Stupid Shit in Kyiv

[QUOTE=Sirioja;2987822]Except robbering the poor, you think your shameful crazy president will improve situation, when for sure, he put shame on your country, when he fuck your constitution and capitol. A not respectable and trustable schizophrene, but quite senile.[/QUOTE]For clarity, I am not American. I also don't favour Trump- I think he is one crazy SOB who is unravelling all the gains the world has made since WW2 and could well precipitate a WW3. My only point to you was that there are some comprehensible reasons why Americans voted for Trump. A choice between two rubbish candidates was going to be a lose situation, whatever the reasons. I explained the reasons why Trump won. It is not a case of my liking these reasons. In the same way as if I drop a glass it falling is not my liking gravity. It just is a fact.

[QUOTE=ReinerOtto;2987987]1) According to this logic, Hitler was no monster, too.

2) All Baltics and Poles are afraid of Putler.

3) A monster is not necessarily suicidal.[/QUOTE]I love country Russia, but Putin is a criminal and prosecuted by international law, he can t even travel in normal countries and crazy Trump didn t welcome him in White House, where legal Zelensky was received to be threatened and blackmailed. I m proud french Mirage will now help Ukraine, when I would feel really shameful if I was American.

[QUOTE=ReinerOtto;2987987]1) According to this logic, Hitler was no monster, too.

2) All Baltics and Poles are afraid of Putler.

3) A monster is not necessarily suicidal.[/QUOTE]Hey! I am not here to read such a brain twisted political bullshit but to know about girls.

Would be nice if you all could get back on topic.

Thanks.

[QUOTE=ReinerOtto;2987987]1) According to this logic, Hitler was no monster, too..[/QUOTE]Hitler was killing his own citizens. The nazis are on the side of Ukraine. Hiter conquered all of Europe in 2 years, and the Russians more than anyone were instrumental in defeating the Nazis. Russia has more land than it knows what to do with. They want a neutral Ukraine not to take it over.

[QUOTE=ReinerOtto;2987987] All Baltics and Poles are afraid of Putler.[/QUOTE]I said the Poles were skeptical of the Ukraine good, Russia bad routine. Like I do, the Poles do not think the Ukrainians are angels.

[QUOTE=ReinerOtto;2987987]3) A monster is not necessarily suicidal..[/QUOTE]And here we go again. In one breath, you say Putin is a mad man trying to conquer Europe and with the next, you say he is rational. Here is the problem I have with you Europeans. You keep trying to tell us how terrible Putin is and outside of Poland, no one in Europe has been coughing up cash for defense.

You Europeans want the USA to pay for the war, and you want to seize the $300 billion in Russian assets in European banks.

The UK just hosted Zelensky right after he saw Trump and Vance.

Not only did the PM meet him but King Charles did as well. And then I read this, [URL]https://www.19fortyfive.com/2025/02/the-british-army-may-have-only-25-active-main-battle-tanks/[/URL].

Out of those 160, the Royal Armored Corps can't find many tanks that are fully operational. They are trying to get at least 59 that are in "green" or "go" phase and many are still in "red" or "no go" status. Again, as noted by the article above, the active force of tanks has dwindled down to around 20 to 25, and getting 59 tanks ready to go will not be possible for an indefinite period of time.

NATO members Denmark and Sweden have more active tanks.

And the UK is going to put boots on the ground and planes in the sky huh? What a crock of bullshit. Yeah, Hitler is coming, and the UK has 20 to 25 tanks after three years. Give me a fucking break!

[QUOTE=RobaFresca;2988004]Hey! I am not here to read such a brain twisted political bullshit but to know about girls.
Would be nice if you all could get back on topic.
Thanks.[/QUOTE]Would be nice, you first read (and understand) the title of this thread, before ranting around. Especially as a very new kid on the block.

[QUOTE=RobaFresca;2988004]Hey! I am not here to read such a brain twisted political bullshit but to know about girls.Would be nice if you all could get back on topic. [/QUOTE]In as much as the pro Zelensky nazis are geting butt fucked. Maybe ask them what creams they use to soothe their raw arses?

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2987988]For clarity, I am not American. I also don't favour Trump- I think he is one crazy SOB who is unravelling all the gains the world has made since WW2 and could well precipitate a WW3. My only point to you was that there are some comprehensible reasons why Americans voted for Trump. A choice between two rubbish candidates was going to be a lose situation, whatever the reasons. I explained the reasons why Trump won. It is not a case of my liking these reasons. In the same way as if I drop a glass it falling is not my liking gravity. It just is a fact.[/QUOTE]Biden neurons were not more senile than Trump's and Biden is by far more clever for our world, when Trump is at least as dangerous as Putin and as China for pollution. USA won t MAGA with Trump bullshits. Just now a shameful country.

[QUOTE=Jarango;2988037]In as much as the pro Zelensky nazis are geting butt fucked. Maybe ask them what creams they use to soothe their raw arses?[/QUOTE]When almost all Ukrainians and most of the world support and welcome Zelensky, does it mean we are all nazis? Then, I would be proud to be a nazi supporting Ukraine and freedom. I love Russia, so I can only hate Putin who is really bad for Russians condition, becoming more and more poor, when they are so blind.

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;2988012]Hitler was killing his own citizens. The nazis are on the side of Ukraine. Hiter conquered all of Europe in 2 years, and the Russians more than anyone were instrumental in defeating the Nazis. Russia has more land than it knows what to do with. They want a neutral Ukraine not to take it over.

I said the Poles were skeptical of the Ukraine good, Russia bad routine. Like I do, the Poles do not think the Ukrainians are angels.

And here we go again. In one breath, you say Putin is a mad man trying to conquer Europe and with the next, you say he is rational. Here is the problem I have with you Europeans. You keep trying to tell us how terrible Putin is and outside of Poland, no one in Europe has been coughing up cash for defense.

You Europeans want the USA to pay for the war, and you want to seize the $300 billion in Russian assets in European banks.

The UK just hosted Zelensky right after he saw Trump and Vance.

Not only did the PM meet him but King Charles did as well. And then I read this, [URL]https://www.19fortyfive.com/2025/02/the-british-army-may-have-only-25-active-main-battle-tanks/[/URL].

Out of those 160, the Royal Armored Corps can't find many tanks that are fully operational. They are trying to get at least 59 that are in "green" or "go" phase and many are still in "red" or "no go" status. Again, as noted by the article above, the active force of tanks has dwindled down to around 20 to 25, and getting 59 tanks ready to go will not be possible for an indefinite period of time.

NATO members Denmark and Sweden have more active tanks.

And the UK is going to put boots on the ground and planes in the sky huh? What a crock of bullshit. Yeah, Hitler is coming, and the UK has 20 to 25 tanks after three years. Give me a fucking break![/QUOTE]UK is going to put boots on the ground and planes in the sky huh? What a crock of bullshit. Yeah, Hitler is coming, and the UK has 20 to 25 tanks after three years. Give me a fucking break!

The UK like the rest of EU couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag. They are a bunch of pussies who like to beat up on basket cases countries like Iraq, but only if Uncle Sam asks them to. They have totally lost the plot if they think they have the capability or the unity or the financial resources or the internal support to fight Russia, if Russia truly wanted to go to war with them, leave alone China.

Leave alone the weaponary, the UK is on its knees financially and moreover their own citizens are spineless and hate the idea of war. Their army is down to a tiny untrained figure. Vance humiliated them when he said they don't know war, but he wasn't wrong.

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;2988012]
1) no one in Europe has been coughing up cash for defense.
2) You Europeans want the USA to pay for the war, [/QUOTE]

1) Until short time ago, Europe trusted the RF. No need until then to "cough up cash", as Europe not so imperialistic like USA.
Needing large military to rob other countries. Remember Iraq, which cost the USA about 3000 x1 Billion bucks?

2) Hasn't the USA some type of moral obligation? Ooops, not any more, as any moral gone.
Hasn't the USA some type of contractual obligation? Oops, not any more, USA does not care about any agreements from the past (Budapester memo, incl. Guaratees for UA).
Besides, 10% of the cost of USAs robbery attack on Iraq is too much to spend for UAs defence.

Yes, you are right: Europe was stupid enough to trust Russia. And even more stupid, to trust the USA.
May be, they really are "The Great Satan".

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2988092]UK is going to put boots on the ground and planes in the sky huh? What a crock of bullshit. Yeah, Hitler is coming, and the UK has 20 to 25 tanks after three years. Give me a fucking break!

The UK like the rest of EU couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag. They are a bunch of pussies who like to beat up on basket cases countries like Iraq, but only if Uncle Sam asks them to. They have totally lost the plot if they think they have the capability or the unity or the financial resources or the internal support to fight Russia, if Russia truly wanted to go to war with them, leave alone China.

Leave alone the weaponary, the UK is on its knees financially and moreover their own citizens are spineless and hate the idea of war. Their army is down to a tiny untrained figure. Vance humiliated them when he said they don't know war, but he wasn't wrong.[/QUOTE]Putin showed us his military is quite weak and he seems to worry about Europe reaction to help more Ukraine without USA who are now better as robbers threatening blackmailing. At the moment, Vance is just nothing in politics, but he may become dangerous in future. Putin prefer his friend Trump to rule and fuck Ukraine than Europe supporting Ukraine, easier for him to be sucked swallowed by robbering the poor, Trump.

[QUOTE=ReinerOtto;2988097]1) Until short time ago, Europe trusted the RF. No need until then to "cough up cash", as Europe not so imperialistic like USA.
Needing large military to rob other countries. Remember Iraq, which cost the USA about 3000 x1 Billion bucks?

2) Hasn't the USA some type of moral obligation? Ooops, not any more, as any moral gone.
Hasn't the USA some type of contractual obligation? Oops, not any more, USA does not care about any agreements from the past (Budapester memo, incl. Guaratees for UA).
Besides, 10% of the cost of USAs robbery attack on Iraq is too much to spend for UAs defence.

Yes, you are right: Europe was stupid enough to trust Russia. And even more stupid, to trust the USA.
May be, they really are "The Great Satan".[/QUOTE]It is a combination of naivety, ineptitude and extreme ideology that has got Europe to its knees and this is most true for Germany and UK. Taking Germany- Naiveity: to entrust their energy needs to Russia, to such an extent that their industry is now collapsing under unbearable energy prices; ineptitude: to shut down their entire nuclear programme so whimsically and think it would be inconsequential; to invite a million migrants in one go without any meaningful screening and think it would be inconsequential; extreme ideology: the highly socialist / leftist swing by Germany's predecessor government as manifested in the above two policies was going to without doubt have a countervailing protest movement as is now occurring with the AfD advances.

The centrist political position is the most sustainable in the long term. When politics too far left or right, there are countervailing political measures eventually. We have seen this throughout history, yet in conformance with Santanaya's admonishment: We forget the lessons of the past and are doomed to repeat it.

That was my simple point regarding Trump: the narrative that American's are stupid is in itself a stupid narrowminded one. He is a consequence of the excessive ineptitude and swing to a political landscape unsatisfactory for many people. His time too will come to an end. Eventually. I hope for America's sake and the world's that it settles into the centrist ground.

[QUOTE=ReinerOtto;2988097]1) Until short time ago, Europe trusted the RF. No need until then to "cough up cash", as Europe not so imperialistic like USA.
Needing large military to rob other countries. Remember Iraq, which cost the USA about 3000 x1 Billion bucks?

2) Hasn't the USA some type of moral obligation? Ooops, not any more, as any moral gone.
Hasn't the USA some type of contractual obligation? Oops, not any more, USA does not care about any agreements from the past (Budapester memo, incl. Guaratees for UA).
Besides, 10% of the cost of USAs robbery attack on Iraq is too much to spend for UAs defence.

Yes, you are right: Europe was stupid enough to trust Russia. And even more stupid, to trust the USA.
May be, they really are "The Great Satan".[/QUOTE]OK, let's be a little more realistic. It was not about "trusting". First, Russian energy was cheap, second, European politicians love bribes. No one forced Schroder to join the Board of Gasprom, did they?

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2988237]It is a combination of naivety, ineptitude and extreme ideology that has got Europe to its knees and this is most true for Germany and UK. Taking Germany- Naiveity: to entrust their energy needs to Russia, to such an extent that their industry is now collapsing under unbearable energy prices; ineptitude: to shut down their entire nuclear programme so whimsically and think it would be inconsequential; to invite a million migrants in one go without any meaningful screening and think it would be inconsequential; extreme ideology: the highly socialist / leftist swing by Germany's predecessor government as manifested in the above two policies was going to without doubt have a countervailing protest movement as is now occurring with the AfD advances.

The centrist political position is the most sustainable in the long term. When politics too far left or right, there are countervailing political measures eventually. We have seen this throughout history, yet in conformance with Santanaya's admonishment: We forget the lessons of the past and are doomed to repeat it.

That was my simple point regarding Trump: the narrative that American's are stupid is in itself a stupid narrowminded one. He is a consequence of the excessive ineptitude and swing to a political landscape unsatisfactory for many people. His time too will come to an end. Eventually. I hope for America's sake and the world's that it settles into the centrist ground.[/QUOTE]Another crack of BS. Europe is not collapsing. Europe, in fact, is doing fine. Weaning off the Russian energy needle is the best thing that's happened to Europe in the last 50 years.

However, strange as it sounds (because I don't normally agree with anti-Semites on anything) I agree that centrism would be best for any country, although I don't see Americans embrace centrist values any time soon.

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2987734]Dude, you are talking like a complete imbecile. There are so many non-sequiturs (look it up) and strawman arguments (look that up too) and false premises (even you won't need to look that one up. Maybe) in your self indulgent ramblings that you could confound a Philosophy professor. Give your head a shake....[/QUOTE]Here you go Paulie97. We now have a board member who's willing to debate you on your terms with all that ad hominem, sequitur stuff. Time to come back and participate. Unless you're CHICKEN! Bawk bawk bawk bawk!

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2988315] It was not about "trusting". First, Russian energy was cheap, second, European politicians love bribes. No one forced Schroder to join the Board of Gasprom, did they?
[/QUOTE]Europe trusted the idea, that commercial business, profitable for both parties, eliminates the danger of war. Europe sold a lot of industrial product to the RF, and RF sold a lot of energy.

The idea of American "jealousy" just pops up. Blow up Nordstream 2 should be a piece of cake for the SEALS, I guess.

For an imperialistic country like the USA the idea of a successful collaboration between industry rich Europe and resourceful country like RF has to be a nightmare.

Divide and conquer, instead. Before thinking about China.

Regarding bribes, I do not consider it to be unusual for American businessmen, too. Espeially when looking at US weapons industry and business with foreign governments.

Anyway, this does not seriously compare to imperialistic war for oil, which was the real reason to spend 3000 Billlions in Iraq.

Whether highest scale bribes here were the real catalysts, to be determined, I have to admit.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2988315]OK, let's be a little more realistic. It was not about "trusting". First, Russian energy was cheap, second, European politicians love bribes. No one forced Schroder to join the Board of Gasprom, did they?

Another crack of BS. Europe is not collapsing. Europe, in fact, is doing fine. Weaning off the Russian energy needle is the best thing that's happened to Europe in the last 50 years.

However, strange as it sounds (because I don't normally agree with anti-Semites on anything) I agree that centrism would be best for any country, although I don't see Americans embrace centrist values any time soon.[/QUOTE]Another crack of BS. Europe is not collapsing. Europe, in fact, is doing fine. Weaning off the Russian energy needle is the best thing that's happened to Europe in the last 50 years. <<.

You sound like someone with his head up his ass, because that is what you precisely are. You clearly have no idea what is going on in Europe if you think it's "doing fine".

With reference to your persistent anti-semitism smear, you reveal yourself to be one of those racist, Palestinian hating, neo colonisers who think it's ok to steal and occupy people's land and massacre their people. Are you the same hypocrite who protests about Russia's war on Ukraine, or am I mixing up my fuckwits?

[QUOTE=ReinerOtto;2988441]Europe trusted the idea, that commercial business, profitable for both parties, eliminates the danger of war. Europe sold a lot of industrial product to the RF, and RF sold a lot of energy.

The idea of American "jealousy" just pops up. Blow up Nordstream 2 should be a piece of cake for the SEALS, I guess.

For an imperialistic country like the USA the idea of a successful collaboration between industry rich Europe and resourceful country like RF has to be a nightmare.

Divide and conquer, instead. Before thinking about China.

Regarding bribes, I do not consider it to be unusual for American businessmen, too. Espeially when looking at US weapons industry and business with foreign governments.

Anyway, this does not seriously compare to imperialistic war for oil, which was the real reason to spend 3000 Billlions in Iraq.

Whether highest scale bribes here were the real catalysts, to be determined, I have to admit.[/QUOTE]If you haven't noticed, this clown Xpartan knows jack shit about Europe. He's one of the top 1% of Americans who know where Europe is on the map, and he's let his being in the elite of America go to inflate his head and to delude him into thinking he actually knows what he's talking about. It's quite amusing actually.

The hero doesn't realise that Germany was signing trade deals with Russia, while Russia was running rampant over Europe, committing terrorist attacks on British and European citizens. It was a stupid decision to make at that time, not necessarily in hindsight.

As for Imperial America's assault on war, which the British lapdogs also fell in line on, to be fair it wasn't all about oil. It was also about protecting Israel, as even our Zionist oppressors apologist will no doubt concede, if he has even a little honesty.

Sad attack on Mockba, killing at least 3 innocents. Pity, Putin didn t respect his Minsk signature and attacked Ukraine. Tanks are much less useful than drones which can kill at nearly 1000 kms now. Time now for these new weapons. Despite no more USA support, but Ukrainians don t give up. Trump support, but deads in his home for Putin. Russia under Putin, is not in safety.

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2988465]

You sound like someone with his head up his ass, because that is what you precisely are. You clearly have no idea what is going on in Europe if you think it's "doing fine".

With reference to your persistent anti-semitism smear, you reveal yourself to be one of those racist, Palestinian hating, neo colonisers who think it's ok to steal and occupy people's land and massacre their people. Are you the same hypocrite who protests about Russia's war on Ukraine, or am I mixing up my fuckwits?[/QUOTE]LOL. Great post!

[QUOTE=ReinerOtto;2988441]Europe trusted the idea, that commercial business, profitable for both parties, eliminates the danger of war. Europe sold a lot of industrial product to the RF, and RF sold a lot of energy.

The idea of American "jealousy" just pops up.[/QUOTE]It was not jealousy. Trump in his first term asked why you all are sending money to Russia versus buying it from the USA when the USA is paying for your defense from Russia?

You Europeans thought he was stupid because USA LNG was much more expensive but then the war happens, and Trump was proven right.

I thought Biden blowing up Nordstream was dumb, but what is the point of our giving aid when Europe kept buying Russian gas?

I really do not care what Europe does in the future with Russian energy. Thing is though if you are going to buy it again, then the USA definitely needs to check out of NATO.

I was envious of France's nuclear program and then it was just one dumb thing after another. Solar in Germany? Russian gas? Europe's energy program has made no sense to me. You all need to sit those climate change weirdos on the sidelines.

[URL]https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-says-it-makes-100-square-kilometre-advance-kursk-region-2025-03-11/[/URL]

Several days ago about 800 Russian serviceman went through 1. 4 meters in diameter 15 km gas pipeline to Sudzha which led to a collapse in Ukrainian ranks in the region.

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2988465]Another crack of BS. Europe is not collapsing. Europe, in fact, is doing fine. Weaning off the Russian energy needle is the best thing that's happened to Europe in the last 50 years. <<.

You sound like someone with his head up his ass, because that is what you precisely are. You clearly have no idea what is going on in Europe if you think it's "doing fine".

With reference to your persistent anti-semitism smear, you reveal yourself to be one of those racist, Palestinian hating, neo colonisers who think it's ok to steal and occupy people's land and massacre their people. Are you the same hypocrite who protests about Russia's war on Ukraine, or am I mixing up my fuckwits?[/QUOTE]My response was once again lost in moderation and I don't feel like rewriting it all over again in its entirety, so here are two brief points.

1. Throwing pointless insults around is a sign of weakness, not strength. If you claim that I have "my head up my ass" it's not unimportant to explain why. You did an awful job in this department.

If Europe is not doing fine due to severing energy ties with the Russia Failed Fascist Mafia State, please be more specific. High energy prices don't tell me much, maybe because my ConEd prices have skyrocketed in the last 10-12 years without any wars (and the greedy bastards are planning on doubling them again this year).

2. If you're upset about being called an anti-Semite, stop using anti-Semitic tropes on public. Masking your canards under the guise of so-called antizionism is a very long and tired parlor trick. Anyone can see you coming from a mile away.

[QUOTE]Anti-Zionism is anti-Semitic, in intent or effect, as it invokes anti-Jewish tropes, is used to disenfranchise, demonize, disparage, or punish all Jews and/or those who feel a connection to Israel, equates Zionism with Nazism and other genocidal regimes, and renders Jews less worthy of sovereignty and nationhood than other peoples and states.[/QUOTE][URL]https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/anti-zionism[/URL]

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;2989060]It was not jealousy. Trump in his first term asked why you all are sending money to Russia versus buying it from the USA when the USA is paying for your defense from Russia?

You Europeans thought he was stupid because USA LNG was much more expensive but then the war happens, and Trump was proven right.

I thought Biden blowing up Nordstream was dumb, but what is the point of our giving aid when Europe kept buying Russian gas?

I really do not care what Europe does in the future with Russian energy. Thing is though if you are going to buy it again, then the USA definitely needs to check out of NATO.

I was envious of France's nuclear program and then it was just one dumb thing after another. Solar in Germany? Russian gas? Europe's energy program has made no sense to me. You all need to sit those climate change weirdos on the sidelines.[/QUOTE]When Russia show they are as weak army as Putin is crazy, weak Ukrainians even succeeding to shoot Mockba when so far from war, Europe except Orban we don t care about, have to become without USA and let USA apart with their crazies we can t trust. High level market is Europe, when the USA fall with inflation start under Trump who knows nothing about economics and most of the world and many in USA hate. USA should become one of the most hated country, competing now with the worst.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2989137]My response was once again lost in moderation and I don't feel like rewriting it all over again in its entirety, so here are two brief points.

1. Throwing pointless insults around is a sign of weakness, not strength. If you claim that I have "my head up my ass" it's not unimportant to explain why. You did an awful job in this department.

If Europe is not doing fine due to severing energy ties with the Russia Failed Fascist Mafia State, please be more specific. High energy prices don't tell me much, maybe because my ConEd prices have skyrocketed in the last 10-12 years without any wars (and the greedy bastards are planning on doubling them again this year).

2. If you're upset about being called an anti-Semite, stop using anti-Semitic tropes on public. Masking your canards under the guise of so-called antizionism is a very long and tired parlor trick. Anyone can see you coming from a mile away.

[URL]https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/anti-zionism[/URL][/QUOTE]My response was once again lost in moderation .

I wonder why.

If Europe is not doing fine due to severing energy ties with the Russia Failed Fascist Mafia State, please be more specific. High energy prices don't tell me much, maybe because my ConEd prices have skyrocketed in the last 10-12 years without any wars (and the greedy bastards are planning on doubling them again this year).
Read your question twice, and the first sentence seems to be drivel. Disinclined to read it again. To indulge you, Germany and UK are doing badly from not just energy security and terrible choices over decades. Europe as a whole is doing badly economically, demographically, and socially. What have I not covered?

2. If you're upset about being called an anti-Semite, stop using anti-Semitic tropes on public. Masking your canards under the guise of so-called antizionism is a very long and tired parlor trick. Anyone can see you coming from a mile away.

ADL? You trot out the ADL to make your "point"? What else are you going to trot out next? A nazi to defend against criticisms of anti-nazism? The communist party's manifesto to defend against criticisms of Communism? A Russian government spokesman to defend against criticism of Russia?

Israel is a tyrannical neo colonist state which occupies and oppresses the Palestinians and your hypocrisy in condemning the Russians for the same whilst excusing the Israelis is morally obscene. I don't care what you call me- just know: no free shots, hero.

[QUOTE=Questner;2989111][URL]https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-says-it-makes-100-square-kilometre-advance-kursk-region-2025-03-11/[/URL]

Several days ago about 800 Russian serviceman went through 1. 4 meters in diameter 15 km gas pipeline to Sudzha which led to a collapse in Ukrainian ranks in the region.[/QUOTE]As we all know, the best lie always has its origins in truth, so let's cut through Questner's.

Two things have happened during a short period of time.

1. "Genius" Russian military tacticians sent roughly 800 servicemen to crawl 12-15 km (info varies between sources) through a non-functioning gas pipeline to sneak-attack Ukrainian troops in Sudja.

2. Ukrainian troops left Sudja.

Questner used these two [B]unrelated[/B] facts to invent the lie that the attack was a resounding success and led to Ukrainian collapse.

THE TRUTH.

The Russian sneak attack was a complete disaster. The pipe hadn't been cleaned of methane--as a result, hundreds of Russian servicemen suffocated, while others were ambushed by the Ukrainians who, by the way, had well been aware of the infiltration attempt and waited for the Russians to emerge outside. After the Russians on the outside were eliminated, the exit was sealed, which probably didn't help those who stayed behind.

Contrary to Questner's lies, the operation was a pure meat assault -- the only kind Russian commanders know. The servicemen were told that the pipe had been ventilated and cleaned of gases, that all means of communications and provisions had been set. All were lies.

The worst part of this Russian callousness toward their own troops is that it was completely unnecessary. The Ukrainian units had already started withdrawing simply because the Russians managed to establish fire control over their only logistical rout, the highway from Sumy to Sudja. For Ukraine it was time to retreat or lose thousands of men.

You'll have to forgive me for removing some of your verbal diarrhea that you sprinkled all over your post.

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2989251]
To indulge you, Germany and UK are doing badly from not just energy security and terrible choices over decades. Europe as a whole is doing badly economically, demographically, and socially. What have I not covered?[/QUOTE]To indulge me? Did you or did you not say this: "Naiveity: to entrust their energy needs to Russia, to such an extent that their industry is now collapsing under unbearable energy prices"?

First, I do not disagree that Europe shouldn't have entrusted anything at all to Russia, not only their energy needs.

Second, while the energy prices have risen in Europe, no one is collapsing for Christ's sake. Unbearable my ass, more drama, please!

Third, "doing badly economically, demographically, and socially"? Really? Put your big empty words where sun doesn't shine?

Either you have nothing to back your claim up, or you're plain lazy.

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2989251] ADL? You trot out the ADL to make your "point"? What else are you going to trot out next? A nazi to defend against criticisms of anti-nazism? The communist party's manifesto to defend against criticisms of Communism? A Russian government spokesman to defend against criticism of Russia?[/QUOTE]So help me understand. You're putting the Anti-Defamation League, a non-violent, US-based advocacy group combating anti-Semitism next to the mass-homicidal political movements and governments of:

- The Nazis.

- The Communists.

- Putin's government.

Correct?

You know, there is no need to label you an anti-Semite. You do it wonderfully on your own.

[QUOTE=Questner;2989111][URL]https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-says-it-makes-100-square-kilometre-advance-kursk-region-2025-03-11/[/URL]

Several days ago about 800 Russian serviceman went through 1. 4 meters in diameter 15 km gas pipeline to Sudzha which led to a collapse in Ukrainian ranks in the region.[/QUOTE]There goes Zelensky's Kursk 'Bargaining Chip'.

Also, I think Trump is delusional if he thinks the Russians are going to accept a 30 day ceasefire. It won't happen. I mean Putin would have to be a complete idiot to accept that.

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2989251]

Israel is a tyrannical neo colonist state which occupies and oppresses the Palestinians and your hypocrisy in condemning the Russians for the same whilst excusing the Israelis is morally obscene. I don't care what you call me- just know: no free shots, hero.[/QUOTE]That's the problem with these people. They are up in arms about Putin invading Ukraine but silent over the genocide in Gaza. The worst kind of hypocrites.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2989334]That's the problem with these people. They are up in arms about Putin invading Ukraine but silent over the genocide in Gaza. The worst kind of hypocrites.[/QUOTE]I told we have to give a real country to Palestinians, but when loving Russia, I think our world have to get rid of Putin who is not trustable and even fuck Russians.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2989333]There goes Zelensky's Kursk 'Bargaining Chip'.

Also, I think Trump is delusional if he thinks the Russians are going to accept a 30 day ceasefire. It won't happen. I mean Putin would have to be a complete idiot to accept that.[/QUOTE]We may as well witness the deal that has been already done to unfold and everything else is smoke and mirrors.

Telegram and public opinion agree with you, no ceasefire, as has been told in media many times over.

Russian oligarchy wants a deal where the rights of the Russian speaking in Ukraine to be restored, all right of the Orthodox church restored and properties returned (conditions onto Ukraine), half of the sanctions lifted and half of the frozen funds reopened (conditions both to EU and the US).

Ukraine has to recognize four regions plus Crimea as part of the RF. Ukraine has to amend its constitution to drop its aspirational NATO membership.

In my view Ukraine has also to become a federal state, - why not to unify and join Russia? - this way the balance will be restored. However, its not a position of political leadership as well as many others on the left and right who oppose the unification.

Again, I remain pessimistic, as I see very intimately the character of the scumbags in Kiev.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2989333]There goes Zelensky's Kursk 'Bargaining Chip'.

Also, I think Trump is delusional if he thinks the Russians are going to accept a 30 day ceasefire. It won't happen. I mean Putin would have to be a complete idiot to accept that.[/QUOTE]Of course, he would. How otherwise would he explain Russian warmongers that not a single announced objective of this war has been achieved, LOL?

Besides, all these Orcs accustomed to killings with impunity? I hear those few who've managed to return so far are already terrorizing the local population.

[QUOTE]During the three years of the war in Ukraine, the Russian military participating in the invasion, who returned "to civilian life", killed and maimed more than 750 citizens. At least 378 people were killed, in another 376 cases people received life-threatening serious injuries, Verstka reports, which studied court files, media reports and publications about dead servicemen.[/QUOTE]No one needs hundreds of thousands of these marauders back, least of all Putin. He must find a way to grind them all down to a manageable number.

Hence, he's going to keep the meatgrinder revving as long as he's allowed to breeze.

P.S. BTW, is it true that you guys offed your namesake Girkin? Just curious.

[QUOTE=Questner;2989340]We may as well witness the deal that has been already done to unfold and everything else is smoke and mirrors.

Telegram and public opinion agree with you, no ceasefire, as has been told in media many times over.

Russian oligarchy wants a deal where the rights of the Russian speaking in Ukraine to be restored, all right of the Orthodox church restored and properties returned (conditions onto Ukraine), half of the sanctions lifted and half of the frozen funds reopened (conditions both to EU and the US).

Ukraine has to recognize four regions plus Crimea as part of the RF. Ukraine has to amend its constitution to drop its aspirational NATO membership.

In my view Ukraine has also to become a federal state, - why not to unify and join Russia? - this way the balance will be restored. However, its not a position of political leadership as well as many others on the left and right who oppose the unification.

Again, I remain pessimistic, as I see very intimately the character of the scumbags in Kiev.[/QUOTE]I doubt not only Zelensky, but almost all Ukrainians would agree to join Russia and his criminal dictator Putin who killed so many Ukrainians. Ukraine is independant since 1991 and just want to keep same borders than since 2014 , when was already robbed Crimea and again attacked by Putin 3 years ago. Putin stayed in KGB in his mind, but not for money. Our world have to make Russia broke, to make Putin not able anymore to make war.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2989334]That's the problem with these people. They are up in arms about Putin invading Ukraine but silent over the genocide in Gaza. The worst kind of hypocrites.[/QUOTE]The issue with the loathsome hypocrites like Xpartan is that their hatred and their racist evilness garbed under their hypocritical duplicity is the cause of the suffering of very many people.

We are asked to weep for the holocaust of jews (even though it was 80 years ago and nothing to do with us whatsoever) and every year there's yet another holocaust movie, yet when Israels and the zionists in general are committing a holocaust on the Palestinians, the mere criticism of Israel is "anti semitism".

These evil monsters weaponise their history to commit wickedness in the present. Who will stand up to these monsters?

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2989326]You'll have to forgive me for removing some of your verbal diarrhea that you sprinkled all over your post.

To indulge me? Did you or did you not say this: "Naiveity: to entrust their energy needs to Russia, to such an extent that their industry is now collapsing under unbearable energy prices"?

First, I do not disagree that Europe shouldn't have entrusted anything at all to Russia, not only their energy needs.

Second, while the energy prices have risen in Europe, no one is collapsing for Christ's sake. Unbearable my ass, more drama, please!

Third, "doing badly economically, demographically, and socially"? Really? Put your big empty words where sun doesn't shine?

Either you have nothing to back your claim up, or you're plain lazy.

So help me understand. You're putting the Anti-Defamation League, a non-violent, US-based advocacy group combating anti-Semitism next to the mass-homicidal political movements and governments of:

- The Nazis.

- The Communists.

- Putin's government.

Correct?

You know, there is no need to label you an anti-Semite. You do it wonderfully on your own.[/QUOTE]First, I do not disagree that Europe shouldn't have entrusted anything at all to Russia, not only their energy needs.

Second, while the energy prices have risen in Europe, no one is collapsing for Christ's sake. Unbearable my ass, more drama, please!

Third, "doing badly economically, demographically, and socially"? Really? Put your big empty words where sun doesn't shine?

You are an ignoramus, who doesn't know that he is an ignoramus. YES, energy prices in UK and Germany but especially the UK are having catastrophic impact on people's livelihood. You are too dumb to know or care, but people in the UK are literally facing the choices of heating or eating, with either the highest or one of the highest energy prices in the world, something like 3 x what Americans pay. It is unbearable for very many people despite the government subsidising these heavily, and were the subsidy removed most of UK would be in the dark. Speaking of which there is constant talk of the lights being switched off possibly because of energy issues. Meanwhile German industry is on its freaking knees! The You are talking out of your ass, I mean it's literally like talking to a freaking moron!

Oh BTW, just today, there's an article on how parts of UK are poorer than Malta and it looks to get worse. Look I could speak entire pages about how Europe is doing badl yeconomically, demographically and socially, but the fact that I even have to address this with you genuinely is astonishing, and you seriously need to deal with your moronity.

*So help me understand. You're putting the Anti-Defamation League, a non-violent, US-based advocacy group combating anti-Semitism next to the mass-homicidal political movements and governments of:

- The Nazis.

- The Communists.

- Putin's government.

Correct?

So, there are two kinds of people in the world (actually there are more but I don't want to fry your few remaining brain cells) : those who aren't that smart but know they are not that smart, and those who aren't that smart but don't realise this. The problem with people in the latter category to which you belong is that you may as well be talking to a goat. Your misapprehension is a logical fallacy- given the likelihood that you're not a Harvard Philosophy alumnus it's probably be not worthwhile to explain this to you but nonetheless I feel behoven to attempt a prefunctory explanation of your imbecility: giving you an logical reasoning that appealing to a biased source on something through analogy does not mean that the components of the analogy are the same.

Since you are probably on the floor now in a jello like state I'll put it even more simply: if I say " This man is as busy as a bee" it is not to say the man = a bee.

So yes, appealing to the PRO ISRAELI ADL to defend "anti semitism = anti zionism" IS like asking a nazi to defend how "anti nazism = hatred of Germany".

The evil zionists have committed a genocide on the Palestinians and gotten away with it because of hypocrites such as you. No matter how much you try and excuse your hypocrisy that truth doesn't change.

Now kindly extract your head out of your ass and give it a wobble.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2989305]THE TRUTH.

The Russian sneak attack was a complete disaster. The pipe hadn't been cleaned of methane--as a result, hundreds of Russian servicemen suffocated, while others were ambushed by the Ukrainians who, by the way, had well been aware of the infiltration attempt and waited for the Russians to emerge outside. After the Russians on the outside were eliminated, the exit was sealed, which probably didn't help those who stayed behind.[/QUOTE]Okay, so now you are completely engulfed in Ukrainian propaganda. There is footage of soldiers SMOKING in the pipeline. The methane was pumped out, holes were cut in the pipeline, and the first soldiers moved in with oxygen tanks to make sure it was safe. There were a few who got sick and were treated. The Russians were well aware of the potential dangers of methane.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2989305]2. Ukrainian troops left Sudja. The Ukrainian units had already started withdrawing simply because the Russians managed to establish fire control over their only logistical rout, the highway from Sumy to Sudja. For Ukraine it was time to retreat or lose thousands of men.[/QUOTE]So the pipeline tactic was not necessary because Ukraine lost before then? And how does that change things in the bigger picture? They did not beat us with the pipeline trick, they beat us at regular war? That is even worse when it comes to the future of Ukraine.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2989333]There goes Zelensky's Kursk 'Bargaining Chip'.

Also, I think Trump is delusional if he thinks the Russians are going to accept a 30 day ceasefire. It won't happen. I mean Putin would have to be a complete idiot to accept that.[/QUOTE]Well, Trump is talking tough in public but is probably conceding a lot in private. There is a lot of money squirreled away in Europe, and Russia would like the sanctions removed. Putin is going to drive a hard bargain to be sure but I think it will happen. The Russians will get most all of what they want, and I put the odds of it happening as better than 50-50. Putin needs to make Trump look good especially after Zelensky's performance.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2989326]You'll have to forgive me for removing some of your verbal diarrhea that you sprinkled all over your post.

Second, while the energy prices have risen in Europe, no one is collapsing for Christ's sake. Unbearable my ass, more drama, please![/QUOTE][URL]https://apnews.com/article/europe-economy-france-germany-us-trade-0381c0a74385766bf13d7e6cb021608a[/URL]

Even before the French and German governments collapsed, Europe's economy had enough difficulties. Tepid growth and lagging competitiveness versus the USA And China. An auto industry that's struggling. Where to find billions for defense against Russia? And now Donald Trump threatening tariffs.

Solutions will be harder to find while the two countries that make up almost half of the eurozone economy remain stuck in political paralysis well into 2025.

Where once there was the so-called French-German axis to push Europe ahead, now there's a vacuum.

Ratings agency Fitch revised France's outlook from "stable" to "negative," citing French Prime Minister Michel Barnier's challenges in trying to bring down the country's spiraling debt.

At the same time, Moody's Ratings delivered a cut to its rating outlook for Belgium.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck on Wednesday revealed that the government in Berlin expects the country's economy to shrink for a second year in a row forecasting a contraction of around 0. 2 percent after previous predictions of 0.3 percent growth.

End of link.

As Putin said, and you did not listen, the Russian economy is now bigger than the German one. The sanctions on Russia have hurt Europe more than Russia. Forget the news agencies. If you read the Moscow forum, you have a monger in Russia saying that the Russian economy being bad is pure bullshit.

[QUOTE=Sirioja;2989337]I told we have to give a real country to Palestinians, but when loving Russia, I think our world have to get rid of Putin who is not trustable and even fuck Russians.[/QUOTE]On what land? When the jews from Brooklyn or wherever come to pour in as "settlers" (the zionists mindfuck / gaslight you even with the nomenclature- let's not say it as it is: occupiers) into stolen land in defiance of UN resolutions. Yeah, the UN resolutions which were used to invade and assault Iraq to steal their oil and protect the zionists. The stench of hypocrisy should be nauseating to any decent person.

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2989465]On what land? When the jews from Brooklyn or wherever come to pour in as "settlers" (the zionists mindfuck / gaslight you even with the nomenclature- let's not say it as it is: occupiers) into stolen land in defiance of UN resolutions. Yeah, the UN resolutions which were used to invade and assault Iraq to steal their oil and protect the zionists. The stench of hypocrisy should be nauseating to any decent person.[/QUOTE]Gaza land as Palestine, not a beach resort as told by stupid Trump, same than Jews were given a country.

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;2989439][URL]https://apnews.com/article/europe-economy-france-germany-us-trade-0381c0a74385766bf13d7e6cb021608a[/URL]

Even before the French and German governments collapsed, Europe's economy had enough difficulties. Tepid growth and lagging competitiveness versus the USA And China. An auto industry that's struggling. Where to find billions for defense against Russia? And now Donald Trump threatening tariffs.

Solutions will be harder to find while the two countries that make up almost half of the eurozone economy remain stuck in political paralysis well into 2025.

Where once there was the so-called French-German axis to push Europe ahead, now there's a vacuum.

Ratings agency Fitch revised France's outlook from "stable" to "negative," citing French Prime Minister Michel Barnier's challenges in trying to bring down the country's spiraling debt.

At the same time, Moody's Ratings delivered a cut to its rating outlook for Belgium.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck on Wednesday revealed that the government in Berlin expects the country's economy to shrink for a second year in a row forecasting a contraction of around 0. 2 percent after previous predictions of 0.3 percent growth..[/QUOTE]Reality is Russia economics ls about to fall and Putin doesn't control anything about, but spending much more than income. Best would be to make Russia broke, not able anymore for war, and maybe blind Russians would wake up, from starvation, and get rid of their dictator, same like Ceacescu. Ro.

HotDog, I think you may be a bit hard on Xpartan. He's not stupid or evil. Actually I believe he's intelligent and good, just sadly deceived by neoconservatives and defense hawks. And not a realist.

How is the Ukraine economy doing so well when the stock market is crashing in these disunited States? I don't get it, doesn't make any sense. My brokerage account is so deep in the red it's ridiculous now, it's like covid times again. But Ukraine's economy is booming? I just don't get it. At this point, just about every economy on earth is doing better *sigh* FML.

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;2989433]Okay, so now you are completely engulfed in Ukrainian propaganda. There is footage of soldiers SMOKING in the pipeline. The methane was pumped out, holes were cut in the pipeline, and the first soldiers moved in with oxygen tanks to make sure it was safe. There were a few who got sick and were treated. The Russians were well aware of the potential dangers of methane.

So the pipeline tactic was not necessary because Ukraine lost before then? And how does that change things in the bigger picture? They did not beat us with the pipeline trick, they beat us at regular war? That is even worse when it comes to the future of Ukraine.[/QUOTE]I'm talking about the pipeline, for fuck's sake! That was a disaster that ended in hundreds of deaths.

Since you love Youtube videos so much, here's one.

[URL]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zZzi0HRdiI[/URL]

But wait, here's another one.

[URL]https://youtu.be/cIRcP2IRlp8[/URL]

All that was shot BY the RUSSIANS SOLDIERS themselves inside the FUCKING PIPE! Ukraine's propaganda, my ass!

Ukraine's propaganda? Listen to what THEY and Russian PRO-WAR MILBLOGGERS are saying about this calamity, you brainwashed ignoramus.

[QUOTE=NewtonYork;2989586]How is the Ukraine economy doing so well when the stock market is crashing in these disunited States? I don't get it, doesn't make any sense. My brokerage account is so deep in the red it's ridiculous now, it's like covid times again. But Ukraine's economy is booming? I just don't get it. At this point, just about every economy on earth is doing better *sigh* FML.[/QUOTE]What? Where did you get that Ukraine's economy is booming? Ukraine is attacked by a 1000-pound mad gorilla, how exactly can it be booming. Both Ukraine's and Russia's economies are focused on the war, and there's no such thing as booming.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2989578]HotDog, I think you may be a bit hard on Xpartan. He's not stupid or evil. Actually I believe he's intelligent and good, just sadly deceived by neoconservatives and defense hawks. And not a realist.[/QUOTE]Ah! The classic "intelligent but [U]sadly[/U] deceived. " Nothing quite like a hefty dose of condescension, thank you!

"Sadly" was an especially nice touch.

[QUOTE=NewtonYork;2989586]How is the Ukraine economy doing so well when the stock market is crashing in these disunited States? [/QUOTE]Military production, probably. Look at Russia. Their economy runs because of same reason.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2989616]Ah! The classic "intelligent but [U]sadly[/U] deceived. " Nothing quite like a hefty dose of condescension, thank you!

"Sadly" was an especially nice touch.[/QUOTE]Thank you! And you’re welcome!

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2989613]I'm talking about the pipeline, for fuck's sake! That was a disaster that ended in hundreds of deaths.

Since you love Youtube videos so much, here's one.

[URL]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zZzi0HRdiI[/URL]

But wait, here's another one.

[URL]https://youtu.be/cIRcP2IRlp8[/URL]

All that was shot BY the RUSSIANS SOLDIERS themselves inside the FUCKING PIPE! Ukraine's propaganda, my ass!.[/QUOTE]LOL. You read the comments in your videos?

Here are the first three comments on the Sun video:

They were not wiped out.

According to many mappers it was a success. The Sun is lying as usual.

You mean the "dead" Russians that have capured Kubatkin north of Sudzha and linked up with ground forces attacking from the east?

And the first four comments on the second Kanal 13 video:

Because of this reason sudzha had been fallen I guess.

Who the hell captured the towns and cities then? 😂 wtf?

This channel smoking some good stuff. Banning immediately.

I don't even care about either of the two countries fighting. But this channel is just full of misinformation. Even DW and BBC said the operation was successful. And I also saw many other channel saying the same thing, but only this Kanal 13 is lying. Respect your viewers.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2989613]Ukraine's propaganda? Listen to what THEY and Russian PRO-WAR MILBLOGGERS are saying about this calamity, you brainwashed ignoramus.[/QUOTE][URL]https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ukraines-kursk-blunder-opens-door-russian-invasion-north[/URL]

The Kremlin has responded to President Donald Trump's request that the lives of the Ukrainian troops encircled in Russia's Kursk Region be spared, which was conveyed in a Friday Truth Social post by the president. Moscow says it is "sympathetic" to this request, and the pattern in the battle to retake Kursk has been to take POWs if weapons are laid down.

At the same time President Putin has called immediate surrender of all Ukrainian troops remaining on Russian soil. Trump had acknowledged that "thousands of Ukrainian troops" are "completely surrounded by the Russian military" in the southwest Kursk region.

End of link.

Gee, I do not remember Israel doing this with Gaza. Hell, those Israeli assholes were gunning down "Palestinians" waving white flags. And you are calling the Russian soldiers orcs? Yeah, you are the brain dead ignoramus. How dare you run around calling people anti-semitic when you have such little regard for human life?

You go around from forum to forum calling me names saying I am in a cult as if you are clear headed. Is this your idea of winning?

Putin has every right to slaughter those soldiers. They invaded Russia. If Putin were the monster you said he was, he would be slaughtering those Ukrainian soldiers right now.

When I saw Putin on Tucker Carlson, I saw Putin as a reluctant warrior, and this just shows me my impression of him was right.

QUOTE=HotDogThe issue with the loathsome hypocrites like Xpartan is that their hatred and their racist evilness garbed under their hypocritical duplicity is the cause of the suffering of very many people.

We are asked to weep for the holocaust of jews (even though it was 80 years ago and nothing to do with us whatsoever) and every year there's yet another holocaust movie, yet when Israels and the zionists in general are committing a holocaust on the Palestinians, the mere criticism of Israel is "anti semitism".

These evil monsters weaponise their history to commit wickedness in the present. Who will stand up to these monsters?/ QUOTE.

Many of The Bravest voices to stand up and be counted in the present conflict you refer to are to be found in Israel. [URL]https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahus-ex-defense-chief-yaalon-warns-israel-on-path-of-ethnic-cleansing-in-gaza/[/URL].

The path we are being dragged down is one of occupation, annexation and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip," the prominent government critic told Democrat TV.

Nearer home we have an elected politician calling for the Final Solution!

[URL]https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/gop-rep-tim-walberg-suggests-gaza-handled-nagasaki-hiroshima-rcna145752[/URL]

Rep. Tim Walberg, are-Mich. , said this week that the conflict in Gaza should be over quickly "like Nagasaki and Hiroshima," and the United States should refrain from sending any humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2989578]HotDog, I think you may be a bit hard on Xpartan. He's not stupid or evil. Actually I believe he's intelligent and good, just sadly deceived by neoconservatives and defense hawks. And not a realist.[/QUOTE]Dunno man, I mean the cognitive dissonance needed to be hostile to Russia when your own leader is doing pretty much the same thing: look what these neocons and zionists have ended up doing with this mahmud (- locking up and trying to deport a US resident for protesting against Israel's genocide. That could be me. Land of the free? Home of the brave? Seriously. America is turning into Russia on steroids. And Trump too is using the canards out of this Xpartan's book: it is anti semitic to attack Israel - Israel is our friend - it is Anti American - deprive this man of his liberty and his residency.

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2989927]Dunno man, I mean the cognitive dissonance needed to be hostile to Russia when your own leader is doing pretty much the same thing: look what these neocons and zionists have ended up doing with this mahmud (- locking up and trying to deport a US resident for protesting against Israel's genocide. That could be me. Land of the free? Home of the brave? Seriously. America is turning into Russia on steroids. And Trump too is using the canards out of this Xpartan's book: it is anti semitic to attack Israel - Israel is our friend - it is Anti American - deprive this man of his liberty and his residency.[/QUOTE]Yes HotDog, Xpartan doesn't recognize the hypocrisy in supporting Netanyahu's war on Palestinians. And yes, on Israel and Gaza, he's shoulder to shoulder with President Trump.

Before the wars, Ukraine had 20 times more people than Gaza. Yet more civilians have died in Gaza. I doubt that Xpartan will ever believe that though as he prefers numbers the mayor of Mariupol pulled out of thin air.

The thing is though that there are many intelligent people who believe exactly as he does. You turn on CNN and the majority of the pundits do.

My belief is that the USA should support peace in Ukraine and Gaza, and not enable war. And you have to accept reality. Israel and Russia have vastly superior militaries. They're not going to lose. The USA should be twisting arms to bring this to an end, and is finally doing that in Ukraine.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2989955] And you have to accept reality. Israel and Russia have vastly superior militaries. They're not going to lose. The USA should be twisting arms to bring this to an end, and is finally doing that in Ukraine.[/QUOTE]The difference between Israel making war on Gaza and Russia making war on Ukraine is, that Israels war on Gaza would not be possible without vast support from the USA.

And now the USA wants to be shoulder to shoulder with both the aggressors. Well, matches the old Wild West. Back to the roots.

It's quite bemusing to watch this intense collective drive to derail and hijack the topic of Russia's criminal war against Ukraine by injecting it with anti-Semitic tropes and lies. It almost feels like a concerted efforts between Putin propagandists, Trump's sympathizers and virulent anti-Semites.

Quite creepy, I must say.

No more violence, have some elections and see what happens. The cash has already been extracted on both sides of the Atlantic by the real players, so it's time to stop pretending about motherhood statements like democracy that is little more than entertainment in the USA and the gullible that are somehow continually fooled by bullshit platitudes rather than anything concrete of direct benefit.

My own view is the people in charge need a pretty 18 year old with bee stung lips and short flouncy dress to provide a blowjob.

[URL]https://www.theamericanconservative.com/ukraines-kursk-offensive-was-a-miserable-failure/[/URL]

It was reported there that during the military operations in the Kursk direction, the AFU lost more than 67,630 servicemen, 393 tanks, 317 infantry fighting vehicles, 283 armored personnel carriers, 2,199 armored combat vehicles, 2,437 vehicles, 555 artillery pieces, 52 multiple launch rocket system launchers, including 13 HIMARS and 7 MLRS made in the USA, 26 anti-aircraft missile system launchers, a self-propelled anti-aircraft unit, 10 transport and loading vehicles, and 120 electronic warfare stations. The Ukrainian Armed Forces also lost 16 counter-battery radars, 10 air defense radars, 56 units of engineering and other equipment, including 23 engineering obstacle clearing vehicles, a your-77 mine clearing unit, 5 bridgelayers, an engineering reconnaissance vehicle, as well as 15 armored repair and recovery vehicles and a command and staff vehicle.

Those losses are more than total US losses in Vietnam.

[QUOTE=Questner;2990064][URL]https://www.theamericanconservative.com/ukraines-kursk-offensive-was-a-miserable-failure/[/URL]

It was reported there that during the military operations in the Kursk direction, the AFU lost more than 67,630 servicemen, 393 tanks, 317 infantry fighting vehicles, 283 armored personnel carriers, 2,199 armored combat vehicles, 2,437 vehicles, 555 artillery pieces, 52 multiple launch rocket system launchers, including 13 HIMARS and 7 MLRS made in the USA, 26 anti-aircraft missile system launchers, a self-propelled anti-aircraft unit, 10 transport and loading vehicles, and 120 electronic warfare stations. The Ukrainian Armed Forces also lost 16 counter-battery radars, 10 air defense radars, 56 units of engineering and other equipment, including 23 engineering obstacle clearing vehicles, a your-77 mine clearing unit, 5 bridgelayers, an engineering reconnaissance vehicle, as well as 15 armored repair and recovery vehicles and a command and staff vehicle.

Those losses are more than total US losses in Vietnam.[/QUOTE]Aha, yep, right. Vietnam.

Here is how they operate.

They would throw in a seemingly legit link, then add a bunch of hot, nonsensical BS.

"It was reported"? You don't say!

By who?

67,000 servicemen? There were only 10,000-12,000 Ukrainian troops in Kursk. You killed 600% of Ukrainians who crossed the border?

Some "independent thinkers" will believe anything as long as it's aligned with whatever worldviews they hold. So maybe Questner lies exclusively for Elvises of the world.

I have no idea if this is the case.

But now it was reported, so it must be.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2990000]It's quite bemusing to watch this intense collective drive to derail and hijack the topic of Russia's criminal war against Ukraine by injecting it with anti-Semitic tropes and lies. It almost feels like a concerted efforts between Putin propagandists, Trump's sympathizers and virulent anti-Semites.

Quite creepy, I must say.[/QUOTE]Don't know which Putin propagandist and which Trump sympathiser you're referring to, the anti-semite smears is a feature of your own hateful zionist hypocrisy and this is the main reason I've posted on this forum: to expose your loathsome hypocrisy. I don't expect to change zionist's minds-and furher Trump appears to be doubling down on this with his ethnic cleansing endeavours and genocidal threats- but you people's hypocrisy must be exposed to the world, regardless of the fact we are powerless under your overwhelming power. Your time will come and your evilness will be undone, in this life or the next.

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2990158]the anti-semite smears is a feature of your own hateful zionist hypocrisy and this is the main reason I've posted on this forum: to expose your loathsome hypocrisy. I don't expect to change zionist's minds-and furher Trump appears to be doubling down on this with his ethnic cleansing endeavours and genocidal threats- but [b]you people's[/b] hypocrisy must be exposed to the world, regardless of the fact [b]we are powerless under your overwhelming power[/b]. Your time will come and your evilness will be undone, in this life or the next.[/QUOTE]Even when they vehemently deny their anti-Semitism and -- you'd think -- must be careful in what and how they say things, they just CAN'T HELP THEMSELVES.

"YOU people"?

"Powerless under YOUR overwhelming power"?

Really?

Under WHOSE power? WHOSE overwhelming power makes you suffer so much, Mr. HotDog?

[QUOTE]The Department of State has used a working definition, along with examples, of antisemitism since 2010. On May 26, 2016, the 31 member states of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), of which the United States is a member, adopted a non-legally binding working definition of antisemitism at its plenary in Bucharest. This definition is consistent with and builds upon the information contained in the 2010 State Department definition. As a member of IHRA, the United States now uses this working definition and has encouraged other governments and international organizations to use it as well.

- Making mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions.

- Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.

- Applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.[/QUOTE][URL]https://www.state.gov/defining-antisemitism[/URL]

I'd say, the glove fits with abandon.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2990244] Son of Sam
Mad as a hatter

[/QUOTE][URL]https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/1520-6696%28198404%2920%3A2%3C150%3A%3AAID-JHBS2300200204%3E3.0.CO%3B2-0[/URL]

[URL]https://www.jstor.org/stable/260396[/URL]

[URL]https://www.reddit.com/r/Judaism/comments/1997nbs/what_are_the_most_obscure_insane_or_interesting/[/URL]

[QUOTE=Questner;2990064][URL]https://www.theamericanconservative.com/ukraines-kursk-offensive-was-a-miserable-failure/[/URL]

It was reported there that during the military operations in the Kursk direction, the AFU lost more than 67,630 servicemen, 393 tanks, 317 infantry fighting vehicles, 283 armored personnel carriers, 2,199 armored combat vehicles, 2,437 vehicles, 555 artillery pieces, 52 multiple launch rocket system launchers, including 13 HIMARS and 7 MLRS made in the USA, 26 anti-aircraft missile system launchers, a self-propelled anti-aircraft unit, 10 transport and loading vehicles, and 120 electronic warfare stations. The Ukrainian Armed Forces also lost 16 counter-battery radars, 10 air defense radars, 56 units of engineering and other equipment, including 23 engineering obstacle clearing vehicles, a your-77 mine clearing unit, 5 bridgelayers, an engineering reconnaissance vehicle, as well as 15 armored repair and recovery vehicles and a command and staff vehicle.

Those losses are more than total US losses in Vietnam.[/QUOTE]It was a colossal failure no doubt. It actually failed fairly quickly at the start because the real goal of this incursion was to capture the Kursk nuclear power plant, which they failed to do so. After that, it was a suicidal mission to stay there, they diverted resources from the Donbas where the Russians made big gains in the last 6 months. All for political consumption for Zelensky to show the west that the Ukrainians still have some fight left in them so the money and arms keep flowing. The failure in Kursk compares to another huge failure which was the 'counter offensive' in 2023 which also failed miserably.

Until the last Ukrainian.

[QUOTE=ReinerOtto;2989992]The difference between Israel making war on Gaza and Russia making war on Ukraine is, that Israels war on Gaza would not be possible without vast support from the USA.

[/QUOTE]Are you fucking kidding me? The war in Ukraine is a PROXY WAR between the United States and Russia! Without American support, weapons, intel and money, Ukraine wouldn't last long at all. And don't forget, the primary instigator in making sure this war happened is USA aka NATO.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2989955]Yes HotDog, Xpartan doesn't recognize the hypocrisy in supporting Netanyahu's war on Palestinians. And yes, on Israel and Gaza, he's shoulder to shoulder with President Trump.

Before the wars, Ukraine had 20 times more people than Gaza. Yet more civilians have died in Gaza. I doubt that Xpartan will ever believe that though as he prefers numbers the mayor of Mariupol pulled out of thin air.

.[/QUOTE]Even if he believed it, he would not care. Because disgusting people like Xpartan have dehumanized Palestinians. To them they are 'human animals'. Palestinian lives are worthless to them. That is the reality.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2990308]It was a colossal failure no doubt.[/QUOTE]For 8 months 10,000 Ukraine troops held their ground against 60,000 Orcs and North Koreans.

1. For the first time since the WW2 the "sacred" motherrussia was violated in the most comical and persuasive way.

2. The Russians fled or surrendered. No troops stationed in Kursk offered even the slightest hint of resistance.

3. The Russian civilians either fled or began befriending AFU right away. Not even one Molotov cocktail was thrown in Kursk.

4. No, comrade, the Ukrainians never planned "to capture the Kursk nuclear power plant". If your superiors weren't cretins, they would never ask you to spread this idiocy.

5. For 8 fucking months, the Orcs couldn't get anywhere until they massed up a 60,000 strong army including 12,000 cyborgs from the hermit kingdom. 6 to 1 -- that's the math that allowed you to "liberate" Kursk.

6. Well, that and incessant bombing of your own civilians. Kursk is lying in ruins. We'll probably never know how many Russian civilians have died in the rubbles from your bombs. Like I said, Russians don't give a fuck who they're killing.

[B]Russians evacuated to Ukraine after Kursk shelter bombed[/B]

[URL]https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/02/12/ukraine-russia-kursk-civilians-sudzha-shelter[/URL]

BTW, yesterday your chieftain promised to kill or capture all Ukrainians in Kursk. How's that going, I wonder? How are things in Pokrovsk, Kupyansk, or Toretsk that you "fully liberated" 38 days ago, LOL? How about elsewhere?

And before I forgot, is all good with your meat fodder? I've heard the darnedest thing.

[B]Flights out of Russia sell out after Putin orders partial call-up[/B]

[URL]https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/flights-out-russia-sell-out-after-putin-orders-partial-call-up-2022-09-21/[/URL]

Seems to me, the Kursk SMO has achieved quite something after all, LOLOL.

[QUOTE=ReinerOtto;2989992]The difference between Israel making war on Gaza and Russia making war on Ukraine is, that Israels war on Gaza would not be possible without vast support from the USA.

And now the USA wants to be shoulder to shoulder with both the aggressors. Well, matches the old Wild West. Back to the roots.[/QUOTE]I worry about crazy Trump and Putin conversation, when Trump support more Putin to make business with him and wants to fuck poor weak Ukrainians. When they are so courageous versus dictator Putin, I wish they will be same with Neron Trump. They should see how the world want to resist to such crazy who will make fall USA economics.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2990308]Until the last Ukrainian.[/QUOTE]I listened to one of Zelensky's side kicks say just that about Kursk yesterday. Hiter's orders, hiold fat (or we'll give you a bullet).

L.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2990244]Even when they vehemently deny their anti-Semitism and -- you'd think -- must be careful in what and how they say things, they just CAN'T HELP THEMSELVES.

"YOU people"?

"Powerless under YOUR overwhelming power"?

Really?

Under WHOSE power? WHOSE overwhelming power makes you suffer so much, Mr. HotDog?

[URL]https://www.state.gov/defining-antisemitism[/URL]

I'd say, the glove fits with abandon.[/QUOTE]This glove fits you zionists one and all.

[URL]https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNddrYS9h/[/URL]

Zionists control America. End of.

[QUOTE=PahllusMaximus;2990054]No more violence, have some elections and see what happens. The cash has already been extracted on both sides of the Atlantic by the real players, so it's time to stop pretending about motherhood statements like democracy that is little more than entertainment in the USA and the gullible that are somehow continually fooled by bullshit platitudes rather than anything concrete of direct benefit.

My own view is the people in charge need a pretty 18 year old with bee stung lips and short flouncy dress to provide a blowjob.[/QUOTE]You mean really democratic with fair true information in Russia? When Putin is elected like north Korean. Zelensky is legal according to Ukraine constitution and supported by Ukrainians versus Russians who attacked, after Crimea on 2014 .

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2990312] 1) The war in Ukraine is a PROXY WAR between the United States and Russia! 2) And don't forget, the primary instigator in making sure this war happened is USA aka NATO.[/QUOTE]1) Assuming, your hypothesis is correct, then still the minor problem, that Russia did the first shot.

2) Another hypothesis. Opposing the fact, that Russia also signed the Budapest Memo, to guarantee UAs borders.

Unfortunately, UA did not take Putler into consideration. And his puppet, called Trumpi. Both of them do not care about agreements. Unless into their own favor.

Anyway, Israel has the American favor, to get uninterrupted supply of weapons, whatever they want. To continue the killing in Gaza. Although being the attacker.

[QUOTE=ReinerOtto;2990392]1) Assuming, your hypothesis is correct, then still the minor problem, that Russia did the first shot.

2) Another hypothesis. Opposing the fact, that Russia also signed the Budapest Memo, to guarantee UAs borders.

Unfortunately, UA did not take Putler into consideration. And his puppet, called Trumpi. Both of them do not care about agreements. Unless into their own favor.

Anyway, Israel has the American favor, to get uninterrupted supply of weapons, whatever they want. To continue the killing in Gaza. Although being the attacker.[/QUOTE]I agree USA under shameful Trump help criminal Netanyahou and Trump seems to like Putin cum, for new business, when he has only taxes versus EU and China, so he tries to fuck and rob poor weak Ukrainians. USA are really not MAGA, but narrow minded country. I would be happy Trump and Musk make fall USA economics.

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2990158]Don't know which Putin propagandist and which Trump sympathiser you're referring to[/QUOTE]Oh really? Say no more, I'm here to help.

Questner and BlahRed actively and persistently peddle the official Russian Failed Fascist Mafia State narrative.

Jarango, Jojosun and Riina are more into raining shit on Ukraine, but they're too lazy and inconsistent to make a sustained effort.

Our complimentary Tiny is not a propagandist per se, but he's an intense Russophile with blinders on.

Of course, some of them can easily be the same person, but determining this is far beyond the scope of this dissertation.

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2990385]This glove fits you zionists one and all.

[URL]https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNddrYS9h/[/URL]

[b]Zionists control America. End of.[/b][/QUOTE]Like I said, can't help themselves. The prosecution rests.

End of.

Good news: The Russian forces lost over 100,000 troops in the last 3. 5 months.

Bad news: Not all of these Orcs are dead. Some will even have a chance to re-join the glorious Russian Army. On crutches.

[QUOTE]As the war has escalated, Ukraine's tally, which includes both those wounded and killed, has found that Russia has lost more than 100,000 troops in the last three-and-a-half months. Newsweek has yet to verify this.

Russia's loss of troops also spiked since June 2024 and reached its peak in December 2024 and January 2025.

Moscow's loss of soldiers reached approximately 2,000 per day in January, but it has since fallen to be anywhere from 1,200 to 1,500 soldiers per day in February and March.

Since the war began when Russia illegally invaded Ukraine in 2022, Kyiv has found that Russia has lost a total of 895,450 men, according to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.[/QUOTE][URL]https://www.newsweek.com/russian-losses-ukraine-cross-grim-2025-milestone-2045796[/URL]

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2990454]Good news: The Russian forces lost over 100,000 troops in the last 3. 5 months.

Bad news: Not all of these Orcs are dead. Some will even have a chance to re-join the glorious Russian Army. On crutches.

[URL]https://www.newsweek.com/russian-losses-ukraine-cross-grim-2025-milestone-2045796[/URL][/QUOTE]100,000 Orcs in 3.5 months.

Good news: The Russian forces lost over 100,000 troops in the last 3.5 months.

Bad news: Not all of these Orcs are dead. Some will even have a chance to re-join the glorious Russian Army. On crutches.

Orcs, what kind of low life characterizes humans as orcs? A low life zionist, that's who. You zionists are as big monsters as these so called orcs.

[QUOTE=ReinerOtto;2990392]1) Assuming, your hypothesis is correct, then still the minor problem, that Russia did the first shot.[/QUOTE]Assuming? Do you live under a rock or what? People like Boris Johnson and Lindsey Graham have openly boasted that this is a proxy war between NATO (USA / EU) and Russia using the poor Ukrainians as canon fodder.

[QUOTE=ReinerOtto;2990392]

2) Another hypothesis. Opposing the fact, that Russia also signed the Budapest Memo, to guarantee UAs borders.
[/QUOTE]NATO also said they would not expand eastwards, and they did. The root cause of this war is NATO expansion.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2990454]Good news: The Russian forces lost over 100,000 troops in the last 3. 5 months.

Bad news: Not all of these Orcs are dead. Some will even have a chance to re-join the glorious Russian Army. On crutches.

[URL]https://www.newsweek.com/russian-losses-ukraine-cross-grim-2025-milestone-2045796[/URL][/QUOTE]Where is the evidence you stupid bastard? A biased western media link is not evidence.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2990689]Assuming? Do you live under a rock or what? People like Boris Johnson and Lindsey Graham have openly boasted that this is a proxy war between NATO (USA / EU) and Russia using the poor Ukrainians as canon fodder.

NATO also said they would not expand eastwards, and they did. The root cause of this war is NATO expansion.[/QUOTE]No, this war is only due to crazy Putin, when nobody threatened Russia. He will cum on Trump but won t stop to kill and rob Ukrainians.

[QUOTE=Sirioja;2990692]No, this war is only due to crazy Putin, when nobody threatened Russia. He will cum on Trump but won t stop to kill and rob Ukrainians.[/QUOTE]Bro, with all due respect, this stuff is not your forte.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2990690]Where is the evidence you stupid bastard? A biased western media link is not evidence.[/QUOTE]You expect this zionist motherfucker to care about evidence? He will make ad hominem attacks instead of refuting evidence presented to him.

This POS on one hand uses dehumanising language like orcs whilst tensing silent as his fellow zionists massacre hundreds of civilians, even just today. Fucking hypocrite.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2990451]Oh really? Say no more, I'm here to help.

Questner and BlahRed actively and persistently peddle the official Russian Failed Fascist Mafia State narrative.

Jarango, Jojosun and Riina are more into raining shit on Ukraine, but they're too lazy and inconsistent to make a sustained effort.

Our complimentary Tiny is not a propagandist per se, but he's an intense Russophile with blinders on.

Of course, some of them can easily be the same person, but determining this is far beyond the scope of this dissertation.

Like I said, can't help themselves. The prosecution rests.

End of.[/QUOTE][URL]https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-gaza-airstrikes-ceasefire-hamas-hostages-netanyahu-b2717353.html[/URL]

Read this, evil zionist, and know that your soul belongs in hell.

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2990675]100,000 Orcs in 3.5 months.

