The Ukraine Crisis

[SeattleGriz]

Huh.

[SeattleGriz]

Double huh.

https://peterbeinart.substack.com/p/bid ... source=url

Back to Bill Burns. To hear the Biden administration tell it, the Ukraine crisis is the product of one man: Vladimir Putin. Putin fears that if Ukraine joins NATO and becomes a pro-Western democracy, Russians will want the same for themselves and thus rise up against his tyrannical rule. The idea that Russians genuinely think NATO poses a security threat is transparent bunk.

The Biden narrative isn’t entirely false. Putin surely does fear that a democratic, pro-Western Ukraine could inspire popular uprisings in his country. But it is partially false because it suggests that were Putin not in power, Russia’s government would have no problem with Ukraine joining NATO. And it implies that the US bears no responsibility for the current standoff. According to Bill Burns, Biden’s own CIA Director, neither of those claims are true.

[SDHornet]

Double huh.

https://peterbeinart.substack.com/p/bid ... source=url

Back to Bill Burns. To hear the Biden administration tell it, the Ukraine crisis is the product of one man: Vladimir Putin. Putin fears that if Ukraine joins NATO and becomes a pro-Western democracy, Russians will want the same for themselves and thus rise up against his tyrannical rule. The idea that Russians genuinely think NATO poses a security threat is transparent bunk.

The Biden narrative isn’t entirely false. Putin surely does fear that a democratic, pro-Western Ukraine could inspire popular uprisings in his country. But it is partially false because it suggests that were Putin not in power, Russia’s government would have no problem with Ukraine joining NATO. And it implies that the US bears no responsibility for the current standoff. According to Bill Burns, Biden’s own CIA Director, neither of those claims are true.

That would make sense...

...if it were 1982.

[CID1990]

Dont know if anyone posted this yet. It is brilliant.




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[SeattleGriz]

Double huh.

https://peterbeinart.substack.com/p/bid ... source=url

That would make sense...

...if it were 1982.

I'll arm wrestle you!

Winner takes all

[houndawg]

The only world leader who is going to come out of this as heroic is Zelensky.

Biden and the rest of Europe slow-walked sanctions until popular affinity for Zelensky from their respective constituencies emboldened them - particularly Biden and Macron.

Scholz is the only one who came close to having a spine early on.

Biden could still do something to bolster his image at this point but the fact that he is not on TV literally daily means he’s still doddering old Biden. And Snarky Psaki isn’t helping him at all.

“Let me explain for you how diplomacy works.”

LAWL


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Yeah, Biden has been very quiet (because he has a diminished mental capacity) at a crucial time in world history when the POTUS should be front and center leading the way.

There will be much tearing of hair, gnashing of teeth, rending of garments, and so forth by the party over country wing of the Republicunt Party if this does not end in disaster for NATO and the US. Unfortunately for the pencil necks and MEAL Team Six crowd, the NATO response looks solid so far and includes the Helvitian bankers, a first as far as I know, and a sure sign o who is going to pevail. The citizens of Ukraine ain't scared and I'd bet the farm that morale among the Russian enlisted troops is lower than whale shit. Putin should have changed his tactics when Trump lost in a landslide and the plan to withdraw the US from NATO evaporated - a blunder that has taken him from the brink of one of the biggest diplomatic coups in history right down the coal chute to the rubbish pile along with the hopes and dreams of the NRA and Trump-loving cunts everywhere. Of course Putin may look around and see that he'll never regain the stature he had while he was dogwalking the leader of arguably the planets most powerful nation and making him do tricks for the television audience, and decide to go out in a blaze of glory. In times like these patriotic Americans rally around their President, who will get more than he deserves of either praise or blame.

[houndawg]

Huh.

Just another anti-gun libtard. He seems to have forgotten that those the gangs would prey on are armed too. After expelling the Russians, guarantee that the citizens of Ukraine are not going to worry about the criminal gangs.

[houndawg]

Dont know if anyone posted this yet. It is brilliant.




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I like the grandmother that walked up to the soldiers, cussed them, and suggested that they carry sunflower seeds in their pockets so that flowers will grow where they die. Putin knows its over for him, his only decision now is how big a blaze of glory does he want to go out in.

[kalm]

Economic impacts are affecting everyone from the workers hopelessly standing in line at ATM’s to middle sized business CEO’s.

I wonder how long “tighten the belt” will sell for.

His company, which handles contracts for international brands like Pepsi and automakers like Volkswagen, was booming as recently as January 2022, a record month for them. Now many of those brands were pulling out of the Russian market and his business was shrinking “immensely”.

Another business owner with hundreds of employees in the food and beverage and tourism industries felt that he was completely in the dark about the future under Vladimir Putin.

“We have no fucking clue what he will do next,” he said. “No one in the business community has a clue any more. Everyone is so depressed. I have experienced so many economic crises here, the pandemic being the latest.

“But there was always a reason to keep on fighting for your business,” he said. “Now, I don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel any more. Even if peace is achieved, the damage is done. How do we reverse it?”

There was a sense on Monday that this crisis was passing the point of no return, as Russian bombers began flying over Ukraine and rocket artillery began firing on populated districts of Kharkiv, a city of more than one million people.

Even top Russian business people, including the powerful oligarchs, appeared to be unsettled by the instability ushered in by the invasion, as well as the extraordinary measures being taken to prop up the rouble.

