The Ukraine War, implications, outcome?

[Xeon]

Why is it always the argument of look that other countries have done the same what Russia wanted to do in Ukraine, but failed? Don't look at us, while we take over a country (Ukraine), looks somewhere else, look what the US did in the past... So bad..

A serial mass murderer has no rights to call another murderer a murderer. If the US can stop meddling in others' affairs and trying to frame itself as a savior coming to liberate the oppressed from Russia (which is a far smaller evil in comparison), nobody will call out its hypocrisy.

Don't come tell me that Russia is a good guy, just because you want to be anti US. I do not support US either for going for iraq / afghanistan, but that does not excuse of the current invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

So when are the Nuremberg trials commencing for George War Bush and his friends? Brandon called Putin a war criminal but he got things mixed up and is actually referring to his fellow compatriots. The world is waiting for numerous US presidents of war to be tried for war crimes.

It looks like the Russians are making some type of military gain in the east and have declared their intention to consolidate their territorial gains there. Zelensky is out there calling the west cowards which must mean the situation is more dire than is being portrayed by Ukraine.

Fake news. According to Western media, the US-backed Zelensky regime is currently in Moscow and have captured the entire Kremlin including Putin. They are now having talks about Putin ceding Russia to the US.

 

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[Napoolion]

Seizing the east and consolidating their territorial gains while establishing the land route to Crimea was the goal all along for the Russians as I stated early on in the conflict. The Kiev thing never smelled right, but it did force Ukraine to scramble and move defenses.

No, it means they wanted to take whole Ukraine and change the government, but failed. That is now the second best. Focusing on Kiev was nothing about defending poor people in Donetski, just good old land grabbing and imperialism.

Also reports coming out that Russia suffered a 30% to their economy with these nuclear level sanctions which is not good, as 30% is survivable. Polls are starting to slide for Biden at home as the public begins to grapple with $4-7 dollar gas prices as well as economic malaise. Zelensky's clock is now ticking down as US media coverage will at some point start to shift. He is now pledging to staying nuclear weapons free, which is an odd remark as neither the West/Russia was going to allow Ukraine to become a nuclear weapons state. This may what sparked the invasion in the first place from the Russian side. Non-nuclear status? What's this guy smoking, it's like I keep saying we are not being told the whole truth here. How exactly were they going to obtain nuclear weapons , do they have nuclear weapons now? Do they have an active nuclear weapons program?

Now it is nuclear weapons justification for the invasion. They have none, they gave them away in 90s to friendly Russians, who supposedly would never invade Ukraine... right.

"Security guarantees and neutrality, non-nuclear status of our state. We are ready to go for it. This is the most important point," Zelensky said, according to Reuters.

Show you how much Ukraine being the American puppet from Russian propaganda holds on. If that would be case, Ukraine would get much more military support, including air defenses.

A serial mass murderer has no rights to call another murderer a murderer. If the US can stop meddling in others' affairs and trying to frame itself as a savior coming to liberate the oppressed from Russia (which is a far smaller evil in comparison), nobody will call out its hypocrisy.

What U.S has done does not give justification about the same what Russia is doing in Ukraine. Russia is trying to fame itself as a savior coming to liberate the oppressed from Ukraine... U.S is not in Russia, while Russia is in Ukraine? Why are you so blind to see your own hypocrisy?

So when are the Nuremberg trials commencing for George War Bush and his friends? Brandon called Putin a war criminal but he got things mixed up and is actually referring to his fellow compatriots. The world is waiting for numerous US presidents of war to be tried for war crimes.

Probably never, probably not even for Putin that will happen. Neither that happened to Stalin who died in his room of stroke while nobody close wanted to help him, neither it happen to Lenin who died of also stroke, syphilis didn't help either, Genghis Khan died while fking, Hitler poisoned and shot himself, so yeah, dictators hardly ever get trials. In rare cases, Mussolini for example got a public one and got hanged. Nicolae Ceaușescu, Romania's communist dictator got trialed and shot.

Fake news. According to Western media, the US-backed Zelensky regime is currently in Moscow and have captured the entire Kremlin including Putin. They are now having talks about Putin ceding Russia to the US.

I am going to answer that with your own quote when Russian column was going for Kiev, you can clearly see the shift of priorities:

Every morning, the first thing I do when I wake up, is to google "Ukraine news live" to check if the mega puppet and tycoon Zelensky has been captured.

 

[Xeon]

What U.S has done does not give justification about the same what Russia is doing in Ukraine. Russia is trying to fame itself as a savior coming to liberate the oppressed from Ukraine... U.S is not in Russia, while Russia is in Ukraine? Why are you so blind to see your own hypocrisy?

It does not change the fact that the US has meddled/invaded numerous countries which is none of its business. US is not in Russia but it's very busy, actively controlling Zelensky and EU+NATO from behind the scenes, what's the difference? The US might as well stop pretending and just send troops to Ukraine.

From what I know, Zelensky and his predecessors have been killing the folks in Eastern Ukraine (those 2 - 3 regions). Google seems to have removed many of those articles. And I don't see the West sanctioning him for that or calling him a war criminal. That was one of the reasons Russia gave for the military operation previously.

 

[Napoolion]

It does not change the fact that the US has meddled/invaded numerous countries which is none of its business. US is not in Russia but it's very busy, actively controlling Zelensky and EU+NATO from behind the scenes, what's the difference? The US might as well stop pretending and just send troops to Ukraine.

From what I know, Zelensky and his predecessors have been killing the folks in Eastern Ukraine (those 2 - 3 regions). Google seems to have removed many of those articles. And I don't see the West sanctioning him for that or calling him a war criminal. That was one of the reasons Russia gave for the military operation previously.

If you ever get a wife and cheat on her, you can always try to use the same tactic and tell her that remember my friend from back then? Yeah, he is much more a cheater than me and he also beats her wife. See how far you can go with that excuse.

This is the real reason for military operation:

Russian oligrachs and Putin do not give two f-s of people living there, neither they care about their people especially about their soldiers. Look how they have razed the cities in the east and look how they have sent their soldiers to suicide missions, especially paratroopers.

 

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[Xeon]

If you ever get a wife and cheat on her, you can always try to use the same tactic and tell her that remember my friend from back then? Yeah, he is much more a cheater than me and he also beats her wife. See how far you can go with that excuse.