Good news: The Russian forces lost over 100,000 troops in the last 3.5 months.

Bad news: Not all of these Orcs are dead. Some will even have a chance to re-join the glorious Russian Army. On crutches.

Orcs, what kind of low life characterizes humans as orcs? A low life zionist, that's who.[/QUOTE]To answer your question, it's the Ukrainian people who "characterize" those "human beings" as Orcs.

I doubt, though, many Ukrainians "characterize" themselves as Zionists, but you could ask them if in doubt.

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2990675]You zionists are as big monsters as these so called orcs.[/QUOTE]Huh? In two consecutive sentences you "characterize" Russians as "human beings" and "monsters like Orcs". You seem to be one thoroughly confused fella, huh?

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2990689]Assuming? Do you live under a rock or what? People like Boris Johnson and Lindsey Graham have openly boasted that this is a proxy war between NATO (USA / EU) and Russia using the poor Ukrainians as canon fodder.

No, they haven't.

NATO also said they would not expand eastwards, and they did. The root cause of this war is NATO expansion.[/QUOTE]No, it didn't say that.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2990690]Where is the evidence you stupid bastard? A biased western media link is not evidence.[/QUOTE]LOL. What evidence do you accept?

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2990799]You expect this [b]zionist motherfucker[/b] to care about evidence? He will make [b]ad hominem attacks[/b] instead of refuting evidence presented to him.

[b]This POS[/b] on one hand uses dehumanising language like orcs whilst tensing silent as his fellow zionists massacre hundreds of civilians, even just today. [b]Fucking hypocrite.[/b][/QUOTE]Ad hominem, huh?

A humble request for MODS: Please open a corresponding forum in Israel section where "anti-Zionists" could bash "Zionists" to their heart's content rather than pollute this thread, which doesn't have anything to do with the Middle East, either politically or geographically.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2990812]No, it didn't say that.

LOL. What evidence do you accept?[/QUOTE]Yeah you don't have any other than a BS link. Dumbass.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2990788]Bro, with all due respect, this stuff is not your forte.[/QUOTE]And Ukrainians feel so fucked by schizophrene Trump the robber. I wish Europe will help them versus criminal dictator Putin who attacked them, after robbering them Crimea. Only funny is Putin asking for no more Zelensky who is supported by Ukrainians. Is dictator scared by Zelensky who was able to resist to big Russia for 3 years, showing to the world Russian army is weak, needing Wagner and 12000 north Koreans meat. All my support to Ukrainians, versus friends Putin who hold Trump balls in his hand.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2990811]To answer your question, it's the Ukrainian people who "characterize" those "human beings" as Orcs.

I doubt, though, many Ukrainians "characterize" themselves as Zionists, but you could ask them if in doubt.

Huh? In two consecutive sentences you "characterize" Russians as "human beings" and "monsters like Orcs". You seem to be one thoroughly confused fella, huh?[/QUOTE]** To answer your question, it's the Ukrainian people who "characterize" those "human beings" as Orcs.

I doubt, though, many Ukrainians "characterize" themselves as Zionists, but you could ask them if in doubt. *.

Yes, I too doubt that most Ukrainians are zionists. Why would they be? Being the victims of interloping aggressors- they would be mightly stupid, wouldn't they? If anything, I would suspect they are anti zionists.

The point however is not them but YOU and your hypocrisy in selectively dehumanising one aggressor whilst being an apologist for another.

I may or may not be a "confused fella" but I'm not a fucking hypocrite, at least, like you are.

Questner, You're the only one here who follows Russian media. And your view is closer to the Kremlin's than other posters. So I have some questions.

How does the Russian press view the recent call between Putin and Trump? Is this being viewed as possibly the beginning of the end of the war? Or is the press rather emphasizing the rapprochement in Russian / United States relations?

Is Russia indeed not willing to agree to a comprehensive temporary ceasefire unless western military aid and intelligence sharing is stopped? Or is that just the starting Russian position for purposes of negotiation?

Ultimately do you believe Russia will accept either an Ukraine that’s not neutral, or alternately a neutral Ukraine with western security guarantees?

Do you believe it's more likely the war ends in 2025, or drags on for years longer?

Thanks.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2991015]QThanks.[/QUOTE]It is quite amazing you babble on without even clicking on Russia Today, Sputnik etc. Are you an Xpartan bot?

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2991015]Questner, You're the only one here who follows Russian media. And your view is closer to the Kremlin's than other posters. So I have some questions.

How does the Russian press view the recent call between Putin and Trump? Is this being viewed as possibly the beginning of the end of the war? Or is the press rather emphasizing the rapprochement in Russian / United States relations?

Is Russia indeed not willing to agree to a comprehensive temporary ceasefire unless western military aid and intelligence sharing is stopped? Or is that just the starting Russian position for purposes of negotiation?

Ultimately do you believe Russia will accept either an Ukraine that's not neutral, or alternately a neutral Ukraine with western security guarantees?.[/QUOTE]All Russian medias suck Putin, or they would have big problems. Putin is elected like in north Korea. No real Pravda in Russia, but a dictator. Russians would have a much better life if they woke up and got rid of him. Pity, when a so great country with superb women with who, drunk guys there are not able. After Putin, I would be happy to enjoy there again.

[QUOTE=Jarango;2991023]It is quite amazing you babble on without even clicking on Russia Today, Sputnik etc. Are you an Xpartan bot?[/QUOTE]Questner's comments are often more insightful than what's on RT, or in the western press.

To answer your question, yes, I’m a bot, created by Xpartan with the help of ChatGPT!

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2990894]Ad hominem, huh?

A humble request for MODS: Please open a corresponding forum in Israel section where "anti-Zionists" could bash "Zionists" to their heart's content rather than pollute this thread, which doesn't have anything to do with the Middle East, either politically or geographically.[/QUOTE]Look zionist, you may own America, but you don't own this forum so you do not get to wag the forum owners' dog.

Even mongerers have a sense of propriety and want nothing to do with soonish or the evil state of Israel.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2990894]Ad hominem, huh?

A humble request for MODS: Please open a corresponding forum in Israel section where "anti-Zionists" could bash "Zionists" to their heart's content rather than pollute this thread, which doesn't have anything to do with the Middle East, either politically or geographically.[/QUOTE]Yeah, you call me in a cult, call other people Rusophiles, Putin dick suckers, orcs, and antisemitic, and now you run like a baby to mommy about the phrase zionist?

If you cannot stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2991015]

Do you believe it's more likely the war ends in 2025, or drags on for years longer?

[/QUOTE]Dragging on for years seems to be the reality.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2991015]So I have some questions.

Is Russia indeed not willing to agree to a comprehensive temporary ceasefire unless western military aid and intelligence sharing is stopped? Or is that just the starting Russian position for purposes of negotiation?
[/QUOTE]I'll take a crack at some of these questions for fun and express my opinion.

I think Putin stuck to his guns and gave very little, if anything away. This 30 day ceasefire on ENERGY infrastructure means very little. So it means in essence that for 30 days, Russia will not attack Ukrainian energy infrastructure, right? Well, anyone that has been following the Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure targets (like I have) would know that the Russians usually carry out 1 attack each month. And the last one was a few days before this ceasefire was agreed upon. So this ceasefire means very little. And yes, this may lead to somewhere IF western aid and intelligence is stopped.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2991015]

Ultimately do you believe Russia will accept either an Ukraine thats not neutral, or alternately a neutral Ukraine with western security guarantees?[/QUOTE]I think this is a silly question. Russia will never ever accept a Ukraine that is not neutral. If you have been watching the news, Trump and his team have already said Ukraine will never join NATO so that sticking point appears to have been settled between the 2 great powers here (USA and Russia). Ukraine will just be informed of their decisions.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2991015]

Do you believe it's more likely the war ends in 2025, or drags on for years longer?

Thanks.[/QUOTE]This is a tricky one. The Euros want to fight on for a long time using the poor Ukrainians. If Trump is really serious about ending this and it does look like he is, if he cuts off ALL AID to Ukraine, makes the territorial concessions plus neutrality for Ukraine that the Russians are demanding, then I think there is a chance for the war ending this year. The Euros can't do dick without American support.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2991015]Questner, You're the only one here who follows Russian media. And your view is closer to the Kremlin's than other posters. So I have some questions.

How does the Russian press view the recent call between Putin and Trump? Is this being viewed as possibly the beginning of the end of the war? Or is the press rather emphasizing the rapprochement in Russian / United States relations?

Is Russia indeed not willing to agree to a comprehensive temporary ceasefire unless western military aid and intelligence sharing is stopped? Or is that just the starting Russian position for purposes of negotiation?

Ultimately do you believe Russia will accept either an Ukraine thats not neutral, or alternately a neutral Ukraine with western security guarantees?

Do you believe it's more likely the war ends in 2025, or drags on for years longer?

Thanks.[/QUOTE]Like in the Bible, everything is truth, but not all the truth. You have to be an intelligent reader to follow any press including Russian as it caters to different audience.

The Russian press is highly choreographed with official statements. The recent call was audio only and the longest in history for 2 hours and 28 minutes. Most of it is dark matter, that is topics that were not for the press. Diplomacy like money likes privacy. The end of the war as for now is far away. As we like to say, the caravan moves on while dogs are barking. There is a confusion sometimes between the US / Russia dialogue and the war in Ukraine. Clearly the first is more important and the war is just an offspring of the long term deterioration. Obviously, the relationship between the US and the RF is a broader topic, more technical and opaque so we see fewer guests and journalists talk about it.

30 days ceasefire may come to fruition and the technical talks in Jidda will resume on the 23rd of March. We need the Ukrainian mobilization to stop as it will be much easier to mobilize during the ceasefire because of lesser perception risk and higher wages all bankrolled by the West. I expect the period to cover the Orthodox Easter into first 2 weeks of May. Military aid should stop. Sharing of intelligence has never stopped, don't be gullible.

We need a neutral non-nuclear Ukraine with all issues permanently resolved and all hostilities ended. I would prefer Russian guarantees only as we have now with Belarus.

You can also see how top to bottom approach may work and draw a plan on a napkin. When you will draw it visually you will see that Ukraine has to call the elections and amend its constitution.

Hopefully this won't fall on deaf ears.

There are some topics that usually can't be intelligently discussed. That's why for example this forum is not about gay stuff as the subject can't be discussed in civilized matter.

The tragic events in the Middle East in the past and at present in my view is another example of such topic. And if it's discussed it should be done in a different thread and with proper moderation.

There are also soft topics which cover the tragedy of war itself. To both sides of this civil conflict the greatest enemy is war.

Here is the recent article from [URL]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meduza[/URL] This news media has been banned in Russia for good reasons. However the article has not been published in English. As with RT the content is very different depending on the audience, internal or external.

Google translate will struggle a bit with this one, and I can provide annotations to abbreviations, technical terms, colloquials and expletives.

[URL]https://meduza.io/feature/2025/03/17/otsyuda-vyhod-odin-trista-ili-dvesti[/URL]

(200 means dead, 300 means injured, 500 means deserter).

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;2991080]Yeah, you call me in a cult, call other people Rusophiles, Putin dick suckers, orcs, and antisemitic, and now you run like a baby to mommy about the phrase zionist?

If you cannot stand the heat, get out of the kitchen![/QUOTE]None of the epithets you listed represent ad hominem attacks.

Yes, I called Tiny a Russophile because that's what he is.

Yes, I called Mr. Hotdog an anti-Semite because that's what he is.

I don't remember if I called Trump, Vance at al Putin cocksuckers, but that sounds about right, so be it.

And yes, I called you a member of the Donald Trump cult because that's what you are.

In all these cases, I've thoroughly explained and provided irrefutable evidence as to why these individuals, including you, are what they are.

That's not ad hominem attacks. Not even close.

On the other hand, calling opponents motherfuckers and POS, is nothing but.

Now that this part of your misapprehension sorted, let me explain a thing or two about cooking facilities, since you appear to be confused with them as well.

I have no issues with kitchens. I don't mind kitchens. It's normal when temps rise in a kitchen. Not every kitchen, of course, I guess, sushi chefs don't need all that heat, do they?

But here is the kicker: whatever you cook in the kitchen, should belong in that particular kitchen, otherwise why do we even need all these forums and threads and shit.

Are you with me so far?

Let's move on. The kitchen called "Stupid shit in Ukraine" has nothing to do with the state of Israel, Gaza Strip or the Middle East in general.

Furthermore, anti-Semites, Russian propacondoms and Trump's cult members are using this kitchen inappropriately to dilute and poison the equipment dedicated to the heroic Ukrainian fight against Putin onslaught, which is nowadays wickedly supported by Trump and his allies.

The reason I'm asking the Mods to create a new kitchen is to make sure that whenever any anti-Semites, Trump cultists and Russian propacondoms feel the need to bash Jews and Israel, they were able to do so IN A FACILITY THAT WOULD BE BEST SUITED FOR THAT PARTICULAR AFFLICTION. Whether the Mods will be willing to do so or not I have no idea, but to me that would be the most logical solution.

You know logical, Elvis? Look it up.

[QUOTE=Riina;2991096]Dragging on for years seems to be the reality.[/QUOTE]Only way to stop this war is to isolate more Russia, to really block their economics and values, to make them broke, for no more money for war. Unfortunately, stupid Trump gives hopes to Putin to make new business, when Russian economics now is not far from falling, when more and more difficult to pay. But robber Trump prefer to fuck Ukrainians. Can t trust him, nor Putin of course.

They calculate death rates as if it was a regular war, at 1:3 / 1:4 dead to wounded.

But this is not a regular war. Wounded Orcs don't often get delivered from the death fields. If they can't crawl back to safety, they're goners more often than not.

Then there are MIAs who no one seems to include in any counts. There were over 50,000 MIA for January 2025. Obviously the vast majority of those are gone.

And then there is another huge group of invisibles -- the fodder meat from Crimea, DNR and LNR. Considering that there are practically no military-age men left (especially in the 3-letter "republics") that's probably another 100,000 or very close.

Contrary to the famous adage, the numbers can lie. The UK's estimate is a wishful thinking.

[QUOTE]The UK's Ministry of Defence estimates 200,000 to 250,000 Russian troops have been killed since the war began in February 2022.

That is the largest death toll of Kremlin forces since Germany's invasion of Russia in 1941.

The MoD added: 'President Putin and the Russian military leadership highly likely prioritise their conflict objectives over the lives of Russian soldiers.'

The UK research also showed Russia has incurred an estimated 900,000 casualties, most recruited from impoverished regions and ethnic minorities.[/QUOTE][URL]https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/pm-will-deploy-troops-as-putin-would-breach-a-ceasefire-without-them/ar-AA1Blt0U[/URL]

Igor Lipsits is one of the most prominent Russian economists, and he's rarely been wrong. Here is his interview in English for anyone who wants to know how splendidly Russian economy is doing. Yes, really.

[B]Putins economic illusion is crumbling top Russian economist warns of looming collapse[/B]

[QUOTE]"Putin's economic boom is an illusion, and it's coming to an end. Even before the war, official statistics were questionable, but now they are outright manipulated.

The government is still trying to put on a brave face, but even Putin has started to admit that growth is "slowing." Thats just their way of preparing people for bad news. The reality is that the boom is already over.

For years, Russia poured massive amounts of money, about $180-200 billion per year into the economy, particularly the military-industrial complex. This initially created the appearance of economic growth.

But at the same time, it destroyed civilian industries. Russias economy is now flooded with money, but there arent enough goods to absorb it. Imports are shrinking, and domestic production is failing.

To slow inflation, the government raised deposit interest rates, which temporarily trapped money in bank accounts. But when rates fall, those savings will flood the market all at once, triggering hyperinflation."

"Meanwhile, entire industries are collapsing. The coal industry is the most affected -- virtually the entire sector is unprofitable. In Kuzbass, a region where around 200,000 people rely on coal mining, a social crisis is looming. Many will lose their jobs.

Steel production is also in trouble. Russia lost its export markets, and domestic construction has slowed because the government stopped subsidizing mortgages. Regional budgets, which used to fund infrastructure repairs, are also struggling. Without government purchases, demand for steel pipes and other materials has plummeted.

This crisis is spreading across forestry, aviation, transportation, and logistics. Each month, another industry succumbs to the economic metastases of the war."

"The Rubles strength is an illusion. Everyone knows the ruble is being artificially propped upincluding me. This isnt the result of market forces, but direct government intervention.

Putin and the Finance Ministry are forcing large exporters to sell more foreign currency, which temporarily strengthens the ruble. This helps slow inflation for imported goods.

But exporters are suffering. When they convert their foreign earnings, they get fewer rubles per dollar, yet their domestic costs -- wages, energy, resources -- remain high.

Russian companies are begging Putin to let the ruble weaken to at least 100 rubles per dollar. The government will have to comply eventually, and when they do, inflation will return with full force."

"Russia's budget Is running on empty. Just in the first two months of 2024, the deficit hit a record highdouble the amount projected for the entire year.

Military spending remains massive, while tax revenue is falling. The government raised the corporate profit tax from 20% to 25%, expecting higher revenue. But with so many industries now operating at a loss, theres nothing to tax.

The Finance Ministry admitted that in 2023, they collected 500 billion rubles ($5.5 billion) less than expected in profit taxes. Oil and gas revenues are also disappointing.

To plug the gap, the government is draining its emergency reserves. The National Wealth Fund has shrunk from over 8 trillion rubles ($88 billion) at the start of the war to just 34 trillion rubles ($3344 billion) today.

If they used it to cover the deficit, it would be gone in one year.

The Kremlin is now borrowing heavily, but that creates another problem -- rising debt and higher interest payments. Nearly 10% of Russias budget is now spent just on servicing existing debt.

Russia Is running out of options. Soon, the Kremlin wont be able to hide the truth: Russias economy isnt just slowing down; it's on the verge of collapse."[/QUOTE][URL]https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/putin-s-economic-illusion-is-crumbling-top-russian-economist-warns-of-looming-collapse/ar-AA1Bl9qV[/URL]

Zelensky is fully right not to accept Ukrainians being robbed by shameful robber Trump, when they were already robbed Crimea by Trump friend Putin.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2991171]None of the epithets you listed represent ad hominem attacks.

Yes, I called Tiny a Russophile because that's what he is.

Yes, I called Mr. Hotdog an anti-Semite because that's what he is.

I don't remember if I called Trump, Vance at al Putin cocksuckers, but that sounds about right, so be it.

And yes, I called you a member of the Donald Trump cult because that's what you are.

In all these cases, I've thoroughly explained and provided irrefutable evidence as to why these individuals, including you, are what they are.

That's not ad hominem attacks. Not even close.

On the other hand, calling opponents motherfuckers and POS, is nothing but.

Now that this part of your misapprehension sorted, let me explain a thing or two about cooking facilities, since you appear to be confused with them as well..[/QUOTE]No imbecile, your "anti semite" accusation is both technically and logically flawed as it is flawed in veracity. A) Palestinians are semites too- and in fact Scientific evidence shows them to be more semitic than the Ashkenazi jews are- and I am an ardent supporter of Palestinians. B) I don't genuinely have anything against Jews- but I have everything against Jews and Christians and any other person for that matter who supports the genocidal assaults on Palestinians and the theft of Palestinian's lands by Israel- ie zionists. You don't do either scientific evidence or logical reasoning, do you?

The fact that you actually think you provided "irrefutable evidence" troubles me greatly about mindsets of not just you but those of your ilk whose perverted mindset is the cause of half the world's political ills.

Now spew your anti Russian bile again- we could do with the spectacle.

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2991527]- and I am an ardent supporter of Palestinians. B) I don't genuinely have anything against Jews- but I have everything against Jews and Christians and any other person for that matter who supports the genocidal assaults on Palestinians and the theft of Palestinian's lands by Israel- ie zionists.
[/QUOTE]I like your statement. Thanks.

I was kind of sad after the Putin / Trump conversation didn't produce much. Now after hearing Blood Red's, Questner's and Riina's thoughts I'm more depressed. I thought there was a good chance this would be over soon. Unfortunately probably not.

[QUOTE=Questner;2991157]There are also soft topics which cover the tragedy of war itself. To both sides of this civil conflict the greatest enemy is war.

Here is the recent article from [URL]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meduza[/URL] This news media has been banned in Russia for good reasons. However the article has not been published in English. As with RT the content is very different depending on the audience, internal or external.

Google translate will struggle a bit with this one, and I can provide annotations to abbreviations, technical terms, colloquials and expletives.

[URL]https://meduza.io/feature/2025/03/17/otsyuda-vyhod-odin-trista-ili-dvesti[/URL]

(200 means dead, 300 means injured, 500 means deserter).[/QUOTE]Thank you for turning me on to this website Questner. It has some excellent articles. I encourage all BM's to take a look. Regardless of what you believe or whose side you're on, you'll find it interesting.

Also thanks for your insightful reply to my questions. As I told one of the posters here, you're more knowledgeable about the war than any of the media pundits I follow.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2991141]
I think this is a silly question. Russia will never ever accept a Ukraine that is not neutral. If you have been watching the news, Trump and his team have already said Ukraine will never join NATO so that sticking point appears to have been settled between the 2 great powers here (USA and Russia). Ukraine will just be informed of their decisions.[/QUOTE]How does this end Blood Red? The west is probably going to keep arming Ukraine in a big way, unless there's a ceasefire that leads to a peace agreement. That means that Russia potentially would need to go medieval to win the war. By that I mean treat Ukraine like Israel treated Gaza. In which case there will be blood. Lots of blood. I don't see Ukraine accepting a ceasefire unless it's able to keep a substantial military; or there's a guarantee by western governments that they'll come to the aid of a neutral Ukraine in the event of an attack; or there are peacekeepers on the ground. And the only nations that appear willing to supply peacekeepers are NATO countries and Australia, which is problematic for the Russians.

Are there any realistic compromises that could end the war without a lot more bloodshed?

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2991527]No imbecile, your "anti semite" accusation is both technically and logically flawed as it is flawed in veracity. A) Palestinians are semites too- and in fact Scientific evidence shows them to be more semitic than the Ashkenazi jews are- and I am an ardent supporter of Palestinians. B) I don't genuinely have anything against Jews- but I have everything against Jews and Christians and any other person for that matter who supports the genocidal assaults on Palestinians and the theft of Palestinian's lands by Israel- ie zionists. You don't do either scientific evidence or logical reasoning, do you?

The fact that you actually think you provided "irrefutable evidence" troubles me greatly about mindsets of not just you but those of your ilk whose perverted mindset is the cause of half the world's political ills.

Now spew your anti Russian bile again- we could do with the spectacle.[/QUOTE]Lmfao, you're a raging anti-semite.

What happened the 7th October 2023?

That's what started this war. The Palestinians shouldn't have started this war by committing a genocidal attack and mass rapings against Israelis.

It's important to understand that gaza is full of radical islamistic terrorist groups like hamas and islamic jihad. It's basically no different than isis.

Do you think your lifestyle would be accepted in gaza? Lmfao, they would kill you in 5 seconds and no one would blink an eye or give a second thought about it.

The Christian Palestinians are being treated horribly by the other palestinians.

[URL]https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-7-2011-006179_EN.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com[/URL]

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2991066]Look zionist, you may own America, but you don't own this forum so you do not get to wag the forum owners' dog.

Even mongerers have a sense of propriety and want nothing to do with soonish or the evil state of Israel.[/QUOTE]You do realize that you come across as a neo nazi when you feel the constant need to call people "Zionist" in all of your posts?

Liar criminal Putin keep on shooting Zaporija. We can t trust him nor Trump.

[QUOTE=Questner;2991146]Like in the Bible, everything is truth, but not all the truth. You have to be an intelligent reader to follow any press including Russian as it caters to different audience.

The Russian press is highly choreographed with official statements. The recent call was audio only and the longest in history for 2 hours and 28 minutes. Most of it is dark matter, that is topics that were not for the press. Diplomacy like money likes privacy. The end of the war as for now is far away. As we like to say, the caravan moves on while dogs are barking. There is a confusion sometimes between the US / Russia dialogue and the war in Ukraine. Clearly the first is more important and the war is just an offspring of the long term deterioration. Obviously, the relationship between the US and the RF is a broader topic, more technical and opaque so we see fewer guests and journalists talk about it.

30 days ceasefire may come to fruition and the technical talks in Jidda will resume on the 23rd of March. We need the Ukrainian mobilization to stop as it will be much easier to mobilize during the ceasefire because of lesser perception risk and higher wages all bankrolled by the West. I expect the period to cover the Orthodox Easter into first 2 weeks of May. Military aid should stop. Sharing of intelligence has never stopped, don't be gullible.

We need a neutral non-nuclear Ukraine with all issues permanently resolved and all hostilities ended. I would prefer Russian guarantees only as we have now with Belarus.

You can also see how top to bottom approach may work and draw a plan on a napkin. When you will draw it visually you will see that Ukraine has to call the elections and amend its constitution.[/QUOTE]What you're really saying is that russia must be given more times to produce weapons and mobilize their troops while Ukraine must be weakened so Russia can invade their country. Russia is not the boss of Ukraine. Russia is not the boss of Poland. Russia is not the boss of Finland nor Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania.

You're against democracy, you're against human rights, you're against international law and you're against free souvereign nations.

Ukraine will not and can not have elections when their country is invaded and occupied by russian nazis.

Who's going to count the votes in Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Cherson?

Who's going to go out to vote so the russian nazis can bomb them easier?

None of Russia's neighbors have attacked russia, but all of russia's neighbors have been attacked by russia.

If we're going to reach any kind of peace russia must be demilitarized so they can't attack their peaceful neighbors!

Ukraine needs more weapons, russia less.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2991141]I'll take a crack at some of these questions for fun and express my opinion.

I think Putin stuck to his guns and gave very little, if anything away. This 30 day ceasefire on ENERGY infrastructure means very little. So it means in essence that for 30 days, Russia will not attack Ukrainian energy infrastructure, right? Well, anyone that has been following the Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure targets (like I have) would know that the Russians usually carry out 1 attack each month. And the last one was a few days before this ceasefire was agreed upon. So this ceasefire means very little. And yes, this may lead to somewhere IF western aid and intelligence is stopped.

I think this is a silly question. Russia will never ever accept a Ukraine that is not neutral. If you have been watching the news, Trump and his team have already said Ukraine will never join NATO so that sticking point appears to have been settled between the 2 great powers here (USA and Russia). Ukraine will just be informed of their decisions.

This is a tricky one. The Euros want to fight on for a long time using the poor Ukrainians. If Trump is really serious about ending this and it does look like he is, if he cuts off ALL AID to Ukraine, makes the territorial concessions plus neutrality for Ukraine that the Russians are demanding, then I think there is a chance for the war ending this year. The Euros can't do dick without American support.[/QUOTE]You're basically admitting that you and putin wants this war and you're willing to do nothing to achieve peace. It's truly horrendous to see how you enjoy people getting murdered for no reason.

The energy infrastructure ceasefire is something that russia needed after Ukraine's successful attacks against their oil refineries.

Stopping Western aid and intelligence to Ukraine won't stop the war. It will prolong the war, right now the russians are suffering in Ukraine.

Putin is desperate and is hoping for the West to gift him Ukraine.

Putin is the Hitler of the 21th, he will not stop unless he is stopped. Western support to Ukraine is accomplishing just that. What you want is for the russian 21th century Hitler to invade all of Ukraine and there after attack Moldova, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

It's some truly evil shit that you're supporting. It's a crime against humanity and international law.

Two things;.

1. trump is not USA. In less than four years from now trump will not be the president.

What putin can accept and what he will get are two very different things. Russia obviously doesn't have the capability to make Ukraine their vassal state. And no one, absolutely no one, can make Ukraine or the Ukrainian people "neutral" after this failed russian war. Try to be honest for a second, do you really believe that the Ukrainians will be neutral? That's a funny joke.

Ukraine obviously hasn't accepted putin's demands. The russian nazis will continue with their war crimes and failed war.

You seem to be uninformed about the fact that Ukraine is a sovereign country with a population of over 40 million people, it's not something that russia has the military capability or strategic ability to defeat. Especially not if Ukraine receives help from the EU.

Russia couldn't win any of their wars in Afghanistan, Syria or even in Cheznya, what makes you delusional enough to believe that russia would win the war against a much bigger and stronger Ukraine?

Here's the deal; the EU consists of peaceful countries that were fully concentrated on improving the quality of life for its citizens while russia has no interest in improving anything for its citizens but that doesn't mean that Europe isn't strong militarily. The EU is much stronger than the third world country russia.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2990689]Assuming? Do you live under a rock or what? People like Boris Johnson and Lindsey Graham have openly boasted that this is a proxy war between NATO (USA / EU) and Russia using the poor Ukrainians as canon fodder.

NATO also said they would not expand eastwards, and they did. The root cause of this war is NATO expansion.[/QUOTE]No, the root cause of the war is russian imperialism.

Don't you read history? It's kinda sad to see how uninformed and misinformed you are.

[QUOTE=Jarango;2990381]I listened to one of Zelensky's side kicks say just that about Kursk yesterday. Hiter's orders, hiold fat (or we'll give you a bullet).

L.[/QUOTE]Dude, putin is literally the russian Hitler of the 21th century.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2990312]Are you fucking kidding me? The war in Ukraine is a PROXY WAR between the United States and Russia! Without American support, weapons, intel and money, Ukraine wouldn't last long at all. And don't forget, the primary instigator in making sure this war happened is USA aka NATO.[/QUOTE]Russia started this war just like they started the war against Georgia in 2008 and all the wars against Finland and the Baltics.

I feel sorry for you, hopefully one day you will be less opinionated about something you clearly are so uninformed and misinformed about.

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2991527]A) Palestinians are semites too- and in fact Scientific evidence shows them to be more semitic than the Ashkenazi jews are- and I am an ardent supporter of Palestinians. [/QUOTE]It's hard to imagine that a grownup living in the 21st century, who can read and isn't mentally retarded, can seriously would employ this "Arabs are Semites too" fallacy -- considering that idiocy was debunked over 100 years ago. Wilhelm Marr who SPAWNED the term Anti-Semitism had never seen an Arab in his life. His Anti-Semitic League was always persecuting Jews and Jews alone. He would've been mightily surprised if anyone told him "but Arabs are Semites too, you know, why do you hate them so much"?

[URL]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Marr[/URL]

With every new post you somehow manage to reveal yourself with more and better details. Goodness, if most anti-Semites weren't dumb as a doorknob!

[URL]https://www.britannica.com/topic/antisemitism[/URL]

[URL]https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anti-Semitism[/URL]

[URL]https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/anti-semitism[/URL]

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2991633]I was kind of sad after the Putin / Trump conversation didn't produce much. Now after hearing Blood Red's, Questner's and Riina's thoughts I'm more depressed. I thought there was a good chance this would be over soon. Unfortunately probably not.[/QUOTE]Trump doesn't care about Ukrainians. He just want to rob everybody. A shameful for USA.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2991672]You're against democracy. Ukraine will not and can not have elections.[/QUOTE]How can you be pro-Democracy and against elections?

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2991672]you're against human rights[/QUOTE]How can you be pro human rights when you advocate for killing Russians and "Palestinians"?

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2991672]None of Russia's neighbors have attacked Russia. You're against free souvereign nations.[/QUOTE]Didn't Ukraine just invade Russia?

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2991672]Ukraine has been invaded and occupied by russian nazis.[/QUOTE]Uh, Russia has more reason to hate Nazis than anyone. That is why the Putin-Hilter comparisons are so stupid. And the USA has lifted the weapons ban on the neoNazi Azov brigade in Ukraine. [URL]https://responsiblestatecraft.org/azov-ban-lifted/[/URL].

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2991672]Ukraine needs more weapons, Russia less.[/QUOTE]So you are for giving Neonazis more weapons? And saying the country who fought the Nazis and beat them need less weapons?

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2991660]What happened the 7th October 2023?

It's important to understand that gaza is full of radical islamistic terrorist groups like hamas and islamic jihad. It's basically no different than isis.

Lmfao, you're a raging anti-semite. [/QUOTE]There was no question the Palestian terrorists needed a response after October 7 but what gets me about people like you is how discriminatory you are. Oh, being anti-semitic is terrible but yet you paint the same brush of hatred with Arabs and Palestinians, and you are cheering on the death of Russian Christians.

I just wonder whose Kool Aid you are drinking to make comments that are as ridiculous as I am pro-Democracy and against elections and Russians are nazis. Is it the Zionist Kool Aid? The Democratic douche Kool Aid or both?

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2991171]None of the epithets you listed represent ad hominem attacks.

Yes, I called Tiny a Russophile because that's what he is.

Yes, I called Mr. Hotdog an anti-Semite because that's what he is.

I don't remember if I called Trump, Vance at al Putin cocksuckers, but that sounds about right, so be it.

And yes, I called you a member of the Donald Trump cult because that's what you are.

That's not ad hominem attacks. Not even close.

In all these cases, I've thoroughly explained and provided irrefutable evidence as to why these individuals, including you, are what they are. You know logical, Elvis? Look it up.[/QUOTE]How can I be a member of the Trump cult when I have criticized him for his tariffs, excessive government spending, lockdown of our county during the pandemic, and being antivaxx when the vaccine quit working?

That is the evidence you call irrefutable?

Meanwhile, I have not ever seen a Democratic douche like yourself take a position contrary to Democratic talking points. Ever!

I have distinguished between a person voting Democrat and being a cult member Democratic douche like yourself. You have not. Anyone who voted for Trump is in the Trump cult.

As for ad hominems, you might want to know what ad hominem means before you use it, A fallacious objection to an argument or factual claim by appealing to a characteristic or belief of the person making the argument or claim, rather than by addressing the substance of the argument or producing evidence against the claim.

In other words, you do not have to factually refute anyone. You just call them names when you cannot logically refute what they say.

So tell me Xpartan, when have you been at odds with any Democrat positions? Hmmm?

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;2991777]How can you be pro-Democracy and against elections?

How can you be pro human rights when you advocate for killing Russians and "Palestinians"?

Didn't Ukraine just invade Russia?

Uh, Russia has more reason to hate Nazis than anyone. That is why the Putin-Hilter comparisons are so stupid. And the USA has lifted the weapons ban on the neoNazi Azov brigade in Ukraine. [URL]https://responsiblestatecraft.org/azov-ban-lifted/[/URL].

So you are for giving Neonazis more weapons? And saying the country who fought the Nazis and beat them need less weapons?

There was no question the Palestian terrorists needed a response after October 7 but what gets me about people like you is how discriminatory you are. Oh, being anti-semitic is terrible but yet you paint the same brush of hatred with Arabs and Palestinians, and you are cheering on the death of Russian Christians.

I just wonder whose Kool Aid you are drinking to make comments that are as ridiculous as I am pro-Democracy and against elections and Russians are nazis. Is it the Zionist Kool Aid? The Democratic douche Kool Aid or both?[/QUOTE]Did Ukraine attack Russia on 2014 , or 2022 ? Yes, Putin is kind of son of Hitler. Read Ukraine constitution: no election under war, but USA fuck their own constitution, except for free weapons to kill children.

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;2991777]How can you be pro-Democracy and against elections?

How can you be pro human rights when you advocate for killing Russians and "Palestinians"?

Didn't Ukraine just invade Russia?

Uh, Russia has more reason to hate Nazis than anyone. That is why the Putin-Hilter comparisons are so stupid. And the USA has lifted the weapons ban on the neoNazi Azov brigade in Ukraine. [URL]https://responsiblestatecraft.org/azov-ban-lifted/[/URL].

So you are for giving Neonazis more weapons? And saying the country who fought the Nazis and beat them need less weapons?

There was no question the Palestian terrorists needed a response after October 7 but what gets me about people like you is how discriminatory you are. Oh, being anti-semitic is terrible but yet you paint the same brush of hatred with Arabs and Palestinians, and you are cheering on the death of Russian Christians.

I just wonder whose Kool Aid you are drinking to make comments that are as ridiculous as I am pro-Democracy and against elections and Russians are nazis. Is it the Zionist Kool Aid? The Democratic douche Kool Aid or both?[/QUOTE]I do realize that you trump-supporters have little to no respect for democracy, laws and the constitution but Ukraine is a constitutional democracy where the President actually respects and follow the law and constitution.

Elections during a war, an invasion and occupation is explicitly forbidden according to the Ukrainian constitution.

It's not enough for you trump supporters to disrespect the US constitution, now you also want to disrespect the Ukrainian constitution.

It's one thing that you're against the constitutions of USA and foreign countries like Ukraine, but your total lack of empathy for human beings (yes, Ukrainians are humans) is deeply disturbing, shocking and shameful.

The Ukrainian people are united, what they want, and what they need is peace.

Can you, trump and putin respect that?

You speak about democracy and pretend to care about the Ukrainian people but when will you respect the Ukrainian people's call for a real peace, democracy and sovereignty from russian imperialism and war crimes?

Show your true colors.

How are the Ukrainians supposed to have elections when a fifth of the country is under direct occupation and the rest is being heavily attacked by russian war criminals?

Who would dare to go to any polling station where they would be sitting ducks for putin and his war criminals?

Do you seek to murder more Ukrainians?

Who will count the votes in the occupied parts of Ukraine? Putin? That would be hilarious.

Please, stop the charades.

Everyone who's ever been to russia or read history or read the news knows that nazism is deeply rooted in the russian society.

Have you ever been to russia? Have you even been to Europe?

The russians for sure didn't seem to mind the nazis when they signed the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact in 1939.

And now 86 years later we might see a trump-putin pact.

It's not even funny anymore to see how the history seems to always repeat itself.

Come on, didn't you know that russia and the nazis were allied when the Second World War started?

[URL]https://18-24.army.gov.ua/[/URL] Ukraine started to mobilize the younger males age 18 to 24 with 1 year contract. 1 million hryvnas in 3 installments and 120,000 hryvnas per month. The recruits can choose one of 17 brigades. The dead already flooding the front lines, with a description from the Russian army: the dead all have better teeth.

Women also find their way into infantry. I thought it was fake news until I saw the videos of Ukrainian female infantry dead near the destroyed vehicles.

There is an interview on X by Tucker with Steve Witkoff posted on March 21,2025 The first part deals with the Middle East and the second with the conflict in Ukraine. I encourage to listen to this interview in full.

[QUOTE=Questner;2991879][URL]https://18-24.army.gov.ua/[/URL] Ukraine started to mobilize the younger males age 18 to 24 with 1 year contract. 1 million hryvnas in 3 installments and 120,000 hryvnas per month. The recruits can choose one of 17 brigades. The dead already flooding the front lines, with a description from the Russian army: the dead all have better teeth.

Women also find their way into infantry. I thought it was fake news until I saw the videos of Ukrainian female infantry dead near the destroyed vehicles.

There is an interview on X by Tucker with Steve Witkoff posted on March 21,2025 The first part deals with the Middle East and the second with the conflict in Ukraine. I encourage to listen to this interview in full.[/QUOTE]Why would anyone listen to fake news from russian war criminals or a crazy person like Tycker Karlsson and an incompetent nepotism hire like Witchoff?

We all know that the russians are suffering and are not even close to winning the war, the only person that can save putin is trump.

Anyone with the slightest knowledge about russia knows that lies and propaganda are what the russians excelled at even back in the days of the Soviet Union.

Don't you people learn anything from history?

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2991810]

Come on, didn't you know that russia and the nazis were allied when the Second World War started?[/QUOTE]Hey, he is American, obviously. No need for education. Anyway, the fact, that Putler learned a lot from Adolf is very obvious.

Hitler-Stalin agreement about Poland, now Putin-Trump trying to do similar business with Ukraine.

Adolfs March into Sudetenland, to free the German part of population. Putlers March into Crimea and Donbass.

Adolfs breach of non-attack agreement with the SU, Putlers breach of Budapest agreement.

The main difference is, that Adolfs troops were welcome in Sudetenland with flowers; Putlers green men were welcome with steel, when trying to go to Kiev.

To be fair, I am not against Russians. But against Putler.

Being someone, who lived and worked 5 years each in RF and UA. Knowing the Palace Square as well as kazantip.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2991660]Lmfao, you're a raging anti-semite.

What happened the 7th October 2023?

That's what started this war. The Palestinians shouldn't have started this war by committing a genocidal attack and mass rapings against Israelis.

It's important to understand that gaza is full of radical islamistic terrorist groups like hamas and islamic jihad. It's basically no different than isis.

Do you think your lifestyle would be accepted in gaza? Lmfao, they would kill you in 5 seconds and no one would blink an eye or give a second thought about it.

The Christian Palestinians are being treated horribly by the other palestinians.

[URL]https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-7-2011-006179_EN.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com[/URL][/QUOTE]*Lmfao, you're a raging anti-semite.

What happened the 7th October 2023?

That's what started this war. *.

No, zionist, what started this was the appropriation of PALESTINIANS' Land by the jews instrumented by the imperialist west, principally the UK, and the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians from their own freaking lands and the racist dehumanising of the remaining Palestinians by the Israelis.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2991665]You do realize that you come across as a neo nazi when you feel the constant need to call people "Zionist" in all of your posts?[/QUOTE]I do realise that hypocritical zionists and / or imperialistic neo cons racists will oppose the criticism of zionists and Israel by hypocritical attacks. I call Zionists, "Zionists", because as your Zionist counterpart asserted: if the shoe fits- let the zionist wear it.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2991672]What you're really saying is that russia must be given more times to produce weapons and mobilize their troops while Ukraine must be weakened so Russia can invade their country. Russia is not the boss of Ukraine. Russia is not the boss of Poland. Russia is not the boss of Finland nor Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania.

You're against democracy, you're against human rights, you're against international law and you're against free souvereign nations.

Ukraine will not and can not have elections when their country is invaded and occupied by russian nazis.

Who's going to count the votes in Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Cherson?

Who's going to go out to vote so the russian nazis can bomb them easier?

None of Russia's neighbors have attacked russia, but all of russia's neighbors have been attacked by russia.

If we're going to reach any kind of peace russia must be demilitarized so they can't attack their peaceful neighbors!

Ukraine needs more weapons, russia less.[/QUOTE]You're against democracy, you're against human rights, you're against international law and you're against free souvereign nations. *.

LOOOL- What a fucking hypocrite this shameless clown is. Have you no shame? Have you genuinely no shame? Idiot.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2991705]It's hard to imagine that a grownup living in the 21st century, who can read and isn't mentally retarded, can seriously would employ this "Arabs are Semites too" fallacy -- considering that idiocy was debunked over 100 years ago. Wilhelm Marr who SPAWNED the term Anti-Semitism had never seen an Arab in his life. His Anti-Semitic League was always persecuting Jews and Jews alone. He would've been mightily surprised if anyone told him "but Arabs are Semites too, you know, why do you hate them so much"?

[URL]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Marr[/URL]

With every new post you somehow manage to reveal yourself with more and better details. Goodness, if most anti-Semites weren't dumb as a doorknob!

[URL]https://www.britannica.com/topic/antisemitism[/URL]

[URL]https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anti-Semitism[/URL]

[URL]https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/anti-semitism[/URL][/QUOTE]I don't give a fuck who coined the phrase, or how it came to be coined. I literally explained to you how the definition of it does not make sense because scientifically (it is presumptuous to think someone as stupid as you would do science given you cannot fathom basic logic) the Palestinians are SEMETIC.

[URL]https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-801607[/URL]

[URL]https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11543891/[/URL]

[URL]https://www.nbcnews.com/sciencemain/most-ashkenazi-jews-are-genetically-europeans-surprising-study-finds-8c11358210[/URL]

I do not genuinely believe you were born stupid but that your warped perverted hypocritical and callous mindset in watching tens of thousands of innocent women and children be massacred and excusing it is a consequence of your evil ideology. But you must be brought to account for your vile ideology.

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;2991787]How can I be a member of the Trump cult when I have criticized him for his tariffs, excessive government spending, lockdown of our county during the pandemic, and being antivaxx when the vaccine quit working?

That is the evidence you call irrefutable?

Meanwhile, I have not ever seen a Democratic douche like yourself take a position contrary to Democratic talking points. Ever!

I have distinguished between a person voting Democrat and being a cult member Democratic douche like yourself. You have not. Anyone who voted for Trump is in the Trump cult.

As for ad hominems, you might want to know what ad hominem means before you use it, A fallacious objection to an argument or factual claim by appealing to a characteristic or belief of the person making the argument or claim, rather than by addressing the substance of the argument or producing evidence against the claim.

In other words, you do not have to factually refute anyone. You just call them names when you cannot logically refute what they say.

So tell me Xpartan, when have you been at odds with any Democrat positions? Hmmm?[/QUOTE]*As for ad hominems, you might want to know what ad hominem means before you use it, A fallacious objection to an argument or factual claim by appealing to a characteristic or belief of the person making the argument or claim, rather than by addressing the substance of the argument or producing evidence against the claim. *.

Dammit man, will you stop posting "facts"! Get with the programme. We do not do facts on this forum. If Xparatan and his mini me micro intellectual pal say " Up is down" because "State department of Up is Down" said "Up is down" then Goddamnit DO NOT APPEAL TO REASON. Up is down and you are an anti-upper for denying it.

You really need to take a long hard introspective look at yourself, and so do I.

Ok, sarcasam off. These dumb motherfuckers belong in the world of 1984.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2991810]I do realize that you trump-supporters have little to no respect for democracy, laws and the constitution but Ukraine is a constitutional democracy where the President actually respects and follow the law and constitution.

Elections during a war, an invasion and occupation is explicitly forbidden according to the Ukrainian constitution.

It's not enough for you trump supporters to disrespect the US constitution, now you also want to disrespect the Ukrainian constitution.

It's one thing that you're against the constitutions of USA and foreign countries like Ukraine, but your total lack of empathy for human beings (yes, Ukrainians are humans) is deeply disturbing, shocking and shameful.

The Ukrainian people are united, what they want, and what they need is peace.

Can you, trump and putin respect that?

You speak about democracy and pretend to care about the Ukrainian people but when will you respect the Ukrainian people's call for a real peace, democracy and sovereignty from russian imperialism and war crimes?

Show your true colors.

How are the Ukrainians supposed to have elections when a fifth of the country is under direct occupation and the rest is being heavily attacked by russian war criminals?

Who would dare to go to any polling station where they would be sitting ducks for putin and his war criminals?

Do you seek to murder more Ukrainians?

Who will count the votes in the occupied parts of Ukraine? Putin? That would be hilarious.

Please, stop the charades.

Everyone who's ever been to russia or read history or read the news knows that nazism is deeply rooted in the russian society.

Have you ever been to russia? Have you even been to Europe?

The russians for sure didn't seem to mind the nazis when they signed the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact in 1939.

And now 86 years later we might see a trump-putin pact.

It's not even funny anymore to see how the history seems to always repeat itself.

Come on, didn't you know that russia and the nazis were allied when the Second World War started?[/QUOTE]This conflation of nazism and Putin's action is stupid even for a half wit like you.

Russia is traumatised by the nazis' assaults on it.

[URL]https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14526795/Vladimir-Putins-mother-gruesome-deaths-barbaric.html[/URL]

When Putin initiated his attacks on Ukraine, he characterized it as a war on nazism and the Ukrainians as Nazis.

Yes, gaslighting, but then that's something you're very familiar with, aren't you, zionist?

[URL]https://thehill.com/opinion/5198022-ukraine-conflict-disinformation/[/URL]

Good article. Sentiment is changing on the great clusterfuck and probably due to all the independent news outlets.

[QUOTE=ReinerOtto;2991955]Hey, he is American, obviously. No need for education. Anyway, the fact, that Putler learned a lot from Adolf is very obvious.

Hitler-Stalin agreement about Poland, now Putin-Trump trying to do similar business with Ukraine.

Adolfs March into Sudetenland, to free the German part of population. Putlers March into Crimea and Donbass.

Adolfs breach of non-attack agreement with the SU, Putlers breach of Budapest agreement.

The main difference is, that Adolfs troops were welcome in Sudetenland with flowers; Putlers green men were welcome with steel, when trying to go to Kiev.

To be fair, I am not against Russians. But against Putler.

Being someone, who lived and worked 5 years each in RF and UA. Knowing the Palace Square as well as kazantip.[/QUOTE]Sorry to burst your bubble, but Mr. [B]Hot[/B]-[U]not-antiSemite-for-he-loves-Arabs[/U]- [B]Dog[/B] is not an American. He's either English or one of your closest EU neighbors. Being an American is not a pre-requisit for being an ass. Which is precisely what he is.

An ass!

Snotty, ill-natured, uneducated, anti-Semitic ass. The way he's talking to his opponents here is anything but unique. This is how he communicates on all forums -- just check his "musings" in the Jakarta thread.

[QUOTE=Riina;2992048][URL]https://thehill.com/opinion/5198022-ukraine-conflict-disinformation/[/URL]

Good article. Sentiment is changing on the great clusterfuck and probably due to all the independent news outlets.[/QUOTE]I worry Trump and his gang enjoy to suck Putin and want to fuck Ukrainians. I wish courageous Ukrainians won t accept to be fucked by such shameful, about their land, when they were already robbed Crimea by criminal dictator Putin.

[QUOTE=Riina;2992048][URL]https://thehill.com/opinion/5198022-ukraine-conflict-disinformation/[/URL]

Good article. Sentiment is changing on the great clusterfuck and probably due to all the independent news outlets.[/QUOTE]Ah! Alan Kuperman! Where could I've heard this name before? But of course!

[URL]https://www.rt.com/russia/interview-with-allan-j-kuperman[/URL]

[URL]https://www.rt.com/shows/sophieco/265660-west-humanitarian-intervention-invasion[/URL]

No, "sentiment" is not changing, propacondom. Useful idiots and sellouts don't change, LOL!

The Dems still don't understand Trump and his minions.

Sigh.

[QUOTE]Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, didn't try to hide his dismay Monday when asked about a top U.S. official echoing Vladimir Putin's talking Points on Ukraine.

Steve Witkoff, U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, told Fox News over the weekend that some parts of Ukraine are "Russian territory."

Witkoff also appeared on former Fox News host Tucker Carlson's podcast and CNN's Kate Bolduan played a clip of Witkoff telling Carlson that "There have been referendums where the overwhelming majority of the people have indicated that they want to be under Russian rule."

Moulton reacted with total disbelief.

"It's just insane, and I think we've known for a while that Tucker Carlson is on the Kremlin's side and has been for some time, but now the lead negotiator for the United States is taking the Tucker Carlson/Putin position on these negotiations. He's literally negotiating for the other side, negotiating for the aggressor, negotiating for the violator of international law. And what does he say? He says, 'Oh, I take Putin at his word.' Is this guy a total idiot? Is he just completely nave?"

ALSO READ: 'Not much I can do': GOP senator gives up fight against Trump's tariffs

Moulton then suggested that Witkoff was being "paid off by Russia."

Bolduan interjected, "I get your point, but there's no evidence that that has been presented, that there's any payoff that has actually been happening to Steve Witkoff."

"I'm not I'm not saying there's any evidence," Moulton acknowledged. "I'm just trying to understand why on earth would a U.S. negotiator takes our adversary's side? I mean, Reagan must be rolling over in his grave here. The Republican Party has become subservient to Russia."

Boulduan read a portion of a new Time Magazine interview with Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky that read, "I believe Russia has managed to influence some people on the White House Team through information. Their signal to Americans was that Ukraine doesn't want to end the war and something should be done to force them.

Moulton claimed that Zelenskyy was trying to introduce some reality "that the trump Team apparently can't figure out because Vadimir Putin is a KGB agent who is playing Trump like a violin."[/QUOTE]I respectfully disagree.

No, he's not "naive".

Did Russia bribe him? Maybe, he's been with the Master for decades after all.

But they didn't have to.

People who've chosen to serve Trump do not have a backbone. That's why they've been selected. They can't afford a backbone. The backbone would get them in trouble in a New York minute. Even long-term friends.

All Trump had to say was this:

[QUOTE]Hey Steve, you gotta say something nice about Vladimir. I have Tucker Carlson somewhere in my back pocket -- wait, where is -- ah, here he is. Hey Tucker, can you do a solid to my bud Steve here. He needs to talk to you about Russia Russia Russia. And also about that bitchy Ukraine too.[/QUOTE]That's all it took and even less maybe.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2991660]Lmfao, you're a raging anti-semite.

What happened the 7th October 2023?

That's what started this war. [/QUOTE]For ignorant fools like you, the Israeli Palestinian war started on Oct 7, 2023. It didn't. But then again that's what the western media told you so you don't know any better. Just like the Russia Ukraine war didn't start on Feb 2022. I don't have time to educate you right now but may do so later.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2991660]The Palestinians shouldn't have started this war by committing a genocidal attack and mass rapings against Israelis.[/QUOTE]The only genocide that is happened is happening right now in Gaza. But that's okay with you because for you the Palestinians are human animals, right? And the only proven rapes are the ones committed by the IDF of Palestinians.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2991660]

It's important to understand that gaza is full of radical islamistic terrorist groups like hamas and islamic jihad. It's basically no different than isis.

Do you think your lifestyle would be accepted in gaza? Lmfao, they would kill you in 5 seconds and no one would blink an eye or give a second thought about it.

The Christian Palestinians are being treated horribly by the other palestinians.

[URL]https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-7-2011-006179_EN.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com[/URL][/QUOTE]Since you care so much about Christians, what do you have to say about the Christians getting slaughtered in Syria by ISIS which is now backed by the EU and USA?

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2991639]How does this end Blood Red? The west is probably going to keep arming Ukraine in a big way, unless there's a ceasefire that leads to a peace agreement. That means that Russia potentially would need to go medieval to win the war. By that I mean treat Ukraine like Israel treated Gaza. In which case there will be blood. Lots of blood. I don't see Ukraine accepting a ceasefire unless it's able to keep a substantial military; or there's a guarantee by western governments that they'll come to the aid of a neutral Ukraine in the event of an attack; or there are peacekeepers on the ground. And the only nations that appear willing to supply peacekeepers are NATO countries and Australia, which is problematic for the Russians.

Are there any realistic compromises that could end the war without a lot more bloodshed?[/QUOTE]I'll give you a few scenarios as to how this may end (or continue) and then share which I believe is the most likely one:

1. Trump forces Ukraine to accept Russian control of the 4 new territories + Crimea and agree to neutrality. The issue here is that the Russians don't control all of the 4 new territories and Putin has demanded that Ukraine cede full control to the Russians. I find it hard to believe that the Ukrainians will ever accept all these conditions, so this scenario looks a bit unlikely to me.

2. Trump cuts all aid and intelligence to Ukraine and the AFU collapse. While a collapse may very well happen if the conflict continues, I don't see the USA cutting off all aid to Ukraine.

3. The conflict continues, the Russians take more and more territory, and we reach a frozen conflict where both sides stop shooting at some point and the Russians laying claim to Odessa, Kharkov, Dnipropetrovk and Nikolaiv. That will be disastrous for Ukraine. Remember, the longer this goes on, the more territory Ukraine will lose.

Unfortunately, I see 3 as the most likely scenario. I really hope I'm wrong and I hope it's 1 that actually happens.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2991686]Russia started this war just like they started the war against Georgia in 2008 and all the wars against Finland and the Baltics.

I feel sorry for you, hopefully one day you will be less opinionated about something you clearly are so uninformed and misinformed about.[/QUOTE]You don't know the history. Russia attacked Georgia in response to Georgia attacking Russian troops. But you don't know this because the mainstream media didn't tell you this. But now you know.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2991681]

You seem to be uninformed about the fact that Ukraine is a sovereign country with a population of over 40 million people, it's not something that russia has the military capability or strategic ability to defeat. Especially not if Ukraine receives help from the EU.
.[/QUOTE]This shows how little you know. Ukraine HAD a population of 40 million before the war, sure. Tens of millions have left that will never come back. Over a million men have died in a needless war. Ukraine will become a rump dysfunctional state thanks to NATO and the EU. I hope you warmongers are happy.

[QUOTE=Questner;2991879][URL]https://18-24.army.gov.ua/[/URL] Ukraine started to mobilize the younger males age 18 to 24 with 1 year contract. 1 million hryvnas in 3 installments and 120,000 hryvnas per month. The recruits can choose one of 17 brigades. The dead already flooding the front lines, with a description from the Russian army: the dead all have better teeth.

Women also find their way into infantry. I thought it was fake news until I saw the videos of Ukrainian female infantry dead near the destroyed vehicles.

There is an interview on X by Tucker with Steve Witkoff posted on March 21,2025 The first part deals with the Middle East and the second with the conflict in Ukraine. I encourage to listen to this interview in full.[/QUOTE]Until the last Ukrainian. What a horrific needless tragedy.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2992287]Until the last Ukrainian. What a horrific needless tragedy.[/QUOTE]You mean until the last russian?

Putin is just like Stalin. He's willing to sacrifice every russian, except for himself.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2992287]Until the last Ukrainian. What a horrific needless tragedy.[/QUOTE]Right. End the tragedy immediately. Russians withdraw behind 1992 internationally guaranteed borders. Peace talks to begin with reparations.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2992286]This shows how little you know. Ukraine HAD a population of 40 million before the war, sure. Tens of millions have left that will never come back. Over a million men have died in a needless war. Ukraine will become a rump dysfunctional state thanks to NATO and the EU. I hope you warmongers are happy.[/QUOTE]You're the warmonger. Putin started this war and you're willing to do everything to help putin continue his failed war in Ukraine.

You don't seem to understand that everything you say only highlights the importance for Ukraine to not lose this war against the genocidal russian war criminals.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2992285]You don't know the history. Russia attacked Georgia in response to Georgia attacking Russian troops. But you don't know this because the mainstream media didn't tell you this. But now you know.[/QUOTE]No, that's not even close to the truth.

It's preposterous that you even try to tell such a stupid lie.

Everyone in the free world knows that russia started the war against Georgia.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2992281]For ignorant fools like you, the Israeli Palestinian war started on Oct 7, 2023. It didn't. But then again that's what the western media told you so you don't know any better. Just like the Russia Ukraine war didn't start on Feb 2022. I don't have time to educate you right now but may do so later.

The only genocide that is happened is happening right now in Gaza. But that's okay with you because for you the Palestinians are human animals, right? And the only proven rapes are the ones committed by the IDF of Palestinians.

Since you care so much about Christians, what do you have to say about the Christians getting slaughtered in Syria by ISIS which is now backed by the EU and USA?[/QUOTE]Wow, you truly are at odds with all established science and experts. The current ongoing war between Israel and Palestine isn't the first war between them, but there wasn't any war going on the 6th of October before the palestinian genocide and rapes against Israelis the 7th October.

ISIS and HTS are supported by turkey but terror listed by both the EU and USA, maybe you should try to make one single post without telling a lie? That's my challenge for you.

How are you supposed to educate anyone when all know are a bunch of lies?

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2991983]This conflation of nazism and Putin's action is stupid even for a half wit like you.

Russia is traumatised by the nazis' assaults on it.

[URL]https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14526795/Vladimir-Putins-mother-gruesome-deaths-barbaric.html[/URL]

When Putin initiated his attacks on Ukraine, he characterized it as a war on nazism and the Ukrainians as Nazis.

Yes, gaslighting, but then that's something you're very familiar with, aren't you, zionist?[/QUOTE]So why is russia and putin literally giving military training to European nazis? Lmfao, you war loving nazis are hilarious.

[URL]https://amp.dw.com/en/german-neo-nazis-trained-at-russian-camps-report/a-53692907[/URL]

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2992281]For ignorant fools like you, the Israeli Palestinian war started on Oct 7, 2023. It didn't. But then again that's what the western media told you so you don't know any better. Just like the Russia Ukraine war didn't start on Feb 2022. I don't have time to educate you right now but may do so later.

The only genocide that is happened is happening right now in Gaza. But that's okay with you because for you the Palestinians are human animals, right? And the only proven rapes are the ones committed by the IDF of Palestinians.

Since you care so much about Christians, what do you have to say about the Christians getting slaughtered in Syria by ISIS which is now backed by the EU and USA?[/QUOTE]It's sad to see your lies when it's impossible for us Europeans to escape the truth.

[URL]https://www.france24.com/en/france/20240619-french-teens-charged-with-anti-semitic-rape-in-attack-condemned-by-political-leaders[/URL]

During the recent interview Steve Wikoff demonstrated on purpose or honestly that he didn't know the brief. The position of the Russian political leadership on Ukraine even described concisely by the President in February and March 2022 is true to the facts. It's not only four regions plus Crimea that are culturally Russian, it's most of the territory of today's Ukraine.

Ukraine became a de facto independent state as a non-aligned and non-nuclear. No one at the kitchen table in 2007 nervously fidgeted and pleaded with the Rada out of fear to join NATO. Ukraine could have continued to leave in peace but instead the country had lost its independence and allowed the foreign nations, the US and to lesser extent some other EU nations to decide its policy. Its the US who could have left the country in peace but chosen to corrupt its leadership and undermine its independence. Everyone sane, thoughtful and caring understood very well that you don't bring an adversary to your brother's doorstep. The Bucharest memorandum of 2008, the decision to add an aspiration to join NATO in 2015 and the public statements by Zelensky to seek and acquire nuclear weapons in 2021, all led to inevitable conflict.

It's time for Geppetto to put his wooden toy boy back into the box.

My advice in very simple: no carrots for Ukraine with occasional stick, and no stick for Russia with occasional carrot.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2992307]You're the warmonger. Putin started this war and you're willing to do everything to help putin continue his failed war in Ukraine.

You don't seem to understand that everything you say only highlights the importance for Ukraine to not lose this war against the genocidal russian war criminals.[/QUOTE]Ukraine cannot win, shit for brains. What part of that does a Euro like you not get, or not want to get? It's the bitter reality. Soon it will be evident when the Russians take all the 4 new territories and Ukraine declares neutrality. We will revisit this in the near future.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2992322]It's sad to see your lies when it's impossible for us Europeans to escape the truth.

[URL]https://www.france24.com/en/france/20240619-french-teens-charged-with-anti-semitic-rape-in-attack-condemned-by-political-leaders[/URL][/QUOTE]I thought you were talking about the rapes on Oct 7 and the beheaded babies etc, all that which was debunked and proved as Israeli lies.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2992317]Wow, you truly are at odds with all established science and experts. The current ongoing war between Israel and Palestine isn't the first war between them, but there wasn't any war going on the 6th of October before the palestinian genocide and rapes against Israelis the 7th October.[/QUOTE]You really are a dumbass Euro that only watches Fox news or the BBC. The Palestinians were under an illegal criminal blockade which made Gaza an open air prison. Before that, Israel was bombing them left and right in a policy called 'mowing the lawn'. That is all okay for you because you have dehumanized the Palestinians. Palestinian lives do not matter to you. To you, they are human animals. Why don't you just admit that?

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2992317]

ISIS and HTS are supported by turkey but terror listed by both the EU and USA, maybe you should try to make one single post without telling a lie? That's my challenge for you.

How are you supposed to educate anyone when all know are a bunch of lies?[/QUOTE]Well dumbass, maybe you should get up to speed with the news. The EU is now visiting Damascus, talking and cozying up to the terrorist ISIS Government in Damascus and having a donor conference for them in Brussels. I guess Sky news didn't tell you this? Neither did the BBC? Here you go, I am happy to educate fools like you.

[URL]https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/03/world/middleeast/syria-damascus-visit-foreign-ministers.html[/URL]

[URL]https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/03/20/germany-reopens-damascus-embassy-13-years-after-syrian-war-forced-its-closure[/URL]

[URL]https://www.cbsnews.com/news/syria-assad-regime-sednaya-prison-tour-germany-france-hts-sharaa/[/URL]

Why are top EU diplomats visiting Syria if HTS is listed as a terror organization?

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2992311]No, that's not even close to the truth.

It's preposterous that you even try to tell such a stupid lie.

Everyone in the free world knows that russia started the war against Georgia.[/QUOTE]Read up on history, son. You can close your eyes to it but what I stated were facts.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2992307]You're the warmonger. Putin started this war and you're willing to do everything to help putin continue his failed war in Ukraine.

You don't seem to understand that everything you say only highlights the importance for Ukraine to not lose this war against the genocidal russian war criminals.[/QUOTE]I'm calling for the war to end, I'm calling for a ceasefire. You want Ukraine to fight until the last Ukrainian. Who is the warmonger here?

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2992395]I thought you were talking about the rapes on Oct 7 and the beheaded babies etc, all that which was debunked and proved as Israeli lies.[/QUOTE]Why do you even try to deny the horrific rapes and crimes against humanity the palestinians committed on the 7th October?

We all know the truth, we have seen the pictures and heard the testimonies from the victims and witnesses.

[QUOTE=JohnClayton;2992306]Right. End the tragedy immediately. Russians withdraw behind 1992 internationally guaranteed borders. Peace talks to begin with reparations.[/QUOTE]Who let you out of gaga land?

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2992399]I'm calling for the war to end, I'm calling for a ceasefire. You want Ukraine to fight until the last Ukrainian. [b]Who is the warmonger here?[/b][/QUOTE]Still counting fallen Ukrainians I see. While your own losses are approaching 1 million. And fast.

Your boss doesn't want peace Igor. While there is a war he stays in power. When it's over -- well, you don't want the army of armed, disillusioned marauding killers to come back home. Killers who can't and don't want to do anything else. Those few who managed to come back so far have already given a preview of what's coming.

[B]Troops discharged from Putin's war kill and maim more than 750 Russian people[/B]

[URL]https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/troops-discharged-putins-war-kill-34748138[/URL]

Of course, Puting wouldn't give a flying fuck about some dead serfs. But hordes of Orcs coming home to nothing from the war they essentially lost can be more than a nuisance.

They can make life difficult for Puting and his oligarchs.

That's why Puting keeps spewing insane, ridiculous conditions no one will accept.

Puting loves war.

War's good for Puting.

Peace? From his dead, cold fingers.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2992393]Ukraine cannot win, shit for brains. What part of that does a Euro like you not get, or not want to get? It's the bitter reality. Soon it will be evident when the Russians take all the 4 new territories and Ukraine declares neutrality. We will revisit this in the near future.[/QUOTE]We have seen during these three years that russia can't win and resistance is the only way to deal with the russian war criminals.

What you say can only happen if at least A or be is true:

A. Trump supports Russia.

B. Trump is weaker than Biden.

A euro is a currency, a coin. I'm not a coin. I'm a person, I'm a European.

It's funny how all of Europe's neighbors are obsessed with us while we just want to be left alone and continue improving our countries.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2992404]Why do you even try to deny the horrific rapes and crimes against humanity the palestinians committed on the 7th October?

We all know the truth, we have seen the pictures and heard the testimonies from the victims and witnesses.[/QUOTE]Share the pictures of the rapes and the beheadings if you have seen them. Share the evidence. There is none.

There is however evidence of IDF criminals raping Palestinians:

[URL]https://theintercept.com/2024/08/09/israel-prison-sde-teiman-palestinian-abuse-torture/[/URL]

[URL]https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israel-faces-backlash-amid-fresh-evidence-of-war-crimes/3288932[/URL]

[URL]https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/israel-sexual-abuse-palestinian-prisoners-rcna165811[/URL]

Do you condemn this?

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2992427]Still counting fallen Ukrainians I see. While your own losses are approaching 1 million. And fast.

.[/QUOTE]As I said to you before you dumb bastard, you have no evidence to back up that fiction.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2992472]As I said to you before you dumb bastard, you have no evidence to back up that fiction.[/QUOTE]Wow, why do you get so defensive?

[URL]https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/minister-for-the-armed-forces-statement-on-ukraine-19-december-2024[/URL]

A lot of Russians are dying, a lot. All because putin wanted to be the tough guy. Very sad.

Maybe, maybe instead he should have asked for hair tips from Trump or just gone to turkey to get a hair transplant.

It might cost a bit, but still a hell of a lot cheaper than the failed, failed, super failed war in Ukraine.

And anyways, since when is money an issue for Putin? We all know what Big Vlad likes to say;.

Russia's money are my money, that's why I'm the richest, toughest guy alive".

But as we all can see, what's money worth when you can't have hair on your head or military victories in Ukraine?

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2992464]We have seen during these three years that russia can't win and resistance is the only way to deal with the russian war criminals.

What you say can only happen if at least A or be is true:

A. Trump supports Russia.

B. Trump is weaker than Biden.

A euro is a currency, a coin. I'm not a coin. I'm a person, I'm a European.

