Ukraine.

[Wolf]

Is there a more dangerous psychopath on the planet?

Ukraine must have nukes or NATO – Zelensky​

The leader has described his conversation with former US President Donald Trump as he promotes his ‘victory plan’ to Western backers

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky during a press conference in Brussels, Belgium on October 17, 2024. © Thierry Monasse / Getty Images


Ukraine can protect itself either by becoming a nuclear state or a member of NATO, Vladimir Zelensky said on Thursday, claiming that he had offered the same line of reasoning to former US President Donald Trump.
Speaking at a press conference after promoting his ‘victory plan’ for the conflict with Russia to European officials, Zelensky suggested that Ukraine would need nuclear weapons, should it not be granted NATO membership.
“Which of the big nations, the nuclear nations, suffered? Everyone? No, just Ukraine,” he stated, referring to the signatories of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. The document involved the US, UK, and Russia extending security assurances to Kiev in return for the removal of Soviet nuclear weapons from Ukraine.
“Speaking to Donald Trump, I told him: ‘What is the way out for us?’ Either Ukraine will have nuclear weapons, and they will serve as protection, or we need to be in some kind of an alliance. We don’t know any effective alliances except NATO,” Zelensky added.

Read more
Next NATO member may not be Ukraine – Rutte
Ukraine’s choice is to become a NATO member, Zelensky said, claiming that Trump had found his reasoning justified.
Ukraine has never controlled nuclear weapons, but claims it was formerly among the major atomic powers before agreeing to relinquish them. In February 2022, weeks before the escalation of the Ukraine conflict, Zelensky expressed regret at the decision in a speech at the International Security Conference in Munich, suggesting that his country had “every right” to reverse it.
Zelensky last met Trump during his visit to the US in late September. The Ukrainian leader was touring the country to present his ‘victory plan’ to President Joe Biden and the two presidential candidates from the main parties, Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump. He also became embroiled in controversy over a visit to a munitions plant in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, which Trump supporters claimed was evidence of Zelensky campaigning for Democratic candidate Harris.
READ MORE: Ukraine wants to join NATO while Biden is US president – envoy
Zelensky confirmed this week that an immediate invitation for Ukraine to join NATO was on his list of requests to Western donors. The secretary general of the US-led bloc, Mark Rutte, said on Thursday that Ukraine may not even be the next nation to become a member.

 

[Mad as Fish]

Do we have a spare brigade or we still neutral?

View: https://twitter.com/roccocia/status/1847011955414127025

So now he wants the rest of the west to send their youth to be slaughtered. That guy needs a bullet.

 

[jpc]

So now he wants the rest of the west to send their youth to be slaughtered. That guy needs a bullet.

I think he knows it too!
He's as welcome as a shart in a lift!

 

[SwordOfStZip]

I think he knows it too!
He's as welcome as a shart in a lift!

He can serve as a warning to kids in regards to cocaine.

 

[Myles O'Reilly]

Ulster Prods used to be extremely given to conspiracy theories about the Titanic usually involving the claim that Father Francis Browne the famous Jesuit photographer was responsible for it sinking through having carried some or other act or acts of sabotage.

Would those nutters not have been reassured by the chaplain's subsequent decoration in the British army Miss?

 

[SwordOfStZip]

Would those nutters not have been reassured by the chaplain's subsequent decoration in the British army Miss?

I doubt it- you have to remember that the Jesuits in Ireland during the Troubles were pretty "West Brit" but the DUP still blamed them for the Provos. The Jesuits have basically an archetypal place in the Protestant (and to a lesser degree the Orthodox Christian) imagination.

 

[Wolf]

Sure the west loves the auld Neo-Nazis, it even gives standing ovations to actual and documented Waffen SS Nazis for 'fighting against the Russians'.

Will Kiev’s backers wake up to the reality of its neo-Nazi problem?​

FILE PHOTO. Ukrainian far-right activists holding flags attend the march commemorating the 78th anniversary of the founding of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. © Pavlo Gonchar/Getty Images