This is the real reason for military operation:
View attachment 42783
Russian oligrachs and Putin do not give two f-s of people living there, neither they care about their people especially about their soldiers. Look how they have razed the cities in the east and look how they have sent their soldiers to suicide missions, especially paratroopers.

That is the Western, or rather, US-centric POV.

Western govs have this predictable habit of projecting their own doings onto other countries (e.g. "if we invade Iraq and other mid east countries for oil and resources, then Russia and China will definitely do the same").

Then they get their media to spout the same train of thought. Have they even entertained the possibility that Russia just wants security guarantees and do not want US+NATO on their border? Actually, they've. They even know about this more than you and me. But of course, why would they shoot themselves in the foot by admitting all these? Lol

In reality, the US can single handlely stop this entire mess in Ukraine by itself. How? By offering security guarantees to Russia. Instead, it refuses to and only seeks to escalate the war. How? By BORROWING Ukraine to fight Russia and using Ukrainians' lives as fodder.

 

[Napoolion]

That is the Western, or rather, US-centric POV.

Western govs have this predictable habit of projecting their own doings onto other countries (e.g. "if we invade Iraq and other mid east countries for oil and resources, then Russia and China will definitely do the same").

Then they get their media to spout the same train of thought. Have they even entertained the possibility that Russia just wants security guarantees and do not want US+NATO on their border? Actually, they've. They even know about this more than you and me. But of course, why would they shoot themselves in the foot by admitting all these? Lol

In reality, the US can single handlely stop this entire mess in Ukraine by itself. How? By offering security guarantees to Russia. Instead, it refuses to and only seeks to escalate the war. How? By BORROWING Ukraine to fight Russia and using Ukrainians' lives as fodder.

Russia's economy:
1. The oil and gas sector accounted up to roughly 40% of Russia's federal budget revenues, and up to 60% of its exports in 2019. Ukraine has untapped oil and gas reserves. 1+1 is 2. Or in Russian case it is Z.

2. Ukraine is not in NATO and has not received any of the good NATO hardware (combat airplanes, air defence systems) Only handheld limited stuff.
Argument of Russia not wanting NATO in their border solution is then to attack a non-nato country (Ukraine), take it's land to be on a border with NATO? Makes no sense.

Russia is invading Ukraine, troops are shooting at everything they can and that somehow is the fault of U.S? Whatever, you have to be dumb to believe it or an useful idiot how good KGB defector Yuri Bezmenov's once told. Yeeah, "security guarantees", let us just invade whole Europe and don't interrupt.

 

[Kevin88660]

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q_PTc5yPXHE

 

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[Maliardo]

My relatives live in Ukraine and I worry about them very much every day and keep in touch with them all the time.
I told them that I would like them to come to me, but they categorically refused the idea.
They said they would never leave their homeland, no matter what, they are ready to stand their ground to the last man and no Putler can ever scare them!
Frankly speaking, I was shocked by their fortitude and strength of spirit, not every nation has such a strong collective spirit and fearlessness in the face of any problem)

 

[Silverfox148]

No, it means they wanted to take whole Ukraine and change the government, but failed. That is now the second best. Focusing on Kiev was nothing about defending poor people in Donetski, just good old land grabbing and imperialism.

Now it is nuclear weapons justification for the invasion. They have none, they gave them away in 90s to friendly Russians, who supposedly would never invade Ukraine... right.

Show you how much Ukraine being the American puppet from Russian propaganda holds on. If that would be case, Ukraine would get much more military support, including air defenses.

What U.S has done does not give justification about the same what Russia is doing in Ukraine. Russia is trying to fame itself as a savior coming to liberate the oppressed from Ukraine... U.S is not in Russia, while Russia is in Ukraine? Why are you so blind to see your own hypocrisy?

Look man, I'm not here to have a Putin Bad, Ukraine Good type argument. If that's what you are looking for no worries, you will have no problem finding takers on that on internet. Putin is a cold blooded calculated killer, make no mistake about it but he isn't the only one. It doesn't matter whether I think Ukraine should have been invaded or not, it certainly didn't matter whether I thought Iraq or Afghanistan should have been invaded, those decisions are made at the leadership level of a country(Putin, Bush, Obama, etc).

Russia doesn't want to liberate Ukraine, Russia wants to wreck Ukraine, you keep pointing at Putin as some despicable sociopath human being(which he is) but at the same time you keep thinking he views Ukraine as some prize and wants to take over Kiev. I'm telling ultimately you he doesn't give a shit and will raze major parts of Ukraine because it's not about Ukraine for Putin it's about positioning with regards to the US/NATO/China for him. All the crap about NATO in Ukraine is an excuse for Putin, NATO is already in Poland and other very close countries to Russias western borders. I will also tell you this, the US doesn't need Ukraine either, it's already got NATO surrounding Russia, Ukraine is just the stooge that gets decimated in order to give the Russians a bloody nose.

The reason you don't want to accept the Putin wants to wreck Ukraine and you keep pointing to Putin wanting regime change/Kiev is because if you did accept he wants to openly wreck Ukraine and the US/NATO/Biden aren't going to actually stop him then it will mean all your hero myths about Ukraine and Zelensky aren't going to matter in the end because he doesn't want to occupy , he wants to destroy. You are getting a front seat view with what is happening in Maripoul, does it look like they want to preserve infrastructure and force regime change in the government?

The best move for the Ukrainians is to be looking for a cease fire and negotiate with Putin for a face saving end to the war. All the dreams about NATO, EU, West are gone, if you think any of those countries are going to touch Ukraine with a 10 foot stick while Russian stand off striking capability and a willingness to use it anytime soon are dreaming.

This is the problem with people drinking the Kool Aid, they start to believe their own lies.

 

[Napoolion]

Look man, I'm not here to have a Putin Bad, Ukraine Good type argument. If that's what you are looking for no worries, you will have no problem finding takers on that on internet. Putin is a cold blooded calculated killer, make no mistake about it but he isn't the only one. It doesn't matter whether I think Ukraine should have been invaded or not, it certainly didn't matter whether I thought Iraq or Afghanistan should have been invaded, those decisions are made at the leadership level of a country(Putin, Bush, Obama, etc).