It's funny how all of Europe's neighbors are obsessed with us while we just want to be left alone and continue improving our countries.[/QUOTE]What you're too stupid to comprehend is that Russia defeated Ukraine in March 2022 when Ukraine sued for peace in Istanbul and said they would be neutral and a peace agreement was almost reached before UK and USA derailed it. Since then, it's a proxy war between USA aka NATO and Russia. And still Russia is slowly but surely winning on the battlefield. Ukraine can't sustain this, they don't have the manpower, Russia does. Anyone with any brain would know that Ukraine cannot defeat Russia, just like Mexico cannot defeat USA. This is a war of attrition. The Russians are slowly winning. The longer this goes on, the more territory Ukraine will lose and more men. If you Euros care so much about Ukraine, put your own troops there, but you will never ever do that because you to use Ukraine to weaken Russian using Ukrainian men and women. You Euros are sick warmongers and cowards and I'm glad there is some sanity on this in the White House and they will soon put a stop to this madness.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2992396]You really are a dumbass Euro that only watches Fox news or the BBC. The Palestinians were under an illegal criminal blockade which made Gaza an open air prison. Before that, Israel was bombing them left and right in a policy called 'mowing the lawn'. That is all okay for you because you have dehumanized the Palestinians. Palestinian lives do not matter to you. To you, they are human animals. Why don't you just admit that?

Well dumbass, maybe you should get up to speed with the news. The EU is now visiting Damascus, talking and cozying up to the terrorist ISIS Government in Damascus and having a donor conference for them in Brussels. I guess Sky news didn't tell you this? Neither did the BBC? Here you go, I am happy to educate fools like you.

[URL]https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/03/world/middleeast/syria-damascus-visit-foreign-ministers.html[/URL]

[URL]https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/03/20/germany-reopens-damascus-embassy-13-years-after-syrian-war-forced-its-closure[/URL]

[URL]https://www.cbsnews.com/news/syria-assad-regime-sednaya-prison-tour-germany-france-hts-sharaa/[/URL]

Why are top EU diplomats visiting Syria if HTS is listed as a terror organization?[/QUOTE]Dude, have you even been to Europe? No one in Europe watches Fox News. You definitely have been watching Al Jazeera and Russia Today way too much.

In regards to Gaza allegedly being an "open-air prison" I find it pretty funny how the palestinian " prisoners" seem to have no problem smuggling in long-range rockets, anti-tank missiles and drones.

Since when do prison inmates have ballistic rockets and anti-tank guided missiles? If it's truly a prison, maybe they should use the tunnels to escape instead of stockpiling weapons? Or does that ruin the victim narrative?

It's a bit hypocritical to cry about Gaza being some kind of "outdoor prison" considering how the gazans raped, tortured, and murdered thousands of Israeli civilians, including children and grandmas.

I don't get your hypocrisy, Hamas, Islamic Jihad are ideological siblings of HTS and Isis. It's the same thing.

While speaking of hypocrisy; I don't see you complaining about what's going on inside of Russia and the violence, oppression and Islamization of Dagestan and Chechnya. Or the fact that Assad and Putin's best friends in Iran are murdering school girls for not wearing a hijab. Iran is the Shia version of ISIS, HTS and Iran is even literally best pals with Islamic Jihad and Hamas.

It's also funny how you sent me a link from the turkish fake news government media Anadolu Agency meanwhile the turkish dictator erdogan is literally guilty of putting HTS in power and empowering ISIS and other terrorist groups to murder Kurds in northern Syria.

Regarding Syria, of course the EU is going to take an interest. There are millions of Syrians living in Europe, and unless the EU manages to have a positive impact on the HTS, another migrant crisis is just around the corner.

It's called diplomacy for a reason, use the leverage you have to create the best possible outcome. The golden rule in geopolitics is that it hates vacuums. Point in case: Russia is already trying to get in bed with HTS, so maybe you should turn your fake criticism away from the EU and turn it to your dear pal tough guy vlad putin.

And by the way, the German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock didn't even shake hands with the HTS during her visit. In what world is that a "cozy" meeting? Welcome to Russia Today, your ultimate science fiction media! Guaranteed not a truth in sight.

Please tell me, what exactly did you find so controversial in the links you posted? Because after reading them, I see the follow statements:

French Foreign Minister Barrot expressing hope for a "sovereign, stable, and peaceful" Syria, while acknowledging that it's a "fragile hope. "

German Foreign Minister Baerbock saying Germany wants to help Syria become a "safe home" for all its people and a "functioning state, with full control over its territory. "

The Biden administration stating that the US could recognize a new Syrian government under certain conditions, including protecting minorities, ensuring humanitarian aid, preventing terrorism, and securing chemical and biological weapons.

Baerbock calling for an "inclusive and peaceful transfer of power" and warning against acts of vengeance, delays in elections, and the Islamization of Syria's judicial and education systems.

Barrot meeting with Syria's Christian communities and emphasizing France's commitment to a pluralistic Syria with equal rights for all, including minorities.

So, tell me, which part of this is the scandal? That European leaders are advocating for democracy, stability, human rights for all Syrians, including women & minorities, and the prevention of radicalism? That the EU and US want to avoid Syria becoming a terrorist haven? Or that they're calling for a peaceful transition into democracy?

You're so desperate to spin reality that you've ended up proving the exact opposite of what you were trying to say. Maybe you should step out of the Russia Today sci-fi fantasy world and start engaging with reality?

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2992540]What you're too stupid to comprehend is that Russia defeated Ukraine in March 2022 when Ukraine sued for peace in Istanbul and said they would be neutral and a peace agreement was almost reached before UK and USA derailed it. Since then, it's a proxy war between USA aka NATO and Russia. And still Russia is slowly but surely winning on the battlefield. Ukraine can't sustain this, they don't have the manpower, Russia does. Anyone with any brain would know that Ukraine cannot defeat Russia, just like Mexico cannot defeat USA. This is a war of attrition. The Russians are slowly winning. The longer this goes on, the more territory Ukraine will lose and more men. If you Euros care so much about Ukraine, put your own troops there, but you will never ever do that because you to use Ukraine to weaken Russian using Ukrainian men and women. You Euros are sick warmongers and cowards and I'm glad there is some sanity on this in the White House and they will soon put a stop to this madness.[/QUOTE]Is this some sort of joke?

Ukraine is obviously not defeated.

Russia hasn't won the war, and they won't win the war.

The Russian losses on the battlefield are not sustainable.

The current Russian economy is not sustainable.

Modern warfare is about military technology, strategy and undoubtedly much less about manpower.

Putin started this war, just like Putin started a war against Georgia in 2008. What you write is not even close to be even remotely true.

War is Russia's thing, war is Putin's thing. Russia can't compete with USA, China or the EU when it comes to economy so they have to resort to wars to remain somewhat relevant.

Without war Russia is nothing. That's why all of the countries in Eastern Europe are turning to the EU. The EU is successful, Russia is not.

John McCain said it best: "Russia is a gas station with nukes".

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2992399]I'm calling for the war to end, I'm calling for a ceasefire. You want Ukraine to fight until the last Ukrainian. Who is the warmonger here?[/QUOTE]Putin doesn't want to stop war, same like Netanhyaou, and Trump and his gang want to suck Putin for business.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2992395]I thought you were talking about the rapes on Oct 7 and the beheaded babies etc, all that which was debunked and proved as Israeli lies.[/QUOTE]It can't be lies, because Israelis said there were beheaded babies, and the Israelis are our friends. They wouldn't lie so it must be true.

Meanwhile, all those Palestinian babies having their limbs torn into pieces, all lies and propaganda.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;2992051]Sorry to burst your bubble, but Mr. [B]Hot[/B]-[U]not-antiSemite-for-he-loves-Arabs[/U]- [B]Dog[/B] is not an American. He's either English or one of your closest EU neighbors. Being an American is not a pre-requisit for being an ass. Which is precisely what he is.

An ass!

Snotty, ill-natured, uneducated, anti-Semitic ass. The way he's talking to his opponents here is anything but unique. This is how he communicates on all forums -- just check his "musings" in the Jakarta thread.[/QUOTE]I'm Irish, and I understand the pain of the Palestinians at the hands of your people because the same was done to my people, motherfucker, by the English who brutalised my people.

You will only understand the suffering associated with brutal occupation if you are subject to it. I hope you are subject to this at some point in your life.

QUOTE=HotDogI do realise that hypocritical zionists and / or imperialistic neo cons racists will oppose the criticism of zionists and Israel by hypocritical attacks. I call Zionists, "Zionists", because as your Zionist counterpart asserted: if the shoe fits- let the zionist wear it. [QUOTE.

[URL]https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-847309[/URL] Goldknopf filmed dancing to anti-Zionist Neturei Karta anthem, sparks outrage.

Why is everyone talking about Gaza and the middle east in this here Ukraine section? Weird no? It's called stupid shit in Kyiv. I would love to bang some hot blonde babes in Kyiv. You know if memory serves, I did manage to bang a Ukraine babe in Prague years and years ago. So that's a notch on my belt. But yes, I would love to bang a hijab Palestinian babe too, but that's a long shot. I tell ya, if that happens, like a Mia Khalifa huge tits type arab hijab babe, they can chop my head off right away, cause I'd die happy. Hah!

QUOTE=Newton York; Why is everyone talking about Gaza and the middle east in this here Ukraine section? Weird no? It's called stupid shit in Kyiv. I would love to bang some hot blonde babes in Kyiv. You know if memory serves, I did manage to bang a Ukraine babe in Prague years and years ago. So that's a notch on my belt. But yes, I would love to bang a hijab Palestinian babe too, but that's a long shot. I tell ya, if that happens, like a Mia Khalifa huge tits type arab hijab babe, they can chop my head off right away, cause I'd die happy. Hah!/ QUOTE.

Have you seen what a woman looks like wearing The Frumqa?? [URL]https://forward.com/opinion/309258/jewish-woman-under-the-veil/[/URL].

[QUOTE=Sirioja;2992571]Putin doesn't want to stop war, same like Netanhyaou, and Trump and his gang want to suck Putin for business.[/QUOTE]Putin killed hundreds Russians with FSB on 1999 , then made war with Tchetchens and got power after fucking Russians.

QUOTE=Jojosun; QUOTE=HotDogI do realise that hypocritical zionists and or imperialistic neo cons racists will oppose the criticism of zionists and Israel by hypocritical attacks. I call Zionists, "Zionists", because as your Zionist counterpart asserted: if the shoe fits- let the zionist wear it. QUOTE.

[URL]www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-[/URL] Goldknopf filmed dancing to anti-Zionist Neturei Karta anthem, sparks outrage / QUOTE.

Some really Anti Zionists this lot in Israel. [URL]https://www.timesofisrael.com/outrage-as-students-at-state-funded-haredi-yeshiva-sing-anti-zionist-anti-enlistment-anthem/Outrage[/URL] as students at state-funded Haredi yeshiva sing anti-Zionist, anti-enlistment anthem.

'We don't believe in the government of infidels and we won't show up at their army recruitment offices,' sing thousands of Ateret Shlomo young men at mass wedding.

[URL]https://www.timesofisrael.com/outrage-as-students-at-state-funded-haredi-yeshiva-sing-anti-zionist-anti-enlistment-anthem/[/URL]

'We don't believe in the government of infidels and we won't show up at their army recruitment offices,' sing thousands of Ateret Shlomo young men at mass wedding. QUOTE.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2992533]Wow, why do you get so defensive?

[URL]https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/minister-for-the-armed-forces-statement-on-ukraine-19-december-2024[/URL]

A lot of Russians are dying, a lot. All because putin wanted to be the tough guy. Very sad.

Maybe, maybe instead he should have asked for hair tips from Trump or just gone to turkey to get a hair transplant.

It might cost a bit, but still a hell of a lot cheaper than the failed, failed, super failed war in Ukraine.

And anyways, since when is money an issue for Putin? We all know what Big Vlad likes to say;.

Russia's money are my money, that's why I'm the richest, toughest guy alive".

But as we all can see, what's money worth when you can't have hair on your head or military victories in Ukraine?[/QUOTE]I'm not defensive, I just like to call Xpartan names cause he's a dumb fuck.

Of course a lot of Russians are dying. But the kill ratio between Russians to Ukrainians is 1:7, in some places 1:10.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2992551]Dude, have you even been to Europe? No one in Europe watches Fox News. You definitely have been watching Al Jazeera and Russia Today way too much.[/QUOTE]Sorry, I should've said Sky News in addition to the BBC, etc.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2992551]

In regards to Gaza allegedly being an "open-air prison" I find it pretty funny how the palestinian " prisoners" seem to have no problem smuggling in long-range rockets, anti-tank missiles and drones.

Since when do prison inmates have ballistic rockets and anti-tank guided missiles? If it's truly a prison, maybe they should use the tunnels to escape instead of stockpiling weapons? Or does that ruin the victim narrative?[/QUOTE]It's amazing how ignorant you are. Gaza is under an Israeli OCCUPATION and BLOCKADE. But for you that is okay because you consider the Palestinians 'human animals'.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2992551]It's a bit hypocritical to cry about Gaza being some kind of "outdoor prison" considering how the gazans raped, tortured, and murdered thousands of Israeli civilians, including children and grandmas.[/QUOTE]Once again, you have no idea what you're talking about. There were no rapes or beheadings. On Oct 7 2023, close to 1200 people were killed. Many out of those, about 400, were Israeli soldiers who are fair game in a war. From the other 800, many were killed by the Israeli military as part of the Hannibal Directive that was implemented. You obviously have no idea about any of this so please google it. And yes, Hamas did kill several hundred innocent Israeli civilians which is a crime and they should not have done that and I condemn them for doing that.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2992551]
I don't get your hypocrisy, Hamas, Islamic Jihad are ideological siblings of HTS and Isis. It's the same thing.[/QUOTE]No it's not the same thing. One is fighting an illegal occupation and is a resistance group.

HTS = Al Qaida rebranded. Get a clue.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2992551]

While speaking of hypocrisy; I don't see you complaining about what's going on inside of Russia and the violence, oppression and Islamization of Dagestan and Chechnya. Or the fact that Assad and Putin's best friends in Iran are murdering school girls for not wearing a hijab. Iran is the Shia version of ISIS, HTS and Iran is even literally best pals with Islamic Jihad and Hamas.

It's also funny how you sent me a link from the turkish fake news government media Anadolu Agency meanwhile the turkish dictator erdogan is literally guilty of putting HTS in power and empowering ISIS and other terrorist groups to murder Kurds in northern Syria.[/QUOTE]The Syria project is one sponsored by the USA, Israel and Turkey.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2992551]

Regarding Syria, of course the EU is going to take an interest. There are millions of Syrians living in Europe, and unless the EU manages to have a positive impact on the HTS, another migrant crisis is just around the corner.
[/QUOTE]HTS = Al Qaida. Do you not understand this? Their criminal terrorist leader JOLANI who now calls himself Al Sharraa (nice name change) is a hardcore Al Qaida terrorist. He was number 2 to Al Baghdadi in ISIS. Do you know any of this?

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2992551]
It's called diplomacy for a reason, use the leverage you have to create the best possible outcome. [/QUOTE]Yeah, support terrorists when it suits you. See how that turns out.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2992551]The golden rule in geopolitics is that it hates vacuums. Point in case: Russia is already trying to get in bed with HTS, so maybe you should turn your fake criticism away from the EU and turn it to your dear pal tough guy vlad putin.

And by the way, the German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock didn't even shake hands with the HTS during her visit. In what world is that a "cozy" meeting? [/QUOTE]Maybe she didn't want to cozy up too much to the terrorist. I mean it is terrible optics. How did the donor conference.

For the HTS terrorists turn out?

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2992551]

Welcome to Russia Today, your ultimate science fiction media! Guaranteed not a truth in sight.

Please tell me, what exactly did you find so controversial in the links you posted? Because after reading them, I see the follow statements:

French Foreign Minister Barrot expressing hope for a "sovereign, stable, and peaceful" Syria, while acknowledging that it's a "fragile hope. "

German Foreign Minister Baerbock saying Germany wants to help Syria become a "safe home" for all its people and a "functioning state, with full control over its territory. "

The Biden administration stating that the US could recognize a new Syrian government under certain conditions, including protecting minorities, ensuring humanitarian aid, preventing terrorism, and securing chemical and biological weapons.

Baerbock calling for an "inclusive and peaceful transfer of power" and warning against acts of vengeance, delays in elections, and the Islamization of Syria's judicial and education systems.

Barrot meeting with Syria's Christian communities and emphasizing France's commitment to a pluralistic Syria with equal rights for all, including minorities.

So, tell me, which part of this is the scandal? That European leaders are advocating for democracy, stability, human rights for all Syrians, including women & minorities, and the prevention of radicalism? That the EU and US want to avoid Syria becoming a terrorist haven? Or that they're calling for a peaceful transition into democracy?

You're so desperate to spin reality that you've ended up proving the exact opposite of what you were trying to say. Maybe you should step out of the Russia Today sci-fi fantasy world and start engaging with reality?[/QUOTE]Like I said, you're forgetting or conveniently ignoring that HTS = AL QAIDA. If you're okay with that, say so.

And these HTS terrorists killed tens of thousands of Christians and Alawites in the coastal regions of Syria. The media you watch didn't tell you this but I'm happy to educate you again.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2992555]Is this some sort of joke?

Ukraine is obviously not defeated.

Russia hasn't won the war, and they won't win the war.

The Russian losses on the battlefield are not sustainable.

The current Russian economy is not sustainable.

Modern warfare is about military technology, strategy and undoubtedly much less about manpower.

Putin started this war, just like Putin started a war against Georgia in 2008. What you write is not even close to be even remotely true.

War is Russia's thing, war is Putin's thing. Russia can't compete with USA, China or the EU when it comes to economy so they have to resort to wars to remain somewhat relevant.

Without war Russia is nothing. That's why all of the countries in Eastern Europe are turning to the EU. The EU is successful, Russia is not.

John McCain said it best: "Russia is a gas station with nukes".[/QUOTE]You once again fail at reading comprehension. Russia defeated Ukraine in March 2022 when Zelensky sued for peace in Istanbul.

Since then, it is Russia vs NATO using the poor innocent Ukrainians as cannon fodder.

What part of that do you not understand? Do you want me to type that for you in a different language? Which Euro language do you speak? Or I can dumb it down for you so you finally grasp it.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2993194]You once again fail at reading comprehension. Russia defeated Ukraine in March 2022 when Zelensky sued for peace in Istanbul.

Since then, it is Russia vs NATO using the poor innocent Ukrainians as cannon fodder.

What part of that do you not understand? Do you want me to type that for you in a different language? Which Euro language do you speak? Or I can dumb it down for you so you finally grasp it.[/QUOTE]Criminal dictator Putin seems afraid of Zelensky who had balls to resist to him since 3 years, when he propose now peace without Zelensky, but just lies, when only wanting to keep on war to kill Ukraine. Zelensky is not like USA on their knees sucking DT Putin.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2993194]You once again fail at reading comprehension. Russia defeated Ukraine in March 2022 when Zelensky sued for peace in Istanbul.

Since then, it is Russia vs NATO using the poor innocent Ukrainians as cannon fodder.

What part of that do you not understand? Do you want me to type that for you in a different language? Which Euro language do you speak? Or I can dumb it down for you so you finally grasp it.[/QUOTE]Zelenskyy wanted peace before the war started, Zelenskyy wants peace now, but putin wants war and that's the only reason why there is a war in Ukraine today. Until you manage to comprehend that one single, simple thing you won't understand what's going on in the world today.

Do you really believe what you write on here?

Everyone else knows that it's not true, you can get mad but your childish attempts to insult me doesn't work. It just makes you come across as intellectually challenged.

You're a liar just like putin and trump. I will never be stupid enough to believe any of your blatant lies.

It's the war criminal Putin and his imperialistic russia that are starting wars in Europe. NATO isn't even involved in the war, you have to be able to do better than this.

Ukraine doesn't start wars, Ukraine's neighbors are not afraid of Ukraine. France doesn't start wars, France's neighbors are not afraid of France.

It's russia, russia, russia that is starting all the wars!

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2993191]I'm not defensive, I just like to call Xpartan names cause he's a dumb fuck.

Of course a lot of Russians are dying. But the kill ratio between Russians to Ukrainians is 1:7, in some places 1:10.[/QUOTE]More russia soldiers are dead and are dying, that's why putin had to beg North Korea to send troops.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2993205]

NATO isn't even involved in the war
[/QUOTE]LOL.

Ignorant, stupid and hopeless.

I rest my case.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2993206]More russia soldiers are dead and are dying, that's why putin had to beg North Korea to send troops.[/QUOTE]I know you're not the brightest bulb but let me ask you something (I hope the simple question won't be too challenging for you mentally) and then explain something very simply to you so even you can maybe understand. Do try.

I know you do not have a military background, but this is a war of attrition. What matters the most in a war of attrition? Artillery.

The Russians have a 7 to 1 advantage in artillery. In some place, 10 to 1. Who is going to lose more men?

Try to grasp that and have a think.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2993236]LOL.

Ignorant, stupid and hopeless.

I rest my case.[/QUOTE]You sure are a stupid, ignorant, hopeless liar and that's exactly why all you have to offer are lies and insults.

I don't feel threatened by you in any way; your anger, lies and insults just confirms that you have nothing better to respond with.

You're defenseless against the truth.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2993193]Sorry, I should've said Sky News in addition to the BBC, etc.

It's amazing how ignorant you are. Gaza is under an Israeli OCCUPATION and BLOCKADE. But for you that is okay because you consider the Palestinians 'human animals'.

Once again, you have no idea what you're talking about. There were no rapes or beheadings. On Oct 7 2023, close to 1200 people were killed. Many out of those, about 400, were Israeli soldiers who are fair game in a war. From the other 800, many were killed by the Israeli military as part of the Hannibal Directive that was implemented. You obviously have no idea about any of this so please google it. And yes, Hamas did kill several hundred innocent Israeli civilians which is a crime and they should not have done that and I condemn them for doing that.

No it's not the same thing. One is fighting an illegal occupation and is a resistance group.

HTS = Al Qaida rebranded. Get a clue.

The Syria project is one sponsored by the USA, Israel and Turkey.

HTS = Al Qaida. Do you not understand this? Their criminal terrorist leader JOLANI who now calls himself Al Sharraa (nice name change) is a hardcore Al Qaida terrorist. He was number 2 to Al Baghdadi in ISIS. Do you know any of this?

Yeah, support terrorists when it suits you. See how that turns out.

Maybe she didn't want to cozy up too much to the terrorist. I mean it is terrible optics. How did the donor conference.

For the HTS terrorists turn out?

Like I said, you're forgetting or conveniently ignoring that HTS = AL QAIDA. If you're okay with that, say so.

And these HTS terrorists killed tens of thousands of Christians and Alawites in the coastal regions of Syria. The media you watch didn't tell you this but I'm happy to educate you again.[/QUOTE]And that is why HTS is considered a terrorist organization by both USA and the EU. Just like hamas and islamic jihad.

HTS, Al Qaida, hamas, islamic jihad and isis have the same ideology. They are all terrorists.

And that's why it's great to see the EU doing their best to use their leverage to pressure HTS into having free and democratic elections and ensure humans rights for all Syrians regardless of gender and religious affiliation.

But it's not looking great and that's why HTS is still on the terror list.

It really isn't difficult to understand for most people.

It's a shame that putin betrayed Assad just like he betrayed Armenia. Putin sure is doing a lot of losing.

You support russian war criminals, palestinian terrorists and rapists.

We all know what happened the 7th, you can repeat your lies and your bad excuses but you will never convince anyone with a brain.

Originally Posted by ShooBree View Original Post.

NATO isn't even involved in the war. QUOTE.

[URL]https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_192648.htm.[/URL] Since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, NATO and Allies cooperation has been intensified in critical areas.

And of course Putin is now an indicted war criminal with an arrest warrant on his head, as well as Netanyahu and both Rightly so.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2993237]I know you're not the brightest bulb but let me ask you something...[/QUOTE]Simply another tactic of of authoritarian propagandists. 1) Propaganda, disinformation and false information. If that doesn't work then 2) Insult and denigrate the opposition. And, if neither of those works, then 3) Flood the information space with lies and gibberish to blot out any real information.

Transparently this is paid propaganda. I don't know how this particular agent is paid, whether its by the word or the post; however, he is obviously required to pump out a certain amount of crap every day. It is clearly futile to try to engage him on a rational level. I am sure he is just a low level minion working at his "job". It is actually possible that his compensation is dependant on the level of engagement his posts get on this and other forums. I suggest you don't engage -- it's a waste of bandwidth.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2993236]LOL.

Ignorant, stupid and hopeless.

I rest my case.[/QUOTE]I went through Shoobree's posts. Nearly all in the various stupid shit / American politics sections and some deleted by the mod for being argumentative. Hookers sure earn their crust dealing with these jerk-off locos.

[QUOTE=Jarango;2993282]I went through Shoobree's posts. Nearly all in the various stupid shit / American politics sections and some deleted by the mod for being argumentative. Hookers sure earn their crust dealing with these jerk-off locos.[/QUOTE]Wow, aren't you embarrassed by your own hypocrisy and the fact that I so easily managed to make you my stalker or are you simply too stupid to understand how ridiculous you are?

But have fun licking the boots of putin's boot lickers.

[QUOTE=NewtonYork;2992623]Why is everyone talking about Gaza and the middle east in this here Ukraine section? Weird no? It's called stupid shit in Kyiv. I would love to bang some hot blonde babes in Kyiv. You know if memory serves, I did manage to bang a Ukraine babe in Prague years and years ago. So that's a notch on my belt. But yes, I would love to bang a hijab Palestinian babe too, but that's a long shot. I tell ya, if that happens, like a Mia Khalifa huge tits type arab hijab babe, they can chop my head off right away, cause I'd die happy. Hah![/QUOTE]Palestine has been raised as an issue for one reason alone: the hypocrisy of certain motherfuckers who whilst condemning Russia for its aggression excuse Israel's equal and frequently worse evil genocide and gang rapes and brutalisation of Palestinians and these same motherfuckers' attempts to stifle this condemnation by labelling people criticising Israel and Israel supporters as anti semitic.

[QUOTE=Jojosun;2993271]Originally Posted by ShooBree View Original Post.

NATO isn't even involved in the war. QUOTE.

[URL]https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_192648.htm.[/URL] Since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, NATO and Allies cooperation has been intensified in critical areas.

And of course Putin is now an indicted war criminal with an arrest warrant on his head, as well as Netanyahu and both Rightly so.[/QUOTE]Why even bother with this ignorant fool? LOL.

Here's the actual link:

[URL]https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_192648.htm[/URL]

NATO and Allies continue to provide Ukraine with unprecedented levels of support, helping to uphold its fundamental right to self-defence.

But NATO isn't even involved in the war he says. This guy makes Xpartan look bright.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2993259]And that is why HTS is considered a terrorist organization by both USA and the EU. Just like hamas and islamic jihad.

HTS, Al Qaida, hamas, islamic jihad and isis have the same ideology. They are all terrorists.

And that's why it's great to see the EU doing their best to use their leverage to pressure HTS into having free and democratic elections and ensure humans rights for all Syrians regardless of gender and religious affiliation.
[/QUOTE]So you agree HTS are terrorists, and you admit that the EU is cozying up to them because it suits them right now. That's all I'm saying too. Glad we could find some common ground, dipshit.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2993412]So you agree HTS are terrorists, and you admit that the EU is cozying up to them because it suits them right now. That's all I'm saying too. Glad we could find some common ground, dipshit.[/QUOTE]What I am saying is that you're a liar and the EU is pressuring the HTS to have elections and respect human rights for all Syrians. Meanwhile putin is supporting the terrorists in Tehran guilty of murdering school girls for not wearing hijabs and you're supporting palestinian rapists and terrorists.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2993411]Why even bother with this ignorant fool? LOL.

Here's the actual link:

[URL]https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_192648.htm[/URL]

NATO and Allies continue to provide Ukraine with unprecedented levels of support, helping to uphold its fundamental right to self-defence.

But NATO isn't even involved in the war he says. This guy makes Xpartan look bright.[/QUOTE]Ridiculous, NATO isn't involved in the war. China, Brazil and India are more involved in the war and their support for russia.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2993283]Wow, aren't you embarrassed by your own hypocrisy and the fact that I so easily managed to make you my stalker or are you simply too stupid to understand how ridiculous you are?

But have fun licking the boots of putin's boot lickers.[/QUOTE]You do not belong here. It took me about 2 minutes to glance through your posts. Whatever educational system you are a product if is broken, just like you are a broken record.

[QUOTE=Jarango;2993432]You do not belong here. It took me about 2 minutes to glance through your posts. Whatever educational system you are a product if is broken, just like you are a broken record.[/QUOTE]Wow, I love that you read all of my posts and feel so threatened by my words but yet you failed to formulate any criticism that doesn't make yourself come across as dumb and uneducated.

But don't worry, I will continue to speak the truth on this forum and you will continue to cry.

[QUOTE=Jarango;2993432]You do not belong here. It took me about 2 minutes to glance through your posts. Whatever educational system you are a product if is broken, just like you are a broken record.[/QUOTE]This is paid political propaganda. The poster should be banned from this forum.

[QUOTE=JohnClayton;2993482]This is paid political propaganda. The poster should be banned from this forum.[/QUOTE]If you lot were parrots, you would be eaten, because you are incapable of learnign any more lines. Despicable, Nazi worshipping human beings.

[QUOTE=JohnClayton;2993482]This is paid political propaganda. The poster should be banned from this forum.[/QUOTE]You're pathetic. How many times have you called for a poster to be banned just because you disagree with them?

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2993423]Ridiculous, NATO isn't involved in the war. China, Brazil and India are more involved in the war and their support for russia.[/QUOTE]As I said, your dumbass makes Xpartan look intelligent.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2993604]As I said, your dumbass makes Xpartan look intelligent.[/QUOTE]Coming from you I will take that as a compliment. Everyone already knows that russia can't win a war against Ukraine and would get completely annihilated if NATO decided to join in.

You're not living in this world, you're peddling lies to support russian war criminals.

Anyways, I will end my post with some relatively positive news from Syria;.

[URL]https://www.timesofisrael.com/syria-swears-in-new-transitional-government-four-months-after-ousting-assad/amp/[/URL]

[URL]https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/syrian-christian-hind-kabawat-becomes-first-woman-named-to-new-syria-government/[/URL]

The new Syrian government is already less radical than the dictatorship in Iran, Gaza and the russian regions Dagestan and Chechnya.

Here are the dolls their kids are supposed to play with, dolls of young women with shredded limbs. And before any of our resident morons scream about Putler, there are plenty of such women in Ukraine, cannon fodder for Zelensky; s wife.

The 300,000 odd Nazis who run Ukraine are a suck lot and so are their paid sock puppets here.

Dude, no way is that real. It just can't be. It's got to be AI. Heck, at this point I might be an AI. Just some chat bot somewhere thinking I'm actually alive. Anyway, no way Ukrainians would bother wasting time making toys like that when they actually have real shit to deal with like fighting a war.

Now, if only I can have sex with some of them hijab babes in gaza.

[QUOTE=Jarango;2993681]Here are the dolls their kids are supposed to play with, dolls of young women with shredded limbs. And before any of our resident morons scream about Putler, there are plenty of such women in Ukraine, cannon fodder for Zelensky; s wife.

The 300,000 odd Nazis who run Ukraine are a suck lot and so are their paid sock puppets here.[/QUOTE]LOL, you are a clear case of the ZDS, Zelenskyj derangement syndrome.

It will get even worse for you when you realize that Zelenskyj will have streets, squares and avenues named after him all over Europe. Not to mention if you dare to open a history book; Zelenskyj is the 21th century version of Churchill and Putin is the 21th century Russian Hitler.

It's over for you buddy boy. You have already lost. You're on the wrong side of history. Just read the history books.

There's a comprehensive, well-researched article in today's New York Times about military aspects of the war in Ukraine, written from the American perspective. It's well worth a read. I believe you can read 10 free articles a month if you sign up with the NYT, but if anyone wants to read it and can't, please shoot me a PM and I'll try to figure out a way of getting it to you. It's far to long to post excerpts here.

My big takeaway, and I'm admittedly biased, is that there was a good chance Russia would have used tactical nuclear weapons if Ukraine had looked like it was going to take Crimea. In other words, Russia is not going to lose this war, so in my opinion Ukraine and the West should be looking for an end to this through peaceful means.

The piece describes several instances where Ukraine unwisely ignored USA Intelligence and advice at pivotal points because some of its generals didn't trust it, or were overly cautious, or were overly concerned with politics. Again though, it's written from the American perspective.

[URL]https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/29/world/europe/us-ukraine-military-war-wiesbaden.html[/URL]

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2993726]My big takeaway, and I'm admittedly biased, is that there was a good chance Russia would have used tactical nuclear weapons if Ukraine had looked like it was going to take Crimea.

[URL]https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/29/world/europe/us-ukraine-military-war-wiesbaden.html[/URL][/QUOTE]Ukrtane has no chance of taking Crimea. The only thing Ukraine is taking is Western tax payers for a very expensive ride.

Thuis aritcle is written as the USA is openly talking about using nukes on Iran.

Edit: Is this the piece, comrade? https://archive.is/Fdwq3

[QUOTE=Jarango;2993748]Ukrtane has no chance of taking Crimea. The only thing Ukraine is taking is Western tax payers for a very expensive ride.

Thuis aritcle is written as the USA is openly talking about using nukes on Iran.

Edit: Is this the piece, comrade? https://archive.is/Fdwq3[/QUOTE]That's the article Jarango, [URL]https://archive.is/Fdwq3[/URL].

When it comes to Iran, Trump parrots the neoconservatives, but he's not as hawkish as some. By withdrawing from the nuclear treaty and imposing additional sanctions on Iran he figured he'd get them to come to the negotiating table. That was a bad bet. Sanctions and trade embargos don't work, as the USA's experience with Cuba, Venezuela and other countries has clearly shown. They didn't work against Russia.

Unfortunately Trump hasn't learned from his mistakes the last time around. Threatening to bomb Iran will only harden its resolve.

Apologies in advance to Xpartan and others for not starting a new "Stupid Shit in Iran" thread to discuss this.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2993753]That's the article Jarango, [URL]https://archive.is/Fdwq3[/URL].When it comes to Iran, Trump parrots the neoconservatives, but he's not as hawkish as some. .[/QUOTE]Bottom line, theIsraelis have them all. Vance was less hawkish on Yemen than the others. Gubbard, who was against it, is now all fir it. They all want war. Maybe war, in the form of giant mushroom clouds, is the way forward. The gangsters, who run Europe, want it. It beats me, in Europe at least, how these obvious morons and grifters gain power, or the illusion of it.

On the plus side, it is great to see the NGO lot lose their jobs in big numbers. Like Zelensky's lot, they are a gang of spongers.

QUOTE=Newton York no way is that real. It just can't be. It's got to be AI. Heck, at this point I might be an AI. Just some chat bot somewhere thinking I'm actually alive. Anyway, no way Ukrainians would bother wasting time making toys like that when they actually have real shit to deal with like fighting a war.

Now, if only I can have sex with some of them hijab babes in gaza. / QUOTE.

Start practicing with real. Dlls with hijab.

QUOTE=Newton York no way is that real. It just can't be. It's got to be AI. Heck, at this point I might be an AI. Just some chat bot somewhere thinking I'm actually alive. Anyway, no way Ukrainians would bother wasting time making toys like that when they actually have real shit to deal with like fighting a war.

Now, if only I can have sex with some of them hijab babes in gaza. / QUOTE.

Start practicing with real. Dlls with hijab. Dlls with hijab.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2993753]When it comes to Iran, Trump parrots the neoconservatives, but he's not as hawkish as some. By withdrawing from the nuclear treaty and imposing additional sanctions on Iran he figured he'd get them to come to the negotiating table. That was a bad bet. Sanctions and trade embargos don't work, as the USA's experience with Cuba, Venezuela and other countries has clearly shown. They didn't work against Russia. [/QUOTE]I see you still haven't tired of coming here day after day giving new meaning to the word wuss while sucking up to every new Russia supporter that crawls out of the woodwork. Sanctions have worked, as they promote deterrence by sending a message on the world stage while making life tougher for bad actors. They aren't just about winning converts or securing regime changes, while you've never made a case for your vague and wishy-washy do nothing and appeasement alternatives.

[URL]https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/30/world/europe/us-ukraine-military-war-takeaways.html[/URL]

The war in Ukraine is at an inflection point, with President Trump seeking rapprochement with the Russian leader, Vladimir V. Putin, and pressing for an end to the fighting.

But for nearly three years before Mr. Trump's return to power, the United States and Ukraine were joined in an extraordinary partnership of intelligence, strategy, planning and technology whose evolution and inner workings have been known only to a small circle of American and allied officials.

With remarkable transparency, the Pentagon has offered a public accounting of the $66.5 billion in weaponry it has supplied to Ukraine. But a New York Times investigation reveals that America's involvement in the war was far deeper than previously understood. The secret partnership both guided big-picture battle strategy and funneled precise targeting information down to Ukrainian soldiers in the field.

Here are five takeaways from the investigation.

A USA Base in Wiesbaden, Germany, supplied the Ukrainians with the coordinates of Russian forces on their soil.

The idea behind the partnership was that America's close cooperation with Ukraine would compensate for Russia's vast advantages in manpower and weaponry. To guide the Ukrainians as they deployed their ever-more-sophisticated arsenal, the Americans created an operation called Task Force Dragon.

The secret center of the partnership was at the USA Army garrison in Wiesbaden, Germany. Each morning, USA And Ukrainian military officers set targeting priorities — Russian units, pieces of equipment or infrastructure. American and coalition intelligence officers searched satellite imagery, radio emissions and intercepted communications to find Russian positions. Task Force Dragon then gave the Ukrainians the coordinates so they could shoot at them.

Military officials worried that it might be unduly provocative to call the targets "targets. " Instead they were referred to as "points of interest. ".

USA Intelligence and artillery helped Ukraine quickly turn the tide against the Russian invasion.

In spring 2022, the Biden administration agreed to send High Mobility Artillery Systems, or HIMARS, which used satellite-guided rockets for strikes up to 50 miles distant.

In the war's first year, the Ukrainians were extremely dependent on the Americans for intelligence, and Task Force Dragon vetted and oversaw virtually every HIMARS strike.

The strikes caused Russian casualty rates to soar, and Ukraine's 2022 counteroffensive was largely successful: By December, the Ukrainians held an unlikely, David-versus-Goliath upper hand against their Russian foe.

The Biden administration kept moving its red lines.

From the first, administration officials sought to lay down a red line: America was not fighting Russia; it was helping Ukraine. Still, they worried that steps taken to accomplish that might provoke Mr. Putin to attack and. A. T. O. Targets or perhaps make good on his nuclear threats. Even as the administration developed an ever-greater tolerance of risk to help Ukraine meet the evolving threat, many of the most potentially provocative steps were taken in secret.

Easing a prohibition against American boots on Ukrainian ground, Wiesbaden was allowed to put about a dozen military advisers in Kyiv. To avoid drawing public attention to their presence, the Pentagon initially called them "subject matter experts. " Later the team was expanded, to about three dozen, and the military advisers were eventually allowed to travel to Ukrainian command posts closer to the fighting.

In 2022, the USA Navy was authorized to share targeting information for Ukrainian drone strikes on warships just beyond the territorial waters of Russian-annexed Crimea. The see. I. A. Was allowed to support Ukrainian operations within Crimean waters; that fall, the spy agency covertly helped Ukrainian drones strike Russian warships in the port of Sevastopol.

In January 2024, USA And Ukrainian military officers in Wiesbaden jointly planned a campaign — using coalition-supplied long-range missiles, along with Ukrainian drones — to attack about 100 Russian military targets across Crimea. The campaign, named Operation Lunar Hail, largely succeeded in forcing the Russians to pull equipment, facilities and forces in Crimea back to the Russian mainland.

Ultimately, the USA Military and see. I. A. Were allowed to help with strikes into Russia.

The hardest red line was the Russian border. But in spring 2024, to protect the northern city of Kharkiv against a Russian assault, the administration authorized the creation of an "ops box" — a zone of Russian territory within which USA Officers in Wiesbaden could provide the Ukrainians with precise coordinates. The box's first iteration extended across a wide swath of Ukraine's northern border. The box was expanded after North Korea sent troops to help fight the Ukrainians' incursion into Russia's Kursk region. The USA Military was later allowed to enable missile strikes in an area of southern Russia where the Russians staged forces and equipment for their offensive in eastern Ukraine.

Longstanding policy barred the see. I. A. From providing intelligence on targets on Russian soil. But the see. I. A. Could request "variances," carve-outs to support strikes for specific objectives. Intelligence had identified a vast munitions depot in Toropets, 290 miles north of the Ukrainian border. On Sept. 18,2024, a swarm of drones slammed into the munitions depot. The blast, as powerful as a small earthquake, opened a crater the width of a football field. Later, the see. I. A. Was allowed to enable Ukrainian drone strikes in southern Russia to try to slow advances in eastern Ukraine.

Political disagreements in Ukraine contributed to the 2023 counteroffensive's collapse.

The 2023 counteroffensive was meant to build momentum after the first year's triumphs. But after the partners held war games in Wiesbaden and agreed on a strategy, the plan ran headlong into Ukrainian politics.

The Ukrainian armed forces chief, Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, embraced the plan, whose centerpiece was an assault in the direction of the southern city of Melitopol that would cut off Russian supply lines. But his rival and subordinate, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky, had his own plan — to impale Russian forces in the occupied eastern city of Bakhmut. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, sided with him and divided up the ammunition and forces between two main fronts instead of one. The Ukrainians never did reclaim Bakhmut, and within months, the counteroffensive ended in failure.

Russia now had the upper hand.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2993726] My big takeaway, and I'm admittedly biased, is that there was a good chance Russia would have used tactical nuclear weapons if Ukraine had looked like it was going to take Crimea. In other words, Russia is not going to lose this war, so in my opinion Ukraine and the West should be looking for an end to this through peaceful means.[/QUOTE]Which of course completely ignores the likely devastating Western military response to any use of tactical nuclear weapons, and generally the fact that Russia isn't the only nuclear country. Nonetheless the West and Ukraine need to just bend over and grab their ankles now while begging Russia not to make it hurt too bad. In fact that's what they all should have done three years ago. Why? Because Tiny, an obsessed little weasel in a hooker forum says so. Damn Ukraine for objecting to the invasion of their country based on myths and distorted history. The same goes for complaining about all the war crimes, as Little Vlad has rattled the nuclear saber and Little Tiny in Stupid Shit insists on a surrender. All will be well, until the next time a little weasel decides to threaten nuclear war.

[QUOTE=Jarango;2993681]Here are the dolls their kids are supposed to play with, dolls of young women with shredded limbs. And before any of our resident morons scream about Putler, there are plenty of such women in Ukraine, cannon fodder for Zelensky; s wife.

The 300,000 odd Nazis who run Ukraine are a suck lot and so are their paid sock puppets here.[/QUOTE]Russian loses are substantial and heartbreaking. Just ask their mothers, but you know that already don't you? Speaking of sock puppets and morons, while the smarter ones packed up and ran for the border to dodge the draft. Wink.

But in any case, your imagined superpower status with an economy about the size of Texas has long ago been exposed, while you can't even conquer your much smaller neighbor. The West isn't impressed, nor is the audience of under 10 on an overflow thread in a hooker forum.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2993708]LOL, you are a clear case of the ZDS, Zelenskyj derangement syndrome.

It will get even worse for you when you realize that Zelenskyj will have streets, squares and avenues named after him all over Europe. Not to mention if you dare to open a history book; Zelenskyj is the 21th century version of Churchill and Putin is the 21th century Russian Hitler.

It's over for you buddy boy. You have already lost. You're on the wrong side of history. Just read the history books.[/QUOTE]I wonder what this dumb shit will say when Zelensky packs his bags and runs away to one of his mansions in Europe. But he will find some way to justify that too I'm sure.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2993726]

My big takeaway, and I'm admittedly biased, is that there was a good chance Russia would have used tactical nuclear weapons if Ukraine had looked like it was going to take Crimea. In other words, Russia is not going to lose this war, so in my opinion Ukraine and the West should be looking for an end to this through peaceful means.
[URL]https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/29/world/europe/us-ukraine-military-war-wiesbaden.html[/URL][/QUOTE]I agree. The high point for Ukraine was in Late 2002 when Russia made those tactical withdrawals from Kherson and Kharkov region. That was the best time for the Nazi Kiev regime to have negotiated. Since then it has all been downhill and will continue to be so. And yes, Russia would have used tactical nukes if Crimea was threatened and even if Ukraine had been able to severe the land bridge to Crimea during the now FAILED counter offensive in Summer 2023. And there's no way the USA would have responded back with a nuclear weapon. There's no way that a USA president would risk losing Chicago, NYC or LA for Ukraine. Not going to happen.

[QUOTE=Jarango;2993763]Bottom line, theIsraelis have them all. Vance was less hawkish on Yemen than the others. Gubbard, who was against it, is now all fir it. They all want war. Maybe war, in the form of giant mushroom clouds, is the way forward. The gangsters, who run Europe, want it. It beats me, in Europe at least, how these obvious morons and grifters gain power, or the illusion of it.

On the plus side, it is great to see the NGO lot lose their jobs in big numbers. Like Zelensky's lot, they are a gang of spongers.[/QUOTE]Trump's hands are tied. So are Tulsi Gabbard's. The Israeli lobby is too powerful, they control everything.

[QUOTE=Jarango;2993748]Ukrtane has no chance of taking Crimea. The only thing Ukraine is taking is Western tax payers for a very expensive ride.
[/QUOTE]They only reached the first Russian defense belt out of multiple ones during the much-touted failed counter offensive in 2023. Crimea is forever gone, so are the 4 new territories. Better for Ukraine to negotiate seriously now before they lose Odessa, Kharkov, Dnipro and Nikolaev. And tens of thousands of more men, like the EU warmongers want.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2993844]They only reached the first Russian defense belt out of multiple ones during the much-touted failed counter offensive in 2023. Crimea is forever gone, so are the 4 new territories. Better for Ukraine to negotiate seriously now before they lose Odessa, Kharkov, Dnipro and Nikolaev. And tens of thousands of more men, like the EU warmongers want.[/QUOTE]Hahaha, Russia can't even fully control the four regions they falsely claimed to be a part of their little nazi Russia. I love that Russia is starting war after war and you are crying because Russia can't win their failed war against Ukraine due to the military support from the Biden administration and the European countries.

The EU doesn't start wars, the EU is even criticized for not spending enough on their military and the people of Russia is suffering because Putin is spending all their money on wars.

It is obvious that no one loves peace more than the European Union.

Little nazi Russia starts wars, little nazi Russia commits war crimes and little nazi Russia refuses to end the war.

Almost 1 million dead Russians and now we see how Putin and Kim have to send North Koreans to die just because Putin suffers from a severe inferiority complex.

Shouldn't Putin deal with the failed Russian economy and the radical Islamization of Dagestan and Chechnya?

Little Putin can't even control his own country.

Sad to see that putin is getting ready to send 160'000 more russian teenagers to die in Ukraine.

[URL]https://www.kyivpost.com/post/49935[/URL]

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2993842]I agree. [b]The high point for Ukraine was in Late 2002 when Russia made those tactical withdrawals from Kherson and Kharkov region. That was the best time for the Nazi Kiev regime to have negotiated.[/b] Since then it has all been downhill and will continue to be so. And yes, Russia would have used tactical nukes if Crimea was threatened and even if Ukraine had been able to severe the land bridge to Crimea during the now FAILED counter offensive in Summer 2023. And there's no way the USA would have responded back with a nuclear weapon. There's no way that a USA president would risk losing Chicago, NYC or LA for Ukraine. Not going to happen.[/QUOTE]RE: The bold text, Mark Milley said the same thing, or at least that's what the journalist says in the NYT article that Questner summarized and that Jarango and I linked to. In early 2023, recognizing that Ukraine was in the strongest possible position, he floated the idea that Ukraine should pursue cutting a deal with Russia. As you probably already know, Milley was the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest military officer in the USA, right under the Secretary of Defense.

Another takeaway from the article is that the USA Military wanted Ukraine to pursue strategies to get the war over with, be it through peace as suggested by Milley, or through aggressively pushing through to Melitopol or Mariupol when the Ukrainians had the chance. Now, is the latter, actually trying to win the war, a good idea? Given the Russians have the largest nuclear armory in the world, and as you imply was willing to get medieval if backed into a corner, that's debatable. But in any event the American generals were pushing the Ukrainians and the Biden administration to get this over with. The Biden administration, Zelensky and the Ukrainian generals, with one exception (General Zabrodskyi) on the other hand, knowingly or not, appeared intent on drawing the conflict out as long as possible. In your words, fighting this war "to the last Ukrainian. ".

[QUOTE=Paulie97;2993797]Which of course completely ignores the likely devastating Western military response to any use of tactical nuclear weapons, and generally the fact that Russia isn't the only nuclear country. Nonetheless the West and Ukraine need to just bend over and grab their ankles now while begging Russia not to make it hurt too bad. In fact that's what they all should have done three years ago. Why? Because Tiny, an obsessed little weasel in a hooker forum says so. Damn Ukraine for objecting to the invasion of their country based on myths and distorted history. The same goes for complaining about all the war crimes, as Little Vlad has rattled the nuclear saber and Little Tiny in Stupid Shit insists on a surrender. All will be well, until the next time a little weasel decides to threaten nuclear war.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Paulie97;2993772]....you've never made a case for your vague and wishy-washy do nothing and appeasement alternatives.[/QUOTE]I may be a globalist, but I'm also a realist. Ukraine's not going to win this war. You, on the other hand, are Slim Pickens:

[URL]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snTaSJk0n_Y[/URL]

Since I first posted in this thread, in June of 2023, I've been arguing Ukraine should pursue peace, the same advice Mark Milley offered a few months before (see post #4214). As Blood Red correctly argues, Ukraine's position has gotten worse since then.

When did I threaten a nuclear war? You need to get a grip Paulie. I'm merely a poster on a hooker board. I have no control over world events.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;2993772]I see you still haven't tired of coming here day after day giving new meaning to the word wuss while sucking up to every new Russia supporter that crawls out of the woodwork. Sanctions have worked, as they promote deterrence by sending a message on the world stage while making life tougher for bad actors. They aren't just about winning converts or securing regime changes, while you've never made a case for your vague and wishy-washy do nothing and appeasement alternatives.[/QUOTE]Hey Paulie, You should visit Cuba and Russia and see for yourself. Cuba is destitute and many Cubans blame sanctions imposed by the USA. I've even heard that from Cuban "political" refugees in America. Russia on the other hand is doing marvelously. There's an article in the WSJ today,[B] For Russias Economy Peace Poses a Threat[/B], that argues the country will take an economic hit if the war stops.

[URL]https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/russia-war-economy-ukraine-peace-deal-783b8bdb[/URL]

As to deterrence, perhaps you have a point, with respect to China for example. But at what cost? Sanctions kill a lot of people. UNICEF estimates over 500,000 Iraqi children died by 1999 because of sanctions. The CEPR attributes 40,000 Venezuelan deaths to USA Sanctions in 2017 and 2018 alone. Many more have died in Iran, Cuba and North Korea.

But, you know, you're right. I shouldn't, as you say, make vague and wishy-washy comments. So I wrote a well-researched essay for you!

[B]WHY SANCTIONS DONT WORK

By The Little Weasle![/B]

Sanctions are widely used as a foreign policy toolimposed to punish aggression, deter nuclear proliferation, or pressure governments into reform. They are often viewed as a less violent alternative to war, allowing nations to signal disapproval and exert influence without direct conflict. But despite their popularity, sanctions rarely deliver on their promises. In fact, they often entrench the very regimes they aim to weaken, while causing widespread suffering among ordinary people.

According to a landmark study by Gary Clyde Hufbauer, Jeffrey Schott, and Kimberly Ann Elliott in their book Economic Sanctions Reconsidered, sanctions are only successful about 30% of the time. That means in 7 out of 10 cases, sanctions fail to produce the desired change in behavior. And that 30% includes many cases where success was partial or achieved in tandem with other forms of pressure, such as military threats or diplomacy.

Take Russia. Since 2014 and especially after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine the West has unleashed a historic barrage of sanctions on Russia: freezing central bank assets, cutting off banks from SWIFT, blocking exports of high-tech goods, and restricting oil revenues. Yet despite the economic damage, Russia continues its war. Far from buckling, the country has reoriented its economy, expanded trade with China and India. They've provided political fuel, as they can be framed as proof of Western hostility, and they've rallied domestic support.

Cuba illustrates how sanctions can become frozen in place despite decades of failure. The USA Embargo, imposed in the early 1960's, has now lasted more than 60 years. It has not ended communist rule or ushered in democracy. What it has done is contribute to economic stagnation, limit access to vital goods, and offer the Cuban government a convenient scapegoat for internal dysfunction. The regime has not collapsedinstead, it adapted, survived, and even built soft power through medical diplomacy and resistance branding.

Iran offers another instructive case. Sanctions have long been used to pressure Iran over its nuclear ambitions and regional behavior. While they arguably helped bring Iran to the negotiating table for the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA), the USA Withdrawal from the agreement in 2018 and reimposition of "maximum pressure" sanctions failed to produce a better dealor a change in regime behavior. Instead, Iran resumed uranium enrichment, cracked down domestically, and deepened ties with non-Western powers. The sanctions hurt the Iranian economy, but not enough to break the regime's hold on power.

In Venezuela, sanctions were intended to dislodge Nicols Maduro and support democratic transition. Instead, they helped accelerate an economic meltdown that was already underway. The result wasn't regime change, but mass emigration, humanitarian crisis, and further consolidation of authoritarian rule. Maduro used the sanctions to paint the opposition as collaborators with foreign aggressors, strengthening his narrative and weakening dissent.

These cases aren't anomaliesthey are part of a pattern. Sanctions tend to fail because they rest on flawed assumptions: that pain leads to capitulation, that regimes act in good faith under pressure, and that people suffering under sanctions will rise up and demand change. In reality, authoritarian governments are often most skilled at weathering external threats. They repress opposition, exploit patriotic sentiment, and channel hardship into regime loyalty.

Moreover, the humanitarian impact is profound. Sanctions can lead to inflation, medicine shortages, decaying infrastructure, and a deteriorating quality of lifewithout touching the powerful. They often hurt those least responsible and least able to change the system. And they rarely include effective off-ramps or diplomatic pathways, meaning that once sanctions are imposed, they become politically difficult to lift.

Even when sanctions seem to "work," it's usually because they're paired with credible diplomacy or military leverage, not because of economic pressure alone. Sanctions without strategy become little more than symbolic gesturesmorally satisfying, but practically ineffective.

In short, the historical and empirical record is clear: sanctions fail far more often than they succeed. They have not broken the back of regimes in Cuba, Iran, or Venezuela. They tend to prolong crises, deepen suffering, and rarely produce the political change they promise.

Things are sad enough as it is, how are you guys not making yourselves sadder by arguing about all this war and politics stuff? I sure wish the 'stupid shit in Kyiv' thread was about Ukraine chicks and their crazy antics. Granted, this thread has become like this now because Ukraine was invaded, but still. Even during war there's got to be sex being sold, especially in Kyiv.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2994022]RE: The bold text, Mark Milley said the same thing, or at least that's what the journalist says in the NYT article that Questner summarized and that Jarango and I linked to. In early 2023, recognizing that Ukraine was in the strongest possible position, he floated the idea that Ukraine should pursue cutting a deal with Russia. As you probably already know, Milley was the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest military officer in the USA, right under the Secretary of Defense.

.[/QUOTE]Mark Milley was also the one that said 'Kiev in 3 days' before the invasion. The pathetic fake dishonest western mainstream media then lied and said it was Putin who said that when the war started which he didn't.

[URL]https://www.foxnews.com/us/gen-milley-says-kyiv-could-fall-within-72-hours-if-russia-decides-to-invade-ukraine-sources[/URL]

[QUOTE=NewtonYork;2994216]Things are sad enough as it is, how are you guys not making yourselves sadder by arguing about all this war and politics stuff? I sure wish the 'stupid shit in Kyiv' thread was about Ukraine chicks and their crazy antics. Granted, this thread has become like this now because Ukraine was invaded, but still. Even during war there's got to be sex being sold, especially in Kyiv.[/QUOTE]Exactly my thought.

Who the fuck would argue about politics all day on a sex forum.

There are too many pussies out there waiting to be fucked for people to waste time on this shit.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2994274]Mark Milley was also the one that said 'Kiev in 3 days' before the invasion. The pathetic fake dishonest western mainstream media then lied and said it was Putin who said that when the war started which he didn't.

[URL]https://www.foxnews.com/us/gen-milley-says-kyiv-could-fall-within-72-hours-if-russia-decides-to-invade-ukraine-sources[/URL][/QUOTE]No, Putin said two weeks.

And here we are three years later.

Little Putin failed, but he managed to lose 300 billion dollars of the Russian state's money.

[QUOTE=AntonySun1996;2994311]Exactly my thought.

Who the fuck would argue about politics all day on a sex forum.

There are too many pussies out there waiting to be fucked for people to waste time on this shit.[/QUOTE]Many posters on this thread who have never been to Kiev or other parts of Ukraine.

[QUOTE=AntonySun1996;2994311]Exactly my thought.

Who the fuck would argue about politics all day on a sex forum.

There are too many pussies out there waiting to be fucked for people to waste time on this shit.[/QUOTE]Many posters on this thread who have never been to Kiev or other parts of Ukraine.

[QUOTE=AntonySun1996;2994311]Who the fuck would argue about politics all day on a sex forum.[/QUOTE]I would, that's who! But only on days when Paulie97 comes out to play.

[QUOTE=AntonySun1996;2994311]
Who the fuck would argue about politics all day on a sex forum..[/QUOTE]Arguing about politics is fine. Lots of informed people do it and not everyone has a 24/7 obsession to jacking off to beaver, which is why a wholev range of threads exist on this site. The problem is arguing with igoramuses like Paulie, XPartan and the other sewer idiotss. Wrestle with a pig etc.

[QUOTE=Jojosun;2994586]Many posters on this thread who have never been to Kiev or other parts of Ukraine.[/QUOTE]But I meet Ukrainian women who needs to leave their country and they all tell me they dream to return, even quite poor country, after Putin who doesn't want to stop war and feel supported by shameful Trump gang.

QUOTE=AntonySun1996 Exactly my thought.

Who the fuck would argue about politics all day on a sex forum.

There are too many pussies out there waiting to be fucked for people to waste time on this shit. / QUOTE.

The talk about Sex and Politics in Kiev in 2009 ,going down memory lane.

[URL]http://www.internationalsexguide.nl/forum/showthread.php?816-Kyiv/page1105[/URL]

Indeed times have changed, No Thanks To Bad Vlad.

[URL]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=90WD_ats6eE[/URL]

QUOTE=Jojosun; QUOTE=AntonySun1996 Exactly my thought.

Who the fuck would argue about politics all day on a sex forum.

There are too many pussies out there waiting to be fucked for people to waste time on this shit. / QUOTE.

The talk about Sex and Politics in Kiev in 2009 ,going down memory lane.

[URL]http://www.internationalsexguide.nl/forum/showthread.php?816-Kyiv/page1105[/URL]

Indeed times have changed, No Thanks To Bad Vlad.

[URL]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=90WD//QUOTE[/URL]

For Your Dicks Only, LOL, The EU or Closer to Russia! That was the Question on this Forum back in November 2009.

: Quote Originally Posted by Strike 69.

I heard a rumour about this new elections and the intentions of the new government to get closer to Russia rather than the west (US), even to start demanding visas again to Americans, does anybody knows something about?

I hope it is true. It will mean, much better prices for (us) western mongers.

With every crises there is a silver lining.

Closer to the west means one thing, on the road to the European union and western prices.

[URL]http://www.internationalsexguide.nl/forum/showthread.php?816-Kyiv/page1104[/URL]

/ QUOTE=Sirioja;2 But I meet Ukrainian women who needs to leave their country and they all tell me they dream to return, even quite poor country, after Putin who doesn't want to stop war and feel supported by shameful Trump gang. / QUOTE.

LOL, Why do you think he is called PUTIN, and not PULLOUT.

QUOTE=ShooBree; No, Putin said two weeks.

And here we are three years later.

Little Putin failed, but he managed to lose 300 billion dollars of the Russian state's money. / QUOTE.

But he managed to prove that the Russian Army is The Second Best Army in Ukraine. LOL.

No military expert here, But I am willing to wager that The Israeli Army which is the best in the region, with many of soldiers and commanders are either Russian or Russian origin, would easily defeat The Russian Army in a conventional war, thanks to unlimited support by The US.

Yet this same Israeli Army was caught off guard on Oct 7, 23 by a Militia? One Israeli Arab Comedian joked, Palestinians proved 'Toyotas don't Break Down'. He was referring to the Toyota Pick Up trucks used by Nasty Hamas in its invasion of Israel on October 7.

All the talk here about wars, Himaris, Artillery, Jogged my memory back to what life was like in a Bunker in past wars as shown here [URL]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IWhSCdnThaY[/URL].

LOL, Much more interesting Having Goldie Hawn pop up in the Bunker than a Ukrainian Look_alike of the Iron Lady born in Kiev, Golda Meir.

I was listening to the treasury secretary talk on Tucker Carlson yesterday, and it was clear that he knew that the Trump tariffs were going to take down the stock market in the short term. He made the case not just for the long term benefits. He said that the bottom 50% of Americans did not own any stock and were in debt, and that lower interest rates would help them. He also reiterated that the best thing for corporations to do was to move their businesses to the USA to avoid tariffs. The Democratic response will be that Trump did not know what he is doing, but that is bullshit, Trump was willing to take the short term hit to do what he thought was best for the country in the long term.

And that is why you know the Democrats are full of shit on Ukraine. If the elites and government really thought Putin was Hilter, then Biden should have not put on these bullshit just for show sanctions on Russian oil but really taken it totally off the market. So if this war were really serious and Putin really was Hitler, Russian oil should have been boycotted, and the price of gasoline would have reached $8 a gallon.

Did the Democrats say that though? Did they say $8 gasoline was the price we would have to pay to stop Putin? Of course not. In fact, the Democratic douches did the opposite of that. They drained the strategic reserve to get gasoline prices lower, and that is how you know the war is total bullshit. Do you remember what the Bush administration told us when we were at war with Iraq? Oh, yeah, go to the mall. Go shopping. Say what? Saddam had weapons of mass destruction he was going to use, and you are telling us to go to the mall? That told me the Bush crew and his prowar neocons, the same ones advising Biden, were full of shit.

In fact, the whole Ukraine thing was to distract from Covid which was taken very seriously when it should not have been. In fact, the end of the world apocalypse of Covid was switched out with the end of the world Putin is Hitler apocalypse. So whenever the government is spreading that kind of message, you should see if governments are really willing to put their economies at risk for that cause.

The government was willing to do that with Covid (even though they should not have) but not with Ukraine. If Europe really quit buying Russian natural gas and gasoline prices were $8 a gallon, then I might listen to you about Putin as Hitler, but until that happens, shut the fuck up! Get back to me when you are willing to make sacrifices.

[QUOTE=Jojosun;2994927]/ QUOTE=Sirioja;2 But I meet Ukrainian women who needs to leave their country and they all tell me they dream to return, even quite poor country, after Putin who doesn't want to stop war and feel supported by shameful Trump gang. / QUOTE.

LOL, Why do you think he is called PUTIN, and not PULLOUT.[/QUOTE]When senile Trump failed to stop Putin war, I wish petrol rate will fall very down very fast, for less money for Putin criminal war. No more money is only way to stop Putin, when shameful Trump wants to make business with him and sucking him.

[QUOTE=Sirioja;2994679]But I meet Ukrainian women who needs to leave their country and they all tell me they dream to return, even quite poor country, after Putin who doesn't want to stop war and feel supported by shameful Trump gang.[/QUOTE]The majority of the Ukrainians that have left Ukraine for the EU, etc will never return. Why would they. That's why Ukraine is dying demographically too.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2995785]The majority of the Ukrainians that have left Ukraine for the EU, etc will never return. Why would they. That's why Ukraine is dying demographically too.[/QUOTE]Not what I hear from their mouth. Why? Because they love their country and family. Despite stupid Trump, I wish criminal Putin won t get anymore money for his war soon. Petrol falling rate is good point versus Putin who will stop when only no more money.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2995785]The majority of the Ukrainians that have left Ukraine for the EU, etc will never return. Why would they. That's why Ukraine is dying demographically too.[/QUOTE]LOL, many of the Ukrainians will return but we all know that russia is dying from the inside.

The Russian people are fleeing putin and his failed war and his failed economy but they are not welcomed in the EU so that's why Georgia and Armenia are full of russian refugees.

[URL]https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/14/world/europe/russians-georgia-armenia-war.html[/URL]

[URL]https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/content-series/russia-tomorrow/a-russia-without-russians-putins-disastrous-demographics/[/URL]

[URL]https://www.business-standard.com/amp/world-news/russians-ignore-putin-s-call-for-more-babies-as-population-declines-125030800426_1.html[/URL]

Putin truly is a low level rat faced kgb translator that doesn't have the intelligence to run any country.

It's heartbreaking to see the evil that's attacking Ukraine and murdering Ukrainian children.

Little putin is an extremely evil war criminal and horrendously bad and corrupt old man.

Putin is not fit to be the leader of russia, he is mentally weak (putin lost 300 billion dollars at the start of the war) and he has a distorted view of reality. How else can you explain the horrendous photos of him without a shirt with his flabby belly and chips tits out for the world to laugh at? I would be embarrassed if I looked liked that and the whole world saw it.

Little putin should be way too old, fat and ugly to pose for those kind of pictures like he's a hot slutty college girl gone wild on Spring Break.

It's embarrassing, russia's governed by an old, fluffy egomaniac with the mentality of a slutty college girl gone wild.

There's no doubt that putin and his russia is waging a war against all of humanity and Donald trump is now his accomplice.

It has been obvious for years, and now no one can any longer with credibility deny the obvious, little putin is not interested in peace for humans. When the inadequate trump and evil putin speak about peace, they mean peace for russian oil and russian warships in the Black Sea guilty of murdering Ukrainian children.

Little putin wants wars, death and destruction.

He needs the dictatorships and wars to live on.

He wants children, humanity, democracy and honesty to die a gruesome death.

[URL]https://kyivindependent.com/russian-attack-on-kryvyi-rih-kills-19-people-including-9-children-injures-68/[/URL]

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2995820]It's heartbreaking to see the evil that's attacking Ukraine and murdering Ukrainian children.

Little putin is an extremely evil war criminal and horrendously bad and corrupt old man.

[/QUOTE]This is an over 18 site, Go away.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2995820]It's heartbreaking to see the evil that's attacking Ukraine and murdering Ukrainian children.

Little putin is an extremely evil war criminal and horrendously bad and corrupt old man.

Putin is not fit to be the leader of russia, he is mentally weak (putin lost 300 billion dollars at the start of the war) and he has a distorted view of reality. How else can you explain the horrendous photos of him without a shirt with his flabby belly and chips tits out for the world to laugh at? I would be embarrassed if I looked liked that and the whole world saw it.

Little putin should be way too old, fat and ugly to pose for those kind of pictures like he's a hot slutty college girl gone wild on Spring Break.

It's embarrassing, russia's governed by an old, fluffy egomaniac with the mentality of a slutty college girl gone wild.

There's no doubt that putin and his russia is waging a war against all of humanity and Donald trump is now his accomplice.

It has been obvious for years, and now no one can any longer with credibility deny the obvious, little putin is not interested in peace for humans. When the inadequate trump and evil putin speak about peace, they mean peace for russian oil and russian warships in the Black Sea guilty of murdering Ukrainian children.

Little putin wants wars, death and destruction.

He needs the dictatorships and wars to live on.

He wants children, humanity, democracy and honesty to die a gruesome death.

[URL]https://kyivindependent.com/russian-attack-on-kryvyi-rih-kills-19-people-including-9-children-injures-68/[/URL][/QUOTE]

Putin is an indicted war criminal by The International Criminal Court and rightly so and I said so on this thread more than once.

No whatabouty here, but this same court also indicted A Certain leader in The Middle East whose name we can't mention here in case it offends some!, Who will do his best to get what's left of Palestine For Free, Free Palestine what a bargain, LOL, And president Trump gets Gazzaland.

[QUOTE=Jojosun;2996217]QUOTE=ShooBree; It's heartbreaking to see the evil that's attacking Ukraine and murdering Ukrainian children.

Little putin is an extremely evil war criminal and horrendously bad and corrupt old man.

