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Honestly, I've only ever heard it used in reference to putin's capos so I'm fine with it because I know exactly who it's referring to. And tbh they are part of an elite hierarchy, not one that imparts respect but they certainly are at the top of the food chain in russia.
I know everybody hates this, but I think the answer is that if Putin takes Ukraine or part of Ukraine, he takes it. If we could reload a save point from early February and replay that segment, maybe we could do something differently that would effectively deter the invasion, but now that it's happened there's not much we can do about it militarily without running what I see as an unacceptably high risk of a nuclear exchange.
The problem is Putin is planning on taking all of Ukraine and "pacifying" it. That became very clear after his discussions with Macron yesterday...read up on the statements he made. If you read Fiona Hills interview she points out that for 10 years he has told everyone what he is going to do and people did not believe. His place in history is to retake all of "Mother Russia" in his lifetime. There will be no Ukraine when he is done and "genocide" will likely occur to all who do any form of resistance. He has done this before but it was more hidden (especially Chechnya).
Not that you need or asked for my affirmation but all of the above is true.
Shore up eroding domestic support with foreign military accomplishments that provoke national sentiments of past success.
Putin will take all of the land up to the dneiper river and the entire coast. At a minimum.
I'm a marrone too, but I'm convinced here that all Russian actions begin and end with the fact that Putin and his cronies are robbing the Russian citizenry blind, and their overarching goal is to prevent the majority of Russins from making this connection. That's why Putin murders adversaries - journalists, politicians, and key government figures; and it's why his goons clamp down on protests with extreme predjudice. It's why they lean heavily on propaganda and controlling access to media sources.
Same as it ever was. Russians have been getting the shaft from their ruling class for 100’s of years.
I agree with this. Fortunately, we are better placed now to deal with those threats than we were a few weeks ago. We can put troops in the Baltic states and Poland. We should do that now -- doing so represents a credible commitment on our part to respond to an attack on those countries as if they were an attack on the US. We didn't have that commitment in Ukraine (obviously).
Maybe the UN should just dissolve the security council and establish a council for security, giving Russia’s permanent seat to somebody else.
Their massive army of tanks and planes seems to have largely been on paper only. With Putin and everyone below him down to lowly NOCs pilfering military funds for decades, you end up with dilapidated equipment like we’re seeing. Those 500 MIGs? Yeah they have 500. Mostly disassembled for parts in warehouses.
That sounds like a problem to fix before you turn the entire planet against you by invading a neighbor in a lunatic attempt to bring back a failed communist experiment, only to see your country collapse around you as the world cuts you off from almost all outside money. I really don’t feel bad for Putin in the slightest, because he made this mess, and now he’s watching everything he has crumble around him.
It’s sad for sure. I abhor the unnecessary loss of life.talk about sad ...this is horrible - and it's on the Russian side
https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1499763642170019846
Not sure why this is just accepted, but any talk of assassinating Putin ist verboten.
Did you see the captured Russian soldiers being interviewed? Buncha school teachers, couple security guards, coal miner, bus driver. One guy had served in the military in about 15-20 guys. The rest of them had no real train8ng. F Putin.talk about sad ...this is horrible - and it's on the Russian side
https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1499763642170019846
I agree, but I thought I saw someone post that in terms of oil, only like 2% of our consumption is of Russian origin. I could easily be wrong, and I’d like to know if someone knows more about it than I do, but yes, we need to completely cut Russia off.
I wonder if that was an American Javelin. That would be nice. A good outcome regardless.
I read yesterday that we send Putin between $55 to $78 Million $ a day in purchasing oil (adjust by the cost of a barrel of oil world wide). They is probably just 2-3% of our consumption but it is still a lot of money.
Thanks, now if they cut that off, it might get this done slightly faster. I know governments blow through money like it’s going out of style, but every little bit helps.
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