Russia doesn't want to liberate Ukraine, Russia wants to wreck Ukraine, you keep pointing at Putin as some despicable sociopath human being(which he is) but at the same time you keep thinking he views Ukraine as some prize and wants to take over Kiev. I'm telling ultimately you he doesn't give a shit and will raze major parts of Ukraine because it's not about Ukraine for Putin it's about positioning with regards to the US/NATO/China for him. All the crap about NATO in Ukraine is an excuse for Putin, NATO is already in Poland and other very close countries to Russias western borders. I will also tell you this, the US doesn't need Ukraine either, it's already got NATO surrounding Russia, Ukraine is just the stooge that gets decimated in order to give the Russians a bloody nose.

The reason you don't want to accept the Putin wants to wreck Ukraine and you keep pointing to Putin wanting regime change/Kiev is because if you did accept he wants to openly wreck Ukraine and the US/NATO/Biden aren't going to actually stop him then it will mean all your hero myths about Ukraine and Zelensky aren't going to matter in the end because he doesn't want to occupy , he wants to destroy. You are getting a front seat view with what is happening in Maripoul, does it look like they want to preserve infrastructure and force regime change in the government?

The best move for the Ukrainians is to be looking for a cease fire and negotiate with Putin for a face saving end to the war. All the dreams about NATO, EU, West are gone, if you think any of those countries are going to touch Ukraine with a 10 foot stick while Russian stand off striking capability and a willingness to use it anytime soon are dreaming.

This is the problem with people drinking the Kool Aid, they start to believe their own lies.

I can respect that. I am from small nation next to Russia and we as nation have seen some shit the last 100 years. It also means we are really lucky we did not get invaded this time around (look to Baltic states). If it would not be Ukraine, it would be me in the forest waiting for the Russian fuel/supply trucks so I could blow them up. It would suck reading this forum though of straight Russian propaganda how they have went to liberate Russian minority and all of your nation is suddenly Nazi or there are chemical labs or whatever shit they would say while there are Russian troops in your country raping your girl and stealing your coffee machine.
Since I live next to Russia, I can also say that I have studied (and not only me) their methods since I was 17. So you could say at least 12 years. I am also in army reserve, a lot of people here are. Putin wanted regime change at the start, but could not achieve it. He could achieve it with open mobilization and slow steam rolling (they have bunch of old equipment in reserves) but we are talking about really costly war here, which Russia itself would probably not survive either (economic, stability collapse). He wanted quick regime change and victory, that is why so suicidal tactics from the start and huge gaping losses which Russian population still do not know about. They only have the propaganda number of casualties, just like the propaganda radiation number of Chernobyl.
There has been changes of tactics in the last few weeks for Russians. If they could not occupy/hold it, they then can at least destroy it like you said, that's true. That is to show to the world that look, we are dangerous part (and it is the saving face part for Russians). For Ukraine, there is nothing to save face for, they have done exceedingly everything they could to protect their nation. They were the underdog. U.S intelligence thought they last for few days. We are going to see now another change of Russian tactics, they are going to try to capture cities one by one. That is why we see withdrawal of troops. Donetsk and Lugansk region are given priority and yes, resources gained are still something to go after for and saving face is important for regime too. Otherwise they have to say something like: "we have killed all the Nazis in Ukraine with operation Z, and it was really successful and roses, ok bye". But the west where most of the people can see through the bs might think, ok, Russia is weak, which by the way Hitler though after soviet invasion of Finland, but boy did Russians show him wrong. So yes, we will see total destruction in the east before Russians leave because of "don't mess with us" face needs to be saved after their miscalculation. Russia mobilized and fighting for their country like Ukraine when somebody would invade would ruin every invaders day, however, in that war... they are the invader, thus such a poor performance and morale, who can blame them for the tactics high command went for and also that Ukraine did not welcome them.

 

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[Napoolion]

Recent Russian soldier calls to home:
"Today our unit had 4 dead, I felt close to three of them. They all had children. Hakim was only 36, two children were left behind.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDqDy7T9dLM&list=PL8ao2ZjeM9mslBOATvDa87lvgELw281lF&index=6


"We live here in a gorgeous villa, what shall I bring you my lady. There are some manicure things, lamps-things (probably for drying and fixing gel nails), do you need them?" "What, are you marauding there?" "Yes, that's right" "Well, do what you want, get something for yourself first!"

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2gpxJxxCl8&list=PL8ao2ZjeM9mslBOATvDa87lvgELw281lF&index=5


Almost died on 24th, yesterday our battalion commander was hit by a mortar fire. There is nothing definite to hear about reinforcements.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbKveguSZC0&list=PL8ao2ZjeM9mslBOATvDa87lvgELw281lF&index=4


All what was left of the major was his foot.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaqDX568toc&list=PL8ao2ZjeM9mslBOATvDa87lvgELw281lF&index=3


"We are 30 km from Kiev"
"Listen, are the propaganda stories right? How do the locals feel about you?"
"Badly, we even call ourselves occupiers. We have no right in this conflict. We talk to the locals, they ask what, no one has ever bombed us here! We are treated very poorly, no one offers any food or drink. There are no Nazis here."
"Do you have a lot of losses?"
"We don't have that bad, 30% of my last unit. There are only 4 machines left out of 16. The men in our unit refused to continue fighting, they gave up. One of the BMP-s got hit with a javelin, a guy I know lost his legs and is back in Russia.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uib_3AgGb14&list=PL8ao2ZjeM9mslBOATvDa87lvgELw281lF&index=2


Three tankers raped a 14-year-old girl and her mother. There are a lot of brutal animals on our side. In fact, according to wartime laws, they should be shot down, our division commander was humane, they were put (in chains?) to an intersection that is constantly being shelled. There are many such cases, including marauding. There is a lot of house robbing, going in, taking jewelry, valuables. The unit commander loaded an ATV onto the truck, also stolen. The Ukrainians are better than us in battle. For example, it is difficult to hit a accurate shot with a mortar if has not been prefired. They ffs, shoot accurately, a very precise fire. They are above us in every way. For example, the Ukrainians stayed hidden, let our units pass, we reached the river, the passage was blocked. When we turned back, there was already an ambush on the way back. We were cut off from supplies, we cannot go back or forth. No food, no ammo. Ukrainians just sit and wait, we do not know what to do.
Часть 159. "Наши танкисты, трое человек изнасиловали 14 лет и ее мать"

 

[Cyberthal]

Putin is the kind of guy who buries dirty bombs around the world, and has his enemies' decapitated heads sent to him.

