western military experts have said it, Zelensky's own recent plea "don't forget us" along with admission that not only the Russian but also the Ukrainian army is exhausted is a clear admission that this could yet go either way.
And while I largely agree it's up to Ukraine to decide what level of compromise they are prepared to accept, only a fool would claim the West won't massively influence that decision, as without Western weapons they will lose the war (again Zelensky's own words).
As for examining options beyond total victory:
A real Orwellian double speak whiff out of that
At end of day it’s very simple and doesn’t require long winding passages nor intellectually corrupting oneself
No one is pushing Ukrainians at gunpoint to fight for the country and people and future
While on other hand we have repeated evidence (up to and including drone footage of Russian barrier troops killing own retreating comrades) of Russians being fed into a meat grinder at gunpoint so the largest country in world gets more land at expense of its shrinking pool of meatbags all so a criminal mafia boss gets his name into history books
Sure, in the hallowed halls the Kremlin, and the more upmarket select eating houses in Moscow and St. Petersburg. But travel outside these places and visit the republics, and its a very different story. Borscht being a staple soup, (and its quite tasty too.) And many variations of the same.
It seems to be part of the Russian character that an unhappy and austere life is a well-lived one. Almost like it's a state of being that should be aspired to. Makes you hard, makes you tough. Continues a great tradition - cut to someone's Russian grandparents trudging to the gulag in four foot of snow, all to the cinematic strains of minor key choral music.
But this is only for the serfs. The inner circle of Putin's Russia and their families know nothing but the best of luxury.
There are many factors I guess, but reading between the lines, the drastic fall in value in the Ruble plus the increase in costs in basic food stuffs has affected many Russians, especially pensioners and anyone on a fixed income but even those in steady employment. I must ask this during my next conversation with my Russian friend's. The overall impression that I'm getting now is that Life is hard for ordinary Russians, and I'm not even talking about the results of the war, the widows, the disabled etc. just ordinary society.
A bit of interest in this before here. If interested.
Yes to all that.
I had a look though at a price comparison site and it appears cars, televisions, phones, the specialist hardware products are the most expensive in Russia compared with eastern europe.
There could be an element too of vainess. When you look at footage of Russians they seem to like their designer goods and keeping up with the Jones'. So everything could be outwardly looking normal but privately people are up to their eyeballs in debts and money sharks and privately hoping for some state intervention in debts.
Well yes there have been plenty of Peace at Any Cost merchants, usually coming from posters who eventually find their way into the threadban list but that's another matter.
Where in my quoted post do I say that Ukraine is destined to win? Nowhere, is where. I don't think Ukraine can win inasmuch as I think Russia can lose.
However advocating that Ukraine give up its lands as simply lost & that's that is itself an easy bit of glib reduction from similarly cosy Irish surrounds. The people who think any peace is worth the price are simply letting Russia off the hook. But the reality is letting Russia purloin even more of Ukraine will only embolden preexisting expansionism; Ukraine has just been the manifestation of increasing boldness, finally resulting in a full on attempt for the capital. This isn't their first rodeo, only Russia's most aggressive one.
And if it's clear "the west" are examining options then feel free to share links to anywhere suggesting as much cos bar a few outliers have seen no serious suggestion patience is waning, or that Kyiv "settle" with what they didn't lose
It's not about peace at any cost, no one is advocating that, but banging on and on about "don't yield a square cm of land" from your cosy and safe Irish home means absolutely nothing if Ukraine doesn't have the means to pull it off.
Look at our own country: a significant portion of it had to be given up to free the rest but it doesn't mean the goal has gone away. Sometimes things take a long time and justice is seldom perfect or linear.
As 2024 approaches it's clear that the West is examining various options together with Ukraine in case total victory doesn't happen, and compromises may be involved. Weapons flow is uncertain, exhaustion is high on both sides, and keyboard warriors certainly aren't doing anything to help the cause.
Having said all that, a few positive signs at the moment so hopefully the year will end with at least some momentum for Ukraine, but it's desperately needed:
I have no specific information, but inflation is by no means the only cause of distress. Russian car production is way down: the result must be huge unemployment of auto workers. God knows how many thousand breadwinners have been mobilised and probably killed or maimed: their families will experience acute distress.