Ukraine under the Zelensky regime is a place that is difficult to comprehend. It has a “democracy” but no functioning opposition. It features the usual “vibrant civil society” that every monoglot Western correspondent loves to hang out with in up-to-date coffeeshops, but it has no independent media to speak of.
Last but not least, its far right is either simply not there or marginal and irrelevant, as multiple Western “experts” have assured us, but it also has a veto on an essential, literally vital question of foreign policy, namely if and how to make peace in order to end a devastating war.
That peculiar power of Ukraine’s far right is at the core of a long article recently published by France 24. The head of the Ukrainian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, Aleksandr Merezhko, we learn, has caused heated discussions. Also a member of Zelensky’s Servant of the People party, Merezhko has triggered some of his compatriots with statements he made in the Financial Times.
There, he admitted that Ukraine’s society is “exhausted.” Another (presumably) anonymous “senior official” drew the logical conclusion, namely that “most players want de-escalation here.” That is transparent code for admitting de facto defeat and seeking a compromise peace with Russia. It would, of course, require substantial concessions from Kiev, as Moscow is winning the war against Ukraine and its Western supporters.
In addition, Merezhko openly denounced the “mistake” of, in effect, allowing the American Democrats to use Zelensky’s visit to the US for campaigning purposes, thereby, obviously, alienating the Republicans and especially their already heavily Ukraine-fatigued candidate Donald Trump. It almost looks as if the Ukrainian leader is losing his grip even within his own party.

But, according to France 24, those statements by Merezhko are not what excites the Ukrainian public sphere. Instead, he has ruffled feathers by stating that “ultranationalist,” that is, far-right “elements,” are a “very real threat to the government” and could, in particular, torpedo attempts to negotiate a compromise peace.
“There will,” according to Merezhko, “always be a radical segment of Ukrainian society that will call any negotiation capitulation.” Indeed, it is even worse than that, because that “segment” is getting bigger: “The far right in Ukraine is growing” and constitutes “a danger to democracy.”
It would be easy to ridicule Merezhko’s late and limited insights. For one thing, there is no “democracy” to be endangered in Ukraine. His boss Zelensky, currently over-staying his presidential mandate on dubious grounds, has seen to that, thoroughly. And no, it was not the war that compelled poor Zelensky to become a tyrant. The pronounced authoritarian urges of both the former comedian and his party, which is, in reality, a hybrid between a cult and a ruthless political machine, date back to at least 2021, well before the large-scale escalation of February 2022.
Secondly, for those not brainwashed by inane Ukrainian and Western propaganda, it has always been obvious that the Ukrainian far right is real, powerful, and very dangerous. Welcome to the club, Aleksandr.
However, there are aspects of Merezhko’s moment of truth that deserve serious attention, if not, perhaps, in ways he would find congenial. First, since the West committed the severe error of adopting Ukraine as its proxy against Russia, Ukrainian and Western media and so-called experts have run what has amounted to a campaign of denial about Ukraine’s far right. For more than two years now, that crude information-war effort has managed to misrepresent Ukrainian formations who proudly sport sun wheels, Wehrmacht crosses, and SS runes as nothing but very committed patriots who may, perhaps, have regrettably bad taste in choosing their tattoos.

Indeed, one of the worst effects of the Western proxy war against Russia through and in Ukraine has been a massive and successful “normalizing” of the far right in general. The deal at the bottom of this abysmal operation is simple: If you only hate Russia and Russians enough, you can sport a swastika or some other idiotic rune again, go on about saving the “white race,” and, of course, kill for the West. And, bonus point, the West will make sure everyone understands that you are, really, just a very intense patriot, democrat, and member of civil society. In short, a very fine specimen of all those values that the West is so extraordinarily proud of, while it dishes out war and genocide to the “rest.”
Obviously, things got more elaborate. There was a whole menu of implausible and inconsistent narratives of denial, sanitizing, and downplaying to choose from. “The Ukrainian far right exists, but it is so marginal it might as well not;” “there used to be a Ukrainian far right – like, yesterday, really – but they have all magically depoliticized themselves;” “you cannot mention the Ukrainian far right, because every country has a far right;” “you must understand they love Nazi symbols because they only mean to irritate the Russians;” “those symbols look really Nazi, but they are not because that’s just a rune from the Eddas or, maybe, even The Lord of the Rings;” “their greeting is literally that of a fascist and genocidal World War II nationalist movement, but when they use it now, they just mean to say ‘Gesundheit!’;” “they just can’t stop renaming streets and squares after World War II mass murderers, anti-Semites, and Nazi collaborators, but all they have in mind is good clean patriotism for the whole family;” “their great idol Stepan Bandera wasn’t a fascist killer (spoiler: he was) but a freedom fighter” or, for the very sophisticated, “yes, Stepan Bandera was a fascist, but that doesn’t matter, because they think of him as a cross between Gandhi and Bambi.” And, of course, “it’s all just Russian propaganda.”
And now, all of a sudden, it turns out that the far right is real, strong, and capable of preventing peace. Indeed, far-right military commanders lost no time proving Merezhko’s point: One, from the Third Assault Brigade – that is, the far-right “Azov” unit under another name – publicly called the parliamentarian a “far-left coward.” Another irate officer confirmed that for him, negotiations “on Russia’s conditions” amount to capitulation, while the right “are the basis of the country’s security.”