He absolutely would escalate a war from conventional to nuclear. That is Russian military doctrine, when pressed. Make no mistake, NATO is pressing. The maps don't lie.

Biden is the kind of guy who shits his pants and screws his kids.

Are you seeing the asymmetry here?

 

[Kevin88660]

China hoards over half the world's grain, pushing up global prices

Testy ties with U.S. and Australia could be prodding China to boost food reserves

asia.nikkei.com

China has been buying food long before the Ukrainian crisis.

It us very hard to believe that China wasn’t tipped off by Russia’s plan on Ukraine.

Putin hails China oil and gas deals amid tensions with Europe

Russia agrees deal to supply gas to China via a new pipeline as tensions simmer with European customers over Ukraine.

www.aljazeera.com

China signed contract on Russian oil supply right before the Russian attack on Ukraine.

China lifts all wheat-import restrictions on Russia amid Ukraine crisis

Newly announced agreement between China and Russia reflects deepening ties between Beijing and Moscow while addressing China’s need to enhance food security.

amp.scmp.com

One day after the attack China lifted import control of Russian wheat. Now wheat supply issue is on global news.

China seems to be a “INSIDERS trader”.

 

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[Xeon]

2. Ukraine is not in NATO and has not received any of the good NATO hardware (combat airplanes, air defence systems) Only handheld limited stuff.
Argument of Russia not wanting NATO in their border solution is then to attack a non-nato country (Ukraine), take it's land to be on a border with NATO? Makes no sense.

NATO is expanding eastwards into Russia and Ukraine will be NATOed if Russia continues to do nothing.

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q_PTc5yPXHE

Countries that want to be vassal states of the US, including doing anything they can to please their owner, have everything coming for them eventually when it's time for their owner to dispose of them.

I am from small nation next to Russia and we as nation have seen some shit the last 100 years. It also means we are really lucky we did not get invaded this time around (look to Baltic states).

Do you want US military presence in your country? Do you want your country to become the next Iraq, Libya and Cuba?

"To be an enemy of America can be dangerous, but to be a friend is fatal" - Henry Kissinger

 

[Happyheart]

Does anyone have business issues, that have been implicated by the current situation?

 

[Trevor Kuntz]

Does anyone have business issues, that have been implicated by the current situation?

Since October, my business partners and I have been going through the process of expanding our US company into the EU market in 2023 via Romania and establishing a fulfillment warehouse in Cluj-Napoca.

We are currently in a holding pattern to wait and see what happens. Both of my partners (one of whom is Romanian-American) will visit Romania for 8 weeks in June/July but for right now, everyone is a bit apprehensive to make any major investments without knowing how this war is going to play out. I often wonder how much foreign investment in Poland, Romania, and the Baltic states is currently delayed or not going to happen anymore because of this shit war.

 

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[Napoolion]

Since October, my business partners and I have been going through the process of expanding our US company into the EU market in 2023 via Romania and establishing a fulfillment warehouse in Cluj-Napoca.

We are currently in a holding pattern to wait and see what happens. Both of my partners (one of whom is Romanian-American) will visit Romania for 8 weeks in June/July but for right now, everyone is a bit apprehensive to make any major investments without knowing how this war is going to play out. I often wonder how much foreign investment in Poland, Romania, and the Baltic states is currently delayed or not going to happen anymore because of this shit war.

I can say about Baltic states, region does not really have any great natural resources like oil, gas, rare materials except resources for construction and wood industry. So most of the economy is service industry with high emphasis on knowledge jobs. Start-ups and software and whatever stuff what will work in the internet. Industry is around 20%, any big investment into heavy industry is not that wise anyway (lack of required resources which need to be imported in) if you are not into wood or oil shale stuff. Agriculture is just a few percent, but the region can feed itself. Exports with Russia between different Baltic countries were between 2% - 8%. Negative trends for the region are price increases, mostly fuel and electricity. Obviously bigger investments into military's spending go in too which means less money to the other areas.

 

[Trevor Kuntz]

I've visited Riga and really enjoyed the architecture and vast history there. Talinn has been on my list of places to visit for a long time, but I haven't made it there yet. The Museum of the Occupation of Latvia is one of the best museums I've been to in the world and where I learned about the Suwalki Gap and the relative lack of natural defenses.

My business partner is primarily nervous just because if Russia were to go to war with Poland for any reason, then it would almost certainly also go to war with Romania and the city (Cluj-Napoca) we plan to base our European subsidiary/fulfillment warehouse in is only 180km from the Ukrainian border. The city is not a strategic target, but then again, neither were many of the Ukrainian cities that have been bombed so far. We cannot read Putin's mind, so for now, only time will tell.

 

[Napoolion]

I've visited Riga and really enjoyed the architecture and vast history there. Talinn has been on my list of places to visit for a long time, but I haven't made it there yet. The Museum of the Occupation of Latvia is one of the best museums I've been to in the world and where I learned about the Suwalki Gap and the relative lack of natural defenses.

My business partner is primarily nervous just because if Russia were to go to war with Poland for any reason, then it would almost certainly also go to war with Romania and the city (Cluj-Napoca) we plan to base our European subsidiary/fulfillment warehouse in is only 180km from the Ukrainian border. The city is not a strategic target, but then again, neither were many of the Ukrainian cities that have been bombed so far. We cannot read Putin's mind, so for now, only time will tell.

Those are all NATO members, so war in any of these countries trigger article 5, which means every country has to join the war. If everybody will watch from a far like in Ukraine, then NATO as an organization is pointless. Even if some members will only help on paper, for example for Baltic countries, there is really no point to wait until one of the Baltic countries gets taken out by it's own. Suwalki gap is quite the weak spot, but there is still the sea and for example Mariupol holds to this day being totally encircled. Kaliningrad is full of missile systems, but I am quite sure there is a plan for that as well. If Putin would had succeeded puppeting the Ukraine, it is quite likely he would had tested Nato's unity in Baltics as a next step. Now considering the losses they have took, it is highly unlikely they are going to launch another war with Nato, which rules over the air and has a big navy. It will take a while to rebuild all what they have lost, including logistics and doctrine changes. Putin can plan and think whatever he wants, but he is not acting in a vacuum where others don't react and make plans. In fact he succeeded to unite NATO together and even make Germany to do policy changes. Trump tried to do latter for years.