In a society where the powers that be don't give a sh*t for the welfare or ordinary people, war will be hell, even away from the battlefield.
In Britain in WW2, despite the huge disruption to the economy and enormaous material damage, the government at least took care to provide for basic needs: nutrition levels probably improved for the poorest. Looking at this piece of economic history really shows up the incompetence and callousenss of the Russian regime.
I wonder how the cost of living has changed since the war?
Bread, milk, electricity, insurance, etc.
Something is causing these loans and difficulty in repayment.
Edit: the news story on londoners eating squirrels maybe again projection of the reality at home and acceptance of such.
Further to my post above, Nr. 101119, here's an update on how ordinary Russians are surviving in Putin's paradise. Some paradise.
Anton Gerashchenko on X: "Russian citizens' debts on short-term loans have reached a historic peak. The volume of payday loans in Russia has increased to a record 292% per year. In the third quarter of 2023, the total amount of issued microcredits reached 348.1 billion rubles (almost $4 billion) which is… https://t.co/EfDE9WrZkf" / X (twitter.com)
LOL
I think this was discussed early in the war , that Putin can just declare victory and mission accomplished whenever he likes ,
Except he cant stop the Ukrainians attacking russia positions in occupied ukraine
Thats why russia needs a cease fire ,
But he wants all of donbass before that ..
When Putin became president, the Country was in a really bad way. Yeltsin was no match for the Oligarchs who were literally robbing the country blind. Then Putin arrived, made an example of Khodorkovsky, brought the oligarchs under control, and immediately Russians saw improvements in their Lives. So, straight away Putin was hailed as a Saviour, a status that has kept him in power for many years. To this day he is hailed as the Saviour of Russia, and many Russians still treat him as such. In their eyes, Putin can do no wrong. Sure, he is not perfect, but it could be worse, much worse. And they are grateful for that. But also, for many in today's Russia (and for several years now) the sheen has worn off, and he has had to resort to murder and various schemes and tactics to keep his enemies at bay and hold on to power. The Invasion of Ukraine being his latest gambit, as Protector of the Russian People. But like Brexit where the lies and blame has worked since Brexit, the unescapable truth is emerging, the same thing is happening in Russia too. But whereas British people can and are protesting about Brexit and demanding closer ties with Brussels at a minimum to outright rejoin demands, such protests are impossible in Russia. None the less Putin has had to resort to even more skullduggery to reduce the chances of anything going wrong for him in the election. Even my Russian friends, the ones who were thanking God for giving them Putin, their only defense against Russians enemies, are now singing a different tune. He has lost the hero status, Life has become immeasurable harder for ordinary Russians, and while no one is blaming him outright, (because that would have consequences) there's been a 360 degree about turn in their attitude and thinking. For them too, the inescapable truth is emerging. And even more worrying for Putin now has to be what the Silovicki / Oligarchs / Military top brass is thinking. It will be an interesting winter. I wonder how it will unfold.
I think they managed to get some light vehicles over there and some other gear. Pretty much limited to whatever can be moved by river transport or pontoon bridge. At the moment I’m thinking the AFU troops are mostly just out-classing the Russians there with artillery support from across the river. Ukraine has the benefit of easily mobile NATO battery systems while the Russians are still using a lot of static batteries which give their position away as soon as they are used.
I suspect we’re a while off from seeing Leopards roaming around on this side of the river, but it’s not impossible if the AFU can push the Russians far enough to safely establish a crossing that could support heavy armor.
Look at the tories and Brexit. Externalising the blame for your own failings is great politics. For years they were depriving everywhere outside of London of services and investment and blaming the EU for it. Then they left and for years afterwards were still blaming the EU. Now they are in the penny dropping stage, but still don't quite get that it's their own lot, and not external actors, who are forcing them into griding poverty while drinking champagne in the capital.
Russia's Brexit is the "Western Encroachment" and it never ends because it isn't really a thing at all in reality. So long as he can keep blaming that, ordinary Russians won't turn on him.
(Obviously Russia is more of an extreme than the UK, but the point is that blaming an external actor for all your woes is a very appealling concept politically)
Yeah I think UAF counter fire is silencing Russian artillery so they are much more wary and careful when striking now.
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