Discussion: Relations with Russia

[blueharvest]

Ukraine finalizes trade agreement with UAE

Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates have finalized a bilateral trade agreement that lays the foundation for deepening investment and trade between the two countries, Ukraine's Economy Ministry announced on April 29.

kyivindependent.com

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

It's possible......he's the guy who set the stage for murdering opponents even if he's not the one pulling the trigger.

Putin at best is Jigsaw from the Saw movies in this scenario.

 

[InCali]

Putin at best is Jigsaw from the Saw movies in this scenario.

I don't think I saw the Saw......I was one of Joe Bob Briggs minions and more of a Texas Chainsaw Massacre fan. I mean, Tobe Hooper is clearly a better director than James Wan.....at least from Joe Bob's and my perspective.... We all know that Lifeforce was one of the all time greats in movie history.

 

[squeekness]

Putin likely didn’t order Navalny’s death, says US intelligence official: report

Russian President Vladimir Putin likely did not order the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, a senior U.S. intelligence official told The Wall Street Journal on Sunday. Navalny died in a Ru…

thehill.com

I don't buy it for a minute.

 

[squeekness]

I don't think I saw the Saw......I was one of Joe Bob Briggs minions and more of a Texas Chainsaw Massacre fan. I mean, Tobe Hooper is clearly a better director than James Wan.....at least from Joe Bob's and my perspective.... We all know that Lifeforce was one of the all time greats in movie history.

I loved Lifeforce!! Patrick Stewart, the Crazy guy who played Manson in Helter Skelter! What's not to love?

 

[InCali]

I loved Lifeforce!! Patrick Stewart, the Crazy guy who played Manson in Helter Skelter! What's not to love?

Not to get too off track, but......uh.....that's not why Joe Bob Briggs liked it.....

But he was just trying to be funny.....I think....

 

[blueharvest]

 

[DA_Champion]

Major developments in Georgia, where the country is no longer interested in being used as Ukrainian-style cannon fodder in a Western proxy war against Russia -- The government is likely to pass a law forcing foreign agents to register.

 

[squeekness]

Above the law.

 

[:eek:]

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/28/europe/russia-daily-gains-ukraine-military-criticism-intl/index.html

 

[squeekness]

Squeekness is not pleased. I'm sure a lot of Russian gains are our fault.

 

[blueharvest]

Ukrainian drones attack oil refineries in Russia's Ryazan, Voronezh oblasts

Drones operated by Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) attacked the Ryazan oil refinery overnight on May 1, Suspilne and Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing their military intelligence sources.

kyivindependent.com

 

[DA_Champion]

Squeekness is not pleased. I'm sure a lot of Russian gains are our fault.

Half-assing the war in Ukraine may prove to be center of Biden's legacy.

They should have either agreed to peace terms (my preference), or gone all in. That might have worked given the disorganized state of the Russian army in 2022. Instead Western leaders told the Kiev regime to walk away from peace negotiations, they promised them military support, and then sent them a drip feed of military support.

Biden tried to defeat Russia on the cheap. The results will include the annexation of Ukraine, a Russia which is strengthened militarily, diplomatically, and economically, and rampant inflation in the US and Europe.

 

[blueharvest]

Russia-Ukraine war live: Russia claims it has hit Ukraine’s southern army HQ

Moscow says attack, which has yet to be independently verified, was carried out using missiles and artillery

www.theguardian.com

 

[blueharvest]

Russia flaunts Western military hardware captured in war in Ukraine

The display seeks to energise Russians ahead of the country's victory day celebrations on 9 May.

www.google.com

 

[DA_Champion]

Russia flaunts Western military hardware captured in war in Ukraine

The display seeks to energise Russians ahead of the country's victory day celebrations on 9 May.

www.google.com

That's the official reason for the military hardware parade, to elevate domestic pride.

But I think the real reason is to show the global majority that NATO military hardware is not that good. It's made to look cool and bring in profits, not to win wars. In turn Russia can secure more arms sales in Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

 

[:eek:]

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/russian-troops-enter-base-housing-us-military-niger-us-official-says-2024-05-02/

 

[blueharvest]

Russia is trying to exploit America's divisions over the war in Gaza

The effort includes artificial intelligence, fake social media accounts and a spike in state-sponsored Russian propaganda.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[:eek:]

Von der Leyen condemns police violence in Tbilisi

Critics fear it could be used to stifle the press and non-governmental organisations and derail the country’s chances of joining the European Union. Georgia has been a candidate country since December 2023. #EuropeNews

www.euronews.com

 

[DA_Champion]

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/russian-troops-enter-base-housing-us-military-niger-us-official-says-2024-05-02/

Niger's government has asked the US to leave, so calling it a US base is dubious. The American troops are there illegally.

 

[DA_Champion]

This is hilarious and tragic as a indictment of weak Western leadership.

Macron is willing to send troops to Ukraine ... But only after Russia breaches the Ukrainian defense lines.

If Macron wasn't such a pretzel, he'd know it makes more sense to send troops before the situation turns further catastrophic.

NATO member outlines two conditions for deploying troops to Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron sparked panic in some NATO member states by refusing to rule out alliance troops in Ukraine earlier this year.

www.newsweek.com

 

[squeekness]

This is hilarious and tragic as a indictment of weak Western leadership.

Macron is willing to send troops to Ukraine ... But only after Russia breaches the Ukrainian defense lines.

If Macron wasn't such a pretzel, he'd know it makes more sense to send troops before the situation turns further catastrophic.

NATO member outlines two conditions for deploying troops to Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron sparked panic in some NATO member states by refusing to rule out alliance troops in Ukraine earlier this year.

www.newsweek.com

It makes him look like he's willing to help out when he really isn't.

 

[blueharvest]

Italian defense minister rules out sending troops to Ukraine, says the discussion 'increases tensions'

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto ruled out sending troops to Ukraine in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, published on May 4.

kyivindependent.com

 

[blueharvest]

How Putin’s gas empire crumbled

Vladimir Putin is throwing everything he has got at ramping up Russia’s war machine.

finance.yahoo.com

 

[DA_Champion]

Trump claims to have a peace plan for Ukraine.

I doubt it -- the Western leadership squandered all of its leverage when it instructed Zelensky to walk away from peace negotiations, promised to support the Kiev regime in wat and then sent a drip feed of military support. Russia is now in a position to demand unconditional surrender.

The only thing that could work would be to make concessions beyond Ukraine itself, i.e. if Russia allows an independent and neutral Ukraine West of the Dnipro river with a capital at Lvov, the USA will end its illegal occupation of Syria, close it's operations in Armenia and/or Georgia, and NATO will end the persecution of ethnic Russians in the Baltics. But I doubt that the President would be allowed to do that.

A larger issue for Trump for me is that I don't know if he realizes how much weaker the USA is in 2024 than it was in 2020.

Ukraine peace talks alternative to inevitable battlefield defeat, says senior general

Both sides now strive for ‘most favourable position’ ahead of possible negotiations

www.telegraph.co.uk