How did this happen? How did Ukraine end up with a heavily armed, extremely vocal, and politically bossy far right? Apart from the West, its politicians, “experts,” and mainstream media, it was, of course, the Zelensky regime itself that fostered this Frankenstein force. And again, as Zelensky’s authoritarianism, this alliance-building between his regime and the far right clearly antedates the military escalation of 2022. From the cover-up of the Odessa Trade Union House massacre in 2014, via the normalization of “Azov,” to deploying neo-Nazis who had to flee Russia as auxiliaries, Zelensky has a sterling record of proactively teaming up with the far right. The collaboration is so intense, it is impossible to say where the regime ends and its far-right allies begin.
That is the bitter irony of Merezhko’s complaint: It is his boss and his regime who have sold out Ukraine not only to friends from hell in the West, but also to a domestic far right that was bad enough before Zelensky but has become a true monster of ambitions and capacities under him. We have heard much criticism of Russia’s war aim of “denazifying” Ukraine. But what if the real problem we should have paid attention to is how the Zelensky regime has done its best to nazify it?

 

[Wolf]

Excellent news.

Budanov says close to 11,000 North Korean troops in Russia, will be 'ready to fight' in Ukraine by Nov. 1

Ukraine's military intelligence head Kyrylo Budanov said the first group of 2,600 soldiers will be deployed to Russia's Kursk Oblast, where Ukraine began a cross-border incision in August and still holds significant swathes of territory.

kyivindependent.com

 

[Wolf]

The landmines from the internationally banned cluster bombs terrorist America supplied Zitler with?

Ukraine urges international support in landmine clearance efforts at Swiss conference

At the annual Ukraine Mine Action Conference in Switzerland, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal urged the international community to increase support for demining efforts, during his address on Oct. 17.

kyivindependent.com

 

[Professor]

The landmines from the internationally banned cluster bombs terrorist America supplied Zitler with?

Ukraine urges international support in landmine clearance efforts at Swiss conference

At the annual Ukraine Mine Action Conference in Switzerland, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal urged the international community to increase support for demining efforts, during his address on Oct. 17.

kyivindependent.com

But wait, is the War drawing to a close?
Could be mistaken but apparently Zitler has plans to launch new offensives at Russian cities with more Missiles, cluster bombs & mines.
That's a neat trick, to clean up now after the war and get shipshape with begged €35B &10,000 disposal personnel in Ukraine, but yet at the same time to launch more war for the win, at Russia

 

[Riker]

@Declan @SwordOfStZip

Enough.

You afraid to let my posts go though?

 

[Wolf]

Abandon ship!!!!!

Scholz shoots down Ukraine’s ‘victory plan’​

The German chancellor says Berlin won’t give Kiev long-range missiles or support its quick accession to NATO

Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz talks to journalists as he arrives to an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. © AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert


German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has poured cold water on Vladimir Zelensky’s ‘victory plan’, refusing to acquiesce to some of its key points. He argued that the EU has a responsibility to ensure that the conflict in Ukraine does not become a war between Russia and NATO.
On Wednesday, Zelensky presented his vision to the Ukrainian parliament, acknowledging that its success largely depends on Kiev’s Western backers. The plan consists of eight points, three of which are classified.
Among the publicly disclosed points are a demand that Ukraine be immediately admitted into NATO. Secondly, Kiev wants its Western backers to lift all restrictions on the use of long-range missiles, including strikes against targets deep inside Russia’s internationally recognized territory.
Speaking to reporters following the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, Scholz said that “Germany’s stance on the issues that are touched upon” in Zelensky’s plan remain the same. The chancellor added that it is his duty to prevent the Ukraine conflict from escalating into a full-blown war between NATO and Russia.
READ MORE: Zelensky plan ‘quickest way to world war’ – Orban’s top adviser
With respect to Ukraine’s repeated requests for German-made Taurus long-range missiles, Scholz reiterated that he did not “deem this the right supply – and this still holds.”
The German chancellor also put the brakes on Zelensky’s demand for fast-track NATO membership, pointing to the bloc’s July summit in Washington where proponents of quick membership were not able to convince skeptics, including the US and Germany.
According to Scholz, the general consensus reached at the gathering was merely that Ukraine was irreversibly on its way to full membership at some unspecified point in the future when certain conditions were met.
Earlier this month, the German media reported that Zelesnky had attempted to make Scholz change his mind during the Ukrainian leader’s European tour last week, but failed.
Commenting on Zelensky’s plan on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed it as a “set of incoherent slogans” and a “plan for the misfortune of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, for his part, called on the Ukrainian leadership to “sober up.”
Against this backdrop, a recently published survey by the British multinational oil and gas company Shell indicated that “fear of war in Europe” was the top concern (81%) of young Germans

 

[Riker]

@Declan @SwordOfStZip

Enough.