Putin is not fit to be the leader of russia, he is mentally weak (putin lost 300 billion dollars at the start of the war) and he has a distorted view of reality. How else can you explain the horrendous photos of him without a shirt with his flabby belly and chips tits out for the world to laugh at? I would be embarrassed if I looked liked.

That and the whole world saw it.

Little putin should be way too old, fat and ugly to pose for those kind of pictures like he's a hot slutty college girl gone wild on Spring Break.

It's embarrassing, russia's governed by an old, fluffy egomaniac with the mentality of a slutty college girl gone wild.

There's no doubt that putin and his russia is waging a war against all of humanity and Donald trump is now his accomplice.

It has been obvious for years, and now no one can any longer with credibility deny the obvious, little putin is not interested in peace for humans. When the inadequate trump and evil putin speak about peace, they mean peace for russian oil and russian warships in the Black Sea guilty of murdering Ukrainian children.

Little putin wants wars, death and destruction.

He needs the dictatorships and wars to live on.

He wants children, humanity, democracy and honesty to die a gruesome death.

[URL]https://kyivindependent.com/russian-attack-on-kryvyi-rih-kills-19-people-including-9-children-injures-QUOTE[/URL]

Putin is an indicted war criminal by The International Criminal Court and rightly so and I said so on this thread more than once.

No whatabouty here, but this same court also indicted A Certain leader in The Middle East whose name we can't mention here in case it offends some!, Who will do his best to get what's left of Palestine For Free, Free Palestine what a bargain, LOL, And president Trump gets Gazzaland.[/QUOTE]Cherry picking and whataboutism would be the right way to describe your irrelevant posts and obsession to talk about the Middle East when we are in the Ukrainian part of the forum.

Do you still remember the 7th October when the Palestinians decided to rape, murder and kidnap over a thousand innocent Israelis, children and elderly.

You really don't want to talk about that.

The Middle East and North Africa is full of leaders that have committed atrocities, not at least the Palestinian, Gazan, Turkish and Iranian leaders.

I'm not a fan of Netanyahu but when it comes to MENA there's no city I would rather live in than Tel Aviv, a city where people are guaranteed human rights, free speech and religious freedom.

Have you ever asked yourself the question why Jews had to flee from there homes in other countries in the MENA region?

As I said earlier I'm not a fan of Netanyahu but I will never support isis, Iran and Palestinian terrorist groups.

[QUOTE=Jojosun;2996217]Putin is an indicted war criminal by The International Criminal Court and rightly so and I said so on this thread more than once.

No whatabouty here, but this same court also indicted A Certain leader in The Middle East whose name we can't mention here in case it offends some!, Who will do his best to get what's left of Palestine For Free, Free Palestine what a bargain, LOL, And president Trump gets Gazzaland.[/QUOTE]This Shroobee dumbfuck doesn't have the balls to call a spade a spade. And yes, Netantyahu and Gallant are both also indicted by the ICC.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2996409]Cherry picking and whataboutism would be the right way to describe your irrelevant posts and obsession to talk about the Middle East when we are in the Ukrainian part of the forum.

Do you still remember the 7th October when the Palestinians decided to rape, murder and kidnap over a thousand innocent Israelis, children and elderly.

You really don't want to talk about that.

The Middle East and North Africa is full of leaders that have committed atrocities, not at least the Palestinian, Gazan, Turkish and Iranian leaders.

I'm not a fan of Netanyahu but when it comes to MENA there's no city I would rather live in than Tel Aviv, a city where people are guaranteed human rights, free speech and religious freedom.

Have you ever asked yourself the question why Jews had to flee from there homes in other countries in the MENA region?

As I said earlier I'm not a fan of Netanyahu but I will never support isis, Iran and Palestinian terrorist groups.[/QUOTE]From the chronology of the thread, you clearly don't understand the meaning of cherry picking nor whataboutism, neither of which fallacy is apposite in your discussion.

If anyone were guilty of these, it would be you. When you highlight the hamas atrocities but ignore completely the fact that Israel has massacred 50 x as many (50,000) innocent Palestinians, including women and children, in the last 1. 5 years alone.

Of course, you'd prefer to live in Tel Aviv or Israel, a colonising, misanthropic, rterrorising racist, state seems right up your street.

You should sacrifice your own land and your homes to the Israeli jews. We would see how far your supposed magnanimity stretches.

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2996787]From the chronology of the thread, you clearly don't understand the meaning of cherry picking nor whataboutism, neither of which fallacy is apposite in your discussion.

If anyone were guilty of these, it would be you. When you highlight the hamas atrocities but ignore completely the fact that Israel has massacred 50 x as many (50,000) innocent Palestinians, including women and children, in the last 1. 5 years alone.

Of course, you'd prefer to live in Tel Aviv or Israel, a colonising, misanthropic, rterrorising racist, state seems right up your street.

You should sacrifice your own land and your homes to the Israeli jews. We would see how far your supposed magnanimity stretches.[/QUOTE]Hahaha, I'm not surprised to see another one of your unhinged rants about Israel and people guilty of criticizing the Palestinian terrorist organizations in Gaza.

I'm not a fan of Netanyahu, I wrote it two times in the post you replied to so people would be able to see that I'm under no illusions that Netanyahu is a perfect leader. It's obvious that the Israelis and their leaders are increasingly adjusting to the dominant Middle Eastern culture under which minorities like Jews and Christians have suffered immensely.

I can't help but to notice that you fail to address my question regarding why the Jews in other MENA countries had to flee their homes and go to Israel?

I understand that you don't want to answer that question because you'the be forced to face the truth and explain that Jews could only be safe in Israel, far away from the oppressive neighbors.

You call the Israelis colonizers but you avoid the fact that Christians and Jews have been oppressed by their muslim neighbors for centuries. Why would Jews and Christians have to live under oppression, violence and Sharia laws?

I have been to Tel Aviv many times and it's a wonderful Israeli city built by the Israelis.

When I go to Tel Aviv I feel freedom, I feel liberation.

Iran, gaza and turkey would benefit from that kind of freedom.

In Iran women get murdered by the regime for showing their hair.

In turkey terrorists from hamas walk the streets freely but journalists, politicians and ordinary people are jailed for wanting freedom and democracy.

In gaza Christians are suffering under islamists.

That's not the case in Israel.

I'm not Jewish, but Israel is the only country in the MENA where my human rights as a Christian are guaranteed.

You obviously don't know nor do you understand what cherry picking and whataboutism means. It's pathetic how badly you failed when you tried to throw it back at me. You truly are a child.

I don't understand why you're so aggressive when it comes to Israel when you ignore so many other issues.

1. Turkey & Northern Cyprus – Turkey has occupied Northern Cyprus since 1974, ethnically cleansing Greeks from the region, yet you people who demand "Free Palestine" don't say a word about "Free Cyprus. " Why? Because Turkey is a Muslim country, and criticizing it doesn't fit the "good vs. Evil" narrative you want to push.

2. Turkey's Foundation on Stolen Lands – Turkey itself was built on genocide and land theft. The Armenian Genocide, the mass slaughter of Assyrians, the ethnic cleansing of Greeks, and the ongoing oppression of Kurds—yet Turkey plays the victim and positions itself as a "Muslim defender. "

3. Azerbaijan's Ethnic Cleansing of Armenians – In Artsakh, Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey and jihadists, ethnically cleansed 120,000 Armenians in 2023. Did you care? No. No protests. No UN emergency meetings. Why? Again, because the victims weren't politically convenient.

4. Morocco & Western Sahara – Morocco and the Arabs have occupied Western Sahara since 1975, oppressing the Sahrawi people and silencing Berbers in the south. Yet Morocco waves the Palestinian flag as if they are against "occupation. "

Why is it Always About Israel?

1. Antisemitism – The obsession with Israel is fueled by deep-rooted Jew-hatred. Many of you people don't actually care about human rights — you just want to attack Jews and frame Israel as the ultimate villain.

2. Anti-Western Sentiments – Israel is often falsely labeled as a "white European settler state," even though over half of Israelis are Mizrahi Jews (from Israel, the Middle East and North Africa where they were victims of oppression and massacres from their Muslim neighbors). This false claim allows the far-left and Islamists to group Israel with "Western imperialism. "

3. Islamist Influence – Many of the loudest voices supporting Palestine are influenced by Islamist ideology, which doesn't just oppose Israel—it also supports Turkish expansionism and Arab supremacy. That's why Turkey and Morocco can wave the Palestinian flag while being some of the biggest oppressors themselves.

If you people actually cared about "occupation" and "colonialism," you wouldn't ignore Turkey in Cyprus, Azerbaijan in Artsakh, Morocco in Western Sahara, and Turkey's treatment of Kurds, Assyrians, Greeks and Armenians. But you don't care. Because for you, it was never about justice, it was about hating Jews and pushing an anti-Western agenda.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2996864]Hahaha, I'm not surprised to see another one of your unhinged rants about Israel and people guilty of criticizing the Palestinian terrorist organizations in Gaza.

I'm not a fan of Netanyahu, I wrote it two times in the post you replied to so people would be able to see that I'm under no illusions that Netanyahu is a perfect leader. It's obvious that the Israelis and their leaders are increasingly adjusting to the dominant Middle Eastern culture under which minorities like Jews and Christians have suffered immensely.

I can't help but to notice that you fail to address my question regarding why the Jews in other MENA countries had to flee their homes and go to Israel?.[/QUOTE]"You people" LOL, spoken like a good little bigot that you are. We understand what the "you people" means, it's "You" being the zionazis and evangelical christians against those who protest against your evilness. "You" vs. "Us". The same narrative used by "you people" to invade, assault, humiliate and massacre Iraqis, yes? You, people.

I have no issues condemning Turkey's assault on Armenia. And I have no issues condemning whatever discrimination was caused to the jews in the 40's or 50 sin other parts of the Middle East (even if it were the direct consequence of the establishment of Israel). Here's the thing, Mr. Act your shoo size, YOU can't condemn the wickedness of your zionazis which is HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. Your hypocrisy knows no bounds and encapstulates your shamelessness. You zionazi's profess a moral superiority due to supposed injustices against you yet you brutalise and behave in far worse manner towards your victims.

You zionazis have literally stolen and continue to steal the lands of the Palestinians. You cannot condemn this can you? Land which continues to be stolen by blue eyed, blond supposed "semites" from Brooklyn with the natives thrown out of their homes. You align yourselves with massacring and brutalising (conveniently ignore the statistics that I presented earlier) genociders while indulging in logical and moral fallacies, such as "Iranians killing women for showing hair". That licenses your kind to massacre Palestinian Babies? What a sick perverse mind you possess.

The condemnation of Israel is for one reason alone: it's an evil, oppressive genocidal state. These are facts, not opinions. And if you condemn one belligerent state (Russia) you cannot get away with the selective ignoring of another contemporaneous belligerent state, Israel. That's why this is being flagged here, and no matter how much you try to cloak your hypocrisy in whataboutery fallacies you won't get away with it.

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2997019]"You people" LOL, spoken like a good little bigot that you are. We understand what the "you people" means, it's "You" being the zionazis and evangelical christians against those who protest against your evilness. "You" vs. "Us". The same narrative used by "you people" to invade, assault, humiliate and massacre Iraqis, yes? You, people.

I have no issues condemning Turkey's assault on Armenia. And I have no issues condemning whatever discrimination was caused to the jews in the 40's or 50 sin other parts of the Middle East (even if it were the direct consequence of the establishment of Israel). Here's the thing, Mr. Act your shoo size, YOU can't condemn the wickedness of your zionazis which is HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. Your hypocrisy knows no bounds and encapstulates your shamelessness. You zionazi's profess a moral superiority due to supposed injustices against you yet you brutalise and behave in far worse manner towards your victims.[/QUOTE]Please explain why we Christians and Jews should accept to be treated as second class citizens and face discrimination, Sharia laws and massacres in dictatorships all across the MENA region?

Israel is the Greatest and most Just country to ever have existed.

I'm extremely happy that your words and opinions have absolutely no impact whatsoever on the situation in Israel.

It's funny how you keep proving me right, you don't care about facts, human rights, genocides, colonialism as long as it's committed by the "right" people against the "wrong" people.

When I write "you people" I'm referring to you nazis, radical islamists, left wing extremists and ignorant SJWs. Its way too late for you to pretend that you're not a mentally unstable and deeply deranged and hateful person.

You call me a bigot because I believe in democracy, religious freedom, human rights and minorities must be protected even in the Middle East.

The women in Iran would have a lot more freedom in Israel, and sadly many Iranian women would still be alive today if they had been lucky enough to live in Israel.

But what else to expect from the irish, terrorism is deeply rooted in your culture. We should never have allowed Ireland to be a part of the EU.

I will be forever grateful to those who fought against Nazi Germany, the Ottoman Empire, isis, russia, irgc, hezbollah, hamas and Islamic Jihad. Eight different shades of evil.

To lose is not an option.

Your whole stance is built on hate against Jews and Israelis, you don't have the tools nor desire to actually understand the MENA region. Jews had to live as second class citizens and faced multiple genocides way before the war in 1948. Your whole argumentation is built on a highly flawed understanding of history and the MENA culture. And the fact that you're actively trying to defend these massacres against Jews is disgusting and tells me all I need to know about you.

It shouldn't be morally controversial to advocate for a Jewish, or Christian, state to exist in the Middle East where dictatorships without human rights (especially for women and religious minorities) is way too common.

You'the rather see a Palestinian dictatorship without human rights where Christians and Jews are persecuted and subjected to genocide than the Israeli democracy with true freedom for all people.

It's also interesting to see how you couldn't care less when palestinians are murdered by hamas and Islamic Jihad. You truly are a hypocrite.

The Middle East doesn't need another dictatorship.

You keep crying about Israel while in reality the palestinians have no desire to create a democratic state with human rights for all people regardless of gender and religion. The palestinians are literally celebrating terrorists and rewarding them for murdering children. How can you fail to condemn the evil genocidal palestinian movement?

What is that you support so much about the palestinians? The indoctrination of little palestinian children to become terrorists? Or is it the rapes? The kidnappings? The genocide of the 7th October?

Here's the deal, you're the poster child of whataboutism and cherry picking. Israel is the poster child of human rights and democracy in the Middle East.

If you truly want to compare the russian aggression to another country it would be turkey but yet you keep crying about Israel.

Turkey is an artificial state built on genocides on other people's lands. The only difference between Nazi Germany and turkey is that Nazi Germany doesn't exist today.

Ukraine has a lot more in common with the Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks than the palestinians.

But please explain why Christians and Jews should accept to be treated as second class citizens in dictatorships all across the MENA region?

Israel may not be perfect, but the alternative is inhumane and a disgrace to humanity.

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2997019]"You people" LOL, .[/QUOTE]Word to the wise. Shoobree et al are Hasbara trols, paid to engage you in endless disputes and dead ends. Not worth engaging with. Most likely a low level hasbara trol, learning the ropes here before being promoted to more prominwet sites. There is a vast literature on these hirelings.

[QUOTE=Jarango;2997175]Word to the wise. Shoobree et al are Hasbara trols, paid to engage you in endless disputes and dead ends. Not worth engaging with. Most likely a low level hasbara trol, learning the ropes here before being promoted to more prominwet sites. There is a vast literature on these hirelings.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Jarango;2995871]This is an over 18 site, Go away.[/QUOTE][QUOTE=ShooBree;2995820]It's heartbreaking to see the evil that's attacking Ukraine and murdering Ukrainian children.

Little putin is an extremely evil war criminal and horrendously bad and corrupt old man.

Putin is not fit to be the leader of russia, he is mentally weak (putin lost 300 billion dollars at the start of the war) and he has a distorted view of reality. How else can you explain the horrendous photos of him without a shirt with his flabby belly and chips tits out for the world to laugh at? I would be embarrassed if I looked liked that and the whole world saw it.

Little putin should be way too old, fat and ugly to pose for those kind of pictures like he's a hot slutty college girl gone wild on Spring Break.[/QUOTE]I absolutely love that you're still crying over my post about Putin and his topless photos.

Aren't you too old to idolize an old attention working girl like Putin?

Man up for a second, stop being a vatnik and admit the obvious, Putin is embarrassing himself and Russia by posing for topless photos like a girl on Spring Break.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2997091]Please explain why we Christians and Jews should accept to be treated as second class citizens and face discrimination, Sharia laws and massacres in dictatorships all across the MENA region?

Israel is the Greatest and most Just country to ever have existed.

I'm extremely happy that your words and opinions have absolutely no impact whatsoever on the situation in Israel.

It's funny how you keep proving me right, you don't care about facts, human rights, genocides, colonialism as long as it's committed by the "right" people against the "wrong" people.

When I write "you people" I'm referring to you nazis, radical islamists, left wing extremists and ignorant SJWs. Its way too late for you to pretend that you're not a mentally unstable and deeply deranged and hateful person.

You call me a bigot because I believe in democracy, religious freedom, human rights and minorities must be protected even in the Middle East.

The women in Iran would have a lot more freedom in Israel, and sadly many Iranian women would still be alive today if they had been lucky enough to live in Israel.

But what else to expect from the irish, terrorism is deeply rooted in your culture. We should never have allowed Ireland to be a part of the EU.

I will be forever grateful to those who fought against Nazi Germany, the Ottoman Empire, isis, russia, irgc, hezbollah, hamas and Islamic Jihad. Eight different shades of evil.

To lose is not an option.

Your whole stance is built on hate against Jews and Israelis, you don't have the tools nor desire to actually understand the MENA region. Jews had to live as second class citizens and faced multiple genocides way before the war in 1948. Your whole argumentation is built on a highly flawed understanding of history and the MENA culture. And the fact that you're actively trying to defend these massacres against Jews is disgusting and tells me all I need to know about you.

It shouldn't be morally controversial to advocate for a Jewish, or Christian, state to exist in the Middle East where dictatorships without human rights (especially for women and religious minorities) is way too common.

You'the rather see a Palestinian dictatorship without human rights where Christians and Jews are persecuted and subjected to genocide than the Israeli democracy with true freedom for all people.

It's also interesting to see how you couldn't care less when palestinians are murdered by hamas and Islamic Jihad. You truly are a hypocrite.

The Middle East doesn't need another dictatorship.

You keep crying about Israel while in reality the palestinians have no desire to create a democratic state with human rights for all people regardless of gender and religion. The palestinians are literally celebrating terrorists and rewarding them for murdering children. How can you fail to condemn the evil genocidal palestinian movement?

What is that you support so much about the palestinians? The indoctrination of little palestinian children to become terrorists? Or is it the rapes? The kidnappings? The genocide of the 7th October?

Here's the deal, you're the poster child of whataboutism and cherry picking. Israel is the poster child of human rights and democracy in the Middle East.

If you truly want to compare the russian aggression to another country it would be turkey but yet you keep crying about Israel.

Turkey is an artificial state built on genocides on other people's lands. The only difference between Nazi Germany and turkey is that Nazi Germany doesn't exist today.

Ukraine has a lot more in common with the Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks than the palestinians.

But please explain why Christians and Jews should accept to be treated as second class citizens in dictatorships all across the MENA region?

Israel may not be perfect, but the alternative is inhumane and a disgrace to humanity.[/QUOTE]Israel is the Greatest and most Just country to ever have existed.

This sick puke of a comment being what I thought was the most rotten thing I have heard from a fool like you, was eclipsed by this:

<< what else to expect from the irish, terrorism is deeply rooted in your culture. .

A cowardly dog like you smears the Irish anonymously and wouldn't do so in real life.

I have been on marches and I have said to the face of zionists what I think of them. I have stood shoulder shoulder with jews. Some of them orthodox- in these marches on the condemnation of Zion evilness. You insult Ireland and Irish people like the lowly coward that you are online, Shoebrain. In another age, it were no doubt your forefathers that oppressed the Irish and now you egest your hate.

Your so called greatest country that ever existed was BORN in terrorism.

[URL]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_terrorism[/URL]

And this is why the rightful minded world despises you zionists: your evil hypocrisy which is used to nefariously further your goals of brutalisation and the massacre and exporpriation of the Palestinians by you evil zionists. So evil, that even the unconscionable right wing ardent zion supporting media, the Telegraph, AKA The Jerusalem Post, is disturbed by your perverseness:

[URL]https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/04/15/israeli-settlers-emboldened-by-trump-lay-siege-to-west-bank/[/URL]

"It's not morally controversial to advocate for a Jewish, or Christian, state "? Well, it is when it is built on stolen land and on greater and greater theft and when the residents of that land are massacred in their 10's of thousands so that the evildoer's like you can get the resources and land. You know what that is, zionist? That's Lebansraum. The only difference between Nazi Germany and Israhell is that Nazi Germany doesn't exist today.

Keep massacring innocent babies, women and children, monster. Karma has a way of righting the wrongs of your kind. The brutality and wickedness of your Zionazis will be your downfall in 1 year, 10 years or a 100 years. Just as it was for your fellow nazis- and there won't be anyone left this time to shed tears for you and your ilk.

[QUOTE=Jarango;2997175]Word to the wise. Shoobree et al are Hasbara trols, paid to engage you in endless disputes and dead ends. Not worth engaging with. Most likely a low level hasbara trol, learning the ropes here before being promoted to more prominwet sites. There is a vast literature on these hirelings.[/QUOTE]You're probably right. It is hard to not rise to the bait of these evil zio's. They control the media, and the apparatus of the Govt and the economy- and they are flexing their muscle. So far this medium is one of the few that doesn't let these tyrants get away with their tyranny.

What's up with all this palestine middle east talk in the Ukraine forum? Me no likey. But since we're on that subject, then I do have a lifelong fantasy fetish bucket list type thing. I've always wanted to fuck a hijab babe. Like she's all in the hijab gear, pretending to be all demure and stuff, but deep down inside she's a super skank. Then she'd get completely naked except the head covering, but not the full face only see the eyes ninja type, more like the one's you see in Indonesia, type. But with a Mia Khalifa look, big titties and all that. Yeah. Man, I'd pay real money to fuck that. That's my dream. Then I'd come all over her face, while she still has the hijab on. That would be so awesome! It'd be even better if I can fuck her on a Friday. IYKYK.

Better yet, if she was like an Uzbek type, or maybe a more blondish Lebanese type. The whole forbidden fruit thing, you know?

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2997327][b]So far this medium is one of the few that doesn't let these tyrants get away with their tyranny.[/b][/QUOTE]I don't understand this. What medium? The internet? ISG? How is the "medium" stopping tyranny?

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2997189]I have sometimes wondered whether I am too hard on you, SubCmdr, but two picoseconds later I realize that no, I am not, [b]you are truly an imbecile[/b].[/QUOTE]Asking as an imbecile. Is is possible to help a ISG brother out. Please educate as to the meaning of your statement.

[QUOTE=NewtonYork;2997347]What's up with all this palestine middle east talk in the Ukraine forum? Me no likey. But since we're on that subject, then I do have a lifelong fantasy fetish bucket list type thing. I've always wanted to fuck a hijab babe. Like she's all in the hijab gear, pretending to be all demure and stuff, but deep down inside she's a super skank. Then she'd get completely naked except the head covering, but not the full face only see the eyes ninja type, more like the one's you see in Indonesia, type. But with a Mia Khalifa look, big titties and all that. Yeah. Man, I'd pay real money to fuck that. That's my dream. Then I'd come all over her face, while she still has the hijab on. That would be so awesome! It'd be even better if I can fuck her on a Friday. IYKYK.

Better yet, if she was like an Uzbek type, or maybe a more blondish Lebanese type. The whole forbidden fruit thing, you know?[/QUOTE]LOL, I don't know, some people are just obsessed about the Israel-Palestine conflict. It's because they don't know anything else and have been brainwashed.

I think your bucket list thing is way more interesting as I share your fetish.

The closest I've come to achieve this fetish is with a Palestinian girl that used to wear a hijab when she visited the mosque during Ramadan.

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2997326]Israel is the Greatest and most Just country to ever have existed.

This sick puke of a comment being what I thought was the most rotten thing I have heard from a fool like you, was eclipsed by this:

<< what else to expect from the irish, terrorism is deeply rooted in your culture. .

A cowardly dog like you smears the Irish anonymously and wouldn't do so in real life.

I have been on marches and I have said to the face of zionists what I think of them. I have stood shoulder shoulder with jews. Some of them orthodox- in these marches on the condemnation of Zion evilness. You insult Ireland and Irish people like the lowly coward that you are online, Shoebrain. In another age, it were no doubt your forefathers that oppressed the Irish and now you egest your hate.

Your so called greatest country that ever existed was BORN in terrorism.

[URL]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_terrorism[/URL]

And this is why the rightful minded world despises you zionists: your evil hypocrisy which is used to nefariously further your goals of brutalisation and the massacre and exporpriation of the Palestinians by you evil zionists. So evil, that even the unconscionable right wing ardent zion supporting media, the Telegraph, AKA The Jerusalem Post, is disturbed by your perverseness:

[URL]https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/04/15/israeli-settlers-emboldened-by-trump-lay-siege-to-west-bank/[/URL]

"It's not morally controversial to advocate for a Jewish, or Christian, state "? Well, it is when it is built on stolen land and on greater and greater theft and when the residents of that land are massacred in their 10's of thousands so that the evildoer's like you can get the resources and land. You know what that is, zionist? That's Lebansraum. The only difference between Nazi Germany and Israhell is that Nazi Germany doesn't exist today.

Keep massacring innocent babies, women and children, monster. Karma has a way of righting the wrongs of your kind. The brutality and wickedness of your Zionazis will be your downfall in 1 year, 10 years or a 100 years. Just as it was for your fellow nazis- and there won't be anyone left this time to shed tears for you and your ilk.[/QUOTE]The hypocrisy is your obsession and hatred against Israel when you don't spew any of that hate against turkey, and they murdered over two million Christians*.

It's embarrassing to see your unwillingness to criticize the radical palestinians no matter what. *.

The palestinian terrorists murdered, raped and kidnapped more than a thousand Israelis in one day and you're pretending that the Palestinians are the good guys. *.

I'm sorry but the hypocrisy is all yours.

Damn, you can't even see the most obvious.

Let me start by saying that the rise of Israel is extremely beautiful and just. The second coming of Israel is a rare example of how Karma actually can come back to bite some very bad people.

I know history, I understand why Israel had to be revived. *.

My question to you is: how can you deny Jews and Christians their human rights, forcing them to live in fear as second-class citizens, persecuted and oppressed?

What we need now is a Christian state in the Middle East. *.

Through centuries Palestinian terrorists kept massacring innocent Israeli babies, women and children. But Israel has a way of righting the wrongs of your kind. The brutality and wickedness of you Palestinian nazi-islamic terrorists is your downfall. I love how you nazi-islamic terrorists keep speaking about the "downfall of Israel" when it's becoming increasingly clear that your downfall is taking place right now in front of our very eyes. Just as it was for your fellow nazis in Germany and Islamist terrorists in Raqqa. *.

Can you clarify what you meant with this quote: "There won't be anyone left this time to shed tears for you and your ilk. ".

Did you read that in Mein Kampf or was it something you heard in a speech?

The 7th October 2023 will forever mark the beginning of the end of your atrocities against peaceful civilians.

I still don't get why you insist on hating Israel when Israel created an oasis of peace and freedom in a desert of terrorism, radical islam, oppression and persecution of females and religious minorities.

You have*.

It's always the same procedure, the Palestinians (and other Nazi-Islamic terrorists) starts a war against Israel and are boasting about how they are going to kill all the Jews and when reality sets in you start to cry about how "evil" Israel is because they wouldn't let you rape and murder all the Israelis.

The palestinians aren't interested in peace.

You're a hypocrite, you believe that Palestine should be for Arabs only but you have no problem with Arabs migrating to Europe and Australia.

We do not murder Arabs, we give them citizenship, social welfare and free education and health care.

It's nauseating to see your hypocrisy and willingness to accept the ideology of ISIS.

The war against Israel is not only about land, it's about religion. It's a religious war, Jihad, where people are considered pawns to be sacrificed at any time in any number. *.

And that's one of the key issues, palestine will never be free if it's governed by an ISIS look alike.

Palestinians are murdered by hamas and you don't care. Young palestinians are arrested for having a coffe with a person of the opposite sex.

What more do you want from me? Do you want me to defend Kim Jong Un, North Korea and pretend as if the North Koreans are "free"?

Everyone knows the North Korean people would be better off with a different government so why is it so controversial to say the same about Hamas, and the other extremist terrorists in Gaza and the West Bank?

QUOTE=Newton York; What's up with all this palestine middle east talk in the Ukraine forum? Me no likey. But since we're on that subject, then I do have a lifelong fantasy fetish bucket list type thing. I've always wanted to fuck a hijab babe. Like she's all in the hijab gear, pretending to be all demure and stuff, but deep down inside she's a super skank. Then she'd get completely naked except the head covering, but not the full face only see the eyes ninja type, more like the one's you see in Indonesia, type. But with a Mia Khalifa look, big titties and all that. Yeah. Man, I'd pay real money to fuck that. That's my dream. Then I'd come all over her face, while she still has the hijab on. That would be so awesome! It'd be even better if I can fuck her on a.

Friday. IYKYK.

Better yet, if she was like an Uzbek type, or maybe a more blondish Lebanese type. The whole forbidden fruit thing, you know?/ QUOTE.

For Your Eyes only, 2 Forbidden Fruits, But Not on a Friday, LOL.

[URL]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm_kmgQ24QE[/URL]

Jewish women wearing veils.

QUOTE=Newton York; What's up with all this palestine middle east talk in the Ukraine forum? Me no likey. But since we're on that subject, then I do have a lifelong fantasy fetish bucket list type thing. I've always wanted to fuck a hijab babe. Like she's all in the hijab gear, pretending to be all demure and stuff, but deep down inside she's a super skank. Then she'd get completely naked except the head covering, but not the full face only see the eyes ninja type, more like the one's you see in Indonesia, type. But with a Mia Khalifa look, big titties and all that. Yeah. Man, I'd pay real money to fuck that. That's my dream. Then I'd come all over her face, while she still has the hijab on. That would be so awesome! It'd be even better if I can fuck her on a.

Friday. IYKYK.

Better yet, if she was like an Uzbek type, or maybe a more blondish Lebanese type. The whole forbidden fruit thing, you know?/ QUOTE.

For Your Eyes only, 2 Forbidden Fruits, But Not on a Friday, LOL.

[URL]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm_kmgQ24QE[/URL]

Jewish women wearing veils.

The Rada has voted to extend Martial Law for 90 days. This means no elections and continuation of mobilization.

The Rada can at any time vote again to suspend Martial Law. Elections can't be held during ML as per the country's constitution as well as free debate and activity of opposition parties can't be sustained.

Continuation of mobilization means no ceasefire as it's a condition by Russia to implement one.

Presidential elections can be held as early as 60 days after the lift of ML, and elections to Rada as early as 90 days. This is the math for 2025.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2997529]The hypocrisy is your obsession and hatred against Israel when you don't spew any of that hate against turkey, and they murdered over two million Christians*.

It's embarrassing to see your unwillingness to criticize the radical palestinians no matter what. *.

The palestinian terrorists murdered, raped and kidnapped more than a thousand Israelis in one day and you're pretending that the Palestinians are the good guys. *.

I'm sorry but the hypocrisy is all yours.

Damn, you can't even see the most obvious.

Let me start by saying that the rise of Israel is extremely beautiful and just. The second coming of Israel is a rare example of how Karma actually can come back to bite some very bad people.

I know history, I understand why Israel had to be revived. *.

My question to you is: how can you deny Jews and Christians their human rights, forcing them to live in fear as second-class citizens, persecuted and oppressed?

What we need now is a Christian state in the Middle East. *.

Through centuries Palestinian terrorists kept massacring innocent Israeli babies, women and children. But Israel has a way of righting the wrongs of your kind. The brutality and wickedness of you Palestinian nazi-islamic terrorists is your downfall. I love how you nazi-islamic terrorists keep speaking about the "downfall of Israel" when it's becoming increasingly clear that your downfall is taking place right now in front of our very eyes. Just as it was for your fellow nazis in Germany and Islamist terrorists in Raqqa. *.

Can you clarify what you meant with this quote: "There won't be anyone left this time to shed tears for you and your ilk. ".

Did you read that in Mein Kampf or was it something you heard in a speech?

The 7th October 2023 will forever mark the beginning of the end of your atrocities against peaceful civilians.

I still don't get why you insist on hating Israel when Israel created an oasis of peace and freedom in a desert of terrorism, radical islam, oppression and persecution of females and religious minorities.

You have*.

It's always the same procedure, the Palestinians (and other Nazi-Islamic terrorists) starts a war against Israel and are boasting about how they are going to kill all the Jews and when reality sets in you start to cry about how "evil" Israel is because they wouldn't let you rape and murder all the Israelis.

The palestinians aren't interested in peace.

You're a hypocrite, you believe that Palestine should be for Arabs only but you have no problem with Arabs migrating to Europe and Australia.

We do not murder Arabs, we give them citizenship, social welfare and free education and health care.

It's nauseating to see your hypocrisy and willingness to accept the ideology of ISIS.

The war against Israel is not only about land, it's about religion. It's a religious war, Jihad, where people are considered pawns to be sacrificed at any time in any number. *.

And that's one of the key issues, palestine will never be free if it's governed by an ISIS look alike.

Palestinians are murdered by hamas and you don't care. Young palestinians are arrested for having a coffe with a person of the opposite sex.

What more do you want from me? Do you want me to defend Kim Jong Un, North Korea and pretend as if the North Koreans are "free"?

Everyone knows the North Korean people would be better off with a different government so why is it so controversial to say the same about Hamas, and the other extremist terrorists in Gaza and the West Bank?[/QUOTE]I posted a long response to your contemptible rant, zionist, which appears not to be posted yet, but as an addendum, read this and weep you lying zionist:

[URL]https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/18/jerusalem-christians-easter-israeli-crackdown-church-holy-sepulchre[/URL]

I have seen with my own eyes how the Christians are spat at by the Israeli jews and cursed in a video in fact. So much for your "protection" of christians. Happy Easter.

Israel is an evil colony which is the tail that wags the American dog and warps the minds of evildoers like you to massacre and brutalise the Palestinians and encroach upon and steal their lands. The lies manifest in your post above are manifest in the Zionist owned media too, and the truth suppressed by jailing or deporting or punishing people for speaking the truth, and I have posted the facts which you conveniently ignored about how the genesis of Israel was terrorism, the real terrorists are the Israelis. You are merely a willing, mindless zionazi underling.

Bennett tried to negotiate a ceasefire or peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia in March of 2022. The two sides were very close. Here's the interview.

[URL]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qK9tLDeWBzs[/URL]

The part about Russia starts 2:20 (2 hours and 20 minutes) into the video and goes onto the 3 hour point. Remember that Israel depends on the USA for military, economic and moral support, and so Bennett isn't going to bite the hand that feeds it. Still the interview is eye opening. Here's a summary.

The USA believed there was no chance peace could be negotiated. The interviewer asks Bennett, "Maybe they (the USA) didn't want you to succeed?" Bennett: No response.

Bennett got Putin to agree to end his demand for denazification, which potentially would have involved killing Zelensky. Putin explicitly agreed than Zelensky would not be killed. Putin also agreed that Ukraine would not be required to disarm.

Zelensky agreed that Ukraine would not join NATO. The war broke out because Ukraine demanded to join NATO. So getting Zelensky to renounce this demand or goal was a big deal.

Earlier Ukraine had demanded a security guarantee, from France, the USA and Britain. Russia would have viewed such a guarantee the same as Ukraine joining NATO. It was a deal breaker.

Bennett told Zelensky, do you really think the USA is going to guarantee your security, say, 7 years from now? After it left Afghanistan with its tail between its legs? He encouraged Zelensky to look at Israel. It has a strong, independent military and can protect itself. Ukraine can do the same. Forget about the guarantees and build a strong military. As a result of Bennett's persuasion, Zelensky was willing to give up a security guarantee.

So there was a breakthrough. Both sides accepted this.

Then Bucha happened. (Details of the deaths of civilians in Bucha hit social media.) "I said it's over. I (still) saw solutions in that regard, that I don't want to go into. They're primarily related to postponing the argument by 99 years. "(In other words, he wasn't ready to give up.).

Bennett gave peace negotiations a 50% chance of success. Both sides very much wanted a ceasefire. Putin gave up denazification and Ukrainian disarmament. He did not want to continue at all costs. Yes, people can put on an act of course. But Bennett didn't think he was. And Zelensky had renounced joining NATO.

Boris Johnson adopted the aggressive line. (Boris wanted the war to continue.) The other point of view is that both sides lose in a war. Macron and Scholz were of (that kind of) more pragmatic view. Biden was in between.

There was a decision by the West to keep striking Putin, to take the more aggressive approach.

Everything I did was coordinated down to the last detail with the USA, France, Germany. They blocked it. I thought they were wrong. In retrospect though it's too soon to know. The downside of continuing the war was that there would be more Ukrainian and Russian casualties. This was a huge blow to Ukraine. Infrastructure was destroyed. There will have to be a Marshall Plan to rebuild it. Energy costs went up. Food exports to the Middle East and Africa were affected for a time. On the other hand, Biden created an alliance, that can reflect on other areas, like China and Taiwan. (In other words, he's saying western support for Ukraine may serve as a warning to other countries not to engage in something similar, like a Chinese takeover of Taiwan.).

There was a good chance of reaching a ceasefire if they (western powers) had not curbed it. But I'm not claiming it (blocking a ceasefire) was the wrong thing. In real time I thought the right thing was a ceasefire. Now I can't say. Maybe a ceasefire would have conveyed the wrong message to other countries. (Tiny's note: Is Bennett sincere, or is his statement colored by Israel's dependence on the USA?)

At the interview below:

"Denazification" of Ukraine should be understood as "prohibition of all neo-Nazi movements" and the need to "get rid of those people who leave this theory and practice in life and try to preserve it," Putin explained in an interview with Carlson. The President noted that this problem was discussed during the talks in Istanbul in the spring of 2022, an agreement was even reached to ban the cultivation of neo-Nazism in Ukraine, but Kyiv withdrew from the negotiation process.

Vladimir Putin, in an interview with Tucker Carlson, at the request of the American journalist, explained the meaning of the word "denazification" - this, according to him, is "the prohibition of all neo-Nazi movements. " The transcript of their conversation was published on the Kremlin website. The president repeated the thesis that Russia has not yet achieved the goals of the "military special operation"* in Ukraine.

Putin also explained the reasons why, in his opinion, denazification was necessary. The head of state noted that after the start of World War II, part of the "nationalistically minded elite" began collaborating with Adolf Hitler because they thought that he would "bring them freedom. " And although the shoots of nationalism are now being "crushed" in many countries, this is not happening in Ukraine: there, according to Putin, people who "destroyed Poles, Jews and Russians" were made into national heroes. "We need to get rid of those people who leave this theory and practice in life and try to preserve it. That is what denazification is. That is what we mean by it," the head of state emphasized.

Putin noted that denazification was one of the issues discussed during the negotiations in February-March 2022. According to him, during these negotiations an agreement was reached that "neo-Nazism will not be cultivated in Ukraine", it was to be prohibited at the legislative level. But as a result, Kyiv withdrew from the negotiation process, Ukraine "threw out all these agreements and accepted the instructions of Western countries under its salute", Putin concluded.

At the end of 2023, during a direct line and a large press conference, Putin said that peace in Ukraine would come after Russia achieved the goals of the "special operation". "These goals do not change", we are talking about denazification, demilitarization of Ukraine and its neutral status, Putin emphasized. He recalled that in 2022, Ukraine insisted during peace talks with Russia that there was "no fascism" in the country. "Well, how could there not be? When the national hero there is not just a nationalist, but a Nazi. Bandera, he is elevated to the rank of a national hero," he said on this matter. And he recalled that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during a visit to Canada, stood up and greeted the former soldier of the SS Galicia Division, 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka, who, according to Putin, "directly participated in the extermination of 1. 5 million Jews, Russians and Poles in Ukraine. " "Therefore, the issue of denazification is relevant," the president concluded.

After the start of the "special operation", the parties held several rounds of negotiations: the first three were held in Belarus in late February and early March, and the fourth on March 29,2022 in Istanbul. After that, the negotiation process was frozen. On May 14,2022, Putin said that the negotiation process was "effectively" suspended "by Kiev, which shows no interest in serious and constructive dialogue. " In September 2022, the President of Ukraine signed a decree that "states the impossibility of holding negotiations with the President of the Russian Federation V. Putin. ".

Putin gave an interview to Carlson on February 6. It was published at about 2:00 Moscow time on February 9 on the journalist's website. In the morning, as promised by the Russian president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov, it appeared on the Kremlin website, including in Russian.

[QUOTE=Questner;2997580]The Rada has voted to extend Martial Law for 90 days. This means no elections and continuation of mobilization.

The Rada can at any time vote again to suspend Martial Law. Elections can't be held during ML as per the country's constitution as well as free debate and activity of opposition parties can't be sustained.

Continuation of mobilization means no ceasefire as it's a condition by Russia to implement one.

Presidential elections can be held as early as 60 days after the lift of ML, and elections to Rada as early as 90 days. This is the math for 2025.[/QUOTE]Ukrainians support Zelensky who has balls to resist to criminal Putin and senile stupid Trump. It would be easier for Putin, if no more Zelensky.

[QUOTE=Questner;2998402]At the interview below:

"Denazification" of Ukraine should be understood as "prohibition of all neo-Nazi movements" and the need to "get rid of those people who leave this theory and practice in life and try to preserve it," Putin explained in an interview with Carlson. The President noted that this problem was discussed during the talks in Istanbul in the spring of 2022, an agreement was even reached to ban the cultivation of neo-Nazism in Ukraine, but Kyiv withdrew from the negotiation process.

Vladimir Putin, in an interview with Tucker Carlson, at the request of the American journalist, explained the meaning of the word "denazification" - this, according to him, is "the prohibition of all neo-Nazi movements. " The transcript of their conversation was published on the Kremlin website. The president repeated the thesis that Russia has not yet achieved the goals of the "military special operation"* in Ukraine...[/QUOTE]I'm sorry but basically nothing you wrote is true.

Putin never wanted a ceasefire.

There's a reason why the war never ends from the Russian side.

Putin never gave up his demands when it comes to his desire to dictate Ukrainian politics and the disarmament to Ukraine to the degree where they won't be able to defend their country.

It's obvious that Ukraine need concrete security guarantees and any deal without it is a carte blanche for Putin to continue his war crimes in Ukraine.

[QUOTE=Questner;2998402]At the interview below:

"Denazification" of Ukraine should be understood as "prohibition of all neo-Nazi movements" and the need to "get rid of those people who leave this theory and practice in life and try to preserve it," Putin explained in an interview with Carlson. The President noted that this problem was discussed during the talks in Istanbul in the spring of 2022, an agreement was even reached to ban the cultivation of neo-Nazism in Ukraine, but Kyiv withdrew from the negotiation process.

Vladimir Putin, in an interview with Tucker Carlson, at the request of the American journalist, explained the meaning of the word "denazification" - this, according to him, is "the prohibition of all neo-Nazi movements. " The transcript of their conversation was published on the Kremlin website. The president repeated the thesis that Russia has not yet achieved the goals of the "military special operation"* in Ukraine.

Putin also explained the reasons why, in his opinion, denazification was necessary. The head of state noted that after the start of World War II, part of the "nationalistically minded elite" began collaborating with Adolf Hitler because they thought that he would "bring them freedom. " And although the shoots of nationalism are now being "crushed" in many countries, this is not happening in Ukraine: there, according to Putin, people who "destroyed Poles, Jews and Russians" were made into national heroes. "We need to get rid of those people who leave this theory and practice in life and try to preserve it. That is what denazification is. That is what we mean by it," the head of state emphasized.

Putin noted that denazification was one of the issues discussed during the negotiations in February-March 2022. According to him, during these negotiations an agreement was reached that "neo-Nazism will not be cultivated in Ukraine", it was to be prohibited at the legislative level. But as a result, Kyiv withdrew from the negotiation process, Ukraine "threw out all these agreements and accepted the instructions of Western countries under its salute", Putin concluded.

At the end of 2023, during a direct line and a large press conference, Putin said that peace in Ukraine would come after Russia achieved the goals of the "special operation". "These goals do not change", we are talking about denazification, demilitarization of Ukraine and its neutral status, Putin emphasized. He recalled that in 2022, Ukraine insisted during peace talks with Russia that there was "no fascism" in the country. "Well, how could there not be? When the national hero there is not just a nationalist, but a Nazi. Bandera, he is elevated to the rank of a national hero," he said on this matter. And he recalled that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during a visit to Canada, stood up and greeted the former soldier of the SS Galicia Division, 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka, who, according to Putin, "directly participated in the extermination of 1. 5 million Jews, Russians and Poles in Ukraine. " "Therefore, the issue of denazification is relevant," the president concluded.

After the start of the "special operation", the parties held several rounds of negotiations: the first three were held in Belarus in late February and early March, and the fourth on March 29,2022 in Istanbul. After that, the negotiation process was frozen. On May 14,2022, Putin said that the negotiation process was "effectively" suspended "by Kiev, which shows no interest in serious and constructive dialogue. " In September 2022, the President of Ukraine signed a decree that "states the impossibility of holding negotiations with the President of the Russian Federation V. Putin. ".

Putin gave an interview to Carlson on February 6. It was published at about 2:00 Moscow time on February 9 on the journalist's website. In the morning, as promised by the Russian president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov, it appeared on the Kremlin website, including in Russian.[/QUOTE]Thanks for the explanation of denazification Questner. It makes a lot more sense than the Israeli Prime Minister's.

In the course of the interview, the PM mentioned going to Germany, to visit Olaf Scholz. Bennett was conducting shuttle diplomacy. He said he made a vow to never visit Germany, because of the atrocities committed by the Nazis on Jews during World War II. But he made an exception for the cause of peace.

From memory (I haven't gone back and listened to the audio again), Bennett said something like "the only way to deal with a Nazi of course is to kill him. " That would reflect his abhorrence and anger, at what the Nazis inflicted on Jews and others. Said another way, "The only good Nazi is a dead Nazi." I suspect he equated denazification with killing "Nazis" in the Ukrainian leadership based on his prejudices, not on what Putin told him.

And before one of our fellow board members jumps down my throat, I'm not calling Zelensky a Nazi.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2998620]Thanks for the explanation of denazification Questner. It makes a lot more sense than the Israeli Prime Minister's.

In the course of the interview, the PM mentioned going to Germany, to visit Olaf Scholz. Bennett was conducting shuttle diplomacy. He said he made a vow to never visit Germany, because of the atrocities committed by the Nazis on Jews during World War II. But he made an exception for the cause of peace.

From memory (I haven't gone back and listened to the audio again), Bennett said something like "the only way to deal with a Nazi of course is to kill him. " That would reflect his abhorrence and anger, at what the Nazis inflicted on Jews and others. Said another way, "The only good Nazi is a dead Nazi." I suspect he equated denazification with killing "Nazis" in the Ukrainian leadership based on his prejudices, not on what Putin told him.

And before one of our fellow board members jumps down my throat, I'm not calling Zelensky a Nazi.[/QUOTE]Like Yehud Barak Bennett might be lucky in his military service but not so skillful as a politician. His revelation of buying a book and seeking advice from National Security Council on the atrocities of the WWII says it all about him. He did the right thing with respect to Israelis and Jews in Ukraine however did not admit he was played in the dark as 'more serious intermediary'.

The interview translation does not follow exactly the role of Biden as presented by Bennett. Bennett basically says Biden was in support of the continuation of the war.

On Bucha: Until Ukrainian side comes with names of the civilians who lost their lives under the circumstances as they were described I would continue to see it as staged propaganda operation.

There were two types of civilian deaths all very tragic: territorial defence and collateral losses. Personally I did my inquiry on the morgues records with names, addresses and ages and added them into a geo location map.

There are also speculations about the longevity of Mr. Zelensky but I can't verify them. He did and said publicly enough to be sure he is gone.

Any association with the nazi collaborators and their ideas and legacy is beyond the pale. Just to give you a very minor hint in comparison: How would you feel if the next US administration topples the monuments on the Arlington Cemetery and renames the streets around World Trade Center in NY in memory of the binladen crew?

Looks like Trump is ready to walk away from this whole mess created by America itself. The dictator with no cards Zelensky has rejected the American peace proposal, the Russians seem to be ok with it.

I hope Trump makes good on his threat and walks away. This should mean no aid or support to Ukraine. IF that happens, expect a collapse of the Ukrainian front lines in the future. And IF that happens, expect the Russians to not just take 4 Oblasts (including Crimea) but 4 more.

Zelensky is a curse for Ukraine.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2999149]Looks like Trump is ready to walk away from this whole mess created by America itself. The dictator with no cards Zelensky has rejected the American peace proposal, the Russians seem to be ok with it.

I hope Trump makes good on his threat and walks away. This should mean no aid or support to Ukraine. IF that happens, expect a collapse of the Ukrainian front lines in the future. And IF that happens, expect the Russians to not just take 4 Oblasts (including Crimea) but 4 more.

Zelensky is a curse for Ukraine.[/QUOTE]You are an idiot.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2999149]Looks like Trump is ready to walk away from this whole mess created by America itself. The dictator with no cards Zelensky has rejected the American peace proposal, the Russians seem to be ok with it.

I hope Trump makes good on his threat and walks away. This should mean no aid or support to Ukraine. IF that happens, expect a collapse of the Ukrainian front lines in the future. And IF that happens, expect the Russians to not just take 4 Oblasts (including Crimea) but 4 more.

Zelensky is a curse for Ukraine.[/QUOTE]One of the opinions is that the US wants to save face by walking away. The Ukrainian project that benefited the MIC and LNG and harmed absolutely everybody and everything else is now failing and its time to fold. Every sane stakeholder would prefer to end the hostilities. Trump is right when he says this war would not have happened should he be the POTUS. Trump would never have armed, financed and charged the AFU into the conflict. Just recently Ukraine failed to reach a deal with holders of $2. 6 billion in debt during talks in Washington this week. If no agreement is reached, the country faces default. Without financial aid and military support from the US Ukraine will eventually face a collapse even if it takes 1 to 2 years.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2999149]Looks like Trump is ready to walk away from this whole mess created by America itself. The dictator with no cards Zelensky has rejected the American peace proposal, the Russians seem to be ok with it.

I hope Trump makes good on his threat and walks away. This should mean no aid or support to Ukraine. IF that happens, expect a collapse of the Ukrainian front lines in the future. And IF that happens, expect the Russians to not just take 4 Oblasts (including Crimea) but 4 more.

Zelensky is a curse for Ukraine.[/QUOTE]Ukrainians, even those who didn t vote for him, support Zelensky who has balls to resist versus criminal dictator Putin who killed so many Russians with his personnal war, and stupid shameful robber Trump who just want to rob Ukraine. All my support to Ukrainians who were already stolen Crimea which did belong to Ukraine in 1991 , when Putin was nothing in KGB at this time.

[QUOTE=Questner;2999331]One of the opinions is that the US wants to save face by walking away. The Ukrainian project that benefited the MIC and LNG and harmed absolutely everybody and everything else is now failing and its time to fold. Every sane stakeholder would prefer to end the hostilities. Trump is right when he says this war would not have happened should he be the POTUS. Trump would never have armed, financed and charged the AFU into the conflict. Just recently Ukraine failed to reach a deal with holders of $2. 6 billion in debt during talks in Washington this week. If no agreement is reached, the country faces default. Without financial aid and military support from the US Ukraine will eventually face a collapse even if it takes 1 to 2 years.[/QUOTE]Trump is just so senile, when his administration refused in 2018, only 7 years ago, Crimea robbery by Putin, but his too old neurons forgot. Old senile shameful for USA.

[QUOTE=Questner;2999331]One of the opinions is that the US wants to save face by walking away. The Ukrainian project that benefited the MIC and LNG and harmed absolutely everybody and everything else is now failing and its time to fold. Every sane stakeholder would prefer to end the hostilities. Trump is right when he says this war would not have happened should he be the POTUS. Trump would never have armed, financed and charged the AFU into the conflict. Just recently Ukraine failed to reach a deal with holders of $2. 6 billion in debt during talks in Washington this week. If no agreement is reached, the country faces default. Without financial aid and military support from the US Ukraine will eventually face a collapse even if it takes 1 to 2 years.[/QUOTE]It's important to understand that putin is a war dictator. During putins dictatorship he has steadily had at least one war ongoing. There's no hope of russia living in peace during putins dictatorship.

I'm extremely thankful that Biden was the president and not the corrupt Donald trump who's most likely controlled by Russia.

Not only would putin have started the war against Ukraine, Russia would have received help from trump.

There's no end in sight to this war. Putin may short terms victories thanks to his control over trump; but they won't last.

Trump's living on borrowed time just like putin and Russia.

Putin isn't interested in peace and he's even less interested in having hundreds of thousands soldiers back in russia. If the war in Ukraine ends putin will just start a new one.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2999149]Looks like Trump is ready to walk away from this whole mess created by America itself. The dictator with no cards Zelensky has rejected the American peace proposal, the Russians seem to be ok with it.

I hope Trump makes good on his threat and walks away. This should mean no aid or support to Ukraine. IF that happens, expect a collapse of the Ukrainian front lines in the future. And IF that happens, expect the Russians to not just take 4 Oblasts (including Crimea) but 4 more.

Zelensky is a curse for Ukraine.[/QUOTE]You mean the mess created by russia and their dictator Vladimir putin.

Putin must have at least one active war during his bloody dictatorship.

Putins love for war is a curse for russia and all of Europe to be completely honest.

Only if putin loses his war in Ukraine can russia win. Regular russians and the russian economy will continue to suffer even (especially) if their dictator achieves his goals in Ukraine.

[QUOTE=TeFab456;2986603]Did you ever consider Putin should pay a price for his atrocities? Or would you just prefer to be on good business terms with any warlord in the workd?[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=TeFab456;2999276]You are an idiot.[/QUOTE]And you are Slim Pickens.

[URL]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snTaSJk0n_Y[/URL]

Pickens, also known as Major Kong, is the guy in the cowboy hat riding the bomb. Not to give away the plot but he's smack dab over Mother Russia and about to set off a bomb that leads to nuclear Armageddon.

I've decided you're a better candidate for the Slim Pickens award than Paulie97. Sorry Paulie.

[QUOTE=Questner;2998836]Like Yehud Barak Bennett might be lucky in his military service but not so skillful as a politician. His revelation of buying a book and seeking advice from National Security Council on the atrocities of the WWII says it all about him. He did the right thing with respect to Israelis and Jews in Ukraine however did not admit he was played in the dark as 'more serious intermediary'.

The interview translation does not follow exactly the role of Biden as presented by Bennett. Bennett basically says Biden was in support of the continuation of the war.

On Bucha: Until Ukrainian side comes with names of the civilians who lost their lives under the circumstances as they were described I would continue to see it as staged propaganda operation.

There were two types of civilian deaths all very tragic: territorial defence and collateral losses. Personally I did my inquiry on the morgues records with names, addresses and ages and added them into a geo location map.

There are also speculations about the longevity of Mr. Zelensky but I can't verify them. He did and said publicly enough to be sure he is gone.

Any association with the nazi collaborators and their ideas and legacy is beyond the pale. Just to give you a very minor hint in comparison: How would you feel if the next US administration topples the monuments on the Arlington Cemetery and renames the streets around World Trade Center in NY in memory of the binladen crew?[/QUOTE]A better analogy would be memorials to Confederate War Heroes. In 1861, southern states in the USA seceded from the country and formed a new government, called the Confederacy. One of its aims was to maintain the institution of slavery. Many cities in the South have or had statues and the like, honoring men who served in the Confederate army.

There used to be a school in a city where I lived, called Robert E. Lee Elementary School. Robert E. Lee was the top general of the Confederacy. There was a movement to change the name of the school. I thought that was a great idea. How would you like to be a black kid, attending a school named for someone who fought to keep your ancestors enslaved? Well, there were a lot of people in the community who disagreed. Two of them ostracized me because I wouldn't sign their petition to keep the name.

But is that sufficient reason for a war? Admittedly I'm a pacifist, but I don't think so. NATO's continued encroachment to the east and the borderline persecution of some Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine would be much stronger arguments.

As to Bucha, regardless of whether it was real, shit happens. It happened to Vietnamese at the hands of Americans at My Lai. Americans gunned down women, children and old men. They raped some of the women first. The alleged death tolls at Bucha and My Lai were similar.

That doesn't change the fact that not that many civilians have died in the Ukraine War. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights puts the total 12,910 through March 31,2025 for Ukraine. The UN put the total at 45,000 Palestinians in Gaza as of December, 2024. There were about 18 X more people in Ukraine than there were in Gaza before the wars. And the war in Ukraine has been going on longer. The UN believes their estimates are low, for both places. But still it's hard for me to believe that the Russian leadership is targeting civilians, in Bucha or elsewhere. By the numbers, Israel obviously has a lot less respect for the lives of noncombatants than Russia.

It used to be that stupid shit in Kyiv was about bad taxi drivers or girls not being nice to you, or scams in the city, etc. Now it's all politics here. War, politics, war and then more politics. I'm sad about this. Dudes, come on man. Let's talk about pussy. Ukraine chicks. Hot Ukraine chicks!

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2999537]A better analogy would be memorials to Confederate War Heroes. In 1861, southern states in the USA seceded from the country and formed a new government, called the Confederacy. One of its aims was to maintain the institution of slavery. Many cities in the South have or had statues and the like, honoring men who served in the Confederate army.

There used to be a school in a city where I lived, called Robert E. Lee Elementary School. Robert E. Lee was the top general of the Confederacy. There was a movement to change the name of the school. I thought that was a great idea. How would you like to be a black kid, attending a school named for someone who fought to keep your ancestors enslaved? Well, there were a lot of people in the community who disagreed. Two of them ostracized me because I wouldn't sign their petition to keep the name.

But is that sufficient reason for a war? Admittedly I'm a pacifist, but I don't think so. NATO's continued encroachment to the east and the borderline persecution of some Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine would be much stronger arguments.

As to Bucha, regardless of whether it was real, shit happens. It happened to Vietnamese at the hands of Americans at My Lai. Americans gunned down women, children and old men. They raped some of the women first. The alleged death tolls at Bucha and My Lai were similar.

That doesn't change the fact that not that many civilians have died in the Ukraine War. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights puts the total 12,910 through March 31,2025 for Ukraine. The UN put the total at 45,000 Palestinians in Gaza as of December, 2024. There were about 18 X more people in Ukraine than there were in Gaza before the wars. And the war in Ukraine has been going on longer. The UN believes their estimates are low, for both places. But still it's hard for me to believe that the Russian leadership is targeting civilians, in Bucha or elsewhere. By the numbers, Israel obviously has a lot less respect for the lives of noncombatants than Russia.[/QUOTE]Why do you pretend that Volodymyr Zelensky, a Jewish Ukrainian, is a nazi?

I'm glad however that you are finally out of the closet as a pro-Putin, pro-Russia, pro-disinformation and pro-war troll.

There are more nazis in russia than in Ukraine, it's a fact. European neo-nazist even travelled to russia for training camps together with the russian nazis.

So no, there's no basis for your shameless lies.

What excuse are you going to give for putins war against Georgia? Are the Georgians also nazis?

You're running out of excuses, but your credibility is already long gone.

Putin is a war criminal that's actively targeting Ukrainian civilians and children. There's no way any human can defend that, but you defend it.

You have zero regard for Ukrainian lives.

You, putin and russia have murdered at least 60'000 Ukrainians.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2999537]A better analogy would be memorials to Confederate War Heroes. In 1861, southern states in the USA seceded from the country and formed a new government, called the Confederacy. One of its aims was to maintain the institution of slavery. Many cities in the South have or had statues and the like, honoring men who served in the Confederate army.

There used to be a school in a city where I lived, called Robert E. Lee Elementary School. Robert E. Lee was the top general of the Confederacy. There was a movement to change the name of the school. I thought that was a great idea. How would you like to be a black kid, attending a school named for someone who fought to keep your ancestors enslaved? Well, there were a lot of people in the community who disagreed. Two of them ostracized me because I wouldn't sign their petition to keep the name.

But is that sufficient reason for a war? Admittedly I'm a pacifist, but I don't think so. NATO's continued encroachment to the east and the borderline persecution of some Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine would be much stronger arguments.

As to Bucha, regardless of whether it was real, shit happens. It happened to Vietnamese at the hands of Americans at My Lai. Americans gunned down women, children and old men. They raped some of the women first. The alleged death tolls at Bucha and My Lai were similar.

That doesn't change the fact that not that many civilians have died in the Ukraine War. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights puts the total 12,910 through March 31,2025 for Ukraine. The UN put the total at 45,000 Palestinians in Gaza as of December, 2024. There were about 18 X more people in Ukraine than there were in Gaza before the wars. And the war in Ukraine has been going on longer. The UN believes their estimates are low, for both places. But still it's hard for me to believe that the Russian leadership is targeting civilians, in Bucha or elsewhere. By the numbers, Israel obviously has a lot less respect for the lives of noncombatants than Russia.[/QUOTE]Let me tell you what my close friend was told by his ethnic russian relatives living in one of the occupied Ukrainian territories; Russians were not persecuted by Ukraine, but are afraid of putin, Russia and their unprovoked violence against Ukraine and civilians residing in Ukraine.

They do not want to be a part of putins dictatorship, and today they see no chance of ever being a part of a democratic russia in a humane way.

Let me be extremely clear, these are people that lived safely in a democratic Ukraine but now is forced to live in a war zone and they never know what will be putin's next genocidal move. Putin do not protect them, he puts them in danger. In fact, he has killed several ethnic russian Ukrainians.

[QUOTE=Questner;2999331]One of the opinions is that the US wants to save face by walking away. The Ukrainian project that benefited the MIC and LNG and harmed absolutely everybody and everything else is now failing and its time to fold. Every sane stakeholder would prefer to end the hostilities. Trump is right when he says this war would not have happened should he be the POTUS. Trump would never have armed, financed and charged the AFU into the conflict. Just recently Ukraine failed to reach a deal with holders of $2. 6 billion in debt during talks in Washington this week. If no agreement is reached, the country faces default. Without financial aid and military support from the US Ukraine will eventually face a collapse even if it takes 1 to 2 years.[/QUOTE]You may very well be correct in saying that the United States just wants to save face and find an excuse to walk away. Trump has already said a few times that this is Biden's war, meaning he started it, and yes that is correct. But now it's Trump's war and he has to figure out what he is going to do.

I am on record saying here that this will be decided on the battlefield, with the Russians taking much more territory than what they currently hold and a collapse of the AFU. If Trump makes good on his vow to walk away and that means cutting off funding to Ukraine (that would make sense), then that is a very likely outcome.

The Russians will win an ugly victory and Ukraine will lose more territory. I would be happy if both sides accept the deal currently offered by Trump but I don't it's going to happen. I really hope I'm wrong. For Ukraine's sake.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2999633]...I am on record saying here that this will be decided on the battlefield, with the Russians taking much more territory than what they currently hold and a collapse of the AFU. If Trump makes good on his vow to walk away and that means cutting off funding to Ukraine (that would make sense), then that is a very likely outcome...[/QUOTE]I am on record saying Putin will be killed by his generals, the Russian army will collapse and rapidly abandon Crimea.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2999633]...I would be happy if both sides accept the deal currently offered by Trump but I don't it's going to happen. I really hope I'm wrong. For Ukraine's sake.[/QUOTE]There are a lot of other people who hope the for the same, on both sides. Especially the grunts on the front lines:

[URL]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk8XJNn9Xtg[/URL]

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2999590]Let me tell you what my close friend was told by his ethnic russian relatives living in one of the occupied Ukrainian territories; Russians were not persecuted by Ukraine, but are afraid of putin, Russia and their unprovoked violence against Ukraine and civilians residing in Ukraine.

They do not want to be a part of putins dictatorship, and today they see no chance of ever being a part of a democratic russia in a humane way.

Let me be extremely clear, these are people that lived safely in a democratic Ukraine but now is forced to live in a war zone and they never know what will be putin's next genocidal move. Putin do not protect them, he puts them in danger. In fact, he has killed several ethnic russian Ukrainians.[/QUOTE]And this is what my colleague wrote to me in an email in July of last year.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2927745]This is a message I got today from a western business associate who worked in the FSU for a couple of decades. It's about one of his business partners who was originally from the Donbas. I've omitted places and names so I don't "out" myself or him.

*****s extended family, Aunts and Uncles and cousins live in (Name of city and area in Donbas) under the jack-boot of the Ukrainian Army and last time I heard feed-back about six months ago, they were fearing for their lives daily. Skin-heads patrol the streets and pistol whip any dissenters. They are afraid to speak Russian as they have a mixed Russian and Cossack heritage. *****s aunt and uncles and cousins have been living in their respective basements for a few years now, one cousin died of a heart attack last year (only 30 years old). ***** was devastated, it's all very sad for Ukrainians to be thrust into a major war with one of the most effective yet brutal armies historically and the west pouring weapons in, to 'save Ukraine just increases the misery of the people who can't do much as they don't live in a democracy as we understand it.[/QUOTE]

Reading is fundamental ShooBree.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2999587]Why do you pretend that Volodymyr Zelensky, a Jewish Ukrainian, is a nazi?[/QUOTE]Please note below.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2998620]...And before one of our fellow board members jumps down my throat, I'm not calling Zelensky a Nazi.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2999587]I'm glad however that you are finally out of the closet as a pro-Putin, pro-Russia, pro-disinformation and pro-war troll.

There are more nazis in russia than in Ukraine, it's a fact. European neo-nazist even travelled to russia for training camps together with the russian nazis.

So no, there's no basis for your shameless lies.[/QUOTE]Perhaps you'd like to point towards those shameless lies. I said denazification is NOT sufficient reason for a war. I can see why a monument to a leader of an organization that exterminated Polish and Jewish civilians in large numbers would grate on people though.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2999587]What excuse are you going to give for putins war against Georgia? Are the Georgians also nazis?

You're running out of excuses, but your credibility is already long gone.

Putin is a war criminal that's actively targeting Ukrainian civilians and children. There's no way any human can defend that, but you defend it.

You have zero regard for Ukrainian lives.[/QUOTE]I have a much higher regard for Ukrainian lives than you do. My constant message in this forum for the last couple of years has been that this is a stupid war and the powers involved need to end it, so people can stop dying.

Your claim that Putin's targeting Ukrainian civilians and children is bull shit. The numbers don't bear you out. Please see my comparison between civilian deaths in Ukraine and Gaza below in a reply to Questner, post #4271. Roosevelt and Churchill did target civilians and children in large numbers, when they carpet bombed Germany and Japan. There were single days when they killed more civilians than Russians killed during the entire Ukrainian war.

If you're going to adopt a very loose definition of "targeting", then maybe you have a case. But then wasn't George W. Bush orders of magnitude worse than Putin? Over 4 million people have died in post 9/11 wars by one estimate.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;2999587]You...have murdered at least 60'000 Ukrainians.[/QUOTE]Get a grip ShoBree. You're not logical when you're hysterical. You might want to look at some of Paulie's posts on logic in this thread, although you'll have to wade through a ton of neoconservative clap trap to find them. I'm a poster on a hooker board. I'm not the Almighty. And like I said.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2999537]...I'm a pacifist...[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=JohnClayton;2999701]I am on record saying Putin will be killed by his generals, the Russian army will collapse and rapidly abandon Crimea.[/QUOTE]OK, I'll go on record too, saying the clouds are made of cotton candy and the sky is a sea of dreams.

[QUOTE=JohnClayton;2999701]I am on record saying Putin will be killed by his generals, the Russian army will collapse and rapidly abandon Crimea.[/QUOTE]It will be best for Russians and our world, if we could be gotten rid of criminal dictator Putin. Unfortunately, stupid Trump wants to give him Donbass and Crimea, forgotting what he said in 2018 . Just senile and now robber.

[QUOTE=JohnClayton;2999701]I am on record saying Putin will be killed by his generals, the Russian army will collapse and rapidly abandon Crimea.[/QUOTE]Well, you're a dumbass, so you going on record doesn't mean jack shit.

Regards,

Blood Red.

[URL]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7ylnQBRa28[/URL]

Vladimir Putin was informed about the defeat of the Ukrainian Armed Forces: Kursk region is liberated, the army is moving to Sumy.

The last village in Kursk Oblast has been cleared of Ukrainian soldiers, the Ukrainian operation has finally failed.