Oleg Deripaska, the billionaire businessman, had called for peace “as fast as possible” in a Telegram post on Sunday. On Monday, he went after the Central Bank decision to hike rates, taking aim at longtime rival Elvira Nabiullina, the head of the Central Bank.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... 1646081334

[Ivytalk]

Munich Symphony kicks out its longtime conductor, Valery Gergiev, a Putin toady who refused to criticize the Ukraine invasion. First athletic shunning, now cultural. Good.

[houndawg]

Munich Symphony kicks out its longtime conductor, Valery Gergiev, a Putin toady who refused to criticize the Ukraine invasion. First athletic shunning, now cultural. Good.

I bet Pussy Riot sales increase

[AZGrizFan]

Munich Symphony kicks out its longtime conductor, Valery Gergiev, a Putin toady who refused to criticize the Ukraine invasion. First athletic shunning, now cultural. Good.

I bet Pussy Riot sales increase

I bought their whole catalogue this morning. Prices skyrocketing.

[Ibanez]

Dont know if anyone posted this yet. It is brilliant.




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I hope it's a legit video..that's great!

[AZGrizFan]

Dont know if anyone posted this yet. It is brilliant.




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I hope it's a legit video..that's great!

I know. I’m glad there was no propaganda during WWII….

[93henfan]

Everyone talks a good game before Russian arty dances on them for real. I pray to God they can disrupt the siegers, some way, somehow before they can fully deploy. Once the Russians get their guns placed and launchers brought up, it's lights out. They can just walk a ring of arty in just ahead of their tanks and infantry and nothing will stop it. Yes, they'll get sniped a bit once they hit the neighborhoods, but still.

There's a reason arty is the King of Battle.

[AZGrizFan]

Everyone talks a good game before Russian arty dances on them for real. I pray to God they can disrupt the siegers, some way, somehow before they can fully deploy. Once the Russians get their guns placed and launchers brought up, it's lights out. They can just walk a ring of arty in just ahead of their tanks and infantry and nothing will stop it. Yes, they'll get sniped a bit once they hit the neighborhoods, but still.

Depends on if they can find an open gas station.

[93henfan]

Everyone talks a good game before Russian arty dances on them for real. I pray to God they can disrupt the siegers, some way, somehow before they can fully deploy. Once the Russians get their guns placed and launchers brought up, it's lights out. They can just walk a ring of arty in just ahead of their tanks and infantry and nothing will stop it. Yes, they'll get sniped a bit once they hit the neighborhoods, but still.

Depends on if they can find an open gas station.

Artillery doesn't require fuel once placed. That was my point.

[AZGrizFan]

Depends on if they can find an open gas station.

Artillery doesn't require fuel once placed. That was my point.

No but it requires fuel to GET placed. That was my point.

[93henfan]

Artillery doesn't require fuel once placed. That was my point.

No but it requires fuel to GET placed. That was my point.

Fuel isn't an issue when you have air superiority and a 40 mile long convoy that's on cruise control.

We really need some EU country to fire some tomahawks on that convoy. I don't know the geopolitics of cruise missiles very well, admittedly, but they would be a gamechanger in substitution of air power. If it's a US-only asset, I guess it's a no-go.

[CID1990]

I am beginning to wonder if the Russian army will obey orders to shell the city - that would pretty much stick a fork in the whole “we are one people”thing.

It feels like the army and the oligarchs are just looking for an off ramp at this point.


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[Ibanez]

No but it requires fuel to GET placed. That was my point.

Fuel isn't an issue when you have air superiority and a 40 mile long convoy that's on cruise control.

We really need some EU country to fire some tomahawks on that convoy. I don't know the geopolitics of cruise missiles very well, admittedly, but they would be a gamechanger in substitution of air power. If it's a US-only asset, I guess it's a no-go.

Several ASM from German units perhaps...

[AZGrizFan]

No but it requires fuel to GET placed. That was my point.

Fuel isn't an issue when you have air superiority and a 40 mile long convoy that's on cruise control.

We really need some EU country to fire some tomahawks on that convoy. I don't know the geopolitics of cruise missiles very well, admittedly, but they would be a gamechanger in substitution of air power. If it's a US-only asset, I guess it's a no-go.

You mean the convoy that hasn’t moved in 3 days? Because of fuel shortages? Is their cruise control set on ‘0’?

[93henfan]

Fuel isn't an issue when you have air superiority and a 40 mile long convoy that's on cruise control.

We really need some EU country to fire some tomahawks on that convoy. I don't know the geopolitics of cruise missiles very well, admittedly, but they would be a gamechanger in substitution of air power. If it's a US-only asset, I guess it's a no-go.

You mean the convoy that hasn’t moved in 3 days? Because of fuel shortages? Is their cruise control set on ‘0’?

Every story I've read says it's advancing. Where have you seen it hasn't moved for three days? Shoot me a link and set me straight. Article I just saw on CNBC says it's 17 miles away from Kyiv. Remember, Russia follows an attrition doctrine, not a maneuver warfare doctrine, mostly due to poor battlefield intel and centralized c&c. Slow, gigantic movement is par for their course.

[Skjellyfetti]

From DoD background briefing. Whole thread has good info:

[AZGrizFan]

You mean the convoy that hasn’t moved in 3 days? Because of fuel shortages? Is their cruise control set on ‘0’?

Every story I've read says it's advancing. Where have you seen it hasn't moved for three days? Shoot me a link and set me straight. Article I just saw on CNBC says it's 17 miles away from Kyiv. Remember, Russia follows an attrition doctrine, not a maneuver warfare doctrine, mostly due to poor battlefield intel and centralized c&c. Slow, gigantic movement is par for their course.

It’s been reported as 17 miles from Kyiv since Sunday.