 

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[Trevor Kuntz]

Those are all NATO members, so war in any of these countries trigger article 5, which means every country has to join the war. If everybody will watch from a far like in Ukraine, then NATO as an organization is pointless. Even if some members will only help on paper, for example for Baltic countries, there is really no point to wait until one of the Baltic countries gets taken out by it's own. Suwalki gap is quite the weak spot, but there is still the sea and for example Mariupol holds to this day being totally encircled. Kaliningrad is full of missile systems, but I am quite sure there is a plan for that as well. If Putin would had succeeded puppeting the Ukraine, it is quite likely he would had tested Nato's unity in Baltics as a next step. Now considering the losses they have took, it is highly unlikely they are going to launch another war with Nato, which rules over the air and has a big navy. It will take a while to rebuild all what they have lost, including logistics and doctrine changes. Putin can plan and think whatever he wants, but he is not acting in a vacuum where others don't react and make plans. In fact he succeeded to unite NATO together and even make Germany to do policy changes. Trump tried to do latter for years.

Right, this is all true. Best case, this situation just delays our establishment in Romania by 4 to 12 months, and hopefully in the long-term, that won't matter too much anyway. We'll see where things are when my partners visit in June.

Has the war in Ukraine affected lifestyles/business operations in your country significantly?

 

[Napoolion]

Right, this is all true. Best case, this situation just delays our establishment in Romania by 4 to 12 months, and hopefully in the long-term, that won't matter too much anyway. We'll see where things are when my partners visit in June.

Has the war in Ukraine affected lifestyles/business operations in your country significantly?

Not at all. Just the fuel price and general prices, which has always been way worse than in U.S, haha . If you feel depressed looking at fuel prices in U.S, check European country ones. Electricity prices started rising even before the war, so mining crypto prolly not that great idea if I would want to go into that. Real estate prices are have been rising quite a long time, but there are now few month delays with the new real estate developments, since Ukraine was producing some kind of components to the large developer. I have online business catering to the needs of local market, but also businesses all over the world, so for me, nothing really changed. Probably why we are so less effected, is because the economy percentage tied with Russia is so small amount, it is mostly associated with the rest of Europe. Doing business in Russia has always been a wild ride with a corruption and their tradition of "seizing the means of the production" or as recently, stealing the hundreds of airplanes (Russia May Commit 'Largest Theft Of Aircraft In History' By Keeping Over 400 Leased Planes), our country just did not want to bother too much supplying the endless Russian market, but country being dependent on Moscow as we can see is never in a good position. Germany was for gas for example and I guess for them it helps that they are otherwise quite rich to break their dependency. But I also see more opportunity in defence field and smart weapon development, this is potentially going to be a gold mine for the next 10-15 years in Europe. I am in no position to act on that opportunity for the next 6 months, since for me my plan right now is to finish my master thesis and just scale my online business. However I have few ideas about few products which armies would buy, will see if I pursue it. Also I see opportunity in food market now that Ukraine has to be a less of food supplier (even though they have fought valiantly, they might still lose some farm land). I am thinking smart green houses. It is more to do with the global population increasing though than war in Ukraine.

 

[Marigold]

Also I see opportunity in food market now that Ukraine has to be a less of food supplier (even though they have fought valiantly, they might still lose some farm land). I am thinking smart green houses. It is more to do with the global population increasing though than war in Ukraine.

Ukraine and Russia not exporting wheat and fertiliser is going to mean more than an opportunity in the food market... It's going to lead to famine.

Smart green houses will be required with global climate change but I'd say anything that teaches people how to grow and preserve food in creative ways is going to be very popular.

 

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[Napoolion]

Ukraine and Russia not exporting wheat and fertiliser is going to mean more than an opportunity in the food market... It's going to lead to famine.

Smart green houses will be required with global climate change but I'd say anything that teaches people how to grow and preserve food in creative ways is going to be very popular.

Yep. If not famine, then definitely price increases. It will especially suck for the countries who can't grow their own food (especially Middle East and North Africa).
Pretty good overview of the exports/imports: How could the war in Ukraine impact global food supplies?

I think it will take another month of war until some kind of agreement is made. Virtually no progress had been made on negotiations, just some words what mean nothing. Also Russia conscripting more cannon fodder: Russia drafts 134,500 conscripts but says they won't go to Ukraine
Let's be honest, they are going to Ukraine.

 

[Silverfox148]

Interesting to see that now that the US seems to backing off a little and some small signs of deescalation from the U.S side as political problems begin to bubble back at home due to whole Ukraine mess. Russia meanwhile seems to not be interested in taking the small olive branches and incredibly seems to still be focused on their goal. They are steadily cracking away at Ukraine and even more importantly for them the dollar hegemony/US world order.

Biggest Development in the last few days:
Putin is now saying he will only take Rubles from unfriendly countries for energy(perhaps other exports), this is something probably no one expected on the US/Western side, they expected the Ruble to have collapsed already and Putin to be desperate for US/Euros at this moment in time. This is a huge development because it can deal a real blow to the petrodollar, especially if other countries follow suit such as India/China/Others.

The EU is saying they are not going to do it but I see little to no options for them , Putin has called their bluff, this is as somebody else mentioned an incredible "judo" move. I imagine the US is on the phone telling the EU not to comply, but little to no option for the EU especially Germany. It looks like the Germany's PM was on the phone with Putin telling him Germany would not comply but Putin went ahead anyway.

It's interesting to hear EU talk about contracts and legality and honoring them when they have seized hundreds of billions in Russian assets along with the US as well as sending weapons which are proving deadly for Russian service military members in Ukraine. This was the problem all along with these unprecedented nuclear level sanctions and the crazy weapons shipments, now they have nothing to hit back sanctions wise against the Russians. Russia absorbed the hit and now comes the response.