You afraid to let my posts go though?

Clearly the answer is yes.

 

[SwordOfStZip]

Clearly the answer is yes.

Neither of us is afraid.

 

[Mad as Fish]

@Declan @SwordOfStZip

Enough.

You afraid to let my posts go though?

What is there to be afraid of?

 

[AN2]

Clearly the answer is yes.

Poor Riker.

Free to post to his heart's content about Ukraine and Russia elsewhere but he quickly realised that no one there is capable of discussing, well, anything.

Although they did both try, put the effort in. One of them posted some banal geopolitical blab and the other a picture of a crying child amputee with a quote from John Lennon's Imagine

 

[Wolf]

What is there to be afraid of?

It's reverted to replying to its own posts.....again.....

 

[Mad as Fish]

It's reverted to replying to its own posts.....again.....

Talking to himself, guess he’s finally flipped. Soon He’ll be chewing a hole in the skirting board one moment and then the next he’ll be standing high on a chair shaking an imaginary mane and pretending he’s the king of the jungle.

Sad really.

 

[Wolf]

Any day now.
Probably within 2 weeks or something.

Russian ambassador accuses UK of waging proxy war in Ukraine

Andrei Kelin says by providing weapons Britain is ‘killing Russian soldiers and civilians’

www.theguardian.com

 

[AN2]

4,018

 

[AN2]

How can one person post four thousand and eighteen posts in one thread (a thread that I personally find as interesting as watching paint dry)

That's bizarre

 

[SwordOfStZip]

How can one person post four thousand and eighteen posts in one thread (a thread that I personally find as interesting as watching paint dry)

That's bizarre

Mod action- Let us not bait.

 

[Wolf]

Mod action- Let us not bait.

It wants to get sitebanned.....again.

 

[jpc]

How can one person post four thousand and eighteen posts in one thread (a thread that I personally find as interesting as watching paint dry)

That's bizarre

The fact you went to the trouble to find that out.
Pretty Bizarre don't you think.

 

[Wolf]

Yea, go for it lads, let's see how that works out for humanity.......
Fucking retards.

EU troops could be deployed to Ukraine – Politico​

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis has called on Brussels to revive the idea of putting boots on the ground in Ukraine

FILE PHOTO. © Getty Images / Elyxandro Cegarra; NurPhoto

The EU should return to the idea of putting boots on the ground in Ukraine, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis has argued in a statement to Politico.
The diplomat insisted that Brussels should revive talks about deploying EU forces in Ukraine in response to reports of North Korean ammunition and soldiers supposedly taking part in the hostilities on the side of Russia.
“If information about Russia’s killing squads being equipped with North Korean ammunition and military personnel is confirmed, we have to get back to ‘boots on the ground’ and other ideas proposed by Emmanuel Macron,” Landsbergis told the outlet.
Allegations of Pyongyang supplying soldiers and equipment to Russia were originally raised by Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky last week and have been seconded by South Korea. However, neither the US nor NATO has yet been able to confirm any of these reports, while Moscow has dismissed the speculations as a “bogus story.”
Meanwhile, Macron’s continued refusal to rule out the potential deployment of French troops to Ukraine has repeatedly been criticized by other EU leaders who have argued that such a move would lead to a serious escalation of the conflict.

Read more
NATO refuses to support Ukraine’s North Korea claims
At the same time, Brussels is reportedly considering the possibility of deploying peacekeepers to Ukraine after the conflict has ended, Politico has said. Washington’s former ambassador to Japan, Kenneth Weinstein, has told the outlet that such a move would show that the EU still has “skin in the game.”
“If there is going to be a DMZ [demilitarized zone] between Ukraine and Russia, my suggestion would be to have it manned by EU troops — not NATO troops, and not U.S. troops,” the former diplomat, who is now chairman to the Hudson Institute, a conservative DC-based think tank, told the outlet.
One EU lawmaker, who chose to remain anonymous, has also confirmed to Politico that the question of European peacekeepers in Ukraine “will come up” after the conflict is over.
Moscow has repeatedly warned against the deployment of Western forces to Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has stressed that such a move could lead to a “serious conflict in Europe and a global conflict.”

 

[Wolf]

The reality is dawning.