The fighting on Russian soil cost the AFU dearly. Kyiv brought in 60,000 men. They were completely ground to pieces in six months. The Ukrainian Armed Forces suffered no less heavy losses in military equipment.

76 thousand people. Losses killed and wounded. 7,700 units of military equipment were destroyed, including 412 tanks, 340 infantry fighting vehicles, 314 armored personnel carriers, 2,300 other armored combat vehicles.

- I would like to separately note the participation of the DPRK military personnel in the liberation of the border areas of the Kursk region. Soldiers and officers of the Korean People's Army, performing combat missions shoulder to shoulder with Russian military personnel, demonstrated high professionalism, showed fortitude, courage and heroism in battle, - The Chief of the General Staff.

Gerasimov reported. At the same time, the general emphasized that the participation of Korean soldiers is fully consistent with international standards. After all, the countries have a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty, which entered into force on December 4, 2024.

So, we have expected the above results around end of December or early January but it took longer.

[QUOTE=Questner;2999751]Vladimir Putin was informed about the defeat of the Ukrainian Armed Forces: Kursk region is liberated, the army is moving to Sumy...[/QUOTE]Ukraine says they're still there...

[QUOTE=JohnClayton;2999785]Ukraine says they're still there...[/QUOTE]And you believe it. Dumbass. LOL.

If you knew absolutely anything about the conflict and have followed it over the years, you'd know that Ukraine never admits a loss until a long time afterwards. Like with Bakhmut, Avdivka, etc etc. They admitted they were driven out months later.

[QUOTE=Questner;2999751]Vladimir Putin was informed about the defeat of the Ukrainian Armed Forces: Kursk region is liberated, the army is moving to Sumy.

The last village in Kursk Oblast has been cleared of Ukrainian soldiers, the Ukrainian operation has finally failed.

The fighting on Russian soil cost the AFU dearly. Kyiv brought in 60,000 men. They were completely ground to pieces in six months. The Ukrainian Armed Forces suffered no less heavy losses in military equipment.

76 thousand people. Losses killed and wounded. 7,700 units of military equipment were destroyed, including 412 tanks, 340 infantry fighting vehicles, 314 armored personnel carriers, 2,300 other armored combat vehicles.

- I would like to separately note the participation of the DPRK military personnel in the liberation of the border areas of the Kursk region. Soldiers and officers of the Korean People's Army, performing combat missions shoulder to shoulder with Russian military personnel, demonstrated high professionalism, showed fortitude, courage and heroism in battle, - The Chief of the General Staff.

Gerasimov reported. At the same time, the general emphasized that the participation of Korean soldiers is fully consistent with international standards. After all, the countries have a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty, which entered into force on December 4, 2024.

So, we have expected the above results around end of December or early January but it took longer.[/QUOTE]Another failure for the Nazi Kiev regime. I said at the start that this was a huge blunder and only for optics. And Zelensky was going to use this as a bargaining chip, that sure turned out nicely. Now he wants to send 18 year olds to the front line. What an enormous tragedy.

While we're here talking about Kyiv. Which do you think is worse?

Being in an actual prison, like in Bangkok's Bang Kwang. Or the metaphorical prison of being trapped in a shitty job in the States?

One is literally prison, but it's in beautiful Thailand. While the other is not actually prison, but sure as hell feels like it. Especially with the asshole co-workers. Life is tough dudes. Fucking tough *sigh*.

'Our position on the agreement is well known. We proceed from the fact that Kiev's non-membership in NATO and confirmation of its neutral and non-aligned status in accordance with the 1990 Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine is one of the two pillars for a final settlement of the Ukrainian crisis that meets Russia's security interests. The second is to overcome the consequences of the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev, formed as a result of the February 2014 coup, including its actions to legislatively and physically exterminate everything Russian — language, media, culture, traditions, and canonical Orthodoxy.

International recognition of Russia's ownership of Crimea, Sevastopol, Donetsk People's Republic, Lugansk People's Republic, Kherson Oblast and Zaporizhia is imperative. All of Kiev's commitments must be legally enforceable, have enforcement mechanisms and be permanent. On the agenda are the tasks of demilitarizing and denazifying Ukraine, lifting sanctions, lawsuits and arrest warrants, and returning Russian assets "frozen" in the West. We will also seek reliable guarantees of the security of the Russian Federation against the threats posed by the hostile activities of NATO, the European Union and its individual member states on our western borders. '.

Full interview here:

[URL]https://oglobo.globo.com/mundo/noticia/2025/04/28/a-bola-nao-esta-do-nosso-lado-diz-lavrov-sobre-negociacao-com-ucrania.ghtml[/URL]

[QUOTE=BloodRed;2999881]Another failure for the Nazi Kiev regime. I said at the start that this was a huge blunder and only for optics. And Zelensky was going to use this as a bargaining chip, that sure turned out nicely. Now he wants to send 18 year olds to the front line. What an enormous tragedy.[/QUOTE]Ukrainians are nazis? And Putin is best for human rights?

[QUOTE=Sirioja;2999725]It will be best for Russians and our world, if we could be gotten rid of criminal dictator Putin. Unfortunately, stupid Trump wants to give him Donbass and Crimea, forgotting what he said in 2018 . Just senile and now robber.[/QUOTE]Simplest and fastest and cheapest solution to end the war: Put a "contract" on Putler, just 1 Billion Dollars should do the trick.

Said it already 2 years ago.

Just take the money from the frozen assets.

[QUOTE=ReinerOtto;3000382]Simplest and fastest and cheapest solution to end the war: Put a "contract" on Putler, just 1 Billion Dollars should do the trick.

Said it already 2 years ago.

Just take the money from the frozen assets.[/QUOTE]Good solution and Russians would be more free and could live with their brothers Ukrainians. Problem is Trump is too stupid and preferred to suck him and wants to rob poor Ukrainians.

[QUOTE=Questner;3000269]'Our position on the agreement is well known. We proceed from the fact that Kiev's non-membership in NATO and confirmation of its neutral and non-aligned status in accordance with the 1990 Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine is one of the two pillars for a final settlement of the Ukrainian crisis that meets Russia's security interests. The second is to overcome the consequences of the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev, formed as a result of the February 2014 coup, including its actions to legislatively and physically exterminate everything Russian language, media, culture, traditions, and canonical Orthodoxy.

International recognition of Russia's ownership of Crimea, Sevastopol, Donetsk People's Republic, Lugansk People's Republic, Kherson Oblast and Zaporizhia is imperative. All of Kiev's commitments must be legally enforceable, have enforcement mechanisms and be permanent. On the agenda are the tasks of demilitarizing and denazifying Ukraine, lifting sanctions, lawsuits and arrest warrants, and returning Russian assets "frozen" in the West. We will also seek reliable guarantees of the security of the Russian Federation against the threats posed by the hostile activities of NATO, the European Union and its individual member states on our western borders.[/QUOTE]In other words; the war will continue.

There won't be any international recognition, the Russian assets are now Ukrainian assets and the sanctions from the EU won't disappear.

How can Russia pretend to be the victim when they have nuclear weapons and always start wars against their peaceful neighbors, like Ukraine and Georgia.

They seem to live in a post truth society where every day is April fool's day.

I love how the Russian regime is crying about Russian culture in Ukraine when Putin killed the future of Russian culture in Ukraine. You don't exactly win the Ukrainian people's hearts and minds by murdering their children.

This war is getting out of hand. I don't understand why Russia is targeting Spain and Portugals power grid. This is getting scary guys.

Russia invaded Ukraine during the previous administration as they simply watched, played cheer leader, sent the money entrusted to them to others when it would be better spent on my fellow Americans. Trump has been in office for just over 100 days. Give the man at least as long as the previous administration has to effectively do something.

[B]During this period of time France has not put boots on the ground to help the Ukrainians![/B]

[QUOTE=Sirioja;3000615]Good solution and Russians would be more free and could live with their brothers Ukrainians. Problem is Trump is too stupid and preferred to suck him and wants to rob poor Ukrainians.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=ShooBree;3000686]In other words; the war will continue.

There won't be any international recognition, the Russian assets are now Ukrainian assets and the sanctions from the EU won't disappear.

How can Russia pretend to be the victim when they have nuclear weapons and always start wars against their peaceful neighbors, like Ukraine and Georgia.[/QUOTE]It is pretty funny about how Europe is saying Russia being in Ukraine is so intolerable to Europe. The scam here is the same as almost every war has been since WW2, something akin to the domino theory. If we do not stop them in Ukraine, they could be breathing down the necks of Germany in no time.

What is so stupid is from 1945 to 1989, Russia was already in East Germany.

And they are supposed to give up their nuclear weapons is a new one. Really? Yeah, well, you are right. If that is a question of peace, the Russians can and should keep fighting.

The irony of the domino theory is that NATO did in fact expand until they were right on the Russian border and worse than that with NATO help, Ukraine actually invaded Russia. That the Russians want to keep a buffer zone and their nukes seems rational to me given all that has gone on.

[QUOTE=Sirioja;3000290]Ukrainians are nazis? [/QUOTE]Some are yes, and they are a big part of the government. I guess you've not heard of the Azov battalion.

[QUOTE=NewtonYork;3001145]This war is getting out of hand. I don't understand why Russia is targeting Spain and Portugals power grid. This is getting scary guys.[/QUOTE]You're sounding like some of the Russophobes here Newton. They were sure that Russia sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines transporting its own gas. Ridiculous.

The power outage in Spain was caused by overreliance on solar and wind energy and underinvestment in the grid.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3001301]You're sounding like some of the Russophobes here Newton. They were sure that Russia sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines transporting its own gas. Ridiculous.

[/QUOTE]My favorite lie was that the Russians were bombing the Zaporzhia nuclear power plant, which they control. So basically the Russians were bombing themselves. Amazing.

Oh yeah the Russians are running out of missiles. The Russians are fighting with shovels too.

[URL]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQgr3De1AUQ[/URL]

Posted today a unique interview with the President covering 25 years. Use Setting to generate captions. The translation has mistakes but generally tolerable. It's a long watch but highly recommended.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3001276]Some are yes, and they are a big part of the government. I guess you've not heard of the Azov battalion.[/QUOTE]Ukrainians never attacked Russia, not even after Crimea robbery, when criminal dictator Putin attacked Ukraine. These are real facts and so many Russians killed because of only Putin.

[QUOTE=Sirioja;3001719]Ukrainians never attacked Russia, not even after Crimea robbery, when criminal dictator Putin attacked Ukraine. These are real facts and so many Russians killed because of only Putin.[/QUOTE]Crimea has always been Russian and the Crimean people voted to join Russia. I thought you folks in the collective west believe in democracy? Or do you only accept referendums that you yourself conduct and accepts the results you like, like the one in Kosovo?

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3001864]Crimea has always been Russian and the Crimean people voted to join Russia. I thought you folks in the collective west believe in democracy? Or do you only accept referendums that you yourself conduct and accepts the results you like, like the one in Kosovo?[/QUOTE]Wasn t Crimea belonging to Ukraine since 1991 , when Putin was nothing then. Putin didn t respect what he signed in Minsk and fucked elections, so, same level of democracy than in Russia, killing challengers. He also tried to fuck elections in Georgia, Moldavia, Romania. For sure, Putin level of democrat, when a real criminal and dictator. Russians are too blind, when Putin is their worst disease. Opinion of somebody who love Russia, so I can only hate Putin who dirty Russia. Same for Trump in USA.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3001864]Crimea has always been Russian and the Crimean people voted to join Russia. I thought you folks in the collective west believe in democracy? Or do you only accept referendums that you yourself conduct and accepts the results you like, like the one in Kosovo?[/QUOTE]This is pure Russian propaganda and disinformation. The history of Crimea is a complex; however, a unifying theme has been Russian imperialism attempting to gain total control over the last 250 years. Crimea was only demoted to an oblast in 1945 following the ethnic cleansing (by the Russians) of the Crimean Tatars in 1945. The Russians have wanted Crimea for centuries, but it has never been Russian.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3001864]Crimea has always been Russian and the Crimean people voted to join Russia. I thought you folks in the collective west believe in democracy? Or do you only accept referendums that you yourself conduct and accepts the results you like, like the one in Kosovo?[/QUOTE]Crimea as well as present territory of Kherson region became Russian in April of 1783.

As well,

Field Marshal Alexander Suvorov crossed the Swiss Alps between September 11 and October 7, 1799. This was part of his Swiss campaign during the War of the Second Coalition, where his Russo-Austrian forces attempted to drive the French out of Switzerland. His army faced extreme hardships, including fierce battles and treacherous terrain, but managed to escape encirclement.

[QUOTE=Questner;3002141]Crimea as well as present territory of Kherson region became Russian in April of 1783.

As well,

Field Marshal Alexander Suvorov crossed the Swiss Alps between September 11 and October 7, 1799. This was part of his Swiss campaign during the War of the Second Coalition, where his Russo-Austrian forces attempted to drive the French out of Switzerland. His army faced extreme hardships, including fierce battles and treacherous terrain, but managed to escape encirclement.[/QUOTE]Crimea did belong to Ukraine since 1991 and according to Russia, til 2014 . At this time, when USSR split, Putin was only a nothing in KGB. When Russians and Ukrainians are brothers with so many mixed families, Russians should never follow such criminal dictator. Same for Israel with Netanyahou and USA with Trump.

Putin is kind of Staline hidden son and Russians are just pieces of meat for him. Russians would live more free and better without such criminal dictator.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3001276]Some are yes, and they are a big part of the government. I guess you've not heard of the Azov battalion.[/QUOTE]There are no nazis in the Ukrainian government, but there are a lot of nazis in Russia and the Russian government.

[QUOTE=Questner;3002141]Crimea as well as present territory of Kherson region became Russian in April of 1783.

As well,

Field Marshal Alexander Suvorov crossed the Swiss Alps between September 11 and October 7, 1799. This was part of his Swiss campaign during the War of the Second Coalition, where his Russo-Austrian forces attempted to drive the French out of Switzerland. His army faced extreme hardships, including fierce battles and treacherous terrain, but managed to escape encirclement.[/QUOTE]Crimea and Kherson became Ukrainian in 1922 respectively 1954.

Crimea has a long history of being anything but Russian. Moscow's shameless and brutal imperialism doesn't give Russia right to anything but contempt.

If you want to talk history you're obligated to start with saying that Karelia belongs to Finland and how Russia started wars and murderous war crimes to steal Karelia from Finland. Russia also need to give up Kaliningrad since it's historically not a Russian territory.

[QUOTE=Sirioja;3002277]Putin is kind of Staline hidden son and Russians are just pieces of meat for him. Russians would live more free and better without such criminal dictator.[/QUOTE]Putin showed again today to our world he doesn t want to stop war he started, while stupid crazy Trump keep on playing dangerous clown. Our world have to really isolate Russia and block their values, only way to stop this war making Russia broke, when they are not far to be.

Do not expect that once taking advantage of Russia's weakness, you will receive dividends forever. Russian has always come for their money. And when they come. Do not rely on an agreement signed by you, you are supposed to justify. They are not worth the paper it is written. Therefore, with the Russian is to play fair, or do not play.

The secret of politics? Make a good treaty with Russia.

Even the most favorable outcome of the war will never lead to the decomposition of the main forces of Russia, which is based on millions of Russian. The latter, even if they break up international treaties, just as quickly re-connect with each other, like pieces of a particle of mercury.

Ukraine still winning? Obviously, the whole country will be taken.

[QUOTE=Questner;3004044]Do not expect that once taking advantage of Russia's weakness, you will receive dividends forever. Russian has always come for their money. And when they come. Do not rely on an agreement signed by you, you are supposed to justify. They are not worth the paper it is written. Therefore, with the Russian is to play fair, or do not play.

The secret of politics? Make a good treaty with Russia.

Even the most favorable outcome of the war will never lead to the decomposition of the main forces of Russia, which is based on millions of Russian. The latter, even if they break up international treaties, just as quickly re-connect with each other, like pieces of a particle of mercury.[/QUOTE]That is probably the smartest thing I have read. There would have been no war in Ukraine if the USA kept its word about not moving NATO to the East. I get Trump's frustration with Putin but also why Putin and Russia cannot trust Trump. It is not Trump, but the fact that Trump will not be in office in 2029. What happens then? We have seen Russia make a deal with one American administration just to have another one come in and nix the plan later.

Kamala bragged about brining Ukraine into NATO right before the war. Does anyone believe she or any of the other Democrats would not do the exact same thing once Trump is out of office? Virutally all Democrats want Ukraine in NATO, and the Russians know it.

[QUOTE=Riina;3005800]Ukraine still winning? Obviously, the whole country will be taken.[/QUOTE]Yes, Ukraine is winning.

The Russians are running of missiles. The Russians are running out of drones. The Russians are fighting with shovels. Putin is gravely ill. Crimea will be retaken. The Russians are bombing the ZNPP. The Russians blew up Nordstream. Russia has lost over a million soldiers.

Russia is broke, where did you get that from? Even after paying for a war now for several years, Russia's debt to GDP ratio was around 20 to 25%, unlike the 120% for the US or circa 90% for the Euro area. Russia is far from broke.

Putin was quite clear; you put Nato in my backyard and I am going to respond. So he responded.

History is a great teacher, the Europeans / Nato should have known better than to bait the bear!

[QUOTE=Sirioja;3003811]Putin showed again today to our world he doesn t want to stop war he started, while stupid crazy Trump keep on playing dangerous clown. Our world have to really isolate Russia and block their values, only way to stop this war making Russia broke, when they are not far to be.[/QUOTE]

The Azov brigades and their backers in the Ukrainian establishment may disagree.

Western media was extensively reporting the far right threat from Ukraine all the way up to the point where they stopped as Europe suddenly became Ukraines ally in the war against Russia. Western media is morally bankrupt, why would you believe anything that comes from them over the Russians. Putin may only give you half the truth, but its more than you will get from the bastions of free speech in the West.

[QUOTE=ShooBree;3002515]There are no nazis in the Ukrainian government, but there are a lot of nazis in Russia and the Russian government.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3006068]Yes, Ukraine is winning.

The Russians are running of missiles. The Russians are running out of drones. The Russians are fighting with shovels. Putin is gravely ill. Crimea will be retaken. The Russians are bombing the ZNPP. The Russians blew up Nordstream. Russia has lost over a million soldiers.[/QUOTE]I'm afraid Crimea and probably part of Donbass won't return to belong to Ukraine. Trump is sucking too much Putin and only interested to rob poor Ukrainians, with his lies about USA help money.

[QUOTE=Aimara;3006079]Russia is broke, where did you get that from? Even after paying for a war now for several years, Russia's debt to GDP ratio was around 20 to 25%, unlike the 120% for the US or circa 90% for the Euro area. Russia is far from broke.

Putin was quite clear; you put Nato in my backyard and I am going to respond. So he responded.

History is a great teacher, the Europeans / Nato should have known better than to bait the bear![/QUOTE]I wrote: Rather than a stupid sucker Trump, our world have to make Russia becoming broke, not buying petrol and gaz which enable Putin to buy weapons to kill women and children, even many Russian companies are not paid by Putin. This war is only criminal dictator Putin war, when Ukraine and NATO never threatened Russia and same for Finland. For sure, Russian medias are as objective as in north Korea.

[QUOTE=Sirioja;3006176]I'm afraid Crimea and probably part of Donbass won't return to belong to Ukraine. Trump is sucking too much Putin and only interested to rob poor Ukrainians, with his lies about USA help money.[/QUOTE]But I thought Ukraine was winning? That's what the mainstream western media keeps telling me. Are you saying they are lying?

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3006281]But I thought Ukraine was winning? That's what the mainstream western media keeps telling me. Are you saying they are lying?[/QUOTE]Which western media claim Ukraine is winning? Tell us, when most medias report about too many killed by criminal Putin. But Ukrainians are for sure very courageous to resist to weak Russian army since more than 3 years.

Very long read however very important read on the above.

Declassified documents show security assurances against NATO expansion to Soviet leaders from Baker, Bush, Genscher, Kohl, Gates, Mitterrand, Thatcher, Hurd, Major, and Woerner.

Slavic Studies Panel Addresses "Who Promised What to Whom on NATO Expansion?

[URL]https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/russia-programs/2017-12-12/nato-expansion-what-gorbachev-heard-western-leaders-early[/URL]

Of course Gorby the traitor didn't listen to Baker's advice on economy, but it's another story.

Gentlemen, In light of developments today, has your prognosis for an end to the war improved? Or do you think peace is as far away as ever? Thanks in advance.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3019075]Gentlemen, In light of developments today, has your prognosis for an end to the war improved? Or do you think peace is as far away as ever? Thanks in advance.[/QUOTE]Unfortunately for poor Ukrainians, after Trump sucked Putin dick for months when Putin has Trump balls in his hand, now Putin just makes fun of the old senile telling white today and black tomorrow, without even understanding difference. I m afraid Crimea and probably other parts are lost for Ukraine and Putin doesn t respect agreements. Only way to stop this war is never Trump, but only making broke Russia, then maybe blind Russians will wake up and make same than to Ceacescu, when almost same dictator. Russia would live better without criminal dictator Putin, when nobody want to attack Russia, but only his paranoiac business. Same for criminal Netanyahou making his war business with everybody, to avoid prosecution and supported by so shameful Trump. All 3 would be prosecuted if they didn t make their business to avoid it. Poor world with such criminals.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3019075]Gentlemen, In light of developments today, has your prognosis for an end to the war improved? Or do you think peace is as far away as ever? Thanks in advance.[/QUOTE]No, I remain very pessimistic. The war has not yet started.

[QUOTE=Questner;3019304]No, I remain very pessimistic. The war has not yet started.[/QUOTE]When crazy Putin, but he showed to the world his army is quite weak, after more than 3 years.

[QUOTE=Questner;3019304]No, I remain very pessimistic. The war has not yet started.[/QUOTE]Do you mean you expect the war to expand and directly involve other countries besides Russia and Ukraine?

Your link to the National Securities Archive back in May, which I read a couple of years ago, explains why Russia could be so upset with the West's broken promises that this could spread.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3019491]Do you mean you expect the war to expand and directly involve other countries besides Russia and Ukraine?

Your link to the National Securities Archive back in May, which I read a couple of years ago, explains why Russia could be so upset with the West's broken promises that this could spread.[/QUOTE]Yes, I do. In respect to short and medium range missiles treaty of 1988 which I witnessed first hand we are back to square one. Any intervention on the part of NATO into Ukraine, any impediment of maritime traffic in the Baltic Sea, any action in Tiraspol all may broaden the conflict to disastrous outcomes.

Again, with the US being the main architect of the conflict, the US Administration has now the chance to close the Ukrainian project, to restore balance, to improve the relationship between the countries and then other issues will be resolved.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Russia's willing to agree to a ceasefire if Ukraine cedes all of Donetsk and Luhansk, and if the world recognizes Russia's claim to the Donbas and Crimea. From there details become sketchy. Zaporizhzhia and Kherson might be divided up along the current lines of control or Ukraine might end up with all of the two oblasts. A third possibility is that there might be a land trade for some part of Zaporizhzhia or Kherson currently under Russia's control for land in Donetsk controlled by Ukraine.

I'm only seeing this right now in the WSJ. Other media sources aren't reporting on it.

This could be good news.

[QUOTE=Questner;3019506]Yes, I do. In respect to short and medium range missiles treaty of 1988 which I witnessed first hand we are back to square one. Any intervention on the part of NATO into Ukraine, any impediment of maritime traffic in the Baltic Sea, any action in Tiraspol all may broaden the conflict to disastrous outcomes.

Again, with the US being the main architect of the conflict, the US Administration has now the chance to close the Ukrainian project, to restore balance, to improve the relationship between the countries and then other issues will be resolved.[/QUOTE]

Thanks Questner, you’re insightful as always

Poor Ukrainians who may be fucked by senile Trump sucking Putin who hold his balls, in Alaska. Since 1991 , Crimea did belong to Ukraine and same for other places now invaded, when Putin who was just nothing in 1988 , is an invader. And Trump criticized on his first election Crimea invaded, but he is too senile now. Criminal Putin can t travel all over the world now, so he needs his criminal friends to receive him. Same for Netanyahou.

[QUOTE=Questner;3019304]No, I remain very pessimistic. The war has not yet started.[/QUOTE]Russia has a bigger vision.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3019514]The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Russia's willing to agree to a ceasefire if Ukraine cedes all of Donetsk and Luhansk, and if the world recognizes Russia's claim to the Donbas and Crimea. From there details become sketchy. Zaporizhzhia and Kherson might be divided up along the current lines of control or Ukraine might end up with all of the two oblasts. A third possibility is that there might be a land trade for some part of Zaporizhzhia or Kherson currently under Russia's control for land in Donetsk controlled by Ukraine.

I'm only seeing this right now in the WSJ. Other media sources aren't reporting on it.[/QUOTE]First of all WSJ is anti-Trump and publishes mostly deliberate nonsense with respect to the conflict. Ignore it.

Ukraine can withdraw troops from 4 regions, but can't cede it without changes in the Constitution. Big difference mass media does not emphasize it to you.

Ceasefire can be only temporary, limited and conditional and by all means it should leave no chance to NATO's direct intervention.

It's up to individual countries to recognize the facts, like Nicaragua did recently, but it can't added to the treaty. The US can recognize, but I don't see how Congress passes it.

It's hard to comment about 2 regions, Zaporozhye and Kherson, the only thing is don't believe any news who may claim the RF promised to cede them.

Trump's efforts are laudable, but we discount them in the long term. It's our land for millennium and we will get it one way or another and unite the country.

Even if some technical details may be complicated, the general picture of the conflict is rather simple, and I don't know why some lack mental acuity to get it.

[QUOTE=Riina;3019645]Russia has a bigger vision.[/QUOTE]Russian meat for war, or criminal dictator Putin?

Sir Tony Brenton had an interesting take on the meeting on CNN this afternoon. Brenton is a career British civil servant and old Russia hand who served as Britain's ambassador to Russia from 2004 to 2008, during Labour Party administrations.

Witkoff said today Russia was willing to accept security guarantees from the USA And other nations, akin to NATO's Title 5. Title 5 states that an armed attack against one NATO member is an attack against them all. Conversations between the Trump administration and European officials appear to confirm that Russia has agreed to accept robust security guarantees for Ukraine.

Brenton said Russia didn't and won't agree, under any circumstances, to Ukrainian membership in NATO. But a guarantee like what Witkoff described is just as good.

Brenton in fact believes the two countries now have a good path towards peace. And the meeting this Friday may be the beginning of the end. The security guarantee was the most problematic stumbling block.

That said, I'd trust Questner's forecast of what's to come over Brenton's, and Questner believes this has farther to go. Questner, I hope you're wrong this time. It would be great to see Russia, Ukraine, the United States, and Europe on the same page. And maybe with time they'll all be friendly, as they should be.

Peace and love.

Tiny.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3021343]Sir Tony Brenton had an interesting take on the meeting on CNN this afternoon. Brenton is a career British civil servant and old Russia hand who served as Britain's ambassador to Russia from 2004 to 2008, during Labour Party administrations.

Witkoff said today Russia was willing to accept security guarantees from the USA And other nations, akin to NATO's Title 5. Title 5 states that an armed attack against one NATO member is an attack against them all. Conversations between the Trump administration and European officials appear to confirm that Russia has agreed to accept robust security guarantees for Ukraine.

Brenton said Russia didn't and won't agree, under any circumstances, to Ukrainian membership in NATO. But a guarantee like what Witkoff described is just as good.

Brenton in fact believes the two countries now have a good path towards peace. And the meeting this Friday may be the beginning of the end. The security guarantee was the most problematic stumbling block..[/QUOTE]The membership in NATO is not acceptable as it means NATO's infrastructure and Participation of Ukraine herself in the block. Now, Russia has to able to enforce the neutrality: trust but verify but enforce. How this is going to be achieved is a mystery to me.

The second issue is dealing with many military bi-lateral agreements that Ukraine has signed recently. They all have to go. That 100 year agreement with the UK is one of them.

Any type of a guarantee resembling Article 5 is meaningless. Not only no one can profit from it now, it won't become any impediment to restart the conflict any time in future should the need come, and believe me Ukraine will be blamed for the restart.

Finally, unless the total re-balance is achieved and the relationships are improved between the EU, the US and the RF, this treaty may become short lived and be forgotten soon once the current leadership change. This is why I am pessimistic and expect a large scale conflict in years to come soon.

Too old, senile Trump sucking so good criminal Putin on red carpet, now want to give him Crimea when he criticized while invasion, and Dombass when Putin was never able to defeat Donetsk. Putin just waiting to cum in Orange mouth and dirty red carpet. Trump is just a sucker clown, not reliable, fucking stupid Americans and trying with our world.

The Alaska summit was a shit show.

Putin got everything he wanted and gave nothing in return.

The level of incompetence in US foreign policy is astounding. First Witkoff gives 3 different statements what was agreed before and what will be confirmed at the summit. Of course, the outcome was the 4th version, because like with the trade negotiations, anything that was discussed without Trump present means exactly zero. That is just for starters.

In foreign policy symbolism matter. So let's start with that image with US soldiers literally on their knees rolling the red carpet towards the Russian government plane. The Russian (dis) information space had a great time with that one. I am old enough to remember the weeks with endless hours on TV with people clutching their pearls when Obama saluted a marine with a coffee cup in his hand or when he was wearing a tan suit. Then you have Trump waiting for Putin on the red carpet, then suddenly all smiles and clapping, yes, like a circus seal, clapping for a murderous thug. He looked like a freshman who gets to meet the star quarterback. The fact that they didn't have the common meal and the press conference after their meeting shows you that even Trump knows that it was a disaster. Of course, he can't admit that, so know the spin machine is revving at high speed. My explanation why the meeting was cut short is that Putin said "Donnie, the blowjob in your car was enough, no need for a second one. I am in a rush to get back, I have an appointment with my hair dresser".

From what came out so far, Putin asks for Ukraine to give up Donbass entirely, the areas that have the best Ukrainian fortifications. All he offered is that he doesn't ask for 100% of Zaporishia and Kherson. As long as these regions stay in the Russian constitution he can come back later and argue that well, actually. Then there is the vague "root causes of the war" which for him mean a pro Russian government and a severely reduced Ukrainian army.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3021343]Sir Tony Brenton had an interesting take on the meeting on CNN this afternoon. Brenton is a career British civil servant and old Russia hand who served as Britain's ambassador to Russia from 2004 to 2008, during Labour Party administrations.

Witkoff said today Russia was willing to accept security guarantees from the USA And other nations, akin to NATO's Title 5. Title 5 states that an armed attack against one NATO member is an attack against them all. Conversations between the Trump administration and European officials appear to confirm that Russia has agreed to accept robust security guarantees for Ukraine.

Brenton said Russia didn't and won't agree, under any circumstances, to Ukrainian membership in NATO. But a guarantee like what Witkoff described is just as good..[/QUOTE]Yeah, I think it is different this time too. Trump had made a campaign promise on fixing the Ukraine war in 24 hours and Putin used that to his advantage. He kept saying all the right things to Trump but doing all the wrong things by pushing for more territory and ramping up the drone fights.

Interestingly, it was Melania Trump who got the Don to see the light on how he was being played by Putin. That is when Trump got pissed. He smoothed things over with Zelensky and told the Russians he was really going to clamp down on things and by clamping down, that meant taking Russian oil tankers via the USA Navy and increasing LNG shipments massively to Europe. With a reduction and oil and gas income, Russia is dead in the water.

The war mongers were all saying that Russia was coming from Europe. Russia has 110 million inhabitants versus 449 million in the EU. When I read this, I was laughing at the war monger deep state types that were pushing this Russia is coming for Europe narrative. They always want these forever wars and the checks that come with them.

And while there may have been popular support on both sides at the start of the war, that support has gone to nothing. Everyone on both sides is sick of this shit.

I am still not sure the USA should be in NATO, but one nice side effect of this war is Europe has stepped up their defense spending, and they have cut down on their idiotic green energy spending that left Spain and Portugal in the dark.

Trump did an amazing job with Israel and Iran which was something I worried about. I thought Trump was just going to have us doing Israel's bidding, but he blasted both Israel and Iran when the cease fire was violated, and things have calmed there. He deserves great credit for how he handled that situation, and I think we will see the same here.

Thing is even if he brings peace to Ukraine, the Democratic douches will still find something new to gripe about with Trump.

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;3021465]...Trump did an amazing job with Israel and Iran ...Thing is even if he brings peace to Ukraine, the Democratic douches will still find something new to gripe about with Trump.[/QUOTE]For a perspective, read Frank Bruni's column in the NYT: "Give Trump the Nobel!

[URL]https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/opinion/trump-nobel-peace-prize.html[/URL]

[QUOTE=PaulInZurich;3021454]

From what came out so far, Putin asks for Ukraine to give up Donbass entirely, the areas that have the best Ukrainian fortifications. All he offered is that he doesn't ask for 100% of Zaporishia and Kherson. As long as these regions stay in the Russian constitution he can come back later and argue that well, actually. Then there is the vague "root causes of the war" which for him mean a pro Russian government and a severely reduced Ukrainian army.[/QUOTE]You obviously haven't been paying attention to anything Putin has been saying since forever. The root cause of this conflict was NATO expansion into Ukraine. That was Putin's red line and will never be allowed. Ukraine will have to be neutral along the lines of the Austrian model.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3019075]Gentlemen, In light of developments today, has your prognosis for an end to the war improved? Or do you think peace is as far away as ever? Thanks in advance.[/QUOTE]Let's see what happens today in DC.

Considering what is currently only being talked about and nothing agreed:

Ukraine giving up the entire Donbas, Russia freezing the contact line in Zap and Kherson, recognition of Crimea being Russian and no NATO in Ukraine.

I still find it a bit hard to believe that Putin would agree not to capture all of Zap and Kherson as they are now according to the Russian constitution a part of Russia. But then when I look at the whole picture and the geography, Russia would get the entire Donbas and would get to keep the land bridge to Crimea, get recognition of Crimea and there would be no Ukraine in NATO. Throw in some bits about Russian language and church rights, and you get some sanctions lifted, I think it is still a pretty good deal and a huge win IMHO.

Thoughts?

P.S I think the Europeans are going to try their hardest to get the corrupt illegal dictator of Ukraine with no mandate to walk away to keep this tragedy going. If that happens, I really hope Trump and the United States step aside. Then it will be settled on the battlefield of course with a comprehensive Russian victory and Ukraine losing not just 4 but possibly 4 more Oblasts. Ukraine really should take this deal to save what is left.

Europe don t trust Trump, when we know Putin is stronger than him, too old senile, playing for everything like in casino.

Couple of points to emphasize again.

This one for EU and UK leaders: Russia expects Ukraine to be neutral, non-aligned and non-nuclear. One of the goals of the SMO is demilitarization of Ukraine, I. E. Russia will not allow the current AFU forces to remain forward. Why would a peaceful neutral state want a million men army armed to the teeth?

Humanitarian aspect: All rights of Russian speaking and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church should be restored.

I can't imagine Rada voting for the above and the current government implementing the comprehensive agreement of this nature.

Remember, as I posted before, 'loose-loose' is a prevailing rural mentality that always shapes the policy and actions in Ukraine.

[QUOTE=Questner;3021569]Couple of points to emphasize again.

This one for EU and UK leaders: Russia expects Ukraine to be neutral, non-aligned and non-nuclear. One of the goals of the SMO is demilitarization of Ukraine, I. E. Russia will not allow the current AFU forces to remain forward. Why would a peaceful neutral state want a million men army armed to the teeth?

Humanitarian aspect: All rights of Russian speaking and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church should be restored.

I can't imagine Rada voting for the above and the current government implementing the comprehensive agreement of this nature.

Remember, as I posted before, 'loose-loose' is a prevailing rural mentality that always shapes the policy and actions in Ukraine.[/QUOTE]When Putin is a liar and not respecting agreements, Ukraine and Europe have to protect versus such international criminal. He is crazy, but we know now his army is weak, when he was not even able to defeat Donetsk in 3 years and half. But he is stronger than too old Trump, so Europe can t trust them both.

[QUOTE=JohnClayton;3021477]For a perspective, read Frank Bruni's column in the NYT: "Give Trump the Nobel!

[URL]https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/18/opinion/trump-nobel-peace-prize.html[/URL][/QUOTE]The last South Park episode skewered Trump and Kristi Noem and I laughed my ass off. Republicans were polled, and they liked it too. It was actually funny, and I thought Trump's spokesperson and Noem's response were pretty lame.

That some NYT columnist wrote the trash that he did ranks up their with Deniro's fuck Trump speech, [URL]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceQ0Zb1G8Io.[/URL] If you thought that editorial or Deniro were great, you are in a cult.

I think the reason one is funny and the other two are not is South Park is using satire and exaggeration and the NYT and Deniro just come across as bitter losers.

And the timing is terrible. Trump is on the verge of something historic, and you Democratic douche cultists cannot stand to see him have any success even if it means saving millions of lives.

Trump could cure cancer, and you all would still find something to gripe about.

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;3021706]...Trump is on the verge of something historic...[/QUOTE]Wondering what that would be?

Now that a lot of the BS from the Trump administration is out of the way, it's clear the Russians never explicitly said they would let go of the parts of Zaporizhya and Kherson they still don't control in exchange for full control of Donetsk. All this talk about security guarantees and the non-sense the Europeans are spewing (article 5 guarantees, European troops in Ukraine, seriously what planet do these warmongers live on?) are also non starters.

Putin will never meet the so called President of Ukraine with no mandate. That clown just wants a photo op and to try to look tough with Putin. Putin isn't stupid to meet with this corrupt actor with no solid agenda and stuff ready to sign.

So unfortunately, as I predicted months ago, this will be decided on the battlefield, and the result will be a Russian victory of course.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3022459]Now that a lot of the BS from the Trump administration is out of the way, it's clear the Russians never explicitly said they would let go of the parts of Zaporizhya and Kherson they still don't control in exchange for full control of Donetsk. All this talk about security guarantees and the non-sense the Europeans are spewing (article 5 guarantees, European troops in Ukraine, seriously what planet do these warmongers live on?) are also non starters.

Putin will never meet the so called President of Ukraine with no mandate. That clown just wants a photo op and to try to look tough with Putin. Putin isn't stupid to meet with this corrupt actor with no solid agenda and stuff ready to sign.

So unfortunately, as I predicted months ago, this will be decided on the battlefield, and the result will be a Russian victory of course.[/QUOTE]Russia weak army was not able to win and take Donetsk in 3 years and half and Zelensky is more supported by Ukrainians than criminal dictator Putin by Russians, when he can t even travel in the world. When we can t trust Trump show and business, our world have to make Russia broke, to make Russians eating Putin from starvation, when already big inflation in Russia. And same in USA with Trump taxes. All my support to Ukraine versus Putin and Trump, even Crimea is lost and probably part of Donbass, but not Donetsk yet.

Good points by all. A week's time has shown Questner and Blood Red were correct in their skepticism. We're back to where we were months ago.

It's a pity. This situation needs to be settled, for the benefit of all involved. Certainly Russia has plenty of good reasons to be aggrieved, going back to the broken promises made to Gorbachev. Certainly if the tables were turned the United States wouldn't sit still if Mexico were on track to become a member of the Warsaw Pact.

But why can't the sides fast forward and take this to an end before there are a million more casualties? Russia and Europe and Ukraine and the USA should be on the same side. Imagine the effect on the prosperity of the countries if they could, say, each cut defense expenditures by 2% or 3% of GDP. And if trade, like Russian gas flows to Europe, resumes. Sanctions need to go. Unfortunately, they have a way of dragging on forever, like Cuba. Look at Iran. That country was dragged into penury and remains there. Admittedly Russia has weathered sanctions much better, but they're still a drag.

With Trump in the United States presidency, there's a good chance they would be lifted if the fighting stops. Also Trump would appear to be more sympathetic to Russia's positions than most western leaders. There's about a 3-1/2 year window before Trump leaves office during which relations can be righted. I hope the various sides take the steps to make that happen.

And you know Elvis, yes you have to give Trump credit for at least trying. I hope he doesn't give up.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3022517]Good points by all. A week's time has shown Questner and Blood Red were correct in their skepticism. We're back to where we were months ago.

It's a pity. This situation needs to be settled, for the benefit of all involved. Certainly Russia has plenty of good reasons to be aggrieved, going back to the broken promises made to Gorbachev. Certainly if the tables were turned the United States wouldn't sit still if Mexico were on track to become a member of the Warsaw Pact.

But why can't the sides fast forward and take this to an end before there are a million more casualties? Russia and Europe and Ukraine and the USA should be on the same side. Imagine the effect on the prosperity of the countries if they could, say, each cut defense expenditures by 2% or 3% of GDP. Sanctions need to go. Unfortunately, they have a way of dragging on forever, like Cuba. Look at Iran. That country was dragged into penury and remains there. Admittedly Russia has weathered sanctions much better, but they're still a drag.

With Trump in the United States presidency, there's a good chance they could be lifted. Also Trump would appear to be more sympathetic to Russia's positions than most western leaders..[/QUOTE]Fortunately, Europe support much more Ukraine than robber senile Trump who forgot what he told about Crimea invasion years ago. When Ukraine became independent, Putin was only nothing in FSB, not even known by dogs. Now we have Putin and Trump for liars, Ukraine and Europe can t trust.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3022517]Good points by all. A week's time has shown Questner and Blood Red were correct in their skepticism. We're back to where we were months ago. And you know Elvis, yes you have to give Trump credit for at least trying. I hope he doesn't give up.[/QUOTE]I do not agree we are back where we were. A ceasefire is easy to agree to, but Putin and Trump both said they were not going to do a ceasefire. There is a helluva lot stuff to hammer out. All the players have had their input. They need to work out details. Whether a deal is done is up in the air, but Russia has been able to sell their oil and gas with relative ease despite the so called sanctions. If that stops, and Trump has been bullshitted by Putin for months now and wants to get serious, then I think you can call this a failure.

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;3022706]I do not agree we are back where we were. A ceasefire is easy to agree to, but Putin and Trump both said they were not going to do a ceasefire. There is a helluva lot stuff to hammer out. All the players have had their input. They need to work out details. Whether a deal is done is up in the air, but Russia has been able to sell their oil and gas with relative ease despite the so called sanctions. If that stops, and Trump has been bullshitted by Putin for months now and wants to get serious, then I think you can call this a failure.[/QUOTE]Stopping war in 1 day, orange clown bad joke, when he is fucked deeply in the ass and even more since Alaska, since months. Only way to stop Putin is to make him broke and Russia under starvation to eat him, when already inflation.

I think what is happening here is Trump washing his hands off slowly and as much as he can. He knows this can't be settled via negotiations, the gaps are too wide and you just can't square that circle. Hence why Trump said let Putin and Zelensky meet. He knows that is not going to happen.

So yes, IMHO, we are back to square one and this will be settled on the battlefield with an ugly Russian victory and a frozen conflict.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3022862]I think what is happening here is Trump washing his hands off slowly and as much as he can. He knows this can't be settled via negotiations, the gaps are too wide and you just can't square that circle. Hence why Trump said let Putin and Zelensky meet. He knows that is not going to happen.

So yes, IMHO, we are back to square one and this will be settled on the battlefield with an ugly Russian victory and a frozen conflict.[/QUOTE]But Trump who told to stop in 1 day, is just ridiculous now, fucked by Putin who shoot US company in West Ukraine, despite MAGA sucked a lot criminal dictator Putin and also supporting other criminal Netanyahou.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3022862]I think what is happening here is Trump washing his hands off slowly and as much as he can. He knows this can't be settled via negotiations, the gaps are too wide and you just can't square that circle. Hence why Trump said let Putin and Zelensky meet. He knows that is not going to happen.

So yes, IMHO, we are back to square one and this will be settled on the battlefield with an ugly Russian victory and a frozen conflict.[/QUOTE]Sigh. Yeah, you are right. Thing is with all the slop in journalism these days you often do not who to listen to. As such I trust the guys I pay for on Substack.

Seymour Hersh seems to have better contacts than anyone in government. He had Biden blowing up Nordstream and I was laughing my ass off at the cover story of a bunch of drunken Ukrainian divers taking out Nordstream. OMG was that a terrible story. He also got the USA bombing Iran story right days before it happened.

Anyway, here is what he has said about the summit: The much anticipated summit earlier this month in Anchorage was a flop: Putin rebuffed Trump's request for a ceasefire, and the woefully unprepared Trump seemed more intent on finding a way to earn a Nobel Peace Prize than striking a realistic bargain on Ukraine.

That is sad. It cracks me up when we people who like Trump get bashed as cultists. We know who he is and his flaws. I do not like the whole Russiagate bullshit narrative, but I do think that Putin knows how to kiss Trump's ass the right way and push Trump's buttons. South Park did a hilarious bit about the line of international and domestic leaders who lined up in the White House to kiss Trump's ass and give him gifts. That is sad but true. Trump gets disarmed by flattery.

So I do not know what we in the USA do at this point. We have most of the crap that went on from Russiagate. It is clear that the Democrats made Putin into this Hitleresque like character to distract from all the shit they were doing.

Thing is the old USSR had half of Germany. What is the big deal to the USA if Russia has the Eastern part of Ukraine that is mostly Russian? Why is that the end of the world?

The bullshit is always the same with war. If you do not stop him in Ukraine, then it is onto all of Europe and the USA! I am sick of it. I want our budget balanced. We cannot afford these forever wars anymore.

The big difference between Hitler and Putin is the German people suffered after WW One. The Germans were humiliated, bankrupted, and stabbed in the back. The Russian people have had it pretty good lately. It was rough in 2000 or so, but things had been going well for them.

I remember the videos of the Russian soldiers in the gas pipelines in the Kursk region of Russia. They were not happy and were cursing Putin by name.

I watched that documentary on Chernobyl, and if it was accurate, the workers were hardly in lockstep with the government. They were pissed at being asked to do what the government wanted. They did it but they were pissed.

So yeah, you can sell the Russian people on their own being abused in Ukraine, but I do not think you can go more than that. You will lose the support of the Russian people. I think the Russians have lost somewhere between half a million and a million men and how many more have been disabled? And it is not like people are not suffering at home as well. Ukraine has been taking out many Russian facilities and there have been casualties there as well.

So yeah, I agree with you, Bloodred. The Russians will continue to grind it out and take the parts of Ukraine they want, and we are just going to be throwing money down the drain trying to stop that.

I agree with you. Sadly, I cannot see this stopping until the Russians get what they want.

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;3023084]Sigh. Yeah, you are right. Thing is with all the slop in journalism these days you often do not who to listen to. As such I trust the guys I pay for on Substack.

Seymour Hersh seems to have better contacts than anyone in government. He had Biden blowing up Nordstream and I was laughing my ass off at the cover story of a bunch of drunken Ukrainian divers taking out Nordstream. OMG was that a terrible story. He also got the USA bombing Iran story right days before it happened.

Anyway, here is what he has said about the summit: The much anticipated summit earlier this month in Anchorage was a flop: Putin rebuffed Trump's request for a ceasefire, and the woefully unprepared Trump seemed more intent on finding a way to earn a Nobel Peace Prize than striking a realistic bargain on Ukraine.

That is sad. It cracks me up when we people who like Trump get bashed as cultists. We know who he is and his flaws. I do not like the whole Russiagate bullshit narrative, but I do think that Putin knows how to kiss Trump's ass the right way and push Trump's buttons. South Park did a hilarious bit about the line of international and domestic leaders who lined up in the White House to kiss Trump's ass and give him gifts. That is sad but true. Trump gets disarmed by flattery.

So I do not know what we in the USA do at this point. We have most of the crap that went on from Russiagate. It is clear that the Democrats made Putin into this Hitleresque like character to distract from all the shit they were doing.

Thing is the old USSR had half of Germany. What is the big deal to the USA if Russia has the Eastern part of Ukraine that is mostly Russian? Why is that the end of the world?

The bullshit is always the same with war. If you do not stop him in Ukraine, then it is onto all of Europe and the USA! I am sick of it. I want our budget balanced. We cannot afford these forever wars anymore.

The big difference between Hitler and Putin is the German people suffered after WW One. The Germans were humiliated, bankrupted, and stabbed in the back. The Russian people have had it pretty good lately. It was rough in 2000 or so, but things had been going well for them.

I remember the videos of the Russian soldiers in the gas pipelines in the Kursk region of Russia. They were not happy and were cursing Putin by name.

I watched that documentary on Chernobyl, and if it was accurate, the workers were hardly in lockstep with the government. They were pissed at being asked to do what the government wanted. They did it but they were pissed.

So yeah, you can sell the Russian people on their own being abused in Ukraine, but I do not think you can go more than that. You will lose the support of the Russian people. I think the Russians have lost somewhere between half a million and a million men and how many more have been disabled? And it is not like people are not suffering at home as well. Ukraine has been taking out many Russian facilities and there have been casualties there as well.

So yeah, I agree with you, Bloodred. The Russians will continue to grind it out and take the parts of Ukraine they want, and we are just going to be throwing money down the drain trying to stop that.

I agree with you. Sadly, I cannot see this stopping until the Russians get what they want.[/QUOTE]Inflation for Russians under war and even less freedom. They would live better if they got rid of Putin.

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;3023084]

Anyway, here is what he has said about the summit: The much anticipated summit earlier this month in Anchorage was a flop: Putin rebuffed Trump's request for a ceasefire, and the woefully unprepared Trump seemed more intent on finding a way to earn a Nobel Peace Prize than striking a realistic bargain on Ukraine.[/QUOTE]He won't get a noble peace prize for Ukraine since it will be settled on the battlefield. Credit to Trump for at least talking to the Russians though. And one more thing to remember. Let's say Trump agrees to the Russian demands, there are still 2 other parties that need to agree and won't. The Europeans and especially the Zelensky regime.

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;3023084]

The bullshit is always the same with war. If you do not stop him in Ukraine, then it is onto all of Europe and the USA! [/QUOTE]I can't believe some people actually buy into this horseshit. And what is funny is this. On one hand, we hear the collective west say Russia is weak, their army is shit, they are suffering such huge losses, the situation on the ground is a stalemate, blah blah blah. And then they tell us that Russia will go after Poland, the Baltic republics, etc afterwards. Laughable.

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;3023084]
So yeah, I agree with you, Bloodred. The Russians will continue to grind it out and take the parts of Ukraine they want, and we are just going to be throwing money down the drain trying to stop that.

I agree with you. Sadly, I cannot see this stopping until the Russians get what they want.[/QUOTE]The best deal the Ukraine will get is the one on the table now, no matter how bad it looks. If this goes on for a couple of more years and there is a collapse of AFU (possible for sure), then expect the Russians to take 4 more Oblasts including Odessa. And then what, Ukraine becomes a land locked country.

What a needless tragedy.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3023267]He won't get a noble peace prize for Ukraine since it will be settled on the battlefield. Credit to Trump for at least talking to the Russians though. And one more thing to remember. Let's say Trump agrees to the Russian demands, there are still 2 other parties that need to agree and won't. The Europeans and especially the Zelensky regime.

I can't believe some people actually buy into this horseshit. And what is funny is this. On one hand, we hear the collective west say Russia is weak, their army is shit, they are suffering such huge losses, the situation on the ground is a stalemate, blah blah blah. And then they tell us that Russia will go after Poland, the Baltic republics, etc afterwards. Laughable.

The best deal the Ukraine will get is the one on the table now, no matter how bad it looks. If this goes on for a couple of more years and there is a collapse of AFU (possible for sure), then expect the Russians to take 4 more Oblasts including Odessa. And then what, Ukraine becomes a land locked country.

What a needless tragedy.[/QUOTE]Fortunately Europe resist to clown Trump, to support Ukraine, when MAGA clown wants to fuck them. Shame to MAGA.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3023267]...The best deal the Ukraine will get is the one on the table now, no matter how bad it looks...What a needless tragedy.[/QUOTE]No thanks. In spite of duplicitous / traitorous Trump, Ukraine is winning. As an aside, I love the (surprising) videos of the little Bradley IFV'l raging through the Russians. Pure pleasure.

[QUOTE=JohnClayton;3023332]No thanks. In spite of duplicitous / traitorous Trump, Ukraine is winning. As an aside, I love the (surprising) videos of the little Bradley IFV'l raging through the Russians. Pure pleasure.[/QUOTE]Yes, Ukraine is winning. I have been saying this since day 1.

[QUOTE=Sirioja;3023268]Fortunately Europe resist to clown Trump, to support Ukraine, when MAGA clown wants to fuck them. Shame to MAGA.[/QUOTE]International criminal killing mothers and babies Putin really fuck too old orange MAGA who wants to rob Ukraine.

Any hope for peace gentlemen, now that the two sides are talking face-to-face? Zelensky is saying this is just about the land now. If that's true, and unfortunately I doubt it is, it would seem they would be in striking distance of a settlement.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3048937]Any hope for peace gentlemen, now that the two sides are talking face-to-face? Zelensky is saying this is just about the land now. If that's true, and unfortunately I doubt it is, it would seem they would be in striking distance of a settlement.[/QUOTE]Remember vampire or zombie movies where a severed hand drags on and clenches back onto a host? So we will attach the right shoulder back to body but the rotten severed right hand will remain unhealed unattached dead dragging and poisoning everything for long time. That is Ukraine. The outcome of the settlement will be seen only when time passes. The only natural long lasting natural and balancing solution is the unification. Everything else will lead to more war and more destruction ahead.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3048937]Any hope for peace gentlemen, now that the two sides are talking face-to-face? Zelensky is saying this is just about the land now. If that's true, and unfortunately I doubt it is, it would seem they would be in striking distance of a settlement.[/QUOTE]Zelensky can't decide on his own for lands, but Ukrainian constitution, and Putin loves too much war, killing Russian meat since he was in KGB and FSB. Only way to stop this war is to take Russia money, to make them broke. Trump only playing bad stupid clown show, DT sucking criminal Putin since 1 year, to make business with him.

Good news: Russia economics is falling and big inflation with more poverty. Many are leaving Russia of Putin, so he needs immigration from Sri Lanka, India. And now, our world have proof criminal dictator Putin poisonned Navalny. I wish all this will help to make Putin stopping this war after 4 years to be so crual with Ukrainian population, even in cold winter. I really wish for Ukrainians, my first wish for this year, even before free riding fall then die I love and climbing legends I want also.

Tomorrow will be 4 years of crimes of dictator Putin versus Ukraine who are courageous heroes to resist since so long and without heating in the cold, from Putin cruelty. This, after he already robbed Crimea and trained hard for criminal in FSB, killing so many to become what he is. I love Russia, so I can only hate Putin and when shameful Trump doesn't help Ukraine since 1 year, but Europe do, I really wish better times for Ukrainians. Best way to stop Putin is to take all Russia money, for reason of war criminal, when Trump would prefer to make business with Putin, he likes to support criminals like also Netanyahou.

I hope, after four years of (this phase of) the war, you'll come to realize how futile your efforts have been. Whether pro-Ukraine or anti-Ukraine, those who write the narratives and clickbait headlines have had you dancing to their tune.

I haven't posted in this forum for years, once I realized that allowing myself to get swept up with every wave and ripple was an exercise in futility. The real forces are tidal in nature, powerful yet nearly imperceptible. And, while I favor Ukraine and disfavor Russia, I don't have a crystal ball to tell me when or how matters will resolve. But one doesn't need a crystal ball to predict that the cherry-picking armchair analysts will continue making fools of themselves.

Slava Ukraini!

[QUOTE=Jmsuttr;3053792]I hope, after four years of (this phase of) the war, you'll come to realize how futile your efforts have been. Whether pro-Ukraine or anti-Ukraine, those who write the narratives and clickbait headlines have had you dancing to their tune.

I haven't posted in this forum for years, once I realized that allowing myself to get swept up with every wave and ripple was an exercise in futility. The real forces are tidal in nature, powerful yet nearly imperceptible. And, while I favor Ukraine and disfavor Russia, I don't have a crystal ball to tell me when or how matters will resolve. But one doesn't need a crystal ball to predict that the cherry-picking armchair analysts will continue making fools of themselves.[/QUOTE]When big inflation in Russia, if Russia didn't have enough money anymore to pay for Putin war, then he couldn't keep on his own war, same than Netanyahou in Gaza. I wish Israel will get rid of their criminal and Russia will fall broke, with Russians waking up and eating their criminal dictator, when Russians would live so much better without him, when nobody never planned to attack Russia, just Putin bullshits for his war, dreaming to make again CCCP like when he was just nothing in KGB.

The failed comedian aka the illegal President of Ukraine met with the ISIS leader and terrorist President of Syria.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3059915]The failed comedian aka the illegal President of Ukraine met with the ISIS leader and terrorist President of Syria.[/QUOTE]So did the failed comedian president of the United States, and he's even more comedic because he doesn't realize he's a clown while everyone else does.

[QUOTE=TheCane;3059917]So did the failed comedian president of the United States, and he's even more comedic because he doesn't realize he's a clown while everyone else does.[/QUOTE]Yes, he sure did.

So did the entire EU leadership. I guess once the you. S takes a path, all the EU and Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea fall in line like good boys. And these people preach about human rights to Russia while welcoming the head chopper.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3059915]The failed comedian aka the illegal President of Ukraine met with the ISIS leader and terrorist President of Syria.[/QUOTE]Why illegal? When not a dictator like criminal ex FSB and KGB Putin, and according to Ukrainian constitution, no election under war, so Putin just made him staying longer, when attacking Ukraine, when, out of corruption, Zelensky is fully legal according to constitution, at least till end of war. And, when only way to stop Putin is to make Russia broke, not anymore able to pay for war Putin started, but his crazy friend Trump with his war attacking Iran, gave money to Putin to keep on killing Ukrainian women and children. Putin, like Netanyahou are ranked war criminals and Trump should also be after killing more than 150 Iranian little girls at school, shame on USA and really no MAGA versus Iran, even I don t support at all mollahs and Islamists, but Trump had no other reason than supporting Netanyahou and trying to make problems to Chinese economics, but his total failure, when China and his friend Putin are behind Iran, helping them for war.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3060229]Yes, he sure did.

So did the entire EU leadership. I guess once the you. S takes a path, all the EU and Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea fall in line like good boys. And these people preach about human rights to Russia while welcoming the head chopper.[/QUOTE]Fortunately, EU, UK and some others don't follow Trump craziness and keep on helping Ukraine versus criminal Putin, when Trump stopped and is more interested to rob them, like Greenland. I really wish Iranians will be free in democracy one day, but I wish for Trump failure for this war for no reason for USA. USA under Trump are not anymore a real democracy, when he already fucked US constitution, when Zelensky is still president according to Ukrainian constitution.

Bloomberg's reporting that Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine's top negotiator with Russia, believes there will be peace before long. Here's the Bloomberg article, which may or may not be behind a paywall.

[URL]https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-10/zelenskiy-s-top-aide-sees-ukraine-nearing-a-deal-with-putin[/URL]

If you can't read it, try this.

[URL]https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/ukraine-russia-move-towards-potential-peace-deal-bloomberg-reports-2026-04-10/[/URL]

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3060680]Bloomberg's reporting that Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine's top negotiator with Russia, believes there will be peace before long. Here's the Bloomberg article, which may or may not be behind a paywall.

[URL]https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-04-10/zelenskiy-s-top-aide-sees-ukraine-nearing-a-deal-with-putin[/URL]

If you can't read it, try this.

[URL]https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/ukraine-russia-move-towards-potential-peace-deal-bloomberg-reports-2026-04-10/[/URL][/QUOTE]Peace for Orthodox Easter, but Putin loves so much to kill, when he was so frustrated to be nothing in KGB under CCCP.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3060229]Yes, he sure did.

So did the entire EU leadership. I guess once the you. S takes a path, all the EU and Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea fall in line like good boys. And these people preach about human rights to Russia while welcoming the head chopper.[/QUOTE]Yeah, but the reason for that is energy. With China cutting off exports of refined products, nations like Australia are scrambling, [URL]https://ieefa.org/resources/its-time-australia-reduce-its-oil-demand[/URL]

[URL]https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/mar/23/petrol-stations-australia-fuel-crisis[/URL]

That is what the climate change nuts have wrought. They moved refining capacity from Australia and California to China and then brag about China being an electrostate while patting themselves on the bad for cleaning up the local environment. Those chickens are coming home to roost now.

Europe has always wanted a gas pipeline through Syria from the Persian Gulf countries, and that is why Russia had been fighting there, to stop those projected natural gas pipelines.

It is just amazing what the climate change nuts have done to Europe: [URL]https://www.decouple.media/p/europe-forgot-the-lesson-the-1970s[/URL]

The European response to the OPEC embargo in 1973 was an impressive mobilization that moved decisively and pragmatically taking advantage of the unique conditions available throughout the bloc.

The results of this collective mobilization were visible by the mid-1990's in a set of numbers worth holding in mind. Europe consumed around 32 EJ of hydrocarbons annually and produced around 15 EJ domestically. Roughly 8 EJ of Russian oil and pipeline gas, operating under long-term contracts with a generally reliable delivery history, functioned as quasi-domestic supply despite transiting through the iron curtain. Effective external import dependence was around 30 percent of consumption.

Today the continent consumes roughly 38 EJ against only 6 EJ produced domestically, with Russian supply now largely severed and Russian LNG under a 2027 phase-out deadline. This represents an extraordinary inversion of insecure hydrocarbon import dependency form 30% in 1995 to 80% in 2026.

The gap between what Europe consumes and what it can produce has widened from something manageable to something genuinely precarious. End of link.

So now you know why so many nations have to meet with the head chopper.

It is pretty obvious to me that Trump is making moves in the energy market when he took out Maduro and is going after Iran. The race to "win" the AI battle is really a race to see who can generate the most electricity to supply data centers. On that front, Europe is a distant third and China is the clear #2.

With Trump talking about taking Iran's oil, I have to wonder if Russia felt that NATO was trying to do likewise with its oil and gas and felt the need to intervene once NATO was on its border. It sure seems like the Ukraine war, war on Iran, and "war" in Venezuela all have to do with energy.

[QUOTE=Sirioja;3060240]Why illegal?[/QUOTE]The failed comedian's term ended a long time ago. Try to keep up, mate.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3060733]The failed comedian's term ended a long time ago.[/QUOTE]Bullsh.

"Law of Ukraine "On the Legal Regime of Martial Law" (2015) prohibits the holding of elections during martial law and the Electoral Code of Ukraine (2019) ordains suspension of all elections during such period. ".

Ref. [URL]https://verfassungsblog.de/ukraines-constitution-in-wartime/[/URL].

Do not just fail into Putlers desinformation, mate. Or is he your employer?

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3060733]The failed comedian's term ended a long time ago. Try to keep up, mate.[/QUOTE]No, read Ukrainian constitution, Zelensky is still fully legal. Putin attacking Ukraine makes him staying longer. If Russians were really free for voting, I wonder if dictator Putin would be elected?

[QUOTE=ReinerOtto;3060737]Bullsh.

"Law of Ukraine "On the Legal Regime of Martial Law" (2015) prohibits the holding of elections during martial law and the Electoral Code of Ukraine (2019) ordains suspension of all elections during such period. ".

Ref. [URL]https://verfassungsblog.de/ukraines-constitution-in-wartime/[/URL].

Do not just fail into Putlers desinformation, mate. Or is he your employer?[/QUOTE]Many countries have held elections during war time. But the little corrupt dictator refuses to do so because he knows he will be shown the door.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3060936]Many countries have held elections during war time. But the little corrupt dictator refuses to do so because he knows he will be shown the door.[/QUOTE]He is fully legal according to Ukrainian constitution and great he resist to criminal dictator Putin and robber Trump, when Ukrainians don t want to become blind Russians or to be robbed by shameful USA under Trump. I wish robber Orban will be kicked off today, when Hungarians would be much better without him who built such castle with their money. Also wish for criminal Netanyahou soon.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3060936]Many countries have held elections during war time. [/QUOTE]Which ones? OK, the US, without foreign soldiers on own soil, and far from any real fighting. Opposed to Soviet Union, which postponed elections during WW II.

No elections in GB, during the war, too. Anyway, Rada in UA confirmed the no elections during wartime. Which are impractical, anyway, as long as Putler occupies part of the country and holds hostage the population.

Very sad for what Russia make in Mariopol, people must become Russian, not by choice, but to live in their land, or they have to leave as thousands. Shame on Russia to act like this, no freedom, no human rights. Very sad for children losing their roots, what is in their blood, to be allowed to go to school, to make activities, like all children. Despite Russian behavior, I hope they will never forget their origins, where they are from. Resist in mind, never forget.

Do you know his nickname? It's 'mother's pie' that is pussy. Technical changes impact the front line each month. Last month it was new communication systems to replace Starlink. Soon you will see new automated antidrone systems. The changes on the political side came with realization that EU may turn into a military alliance which in turn means open objection to Ukraine path into EU. No peace as I see it.

Orban the Obstructionist got his ass kicked out of office. Analysts are divided about whether his main problem was his Putin sycophancy or just garden-variety corruption. Either way, the opposition gained a supermajority and will be cleaning out Viktor's rat's nest in short order.

[QUOTE=Jmsuttr;3061073]Orban the Obstructionist got his ass kicked out of office. Analysts are divided about whether his main problem was his Putin sycophancy or just garden-variety corruption. Either way, the opposition gained a supermajority and will be cleaning out Viktor's rat's nest in short order.[/QUOTE]Orban built a big castle with EU money.

[QUOTE=ReinerOtto;3060962]Which ones? .[/QUOTE]Don't be lazy and do your homework. The corrupt dictator Zelensky wants perpetual martial law so his reign of corruption continues. I can't wait for the day the brave Ukrainian people show him the door. But I'm sure he will be living a luxurious life overseas with all this stolen money rather than face justice.

[QUOTE=Sirioja;3060968]Very sad for what Russia make in Mariopol, people must become Russian, not by choice, but to live in their land, or they have to leave as thousands. Shame on Russia to act like this, no freedom, no human rights. Very sad for children losing their roots, what is in their blood, to be allowed to go to school, to make activities, like all children. Despite Russian behavior, I hope they will never forget their origins, where they are from. Resist in mind, never forget.[/QUOTE]You are completely brainwashed. Geo politics isn't your forte. Stick to punting. And watch something other than Fox news or Sky news or the BBC. Try to watch some independent media. Eastern Ukraine has always been Russian. Putin saved the lives of those children by removing them from the front line. The kidnapping children BS is old now, give it a rest.

The EU and the west do not give a rats ass about Ukrainian children or any children for that matter. If that weren't the case, they wouldn't have been complicit in a genocide in Gaza where tens of thousands of children were slaughtered.

Mariupol is being rebuilt. There are videos of new Mariupol on the internet. Google it.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3061421]Don't be lazy and do your homework. The corrupt dictator Zelensky wants perpetual martial law so his reign of corruption continues. I can't wait for the day the brave Ukrainian people show him the door. But I'm sure he will be living a luxurious life overseas with all this stolen money rather than face justice.[/QUOTE]Putin is a well known dictator, not Zelensky. Read Ukrainian constitution. I don't say no corruption in Ukraine, but do You swear no corruption in Russia, when Putin who was in FSB made killing many to become what he is.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3061422]You are completely brainwashed. Geo politics isn't your forte. Stick to punting. And watch something other than Fox news or Sky news or the BBC. Try to watch some independent media. Eastern Ukraine has always been Russian. Putin saved the lives of those children by removing them from the front line. The kidnapping children BS is old now, give it a rest.

The EU and the west do not give a rats ass about Ukrainian children or any children for that matter. If that weren't the case, they wouldn't have been complicit in a genocide in Gaza where tens of thousands of children were slaughtered.

Mariupol is being rebuilt. There are videos of new Mariupol on the internet. Google it.[/QUOTE]Do you only listen to Pravda? Joke for such name. Did you forget 1989/1991? Putin already stole Crimea and now Donbass which did belong to Ukraine after 1991. Yes, now rebuilding Marioupol he destroyed, when people and children there were Ukrainians. I would not like to have no other choice than becoming Russian, then I would not feel Russian at all and would hate Putin for this, stealing my identity.

[QUOTE=Sirioja;3061429]Do you only listen to Pravda? Joke for such name. Did you forget 1989/1991? Putin already stole Crimea and now Donbass which did belong to Ukraine after 1991. Yes, now rebuilding Marioupol he destroyed, when people and children there were Ukrainians. I would not like to have no other choice than becoming Russian, then I would not feel Russian at all and would hate Putin for this, stealing my identity.[/QUOTE]Are you Ukrainian? Just curious.