Putin threatens to cut gas exports unless countries pay in rubles

Any disruption of gas exports to Europe would make the continent's energy crisis much worse.

www.axios.com

United States
Big headaches for Biden all in some way related to Ukraine policy, it looks like certain elements of the deep state/national security state/intelligence are turning on Biden subtly, especially when it comes to Hunter Biden, Biden's son who was also incredibly tied up in Ukraine with very shady dealings. There is increased media coverage on Hunter Biden and the laptop that was suppressed during the last elections, we've seen these campaigns before and they inevitably are designed to put pressure on the sitting president from within the government. I'm actually wondering if Biden will even serve out his full term at this point, and if he does he may not be a tenable candidate for re-election. This guy is facing a huge mess domestically in the U.S as midterm elections are right around the corner.

The outright acceptance of Ukraine refugees at Mexican ports of entry is also putting pressure on Biden as the public/other countries/etc. begin to question why it's ok to allow Ukrainians in but not other nationalities who are also fleeing from conflicts. Apparently Biden is prepared to end Title 42 which has been a big help to stemming immigration at the southern border. Now the Ukraine conflict has also made the Title 42 solution untenable as questions of racism are sure to begin to get asked. Biden is extremely sensitive to this as his Hispanic numbers are dropping due to a variety of factors.

Is Biden ending Title 42? War in Ukraine reignites debate over a pandemic border policy

With President Biden saying the country will accept as many as 100,000 Ukrainian...

www.sfchronicle.com

 

[Vadim26]

 

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[Napoolion]

Interesting to see that now that the US seems to backing off a little and some small signs of deescalation from the U.S side as political problems begin to bubble back at home due to whole Ukraine mess. Russia meanwhile seems to not be interested in taking the small olive branches and incredibly seems to still be focused on their goal. They are steadily cracking away at Ukraine and even more importantly for them the dollar hegemony/US world order.

Biggest Development in the last few days:
Putin is now saying he will only take Rubles from unfriendly countries for energy(perhaps other exports), this is something probably no one expected on the US/Western side, they expected the Ruble to have collapsed already and Putin to be desperate for US/Euros at this moment in time. This is a huge development because it can deal a real blow to the petrodollar, especially if other countries follow suit such as India/China/Others.

The EU is saying they are not going to do it but I see little to no options for them , Putin has called their bluff, this is as somebody else mentioned an incredible "judo" move. I imagine the US is on the phone telling the EU not to comply, but little to no option for the EU especially Germany. It looks like the Germany's PM was on the phone with Putin telling him Germany would not comply but Putin went ahead anyway.

It's interesting to hear EU talk about contracts and legality and honoring them when they have seized hundreds of billions in Russian assets along with the US as well as sending weapons which are proving deadly for Russian service military members in Ukraine. This was the problem all along with these unprecedented nuclear level sanctions and the crazy weapons shipments, now they have nothing to hit back sanctions wise against the Russians. Russia absorbed the hit and now comes the response.

Putin threatens to cut gas exports unless countries pay in rubles

Any disruption of gas exports to Europe would make the continent's energy crisis much worse.

www.axios.com

United States
Big headaches for Biden all in some way related to Ukraine policy, it looks like certain elements of the deep state/national security state/intelligence are turning on Biden subtly, especially when it comes to Hunter Biden, Biden's son who was also incredibly tied up in Ukraine with very shady dealings. There is increased media coverage on Hunter Biden and the laptop that was suppressed during the last elections, we've seen these campaigns before and they inevitably are designed to put pressure on the sitting president from within the government. I'm actually wondering if Biden will even serve out his full term at this point, and if he does he may not be a tenable candidate for re-election. This guy is facing a huge mess domestically in the U.S as midterm elections are right around the corner.

The outright acceptance of Ukraine refugees at Mexican ports of entry is also putting pressure on Biden as the public/other countries/etc. begin to question why it's ok to allow Ukrainians in but not other nationalities who are also fleeing from conflicts. Apparently Biden is prepared to end Title 42 which has been a big help to stemming immigration at the southern border. Now the Ukraine conflict has also made the Title 42 solution untenable as questions of racism are sure to begin to get asked. Biden is extremely sensitive to this as his Hispanic numbers are dropping due to a variety of factors.

Is Biden ending Title 42? War in Ukraine reignites debate over a pandemic border policy

With President Biden saying the country will accept as many as 100,000 Ukrainian...

www.sfchronicle.com

To be honest, Biden has always seem a little weak leader to me, do you think the same scenario would have been played out with Trump?
I think EU should just eat the loss, if Russia does not sell it in EUR, then don't buy it at all. If your house has now 15C instead of 22C, but on a dam sweater or go convert your heating solutions to firewood. Why not just accept that your policy on depending Russia sucked and deal with it.
If it is a war with west vs east, I am pretty sure I want to be on the west side, I am not going to learn a poem about Lenin Eastern Europe remembers, westerners don't really get it what it means to live under Russia.
Which concerns about weapons, the U.S have held back and have shipped only hand held weapons. Stingers and Javelins are good, but they are so short range and not a cheat code to win the war. We saw a lot of Javelin uses in the start of war, but I think Ukraine is out of them. Now we are seeing short range nlaws, mines, rpgs, artillery. You can't use a shotgun to shoot down an airplane. No attack weapons have given, nothing anti air what can take down missiles or planes a far. Stinger height ceiling is just 3800 meters. Biggest alliance in the world (NATO) can't send even old SAM sites (Slovakia) to the Ukraine, U.S is afraid to send Poland's Mig-29 to Ukraine. The aid is something, but definitely nothing crazy. Tanks are an attack weapon and those have supplied by Russian troops themselves by abandoning their vehicles. Here is the best resource to see equipment losses and captures (they only record the ones with picture evidence): Attack On Europe: Documenting Equipment Losses During The 2022 Russian Invasion Of Ukraine The international help has been a factor for sure, but Ukraine is winning the war on it's own. U.S supplied Afghanistan way more with much juicier stuff, but Afghanistan army got ran over by men who think it is okay from time to time to F*ck goats and just by mere days. Just shows a lack of will of the Afghanistan army, never should had U.S been there anyway then. Yes, we are seeing Baykatar drone videos, but that is really only happening because russian airforce incompetence. We are seeing many Russian convoys destroyed, but again incompetence. Also that Crimeria and Donbass was taken from them in 2014 and Ukraine has been in war since then. They have prepared, even though their millitary budget is 10 times smaller than Russia's. What is winning the war for Ukraine is sheer morale, sheer incompetence of Russians in combined warfare, bad tactics and general lack of awareness wtf they are doing in Ukraine. And I am fully aware that this statement will piss of pro Russians here, but Russia is not going to win this war and no matter how much of bombing civilian infrastructure will change that. Western Europe should take it's nose out from Putin's butt and stop the appeasement. Appeasement does not work with dictatorships. Should learn from history.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiOMaB-IsDM
Do you guys see any similarities:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKA-lhWFbsE

 

[Silverfox148]

To be honest, Biden has always seem a little weak leader to me, do you think the same scenario would have been played out with Trump?