Why is Ukraine’s army facing a desertion crisis?

Thousands of men have abandoned their posts, blaming poor conditions on the front lines.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[Mad as Fish]

Yea, go for it lads, let's see how that works out for humanity.......
Fucking retards.

EU troops could be deployed to Ukraine – Politico​

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis has called on Brussels to revive the idea of putting boots on the ground in Ukraine

FILE PHOTO. © Getty Images / Elyxandro Cegarra; NurPhoto

The EU should return to the idea of putting boots on the ground in Ukraine, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis has argued in a statement to Politico.
The diplomat insisted that Brussels should revive talks about deploying EU forces in Ukraine in response to reports of North Korean ammunition and soldiers supposedly taking part in the hostilities on the side of Russia.
“If information about Russia’s killing squads being equipped with North Korean ammunition and military personnel is confirmed, we have to get back to ‘boots on the ground’ and other ideas proposed by Emmanuel Macron,” Landsbergis told the outlet.
Allegations of Pyongyang supplying soldiers and equipment to Russia were originally raised by Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky last week and have been seconded by South Korea. However, neither the US nor NATO has yet been able to confirm any of these reports, while Moscow has dismissed the speculations as a “bogus story.”
Meanwhile, Macron’s continued refusal to rule out the potential deployment of French troops to Ukraine has repeatedly been criticized by other EU leaders who have argued that such a move would lead to a serious escalation of the conflict.

Read more
NATO refuses to support Ukraine’s North Korea claims
At the same time, Brussels is reportedly considering the possibility of deploying peacekeepers to Ukraine after the conflict has ended, Politico has said. Washington’s former ambassador to Japan, Kenneth Weinstein, has told the outlet that such a move would show that the EU still has “skin in the game.”
“If there is going to be a DMZ [demilitarized zone] between Ukraine and Russia, my suggestion would be to have it manned by EU troops — not NATO troops, and not U.S. troops,” the former diplomat, who is now chairman to the Hudson Institute, a conservative DC-based think tank, told the outlet.
One EU lawmaker, who chose to remain anonymous, has also confirmed to Politico that the question of European peacekeepers in Ukraine “will come up” after the conflict is over.
Moscow has repeatedly warned against the deployment of Western forces to Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has stressed that such a move could lead to a “serious conflict in Europe and a global conflict.”

Sending EU troops only will legitimize the EU as a military power, way beyond its already grossly inflated remit.

 

[Wolf]

There really are some stupid and childlike psychopaths running the world.....on all sides.

South Korea mulls aiding Ukraine amid reports North Korea to assist Russia

Seoul signals its most proactive position towards arming Ukraine to date

www.theguardian.com

 

[Wolf]

Hmmmmm... What's Paddy up to now???

Paul Whelan says he passed information from Ukraine frontlines to US from Russian prison

Paul Whelan said in an interview on CBS that other prisoners serving in Ukraine passed him information on burner phones.

eu.usatoday.com

 

[Wolf]

Obviously!

‘I can do the same job as a man’: Ukraine’s first frontline female commander on war, grief – and her hope for the future

Yulia Mykytenko leads a platoon of men in a reconnaissance and attack unit – and has already lost her husband, father and many friends in the devastating war. In her memoir, she writes that she was always destined for combat

www.theguardian.com

 

[Wolf]

LOL's

Ukraine war briefing: Draft-dodging scandal sees Kyiv’s top prosecutor resign and officials sacked

Andriy Kostin forced out over rash of officials getting disabled status; North Korean soldiers ‘about to arrive in Kursk’. What we know on day 973

www.theguardian.com

 

[bormotello]

It looks that the current plan for Zelensky is to outnumber Russia by the number of victory plans presented per week

View: https://twitter.com/ukrainewarUP/status/1848992697203220487

 

[clarke-connolly]

It looks that the current plan for Zelensky is to outnumber Russia by the number of victory plans presented per week

View: https://twitter.com/ukrainewarUP/status/1848992697203220487

You'd think that One Victory Plan would be enough !

 

[Mad as Fish]

You'd think that One Victory Plan would be enough !

There is only one victory plan that matters, and that is Russia's.

 

[Esatdigiwank]

Taken from quora.com feed:

This is how prosperous Russia really is today.

“
Presidential Secretary Dmitry Peskov was recently asked what are Russia’s achievements in the last 20 years. He said, and I quote: “… … …”

Nothing. Nada.

You are probably all familiar with kremlebots’ playbook about how Putin pulled the country out of devastation wrought by “liberals” in the 1990s and brought prosperity to millions with his iron fist.