Crimea has always been Russian. Google it. The vast majority of their population identify as Russians. Crimea was taken without even a fire being shot. Why do you think that is? And the Crimean people voted to join Russia.

The EU set the precedent with Kosovo and that referendum they had. You reap what you sow.

[QUOTE=Sirioja;3061426]Putin is a well known dictator, not Zelensky. Read Ukrainian constitution. I don't say no corruption in Ukraine, but do You swear no corruption in Russia, when Putin who was in FSB made killing many to become what he is.[/QUOTE]There is corruption in both Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine is the most corrupt country in Europe. Both Putin and Zelensky are dictators. At least I'm consistent. And Putin is extremely smart, Zelensky is just a corrupt clown.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3061461]...Crimea has always been Russian. Google it. ...[/QUOTE]Okay, I did. You're regurgitating pure Russain propaganda. The history of Crimea has been that of Russian conquest and continued suppression of ethno nationalists for the last 250 years.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3061421]Don't be lazy and do your homework. [/QUOTE]This is typical for (Russian) trolls, not to provide proof for their "alternative truth". When Putler stops his war, then you will get your elections in UA.

Until then, the president of the UA during wartime does the same as Stalin during the war: No elections.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3061461]Are you Ukrainian? Just curious.

Crimea has always been Russian. Google it. The vast majority of their population identify as Russians. Crimea was taken without even a fire being shot. Why do you think that is? And the Crimean people voted to join Russia.

The EU set the precedent with Kosovo and that referendum they had. You reap what you sow.[/QUOTE]I love Russia, so I can only hate criminal dictator Putin ranked as war criminal. Crimea did belong to Ukraine from 1991, don't you know?

As the saying goes: Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts.

In any conflict it's understandable that each side will push the narratives they believe best serve their interests. And those narratives can span the spectrum from sincerely held beliefs to blatant lies. Whatever the case, anyone who accepts either side's narrative without doing their own research to verify and confirm (or debunk) is either a shill, troll, or fool.

As one example, the Russian narrative is that Zelenskyy has somehow improperly or illegally held on to power. The counterpoint from Ukraine is that elections are prohibited during times of martial law. From (non-Ukrainian) sources I've checked, the Ukrainian prohibition on elections during wartime was enacted in 2015, which was before Zelenskyy took office. Additionally, martial law needs to be affirmatively renewed by the legislature every 90 days. Since the war has been going on for 4 years, that's around 16 renewals. One may not like it, or agree with it, but Zelenskyy is following a process created before he assumed office.

It's also quite interesting to observe the hyper-projection of anti-Ukraine sentiment onto the person of Zelenskyy. There's zero evidence that his absence from the scene would result in any changes in Ukraine's attitude or position. In fact, if Zelenskyy vanished tomorrow, the favorite to replace him is former Commanding General (and current Ambassador to the UK) Zaluzhnyi.

Whatever one's feelings about Zelenskyy, to myopically focus on him is an intellectually lazy position.

[QUOTE=Jmsuttr;3061681]As the saying goes: Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts.

In any conflict it's understandable that each side will push the narratives they believe best serve their interests. And those narratives can span the spectrum from sincerely held beliefs to blatant lies. Whatever the case, anyone who accepts either side's narrative without doing their own research to verify and confirm (or debunk) is either a shill, troll, or fool.

As one example, the Russian narrative is that Zelenskyy has somehow improperly or illegally held on to power. The counterpoint from Ukraine is that elections are prohibited during times of martial law. From (non-Ukrainian) sources I've checked, the Ukrainian prohibition on elections during wartime was enacted in 2015, which was before Zelenskyy took office. Additionally, martial law needs to be affirmatively renewed by the legislature every 90 days. Since the war has been going on for 4 years, that's around 16 renewals. One may not like it, or agree with it, but Zelenskyy is following a process created before he assumed office.

It's also quite interesting to observe the hyper-projection of anti-Ukraine sentiment onto the person of Zelenskyy. There's zero evidence that his absence from the scene would result in any changes in Ukraine's attitude or position. In fact, if Zelenskyy vanished tomorrow, the favorite to replace him is former Commanding General (and current Ambassador to the UK) Zaluzhnyi.

Whatever one's feelings about Zelenskyy, to myopically focus on him is an intellectually lazy position.[/QUOTE]What is sure is Russian official medias tell what Putin wants they tell and a ex actor resisting to him from KGB and FSB who made being killed so many, is kind of humiliation. Despite doubts of corruption, but Putin built beautiful castles, not anymore kolkhozes, no riot in Ukraine or in medias. Ukr versus Zelensky and at least he tries to defend Ukrainians versus Putin who attacked them and robbed them Marioupol and other parts of Donbass, after Crimea. Putin is ranked as a war criminal, same than Netanyahou.

Seymour Hersh is someone I do not always agree with but I am astonished at his contacts and how he has gotten facts right before anyone else, and this post shocked the crap out of me.

Russia's stalled War in Ukraine, The conflict's turning into a drone war has turned the tide.

The war in Ukraine, which began with Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion in February 2022, has gone on longer than the Soviet war against Nazi Germany. With its huge army and population, Russia seemed in the early years to be on the verge of winning only to have Putin, behaving like the irrational czars of the past, reject peace plans that gave him control of some of the territory his troops had taken inside eastern Ukraine. And now, I have been told, a war that Russia seemed to be winning has turned in the last year into an economic and military nightmare for Putin and the Russian army led by General Valery Gerasimov, the battle-tested commander who is one of three men in Russia with access to the nation's nuclear codes.

The war is now a war of drones, in the view of one military expert who has toured the front under cover, with Ukraine holding a distinct edge. Bedraggled Russian soldiers at the front find themselves under deadly drone attack the moment they crawl out of their bunkers. "Ukraine has a vast drone surveillance network that is picking off Russians as soon as they appear," the expert told me. He added that he was repelled by the horrid living conditions for all the soldiers on both sides of the front lines.

One fix to the growing Russian battlefield losses was to offer potential recruits a bonus of hundreds of thousands or millions of rubles to sign up. The bonus is not fully paid out in most cases, I was told, until the recruits finish their basic training and get to the front. Once there, the corruption reaches new heights because officers demand payments to keep the new recruits from being sent to combat zones at the front, where death by drone awaits.

The result of the corruption and the intense Ukrainian drone surveillance, the expert told me, is that the Russian army "is no further along in its invasion than it was two years earlier. They can't move—have no offensive capability. This is the same army that went from Moscow to Berlin in World War II. Now the army has gone only one hundred kilometers into Ukraine. No real progress at all."

Another sign of Russia's, and Putin's, fall from military and political dominance in the region, the expert added, was the decision of Finland, which shares a 830-mile border with Russia, and Sweden, which shares a maritime border, to join NATO. In general, the official noted, the losing war, the rise of NATO, and the nation's economic downturn—as measured by economists around the world—has undone Russia's long held strategy of maintaining regional dominance and diminishing the import of NATO. "This was an incredible defeat for the Russians," the official told me. It has also freed up Putin's critics to become more outspoken.

One person who has been more vocal in his private conversations about Russia's demise is General Gerasimov, who as chief of staff has had repeated contacts with his peers in the US and British armed forces about theater-wide military issues. He is kept up to date on various peace talks involving Americans and other nations eager for a political settlement to the Russian war with Ukraine.

The expert told me that Gerasimov has always seen the Russian army as the people's army, and not that of the czars—an obvious reference to Putin. The general, the expert said, "wants to end the Ukraine war with honor—to save Russia. Only the poor with no money and no education stay" to fight.

The expert said that in speaking out about the corruption and the lack of the best available Russian soldiers being in the war Gerasimov is being true to his oath of office and to the army. "And the army respects him for it," the expert told me.

Meanwhile, the much criticized Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president since his election in 2019, widely thought to participate in the corruption that has tarnished Ukraine for decades, has emerged from the war as a respected leader who never lost faith, even in the worst of days, in the ability of Ukraine's army to defeat Russia. By contrast, Putin has destroyed any reputation he had as a sagacious world leader by irrationally resisting any settlement of the war as his army and his economy crumbles.

A few questions remain.

Will Putin ever allow Gerasimov to tell the truth to the Russian people about the costs to the Russian army and Russia's standing in the world of their president's decision to attack Ukraine?

And is there any senior officer in the US military willing to do the same about the leadership in the White House and Pentagon in the aftermath of the vital decisions about the Middle East that are now being made in Washington and Tel Aviv?

Will it happen in Russia and not in America? If so, what does that tell us?

End of link.

Yeah, the American and Israel stuff I think is nonsense. It was interesting though that the counter to manpower was drones. At this point, if you are Putin, you have to wonder what the point of fighting is anymore. At this point, all you are doing is killing your young people.

The other part I found interesting is how during the Iran war, the USA was using these million dollar interceptors to shoot down these thousand dollar drones while Ukraine has been building massive amount of thousand dollar drones and how Ukraine of all places was the most advanced nation in the world with regard to cheap drone warfare.

But I am a lot more optimistic about the Iran war than this one. Putin seems to have dug in and is incapable of admitting he made a mistake whereas the Iranian leadership is new with the old guard wiped out. You have to wonder if those close to Putin are thinking about putting him out of misery. Even Hitler had an assassination attempt.

At Elvis 2008 As I posted once, you should do better. Why to post the compiled nonsense? Just look at how have you ended the post. Yes, corruption is a centuries old issue in Russia. Yes, drones present very serious problem now. Everything else in the article is crap, and I can deconstruct it piece by piece. I wonder who was the intended audience of the article? I guess nobody, because no one in Ukraine or Russia would take such cheap crap. 'The expert', just pathetic.

So this overrated ass War that never escalated to anything! Has lasted longer than WW2 LOL.

[QUOTE=Questner;3062707]At Elvis 2008 As I posted once, you should do better. Why to post the compiled nonsense? Just look at how have you ended the post. Yes, corruption is a centuries old issue in Russia. Yes, drones present very serious problem now. Everything else in the article is crap, and I can deconstruct it piece by piece. I wonder who was the intended audience of the article? I guess nobody, because no one in Ukraine or Russia would take such cheap crap. 'The expert', just pathetic.[/QUOTE]But Putin showed to the world his huge army with many Russian meats, but so many left Russia of Putin, is not performing, not able to defeat poor Ukrainians since 2022, when Ukrainians adapted their army, now advising even USA about drones. I'm happy no more Orban. Hu, so EU will help Ukraine with 90 billions €, when inflation and the fall for economics for Russia, even Trump helped Russia when blocking Ormuz and don t help Ukraine since his election. He would prefer to make business with Putin. Fortunately, EU help Ukraine and I m very proud about this, even agreeing to pay tax for this, versus criminal dictator Putin ranked as international war criminal.

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;3062616]You have to wonder if those close to Putin are thinking about putting him out of misery. [/QUOTE]Somebody told me, a $1 B bounty would solve the issue very fast. . And relatively cheap.

It's always interesting, whenever someone advances historical arguments about this place or that belonging to a certain country or people, to observe what point in time they choose as their reference. This is especially true in areas of the world where territory has changed hands many times. For example, Israelis and Palestinians both tend to cherry-pick the historical record to maximize their own claims and minimize the other. Irrespective of which narrative one prefers, however, there are historically established facts that any intellectually honest position needs to acknowledge. It's beyond rational dispute that there was an ancient kingdom of Israel, based in Jerusalem, which fact Jews see as central to their claim. It's also well-established that there were periods in history when there was little or no Jewish presence in the area and Arab groups were dominant. Any honest debate, at a minimum, needs to refrain from twisting history to fit their own narrative.

Similarly, Crimea has been under the rule of the Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, and Russian empires, followed by the USSR. Of all those, the Byzantines ruled longest by far from Istanbul (800+ years) and arguably have a strong claim. It's also historically relevant that the indigenous Crimean people, the Tatars, endured periods (esp under Stalin) in which they were removed from Crimea and replaced by people from more Slavic areas of Russia. Whatever one thinks about an empire's right to move its population around, it does muddy the waters when making history-based claims.

Even the Russian heartland has issues, since its existence derives from Kyivan Rus, which preceded Moscow by hundreds of years. And then the Mongols took over the neighborhood for another couple of hundred years. Eventually the Mongols faded and Moscow began its own territorial expansion. That expansion and growth, however, doesn't alter their origin story, just as Brazil, larger by far, still acknowledges its Portuguese beginnings.

[URL]https://www.britannica.com/topic/Rurik-dynasty[/URL]

For most empires, their borders were redrawn after defeat in war (ex. Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian) and their former territories were either claimed by the victors or went their own way. The Russian Empire didn't fall to an external power but was taken over from within by way of revolution. Territories that tried to break away at that time were forcibly pulled back in. The Soviets inherited the empire's territories and ruled until dissolution in 1991. That historical inflection point can certainly be argued to be the functional equivalent of an empire losing territories by defeat or collapse, as it's certainly the case that many of the former Soviet Republics declared independence and went their own way. After 1991 the leadership in Moscow signed numerous agreements with the newly independent countries (incl with Ukraine) acknowledging the new territorial reality. I'm not sure about other former Soviet Republics, but I know Ukraine held a vote in which every region, including Crimea, voted to separate from Russia.

In one sense the 1991 breakup can be viewed as a contentious divorce in which one party (Russia) is unhappy with the settlement and wants to change things by force. Putin has often relied on historical arguments, although obviously from a perspective that favors the Russian narrative.

[URL]https://historyguild.org/why-does-putin-insist-ukranians-and-russians-are-one-people-the-answer-spans-centuries-of-colonisation-and-resistance/[/URL]

IIRC, he made a speech a couple of years ago referring to himself as the modern day equivalent of Peter the Great, with a mission to regather Russian lands. The only problem is that all of those former territories are now independent. Not just Ukraine, but Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the Baltics, etc. So where does one fix the historical reference point? It's pretty clear where Putin places it, but others would beg to differ. Mongolia anyone? Byzantium calling?

[QUOTE=Jmsuttr;3063617]It's always interesting, whenever someone advances historical arguments about this place or that belonging to a certain country or people, to observe what point in time they choose as their reference. This is especially true in areas of the world where territory has changed hands many times. For example, Israelis and Palestinians both tend to cherry-pick the historical record to maximize their own claims and minimize the other. Irrespective of which narrative one prefers, however, there are historically established facts that any intellectually honest position needs to acknowledge. It's beyond rational dispute that there was an ancient kingdom of Israel, based in Jerusalem, which fact Jews see as central to their claim. It's also well-established that there were periods in history when there was little or no Jewish presence in the area and Arab groups were dominant. Any honest debate, at a minimum, needs to refrain from twisting history to fit their own narrative.

Similarly, Crimea has been under the rule of the Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, and Russian empires, followed by the USSR. Of all those, the Byzantines ruled longest by far from Istanbul (800+ years) and arguably have a strong claim.[/QUOTE]In 1991, Putin was nothing and about decision with Crimea and Donbass belonging to new Ukraine. Many years after, Putin decided to make his own war.

[QUOTE=Jmsuttr;3063617]It's always interesting, whenever someone advances historical arguments about this place or that belonging to a certain country or people, to observe what point in time they choose as their refere.

..................

In one sense the 1991 breakup can be viewed as a contentious divorce in which one party (Russia) is unhappy with the settlement and wants to change things by force. Putin has often relied on historical arguments, although obviously from a perspective that favors the Russian narrative.[/QUOTE]Let me just add that Putin's claims to Crimea and the rest of Ukraine are not only criminal but illiterate. No honest historian would take them seriously. It was Yeltsin who initiated and conspired with Ukraine and (back then) Belorussia to dissolve the USSR. Why? Only to deny Gorbachev the way to return to power after the defeat of the 1991 coup. With an exception of the Baltic states, the big Soviet breakup was not a result of anti-colonial movements from the former Soviet Republics; it was Yeltsin's way to usurp all the power in Russia by taking away Gorbachev's job since he couldn't afford to take away Gorby himself.

Certainly, the peaceful dissolution of the USSR was a blessing. It prevented the Yugoslavia's scenario in a nuclear country. But it wasn't Russia's motivation at the time. Their motivation was power. Easy-peasy.

With petrol increasing rate because of blocking Ormuz, Trump is making big gift, more than 250 billions, to his criminal dictator friend Putin. No MAGA, when a shameful loser leading USA.

[URL]https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/05/01/sacked-russian-deputy-minister-flees-to-us-amid-fraud-probe-sources-say-a92663[/URL]

The curious part isn't that a Deputy Minister would flee to avoid prosecution, that's understandable. But, if the report is accurate, he traveled Moscow to Minsk to Tblisi to the US. So, the curious part to me is why flee to America? Once clear of Russia's borders he could have gone to any place from which extradition would be unlikely, Turkey and UAE come to mind (among others).

It's my understanding that visas for Russian citizens are not currently being issued by the US. Pre-approved diplomatic visits are another matter, but that would require coordination between the US State Department and the Russian Foreign Ministry. That's unlikely, for at least three reasons: First, because of the unusual trip routing; Second, because there's no official reason for a Deputy Environmental Minister to visit right now; and Third, as someone under investigation, he would obviously not want to tip his hand about wanting to leave Russia and it's doubtful he'd be allowed to leave.

In view of the above, and considering how quickly he was allowed entry into the US, the clear implication is that he had some channel of communication with the US that didn't go through (and wasn't known by) the Russian government. One possibility is that he was a US asset, and another is that this was part of a contingency plan laid out in advance. There might be other explanations, but those are two that come immediately to mind.

What I'll be watching for now is whether he stays in the US for an extended period (or permanently) or whether he continues on to take up residence in another country. Also, since the Kremlin is obviously not going to be happy, hopefully he's got access to enough money to pay for robust security!

[QUOTE=Jmsuttr;3064224][URL]https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/05/01/sacked-russian-deputy-minister-flees-to-us-amid-fraud-probe-sources-say-a92663[/URL]

The curious part isn't that a Deputy Minister would flee to avoid prosecution, that's understandable. But, if the report is accurate, he traveled Moscow to Minsk to Tblisi to the US. So, the curious part to me is why flee to America? Once clear of Russia's borders he could have gone to any place from which extradition would be unlikely, Turkey and UAE come to mind (among others).

It's my understanding that visas for Russian citizens are not currently being issued by the US. Pre-approved diplomatic visits are another matter, but that would require coordination between the US State Department and the Russian Foreign Ministry. That's unlikely, for at least three reasons: First, because of the unusual trip routing; Second, because there's no official reason for a Deputy Environmental Minister to visit right now; and Third, as someone under investigation, he would obviously not want to tip his hand about wanting to leave Russia and it's doubtful he'd be allowed to leave.[/QUOTE]I don't know if diplomatic visits really need to be pre-approved. Plenty of Russian bigwigs have diplomatic passports, including sanctioned oligarchs, and use them as they see fit: [URL]https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/11/14/russias-elites-family-and-friends-travel-abroad-on-diplomatic-passports-the-insider-a87018[/URL]

Or he might have US or other citizenship allowing him to travel to the US. It's amazing how many of those "Collective West" haters do.

[URL]https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/insight/russian-deputy-minister-defects-as-kremlin-fears-elite-coup/gm-GMD9BAA403[/URL]

Obviously one article is not definitive proof, but there are literally no articles (as in zero) that take the position that this is in any way a normal or routine trip.

- On the diplomatic side of things, there are at least three issues to consider:

First, since the beginning of Russia's invasion, I'm not aware of any visits to the US by Russian diplomats that haven't had a nexus to negotiations to try to end the war. The delegation to the United Nations is an obvious exception. But we are simply nowhere near a "normal" diplomatic environment.

Second, even in normal times, a Deputy Minister traveling solo would be highly irregular. A Deputy Minister might accompany the Principal Minister as an aide, or travel as part of a larger delegation. That's not what happened here. In fact there's nothing in this account that's consistent with routine diplomatic travel.

Third, any normal diplomatic endeavor would require the involvement of the Russian government. Every indication and report is that he slipped away because he was being investigated and feared arrest. Had the Russian government known in time, it's likely he would have been arrested or at least prevented from traveling. Also, his choice of Belarus as his initial destination would be the least likely to raise a red flag.

- On the personal side of things, he either traveled on a Russian passport or that of a third country. Either way presents problems:

With his personal Russian passport, he would absolutely need a visa. That would require an application at the US Embassy and a personal interview. It's hard to imagine anything like that happening without the FSB knowing. In fact, it's a pretty good bet the FSB is aware of every Russian who has any contact whatsoever with the US Embassy or Consulates. And that's especially true with respect to government officials.

If he has a third-country passport, he would almost certainly not have used it when boarding his Moscow to Minsk flight, as that would raise questions. Also, if he used it for Minsk to Tblisi, that could also be problematic as airport officials usually want to see an entry stamp before they'll process an exit stamp. And Belarus is still not safe territory, so he'd be sent back to Russia should any irregularity be spotted. So, if we assume a third-country passport, Tbilisi is where he would most likely to have started using it, but would still have to deal with lacking an entry stamp.

Even assuming the most favorable circumstances (third-country passport with no visa required for BOTH the US and Georgia), he's still not the clear. DHS gets a copy of the passenger manifest for every flight scheduled to arrive in the US. There's no way Butsayev, no matter what passport he used, could escape being flagged as a Russian government official. Once flagged, it's virtually certain he would be detained at the arrival airport and questioned. He would not be viewed as a casual visitor, irrespective of what passport he was using. And DHS would also be aware of his unusual Moscow to Minsk to Tblisi to USA trip routing.

Of course, if everything was worked out in advance, through a confidential back-channel or intermediary, then easy-peasy and no problem! So, while more details will certainly help clear things up, at this point in time it's safe to say that all available indications are that this was not a regular, routine trip (personal or diplomatic). More details would certainly be nice but, if this truly is a defection, we may not get many. Also, no matter how you slice it, the Kremlin can't be happy that they let him slip away.

[QUOTE=Jmsuttr;3063617]
Similarly, Crimea has been under the rule of the Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, and Russian empires, followed by the USSR. Of all those, the Byzantines ruled longest by far from Istanbul (800+ years) and arguably have a strong claim. It's also historically relevant that the indigenous Crimean people, the Tatars, endured periods (esp under Stalin) in which they were removed from Crimea and replaced by people from more Slavic areas of Russia. Whatever one thinks about an empire's right to move its population around, it does muddy the waters when making history-based claims.[/QUOTE]Crimean Tatars, and residents of Crimea in general, overwhelmingly would prefer Crimea being part of Russia instead of Ukraine. Now and in 2014 after the referendum.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3064737]Crimean Tatars, and residents of Crimea in general, overwhelmingly would prefer Crimea being part of Russia instead of Ukraine. Now and in 2014 after the referendum.[/QUOTE]The Tatars are Turkish / Mongol in origin and have no affinity to the Russian empire. They consider themselves to be the Cossacks of the Crimean peninsula.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3064737]Crimean Tatars, overwhelmingly would prefer Crimea being part of Russia instead of Ukraine. Now and in 2014 after the referendum.[/QUOTE]Yep, because having no other choice, after the occupation. They dearly love Russians, because of being deported to Siberia under Stalin and allowed to come back to Crimea, the home country.

In 1988.

[QUOTE=Jmsuttr;3064660] More details would certainly be nice but, if this truly is a defection, we may not get many. Also, no matter how you slice it, the Kremlin can't be happy that they let him slip away.[/QUOTE]Nah, JM, the defections are happening on the front in mass. While Ukraine is grabbing young men off the street, the Russians at first glance were more humane. They were paying young people big $ to go to the Ukraine front. Thing is as soon as the recruits got there, the senior officers made the recruits pay them all that they have received. According to an article from Seymour Hersh, if you did not pay all that you got, you were sent to the front or just tied to a tree and shot and killed.

The Ukraine war reminds me of what a driver's ed teacher of mine said decades ago. "When there is a deadly accident, does it really matter who is at fault? Both parties probably lost. "

When you are at war this long, it no longer is about the nation or pride or security, the troops just want to get out alive. They have no allegiance to anything but that.

If I had to deal with seeing a friend hunted down by a drone and his guts splattered all over me, I would drink, smoke dope or shoot heroin to cope. Wouldn't you?

Whatever land has been won or lost pales in comparison to the addictions and PTSD that is going to affect the soldiers of both these nations for decades. If you are in a forever war, you have not just lost high ranking government officials, you have lost the troops.

Unless you win a war quickly and decisively, you have lost. At that point, your declaration of victory is really saying the other side lost more than you did. Well, is that victory or was not ending the war sooner the smart move?

One distinct difference between Trump and Biden was Trump used to be so anti-war. He bragged endlessly how the Ukraine war would have never happened had he been president, so what does he do? He gets in a forever war with Iran. Yeesh.

Anybody sitting at their keyboards picking sides in a forever war needs to go down to the front and put their money with their mouth is. The defections then will continue until this stupid war is over.

[QUOTE=RomanBlazduk;3064739]The Tatars are Turkish / Mongol in origin and have no affinity to the Russian empire. They consider themselves to be the Cossacks of the Crimean peninsula.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=ReinerOtto;3064742]Yep, because having no other choice, after the occupation. They dearly love Russians, because of being deported to Siberia under Stalin and allowed to come back to Crimea, the home country.

In 1988.[/QUOTE]You're absolutely right about Tatars and I'm showing off my cultural illiteracy. I was confusing Tatars with Cossacks in the Donbas. The ex-business partner of a work colleague comes from a town there that's been bitterly fought over for a couple of years now. His family is Russian speaking Cossack and Ukrainians have been persecuting them.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3064764]You're absolutely right about Tatars and I'm showing off my cultural illiteracy. I was confusing Tatars with Cossacks in the Donbas. The ex-business partner of a work colleague comes from a town there that's been bitterly fought over for a couple of years now. His family is Russian speaking Cossack and Ukrainians have been persecuting them.[/QUOTE]Until 2014 Ukrainians were persecuting Russian speaking people in Donbas maybe with stupid jokes or some prejudice but the borders to Russia were open and everybody could visit everybody and nobody had anything to gain from a war (save for rackets and thugs and a weak leader who saw no other way to stay in power than to go complete his transition into a real dictator).

It's a world of confusion, isn't it? Crimean Tatars have nothing to do with this current conflict. Yes, they were at the receiving end of Stalin's regime (do not equal with 'Russian), as other interned Japanese or Italians in the US and Canada, for example.

For his personal war, ranked as war criminal and dictator Putin just doesn't care about citizens roots, but from unknown in KGB, became to try to rebuild USSR, when thousands Russians prefer to leave Russia of Putin. But he feels threatened now and need to increase security around him.

I wouldn't have believed when the Russian invasion started that Ukraine will manage to bring the war to a stalemate. Incredible how the war changed, from a blitzkrieg to a stalemate where there is a death zone of 50 km all along the frontlines, where anybody who sticks their head out has a drone on their head. Both Russia and Ukraine innovated a lot, the other countries must be paying attention.

[QUOTE=Questner;3064792]It's a world of confusion, isn't it? Crimean Tatars have nothing to do with this current conflict. Yes, they were at the receiving end of Stalin's regime (do not equal with 'Russian), as other interned Japanese or Italians in the US and Canada, for example.[/QUOTE]First, both Italy and Japan participated in the war. Tartars did not. Second, in the camps for Italiens or Japanese, there was some support. Not to compare with the "support" in the Siberian camps.

Third, Putlers invasion of UA to be justified, because Adolf also did it, for example.

Defection, from Russia to the USA, looking to be a likely scenario (IMO).

Neither the US or Russian governments have said a word about this. From Russia, no outrage or demands for the return of their official who is under investigation. From the US, absolutely nothing at all that I could find. No acknowledgement of the matter, nothing!

So, if it's a true defection, makes me wonder what info he has to trade in exchange for permission to stay and (probably) some level of protection from an angry and embarrassed Kremlin.

Primary link:

[URL]https://x.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/2052367063184724229[/URL]

Alternate link:

[URL]https://xcancel.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/2052367063184724229[/URL]

No direct confirmation as of yet, but certainly interesting if true. Not sure how the FSB would be unaware since they almost certainly have a file on most (all?) government officials.

Still no direct comment from either government. Curiouser and curiouser!

[QUOTE=Jmsuttr;3065167]Primary link:

[URL]https://x.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/2052367063184724229[/URL]

Alternate link:

[URL]https://xcancel.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/2052367063184724229[/URL]

No direct confirmation as of yet, but certainly interesting if true. Not sure how the FSB would be unaware since they almost certainly have a file on most (all?) government officials.

Still no direct comment from either government. Curiouser and curiouser![/QUOTE]You're thinking about FSB as an embodiment of ruthless efficiency. It isn't. It's a pale shadow of the KGB. The whole mother Russia is incompetent to the core, their economy is in the gutter, the war at the stalemate, 1.5 million are dead or crippled, and you're surprised the FSB let one guy off the hook?

I don't give two shits about Butsayev. So he stole a few shekels and lived to tell the story. Good. The Russian corruption is a great Ukrainian ally. Let them steal everything, they have my blessing.

Disasters provide opportunities.

Political discussions are actually unwanted on a monger forum!

But how about the pussies in Kiev? Are they hungry and easy to catch? Any monger to report?

I'm so happy French associations help Ukraine to block Russian drones.

[QUOTE=Amadeuss;3065266]Disasters provide opportunities.

Political discussions are actually unwanted on a monger forum!

But how about the pussies in Kiev? Are they hungry and easy to catch? Any monger to report?[/QUOTE]Another thread: Kiev, for this, when under war of Putin for the fifth year. Wish will finish soon.

While he's one notch below the highest (ministerial) level of the Russian government, he couldn't have reached that post without the endorsement and backing of a strong patron. Putin runs Russia like a Mafia state, and one firm requirement for reaching the upper levels is absolute loyalty to the Don. Also, while principal Ministers can be figureheads, their deputies are often the ones actually running the department. That generally means they have some degree of competence and also knowledge about what goes on behind the scenes. Butsayev's prior government positions included significant leadership roles in both Belgorod and Moscow Oblasts, so he's been around a while and moved around within government.

[URL]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Butsayev[/URL]

The main point is simply that he was a "made man," a trusted lieutenant, just below the top tier of the hierarchy. Such individuals are not afforded the luxury of leaving voluntarily as they know too much. The FSB, regardless of how effective or efficient one believes them to be, is tasked with maintaining the hierarchy, enforcing discipline, "disappearing" problems, etc. A quick web search reveals some of their (alleged) handiwork.

[URL]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspicious_Russia-related_deaths_since_2022[/URL]

One of the biggest dangers to any Strong Man form of government is displaying weakness. That's true not only for the leader himself, but also for those parts of the government (like the FSB) used as the leader's enforcement arms. The fact the FSB failed in this instance puts a dent in the perception of strength and control. It's not so much about Butsayev, as an individual, as it is about the cracks in the system that allowed him to escape.

Will there be others? Hard to say and only time will tell. But what's clear is that Butsayev showed it's possible, and I have no doubt there are some in Russia who are working on their own "just in case" escape plan. And, speaking of the perception of strength, it can't be helpful for Putin that this year's Victory Day parade was a shadow of its former versions. It was quite literally the worst in Soviet and Russian history!

Bottom line: A system failure undeniably occurred, a crack in the system. Will it be repaired? Will others try to take advantage? Can the perception of strength be restored? Will there be lasting damage? All questions open to different opinions and worthy of debate (IMO).

[QUOTE=Jmsuttr;3065494]Will there be others? Hard to say and only time will tell. But what's clear is that Butsayev showed it's possible, and I have no doubt there are some in Russia who are working on their own "just in case" escape plan. And, speaking of the perception of strength, it can't be helpful for Putin that this year's Victory Day parade was a shadow of its former versions. It was quite literally the worst in Soviet and Russian history!

Bottom line: A system failure undeniably occurred, a crack in the system. Will it be repaired? Will others try to take advantage? Can the perception of strength be restored? Will there be lasting damage? All questions open to different opinions and worthy of debate (IMO).[/QUOTE]The one thing you can always count on with a military is they are filled with experts who have fought the last war. Ukraine has better drones than Russia does, and Iran is making drones for Russia. That more than anything should tell you how badly Russia is failing.

Peter Zeihan said the Russians would fight like they always had, using their superior number of troops and sacrificing the lives of those men, and Zeihan said the war was Russia's to lose. Well, unmanned drone warfare has stopped the Russians in their tracks. All that is going on now is the two nations are blowing up each other's infrastructure. What is the point of the war now? Putin has lost his troops, his government officials, and his country, and this desertion is the first of many. At least the Ukrainians can say they are defending their home land though I imagine fighting a forever war has sapped their morale as well.

And Trump caught this war-is-easy bug too. The Iranians did more damage with drones and missiles than anyone thought they could. Israel is all focused on Iran not having nukes when Iran could have wiped Israel off the map by destroying its desalination plants, but Iran did not do so even when attacked.

So now we have Trump, Netanyahu, and Putin all in the same boat. The only question is which will be the first to get their head out of their ass and realize they are fighting unwinnable wars.

Despite all his daily bullshits and when he thought could be good to fight China economics, but after spending 30 billions for 0 result, 1 mollah killed, 10 new who want to become martyr, and after failing for peace in Ukraine, Trump was told he lost war versus Iran, just killing Americans for nothing. Criminal Netanyahou is nothing without Trump, if no weapons and no support. Only way to stop Putin is to make Russia broke, what tried EU, but Trump made a big gift to Putin with petrol inflation, making more money for his war. When Americans are really not when electing again Trump, but poor Ukrainians are clever, learning a lot under war, adapting their army, becoming now the reference for drones, better than USA, Russia and China, when Russia and China support Iran versus Trump, when Trump suck Putin versus Ukraine. Cuckold Trump who is too old senile to understand reality of our world, but for sure not able for MAGA, but wars rather than peace and messe with inflation and lost jobs. Just a loser.

When stupid Trump make big gift to his criminal friend Putin with petrol increasing rate, billions for his war, but Ukrainians are fucking Russian petrol production with their best drones. When David became more clever than Goliath. Well played Ukrainians, fuck Russian petrol, gaz and bridges, make Russians go home. Then, could may be the end of dictator Putin and a better life for Russians when thousands ran away.

I know everyone has an opinion about Trump, Netanyahu, Zelenskyy, and Putin. But, IMO, excessive focus on those individuals misses some crucial issues.

Take Netanyahu, for example, no matter how one feels about him it's relevant to ask whether any Israeli leader would have acted in a significantly different way in the aftermath of the October 7th attack? From the Israeli point of view, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis are all doing Iran's bidding. So, while Hamas (in isolation) is one level of problem, adding Iran (and others) to the mix makes it an existential threat. Whether you agree or not doesn't matter and whether you love or hate Netanyahu doesn't matter. That's how Israel views the situation and any Israeli leader would need to act accordingly.

With respect to Trump, the most important question is whether one thinks Iran has been trying to achieve a level of nuclear weapons technology that would make them pretty much untouchable, similar to North Korea? Biden and Obama arguably just looked the other way, or swept the issue under the rug. So, assuming one believes Iran has actual (and dangerous) nuclear ambitions, criticizing Trump misses the point. The more important question is what would another president do if they weren't willing to look the other way?

About Zelenskyy, if he dropped dead or resigned tomorrow, it's virtually certain that his replacement would be someone equally (or more) resistant to the Russian invasion. In fact, one of the leading candidates would probably be General Zaluzhnyi, former armed forces chief and current ambassador to the UK. The idea that Zelenskyy, as an individual, is the problem is missing the forest for the trees. Ukraine sees the conflict as an existential struggle and they don't believe Russia will be satisfied with just the Donbas. Viewing this as an existential threat (similar to how Israel views Iran), any Ukrainian leader would need to act accordingly.

Finally, Putin is probably the best candidate for individual focus. That's because he personally ordered the invasion and he could personally order it to stop. But the bigger question is what happens after? It's certainly possible that Putin could be pushed out of office, especially if he's viewed as weak and a failure. If that happens, his replacement has two choices: First, blame Putin for everything and try to repair the damage. Second, double down on the war against Ukraine. That last choice would probably involve going into full Stalin mode.

But my main point remains. Any focus on the above individuals needs to also consider them in comparison to other alternatives. And those alternative choices would be shaped by the reality of their situations, not by things as we might wish them to be.

[blue][Deleted by Admin][/blue]

[QUOTE=Jmsuttr;3066468]I know everyone has an opinion about Trump, Netanyahu, Zelenskyy, and Putin. But, IMO, excessive focus on those individuals misses some crucial issues.

Take Netanyahu, for example, no matter how one feels about him it's relevant to ask whether any Israeli leader would have acted in a significantly different way in the aftermath of the October 7th attack? From the Israeli point of view, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis are all doing Iran's bidding. So, while Hamas (in isolation) is one level of problem, adding Iran (and others) to the mix makes it an existential threat. Whether you agree or not doesn't matter and whether you love or hate Netanyahu doesn't matter. That's how Israel views the situation and any Israeli leader would need to act accordingly.

With respect to Trump, the most important question is whether one thinks Iran has been trying to achieve a level of nuclear weapons technology that would make them pretty much untouchable, similar to North Korea? Biden and Obama arguably just looked the other way, or swept the issue under the rug. So, assuming one believes Iran has actual (and dangerous) nuclear ambitions, criticizing Trump misses the point. The more important question is what would another president do if they weren't willing to look the other way?

About Zelenskyy, if he dropped dead or resigned tomorrow, it's virtually certain that his replacement would be someone equally (or more) resistant to the Russian invasion. In fact, one of the leading candidates would probably be General Zaluzhnyi, former armed forces chief and current ambassador to the UK. The idea that Zelenskyy, as an individual, is the problem is missing the forest for the trees..[/QUOTE]I don't agree: If Zelensky is not anymore, then Putin would try to fuck new elections in Ukraine, same like in Georgia, Armenia, Romania, Hungary. May have corruption, but Zelensky really fight for Ukraine, when Trump prefer to suck Putin. With his war business to avoid jail, not respecting peace agreements, war criminal Netanyahou makes almost everybody now hating Israel, not Israelians but Tsahal murderers, same like USA under Trump, not American citizens, but actions of USA led by crazy dangerous Trump. Netanyahou and Putin were judged as war criminals and Trump should be, after killing more than 150 Iranian girls at school, when he started this war, when CIA told 0 risk from Iran nuclear. But too old, schizophrene megaloman needs to feel he is the center of the world. Fortunately, many resist to his daily bullshits and lies.

The main point of my previous post is that it's a mistake to put too much focus and attention on individual persons, rather than the underlying geopolitical issues and dynamics.

Taking Zelenskyy as the easiest example, it's irrelevant whether one likes him or hates him. The more relevant question is what, if anything, would substantially change if he was no longer on the chessboard? My argument is that the bigger underlying issue is that Ukraine sees itself in an existential struggle. Therefore, if Zelenskyy was not in the picture, the dynamics within Ukraine would mandate that any chosen leader reflect that same (existential struggle) view, and act accordingly. And that also means Ukraine would not tolerate anyone as leader who might lean toward accommodating or appeasing Russia. This means that those who love to criticize Zelenskyy are missing the point because, at this moment in time and under the current set of circumstances, any other leader would almost certainly take a similarly hard line.

I could go on to construct similar examples using other leaders, but I won't, because I want to keep this clarification as simple as possible. Again, for anyone who puts most or all of their focus on the personalities involved, you are looking at the individual trees and are very likely missing the (bigger picture) forest.

Today, EU, UK and Canada still keep on supporting so courageous Ukrainians, welcoming Zelensky actions, versus war criminal dictator Putin, this in front of Trump who can't oppose, even he would prefer business with his friend Putin and rob Ukraine, like he also tries with Venezuela and Greenland. Russia is a wonderful country I love, but not under Putin, when nobosy never threatened Russia, despite Crimea robbery, even Trump condemned while his first election but forgot as senile. Same like Iran never threatened with nuclear, as reported by CIA, but Netanyahou needs wars business to avoid jail and lies rather than peace for Trump. Pity for Russia under Putin, when most beautiful women of the world and so good in bed, when many prefer than vodka drunk guys.

[QUOTE=Jmsuttr;3066468]I know everyone has an opinion about Trump, Netanyahu, Zelenskyy, and Putin. But, IMO, excessive focus on those individuals misses some crucial issues.

>>

With respect to Trump, the most important question is whether one thinks Iran has been trying to achieve a level of nuclear weapons technology that would make them pretty much untouchable, similar to North Korea? Biden and Obama arguably just looked the other way, or swept the issue under the rug. So, assuming one believes Iran has actual (and dangerous) nuclear ambitions, criticizing Trump misses the point. The more important question is what would another president do if they weren't willing to look the other way?[/QUOTE]If only were it that easy.

What other president would jump into war with Iran in the election year? Or if such other president were an exceptionally gutsy leader, would they have allowed cretin Hegseth to cook a military campaign that didn't account for the PROBABILITY of Iran's closure of Hormuz? Of course, no one BUT Trump would've made the aforementioned cretin the head of Pentagon in the first place, but that's another story.

As a result, our brilliant aerial blitz quickly descended into a disastrous diplomatic defeat because no president of a country that still remains slightly democratic (for now) can ignore monetary pains of us the people, at the gas stations. Not in the election year. So here we go: Mr. TACO at his best.

[URL]https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/jd-vance-has-just-confirmed-our-worst-fears-about-trump-s-iran-deal/ar-AA25KPK3[/URL]

Conclusion: Only Trump. Another president wouldn't start this war or would be smarter about it.

[QUOTE=Jmsuttr;3066468]About Zelenskyy, if he dropped dead or resigned tomorrow, it's virtually certain that his replacement would be someone equally (or more) resistant to the Russian invasion. In fact, one of the leading candidates would probably be General Zaluzhnyi, former armed forces chief and current ambassador to the UK. The idea that Zelenskyy, as an individual, is the problem is missing the forest for the trees. Ukraine sees the conflict as an existential struggle and they don't believe Russia will be satisfied with just the Donbas. Viewing this as an existential threat (similar to how Israel views Iran), any Ukrainian leader would need to act accordingly. [/QUOTE]Your point works today, but would it have worked in Feb 2022? Put any other Ukrainian into the office today, and yeah, sure. With Ukraine making real gains on the battlefield and lighting up Russian infrastructure AT WILL, any president would keep fighting.

But today is not Feb 2022. If it hadn't been for Zelensky, Ukraine would've been a different place. Most likely, any other president would've negotiated a humiliating peace with Putin. Massive swaths of Eastern and Central Ukraine would've been currently occupied. The Russians might have chosen not to occupy Kyiv, but its army would've stationed right across the river training their big guns on the capital. The UAF would've been reduced to the mostly decorative National Guards. I'm not saying Ukraine would've been decisively defeated. More likely a gorilla war would've been raging on against the occupiers, but Zelensky's staying in Kyiv in Feb 2022 made all the difference in the world. No one else would have.

Conclusion: Only Zelensky. No other president would've successfully keep at bay the monster, the size of Russia.

[QUOTE=Jmsuttr;3066468]Finally, Putin is probably the best candidate for individual focus. That's because he personally ordered the invasion and he could personally order it to stop. But the bigger question is what happens after? It's certainly possible that Putin could be pushed out of office, especially if he's viewed as weak and a failure. If that happens, his replacement has two choices: First, blame Putin for everything and try to repair the damage. Second, double down on the war against Ukraine. That last choice would probably involve going into full Stalin mode.[/QUOTE]What is full Stalin's mode? Let's not forget that Stalin failed to occupy tiny Finland. Twice, actually, during the Winter War and the Continuation War. Of course, Finland had to make big concessions, but it stayed free. Stalin, with all his monstrosity, was nothing but flexible.

Putin started this pointless war for 3 reasons. He hated Ukraine, he wanted to keep Ukraine as a client state, and he thought it would be easy. When he realized it wouldn't be easy, he kept digging down because he was and still is convinced that not achieving something that can be framed as a victory would spell the end for him. Not unreasonably, by the way. Now he's a hostage to this war. As long as the bullets are flying, he's alive and in power.

Conclusion: Only Putin. No one else would've started that war or kept at it for 4+ years knowing it can't be won.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;3070593]If only were it that easy.

What other president would jump into war with Iran in the election year? Or if such other president were an exceptionally gutsy leader, would they have allowed cretin Hegseth to cook a military campaign that didn't account for the PROBABILITY of Iran's closure of Hormuz? Of course, no one BUT Trump would've made the aforementioned cretin the head of Pentagon in the first place, but that's another story.

As a result, our brilliant aerial blitz quickly descended into a disastrous diplomatic defeat because no president of a country that still remains slightly democratic (for now) can ignore monetary pains of us the people, at the gas stations. Not in the election year. So here we go: Mr. TACO at his best.

[URL]https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/jd-vance-has-just-confirmed-our-worst-fears-about-trump-s-iran-deal/ar-AA25KPK3[/URL]

Conclusion: Only Trump. Another president wouldn't start this war or would be smarter about it.

Your point works today, but would it have worked in Feb 2022? Put any other Ukrainian into the office today, and yeah, sure. With Ukraine making real gains on the battlefield and lighting up Russian infrastructure AT WILL, any president would keep fighting..[/QUOTE]Yes, maybe corruption, but Zelensky has big balls like many Ukrainians, when Putin is just a crazy dangerous guy killing a lot of Russian meat. Ukrainians learned to become best experts for drones, for new way for war. Kind of smart David resisting to dumb Goliath. I wish best future to so courageous Ukrainians who give a lesson to our world, for Greenland, Cuba, Venezuela. Stop robbers.

[QUOTE=Xpartan;3070593]If only were it that easy.

What other president would jump into war with Iran in the election year? Or if such other president were an exceptionally gutsy leader, would they have allowed cretin Hegseth to cook a military campaign that didn't account for the PROBABILITY of Iran's closure of Hormuz? Of course, no one BUT Trump would've made the aforementioned cretin the head of Pentagon in the first place, but that's another story.

As a result, our brilliant aerial blitz quickly descended into a disastrous diplomatic defeat because no president of a country that still remains slightly democratic (for now) can ignore monetary pains of us the people, at the gas stations. Not in the election year. So here we go: Mr. TACO at his best.

[URL]https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/jd-vance-has-just-confirmed-our-worst-fears-about-trump-s-iran-deal/ar-AA25KPK3[/URL].[/QUOTE]Mmmhmm yessir that's the point.

[QUOTE=Jmsuttr;3070512]The main point of my previous post is that it's a mistake to put too much focus and attention on individual persons, rather than the underlying geopolitical issues and dynamics.

Taking Zelenskyy as the easiest example, it's irrelevant whether one likes him or hates him. The more relevant question is what, if anything, would substantially change if he was no longer on the chessboard? My argument is that the bigger underlying issue is that Ukraine sees itself in an existential struggle. Therefore, if Zelenskyy was not in the picture, the dynamics within Ukraine would mandate that any chosen leader reflect that same (existential struggle) view, and act accordingly. And that also means Ukraine would not tolerate anyone as leader who might lean toward accommodating or appeasing Russia. This means that those who love to criticize Zelenskyy are missing the point because, at this moment in time and under the current set of circumstances, any other leader would almost certainly take a similarly hard line..[/QUOTE]Could go either way or no way.

I've seen the claims here about 500,000 Iraqi children dying from US sanctions and around 40,000 Venezuelan deaths from sanctions pop up here as whataboutisms before. Both numbers have been thoroughly debunked by later research. For Iraq, post 2003 surveys found no big sustained rise in child mortality during the sanctions period. The original 1999 UNICEF figure was heavily manipulated by Saddam's govt. Key paper is Dyson and Cetorelli in BMJ Global Health.

For Venezuela, the bulk of the humanitarian collapse and excess deaths happened before the 2017 sanctions. Brookings had a good piece on how these earlier numbers overstated the sanctions' role.

Happy to share the links if anyone's interested.

[URL]https://gh.bmj.com/content/2/2/e000311[/URL]

[URL]https://www.lse.ac.uk/news/latest-news-from-lse/iraqi-government-misreported-child-mortality-lse-research-finds[/URL]

[URL]https://www.brookings.edu/articles/revisiting-the-evidence-impact-of-the-2017-sanctions-on-venezuela/[/URL]

[URL]https://www.brookings.edu/articles/chavismo-is-the-worst-of-all-sanctions-the-evidence-behind-the-humanitarian-catastrophe-in-venezuela/[/URL]

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3070823]I've seen the claims here about 500,000 Iraqi children dying from US sanctions and around 40,000 Venezuelan deaths from sanctions pop up here as whataboutisms before. Both numbers have been thoroughly debunked by later research. For Iraq, post 2003 surveys found no big sustained rise in child mortality during the sanctions period. The original 1999 UNICEF figure was heavily manipulated by Saddam's govt. Key paper is Dyson and Cetorelli in BMJ Global Health.

For Venezuela, the bulk of the humanitarian collapse and excess deaths happened before the 2017 sanctions. Brookings had a good piece on how these earlier numbers overstated the sanctions' role.

Happy to share the links if anyone's interested.

[URL]https://gh.bmj.com/content/2/2/e000311[/URL]

[URL]https://www.lse.ac.uk/news/latest-news-from-lse/iraqi-government-misreported-child-mortality-lse-research-finds[/URL]

[URL]https://www.brookings.edu/articles/revisiting-the-evidence-impact-of-the-2017-sanctions-on-venezuela/[/URL]

[URL]https://www.brookings.edu/articles/chavismo-is-the-worst-of-all-sanctions-the-evidence-behind-the-humanitarian-catastrophe-in-venezuela/[/URL][/QUOTE]Okay the sad truth is just unfortunate.

Given the name of thread and to revitalize it a bit, here is an excerpt from today's Ukrainian press: "Famous Ukrainian blogger and tarot reader, finalist of the "Battle of Psychics", Maria Tykha, claimed that she "strapon fucked" one of the Ukrainian ministers. According to her, she was offered 30 thousand dollars for this type of sex. Tykha also claims that one of the representatives of Ukraine's political elite suggested that she "perform a brown shower on him."

[QUOTE=Questner;3071451]Given the name of thread and to revitalize it a bit, here is an excerpt from today's Ukrainian press: "Famous Ukrainian blogger and tarot reader, finalist of the "Battle of Psychics", Maria Tykha, claimed that she "strapon fucked" one of the Ukrainian ministers. According to her, she was offered 30 thousand dollars for this type of sex. Tykha also claims that one of the representatives of Ukraine's political elite suggested that she "perform a brown shower on him."[/QUOTE]What does it change about war criminal, dictator Putin attacked Ukraine on beginning of 2022 when nobody threatened huge Russia, after he didn't respect what he signed for Crimea. This must be more important than hardcore sexual fantasy. I think Putin has Trump photos with prostitutes in Moscow, while his first election?

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;2979392]I cannot believe you still want to talk about this. It is fine to criticize a study for its methodology if the results are way out of line with others and to criticize the funding source, but they were not. [URL]https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099[/URL](20) 30244-9/ fulltext.

For example, some countries are able to invest resources into contact tracing and containing the spread through quarantine and isolation of infected or suspected cases. In Singapore, where these measures have been implemented, the CFR of 631 cases (as of March 25,2020) is 03%.

The trend in mortality reporting for COVID-19 has been typical for emerging infectious diseases. The case fatality rate (CFR) was reported to be 15% (six of 41 patients) in the initial period,1 but this estimate was calculated from a small cohort of hospitalised patients. Subsequently, with more data emerging, the CFR decreased to between 43% and 110%,2,3 and later to 34%. 4 The rate reported outside China in February was even lower (04%; two of 464). 5.

I cannot believe how dumb you are then. You are quoting numbers when there was not proper screening of the whole population to see how many people had been infected with Covid and thinking those early values were real. And this lancet paper was from July 2020. Do you know how to read?[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Elvis2008;2979392]I cannot believe you still want to talk about this. It is fine to criticize a study for its methodology if the results are way out of line with others and to criticize the funding source, but they were not. [URL]https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099[/URL](20) 30244-9/ fulltext.

For example, some countries are able to invest resources into contact tracing and containing the spread through quarantine and isolation of infected or suspected cases. In Singapore, where these measures have been implemented, the CFR of 631 cases (as of March 25,2020) is 03%.

The trend in mortality reporting for COVID-19 has been typical for emerging infectious diseases. The case fatality rate (CFR) was reported to be 15% (six of 41 patients) in the initial period,1 but this estimate was calculated from a small cohort of hospitalised patients. Subsequently, with more data emerging, the CFR decreased to between 43% and 110%,2,3 and later to 34%. 4 The rate reported outside China in February was even lower (04%; two of 464). 5.

I cannot believe how dumb you are then. You are quoting numbers when there was not proper screening of the whole population to see how many people had been infected with Covid and thinking those early values were real. And this lancet paper was from July 2020. Do you know how to read?[/QUOTE]Well since Questner wanted to refresh the thread, I was recently looking through a couple of old posts I missed and decided a couple of replies would be fun.

Elvis the guy is your source, not mine. You're quoting an economist with an MD who never completed a residency to lecture on epidemiology, while carrying an obvious bias and lowballing the fatality rate? You might want to check your own clown make up before calling anyone else dumb.

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;2979439] Ok fine, here is a quote from your POS paper. "In terms of COVID-19 related deaths, red and blue states in 2020 did not differ significantly" and "COVID-19 deaths in 2020 did not significantly correlate with mitigation efforts. " [/QUOTE]So the paper that tossed you a bone is a POS? It's tough to have it both ways. They were correct on that point but missed the nuance. Deaths were higher in blue states in early 2020 because of spread in urban areas, but higher in red states later in the year likely with weak mitigation efforts as a real factor. Regardless, the effectiveness of masks and social distancing isn't measured when compliance is weak, no matter the voting patterns.

Here's a point you persistently dodge, and likely will continue to do so, why aren't you insisting that doctors and nurses stop wearing masks in hospitals since you are convinced that they do not work? Folks remember this, the strongest points like this one are always the ones that are completely ignored.

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;2979439] Meta analysis after the Covid epidemic showed none of the interventions you swore by worked. [URL]https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6/full[/URL]. [/QUOTE]This is BS. The results were inconclusive.

[URL]https://www.cochrane.org/about-us/news/statement-physical-interventions-interrupt-or-reduce-spread-respiratory-viruses-review[/URL]

What is clear is that Sweden with it's much more liberal approach to mitigation efforts had much higher pre-vaccine death rates than their logistically and culturally similar Nordic neighbors. So what do you want to do with that, make a beeline for Peru again? LOL Non-compliance and crowded households were the obvious problems there.

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;2979439] Zelensky, you need any more money?[/QUOTE]That guy has balls a slippery keyboard weasel like you can only dream about.

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;2979439]But 2021 is the year of the vaccinated, and blue states had more vaccinated people than red states. This from your study, "In terms of COVID-19 related deaths, red and blue states in 2020 did not differ significantly. COVID-19 deaths in 2021, however, were significantly less in blue compared to red states. ".See Elvis? Suck it, we Dems were way smarter than you Republican retards. That is science baby. Uh, well.[/QUOTE]Yea, in this most rare case that you get around to making a concession, we must really be onto something.

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;2979439]If you use the same lame analysis as the fools in your paper did, the vaccine was killing people in the UK under 60.

Then you get to Germany, and the same pattern emerges. [URL]https://dailysceptic.org/2023/02/12/the-link-between-german-excess-mortality-and-the-covid-vaccines/?highlight=covid[/URL]. [/QUOTE]Daily Skeptic, really? I guess we're all lucky the link doesn't work. Why no Zero Hedge? LOL.

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;2979439]From the beginning of April 2021 onwards the start of the vaccination campaign excess mortality suddenly increases continuously up to the youngest age groups and the number of stillbirths is increasing. Nine months later, a massive and sustained decrease in live births is observed. [/QUOTE]When did 3% become "massive?" LOL This is a correlation equals causation fallacy. While this even if true lags well behind the excess deaths caused by selfish and irresponsible behavior in red states. A Yale study found no correlation between vaccines and still births.

[URL]https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/study-finds-no-association-between-covid-19-vaccines-and-stillbirths/[/URL]

In fact getting Covid while pregnant increased the risk of still births. Also the increased infant mortality in 2022 followed racial and socio-economic lines consistent with people less likely to get the vaccine.

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;2979439]The risk of death from Covid for 70 year olds is about two orders of magnitude greater than that for 30 year olds, and is about three orders of magnitude greater than that for 20 year olds. This means you need to vaccinate about a thousand 20 year olds to save the same number of lives as vaccinating one 70 year old. For 20 year olds who've already had Covid, it's probably closer to a million. [/QUOTE]The primary purpose of vaccinating young people was to protect others.

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;2979439]Uh, why the fuck would anyone as of today be stupid enough to defend vaccinating young men, women of child bearing age, and the absolute most fucking stupid, pregnant women? Not looking good, Paulie. At best, you dumb Democratic douches were saving a few fossils while bumping off newborns. [/QUOTE]This is more pure distortion from you. The data never showed vaccines were "bumping off newborns. " In fact studies consistently found the opposite: pregnant women who got vaccinated had lower rates of stillbirth and preterm birth than unvaccinated ones. Getting Covid during pregnancy was the real factor for complications, not the vaccine.

Vaccinating younger people wasn't just about "protecting fossils. " The vaccine cut transmission rates which reduced spread to high risk groups and kept hospitals from collapsing. "Save one grandma, kill a baby. " That framing is pure distortion.

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;2979439]As for the UK data, like with the red and blue state analysis, in 2021, there is a clear showing of decreased death in the elderly being vaccinated. Okay, Elvis, that is it. We lowered the death rate. Yeah, problem is you did not dive deeper. One paper did and concluded that based on the UK data, you cannot say that the vaccines prevent death, even in the elderly. As to why, there is this, [URL]https://www.normanfenton.com/post/simple-evidence-showing-the-ons-data-on-mortality-by-vaccine-status-is-systemically-flawedNotice[/URL] What could possibly explain a 60% increase in non-covid deaths in 2022 among the unvaccinated and a 5% drop in non-covid deaths among the vaccinated? If the vaccine worked, there should be a lot more deaths in the unvaccinated group when there was a Covid spike, and there was not. There should also be a similar number of non-Covid deaths in the vaccinated and unvaccinated, and once again, there was not.

[URL]https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357778435_Official_mortality_data_for_England_suggest_systematic_miscategorisation_of_vaccine_status_and_uncertain_effectiveness_of_Covid-19_vaccination[/URL] At first glance the ONS data suggest that, in each of the older age groups, all-cause mortality is lower in the vaccinated than the unvaccinated. This conclusion is cast into doubt upon closer inspection of the data due to a range of fundamental inconsistencies and anomalies in the data. [/QUOTE]Okay, so when the heat is on, don't run to Peru. Let's run to the UK. That ONS data has been heavily criticized by statisticians, including the Office for Statistics Regulation for exactly this reason. The categories are messed up by classification. When people got vaccinated there was often a delay in updating the system, thus if they died during those few weeks after the shot they were counted as unvaccinated. Also healthier people were more likely to get vaccinated.

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;2979439]So which is the bigger Democratic douche fuckup, Covid or Ukraine? [/QUOTE]Well you've been consistently reminded that many many Repubs from day one have signed off on aid for Ukraine, yet you still call it a Democrat war. Are you forgetful or just dishonest? Why are you so slow to criticize Putin?

As to what we can file under completely ignored, we have:

1. Elvis cannot tell us why he isn't criticizing doctors and nurses for wearing masks in hospital settings. Since in his mind they do not work, it's a complete waste of time and resources while sacrificing comfort.

2. Also Elvis has ignored all the data that demonstrates that Covid-19 was much more deadly than the flu and common cold.

This sentence in my first paragraph prior post should read as follows:

Death rates were higher in blue states in early 2020 because of spread in urban areas, but higher in red states later in the year likely with weak mitigation efforts as a real factor.

Deaths is replaced with death rates.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3071839]So the paper that tossed you a bone is a POS? It's tough to have it both ways. They were correct on that point but missed the nuance. Deaths were higher in blue states in early 2020 because of spread in urban areas, but higher in red states later in the year likely with weak mitigation efforts as a real factor. Regardless, the effectiveness of masks and social distancing isn't measured when compliance is weak, no matter the voting patterns.

Here's a point you persistently dodge, and likely will continue to do so, why aren't you insisting that doctors and nurses stop wearing masks in hospitals since you are convinced that they do not work? Folks remember this, the strongest points like this one are always the ones that are completely ignored.

This is BS. The results were inconclusive..[/QUOTE]There is a lot to be learned here.

Why don't Ukraine babes get to Thailand and become escorts? They'd be making bank while enjoying beaches and getting away from war. It's a no brainer.

I guess they'd rather be nearby like in Germany or the Czech Republic, but plenty of guys would be wanting to pay for some blonde pussy in Thailand, not that Thai pussy is bad, but variety is the spice of life after all.

Ukraine has hardly any interceptor missiles. The last few strikes on Kiev have seen zero interception. But hey, as long as Ukraine strikes civilian targets like beaches and Wildberries, it means Ukraine is winning right? This is a death sentence for Ukraine. The illegal president of Ukraine thinks he can escalate. Let him. The Russians will destroy Ukraine, and I mean destroy it. And that is an enormous tragedy. Just imagine if the EU / USA had not staged that coup in 2014. Crimea would be part of Ukraine. Donbas would be part of Ukraine. There would be no war.

No war, in case UA would not have trusted the lies of USA, RF, GB regarding their territorial integrity, when releasing the atomic weapons for destruction.

They should have kept the warheads; then no aggression by Putler.

[QUOTE=NewtonYork;3078026]Why don't Ukraine babes get to Thailand and become escorts? They'd be making bank while enjoying beaches and getting away from war. It's a no brainer.

I guess they'd rather be nearby like in Germany or the Czech Republic, but plenty of guys would be wanting to pay for some blonde pussy in Thailand, not that Thai pussy is bad, but variety is the spice of life after all.[/QUOTE]A lot of German men have been wifing up beautiful Eastern European women for a long time now.

A hot Ukrainian woman has a shot at a comfortable life with the right European man.

But you're right. Why not enjoy a year-long stay in Thailand?

I would say Thai escorts are so inexpensive and abundant. I'm not sure if it's worthwhile competing with them.

[QUOTE=ReinerOtto;3078466]No war, in case UA would not have trusted the lies of USA, RF, GB regarding their territorial integrity, when releasing the atomic weapons for destruction.

They should have kept the warheads; then no aggression by Putler.[/QUOTE]This I agree with. But in all fairness, those nukes belonged to the SU and Russia was the inheritor, which is why Belarus, Kazakhstan, etc also returned the nukes to the rightful owner, which was Russia.

[QUOTE]This I agree with. But in all fairness, those nukes belonged to the SU and Russia was the inheritor, which is why Belarus, Kazakhstan, etc also returned the nukes to the rightful owner, which was Russia.[/QUOTE]The memoranda, signed in Patria Hall at the Budapest Congress Center with US Ambassador Donald M. Blinken amongst others in attendance, prohibited Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom from threatening or using military force or economic coercion against Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, "except in self-defence or otherwise in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations". As a result of the memorandum and other agreements, between 1993 and 1996, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine gave up their nuclear weapons.

Why was this agreement necessary for the "inheritor", then?

May be, Kazakhstan now is afraid, of Putler, too.

UA had the tech, not the money, though, at that time, to deploy the warheads with missiles, built in UA. Like the ones, which were intended to be stationed on Cuba.

No need for Russian controls. Only the fissible material of the warheads was required for UA.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3078455]Ukraine has hardly any interceptor missiles. The last few strikes on Kiev have seen zero interception. But hey, as long as Ukraine strikes civilian targets like beaches and Wildberries, it means Ukraine is winning right? This is a death sentence for Ukraine. The illegal president of Ukraine thinks he can escalate. Let him. The Russians will destroy Ukraine, and I mean destroy it. And that is an enormous tragedy. Just imagine if the EU / USA had not staged that coup in 2014. Crimea would be part of Ukraine. Donbas would be part of Ukraine. There would be no war.[/QUOTE]Zelensky is not illegal according to Ukrainian constitution and despite corruption, Ukrainians know he has balls since more than 4 years versus war criminal and dictator Putin. Incredible how Ukraine is resisting versus big powerful Russia of Putin who loves deaths.

It would've been wise for Ukraine to have stayed neutral like Austria. But the EU and the collective west made sure that didn't happen, and now you have the death of Ukraine in front of you. Funny thing is, Ukraine will never ever join NATO.

[QUOTE=Sirioja;3078554]Zelensky is not illegal according to Ukrainian constitution and despite corruption, Ukrainians know he has balls since more than 4 years versus war criminal and dictator Putin. Incredible how Ukraine is resisting versus big powerful Russia of Putin who loves deaths.[/QUOTE]Ukraine will get destroyed while 'resisting'. I guess the EU and the collective west is okay with that.

Until the last Ukrainian, right?

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3078610]Funny thing is, Ukraine will never ever join NATO.[/QUOTE]But Finlands (now NATO) border with RF is longer than UAs.

Thus, Putler "succeeded" already to extend Russias borders with NATO members.

Or will he attack Finland, next, because of joining NATO?

But probably he remembers Russias imperialistic fights against them in the past, and how hard that was.

Why is the kremlin wasting the money it doesn't have to keep disseminating ridiculous two-bit lies?

I think four reasons.

1. the kremlin is dumb. Like really, seriously dumb. Something, the Rusophiles here and everywhere simply can't comprehend.

2. The worse their 4. 5-year-old idiotic war is going (remember Kyiv in three days, LOL?) -- the more needs to scare the "collective West".

3. Six weeks till their so-called elections.

4. Upcoming fall mobilization is coming right after the elections. More distractions are needed so the meatballs don't roll away before they come for them.

But why would they pay their dedicated propacondoms to spread their BS on the fucking mongering forum, of all places, you ask?

Number 1 is why.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3078776]Ukraine will get destroyed while 'resisting'. I guess the EU and the collective west is okay with that.

Until the last Ukrainian, right?[/QUOTE]You prefer Ukraine under dictator, criminal Putin? But Ukrainians don t, when they are so courageous.

[QUOTE=ReinerOtto;3078824]But Finlands (now NATO) border with RF is longer than UAs.

Thus, Putler "succeeded" already to extend Russias borders with NATO members.

Or will he attack Finland, next, because of joining NATO?

But probably he remembers Russias imperialistic fights against them in the past, and how hard that was.[/QUOTE]I said Ukraine will never join NATO and you bring up Finland. Ukraine joining NATO is what brought this whole tragic war on. And Ukraine will end up a destroyed dysfunctional rump state that never joins NATO. So why was neutrality so bad? If Ukraine had stayed neutral, if the collective west hadn't imposed the coup in 2014, Ukraine would be intact. Crimea would be with Ukraine. All of the Donbas and Kherson and Zaporizhia would be with Ukraine. There would be no war.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3079112]if the collective west hadn't imposed the coup in 2014, Ukraine would be intact. Crimea would be with Ukraine. All of the Donbas and Kherson and Zaporizhia would be with Ukraine. There would be no war.[/QUOTE]Yanukovych fled Kyiv after signing an EU deal for early elections. Parliament, including members of his own party, voted three hundred twenty-eight to zero to remove him the next day because he'd abandoned his post. That's not a coup, it's what happens when a president runs away.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3079112]I said Ukraine will never join NATO and you bring up Finland. Ukraine joining NATO is what brought this whole tragic war on. And Ukraine will end up a destroyed dysfunctional rump state that never joins NATO. So why was neutrality so bad? If Ukraine had stayed neutral, if the collective west hadn't imposed the coup in 2014, Ukraine would be intact. Crimea would be with Ukraine. All of the Donbas and Kherson and Zaporizhia would be with Ukraine. There would be no war.[/QUOTE]This is pure Russian disinformation. Every statement in this is a lie. The poster is paid by Russian IRA or ASD.

[QUOTE=JohnClayton;3079145]This is pure Russian disinformation. Every statement in this is a lie. The poster is paid by Russian IRA or ASD.[/QUOTE]You have no argument.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3079112]I said Ukraine will never join NATO and you bring up Finland. Ukraine joining NATO is what brought this whole tragic war on. And Ukraine will end up a destroyed dysfunctional rump state that never joins NATO. So why was neutrality so bad? If Ukraine had stayed neutral, if the collective west hadn't imposed the coup in 2014, Ukraine would be intact. Crimea would be with Ukraine. All of the Donbas and Kherson and Zaporizhia would be with Ukraine. There would be no war.[/QUOTE]Putin dream to make again USSR. He didn't respect what he signed. We can t trust him, same than for Trump.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3079112] Ukraine joining NATO is what brought this whole tragic war on. [/QUOTE]Sounds like you are paving the path for aggression of Russia towards Finland, because it gave up neutrality.