Yeah he is pretty weak in my opinion, I have never voted in my entire adulthood as I consider politics to be sham, especially after Obama. I consider both Democrats and Republics to be full of crap. However, I now have little option but to begin to vote against the Democrats and Biden himself were he to run again as the country is facing real concerns with inflation and other factors in the schools which are very real and have started to impact me in a variety of ways, including the immigration question.

Would Trump be in this mess ? No, he wouldn't but he had his own set of baggage and drama and fell victim to the Covid situation. I don't believe Putin would have attacked Ukraine in the manner that he did and if he had I do not believe Trump would have escalated the way Biden did. Biden is very weak politically here in the US and makes him desperate for any kinds of wins, he grabbed onto this Ukraine situation with both hands and didn't let go until the "regime change" remark, his polls are down yet again and while Americans support Ukraine they don't believe it is the #1 problem/situation for the US, Biden has been acting like it's the only thing that matters because usually wars boost sitting presidents.

The #1 concern for Biden and his admin is that media and some part of the deep state in the US are turning on him after the "regime change" remark, I'm not sure why that would be the trigger but the mood in media seems to have changed after that. Leaks are happening everyday regard the investigation into his son Hunter Biden who himself was tied into Ukraine/China somehow, just from what's been revealed it's pretty shady dealings. The U.S mainstream media has avoided this story to the extent that the tech companies have censored it to a degree, now they are all over it. The powers that be(deep state) are trying to get Biden to play ball on something, the same was done to Trump and he refused but he also went down in flames.

Federal probe into Hunter Biden's taxes intensifies, sources say

The federal investigation into President Biden's son, Hunter Biden, over his tax affairs has intensified in recent weeks, sources tell ABC News.

abcnews.go.com

As for Ukraine this is not good news for them, Zelensky is/was pretty popular but I see the conversation start to shift on social media. The videos that came out of Ukrainians soldiers shooting Russian POWs was not good, and it didn't help that Ukrainian supporters started to justify it, saying it was ok, etc. This is just social media and par for the course, but if the Ukraine situation splits into left vs right in the US it will mean Ukraine will be left in the cold due to gridlock, I see that start to happen already, with right wing commentators/media taking Putin's side or questioning Ukraine in order to hit Biden domestically.

I know you are coming at this from a situation from a realistic situation due to you living in Eastern Europe and so you should be concerned about what happens in Ukraine/Putin/etc. However, I guarantee you Biden, Borris Johnson/ USA politicians could really care less what happens to Ukraine, these guys have been in power for a very long time and most are pretty corrupt and that is exactly what Putin is counting on in his strategy to outlast the west and barely about a month in we are already starting to see real cracks in the foundations of Western Countries.

 

[Napoolion]

Yeah he is pretty weak in my opinion, I have never voted in my entire adulthood as I consider politics to be sham, especially after Obama. I consider both Democrats and Republics to be full of crap. However, I now have little option but to begin to vote against the Democrats and Biden himself were he to run again as the country is facing real concerns with inflation and other factors in the schools which are very real and have started to impact me in a variety of ways, including the immigration question.

Would Trump be in this mess ? No, he wouldn't but he had his own set of baggage and drama and fell victim to the Covid situation. I don't believe Putin would have attacked Ukraine in the manner that he did and if he had I do not believe Trump would have escalated the way Biden did. Biden is very weak politically here in the US and makes him desperate for any kinds of wins, he grabbed onto this Ukraine situation with both hands and didn't let go until the "regime change" remark, his polls are down yet again and while Americans support Ukraine they don't believe it is the #1 problem/situation for the US, Biden has been acting like it's the only thing that matters because usually wars boost sitting presidents.

The #1 concern for Biden and his admin is that media and some part of the deep state in the US are turning on him after the "regime change" remark, I'm not sure why that would be the trigger but the mood in media seems to have changed after that. Leaks are happening everyday regard the investigation into his son Hunter Biden who himself was tied into Ukraine/China somehow, just from what's been revealed it's pretty shady dealings. The U.S mainstream media has avoided this story to the extent that the tech companies have censored it to a degree, now they are all over it. The powers that be(deep state) are trying to get Biden to play ball on something, the same was done to Trump and he refused but he also went down in flames.

Federal probe into Hunter Biden's taxes intensifies, sources say

The federal investigation into President Biden's son, Hunter Biden, over his tax affairs has intensified in recent weeks, sources tell ABC News.

abcnews.go.com

As for Ukraine this is not good news for them, Zelensky is/was pretty popular but I see the conversation start to shift on social media. The videos that came out of Ukrainians soldiers shooting Russian POWs was not good, and it didn't help that Ukrainian supporters started to justify it, saying it was ok, etc. This is just social media and par for the course, but if the Ukraine situation splits into left vs right in the US it will mean Ukraine will be left in the cold due to gridlock, I see that start to happen already, with right wing commentators/media taking Putin's side or questioning Ukraine in order to hit Biden domestically.

I know you are coming at this from a situation from a realistic situation due to you living in Eastern Europe and so you should be concerned about what happens in Ukraine/Putin/etc. However, I guarantee you Biden, Borris Johnson/ USA politicians could really care less what happens to Ukraine, these guys have been in power for a very long time and most are pretty corrupt and that is exactly what Putin is counting on in his strategy to outlast the west and barely about a month in we are already starting to see real cracks in the foundations of Western Countries.

Is Biden a puppet of the deep state there? I am really not sure what is going on in U.S, but I have heard something about it before. I also heard that Trump actually won the elections, but he did not want to play along that much with the deep state, so that is why he was sacked.