Let me present you with an alternative narrative that is gaining some very serious traction with Russian people. The list is much longer than can fit in this answer.

It took the Soviet Union only 16 years to send the first man into space after the end of World War II. In 20 years, Russia hasn’t learned to design its own computer, a machine tool, pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment and much more.

Local factories have been shut down, and giant Western groups like VW, Citroen, BMW, KIA., etc. have opened factories in their place with ownership, management and technology coming from overseas. The profits are split between the Western corporations, oligarchs and officials.

The national currency, the ruble, has jumped from 28.16 to 74.02 against USD with prices rising accordingly, while wages stagnated, as more money hasn’t been printed, possibly to avoid a runaway hyperinflation.

Pump price for gas rose by 483% (from 7.2 to 42). In case you didn't know, most of Russia’s revenues come from exporting crude oil.

The number of officials quintupled: from 485,566 to 2.4 million.

The population of Russia is roughly the same as 20 years ago, while millions of migrants have received citizenship in that period of time. At least 150,000 citizens, many of whom with excellent education and sellable skills, leave the country for good each year.

Russia spends more budget money on defence than on education and healthcare combined.

The number of hospitals fell by 50% (from 10,700 to 5,300). This actually points out to a logical conclusion that the population of Russia is much smaller than officially claimed.

The number of schools fell by 21% (from 68,100 to 41,349). This highlights the fact that most of the country has seen decline in population. People migrate to bigger cities and towns in search of work where they overwhelm the existing schools. The quality of education inevitably suffers.

At the same time, the number of Orthodox churches had doubled from 19,000 to 38,649, while the level of religiosity in the population hasn’t risen. Why are they building more churches, then? Because Russian Orthodox Church is a state corporation that exists for the sole objective of making its stakeholders and top management wealthy, which has been proven by photos and videos of high-flying lifestyle of thousands of priests.

According to just two polls: median salary is 15k/month or $200/month, and a third of the population don’t have enough money to buy footwear for all members of the family. When asked to comment, Putin claimed that 17k a month is a middle class salary.

At the same time, Russia is on the 3rd place in the world by the number of billionaires. The largest super-yachts and most expensive real estate in the world belong to Russian oligarchs.

Don’t listen to Kremlebots when they tell you Putin has built a country Russians want their children to live in. They don’t. They are just afraid to change things, because they are divided and there are three million law-enforcement officers, judges on the government payroll and hundreds of penal colonies from hell.

 

[Mad as Fish]

Taken from quora.com feed:

This is how prosperous Russia really is today.

“
Presidential Secretary Dmitry Peskov was recently asked what are Russia’s achievements in the last 20 years. He said, and I quote: “… … …”

Nothing. Nada.

You are probably all familiar with kremlebots’ playbook about how Putin pulled the country out of devastation wrought by “liberals” in the 1990s and brought prosperity to millions with his iron fist.

Let me present you with an alternative narrative that is gaining some very serious traction with Russian people. The list is much longer than can fit in this answer.

It took the Soviet Union only 16 years to send the first man into space after the end of World War II. In 20 years, Russia hasn’t learned to design its own computer, a machine tool, pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment and much more.

Local factories have been shut down, and giant Western groups like VW, Citroen, BMW, KIA., etc. have opened factories in their place with ownership, management and technology coming from overseas. The profits are split between the Western corporations, oligarchs and officials.

The national currency, the ruble, has jumped from 28.16 to 74.02 against USD with prices rising accordingly, while wages stagnated, as more money hasn’t been printed, possibly to avoid a runaway hyperinflation.

Pump price for gas rose by 483% (from 7.2 to 42). In case you didn't know, most of Russia’s revenues come from exporting crude oil.

The number of officials quintupled: from 485,566 to 2.4 million.

The population of Russia is roughly the same as 20 years ago, while millions of migrants have received citizenship in that period of time. At least 150,000 citizens, many of whom with excellent education and sellable skills, leave the country for good each year.

Russia spends more budget money on defence than on education and healthcare combined.

The number of hospitals fell by 50% (from 10,700 to 5,300). This actually points out to a logical conclusion that the population of Russia is much smaller than officially claimed.

The number of schools fell by 21% (from 68,100 to 41,349). This highlights the fact that most of the country has seen decline in population. People migrate to bigger cities and towns in search of work where they overwhelm the existing schools. The quality of education inevitably suffers.

At the same time, the number of Orthodox churches had doubled from 19,000 to 38,649, while the level of religiosity in the population hasn’t risen. Why are they building more churches, then? Because Russian Orthodox Church is a state corporation that exists for the sole objective of making its stakeholders and top management wealthy, which has been proven by photos and videos of high-flying lifestyle of thousands of priests.