Oh, but Finland now in NATO, thus Putin might buckle down. UA was not fast enough to join NATO, obviously.

[QUOTE=ReinerOtto;3079196]Sounds like you are paving the path for aggression of Russia towards Finland, because it gave up neutrality.

Oh, but Finland now in NATO, thus Putin might buckle down. UA was not fast enough to join NATO, obviously.[/QUOTE]Nice selective quoting.

Read up on history. How many times did NATO expand post 1991? How many expansions did the Russians tolerate, despite the assurance that there would be no NATO expansion before the SU collapsed?

What were the red lines? Clearly Georgia was one. Look what happened to Georgia in 2008. Today there are 2 independent republics in Georgia, and the government in power now is smart and realizes the mistake that was made in the past. Russia clobbered Georgia in 2008.

The brightest of all red lines was Ukraine joining NATO. That would have meant war and that's exactly what happened. So I don't know why you like to bring up Finland. Pay attention to what the red lines were.

And like I said, Ukraine will never ever join NATO.

So again I ask, was all this worth it for Ukraine? Can any Pro Ukrainian here honestly answer that?

[QUOTE=Sirioja;3079063]You prefer Ukraine under dictator, criminal Putin? But Ukrainians don t, when they are so courageous.[/QUOTE]I have nothing but respect for Ukrainians. They are brave and fight valiantly with honor and dignity. I am opposed to the filthy Nazi regime in Kiev and the beggar in Kiev whose term has long expired.

I would like to see a neutral, prosperous Ukraine, like it was before the western backed coup in 2014. When Ukraine was intact. When Crimea was with Ukraine. When there was no war.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3079201] Can any Pro Ukrainian here honestly answer that?[/QUOTE]No. Only the Ukrainian citizen can. And they do it with rifles in their hands.

Only minor difference between Hitler and Putin:

When Hitler brought Sudetenland to Germany, the Wehrmacht was greeted with flowers.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3079201] Nice selective quoting.

Read up on history. How many times did NATO expand post 1991? How many expansions did the Russians tolerate, despite the assurance that there would be no NATO expansion before the SU collapsed [/QUOTE]The "not one inch eastward" assurance was verbal, limited to East Germany during unification talks, and never written into the Two Plus Four Treaty or any binding agreement. Also cut the spin BS. Many former Eastern Block countries freely and gleefully expanded into NATO because they reject your way of life.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3079202]I have nothing but respect for Ukrainians. They are brave and fight valiantly with honor and dignity. I am opposed to the filthy Nazi regime in Kiev and the beggar in Kiev whose term has long expired.[/QUOTE]Zelensky is serving under martial law as elections are suspended during wartime. This is a common practice that is consistent with the Ukrainian constitution. It's also ironic that you question legitimacy while Putin has murdered or jailed his most credible political opposition.

And calling Ukraine's government Nazi is pathetic. Zelensky is Jewish, and his family lost members in the Holocaust. Azov is a fringe group, and polls show Ukrainians strongly support their government and president. Russia has its own Nazi problem, with groups like Rusich fighting in Ukraine.

Also the "I respect the people but not the government" line is a lazy false dichotomy. The Ukrainian people strongly support their government, so your fake respect is just empty words typed from safety.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3079202]I have nothing but respect for Ukrainians. They are brave and fight valiantly with honor and dignity. I am opposed to the filthy Nazi regime in Kiev and the beggar in Kiev whose term has long expired.

I would like to see a neutral, prosperous Ukraine, like it was before the western backed coup in 2014. When Ukraine was intact. When Crimea was with Ukraine. When there was no war.[/QUOTE]I would also prefer peace for Ukrainians, but we all know Putin attacked them, after he robbed Crimea, not respecting what he signed, so we can't trust him, when I and millions don t see Zelensky as a nazi, but we see Putin as a dictator and war criminal, when I love beautiful Russia, but hate Putin.

[QUOTE=Sirioja;3079163]Putin dream to make again USSR. He didn't respect what he signed. We can t trust him, same than for Trump.[/QUOTE]When he was a just nothing in KGB under USSR, he fantazy to create again, being the new Staline.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3079219]The "not one inch eastward" assurance was verbal, limited to East Germany during unification talks, and never written into the Two Plus Four Treaty or any binding agreement. Also cut the spin BS. Many former Eastern Block countries freely and gleefully expanded into NATO because they reject your way of life.[/QUOTE]You have to resort to selective quoting because you cannot address the points I make.

As I said, the brightest of red lines regarding NATO expansion was Ukraine. Keep bringing up Finland or other irrelevant stuff.

Ukraine will NEVER join NATO. Write this down.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3079226]Zelensky is serving under martial law as elections are suspended during wartime. This is a common practice that is consistent with the Ukrainian constitution. It's also ironic that you question legitimacy while Putin has murdered or jailed his most credible political opposition.

And calling Ukraine's government Nazi is pathetic. Zelensky is Jewish, and his family lost members in the Holocaust. Azov is a fringe group, and polls show Ukrainians strongly support their government and president. Russia has its own Nazi problem, with groups like Rusich fighting in Ukraine.

Also the "I respect the people but not the government" line is a lazy false dichotomy. The Ukrainian people strongly support their government, so your fake respect is just empty words typed from safety.[/QUOTE]Fringe group. Yeah. Do you know who Stephan Bandera is? Do you know he is a national hero in Ukraine?

As for how popular the corrupt failed comedian / actor is, let him hold free and fair elections and we shall find out.

[QUOTE=Sirioja;3079255]I would also prefer peace for Ukrainians, but we all know Putin attacked them, after he robbed Crimea, not respecting what he signed, so we can't trust him, when I and millions don t see Zelensky as a nazi, but we see Putin as a dictator and war criminal, when I love beautiful Russia, but hate Putin.[/QUOTE]I get it. You don't like Putin but like Russia. I despise the Nazi regime in Kiev but I have nothing but love and respect for the ordinary Ukrainian people dying and struggling.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3079728]Fringe group. Yeah. Do you know who Stephan Bandera is? Do you know he is a national hero in Ukraine?

As for how popular the corrupt failed comedian / actor is, let him hold free and fair elections and we shall find out.[/QUOTE]Bandera wasn't a Nazi. He was a Ukrainian nationalist who briefly saw the Nazis as a temporary ally against the Soviets, but they later imprisoned him in Sachsenhausen. His movement was fractured, and while some factions committed atrocities, that's not the same as Nazi ideology. And Ukraine's current government, led by a Jewish president whose family lost members in the Holocaust, doesn't reflect 1940's nationalism.

Folks take note that Blood Red completely ignored my points about Nazi groups in present day Russia, some of which are fighting in Ukraine.

He also ignored the point that election postponement is common during war, while he ignored my points about Putin's murders and imprisonment of his political opponents. He in the past has insisted here that Alexi Navalny died of natural causes.

Blood Red cries about "selective quoting" but completely ignored the majority of my points. That's quite hypocritical.

Current polls show Zelensky's approval rating at about 56% which is strong support.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3079727]You have to resort to selective quoting because you cannot address the points I make.

As I said, the brightest of red lines regarding NATO expansion was Ukraine. Keep bringing up Finland or other irrelevant stuff.

Ukraine will NEVER join NATO. Write this down.[/QUOTE]You rarely make any "points" to address. Calling something irrelevant, a coup, or Nazi doesn't make it so. Prognostications aren't "points. " You don't even know the difference between points and assertions.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3079729]I get it. You don't like Putin but like Russia. I despise the Nazi regime in Kiev but I have nothing but love and respect for the ordinary Ukrainian people dying and struggling.[/QUOTE]You say you respect the Ukrainian people but call their government Nazi. Yet their national hero that you call Nazi, Bandera, has seventy-four percent approval. And he wasn't even a Nazi, but an ulta nationalist who was ultimately imprisoned by the Nazis. You can't have it both ways. Why do you "love and respect" all these "Nazi" lovers?

As with many things, Russia has a variety of propaganda narratives, crafted for different audiences, but all designed to provide "justification" for what they were going to do anyway. For those inclined to be persuaded by historical arguments, they have a narrative ready to go. For those persuadable by the "de-Nazification" trope, they've got that covered. Same with those who might be sympathetic to narratives centered around Russia as the defender of traditional values against the decadent West. Oh, and I'd be remiss in leaving out the dreaded specter of NATO encroaching on what Russia views as its geopolitical personal space.

Russia really doesn't care if reality and empirical evidence contradict any of these narratives because they can easily switch between them, or play "mix and match" as needed. Just taking history, as one example, if you go back far enough you can make the argument that all of Russia belongs to Mongolia as Moscow was a vassal under Genghis Khan. In addition, Kyiv predates Moscow by centuries, and Ukrainian language, tradition, and culture are senior to those of Russia. Even the name "Russia" itself is derived (some would say appropriated) from the older Kyivan Rus.

During the Age of Empires national borders changed with every significant war and alliance (often by marriage between royal families). Arguably that age came to an end after the World Wars of the 20th Century, although Russia either didn't get the memo or refused to acknowledge it. After the fall of the Tsar and the end of the Russian Empire, Ukraine declared independence and the newly empowered Bolshevik rulers of the USSR (Russian Empire with new branding) fought to pull them back in. Then, after the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine declared independence again, but this time Russia lacked either the strength or the will to prevent it. Chechnya was tragically not as fortunate.

From 1991 to 2014, Russia had ample opportunity to lay out any supposed legal or historical claims they may have had with respect to portions of the newly independent Ukraine. Those claims could have been raised in any number of forums, not least the United Nations itself. In stark contrast, there were a number of international agreements and documents in which Russia explicitly recognized the borders of the independent post-1991 Ukraine. In fact, it's telling that Russia entered into a lease agreement with Ukraine that allowed them to maintain a naval presence in Sevastopol. One doesn't lease one's own property. The execution of a lease agreement is an explicit recognition, factually and legally, that the property is owned by another.

One further quick narrative debunking: the so-called NATO impingement and implied threat. It's remarkable that so many who should know better simply swallow Russia's baseless assertion that Ukraine was on the cusp of joining NATO. That assertion ignores the fact that it takes unanimous consent of every existing NATO member to admit a new country. Before Russia's act of aggression in their invasion of Ukraine, they had a firm clique of NATO countries that could be relied upon to block membership. Again, you have to think back to the pre-invasion geopolitical landscape. France and Germany would probably have blocked Ukraine to prevent "destabilization" while Russia-friendly countries like Hungary, Bulgaria, and Slovakia would have blocked membership just because Moscow asked them to. There were other factors weighing against Ukraine but, without needing to get into those weeds, suffice it to say that the whole "Ukraine in NATO" narrative is one giant red herring.

Bottom line: Russia wants Ukraine because that's the only way they can start reconstituting their lost Empire. Belarus is a de facto client state and, if they can get Ukraine, then the Baltics would most likely be next on the agenda. Because the Imperial Mindset is alive and well in Russia, and not just with Putin, it was only a matter of time until the attempt to conquer Ukraine was made. In the Russky Mir view, Russia is entitled to whatever it can take (or retake) by force. Unfortunately for Putin, his sycophants overestimated his strength and underestimated that of Ukraine. That miscalculation may very well result in the downfall of Putin himself and may also be the final nail in the coffin of Russian Imperialism.

Can't happen soon enough, IMO.

P.S. And let's not forget that China is standing by ready to pick up any juicy pieces that might fall their way in a Russian collapse!

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3079729]I get it. You don't like Putin but like Russia. I despise the Nazi regime in Kiev but I have nothing but love and respect for the ordinary Ukrainian people dying and struggling.[/QUOTE]Maybe too much corruption, but is Zelensky who has balls to fight versus Putin and Trump, a nazi? And he is still fully legal according to Ukrainian constitution and supported by majority, when Ukrainians know no other would have resisted since more than 4 years. In Russia, most Russians are so blind, fucked by Putin, paying inflation and counting dead, same than Americans fucked by Trump, when not Russia war but only Putin war, same than Trump in Iran. Putin just dreaming of USSR again when he was a nobody in KGB, like Trump wants Greenland, Venezuela and others. 2 dangerous megaloman.

[QUOTE=Jmsuttr;3080166]
And let's not forget that China is standing by ready to pick up any juicy pieces that might fall their way in a Russian collapse![/QUOTE]I am still expecting China to occupy Russian territory in the Far East, claiming it to be "historically Chinese" . Like Putler did with Crimea.

[QUOTE=ReinerOtto;3080193]I am still expecting China to occupy Russian territory in the Far East, claiming it to be "historically Chinese" . Like Putler did with Crimea.[/QUOTE]Russian Far East is already basically taken over by China economically, so I highly doubt that move would be necessary.

Last time I went to Vladivostok every working girl was taken good care of by Chinese guys.

Now this project was named Forrest Gump in honour of Forrest who was dumb but knew how to run.

Since audio and video files of the project were released as the case of the previous Midas, they send chills along the spine of everyone who reads and hears them in native Russian.

[URL]https://www.politico.eu/article/volodymyr-zelenskyy-fires-top-aide-after-anti-corruption-investigators-search-office-iryna-mudra/[/URL]

Operation Forrest Gump: Anti-corruption raid heaps pressure on Zelenskyy.

Ukraine's president fires a top aide after the National Anti-Corruption Bureau alleged a group of top officials laundered money to pay a former minister's bail.

August 19,2026 3:35 pm CET.

By Veronika Melkozerova and Milena Wälde.

KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired Iryna Mudra as deputy head of his office Wednesday, hours after anti-corruption watchdogs searched her workplace as part of a sweeping probe into an alleged criminal organization.

"Iryna Romanivna Mudra is hereby dismissed from the post of Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine," Zelenskyy said in a decree published Wednesday. The one-line order gave no reason for her removal.

The firing adds to a turbulent stretch for Zelenskyy. Former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov called Tuesday for wartime elections and denounced corruption and a systemic governance crisis, weeks after his ouster triggered prolonged street protests.

Earlier Wednesday, Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau, or NABU, announced a new operation targeting an alleged criminal organization involving current and former lawmakers and senior officials in Zelenskyy's office. The bureau said it was carrying out searches with the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, or SAP.

The investigation, dubbed Operation Forrest Gump, alleges the group laundered around 150 million Ukrainian hryvnia, equivalent to roughly $3 million, through state-owned Sense Bank to fund bail for former Energy Minister German Galushchenko, a key figure in last year's $100 million Midas corruption scandal.

Writing on Facebook, Mudra said: "I will defend my name in a legal manner – calmly and consistently. ".

NABU did not name Mudra directly in its video statement, referring only to a deputy head of the president's administration, but searched her office.

Ukraine's corruption watchdog released recordings in which a woman identified in the video only as a deputy head of the president's office can be heard saying: "Fighting corruption is a wrong approach. Corruption has to be systemized and controlled. " NABU did not identify the woman by name.

This article has been updated with a comment from Iryna Mudra.

[QUOTE=Questner;3080581]Now this project was named Forrest Gump in honour of Forrest who was dumb but knew how to run.

Since audio and video files of the project were released as the case of the previous Midas, they send chills along the spine of everyone who reads and hears them in native Russian.

[URL]https://www.politico.eu/article/volodymyr-zelenskyy-fires-top-aide-after-anti-corruption-investigators-search-office-iryna-mudra/[/URL]

Operation Forrest Gump: Anti-corruption raid heaps pressure on Zelenskyy.

Ukraine's president fires a top aide after the National Anti-Corruption Bureau alleged a group of top officials laundered money to pay a former minister's bail.

August 19,2026 3:35 pm CET.

By Veronika Melkozerova and Milena Wlde.

KYIV Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired Iryna Mudra as deputy head of his office Wednesday, hours after anti-corruption watchdogs searched her workplace as part of a sweeping probe into an alleged criminal organization.

"Iryna Romanivna Mudra is hereby dismissed from the post of Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine," Zelenskyy said in a decree published Wednesday..[/QUOTE]Do you know the huge castle of Putin? When millions of Russians are poor and suffer from his inflation, when he was educated in ex USSR, but he forgot kolkhozes and sovkhozes. Good point is not anymore much petrol in huge Russia, less money for Putin wars and hackings.

[QUOTE=Sirioja;3080191]Putin just dreaming of USSR again when he was a nobody in KGB, like Trump wants Greenland, Venezuela and others. 2 dangerous megaloman.[/QUOTE]It's interesting how Putin cherry picks the aspects of the USSR that fit his agenda. He seems to like the authoritarian part but he seems a little light on ideology. At least the USSR pretended to follow a doctrine. I read an interesting article yesterday in the WSJ dealing with the Russian Army's destruction of Ukrainian libraries. Talk about cancelling a culture!

[QUOTE=Jake993;3080666]It's interesting how Putin cherry picks the aspects of the USSR that fit his agenda. He seems to like the authoritarian part but he seems a little light on ideology. At least the USSR pretended to follow a doctrine. I read an interesting article yesterday in the WSJ dealing with the Russian Army's destruction of Ukrainian libraries. Talk about cancelling a culture![/QUOTE]I meant USSR only to invade countries which did belong to, but not to share his money of course, when he is fully capitalist with his hidden huge castle.

[URL]https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/08/25/hackers-published-a-sberbank-memo-war-gaming-eight-endings-to-the-war-in-ukraine-one-source-in-russia-s-financial-market-thinks-a-chatbot-wrote-it[/URL]

No way to conclusively establish its authenticity, but the eight scenarios it outlines certainly make for some interesting discussion points.

FWIW, the Black Mirror hacking group has been around for a while and has leaked documents before (Rostec files in 2025, etc).

She's putting the probability this will result in a breakthrough or the restart of sustained negotiations at 65%. That's probably high but who knows. The third-party-controlled demilitarized free-trade zone in the part of Donetsk still controlled by Ukraine may be a sticking point.


I think the proposal Witkoff and Kushner are carrying is probably an updated version of the framework that the USA, Ukraine and Europeans were quietly working on in August, rather than an entirely new plan. Zelensky said on August 25 that a one-page set of ideas had already been drafted with USA And European officials, including a ceasefire and an American idea for a third-party-administered free economic zone in the Donbas. ⁠65532;.

My best estimate of what they will propose is:

1. An immediate or very rapid ceasefire, essentially freezing the military line close to where it is when the agreement takes effect. I would put about a 75% probability on this being the centerpiece. Ukraine and its European partners have publicly advocated an immediate ceasefire using the current line of contact as the starting point.

2. A special arrangement for the portion of Donetsk that Ukraine still controls, rather than simply transferring it outright to Russia. This is where I think the August "free economic zone" idea becomes important. My guess is something like: Ukrainian forces withdraw from some disputed area; Russian forces do not immediately enter it; it becomes demilitarized or specially administered; economic activity resumes under some international / USA -backed mechanism. I would give roughly a 5565% probability that something resembling this is in today's proposal. Zelensky has explicitly confirmed that Washington proposed a Donbas free-economic-zone concept administered by a third party.

3. Russia keeps de facto control of most territory it currently occupies, without Ukraine being required to legally recognize Russian sovereignty over it. That distinction could be crucial. The earlier Trump framework contemplated USA De facto recognition of Russian control over Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk and freezing Kherson and Zaporizhzhia along the front. Ukraine and Europe subsequently pushed back strongly against legal recognition of territorial conquest.

4. Ukraine effectively gives up NATO membership for the foreseeable future, probably without being required to surrender its EU path. NATO itself has acknowledged that Ukrainian membership is not presently on the table, while the earlier USA Proposal went considerably further and called for a constitutional commitment by Ukraine not to join NATO. My guess is that today's version uses softer languagesomething like NATO membership being indefinitely deferredbecause that is easier for Kyiv to swallow.

5. Strong Western security guarantees for Ukraine in exchange for the territorial / NATO concessions. This could be the principal inducement to Zelensky. The USA And European states have already developed plans for postwar guarantees, potentially including an Article-5-like response if Russia attacks again and a multinational force operating inside Ukraine after hostilities stop.

6. Phased sanctions relief for Russia, probably tied to implementation rather than all sanctions disappearing on day one. That has been part of previous Trump proposals. I would expect Moscow to seek broader reliefincluding access to frozen assets and normalization of economic relationswhile Washington may offer enough initially to give Putin an economic reason to accept the deal.

7. A large humanitarian packagePOW exchanges, return of civilian detainees and Ukrainian children, perhaps restoration of Black Sea commercial arrangements. Those are relatively easy items on which both sides can claim progress and appeared prominently in the earlier USA Framework.

8. A Putin-Zelensky-Trump summit if Moscow and Kyiv accept the basic architecture. CIA Director John Ratcliffe reportedly raised exactly such a three-way summit during his Moscow trip last month.

The single most important question, in my view, is what the plan says about the Ukrainian-held portion of Donetsk. Putin wants the entirety of Donbas and believes Russia's battlefield position is improving; just this week he again emphasized Russian military advances while saying he was open to substantive discussions with Trump's representatives.

I therefore suspect Witkoff and Kushner are trying to construct a compromise that permits Putin to say that Ukraine has relinquished its claim to recover Donbas militarily without forcing Zelensky to formally hand the remaining Ukrainian-held cities to Russia. A demilitarized / free-economic-zone arrangement is almost tailor-made for that purpose.

My rough probability distribution for the trip would be 15% chance of a genuine breakthrough, 50% chance they narrow the differences enough to restart sustained negotiations, and 35% that little changes. The fact that they are going Moscow first and Kyiv second is significant: I expect them to present Putin with a USA Framework today, determine precisely what he would accept, and then take a modified version of it to Zelensky tomorrow. Trump has publicly described what they are carrying as a "concrete proposal," but neither the White House nor the parties have disclosed its terms.

If I had to make one fairly specific prediction, it would be: ceasefire near the present line + Ukrainian withdrawal from at least part of its remaining Donetsk positions into a demilitarized / free-economic-zone arrangement + no NATO membership + substantial USA / European security guarantees + phased Russian sanctions relief. That strikes me as the package most consistent with everything that has leaked over the past several months.

Many Russian guys are leaving their country to escape dictator Putin, when they don t want to be meat to kill for his crazy war, but USA suck him good till he finish in their mouth. Only making broke Russia will stop his war.

Enjoy.

[URL]https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/06/world/europe/ukraine-war-weapons-fraud-corruption.html[/URL]

[URL]https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/ukraine-considers-legalizing-porn-industry-to-fund-its-war-chest-53b525bf?mod=hp_trendingnow_article_pos2[/URL]

By the way, soon all those in higher posts in Kiev to be detained for corruption start cooperating with the prosecution since no longer be bailed out by the Regime in Kiev (yes, they even parading now in black t-shirts with a slogan 'Kievan Regime' on them). Why, because before they were bailed out with dirty money and the revolving doors worked.

At Tiny12 below:

No, we don't need exotic free-trade zones. Europeans were not invited to Moscow and we don't need them. Since the regime in Kiev won't sign anything and since whatever plan or agreement to be entertained will be a useless piece of paper, only our two friends can help us, our Army and Navy.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3079201]Read up on history. How many times did NATO expand post 1991? How many expansions did the Russians tolerate, despite the assurance that there would be no NATO expansion before the SU collapsed?
[/QUOTE]Ultimately much of the blame for the current conflict lies with western neoconservatives and the western military/defense-industry establishment. If not for them, Russia and Ukraine might just both be members of the EU and NATO today. Please see the historical documents at the end of this web page.

[URL]https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/russia-programs/2017-12-12/nato-expansion-what-gorbachev-heard-western-leaders-early[/URL]

[QUOTE=Questner;3082787]At Tiny12 below:

No, we don't need exotic free-trade zones. Europeans were not invited to Moscow and we don't need them. Since the regime in Kiev won't sign anything and since whatever plan or agreement to be entertained will be a useless piece of paper, only our two friends can help us, our Army and Navy.[/QUOTE]The civilian population of Ukrainian-controlled Donetsk is less than 100,000. How about if the Europeans buy them all villas in the south of France, move them there, and pay them generous allowances for the rest of their lives? If they did everyone would come out ahead. According to Gemini Pro, deaths due to the conflict currently run 140,000 per year and global economic costs run about $1 trillion per year.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3082902]Ultimately much of the blame for the current conflict lies with western neoconservatives and the western military/defense-industry establishment. If not for them, Russia and Ukraine might just both be members of the EU and NATO today. Please see the historical documents at the end of this web page.

[URL]https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/russia-programs/2017-12-12/nato-expansion-what-gorbachev-heard-western-leaders-early[/URL][/QUOTE]In your eagerness to support your pal you overlooked my rebuttal to him.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3079219]The "not one inch eastward" assurance was verbal, limited to East Germany during unification talks, and never written into the Two Plus Four Treaty or any binding agreement. Also cut the spin BS. Many former Eastern Block countries freely and gleefully expanded into NATO because they reject your way of life.[/QUOTE]Even though interpretations of such discussions remain contentious it's most noteworthy that such provisions were never written into any formal binding agreement. It's also unreasonable to talk about NATO expansion while ignoring the agency of the former Eastern Block countries that were eager to join.

Historians generally agree that James Baker didn't have the authority to make a binding pledge on behalf of the US regarding NATO expansion. His statements were exploratory while president Bush's administration later made it clear that nations have the right to pursue their own alliances.

And any idea of Russia as a member of the EU and NATO is a stretch to say the least given their dismal record on human rights and lack of adherence to democratic principles.

Upon further review this all was you. We all know you are heavily invested in your anti-US, anti-war agendas, but would you like to take time to walk some of this back?

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3070823]I've seen the claims here about 500,000 Iraqi children dying from US sanctions and around 40,000 Venezuelan deaths from sanctions pop up here as whataboutisms before. Both numbers have been thoroughly debunked by later research. For Iraq, post 2003 surveys found no big sustained rise in child mortality during the sanctions period. The original 1999 UNICEF figure was heavily manipulated by Saddam's govt. Key paper is Dyson and Cetorelli in BMJ Global Health.

For Venezuela, the bulk of the humanitarian collapse and excess deaths happened before the 2017 sanctions. Brookings had a good piece on how these earlier numbers overstated the sanctions' role.

Happy to share the links if anyone's interested.

[URL]https://gh.bmj.com/content/2/2/e000311[/URL]

[URL]https://www.lse.ac.uk/news/latest-news-from-lse/iraqi-government-misreported-child-mortality-lse-research-finds[/URL]

[URL]https://www.brookings.edu/articles/revisiting-the-evidence-impact-of-the-2017-sanctions-on-venezuela/[/URL]

[URL]https://www.brookings.edu/articles/chavismo-is-the-worst-of-all-sanctions-the-evidence-behind-the-humanitarian-catastrophe-in-venezuela/[/URL][/QUOTE]

Here's the link to his anti-war drama built into an "essay" he wrote for me. This is all debunked, and was so well before his post so he simply failed to do his homework.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2994028]As to deterrence, perhaps you have a point, with respect to China for example. But at what cost? Sanctions kill a lot of people. UNICEF estimates over 500,000 Iraqi children died by 1999 because of sanctions. The CEPR attributes 40,000 Venezuelan deaths to USA Sanctions in 2017 and 2018 alone. [/QUOTE]

The front lines are effectively in a stalemated state, as both sides have been able to use drones to degrade logistics and prevent (most) maneuvers. The ubiquity and range of drones makes massing medium-to-large troop gatherings problematic, as they're targeted promptly and disrupted. There may occasionally be some adjustments to front-line positions, but neither side seems currently able to conduct any breakthrough operations. However, since Russia's goal is to advance, while Ukraine's is to hold their defensive positions, the front line situation is more in line with Ukrainian goals (IMO).

With the front line being stalemated, the primary effort from each side is to inflict losses on the other by means of attrition aimed at infrastructure and deep-rear targets. At this point, neither side has been able to gain a decisive advantage. Russia thinks it can grind Ukraine down, even with Western support. IMO, the Kremlin believes (rightly or wrongly) that Russia can tolerate more pain and hardship than the other side. From many reports I've seen, they will likely focus on energy targets during this upcoming winter. Ukraine, OTOH, is counting on refinery and oil storage strikes to create problems for both Russia's economy and military operations. Ukraine believes (rightly or wrongly) that they can create real problems for Russia this way.

While Western support has had its ups and downs, every indication is that it's likely to continue to the level that at least keeps Ukraine functioning. While the West appears unwilling to give Ukraine the kinds and amounts of weapons that might lead to a possible victory, they're also unwilling to allow Ukraine to fail. On the Russian side, I think the same argument can be made with respect to the aid from China and North Korea.

But there are some wild cards to keep an eye on. If Ukraine can produce a better interceptor system, capable of dealing with jet-powered drones and cruise-type missiles, then that could help them get through the winter with much less damage. And, if they're able to produce home-grown ballistic missiles with sufficient range, that puts Russian infrastructure at much greater risk. On the Russian side, the possibility of a wider mobilization effort, after the upcoming elections, is something to watch.

Bottom line for me is that any so-called "peace talks" are just theater. That's because neither side has changed their fundamental positions and each side thinks they're in a decent position. Only time will tell, but I'm expecting this winter to be mostly more of the same. What I'll be watching is the wild cards I mentioned above, or maybe some other development that might give one side more of an advantage. Whichever side comes through the winter better will be in a stronger position come next spring.

P.S. Of course, there is always the possibility of a black- or gray-swan event, like Putin's death or ouster, but that's an outlier case.

P.P.S. Nobody in Russia or Ukraine really gives a shit about historical or other arguments. When two people are in the middle of a fist-fight, neither side cares why it started. The main goal is to win, or at the very least not to lose. Whoever wins will most likely write the postscript.

[QUOTE=Questner;3082783]Enjoy.

[URL]https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/06/world/europe/ukraine-war-weapons-fraud-corruption.html[/URL]

[URL]https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/ukraine-considers-legalizing-porn-industry-to-fund-its-war-chest-53b525bf?mod=hp_trendingnow_article_pos2[/URL]

By the way, soon all those in higher posts in Kiev to be detained for corruption start cooperating with the prosecution since no longer be bailed out by the Regime in Kiev (yes, they even parading now in black t-shirts with a slogan 'Kievan Regime' on them). Why, because before they were bailed out with dirty money and the revolving doors worked.[/QUOTE]Enjoy your 22 out of 100 rating (Russia) in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) while Ukraine is at 36. Neither is good but yours is beyond dismal. BTW do you believe that Alexi Navalny died of natural causes? Blood Red has signed off on that but Comrade Tiny 12 refuses to. Good on you Tiny 12. Please continue to break ranks.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3082907]The civilian population of Ukrainian-controlled Donetsk is less than 100,000. How about if the Europeans buy them all villas in the south of France, move them there, and pay them generous allowances for the rest of their lives? If they did everyone would come out ahead. According to Gemini Pro, deaths due to the conflict currently run 140,000 per year and global economic costs run about $1 trillion per year.[/QUOTE]I see. Maybe EU will do the same for the Palestinians. So far, no takers. Will EU ask them to work on their factories? We have already seen it during the WWII. This is a pure fascist concept. We want to live in our ancestral land as I assume other peoples do. Donbass will be freed fro AFU soon. Just don't forget that the capital of Donbass is actually Kharkov.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3082927]Upon further review this all was you. We all know you are heavily invested in your anti-US, anti-war agendas, but would you like to take time to walk some of this back?[/QUOTE]Walk back what? I don't recall claiming any of that.

Here's an estimate of more than 4. 5 million excess deaths from post 9/11 wars in which the USA had a hand. Admittedly many of the deaths were not attributable to the USA, particularly in Pakistan, Yemen and Syria. Still.

[URL]https://costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/papers/how-death-outlives-war[/URL]

Edit: Your posts must be delayed. Apparently I did say that. You probably did a good job of debunking my sources. Im too lazy to read all that to know. Which is going to make my next post particularly hypocritical.

How much good did sanctions on Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, and Russia do anyway? They mostly hurt the man on the street and lessened the role of the dollar in commerce and as a reserve currency.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3082923]In your eagerness to support your pal you overlooked my rebuttal to him.

Even though interpretations of such discussions remain contentious it's most noteworthy that such provisions were never written into any formal binding agreement. It's also unreasonable to talk about NATO expansion while ignoring the agency of the former Eastern Block countries that were eager to join.

Historians generally agree that James Baker didn't have the authority to make a binding pledge on behalf of the US regarding NATO expansion. His statements were exploratory while president Bush's administration later made it clear that nations have the right to pursue their own alliances.

And any idea of Russia as a member of the EU and NATO is a stretch to say the least given their dismal record on human rights and lack of adherence to democratic principles.[/QUOTE]Please read the historical documents at the end of the National Security Archives web page.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3082952] Edit: Your posts must be delayed. Apparently I did say that. You probably did a good job of debunking it. Im too lazy to read all that to know. Which is going to make my next post particularly hypocritical.[/QUOTE]Well as is normal you're not too lazy to get to my posts before the ink is dry. Wink.

Though seems you may have squeezed in some vacation time recently. That's never a bad thing and I hope all is well.

[QUOTE=Questner;3082947]I see. Maybe EU will do the same for the Palestinians. So far, no takers. Will EU ask them to work on their factories? We have already seen it during the WWII. This is a pure fascist concept. We want to live in our ancestral land as I assume other peoples do. Donbass will be freed fro AFU soon. Just don't forget that the capital of Donbass is actually Kharkov.[/QUOTE]You apparently didn't understand what I was intending to convey. My post was satirical and not directed against you. Ukraine would be wise to give up the Donbas if it would bring peace.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3082952]How much good did sanctions on Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, and Russia do anyway? They mostly hurt the man on the street and lessened the role of the dollar in commerce and as a reserve currency.[/QUOTE]Sanctions serve as a crucial diplomatic tool designed to impose costs on aggressive behavior without resorting to direct military conflict. While the humanitarian impact on the population is a valid concern, proponents argue that they limit a regime's ability to finance wars, fund terrorism, or develop banned weapons programs. And even when the ideal outcomes are not achieved, the restrictions still hinder a regime's capacity for aggression.

Regarding the dollar, while sanctions do create incentives for countries to explore alternatives, the global dominance of the US financial system makes it difficult to replace the dollar entirely.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3082958]You apparently didn't understand what I was intending to convey. My post was satirical and not directed against you. Ukraine would be wise to give up the Donbas if it would bring peace.[/QUOTE]I'm all with you on this one. I'm shocked that Questner thought you could post something against him.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3082955]Please read the historical documents at the end of the National Security Archives web page.[/QUOTE]No, I'm not doing all the work here. Retirement is too damned fun. Please make your case as all I've seen so far is assertions which aren't arguments. I've already responded to the arguments those documents are most often used for when operating from the sympathetic to Russia angle. Here it is again.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3082923]In your eagerness to support your pal you overlooked my rebuttal to him.

Even though interpretations of such discussions remain contentious it's most noteworthy that such provisions were never written into any formal binding agreement. It's also unreasonable to talk about NATO expansion while ignoring the agency of the former Eastern Block countries that were eager to join.

Historians generally agree that James Baker didn't have the authority to make a binding pledge on behalf of the US regarding NATO expansion. His statements were exploratory while president Bush's administration later made it clear that nations have the right to pursue their own alliances.

And any idea of Russia as a member of the EU and NATO is a stretch to say the least given their dismal record on human rights and lack of adherence to democratic principles.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3082958]You apparently didn't understand what I was intending to convey. My post was satirical and not directed against you. Ukraine would be wise to give up the Donbas if it would bring peace.[/QUOTE]What USA tell to fuck Ukraine and suck Putin to make business with him, when after Crimea, Putin doesn't want only Donbass, but whole ex USSR, starting to attack ex DDR in Leipzig. Putin doesn't get Donetsk and his economics is going worse and worse. When robber Trump stopped to help Ukraine, fortunately Europe, not only EU, and Canada keep on helping so courageous Ukrainians who defend their land when Putin and Trump are robbers. Many Russian guys leaving Russia because they don't want to make Putin war, not Russia war, only Putin war, same than Trump with Canada, Greenland, Venezuela and Mexico.

Late yesterday evening, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko submitted his resignation amid the investigation into the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) case "Carthage".

The case is about providing cover to multiple scam call centers (Pay 4 Scam).

[QUOTE=Questner;3082947]Just don't forget that the capital of Donbass is actually Kharkov.[/QUOTE]I concur. It's that very Kharkiv where killer whales tear apart poor polar bears.

Every single day.

Poor bears.

[URL]https://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Kyiv-calling-The-scam-call-centre-phenomenon-in-Ukraine-GI-TOC-April-2026.pdf[/URL]

A further case study on Ukraine examines one of the region's most significant scam call centre ecosystems. It traces the development of a highly networked illicit industry, its links to organized crime actors and corrupt protection, and the ways in which technology and crime-as-a-service may reshape the model in the years ahead. Read alongside the global and Eurasian analyses, the Ukraine report illustrates how locally embedded scam operations can acquire global reach.

[URL]https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/09/world/europe/ukraine-war-cost.html[/URL]

Only 27 billion USD is missing from this year Ukrainian budget.

During this week's corruption hearing the prosecution had to repeat to the audience the known Russian proverb (don't worry, everyone in Ukrainian government speaks Russian, and broken synthetic Ukrainian on camera), which was obtained during covert audio recording: 'If to fuck, but the queen, if to steal but the million'.

[QUOTE=Questner;3083369][URL]https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/09/world/europe/ukraine-war-cost.html[/URL]

Only 27 billion USD is missing from this year Ukrainian budget.

During this week's corruption hearing the prosecution had to repeat to the audience the known Russian proverb (don't worry, everyone in Ukrainian government speaks Russian, and broken synthetic Ukrainian on camera), which was obtained during covert audio recording: 'If to fuck, but the queen, if to steal but the million'.[/QUOTE]As is typical Questner refuses to engage while posting a highly biased take. Questner did Alexi Navalny die of natural causes, yes or no?

A shortfall is a spending-rate problem, not a theft problem. Ukraine's burning through cash faster than it arrives — salaries, death benefits, weapons contracts — and the twenty twenty-six allocation ran dry by mid-year. That's a math gap, not a missing pile.

Corruption explains some of it, sure — the one point two billion in procurement fraud is real. But the bulk is just a war that costs more than the budget covers. Russia spends a third of its entire federal budget on defense; Ukraine's doing the same math with a smaller economy and no oil money.

[QUOTE=Questner;3083367][URL]https://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Kyiv-calling-The-scam-call-centre-phenomenon-in-Ukraine-GI-TOC-April-2026.pdf[/URL]

A further case study on Ukraine examines one of the region's most significant scam call centre ecosystems. It traces the development of a highly networked illicit industry, its links to organized crime actors and corrupt protection, and the ways in which technology and crime-as-a-service may reshape the model in the years ahead. Read alongside the global and Eurasian analyses, the Ukraine report illustrates how locally embedded scam operations can acquire global reach.[/QUOTE]And here's what Questner leaves out.

Ukraine's own anti-corruption agencies — NABU and SAPO — exposed the call-center protection racket and raided the Prosecutor General's Office itself. The prosecutor general resigned.

Russia's corruption dwarfs it: Kremlin prosecutors seized eighteen point six billion dollars in corruption cases last year alone, and kickbacks in state procurement average twenty-two and a half percent. Russia never polices its own — Ukraine just did.

None of this means hand Ukraine to Putin. A state actively raiding its own top prosecutor's office to break up criminal rackets demonstrates functional checks and balances—the exact opposite of a systemic failure that would justify abandoning support.

[QUOTE=Questner;3083369][URL]https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/09/world/europe/ukraine-war-cost.html[/URL]

Only 27 billion USD is missing from this year Ukrainian budget.

During this week's corruption hearing the prosecution had to repeat to the audience the known Russian proverb (don't worry, everyone in Ukrainian government speaks Russian, and broken synthetic Ukrainian on camera), which was obtained during covert audio recording: 'If to fuck, but the queen, if to steal but the million'.[/QUOTE]And how dictator criminal Putin made building his hidden castle? When millions of Russians are poor from his inflation. Putin and Trump mean inflation for their citizens. Did You see so many Russians running away from Putin. Both are to be eliminated. World would be better.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3082974]No, I'm not doing all the work here. Retirement is too damned fun. Please make your case as all I've seen so far is assertions which aren't arguments. I've already responded to the arguments those documents are most often used for when operating from the sympathetic to Russia angle. Here it is again.[/QUOTE]Hmm, You want me to make my case, but don't want me to spend time posting in political threads in a hoe forum. Could you please provide some guidelines? Like how much effort should I make and how many characters should be in the reply? Please note that the leader of the "free world" spends A LOT more time on social media than I do. He posted over 100 times over labor day weekend!

Briefly though, you're partly right. There wasn't a formal signed document where NATO agreed not to expand eastward. Instead the West Germans, British, French, Canadians and Americans pulled a bait and switch. Again, see the historical documents in the National Securities Archive link.

You're retired, so presumably you're over 60. Were you in a coma from 1990 to 2010? Russia in the 1990's was radically democratizing. If it had been pulled into the western economic and security sphere, things would have been radically different. And in fact initially the West was on board with that. Russia was too, and agreements were signed to create partnerships with NATO and the EU. Putin expressed an interest in joining NATO.

In the late 1990's however, the Clinton Administration pushed NATO to enlarge. George Kennan, one of the chief architects of the cold war, shouted from the rooftop that adding Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic to NATO was madness. The West ignored him. This was followed by the NATO attack on Serbia without consultation with Russia. Then the USA invasion of Iraq. Further enlargement of NATO that included Baltic states. And finally, in 2008, as Blood Red said, NATO hammered the nails in the coffin, with its announcement that Ukraine and Georgia would become members of NATO.

The West crossed a line in the sand with Ukraine.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3083400]As is typical Questner refuses to engage while posting a highly biased take. Questner did Alexi Navalny die of natural causes, yes or no?
[/QUOTE]I'm confused. Didn't you say we shouldn't use whataboutism and red herrings back when you outlined deceptive debating? Just want to make sure I follow the rules, Robert’s Rules of Debate or whatever

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3083488]Hmm, You want me to make my case, but don't want me to spend my time posting in political threads in a hoe forum. Could you please provide some guidelines? Like how much effort should I make and how many characters should be in the reply? [/QUOTE]Simply offering assertions without arguments while handing me a homework assignment is not only lazy but arrogant.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3083488]Briefly though, you're partly right. There wasn't a formal signed document where NATO agreed not to expand eastward. Instead the West Germans, British, French, Canadians and Americans pulled a bait and switch. [/QUOTE]Yes, no written agreement is the bottom line. Best strategy is not to lose wars, and in that case, the Cold War as the Kremlin wasn't negotiating from a position of strength and Gorbachev knew it. The outcome would have been similar had the roles been reversed. So what were we supposed to do? Keep the Soviet Empire nice and warm for them until they decide they want it back decades later?

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3083488]You're retired, so presumably you're over 60. Were you in a coma from 1990 to 2010? [/QUOTE]That's not only irrelevant but ageism. Aren't you the guy who used to complain about ad hominems?

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3083488] Russia in the 1990's was radically democratizing. If it had been pulled into the western economic and security sphere, things would have been radically different. And in fact initially the West was on board with that. Russia was too, and agreements were signed to create partnerships with NATO and the EU. Putin expressed an interest in joining NATO. In the late 1990's however, the Clinton Administration pushed NATO to enlarge. George Kennan, one of the chief architects of the cold war, shouted from the rooftop that adding Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic to NATO was madness. The West ignored him. This was followed by the NATO attack on Serbia without consultation with Russia. Then the USA invasion of Iraq. Further enlargement of NATO that included Baltic states. And finally, in 2008, as Blood Red said, NATO hammered the nails in the coffin, with its announcement that Ukraine and Georgia would become members of NATO. The West crossed a line in the sand with Ukraine.[/QUOTE]This whole paragraph is a list of grievances each one with a hole in it. The "radically democratizing" claim is an assumption not a fact. Russia was shelling it's own parliament in '93 and invaded Chechnya in '94. That's not a country NATO was going to vote in, and one member's vote would have killed it anyway. The UK called it farcical in '95. They also weren't getting in the EU. They never applied and there were no invitations. Russia at times wanted partnership with NATO but with veto power, joining the club to run it. Kennan did call the first round madness but he was a minority voice. The senate ratified the first enlarge 80-19 in 1999. Again you completely ignore the agency of these former Eastern Block countries that were eager to join.

As to the failure to consult Russia on Serbia, Russia was bombing Chechnya at the same time, so its moral standing to lecture as usual was zero. And the Kosovo war ended with a UN resolution Russia signed. Iraq was a US-led coalition, not NATO and had nothing to do with expansion. Stop trying to muddy the conversation.

Regarding Georgia and Ukraine, the political promise made in 2008 was in response to their clear desire for protection and integration into Western institutions, even though Germany and France blocked the action plan, meaning it wasn't and still isn't an active path to membership.

P.S. So why has Russia's response to Finland's entry into NATO been so muted? Many analysts argue that Russia's stance on NATO is less about security threats and more about maintaining it's "sphere of influence" with neighbors that want nothing to do with them. While the move of the historically neutral Finland was a direct result of Russia's actions.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;3083502]I'm confused. Didn't you say we shouldn't use whataboutism and red herrings back when you outlined deceptive debating? Just want to make sure I follow the rules, Roberts Rules of Debate or whatever[/QUOTE]Contemporary financial corruption and politically motivated murders in Russia are fair game when discussing the war. I gave details in some recent posts. It's also all fair game when someone brings up the lessor corruption in Ukraine that I've acknowledged. That's not whataboutism, it's a rebuttal.

Whataboutism is ignoring your opponents points while making a beeline to Hiroshima or even 19th see. Manifest Destiny, as we've witnessed from you in the past.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3083400]Russia spends a third of its entire federal budget on defense; Ukraine's doing the same math with a smaller economy and no oil money.[/QUOTE]Actually 44% now.

[URL]https://defence-blog.com/russias-military-spending-hits-a-record-44-of-its-budget[/URL]

[URL]https://x.com/jakluge/status/2095861691070177525[/URL]

And that's military spending only. My understanding is that security apparatus spending isn't included in this.

[URL]https://spectator.com/article/zelenskys-strategy-is-national-suicide/?edition=us[/URL]

For Americans who follow the Russian-Ukrainian war, the past few months must look very strange. In the first half of summer, the story from Kyiv – and the many western media outlets that repeated it – was that Ukraine was winning. Then, not long after the NATO summit in July, Kyiv announced it lacked the interceptors to prevent a winter disaster. The country needed 300 missiles to survive, we were told. Even if these 300 missiles arrive, they are unlikely to protect a country as large as Ukraine from the sheer volume of Russian ballistic attacks and glide-bomb strikes. Now it's September, and Ukraine says it's facing a $27 billion shortfall in defense funding. There seems to be a vast difference between the public relations campaign and the reality in Ukraine.

I know a little about that public relations campaign. I was President Zelensky's first press secretary, entering office alongside him in 2019. I left in 2021 and remained sympathetic to the President as he fought the Russian invasion. But by 2025, I'd come to the conclusion that Ukraine will never be able to win this war militarily. The only solution is a negotiated peace.

Under the current Ukrainian regime, the chances of peace seem remote. In late June, President Volodymyr Zelensky approved a 40-day campaign of long-range drone strikes within Russia to force the Kremlin to end the war. It was supposed to be an "influence operation," designed to show the Russian people the true cost of the conflict. But it was Ukrainians who suffered the most. The Kremlin instead escalated, bringing more destruction, more death and none of the negotiations that would ultimately save lives. Russia, it seems, was only emboldened by the attacks. The Kremlin merely reiterated its conditions for ending its aggression.

It is, of course, Russia who started this war. Its forces have tortured, raped, deported and killed Ukrainians. There is no moral symmetry between Kyiv and the Kremlin. Yet it is clear that the Ukrainian heroism of 2022 is long gone. Kyiv's war policies have hardened into permanent mobilization and superficial PR – empty slogans and moral posturing are all that's now offered. The desperate situation in Ukraine's streets is concealed so that the refusal to compromise can be dressed up as courage.

In 2022, when the war began, the whole country stood up to defend itself. Men lined up at recruitment offices, and cities that Moscow tried to seize successfully resisted. All this naturally produced admiration throughout the world – and glorification in the western media and political circles. Today, that same glorification has become an unbearable burden. There is a feeling that the western political establishment would rather see Russia burn than Ukraine saved. Our daily losses are treated as an acceptable price for that end.

Ukraine has lost more than half its population in the 35 years since it declared independence from the Soviet Union. The largest collapse in population has happened since Russia's full-scale invasion. By the most sober estimates, some 20 to 25 million people remain in the territory Kyiv still controls. Roughly half are of retirement age. At most, four million men are of conscription age. Russia can draw on the recruitment pool of approximately 10 times the number of fighting age men. Waging a war of attrition is therefore national suicide, not valor. Yet this is the strategy that the Zelensky government pursues.

The economy tells the same story. Ukraine is now entirely dependent on western aid, which is shrinking. Money that was supposed to be used to rebuild the country is being consumed by war. Public debt has crossed 110 percent of GDP. Russia, by contrast, has not had to borrow anywhere near this scale to wage its war, and it is still selling energy to the European Union. Since 2022, European countries have paid Moscow well over $230 billion for fossil fuels – more than they have given Kyiv in aid of all forms. Despite the innumerable sanctions packages, Russia keeps earning money and has a much stronger fiscal position than most EU states. Meanwhile, Ukraine is being crippled by the death of its people and the destruction of its productive base, while its debts keep accumulating.

Since the "influence operation" this summer, more than 90 percent of Ukrainian warehouses have been hit, our energy system has been torn apart and a humanitarian catastrophe will arrive with the winter snow. In the fifth year of full-scale war, the state's offer to civilians in the worst-affected regions is often simply: leave. People on the front line who have no money and no means are told to go somewhere else.

Every day Ukraine loses more of its people. Those who want their children to have proper healthcare and education are forced to emigrate. The number of people dying in Ukraine is roughly four times the number of births. The nation is perishing, and yet the war grinds on.

Finland lost land after a devastating war, yet it managed to preserve its nation and its future. Ukraine could still become a frontier between the West and Russia: armed, sober and alive. But the present strategy is pushing us down a different path: that of Afghanistan.

The West spent 20 years pouring trillions of dollars into that conflict. All it achieved was flourishing corruption, decades of death and eventually the fall of Kabul to the Taliban. As in Ukraine, there was heavy censorship in western media. Most of those who reported from the region were uncompromising in their support of the Afghan state machine and the war, no matter what.

We see many of the same parallels in Ukraine. Extraordinarily, corruption rivals the war in rankings of public opinion as the biggest national problem. There are those in the Ukrainian government who are making millions of dollars from this war. I have just been sanctioned by the Zelensky government for saying so publicly.

Meanwhile, normal Ukrainian men do not leave their homes for months, for fear of press gangs who hunt them in the streets. There are reports of the disabled being pushed into frontline combat, of men dying mysteriously in recruitment offices, of women fighting to save husbands from being kidnapped in plain daylight. According to the Ukrainian ombudsman, only 2-3 percent of those seized in press gang raids ever reach the frontline. Many pay, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars, to buy their way out. The corruption around this system runs into the billions of dollars annually. I do not blame my people for refusing to fight for a machine they no longer believe in.

If the purpose of this war was to create a path for Ukraine to join NATO, that prospect is already off the table. If the purpose was to recover territory, Ukraine is losing more of it, not taking it back. If it was to protect democracy, then the wartime martial law has already killed it. Freedom of speech has been greatly restricted, institutions have been corrupted, basic political rights suspended, the constitution violated, political opponents persecuted. All of this with a casualness about human life that would be recognized as deeply authoritarian anywhere else.

The war in Ukraine has lost any plausible theory of victory. At this point, it only lines the pockets of a corrupt and narrow circle of elites while the country itself perishes. Ukraine can still choose the Finnish road: stop the bleeding, hold what can be held, restore the economy and a way of life to which people can return. The other road is already visible. It is a road down which we lose land and people every day – and with them, the chance that there will be a Ukraine left to win.

Written by Iuliia Mendel.

Iuliia Mendel is a Ukrainian journalist and the former press secretary of Volodymyr Zelensky.

[QUOTE=Questner;3084206][URL]https://spectator.com/article/zelenskys-strategy-is-national-suicide/?edition=us[/URL]

For Americans who follow the Russian-Ukrainian war, the past few months must look very strange. In the first half of summer, the story from Kyiv and the many western media outlets that repeated it was that Ukraine was winning. Then, not long after the NATO summit in July, Kyiv announced it lacked the interceptors to prevent a winter disaster. The country needed 300 missiles to survive, we were told. Even if these 300 missiles arrive, they are unlikely to protect a country as large as Ukraine from the sheer volume of Russian ballistic attacks and glide-bomb strikes. Now it's September, and Ukraine says it's facing a $27 billion shortfall in defense funding. There seems to be a vast difference between the public relations campaign and the reality in Ukraine.

I know a little about that public relations campaign. I was President Zelensky's first press secretary, entering office alongside him in 2019. I left in 2021 and remained sympathetic to the President as he fought the Russian invasion. But by 2025, I'd come to the conclusion that Ukraine will never be able to win this war militarily. The only solution is a negotiated peace.

Under the current Ukrainian regime, the chances of peace seem remote. In late June, President Volodymyr Zelensky approved a 40-day campaign of long-range drone strikes within Russia to force the Kremlin to end the war. It was supposed to be an "influence operation," designed to show the Russian people the true cost of the conflict. But it was Ukrainians who suffered the most. The Kremlin instead escalated, bringing more destruction, more death and none of the negotiations that would ultimately save lives. Russia, it seems, was only emboldened by the attacks..[/QUOTE]But Ukrainians dont want to be under dictator Putin, when many Russians leave Russia because of Putin.

Iuliia Mendel. Is she available on a dating app? I would take her. But she must shut up with this political stuff when we fuck.

[QUOTE=Questner;3084206][URL]https://spectator.com/article/zelenskys-strategy-is-national-suicide/?edition=us[/URL]

For Americans who follow the Russian-Ukrainian war, the past few months must look very strange. .... [/QUOTE]Some parts in this article are true. Unfortnately, because of the failed trust in Gods own country.

How about delivery of Patriots, for example?

Shame on that once great country.

[URL]https://spectator.com/article/zelenskys-strategy-is-national-suicide/?edition=us[/URL]

Here's my response to the Iuliia Mendel article recently posted by Questner. It's linked again above.

The absurdity of her piece is seen in that she refuses to acknowledge the difference between a "peace deal" and capitulation. Russia has never offered anything less than demilitarization, neutrality, recognition of annexed territory, and army caps that would leave Ukraine unable to defend itself. That's not a border adjustment. It's handing Putin the keys and hoping he doesn't come back for the furniture. I could stop right there but will unravel some of the same arguments Moscow's been making for years, but this time from Mendel, a faux insider with a Ukrainian passport, who stepped down from her post in 2021 before a shot was fired.

She admits Russia started the war, then argues Ukraine should surrender anyway. That's not analysis. That's the invader's script with a press badge. That's while her predictions are tired. The air defense gap is real, but "not enough interceptors" has been the headline for three years and running, and the grid's still up.

The ninety percent figure is real but narrower than she makes it sound. Ukraine's agriculture minister said Russia destroyed about ninety percent of the modern logistics used by food retail chains — the big distribution centers that supply supermarkets. Total Class A and be warehouse space is down roughly fifty percent, not ninety. The rest of the country still has about two point nine million square meters operating. The energy system is damaged, not torn apart. Russia has hit generation and substations hard, and the UN is warning this could be the toughest winter yet. But as of mid-September there are no scheduled outages, gas storage is being filled, and the grid is still running. "Humanitarian catastrophe will arrive with the winter snow" is a prediction, not a fact. The "state's offer is simply leave" line is the emotional closer. Evacuation is offered in the worst-hit zones, and people do leave. That is not the same as the government telling civilians to abandon the country. She's turning a real logistics and energy crisis into proof that surrender is the only option.

The paragraph she devoted to try and downplay the Ukrainian drone attacks is by far the weakest in her piece. The forty-day campaign was real — Zelenskyy announced it in late June twenty twenty-six as an influence operation to pressure Moscow. But the claim that Ukrainians suffered the most is a distortion. The strikes hit Russian oil refineries, airfields, and logistics deep inside Russia. Ukraine hit all eleven of Russia's largest oil refineries with industry loses estimated at 13.5 billion dollars. Refining capacity dropped sharply. Fuel shortages hit dozens of regions. Russia's own fuel exports fell. The damage was real and it was on Russian soil. Russia did escalate its strikes on Ukraine in response, but that's not evidence the campaign failed. It's evidence it worked. You don't escalate against a strategy that's having little effect. And the "none of the negotiations" line is wrong. The strikes were designed to force the Kremlin back to the table by raising the cost of continuing. Calling that a failure because Putin didn't immediately fold is setting an impossible standard. Meanwhile the drones keep coming.

The Afghanistan analogy is a false one. It was a nation building project in a country that had little precedent in the local culture. Ukraine is a sovereign state defending it's own territory from an invasion.

The censorship point is also lazy. Western media did criticize the Afghan war for years, the SIGAR reports, the waste, the corruption. It wasn't a propaganda monolith. She's flattening a messy, debated conflict into a clean cautionary tale so she can say "see Ukraine will end the same way. " It won't because the situations aren't the same.

The numbers she leans on in her economy paragraph are already stale. Russia's military spending hit a record forty-four percent of the federal budget in the first half of twenty twenty-six — over ten point seven trillion rubles, roughly one hundred twenty-five billion dollars. That's more than half of every ruble the government collects. The deficit has already blown past the full-year target. Regions are slashing signing bonuses and, in places like Yakutia, freezing payments to soldiers outright because the money ran out. This isn't a stronger fiscal position. It's a war economy eating itself. Growth has collapsed to under one percent, inflation is still biting, and the civilian sector is being hollowed out to feed the front. Ukraine's debt is high, but it's mostly concessional aid from allies who have a reason to keep it solvent. Russia's "strength" is extraction — oil revenue, forced labor, and a shrinking workforce — with no off-ramp. She's comparing a country fighting for survival to one that chose this war and is now paying for it by cannibalizing its own budget.

On the abuses, corruption, and other challenges with mobilization, the paragraph's real move is the last line: "I do not blame my people for refusing to fight. " That's not analysis, that's a verdict on the war itself, dressed up as sympathy. Every invaded country in history has had a broken mobilization system. France in nineteen forty, the Soviet Union in nineteen forty-one — both had desertion, corruption, men hiding from recruiters. The existence of a broken system doesn't answer the question of whether the fight is worth having. She's using real suffering to smuggle in a surrender argument.

Regarding Russian mobilization, UN special rapporteur put desertions at over fifty thousand since twenty twenty-two — nearly ten percent of the force deployed in Ukraine. Courts have convicted tens of thousands for going AWOL or deserting, and independent estimates put the true number higher, with some projecting up to seventy thousand in twenty twenty-six alone. Corruption is just as entrenched. Men buy medical deferments, fake Category G exemptions, and even full exits for a million rubles or more. Recruiters get bonuses for delivering bodies, and police have been caught planting drugs or threatening charges to force contracts. In the range of one million Russian men fled the country in the opening months of the war.

And the street hunting is real too. In places like Penza this summer, police and plainclothes teams were grabbing men off buses, at checkpoints, and outside workplaces — sometimes with wives screaming from the vans — then dragging them to enlistment offices to sign under threat. Men are now staying indoors, carrying pepper spray, and organizing self-defense groups to avoid it.

Same broken machine, different flavor.

Mendel's credibility is shot. She left the administration in twenty twenty-one, before the full-scale invasion reshaped everything she claims to understand. Her later claims rest on unnamed sources that fact-checkers have flagged as misleading. The Tucker Carlson circuit and the sudden convergence with Moscow's talking points aren't journalism — they're mostly the same script Russia has run for years.

Her casualty math has some accuracy but is incomplete. That while she's recycling the same Russian talking point that's been wrong since 2022, that Ukraine's been running out of men, while the front is still holding. Ukraine's pool of conscription-age men is small — around four million in the territory it still holds — and Russia's is roughly ten times larger. But attrition is not a pure headcount contest. Ukraine has been inflicting disproportionate losses with drones, long-range strikes, and cheaper systems. Russian casualties have run two to three times higher than Ukraine's for most of the war, and in early twenty twenty-six the ratio climbed towards eight to one in some estimates. Russia is also struggling to replace its own losses at the same rate. She's calling for surrender at the exact moment the attrition is working against the side she wants to surrender to.

She got the NATO point backwards. NATO membership was never the war's purpose from Ukraine's perspective. It was Russia's stated grievance. Putin invaded to stop Ukraine from drifting West and it backfired spectacularly. The invasion is exactly what pushed Finland and Sweden into NATO.

She's right that martial law restricts speech and suspends elections. But she's treating emergency powers as proof the war's purpose failed, when they're the predictable cost of being invaded. Every country under attack does this. Britain during World War Two detained citizens without trial through regulation 18 b. The US suspended habeas corpus in Hawaii and locked up Japanese Americans. The question isn't whether Ukraine's democracy is imperfect under siege — it's whether surrendering restores it. It doesn't. Occupation doesn't bring back elections; it brings Russian law, Russian courts, and Russian imposed censorship.

Last but not least, on the matter of fighting on, let's listen to the Ukrainians themselves. A KIIS poll from late Aug to early Sept this year found 77% of Ukrainians say the country should keep fighting. Only 12% would accept Russian demands. Let's not let Ukraine down. If we do then we tell every future aggressor that invading a country and outlasting the world's attention span is a winning strategy.

[QUOTE=Sirioja;3084242]But Ukrainians dont want to be under dictator Putin, when many Russians leave Russia because of Putin.[/QUOTE]You cut right to the chase. Ukraine is inflicting significant pain on Russia. The overwhelming majority of Ukrainians want to continue doing so with the aim of reaching concessions that preserve their statehood and military capabilities.

"Every day I ask God for forgiveness for helping him come to power. " Mendel called Zelensky an abomination.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy's former press secretary, Yulia Mendel, continues to harshly criticize the president. In a new interview, she called him "a threat to Ukrainian sovereignty" and "an instrument of the Ukrainian nation's suicide. ".

The statements were made in a conversation with blogger Lilia Bagirova. The interview with Mendel appeared on her YouTube channel yesterday evening.

"I think Volodymyr Zelenskyy today is a threat to Ukrainian sovereignty, a threat to Ukrainian existence in general. We are now about to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Ukrainian independence. As a Ukrainian, I ask myself: will there be another 35 years? Our nation is perishing. We simply have no future. The status quo is impossible. Do you understand that there may not be another 35 years? We simply don't have the people. I ask God for forgiveness every day for helping this abomination come to power, to remain in power. Zelenskyy is an abomination," she said.

According to her, Zelenskyy came to power "on promises of peace, but now he's waging the largest war in Europe and constantly finding reasons why it can't be ended. " Mendel claims that it was Zelenskyy who repeatedly insisted on continuing the war, despite opportunities for negotiations.

"There were about seven attempts to end the war. But Zelenskyy's position was the same: the war must continue. The fact that Zelenskyy insisted that the war must continue in 2022 is 100%. Twice. And in 2024," she said.

Reflecting on the consequences of the war, Mendel stated: "Strategically, we've already lost. We've lost people. And we're losing them every day. And territory, too. And yet they continue to brainwash us, telling us about some kind of resilience: we're all unbreakable, we're all invincible. This is simply populism of the highest order."

She is confident that the Kremlin is certainly to blame for the current situation.

"Putin is a real asshole. But Putin isn't to blame for Ukrainian corruption. Putin isn't to blame for the buildings being built near Kyiv. Putin isn't to blame for the scandals that are happening. Putin is destroying the Ukrainian nation. And which one is Zelensky destroying? Tell me," she added.

Mendel also reported that Zelenskyy's "half of his phone (that is, contacts in his address book) are Russians"—people who are in Russia or have ties to the Kremlin.

"For me, he is a traitor," Mendel said.

Also yesterday, Mendel was barred from entering the European Parliament for the German party Alternative for Germany's event " Ukraine: Dare for Peace. Diplomacy Instead of Escalation," where she was scheduled to speak.

[QUOTE=Questner;3084378]"Every day I ask God for forgiveness for helping him come to power. " Mendel called Zelensky an abomination.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy's former press secretary, Yulia Mendel, continues to harshly criticize the president. In a new interview, she called him "a threat to Ukrainian sovereignty" and "an instrument of the Ukrainian nation's suicide. ".

The statements were made in a conversation with blogger Lilia Bagirova. The interview with Mendel appeared on her YouTube channel yesterday evening.

"I think Volodymyr Zelenskyy today is a threat to Ukrainian sovereignty, a threat to Ukrainian existence in general. We are now about to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Ukrainian independence. As a Ukrainian, I ask myself: will there be another 35 years? Our nation is perishing. We simply have no future. The status quo is impossible. Do you understand that there may not be another 35 years? We simply don't have the people. I ask God for forgiveness every day for helping this abomination come to power, to remain in power. Zelenskyy is an abomination," she said.

According to her, Zelenskyy came to power "on promises of peace, but now he's waging the largest war in Europe and constantly finding reasons why it can't be ended. " Mendel claims that it was Zelenskyy who repeatedly insisted on continuing the war, despite opportunities for negotiations.

"There were about seven attempts to end the war. But Zelenskyy's position was the same: the war must continue. The fact that Zelenskyy insisted that the war must continue in 2022 is 100%. Twice. And in 2024," she said..[/QUOTE]Notice you haven't addressed a single point of my rebuttal to the article of hers that you posted. You just dumped more emotional quotes from her. Meanwhile she just got banned from a European Parliament event and was sanctioned by her own government a week ago. She has about as much credibility as Laura Loomer. Come back when you're ready to engage point by point with my rebuttal. It's from today, currently post number 4522 and is linked here:

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3084323] Here's my response to the Iuliia Mendel article recently posted by Questner. It's linked again above. [/QUOTE]

[URL]https://kyivindependent.com/ex-zelensky-spokesperson-iuliia-mendel-sparks-outrage-after-tucker-carlson-interview/[/URL]

Former huge supporters who have decided to do a full about-face to become huge critics and detractors. Whatever arguments they make, it's certainly legitimate to question their personal motivations and agendas. It's similar to how an ex-wife or dumped girlfriend once sang a man's praises but they now see him as evil incarnate.

There are plenty of critics and supporters of both Zelenskyy and Trump who have been consistent over time, which is the norm for people acting on long-held principles. But extreme flip-flopping is not normal behavior, which makes it hard to take such people seriously.

Great clickbait? Sure! Worthy of serious consideration? Not so much (IMO).

[QUOTE=Sirioja;3084242]But Ukrainians dont want to be under dictator Putin, when many Russians leave Russia because of Putin.[/QUOTE]And Zelensky is still supported by majority of Ukrainians, versus Putin, when more than 60% Americans disagree with Trump and Putin always fuck Russian elections.

Here's a good analysis of the legal and compliance issues:

[URL]https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/congress-sends-a-major-new-russia-and-3483184/[/URL]

Excerpt from the article:

"Why the Shadow Fleet Provisions May Matter Most.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Jeanne Shaheen made a case in a Dear Colleague letter ahead of the House vote that deserves particular attention from compliance officers in the energy and shipping sectors. Shaheen said she and her staff had heard directly from foreign governments that the bill's provisions targeting Russia's shadow fleet would cause foreign energy companies to stop purchasing Russian oil immediately, not gradually and not waiting for the sanctions to actually take effect through formal implementation. Her point was that the mere exposure to potential secondary sanctions liability is often sufficient on its own to change commercial behavior, well before enforcement actually occurs. Shaheen cited an estimated $100 billion in annual Russian revenue tied to shadow fleet oil sales, meaning the shadow fleet provisions alone carry outsized practical significance relative to their portion of the bill's overall text".

Obviously there are a lot of moving parts, not least of which is the ability of Trump (and future Presidents) to waive specific sanctions. But there's no way to know in advance if he will, or may pick and choose, or may use the threat of sanctions in a transactional way. So, as I noted in the title of this post, it's all about monitoring the new variables to see what impacts (if any) they may have.

Also, this post on X makes some good points:

[URL]https://x.com/NateSibley/status/2100378760025387467[/URL]

Alternate link: [URL]https://nitter.cf/NateSibley/status/2100378760025387467[/URL].

"This legislation codifies into law fairly comprehensive sanctions that could have otherwise been lifted overnight, perhaps as part of a bad deal with Russia. That is its (enormous) value, because even if the admin issues temporary waivers, banks and companies that enforce sanctions know this is permanent US law".

Nobody has a crystal ball, so anyone who thinks they know how things will play out is blowing smoke, IMO. But it certainly bears watching.