If west and Russia is pretty corrupt, then only clear winner to be fair is still China. USA seems to have that right vs left mentality going on with some weird social activism. Russia will go bankrupt with that war and sanctions, especially if war prolongs, every day is in my opinion is in Ukraine's favor. Last time U.S.S.R (basically Russia/moscow) collapsed, it was due to war in Afghanistan and Chernobyl nuclear disaster together. If Russia stops its gas export, 40% of their economy too, it will totally kill itself and seems like they are playing chicken with each other. You can't build a new gas pipeline tomorrow to somewhere else, it takes time.

I haven't seen the video of Ukraine shooting pows. Those videos could be faked, since there was a russian leak of order to make some videos with Ukraine's troops faked. However, it also could be real, since people can't control their emotions if whole cities have been bombed for days. Since Russia is invader, there have been countless rapes, robberies and civilian killings, so the emotions could be boiling if any of that would happen to your closed ones.

For me, looks like I should prepare for war, just in case, I am pretty okay shot, but I am going to train even better and harder. I think I got time to prepare if my country gets invaded, Ukraine is not going to be the last stop if Russia manages to win something out of that.

 

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[Xeon]

Ukraine war: Russia threatens to stop supplying gas if not paid in roubles

Vladimir Putin orders "unfriendly" foreign buyers of Russia's gas to open Russian bank accounts.

www.google.com

Good luck to all the countries in Europe who have to pay in rubles from today onwards or get their gas cut off. Talk about rationing gas in Germany! Well, this was not Europe's war but I guess this is the price to pay for wanting to be vassal states of the US. Our own leader has been sucking up hard to the US these few days but that's another story.

Biden announced a $5.8 Trillion budget a couple days ago, saying the US wants to "focus" on the Indo Pacific (basically Asia).
Great to be able to print unlimited money isn't it? A large part of it will be used on military spending, and out of that, a majority of it will be spent on using Asian countries to contain China's rise.
Basically Europe 2.0. The US is coming to the Asian continent, after turning South America, Europe, Middle East and Africa into lands of chaos. If the US is unchecked, the Asian countries of today will turn into the Middle Eastern wastelands of tomorrow.

Now, what does this have to do with Russia and the war in Ukraine? Here's how : if Russia succeeds in making a considerable dent in US hegemony through this war, and even if just a few of the major countries follow suit (especially China), and bring down the power of the US Petro/dollar, and weakens the US in the process, then the disaster that is coming to Asia's 4.7 Billion people (that's a lot!) could possibly be averted or minimized as the US bully reconsiders its priorities.

Russia could inevitably be saving Asia indirectly from this war, even though it was not Putin's intentions.

Russia will go bankrupt with that war and sanctions, especially if war prolongs, every day is in my opinion is in Ukraine's favor.

Western media has been saying that same thing but the ruble actually rose yesterday if I read correctly. It's like the same nonsense since 2000 when those same media said China will collapse the "next year". It's been 22+ years since, so I guess they'll say "next year".

Who knows? Maybe China has been secretly backing Russia economically and even if the West sanctions Russia hard, there is still a combined ~2.8 billion population market in India and China alone to sustain her.

For me, looks like I should prepare for war, just in case, I am pretty okay shot, but I am going to train even better and harder. I think I got time to prepare if my country gets invaded, Ukraine is not going to be the last stop if Russia manages to win something out of that.

Put down your weapons. Do you think all your training can help you deflect a rocket dropping down from the air above you? Russia has no time for you. It'll be busy spending the next half a century removing the US global threat.

 

[Napoolion]

Ukraine war: Russia threatens to stop supplying gas if not paid in roubles

Vladimir Putin orders "unfriendly" foreign buyers of Russia's gas to open Russian bank accounts.

www.google.com

Good luck to all the countries in Europe who have to pay in rubles from today onwards or get their gas cut off. Talk about rationing gas in Germany! Well, this was not Europe's war but I guess this is the price to pay for wanting to be vassal states of the US. Our own leader has been sucking up hard to the US these few days but that's another story.

Honestly they should just get their gas cut off. Should not deal with the countries who are forcing your hand. Unfortunately EU politicans have no spine.

Biden announced a $5.8 Trillion budget a couple days ago, saying the US wants to "focus" on the Indo Pacific (basically Asia).
Great to be able to print unlimited money isn't it? A large part of it will be used on military spending, and out of that, a majority of it will be spent on using Asian countries to contain China's rise.
Basically Europe 2.0. The US is coming to the Asian continent, after turning South America, Europe, Middle East and Africa into lands of chaos. If the US is unchecked, the Asian countries of today will turn into the Middle Eastern wastelands of tomorrow.

Now, what does this have to do with Russia and the war in Ukraine? Here's how : if Russia succeeds in making a considerable dent in US hegemony through this war, and even if just a few of the major countries follow suit (especially China), and bring down the power of the US Petro/dollar, and weakens the US in the process, then the disaster that is coming to Asia's 4.7 Billion people (that's a lot!) could possibly be averted or minimized as the US bully reconsiders its priorities.

Russia could inevitably be saving Asia indirectly from this war, even though it was not Putin's intentions.

Western media has been saying that same thing but the ruble actually rose yesterday if I read correctly. It's like the same nonsense since 2000 when those same media said China will collapse the "next year". It's been 22+ years since, so I guess they'll say "next year".

Who knows? Maybe China has been secretly backing Russia economically and even if the West sanctions Russia hard, there is still a combined ~2.8 billion population market in India and China alone to sustain her.

Average European is doing pretty great compared to Russian, so I am not really sure what you mean by Europe 2.0. Russia-China route is looking more like Russia becoming puppet of China. Good luck with that.

Put down your weapons. Do you think all your training can help you deflect a rocket dropping down from the air above you? Russia has no time for you. It'll be busy spending the next half a century removing the US global threat.

Well, as we have seen Iskander is not really that accurate and they definitely won't waste that on one soldier. U.S as a biggest military's in the world lost in Afghanistan to guerilla warfare. Why do you think 11th economy (2021) in the world Russia can occupy anyone for long? Also we are seeing Russian troops suffering heavy casualties in manpower and in equipment, so I would say how long do you think Russian troops will be put up by being treated as a cannon fodder from their higher ups? The F they doing in Ukraine if it is fighting US global threat.. oooh, right, it is because U.S is in Ukraine apparently. And then the U.S will be in elsewhere too of course, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, etc with that logic.