According to just two polls: median salary is 15k/month or $200/month, and a third of the population don’t have enough money to buy footwear for all members of the family. When asked to comment, Putin claimed that 17k a month is a middle class salary.

At the same time, Russia is on the 3rd place in the world by the number of billionaires. The largest super-yachts and most expensive real estate in the world belong to Russian oligarchs.

Don’t listen to Kremlebots when they tell you Putin has built a country Russians want their children to live in. They don’t. They are just afraid to change things, because they are divided and there are three million law-enforcement officers, judges on the government payroll and hundreds of penal colonies from hell.

Not sure that the reduction in schools and hospitals is much of an indication of how things are. In the Soviet era towns and cities were built in the middle of nowhere to mine resources and support military bases. The mines and airfields have closed leaving many ghost towns in the wilderness, each with a number of hospitals and schools.

How does the multiplication of bureaucracy compare with that in the west?

 

[Wolf]

So what? Dirty Americans are on the ground in Ukraine.......

Pentagon believes North Korean troops are in Russia​

Pyongyang has previously rejected the accusation, while the Kremlin called reports on the matter “contradictory”

FILE PHOTO: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. © Sean Gallup / Getty Images


North Korean service members have arrived in Russia, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has claimed, adding, however, that Washington so far has no idea what their plans in the country are. Pyongyang previously rejected the accusation, while the Kremlin has pointed out the “contradictory information” on the issue.
Speaking to reporters in Rome on Wednesday, Austin said that “there is evidence of DPRK troops in Russia,” adding that “what exactly they’re doing is left to be seen.” According to the secretary, Washington is trying to obtain additional information about the alleged deployment.
However, he stressed that it would be a “serious issue” if North Korea intended “to participate in this war on Russia’s behalf.” Austin also would not say how many troops had allegedly arrived in the country, and where they were located.

Read more
North Korea calls Ukrainians ‘lunatics’
Last week, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky accused North Korea of having dispatched a military contingent to support Russian troops in the hostilities. On Monday, the same concerns were voiced by South Korea, which summoned the Russian ambassador to Seoul and “strongly called for the immediate withdrawal of North Korean troops and [to] stop relevant cooperation” with Pyongyang while threatening to “respond with every possible means” if this does not happen.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that North Korea is Russia’s “close neighbor… we are developing relations in all areas.” He added that the cooperation between the two “is our sovereign right, and no one should be worried, because cooperation is not directed against third countries… We see a lot of contradictory information,” he said, referring to Seoul’s accusations and the Pentagon’s claims that it was unable to confirm them at the time.
North Korea has dismissed claims it has sent troops to Russia as “groundless and stereotype rumors,” adding that the accusations were aimed at “smearing the image of the DPRK and undermining the legitimate friendly and cooperative relations between sovereign states.”

 

[jpc]

It looks that the current plan for Zelensky is to outnumber Russia by the number of victory plans presented per week

View: https://twitter.com/ukrainewarUP/status/1848992697203220487

Babylonbee.com would love that one!]

 

[Wolf]

The war is over, the skirmish will drag on for another few months and Ukraine will be carved up as required.

It's hardly making the news these days and hardly worth commenting on anymore.

What's the 'next current thing'? Jewland? Trump assassination? Another Scamdemic? Who knows........

Pentagon explains refusal to change missile rules for Ukraine​

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has defended the decision not to allow Kiev to make long-range strikes on Russia using US weapons

FILE PHOTO: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. © Alex Wong / Getty Images


The US should stick to its long-standing policy of not allowing Ukraine to launch long-range strikes deep into Russia as there are no longer any valid military targets within range, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said.
In an interview with Fox News released on Tuesday, Austin was asked why the administration of US President Joe Biden consistently rejects Vladimir Zelensky’s requests to lift the restrictions on firing ATACMS missiles, which have a range of about 300km, at targets on Russian soil.
Austin explained that “the Russians have already moved their aircraft beyond the range of ATACMS.” He added that Ukraine is now capable of producing its own drones, which can strike targets at a range of 400km or more.
Lifting Western restrictions on the use of foreign-made long-range weapons along with an invitation to immediately join NATO are two of the key demands of Zelensky’s ‘victory plan.’ Moscow has dismissed Kiev’s proposal as a “set of incoherent slogans” intended to push “NATO members towards a direct conflict” with Russia.
READ MORE: ‘No consensus’ on Ukraine missiles – Biden
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned Western countries against allowing Ukraine to use their long-range weapons to strike Russia, noting that this could lead to a direct confrontation and possible nuclear war. He argued that Kiev would be unable to carry out such attacks on its own because such strikes rely on targeting data provided by NATO.
He has also ordered the country’s nuclear doctrine to be updated to treat “aggression against Russia by any non-nuclear state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear state” as a “joint attack.” Such an act of aggression would now be considered grounds for the use of nuclear weapons.
The New York Times also reported in September that US spies believed that if Washington were to reverse its policy on long-range strikes, Moscow could unleash harsh retaliation, including “sabotage targeting facilities in Europe” and “potentially lethal attacks on US and European military bases.”