[URL]https://weltwoche.ch/daily/selenskyj-zerstoert-die-ukraine-seine-ex-sprecherin-julija-mendel-ueber-ihr-land-korruption-in-kiew-und-den-weg-zum-frieden/[/URL]

Interview in English to Die Welwoche.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3084393]Notice you haven't addressed a single point of my rebuttal to the article of hers that you posted. [/QUOTE]That's not how propogandists work.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3084393]You just dumped more emotional quotes from her.[/QUOTE]Now, that's precisely how propogandists work.

There are many speculations about the recent visit of the CIA director to Moscow. One of the items although was disclosed, and it was a note by the US received from the RF to the below events. This time I asked Google AI to sum them up.

In May 2026, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presided over the high-profile state re-burial of Andriy Melnyk, a prominent WWII-era Ukrainian nationalist leader, and his wife Sofia Fedak-Melnyk. Their remains were exhumed from Luxembourg and transferred to the National Military Memorial Cemetery near Kyiv. This repatriation is part of a broader, state-backed initiative to establish a national pantheon of heroes to honor figures who fought for Ukrainian independence. Melnyk was the leader of a major faction of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN-M). While Kyiv frames him as a historical figure who fought against Soviet oppression, his legacy is deeply controversial due to the OUN's collaboration with Nazi Germany during the war and its links to anti-Semitic rhetoric and the Holocaust. Later in August 2026, the remains of another early OUN leader, Yevhen Konovalets, were similarly repatriated from Rotterdam.

Reaction in Former Allied CountriesThe state honors bestowed upon Melnyk triggered swift and severe backlash from several former Allied nations, sparking diplomatic friction:

Israel: The reaction from Israel was immediate and highly critical. Israel's Foreign Ministry and Yad Vashem issued sharp condemnations, stating that honoring the leader of a movement that collaborated with Nazi Germany "undermines the moral integrity essential to Holocaust remembrance" and compromises historical truth.

Poland: The event, alongside a subsequent decree honoring the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), ignited fury among Polish political and public figures. The OUN and UPA are historically tied to the wartime massacres of tens of thousands of ethnic Poles and Jews in Volhynia. Polish officials warned Kyiv that elevating figures associated with these massacres to a national pantheon could have severe long-term consequences for Ukraine's ambitions to join the European Union.

Russia: Russia used the event to heavily lean into its wartime propaganda narratives. The Russian Foreign Ministry formally summoned Luxembourg's ambassador to protest the exhumation, calling the state-honored re-burial a sign of disrespect toward millions of victims of Nazi Germany. The decision has highlighted a sharp divide between Ukraine's current wartime efforts to consolidate a fiercely anti-Soviet national identity and the international community's insistence on preserving historical accountability regarding WWII atrocities.

In the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, reactions to the state-honored re-burials of Andriy Melnyk and Yevhen Konovalets were highly nuanced. They were characterized by a sharp divide between official diplomatic silence from governments and vocal criticism from media, historians, and political factions. Because these nations are Ukraine's primary military and financial backers in its ongoing war against Russia, the reactions reflected a delicate balancing act:

1. The United States: Strategic Silence vs. Media ConcernOfficial Stance: The USA State Department and official government channels largely avoided making public statements or formal condemnations. Washington prioritized maintaining a united front with Kyiv amid the ongoing conflict, choosing not to publicly scold an ally over internal domestic memory policies. Media and Public Debate: Major USA Publications, such as The New York Times, covered the re-burials by highlighting the deep contradictions of the event. American media noted that while Ukraine is fighting to defend its democracy and align with Western values, elevating historical figures who collaborated with fascist regimes and held anti-Semitic ideologies creates severe friction with Western historical narratives.

2. The United Kingdom: Press Criticism and Diaspora DynamicsOfficial Stance: Similar to the USA, Downing Street remained officially quiet on the matter to avoid fracturing its robust security partnership with Ukraine. Media and Public Backlash: The reaction was more pronounced in British public discourse and independent media. Right-wing and nationalist-leaning platforms, alongside left-wing anti-fascist organizations, expressed deep unease. Organizations representing European diaspora communities in the UK (such as British-Polish groups) openly questioned whether celebrating OUN leaders with state and church honors risked mainstreaming far-right historical figures.

3. France: Domestic Political WeaponizationOfficial Stance: The French government refrained from issuing official diplomatic protests against Kyiv, viewing the creation of the National Pantheon as a domestic Ukrainian affair. Political Fallout: In France, the event was heavily seized upon by political opposition figures, particularly within the European Parliament. French MEPs, such as Thierry Mariani, publicly slammed the European Union's leadership for staying silent. Critics in France argued that the EU was exhibiting "double standards" by aggressively policing historical revisionism within member states while giving Ukraine a pass on honoring WWII-era collaborators for the sake of geopolitical convenience.

USA just suck Putin, wishing for business with him, when he makes business with China. Fortunately EU, UK and Canada to support Ukraine, when Putin threaten with soldiers, people to make them vote for him, dictator fantasying about ex USSR when he was nothing in KGB.

[URL]https://kyivindependent.com/ukraines-true-history-how-nationalist-movements-paved-ukraines-way-to-freedom/[/URL]

"Obviously, there were anti-Semitic Ukrainians, he said, adding that some Ukrainian nationalists collaborated with the Nazis. But for many Ukrainians, the issue wasn't racial but rather political, Motyl said. The question was: Are they, or are they not, loyal to Ukraine? The nationalists weren't out to exterminate, they were out to combat their political enemies, he said while acknowledging the presence of anti-Semites in the ranks of the OUN. To put it a little crudely, but not inaccurately: Ukrainians were peasants and Jews were kind of the middle class and the upper class were either Poles or Russians, he said".

"Ukraine's nationalist heroes are thus no angels, but their main defining and uniting feature is their unbreakable commitment to the struggle for an independent state, scholars agree. Ukrainians will generally choose heroes that are strong, forceful, and that don't break easily, Shkandrij explained. That's why Bandera, as an unbreakable force, a person who never gave up that's why they would find that fight attractive".

Over Ukraine's history, both Russia and Poland have been enemies, so it's not a big surprise to find that Ukraine has heroes that both those countries don't like. And, especially during World War Two, some nationalist groups allied with the Nazis because Russia was seen as the bigger enemy. One relevant point is that many of Ukraine's nationalists had fought for independence against the USSR after the overthrow of the Tsar. In that context, anything to help fight Russia would not have been rejected.

With respect to collaboration with the Nazis in the arrest of Ukrainian Jews, here's an excerpt from an AI search summary:

"Historical Context: The actions of Ukrainian nationalists during this period are often viewed through the lens of their broader goals for Ukrainian independence, which included the elimination of perceived enemies, including Jews, Poles, and Russians. This complex history continues to be a subject of research and discussion among historians".

As far as the reaction of various countries is concerned, it's laughable how many are ready to throw stones when they live in glass houses. Russia, the UK, and France were all colonial powers and, as such, responsible for numerous violent suppressions of independence (I. E. , nationalist) movements. And Israel? Check out Menachem Begin's actions, labeled terrorism by many, in his nationalist struggle. In the US, take your pick of the heroes and villains from both sides of the Civil War. For anyone who thinks the North were unequivocally the good guys, check out Sherman's scorched earth tactics during his March to the Sea.

The bottom line is that history is rarely black and white, and those who love to point out what they perceive to be the sins of others almost never turn the lens upon themselves.

When Putin is kind of Stalin son, but Ukraine was not a country when nazis killed millions of soviets. Stalin Putin fantazies about new USSR and becoming new Tsar, Putin 1, when large majority of Ukrainians hate him and want their independent country, when many Russians ran away, abroad, from dictator who fuck elections and kill who oppose.

This is an article from the drugged out clown's former press secretary.

Zelensky's strategy is national suicide.

https://spectator.com/article/zelenskys-strategy-is-national-suicide

For every 1 birth in Ukraine, there are 4 people dying.

Half of Ukraine's population from 1991 is now gone.

For the remaining Ukrainian population, half are over retirement age.

This is the death of a nation.

The collective west that took Ukraine down the primrose path is pure evil.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3085518]This is an article from the drugged out clown's former press secretary.

Zelensky's strategy is national suicide.

https://spectator.com/article/zelenskys-strategy-is-national-suicide

For every 1 birth in Ukraine, there are 4 people dying.

Half of Ukraine's population from 1991 is now gone.

For the remaining Ukrainian population, half are over retirement age.

This is the death of a nation..[/QUOTE]Funny how a "dead nation" after all these years is still the one making the Kremlin write opinion pieces instead of victory speeches. 100's of 1000's of casualties later, 40% of the Black Sea fleet down, 45% of your oil refining capacity knocked out, 44% of your budget currently spent on war, while your population is on edge it all remains quite embarrassing for what was supposed to be the second most capable military in the world.

War time consistently craters births while spiking deaths. The 50% figure is false. According to the UN roughly 25% of Ukrainians are over age 60. The rest of your content and much more was addressed here recently in my reply to the Mendel article from the Spectator. You're welcome to try and break down my rebuttal, but heads up, it will require more gray matter than your usual chest thumping, as you repeat the same tired fallacies over and over while completely ignoring the points previously made by your opponents. Here's the link, and it's post #4522.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3084323][URL]https://spectator.com/article/zelenskys-strategy-is-national-suicide/?edition=us[/URL]

Here's my response to the Iuliia Mendel article recently posted by Questner. It's linked again above.[/QUOTE]

[URL]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian%E2%80%93Ukrainian_Friendship_Treaty[/URL]

The Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, also known as the "Big Treaty", was an agreement signed in 1997 between Ukraine and Russia, which fixed the principle of strategic partnership, the recognition of the inviolability of existing borders, and respect for territorial integrity and mutual commitment not to use its territory to harm the security of each other.

Respect for territorial integrity and mutual commitment not to use its territory to harm the security of each other. The crucial factor. So, what happened between 1998 and 2002 (the year of the first step of an attempt to drag Ukraine into NATO)? Was it a 1998 default? Was it 9/11 and its aftermath? Was it a dawn of Gas Wars? You tell me. I can assure you no Ukrainian at that time discussed it at the kitchen table or begged Rada to join.

As I posted previously: "There are plenty of critics and supporters of both Zelenskyy and Trump who have been consistent over time, which is the norm for people acting on long-held principles. But extreme flip-flopping is not normal behavior".

For anyone who bothers to follow the Ukrainian press, there is no shortage of criticism of Zelenskyy. Here's my personal checklist for separating the credible from the non-credible:

1. Have a consistent track record. By that I mean that a journalist, or other critic, has a history of published articles or posts laying out the principles they use in evaluating Zelenskyy or other officials.

2. Be willing to debate and defend one's position even in a forum where there is vigorous opposition.

3. Don't be an obvious Russian shill who parrots Kremlin talking points.

4. For anyone who claims to represent a significant segment of the Ukrainian population, rather than simply one's own opinion, provide evidence to back up that claim.

Mendel fails every test, as far as I can tell. She's a flip-flopper, which is the opposite of consistency. Since she's been on her anti-Zelenskyy crusade, I've only heard of appearances on Russia-friendly outlets like Tucker Carlson. In fact, I can't find any recent meaningful interactions (interviews or articles) with Ukrainian media since her Carlson appearance. If she really has the best interests of Ukraine at heart, why is she avoiding the best and most direct ways of speaking to them? And, as far as repeating Russian talking points, the Kyiv Independent article I linked to in my earlier post does a good job of detailing that point. Finally, I've seen no credible evidence that Mendel is speaking for anyone other than herself.

Here's the bottom line: If you're on the jury in a court trial, you're tasked with evaluating the credibility of a witness. Once you find that a witness lacks credibility, what they have to say becomes irrelevant because they've failed the basic test of being believable.

The simple point being that it's a complete waste of time, effort, and bandwidth to try to debate or analyze anything that comes from a non-credible source. There are credible critics out there, but they unfortunately don't fall into the kind of sympathetic echo chamber the pro-Putin crowd would probably prefer.

[QUOTE=Questner;3085684][URL]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian%E2%80%93Ukrainian_Friendship_Treaty[/URL]

The Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, also known as the "Big Treaty", was an agreement signed in 1997 between Ukraine and Russia, which fixed the principle of strategic partnership, the recognition of the inviolability of existing borders, and respect for territorial integrity and mutual commitment not to use its territory to harm the security of each other.

Respect for territorial integrity and mutual commitment not to use its territory to harm the security of each other. The crucial factor. So, what happened between 1998 and 2002 (the year of the first step of an attempt to drag Ukraine into NATO)? Was it a 1998 default? Was it 9/11 and its aftermath? Was it a dawn of Gas Wars? You tell me. I can assure you no Ukrainian at that time discussed it at the kitchen table or begged Rada to join.[/QUOTE]There was no push to join NATO at that time. Ukraine wanted interoperability — learning to fight and plan alongside NATO forces for peacekeeping and crisis response, not to join the alliance. They joined Partnership for Peace in '94, the first ex-Soviet state to do it. The exercises — Peace Shield, Sea Breeze, Cooperative Partner — were about common tactics, command procedures, and logistics so Ukrainian units could plug into NATO-led missions. They also sent troops to Bosnia and Kosovo under NATO command, which brought money, training, and equipment upgrades Ukraine couldn't afford on its own. Kuchma's multi-vector play: keep Russia close with the Friendship Treaty, keep the West engaged with exercises, and stay out of anyone's exclusive orbit.

What actually brought on Ukraine's quest for NATO membership was the Orange Revolution. Yushchenko took power in 2005 wanting a clean break from Moscow, and in January 2008 he, the prime minister, and the parliament speaker sent a joint letter formally requesting the action plan. Bush backed it; Germany and France blocked it.

P.S. Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, the Baltics, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia applied, queued up, wanted in, none were dragged kicking and screaming. Ukraine asked for a membership action plan in 2008 and applied for real in 2022.

Ukraine's first push toward NATO membership was actually under Kuchma in 2002 after a policy shift. Efforts post 2004 represented an acceleration. Still in no cases was Ukraine "dragged" by any external forces. The same applies to every other Central and Eastern Euro country that expressed interest in membership.

There's a lot of time and effort spent arguing about whether or not commitments were made to the USSR, and later Russia, with respect to NATO expansion and whether various countries (such as Ukraine) should be barred from NATO membership.

I would respectfully submit that these discussions overlook two essential points.

1. Russia has had a de facto veto over Ukraine membership in NATO for many years. By its own charter, NATO requires unanimous agreement before a new member can be allowed in. Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, there were a number of NATO members who would absolutely have blocked Ukrainian membership. That includes not only overtly Russia-friendly countries, like Hungary, Slovakia, and Bulgaria, but also countries like Italy, Germany, and France who would have blocked it on "stability" grounds. There are other countries that might have blocked, for their own reasons (like Poland), but the point is that there was essentially zero chance that Ukraine would ever have attained NATO membership. The only way that might have changed would have been if Russia had altered its position.

Another relevant issue is that involvement in unresolved territorial or jurisdictional disputes is a disqualifying factor for NATO membership. By virtue of Russia's occupation and claims in Crimea and Donbas, they have a separate de facto veto over Ukrainian membership in NATO. No resolution = no membership, and Russia directly controls their side of that circumstance. There is little or nothing Ukraine can do unilaterally to affect any of the above.

2. As with unanimous consent being required for NATO membership decisions, a similar unanimity is required for NATO military action. Since its creation in 1949, NATO military forces have been involved in combat primarily during three specific operations (Serbia-Kosovo, Afghanistan, and the no-fly zone around Libya). None of these were a direct threat against either the USSR or Russia. The idea that unanimous consent would ever have been given for NATO military action against Russia is simply ludicrous on its face. Of course, if there is ever a need to defend NATO against direct Russian aggression, that's a different scenario. But the simple point is that there has never been any realistic possibility that NATO would be able to garner unanimous consent for any non-defensive action against Russia. All the same countries as in #1 (above), and probably even more, would never have agreed.

Bottom line: Ukraine by itself has never posed a threat to Russia. It's smaller in size, population, economy, etc. Any claim by nuclear-armed Russia to be fearful of Ukraine is ludicrous on its face. Russia knows this, so it had to construct a paranoid NATO-threat mythology. But Russia's problem is that this myth is completely debunked by all the points above: NATO's multiple unanimous consent requirements + multiple ways Russia (by itself and via proxies) can exercise a de facto veto over Ukraine in NATO and over any NATO military action against Russia. IMO, Russia's real problem with NATO is that it prevents Russia from acting with impunity. At some point Russia might like to take action against the Baltics, for example, and NATO has a deterrent effect that Russia wishes didn't exist.

[QUOTE=Jmsuttr;3085685]Here's the bottom line: If you're on the jury in a court trial, you're tasked with evaluating the credibility of a witness. Once you find that a witness lacks credibility, what they have to say becomes irrelevant because they've failed the basic test of being believable.

The simple point being that it's a complete waste of time, effort, and bandwidth to try to debate or analyze anything that comes from a non-credible source. There are credible critics out there, but they unfortunately don't fall into the kind of sympathetic echo chamber the pro-Putin crowd would probably prefer.[/QUOTE]I'll push back a little. Mendel is highly biased yes, but her generic Russian talking points are well circulating in American discourse. It's essentially a free for all, unlike the Cold War years when Soviet propaganda was subjected to a lot of institutional monitoring. Today's angle can move under different banners but the script is the same. The common denominator is the tribal signaling through buzzwords like "deep state" and "military industrial complex. " They rarely attempt to even define those terms or prove any causal relationships between that and the start of any wars, yet we know they've bought the tee shirt. Russia's victimization is embraced, while its own "military-industrial complex" and crimes against its own people are completely ignored. Given how well this all has circulated it needs to be called out with counter information.

I'm going to indulge for a moment and give the super short version of the pleas from the Russia sympathizers:

It's time for Ukraine to take a "peace deal" because they can only put pregnant women and old men with canes out of the battlefield. "Surrender and save yourselves!" That's essentially it. The script has been the same for over four years. The failed predictions are legion.

The rebuttals are partly in my previous post which I'll link again below, and I'll restate some of the content here.

1. Russia has never offered anything less than demilitarization, neutrality, recognition of annexed territory, and army caps that would leave Ukraine unable to defend itself. That's not a border adjustment. It's handing Putin the keys and hoping he doesn't come back for the furniture. That while 77% of Ukrainians want to fight on, only 12% want to give in to Russian demands.

2. Ukraine, a supposed defeated country is doing a lot of damage. Funny how a "dead nation" after all these years is still the one making the Kremlin write opinion pieces instead of victory speeches. Half a million Russian dead later, 40% of the Black Sea fleet down, 45% of Russian oil refining capacity knocked out, 44% of the Russian budget currently spent on war, while the population remains on edge it all remains quite embarrassing for what was supposed to be the second most capable military in the world.

3. Mendel is recycling the same Russian talking point that's been wrong since 2022, that Ukraine's been running out of men, while the front is still holding. Ukraine's pool of conscription-age men is small — around four million in the territory it still holds — and Russia's is roughly ten times larger. But attrition is not a pure headcount contest. Ukraine has been inflicting disproportionate losses with drones, long-range strikes, and cheaper systems. Russian casualties have run two to three times higher than Ukraine's for most of the war, and in early twenty twenty-six the ratio climbed towards eight to one in some estimates. Russia is also struggling to replace its own losses at the same rate. She's calling for surrender at the exact moment the attrition is working against the side she wants to surrender to.

My thorough version is linked here. Click "View original post. " It remains entirely untouched by the Russia sympathizers.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3084323][URL]https://spectator.com/article/zelenskys-strategy-is-national-suicide/?edition=us[/URL]

Here's my response to the Iuliia Mendel article recently posted by Questner. It's linked again above. [/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3085846]I'll push back a little. Mendel is highly biased yes, but her generic Russian talking points are well circulating in American discourse.[/QUOTE]Critics are what they are, and Russian sympathizers are what they are. Mendel claims insider knowledge but she left government service in 2021, over 5 years ago. Then, after leaving, she turned into a fierce Zelenskyy critic. That puts Mendel squarely in the same category as an ex-wife, disgruntled former employee, or ex-business associate. And, when such people do a complete 180 turn, flip-flopping from supporter to denigrator, no reasonable person would take anything they say at face value. That's because the very act of flip-flopping is prima facie evidence of a personal agenda and / or vendetta against the person they formerly supported.

So, other critics can stand or fall on the merits of their arguments, or they might stand or fall based on other factors, but Mendel has disqualified herself by her own actions. Just as no reasonable juror would give any credibility to an ex-wife's negative testimony against her ex-husband, absent extremely corroborating evidence, in the same way Mendel is a thoroughly unreliable and non-credible witness. Which, as I stated in the subject line, makes her irrelevant.

Debating an argument's substance, or lack thereof, is a separate matter. But when the very credibility of a witness is the central issue then they haven't even passed the threshold requirements to be taken seriously. Again, IMO, debating anything Mendel-related is a waste of time, effort, and bandwidth. If someone brings up Mendel in a discussion with me, I simply reply that I believe her like I'd believe your ex-wife. It's good for a laugh and it gets the (non-credible = irrelevant) point across.

P.S. Part of the Russian "Firehose of Propaganda" strategy is to put disposable shills out there, like Mendel, and then discard them when they crash and burn, or lose their usefulness. Energy expended against such a shill is energy wasted, as Russia has an unending supply, just like a matryoshka doll.

Ukraine has been quietly conducting a successful counterattack since May collapsing Russian onslaught on Liman and Kramatorsk.

[QUOTE]For twenty months, Russias 20th and 25th Combined Arms Armies ground toward Lyman, a small city in eastern Ukraine that sits on a critical road and railway juncture. By seizing it, Russia would gain a crucial logistics hub to sustain its campaign to encircle the Fortress Belt, the cities anchoring Ukraines defense in Donetsk. But in May, Ukraines 3rd Corps launched Operation Vivaldi. In just a few weeks, Ukraine collapsed the Russian salient, encircled elements of the 2nd and 14th Motorized Rifle Divisions, and liberated up to 250 square kilometers of land.

The Ukrainian corps performed this masterpiece by achieving drone dominance over Russian forces. Provided with two brigades from Ukraines Unmanned Systems Forces, 3rd Corps saturated Russian rear areas with drones. One Russian military blogger reported how a considerable number of Ukrainian Hornet drones, which operate more than 150 kilometers behind Russian lines, attacked river crossings, disrupted logistics, and prevented reinforcements. These strikes isolated the Russian forces and, as their logistics system collapsed, prevented them from receiving the personnel, parts, and energy needed to effectively operate their own drones.

Remarkably, 3rd Corps reported that its forces neutralized Rubicon, Russias elite drone unit, destroying its logistics, ammunition depots, drone launch sites and newly formed units and killing their experienced drone operators. To prevent its complete loss, Russia withdrew Rubicon from the Lyman axis. Blinded, Russia was vulnerable to the Ukrainian counterattack.[/QUOTE]AFU acknowledged the operation only in September. The quiet helps because it enables the glorious Russian traditions of never-ever upsetting the boss. Only the victorious reports can find their ways upstairs.

[QUOTE]Fortunately for Ukraine, Russian officers overly optimistic reports to their superiors will likely slow Russias response to a breakthrough. False reports of Russian success around Lyman had reached Putin, who bragged about it just as Russian forces there were collapsing. As one Russian source colorfully criticized the Russian chain of command, Is there a guy among youfor f*cks sakewho can tell Uncle Vova (Putin) that his picture isnt actually all that pretty, or are you all just f*cking losers? Ill tell him. Just bring me in, Ill tell him its all gone to sh*t. . . . Were totally f*cked on the Lyman front.[/QUOTE]An Overture to Victory: Operation Vivaldi and Ukraine's Path to Battlefield Decision.

[URL]https://mwi.westpoint.edu/an-overture-to-victory-operation-vivaldi-and-ukraines-path-to-battlefield-decision/[/URL]

[QUOTE=Jmsuttr;3085883]Critics are what they are, and Russian sympathizers are what they are. Mendel claims insider knowledge but she left government service in 2021, over 5 years ago. Then, after leaving, she turned into a fierce Zelenskyy critic. That puts Mendel squarely in the same category as an ex-wife, disgruntled former employee, or ex-business associate. And, when such people do a complete 180 turn, flip-flopping from supporter to denigrator, no reasonable person would take anything they say at face value. That's because the very act of flip-flopping is prima facie evidence of a personal agenda and / or vendetta against the person they formerly supported.

So, other critics can stand or fall on the merits of their arguments, or they might stand or fall based on other factors, but Mendel has disqualified herself by her own actions. Just as no reasonable juror would give any credibility to an ex-wife's negative testimony against her ex-husband, absent extremely corroborating evidence, in the same way Mendel is a thoroughly unreliable and non-credible witness. Which, as I stated in the subject line, makes her irrelevant.[/QUOTE]For starters, your last sentence is the poisoning the well fallacy. You're not only not refuting her claims, but are disqualifying me from engaging with them, while most of her points relate to public information rather than insider knowledge. And it's self-defeating: if Russian propaganda is truly endless and disposable, then ignoring it is exactly what allows it to spread unchallenged. Your angle is also unfalsifiable because it commits the genetic fallacy, as you can dismiss any source you deem tainted out of hand without having to engage with it.

Your courtroom analogy is false. With public political discourse no one's freedom is at stake while there's no proof beyond a reasonable doubt standard. Different rules of engagement apply within vastly different dynamics. No one's freedom, financial future, or custody is at stake while the evidentiary rules don't transfer. The comparison collapses on it's on weight.

To your credit you seem to try and walk it back here, but then started talking out of both sides of your mouth.

[QUOTE=Jmsuttr;3085883] Debating an argument's substance, or lack thereof, is a separate matter. [/QUOTE]Here's the irony though. Since according to you her credibility is zero and thus her arguments carry zero (non-sequitur), then you've wasted a boatload of "bandwidth" recently arguing against arguing. That was very inconsiderate of you. Wink While I said all of that to say, you aren't engaging, you're dodging.

[URL]https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/Poisoning-the-Well[/URL]

[URL]https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/Genetic-Fallacy[/URL]

[URL]https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/blog/how-to-spot-the-fallacy-of-false-analogy[/URL]

[URL]https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/Non-Sequitur[/URL]

With my post from yesterday you quoted my first two sentences, skipped my whole argument then repeated your same argument over again. That's not engaging, it's dodging. From here try to make a better and more responsible use of your bandwidth. Wink.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3085846]I'll push back a little. Mendel is highly biased yes, but her generic Russian talking points are well circulating in American discourse. It's essentially a free for all, unlike the Cold War years when Soviet propaganda was subjected to a lot of institutional monitoring. Today's angle can move under different banners but the script is the same. The common denominator is the tribal signaling through buzzwords like "deep state" and "military industrial complex. " They rarely attempt to even define those terms or prove any causal relationships between that and the start of any wars, yet we know they've bought the tee shirt. Russia's victimization is embraced, while its own "military-industrial complex" and crimes against its own people are completely ignored. Given how well this all has circulated it needs to be called out with counter information.

I'm going to indulge for a moment and give the super short version of the pleas from the Russia sympathizers:

It's time for Ukraine to take a "peace deal" because they can only put pregnant women and old men with canes out of the battlefield. "Surrender and save yourselves!" That's essentially it. The script has been the same for over four years. The failed predictions are legion.

The rebuttals are partly in my previous post which I'll link again below, and I'll restate some of the content here..[/QUOTE]But everybody, except blind Russians and too old senile Trump who likes so much his sperm, know Putin is a liar nobody can trust, like for Crimea, Trump forgot. Putin wants ex USSR, not only Donbass, this is why we have to resist versus a so dangerous criminal dictator and Ukrainians hate him, don t want to live under him, when many Russians left under him. And he tries to fuck many elections abroad, when threatening for voting for him.

Now when you know the past or at least try to know the past, know the status quo, you can extrapolate and see where the puck may land.

Here is my opinion of what Ukraine might have done to avoid the conflict long before the financial crisis.

A) remain non-aligned, non-nuclear b) not seeking EU membership, but enter separate trade and migration agreements with EU c) amend the Constitution and become a federal state like the majority of larger countries.

Now the technical and military situation has changed and the NATO infrastructure should not be tolerated on Ukraine's territory. As EU is on its path to transform itself into a military alliance, Ukraine's EU membership has my doubts as well.

Now, mine are only opinions, they are not official position. Well, you can tell my opinions are wrong, ok, time will tell.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3086007]For starters, your last sentence is the poisoning the well fallacy. You're not only not refuting her claims, but are disqualifying me from engaging with them, while most of her points relate to public information rather than insider knowledge. And it's self-defeating: if Russian propaganda is truly endless and disposable, then ignoring it is exactly what allows it to spread unchallenged. Your angle is also unfalsifiable because it commits the genetic fallacy, as you can dismiss any source you deem tainted out of hand without having to engage with it.

Your courtroom analogy is false. With public political discourse no one's freedom is at stake while there's no proof beyond a reasonable doubt standard. Different rules of engagement apply within vastly different dynamics. No one's freedom, financial future, or custody is at stake while the evidentiary rules don't transfer. The comparison collapses on it's on weight.

To your credit you seem to try and walk it back here, but then started talking out of both sides of your mouth.

Here's the irony though. Since according to you her credibility is zero and thus her arguments carry zero (non-sequitur), then you've wasted a boatload of "bandwidth" recently arguing against arguing. That was very inconsiderate of you. Wink While I said all of that to say, you aren't engaging, you're dodging.

[URL]https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/Poisoning-the-Well[/URL]

[URL]https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/Genetic-Fallacy[/URL]

[URL]https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/blog/how-to-spot-the-fallacy-of-false-analogy[/URL]

[URL]https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/Non-Sequitur[/URL][/QUOTE]Since the entire gist of my post is that Mendel, by virtue of her flip-flopping nature, is non-credible, why would you expect me to engage with her, or her purported arguments, in a substantive way? After my directly saying that she is irrelevant, it would be the height of inconsistency for me to treat her as though she were not.

Also, since you're so quick to level accusations of falsity and fallacious logic, it's fair to point out that your statement that I am somehow "disqualifying you" is both false and a quintessential example of the Straw Man Fallacy. If you re-read my post with a bit more care and a bit less nose-out-of-joint-ness, you might notice that I said absolutely nothing about you. Zero, zilch, nada. My entire focus was on Mendel, why her unique personal qualities render her non-credible, and why attention to a non-credible source is a waste. If you choose to take that personally, that says more about you than it does about me.

[URL]https://www.scribbr.com/fallacies/straw-man-fallacy/[/URL]

You're also quite fond of nit-picking and trying to find distinctions without a difference. To wit:

1. "Most of her points relate to public information rather than insider knowledge". Whether public or insider knowledge, the non-credible flip-flopper categorization remains valid.

2. "If Russian propaganda is truly endless and disposable, then ignoring it is exactly what allows it to spread unchallenged". I never said to ignore it. I said Mendel, herself, is worth ignoring. And I specifically said "Debating an argument's substance, or lack thereof, is a separate matter," which you conveniently gloss over. I do have separate opinions about dealing with Russian propaganda, but the Mendel post was solely focused on her.

3. "Your courtroom analogy is false". Actually, it's not. That's because the credibility of a witness is determined independently of the matter at issue. Whether it's criminal, civil, or even small-claims, once a witness is shown to be non-credible they become irrelevant to the proceedings. But, if you prefer to dispense with jurisprudential niceties, the same principle applies outside a court. If a flip-flopping ex-wife, ex-partner, or disgruntled former employee tried to trash-talk you to others, you'd quite naturally (and rightly) raise the issue of non-credibility. The court scenario was a convenient illustration because of the presumed neutrality of the process, that's all. But the point holds true regardless.

4. Your claim re Genetic and Poisoning-the-Well fallacies assume that I'm making a priori ad hominem statements about Mendel. What you fail to recognize is that I am making a posteriori statements based on her own actions. If her prior actions and behaviors reflect negatively, that's entirely on her. All I am doing is pointing out that behavior, which is factually true and well-established. If anyone wants to treat her as though her personal actions and history don't matter, that's their prerogative. I prefer to (truthfully) call a spade a spade.

But, when all is said and done, everyone is free to give their attention to whomever or whatever they want. Just as I'm equally free to point out why a certain someone or something isn't worth the attention.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3086011]With my post from yesterday you quoted my first two sentences, skipped my whole argument then repeated your same argument over again. That's not engaging, it's dodging. From here try to make a better and more responsible use of your bandwidth. Wink.[/QUOTE]My post was specifically about Mendel. Your post started with a mention of Mendel, but then quickly expanded into a treatise on Russian propaganda, in general. Because my focus throughout has been on Mendel, personally, and her non-credibility, anything beyond that was outside the original scope of my argument and therefore excluded from my response. And, in fairness, since I was replying to your response to my earlier post, I think I'm quite within my rights (in an argumentation sense) to bring the topic back to the parameters I originally set forth. In fact, if any dodging was going on, try looking in the mirror. It was you who side-stepped the central issue of Mendel's non-credibility and sought to enlarge it to include the much broader topic of Russian propaganda. Since I'm perfectly able to keep those two things separate, I simply chose not to follow you down that rabbit-hole.

So, when closely considered, my choice of quote, and my use of bandwidth, was altogether prudential and responsible. While your kvetching about it is rather questionable. Wink.

[QUOTE=Questner;3086284]Now when you know the past or at least try to know the past, know the status quo, you can extrapolate and see where the puck may land.

Here is my opinion of what Ukraine might have done to avoid the conflict long before the financial crisis.

A) remain non-aligned, non-nuclear b) not seeking EU membership, but enter separate trade and migration agreements with EU c) amend the Constitution and become a federal state like the majority of larger countries.

Now the technical and military situation has changed and the NATO infrastructure should not be tolerated on Ukraine's territory. As EU is on its path to transform itself into a military alliance, Ukraine's EU membership has my doubts as well.

Now, mine are only opinions, they are not official position. Well, you can tell my opinions are wrong, ok, time will tell.[/QUOTE]Yes, we all understood, after Crimea robbery, not respecting what liar Putin signed, and senile too old Trump who forgot what he told, but Ukrainians should have welcome ex FSB criminal, dictator Putin who fuck elections, threaten with army if You don t vote for him, kill if You oppose, but in dreams, giving a better life to Ukrainians, when nothing is better than freedom. Once more, Ukrainians who are brothers with Russians, but hate Putin. Time for Russia to wake up and make a new Ceacescu end.

[QUOTE=Jmsuttr;3086431]My post was specifically about Mendel. Your post started with a mention of Mendel, but then quickly expanded into a treatise on Russian propaganda, in general. Because my focus throughout has been on Mendel, personally, and her non-credibility, anything beyond that was outside the original scope of my argument and therefore excluded from my response. And, in fairness, since I was replying to your response to my earlier post, I think I'm quite within my rights (in an argumentation sense) to bring the topic back to the parameters I originally set forth. In fact, if any dodging was going on, try looking in the mirror. It was you who side-stepped the central issue of Mendel's non-credibility and sought to enlarge it to include the much broader topic of Russian propaganda. Since I'm perfectly able to keep those two things separate, I simply chose not to follow you down that rabbit-hole.

So, when closely considered, my choice of quote, and my use of bandwidth, was altogether prudential and responsible. While your kvetching about it is rather questionable. Wink.[/QUOTE]You quoted two sentences and skipped the rest. The argument presented in the first paragraph was three parts: her content is generic Russian propaganda, it's already circulating in American discourse, and it deserves a response to control the spread. Your post never touches any of that. It only attacks her credibility which is a different question. If you had a rebuttal to the substance, you'd have used it.

[QUOTE=Jmsuttr;3085883] And, when such people do a complete 180 turn, flip-flopping from supporter to denigrator, no reasonable person would take anything they say at face value. That's because the very act of flip-flopping is prima facie evidence of a personal agenda and / or vendetta against the person they formerly supported. [/QUOTE][QUOTE=Jmsuttr;3085883]Debating an argument's substance, or lack thereof, is a separate matter. But when the very credibility of a witness is the central issue then they haven't even passed the threshold requirements to be taken seriously.[/QUOTE]You can't have both. The first quote says nothing she says can be taken at face value. The second says substance is a separate matter, then you're right back to your own contradiction. But if her flip flopping disqualifies everything before you read it, then substance never gets evaluated, so it can't be a separate matter. Pick one.

[QUOTE=Jmsuttr;3086425]Since the entire gist of my post is that Mendel, by virtue of her flip-flopping nature, is non-credible, why would you expect me to engage with her, or her purported arguments, in a substantive way? After my directly saying that she is irrelevant, it would be the height of inconsistency for me to treat her as though she were not.

Also, since you're so quick to level accusations of falsity and fallacious logic, it's fair to point out that your statement that I am somehow "disqualifying you" is both false and a quintessential example of the Straw Man Fallacy. If you re-read my post with a bit more care and a bit less nose-out-of-joint-ness, you might notice that I said absolutely nothing about you. Zero, zilch, nada. My entire focus was on Mendel, why her unique personal qualities render her non-credible, and why attention to a non-credible source is a waste. If you choose to take that personally, that says more about you than it does about me.

[URL]https://www.scribbr.com/fallacies/straw-man-fallacy/[/URL]

You're also quite fond of nit-picking and trying to find distinctions without a difference. To wit:

1. "Most of her points relate to public information rather than insider knowledge". Whether public or insider knowledge, the non-credible flip-flopper categorization remains valid.

2. "If Russian propaganda is truly endless and disposable, then ignoring it is exactly what allows it to spread unchallenged". I never said to ignore it. I said Mendel, herself, is worth ignoring. And I specifically said "Debating an argument's substance, or lack thereof, is a separate matter," which you conveniently gloss over. I do have separate opinions about dealing with Russian propaganda, but the Mendel post was solely focused on her.

3. "Your courtroom analogy is false". Actually, it's not. That's because the credibility of a witness is determined independently of the matter at issue. Whether it's criminal, civil, or even small-claims, once a witness is shown to be non-credible they become irrelevant to the proceedings. But, if you prefer to dispense with jurisprudential niceties, the same principle applies outside a court. If a flip-flopping ex-wife, ex-partner, or disgruntled former employee tried to trash-talk you to others, you'd quite naturally (and rightly) raise the issue of non-credibility..[/QUOTE]The "a posteriori" move is your escape hatch. You claim you aren't making an a priori ad hominem, that you're just reporting facts about her behavior. But that's a distinction without a difference. Whether you call it a priori or a posteriori, the conclusion is the same: her history disqualifies her claims before you ever look at them. That's still the genetic fallacy wearing a lab coat.

Your courtroom analogy is still wrong. Witness credibility is assessed against the specific testimony — a witness can be unreliable on one point and credible on another. Mendel's arguments are primarily about public information, policy, documented events, statistics, things anyone can check, along with conclusions based on the same. You wholesale dismissed all that waving the disgruntled ex-employee banner which is the genetic fallacy confirmed yet again, same as the perpetual dodge. You never touched her arguments, only her biography.

Your "I never said to ignore it" line is also a dodge. You said attention to a non-credible source is a waste. That's functionally the same as saying ignore it.

On the straw man, fair enough. Disqualify was the wrong word. The point was that calling her a waste of time dismisses the contributions of anyone who engages with her. That part stands.

You're flailing because you can't defend your position without either abandoning it or doubling down on the fallacy. It's tiresome at this point, not to mention the violence you're committing against the bandwidth.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3085544]Funny how a "dead nation" after all these years is still the one making the Kremlin write opinion pieces instead of victory speeches. 100's of 1000's of casualties later, 40% of the Black Sea fleet down, 45% of your oil refining capacity knocked out, 44% of your budget currently spent on war, while your population is on edge it all remains quite embarrassing for what was supposed to be the second most capable military in the world.

War time consistently craters births while spiking deaths. The 50% figure is false. According to the UN roughly 25% of Ukrainians are over age 60. The rest of your content and much more was addressed here recently in my reply to the Mendel article from the Spectator. You're welcome to try and break down my rebuttal, but heads up, it will require more gray matter than your usual chest thumping, as you repeat the same tired fallacies over and over while completely ignoring the points previously made by your opponents. Here's the link, and it's post #4522.[/QUOTE]What is your solution? Do you think Ukraine can win? Do you think Ukraine will ever join NATO?

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3087334]What is your solution? Do you think Ukraine can win? Do you think Ukraine will ever join NATO?[/QUOTE]Ukraine's solution is to survive — hold the line, keep the economy running, and make every kilometer cost Russia more than it's worth. That's not a slogan, it's what the numbers show: near-zero net Russian gains since March, and Ukraine retook about eight hundred square kilometers this year while Russia took nine hundred. And Ukraine's long range drone campaign has repeatedly hit Russian refineries and logistics, adding real economic costs beyond the front lines. Making every kilometer cost more isn't just about the trenches, it's hitting Russia's war economy directly.

On winning — no, not in the sense of retaking every inch. But Russia isn't winning either. Its theory of victory was that slow advances would collapse Ukraine's defenses, and that theory is failing. So the realistic endgame is a frozen line or a negotiated settlement, not a Russian flag over Kyiv.

On NATO — no, not anytime soon. Even Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's former top commander, said this summer that Ukraine will never join. Zelensky has already offered to drop the bid in exchange for legally binding security guarantees from the US and Europe. That's the actual state of play.

Back to you, if Russia wanted peace, why does Lavrov's list still demand recognition of annexed territory Russia doesn't even fully control? Considering the same why do they insist that Ukraine reduce it's military to levels where it cannot defend itself? That's handing Putin the keys while hoping he doesn't come back for the furniture.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3087352]Ukraine's solution is to survive hold the line, keep the economy running, and make every kilometer cost Russia more than it's worth. That's not a slogan, it's what the numbers show: near-zero net Russian gains since March, and Ukraine retook about eight hundred square kilometers this year while Russia took nine hundred. And Ukraine's long range drone campaign has repeatedly hit Russian refineries and logistics, adding real economic costs beyond the front lines. Making every kilometer cost more isn't just about the trenches, it's hitting Russia's war economy directly.

On winning no, not in the sense of retaking every inch. But Russia isn't winning either. Its theory of victory was that slow advances would collapse Ukraine's defenses, and that theory is failing. So the realistic endgame is a frozen line or a negotiated settlement, not a Russian flag over Kyiv.

On NATO no, not anytime soon. Even Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's former top commander, said this summer that Ukraine will never join. Zelensky has already offered to drop the bid in exchange for legally binding security guarantees from the US and Europe. That's the actual state of play..[/QUOTE]Putin wants whole Ukraine, after Crimea, and even more, trying to fuck elections abroad, dreaming of back to ex USSR.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3087352]Ukraine's solution is to survive hold the line, keep the economy running, and make every kilometer cost Russia more than it's worth. That's not a slogan, it's what the numbers show: near-zero net Russian gains since March, and Ukraine retook about eight hundred square kilometers this year while Russia took nine hundred. And Ukraine's long range drone campaign has repeatedly hit Russian refineries and logistics, adding real economic costs beyond the front lines. Making every kilometer cost more isn't just about the trenches, it's hitting Russia's war economy directly.

[/QUOTE]You're basically saying what the Europeans are saying. Fight until the last Ukrainian so it makes Russia bleed as much as possible. No doubt, Russia is bleeding. But Ukraine will die as a nation. This reminds me what Biden's defense secretary said a while after the Russian invasion in 2022. He said the purpose of supporting Ukraine was to make sure Russia pays a heavy price and is not able to do this again. Basically, he said the same thing as you, to make Russia bleed. He said nothing about Ukraine winning. So going back to what I said earlier, no doubt Russia will bleed but Ukraine will become a dysfunctional rump state with Russia winning an ugly victory. If you are okay with Ukraine paying that price, which you clearly are, all the power to you. But let me ask you this: are you Ukrainian? Or just a European? If either. Just wondering. I'm not a Russian or even a European. I have no horse in this race. I have actually met more Ukrainians than Russians and found them to be very nice people.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3087352]
On winning no, not in the sense of retaking every inch. But Russia isn't winning either. Its theory of victory was that slow advances would collapse Ukraine's defenses, and that theory is failing. So the realistic endgame is a frozen line or a negotiated settlement, not a Russian flag over Kyiv.[/QUOTE]Do you have any battlefield experience? Clearly not. This is a war of attrition. Do you know what matters in a war of attrition? I can go into detail if you like. Fact of the matter is, Ukraine cannot and will not win this war. Russia will win in the end. They will see this to the very end, no matter what the cost. And the result will be an ugly Russian victory, Ukraine losing more men and territory and getting completely destroyed.

And I agree with your last para. This will end not with a peace treaty, but a frozen conflict. Russia will take more territory and at some point, the guns will fall silent. All the cities that are currently being fought over (Sloviansk, Kramatorsks, etc), they will all be destroyed. Ukraine will never take back Crimea or any of the territories that Russia has captured.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3087352]

On NATO no, not anytime soon. Even Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's former top commander, said this summer that Ukraine will never join. Zelensky has already offered to drop the bid in exchange for legally binding security guarantees from the US and Europe. That's the actual state of play.

Back to you, if Russia wanted peace, why does Lavrov's list still demand recognition of annexed territory Russia doesn't even fully control? Considering the same why do they insist that Ukraine reduce it's military to levels where it cannot defend itself? That's handing Putin the keys while hoping he doesn't come back for the furniture.[/QUOTE]Fact: Ukraine will never ever join NATO. This not anytime soon is BS. Mark my words. And Zaluzhnyi is correct here. And you also admit that the drugged out clown as offered to drop the bid. So I ask, WTF was all this for? Why was neutrality so bad? And how did this all start? It didn't start on Feb 2022. It started in 2014 with the western backed coup against the elected government in Ukraine.

If that hadn't happened, Crimea would still be with Ukraine. All of Ukranian territory would be intact. So was neutrality so bad?

As for your questions, you know what the Russian conditions are, they haven't changed since the SMO started. They want a Ukrainian withdrawal from the territories they have annexed. You know the other conditions: denazification, demilitarization, etc.

I'm not justifying the Russian demands. But the fact remains, Putin tried very hard to avoid full scale war. This started in 2014. How many Minsk accords did we have? It's well known now that the Europeans and Russians were playing for time to get better armed for the full scale war that did eventually start in 2022. This is all on record. Angela Merkel admitted it.

This is a war that should have never happened, and it wouldn't have had the collective west not pushed NATO down Ukraine's throat. Ukraine as a neutral state was at peace. And look at it now.

[QUOTE=Sirioja;3087394]Putin wants whole Ukraine, after Crimea, and even more, trying to fuck elections abroad, dreaming of back to ex USSR.[/QUOTE]That is a lie fed to you by the pathetic fake western media you follow. Putin has never ever said he wants to conquer all of Ukraine. Pay attention, he's having a hell of a time trying to conquer 4 oblasts and it's been almost 5 years now. You really think he can conquer all of Ukraine, especially western Ukraine that is so hostile to Russia? So use your brain please.

Also, I love how the collective west wants it both ways. On one end they say Russia is weak, it's losing, they are fighting with shovels, they are getting beat, their economy is in collapse, that Ukraine is winning, blah blah.

Then they tell us that Putin will conquer all of Ukraine and go after the baltic states and eastern european countries next.

So which is it? This shit is hilarious, you can't make it up.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3087474]That is a lie fed to you by the pathetic fake western media you follow. Putin has never ever said he wants to conquer all of Ukraine. Pay attention, he's having a hell of a time trying to conquer 4 oblasts and it's been almost 5 years now. You really think he can conquer all of Ukraine, especially western Ukraine that is so hostile to Russia? So use your brain please.

Also, I love how the collective west wants it both ways. On one end they say Russia is weak, it's losing, they are fighting with shovels, they are getting beat, their economy is in collapse, that Ukraine is winning, blah blah.

Then they tell us that Putin will conquer all of Ukraine and go after the baltic states and eastern european countries next..[/QUOTE]Yes, use your brain if You have. Putin is a liar who didn't respect what he signed for Crimea. When he was a nothing in KGB behind the wall, but he dreams of ex USSR again, this is the real truth, when he fuck elections in Georgia, Moldavia, Romania and attack Leipzig in ex DDR where he worked.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3087473] Ukraine will die as a nation.[/QUOTE]This isn't an argument, it's a prediction, and it's the same thesis as the Mendel article you posted. I rebutted that article here. It's post number 4522.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3084323] Here's my response to the Iuliia Mendel article [/QUOTE]I challenged you to respond to this rebuttal point by point but you haven't done so. That's a pattern with you, ignore all rebuttals then resurface later recycling the same predictions and fallacious arguments. I again challenge you to go answer it point by point, while the audience can see your refusal.

The weight of military analysis believes Ukraine is in a good position to survive as a nation, by forcing terms that preserve their sovereignty. The West has far greater economic depth than Russia, and Russia's economy is straining under sanctions and labor shortages. Here's some of the war math that I posted in my rebuttal to Mendel. There's some overlap with some content from my prior post to you, but you ignored it.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3084323]Her casualty math has some accuracy but is incomplete. That while she's recycling the same Russian talking point that's been wrong since 2022, that Ukraine's been running out of men, while the front is still holding. Ukraine's pool of conscription-age men is small around four million in the territory it still holds and Russia's is roughly ten times larger. But attrition is not a pure headcount contest. Ukraine has been inflicting disproportionate losses with drones, long-range strikes, and cheaper systems. Russian casualties have run two to three times higher than Ukraine's for most of the war, and in early twenty twenty-six the ratio climbed towards eight to one in some estimates. Russia is also struggling to replace its own losses at the same rate. She's calling for surrender at the exact moment the attrition is working against the side she wants to surrender to. [/QUOTE]It's worth noting that giving into Russia's current demands is tantamount to national suicide, thus 77% of Ukrainians want to fight on if the alternative is to give into Russia's maximalist position. That's their decision. That's in fact the thesis of my rebuttal to Mendel that you choose to ignore.

On your angle that NATO is forcing itself on Central and Eastern Europe, I've answered you on that more times than I can count. Here's the most recent. Of course you ignored the post, then took a month to reappear again. It's post number 4467.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3079219]The "not one inch eastward" assurance was verbal, limited to East Germany during unification talks, and never written into the Two Plus Four Treaty or any binding agreement. Also cut the spin BS. Many former Eastern Block countries freely and gleefully expanded into NATO because they reject your way of life.[/QUOTE]You've also been rebutted from here to Sunday when you call the 2014 removal of Yanukovych a "coup. " And it's the same, you ran off then came back much later repeating the same rebutted claim over again. It's post number 4459.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3079137]Yanukovych fled Kyiv after signing an EU deal for early elections. Parliament, including members of his own party, voted three hundred twenty-eight to zero to remove him the next day because he'd abandoned his post. That's not a coup, it's what happens when a president runs away.[/QUOTE]Below in the only new material in your post, new to me that is so I'll answer it. Though I believe some others here have addressed it before.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3087473]I'm not justifying the Russian demands. But the fact remains, Putin tried very hard to avoid full scale war. This started in 2014. How many Minsk accords did we have? It's well known now that the Europeans and Russians were playing for time to get better armed for the full scale war that did eventually start in 2022. This is all on record. Angela Merkel admitted it.

This is a war that should have never happened, and it wouldn't have had the collective west not pushed NATO down Ukraine's throat. Ukraine as a neutral state was at peace. And look at it now.[/QUOTE]If Minsk was a delay tactic, both sides used it. Merkel's 2022 Der Spiegel interview said the agreements gave Ukraine time to become stronger — that's not the same as admitting a plot to start a war. And Russia spent those same eight years building up its own forces, militarizing Crimea, and training the Donbas proxies.

On 'Putin tried hard to avoid full-scale war' — in December 2021 he handed Biden draft treaties demanding a written guarantee that Ukraine would never join NATO, plus a rollback of NATO forces in Eastern Europe. That's not avoiding war, that's issuing an ultimatum with a hundred thousand troops already massed on the border. And the demand was structurally impossible — NATO membership requires unanimous consent from all thirty members, and no US president can unilaterally amend the NATO charter. He set a condition he knew couldn't be met, then treated the refusal as provocation.

And NATO wasn't shoved down Ukraine's throat. Ukraine repealed its non-alignment law in 2014,303-8, and by February 2022 polling showed about sixty percent of Ukrainians supported joining. That's a sovereign country's choice, not Western coercion.

Your claim to not have a horse in this race is equally disingenuous while you claim that Alexi Navalny died of natural causes. It's also clear that regardless of your agenda, you aren't interested in debating in good faith.

Since almost 5 years, Putin showed to the world and Russians how he failed to defeat so courageous Ukrainians, despite Russian meat for his war, same than Trump failed versus Islamist Iran.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3087474]That is a lie fed to you by the pathetic fake western media you follow. Putin has never ever said he wants to conquer all of Ukraine. Pay attention, he's having a hell of a time trying to conquer 4 oblasts and it's been almost 5 years now. You really think he can conquer all of Ukraine, especially western Ukraine that is so hostile to Russia? So use your brain please.

Also, I love how the collective west wants it both ways. On one end they say Russia is weak, it's losing, they are fighting with shovels, they are getting beat, their economy is in collapse, that Ukraine is winning, blah blah.

Then they tell us that Putin will conquer all of Ukraine and go after the baltic states and eastern european countries next.

So which is it? This shit is hilarious, you can't make it up.[/QUOTE]While debate over Putin's long range aspirations remains open, no one serious argues that Russia is currently out to annex all of Ukraine. The claim is he wants to subjugate it, which he's clear about with his "demilitarization" demand. He's already taken nineteen percent. And a wounded Russia is still dangerous. That's why the Baltics worry. Cyber attacks, sabotage, assassinations, GPS jamming, and disinformation. That's the toolkit with no invasion required.

And your paragraph about the shovels and collapsed Russian economy is a straw man caricature, while your "which is it?" is a false dilemma. No one serious argues that Russia is currently capable of conquering it's former allies, nor are they claiming that the Russian economy has collapsed. These are more examples as to why few here waste time with you. You substitute hostility for substance, calling Zelensky a clown while silent about the fact that Putin is a dictator and murderer that kills and imprisons dissent. You usually just ignore the points of your opponents, but when you decide to try and tackle them you twist them first. Objective readers on the thread can clearly see that you are losing big.

[URL]https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/Strawman-Fallacy[/URL]

[URL]https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/False-Dilemma[/URL]

For any interested in the current state of the decidedly strained Russian economy, here's a paragraph from my Mendel rebuttal, that BR has thus far chosen to completely avoid.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3084323]
The numbers she leans on in her economy paragraph are already stale. Russia's military spending hit a record forty-four percent of the federal budget in the first half of twenty twenty-six over ten point seven trillion rubles, roughly one hundred twenty-five billion dollars. That's more than half of every ruble the government collects. The deficit has already blown past the full-year target. Regions are slashing signing bonuses and, in places like Yakutia, freezing payments to soldiers outright because the money ran out. This isn't a stronger fiscal position. It's a war economy eating itself. Growth has collapsed to under one percent, inflation is still biting, and the civilian sector is being hollowed out to feed the front. Ukraine's debt is high, but it's mostly concessional aid from allies who have a reason to keep it solvent. Russia's "strength" is extraction oil revenue, forced labor, and a shrinking workforce with no off-ramp. She's comparing a country fighting for survival to one that chose this war and is now paying for it by cannibalizing its own budget.[/QUOTE]

MP Skorokhod proposed amending the Constitution and abandoning Ukraine's NATO affiliation.

Member of Parliament Anna Skorokhod submitted a bill to the Verkhovna Rada to amend the Constitution to enshrine Ukraine's neutral status.

The document appeared on the parliament's website.

"Consolidating Ukraine's neutral status, which consists of guarantees of non-entry into any military alliance and confirmation of the absence of any desire to commit aggression against any country," the proposed amendment states.

Of the Ukrainian Constitution's policies for joining NATO and the European Union established during Petro Poroshenko's presidency, Skorokhod proposes retaining only the EU aspirations, removing any mention of the North Atlantic Alliance.

It should be noted that Ukraine's neutral status is one of the Russian Federation's demands within the framework of a peaceful settlement.

You failed miserably to answer my post and had to resort to selective quoting. I gave you a chance for a serious debate but clearly you are not up for it and weaseled out.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3087569]While debate over Putin's long range aspirations remains open, no one serious argues that Russia is currently out to annex all of Ukraine. The claim is he wants to subjugate it, which he's clear about with his "demilitarization" demand. He's already taken nineteen percent. And a wounded Russia is still dangerous. That's why the Baltics worry. Cyber attacks, sabotage, assassinations, GPS jamming, and disinformation. That's the toolkit with no invasion required.

And your paragraph about the shovels and collapsed Russian economy is a straw man caricature, while your "which is it?" is a false dilemma. [/QUOTE]I'm just repeating what the western mainstream media and europeans have said. The whole non sense that Russians are running out of missiles, drones, they are using parts out of washing machines, you name it. So tell me, are the Russians stupid, weak, running out of ammo, getting defeated or are they actually such badasses that they will conquer all of Ukraine and then go after Eastern Europe and the Baltics?

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3087569]No one serious argues that Russia is currently capable of conquering it's former allies, nor are they claiming that the Russian economy has collapsed. [/QUOTE]Good, so we are on the same page here. Please tell that to some of the silly folks on here, like this Siroja individual.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3087569]These are more examples as to why few here waste time with you. You substitute hostility for substance, calling Zelensky a clown while silent about the fact that Putin is a dictator and murderer that kills and imprisons dissent. [/QUOTE]When have I ever said Putin isn't a dictator? He is. And Zelensky is a corrupt clown.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3087569]You usually just ignore the points of your opponents, but when you decide to try and tackle them you twist them first. Objective readers on the thread can clearly see that you are losing big.


For any interested in the current state of the decidedly strained Russian economy, here's a paragraph from my Mendel rebuttal, that BR has thus far chosen to completely avoid.

[/QUOTE]It was you that ignored all of my previous posts because you couldn't address anything I posted and resorted to selective quoting.

[QUOTE=Questner;3087581]MP Skorokhod proposed amending the Constitution and abandoning Ukraine's NATO affiliation.

Member of Parliament Anna Skorokhod submitted a bill to the Verkhovna Rada to amend the Constitution to enshrine Ukraine's neutral status.

The document appeared on the parliament's website.

"Consolidating Ukraine's neutral status, which consists of guarantees of non-entry into any military alliance and confirmation of the absence of any desire to commit aggression against any country," the proposed amendment states.

Of the Ukrainian Constitution's policies for joining NATO and the European Union established during Petro Poroshenko's presidency, Skorokhod proposes retaining only the EU aspirations, removing any mention of the North Atlantic Alliance.

It should be noted that Ukraine's neutral status is one of the Russian Federation's demands within the framework of a peaceful settlement.[/QUOTE]The main reason for this tragic war was the USA and the west pushing NATO into Ukraine. Putin warned that this was the brightest of red lines as far back as 2008, if not even before that. Georgia tried the same foolish move and look how that ended for them in 2008. The collective west took Ukraine down the primrose path. They are pure evil. As long as it's Ukrainians dying, they are okay as long as Russia bleeds. Monsters I swear.

[QUOTE=Sirioja;3087548]Since almost 5 years, Putin showed to the world and Russians how he failed to defeat so courageous Ukrainians, despite Russian meat for his war, same than Trump failed versus Islamist Iran.[/QUOTE]Why did you add in the 'Islamist' before Iran? Racist much?

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3087708]Why did you add in the 'Islamist' before Iran? Racist much?[/QUOTE]It's not a race. Nor is Judaism for that matter. They are religions.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3087705]I'm just repeating what the western mainstream media and europeans have said. The whole non sense that Russians are running out of missiles, drones, they are using parts out of washing machines, you name it. So tell me, are the Russians stupid, weak, running out of ammo, getting defeated or are they actually such badasses that they will conquer all of Ukraine and then go after Eastern Europe and the Baltics? [/QUOTE]That's precisely your false dilemma as you leave out a third option. Russia can at present be a grinding, attritional force that holds territory without being either stupid or unstoppable, and that's precisely what the evidence shows.

My rebuttals are a few posts back, two separate posts. Other than to admit Putin is a dictator, you haven't answered a single one.

And I'm still waiting on your point by point reply to my Mendel rebuttal. You after all reposted her article so you should welcome the challenge.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3084323]Here's my response to the Iuliia Mendel article recently posted by Questner. It's linked again above. [/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3087708]Why did you add in the 'Islamist' before Iran? Racist much?[/QUOTE]Aren't Islamists? Who lead Iran?

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3087707]The main reason for this tragic war was the USA and the west pushing NATO into Ukraine. Putin warned that this was the brightest of red lines as far back as 2008, if not even before that. Georgia tried the same foolish move and look how that ended for them in 2008. The collective west took Ukraine down the primrose path. They are pure evil. As long as it's Ukrainians dying, they are okay as long as Russia bleeds. Monsters I swear.[/QUOTE]And what has been done on the same day of the proposed amendment? NATO sent a full member states delegation to Kiev and the prosecution opened the alleged bribery case against that member of Rada.

In 2021 Ukraine chose Plan be, jacked up salaries to attract people into the AFU, took arms from the Biden administration even when explicitly it was asked not to do so in Summer of 2021. By February 8, 2022 the negotiations collapsed and March 8 was set as intrusion by the AFU into Donetsk. Given no choice Russia acted preemptively with ill devised haste plan and only about 80,000 active troops.

Remember, Ukraine will always choose a loose-loose scenario over win-win one. The national motto is 'You die today, I die tomorrow'.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3087707]The main reason for this tragic war was the USA and the west pushing NATO into Ukraine. Putin warned that this was the brightest of red lines as far back as 2008, if not even before that. Georgia tried the same foolish move and look how that ended for them in 2008. The collective west took Ukraine down the primrose path. They are pure evil. As long as it's Ukrainians dying, they are okay as long as Russia bleeds. Monsters I swear.[/QUOTE]Repeating these emotionally charged falsehoods over and over while ignoring all the rebuttals presented to you over your time here will never make them true. NATO enlargement was never forced on Ukraine — it was Ukraine's own sovereign choice to seek membership, repeatedly reaffirmed through its elected governments and written into its constitution, and no country has a veto over another's alliance choices. Framing Putin's invasion as a justified response to a "red line" erases that Russia launched a full-scale invasion of a non-threatening neighbor, which is the actual proximate cause of the deaths — not Western policy. And the claim that the West wants Ukrainians dying to "bleed Russia" ignores that Ukraine itself chose to fight rather than surrender, and the West is the one supplying the aid keeping Ukraine's defense possible at all.

Also, if NATO is the primary threat then why the muted response to Finland joining? But the issue isn't NATO at all, but in Russia's desire for a sphere of influence and particularly resources that belong to Ukraine.

NATO, EU and even USA with crazy Trump, never threatened to attack any part of Russia, not even robbed Crimea. This war is only Putin war, not even Russians who are just blind meat.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3087631]You failed miserably to answer my post and had to resort to selective quoting. [/QUOTE]Selective quoting is standard practice for focusing on substance, especially when cutting through repetitive claims and personal distractions. I identified and refuted your key points. The audience can verify that themselves by linking back to your post through mine. Here's my post again if you decide to try and tackle it.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3087546]This isn't an argument, it's a prediction...[/QUOTE]

Ukraine should focus shooting Russian gas factories for no diesel for shameful Trump. USA stopped versus Iran because they miss bullets.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3087473] This reminds me what Biden's defense secretary said a while after the Russian invasion in 2022. He said the purpose of supporting Ukraine was to make sure Russia pays a heavy price and is not able to do this again. Basically, he said the same thing as you, to make Russia bleed. He said nothing about Ukraine winning.[/QUOTE]This one was so ridiculous I skipped it, but let's expose it anyway for grins. BR wants us to believe that the West doesn't care if Ukraine prevails or not, as long as the poor little victim Russia bleeds.

But here's Defense Secretary Austin's quote in full, from that April 25, 2022 press conference in Poland: "We want to see Ukraine remain a sovereign country, a democratic country able to protect its sovereign territory. We want to see Russia weakened to the point where it can't do things like invade Ukraine. " Therefore BR pulls out one half of a quote then runs with a wholly false framing.

[URL]https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/blinken-austin-return-from-visit-to-ukraine-say-russia-is-failing-in-war-efforts[/URL]

That while you wrenched my quote about Russian suffering out of context. The aim of Russian suffering is of course to encourage them to back off their maximalist demands and settle for terms that preserve Ukrainian defense capability and sovereignty.

You also have another false dilemma going, as wanting Russia weakened while also wanting Ukraine to win their sovereignty aren't incompatible goals. And even from a cold strategic standpoint a Ukraine that survives is in our national interest.

Ukrainians still support Zelensky versus shameful Trump who wants to give money to Putin to kill Ukrainians.

[QUOTE=BloodRed;3087473] I have no horse in this race.[/QUOTE]Right buddy, how's that for a gem of a selective quote?

I'm heading to Europe for a month this week. I don't do online politics and the like during vacation time but will deal with any replies as time permits. Here's a list of Kremlin state media talking points that have been regularly posted here for years. They're actually few, simple, easy to present, but tough to defend. That's why their advocates rarely try.

Below that you'll find links to my recent posts that contain rebuttals to the same and more. The same posts were either responded to with dodges or completely ignored, usually the latter. Those that publish Kremlin talking points rarely want to engage. They publish, dodge or disappear, then come back posting the same already refuted content. The pattern is clear.

Pro-Russian talking points:

1. NATO eastward expansion involved coercion against the nations who joined. Official govt records, parliamentary debates, and formal applications from the countries involved say otherwise.

2. The 2014 Ukrainian popular uprising that ended with the removal of the pro-Russian president who fled in a 328-0 parliamentary vote was a "coup. " Definitions of the word coup be damned on this one.

3. Russia is justified in "red lines" that lead to invading neighbors when the same in their sovereignty seek to join NATO.

4. Putin bent over backwards to avoid war in 2022, even though he knew that his demand for NATO to change it's open door policy effectively banning Ukraine while closing up shop and committing to no further expansion would never get any serious consideration.

5. The West doesn't care about Ukraine, or even if they prevail or not as long as Russia is made to suffer and weaken. Ukrainian agency and will to defend their land is completely ignored, as are Western interests in seeing a sovereign Ukraine.

6. The insistence that Ukrainians are fools for fighting rather than surrendering has been constant since the start. The slogan "fight to the last Ukrainian" is misconstrued as a death wish. It's obviously Ukrainian resolve rhetoric, or "we'll fight as long as it takes. " This kind of lazy and cheap straw man tactic is the norm.

Russian victory is deemed inevitable and certain while the weight of current war analysis gives Ukraine a real chance of survival as a sovereign nation, especially if substantial Western aid levels persist.

7. The Ukrainian government is called Nazi, as are their national heroes stretching back to the 1940's. The Russians and their bedfellows claim to love Ukrainians while calling their national heroes, and by extension the Ukrainians themselves, "Nazis. " Consistency isn't mandatory. Zelensky's Jewishness is always ignored, as are the Russian Nazi groups fighting in Ukraine.

8. Ukrainian govt corruption is emphasized while the much greater levels of the same in Russia are completely ignored.

Besides all of that there's bare predictions, crystal ball stuff like Ukraine will never join NATO that don't warrant a response as they're typically only blusterous assertions without arguments.

Here's the links to many of my posted rebuttals over the last two months or so that were never answered. There were a few attempted answers with dodges but most of the posts were completely ignored. The last one is from yesterday, so in fairness there hasn't been much opportunity to reply to that one.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3079137]Yanukovych fled Kyiv after signing an EU deal for early elections.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3079219]The "not one inch eastward" assurance was verbal...[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3079226]Zelensky is serving under martial law as elections are suspended during wartime. [/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3079792]Bandera wasn't a Nazi.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3079799]You rarely make any "points" to address. Calling something irrelevant, a coup, or Nazi doesn't make it so. [/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3079810]You say you respect the Ukrainian people but call their government Nazi. [/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3082946]Enjoy your 22 out of 100 rating (Russia) in...[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3083400]As is typical Questner refuses to engage..[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3083401]And here's what Questner leaves out.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3083508]This whole paragraph is a list of grievances each one with a hole in it. [/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3084323]Here's my response to the Iuliia Mendel article...[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3085544]Funny how a "dead nation"..[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3085802]There was no push to join NATO at that time.[/QUOTE]This one below includes a correction to the above.

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3085824]Ukraine's first push toward NATO membership was actually under Kuchma...[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3087546]This isn't an argument, it's a prediction...[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3087727]That's precisely your false dilemma as you leave out a third option. [/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3087747]Repeating these emotionally charged falsehoods...[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3088049]Selective quoting is standard practice...[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Paulie97;3088392]This one was so ridiculous I skipped it, but...[/QUOTE]