 

[bormotello]

Taken from quora.com feed:

Lies as usual

This is how prosperous Russia really is today.

“
Presidential Secretary Dmitry Peskov was recently asked what are Russia’s achievements in the last 20 years. He said, and I quote: “… … …”
Nothing. Nada.

5 years ago is not recently
A lot of changed since then

You are probably all familiar with kremlebots’ playbook about how Putin pulled the country out of devastation wrought by “liberals” in the 1990s and brought prosperity to millions with his iron fist.
Let me present you with an alternative narrative that is gaining some very serious traction with Russian people. The list is much longer than can fit in this answer.
It took the Soviet Union only 16 years to send the first man into space after the end of World War II. In 20 years, Russia hasn’t learned to design its own computer, a machine tool, pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment and much more.

BS
Russia designed own CPU architectures like Elbrus and Baikal, but they been manufactured in TSMC
Now Russia have to wait until China will become independent from ASML and buy thier equpment
There is a huge progress made in making own achine tool, pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment and much more

Local factories have been shut down, and giant Western groups like VW, Citroen, BMW, KIA., etc. have opened factories in their place with ownership, management and technology coming from overseas. The profits are split between the Western corporations, oligarchs and officials.

Russian market lost forever for western car makers
Top Chinese brands like Geely, Cherry can offer the same quality as korean and french car makers, but for much lower price

The national currency, the ruble, has jumped from 28.16 to 74.02 against USD with prices rising accordingly, while wages stagnated, as more money hasn’t been printed, possibly to avoid a runaway hyperinflation.

now iPhone cost 6 times more, but average food basket only 20% more

Pump price for gas rose by 483% (from 7.2 to 42). In case you didn't know, most of Russia’s revenues come from exporting crude oil.

Are you saying that taxing petrol is a bad idea?

The number of officials quintupled: from 485,566 to 2.4 million.

lie again
in 1994 it was one million state workers, in 2024 it is 1.3 million
30% increase for massive improvements of services

The population of Russia is roughly the same as 20 years ago, while millions of migrants have received citizenship in that period of time. At least 150,000 citizens, many of whom with excellent education and sellable skills, leave the country for good each year.

It was debunked long time ago because the most popular destinations were Central Asiia countries

The number of hospitals fell by 50% (from 10,700 to 5,300). This actually points out to a logical conclusion that the population of Russia is much smaller than officially claimed.
The number of schools fell by 21% (from 68,100 to 41,349). This highlights the fact that most of the country has seen decline in population. People migrate to bigger cities and towns in search of work where they overwhelm the existing schools. The quality of education inevitably suffers.

it called optimization
in district where I was growing were 2 schools, now they are combined into one, and extra building built
50% increase in capacity for half school number

At the same time, the number of Orthodox churches had doubled from 19,000 to 38,649, while the level of religiosity in the population hasn’t risen. Why are they building more churches, then? Because Russian Orthodox Church is a state corporation that exists for the sole objective of making its stakeholders and top management wealthy, which has been proven by photos and videos of high-flying lifestyle of thousands of priests.

People are restoring abandoned old churches without any state funding
you cannot imagine how many such churches were left in Russia after Bolsheviks

According to just two polls: median salary is 15k/month or $200/month, and a third of the population don’t have enough money to buy footwear for all members of the family. When asked to comment, Putin claimed that 17k a month is a middle class salary.

it was long time ago

At the same time, Russia is on the 3rd place in the world by the number of billionaires. The largest super-yachts and most expensive real estate in the world belong to Russian oligarchs.

It was a smart move to start a war against Nazis in ukraine, and now USA have to chase Russian billionaires and their stolen money

Don’t listen to Kremlebots when they tell you Putin has built a country Russians want their children to live in. They don’t. They are just afraid to change things, because they are divided and there are three million law-enforcement officers, judges on the government payroll and hundreds of penal colonies from hell.

LOL
"Don't listen to ..." mean usually means that there are no facts, only lies