Russia & Ukraine

While the aggression that led to the sanctions continues, there can be no question of ending sanctions. Fault needs to be admitted and the damage caused to Ukraine has to be compensated.

There is no way sanctions can be removed before that happens.

I predict a long and extremely hard period for Russia. Most thinking people in Russia understand that. I see reports in Russian socials that there is a huge flood of people trying to get out. Many entrepreneurs, IT people and other professionals who see no future in Russia are getting out by any means possible. Georgia and Armenia are overwhelmed with such people right now (because they are the easiest destination). Last I heard a ticket from St Petersburg to Helsinki on a train was going for 9000 euros.

Russian government is stuck. Withdrawing troops, admitting fault and paying damages is hugely humiliating. They cannot do that and survive.

Withdrawing troops without the other two parts will just leave the sanctions in place. Ukraine will be rebuilt and Russia will sink deep into an economic crisis, a rogue pariah state no one wants to deal with. Contrasting rebuilt Ukraine and Russia will create an ideological nightmare for the government.

Not withdrawing - occupying Ukraine - is even worse. 44 million people who hate your guts require 1-2 million soldiers to occupy, which Russia simply doesn't have and enormous financial resources which Russia has even less. Add to that the pressure of a few dozen soldiers killed every day...

There is no off-ramp. And they created this themselves. Truly when God intends to destroy you, first he takes away your brain.

The best people leaving Russia will only add to her woes, possibly creating a dangerous situation, perhaps not unlike Germany after WW I. I wonder if Putin were to step down and be constitutionally prohibited from holding any position of power if the West would go easier on Russia and her people? Remember, it is not just Russia who suffers from sanctions.
 
I wonder if Putin were to step down and be constitutionally prohibited from holding any position of power if the West would go easier on Russia and her people?
I am sure it would be a step in the right direction. Combined obviously with the withdrawal of troops, apologizing and paying damages. It would actually be easier to sell it internally that way since Putin and a few more people could be blamed for everything. But it won't happen.
 

It took a while. But I think people finally understand media companies are the only true Gods. Google shall become Goddle.com. Facebook shall be herein called Face-the-book, as in the good book. Instagram will now be known as I-Satan-Ram. Twitter will be worshiped as Twitter.

The demons known as CNN and Fox shall be consulted and respected every day of the week and twice on Sundays. The saints, known as advertisers, shall have our rapt attention always, while the clergy, also known as big business, shall be always well tithed.
 
The only thing I would say is I wouldn’t count out lifting of some sanctions as part of a brokered peace deal.

And that is not a bad thing. When you do a tough deal you need to have lots of areas where you can yield or sweeten the pot as long as you get your main objectives. Vlad has sort of complicated landscape he has deal with. There are some things where only he and Ukraine can decide what they are willing to live with. On the other hand, he has lots of issues that are for other countries, the eu and nato to decide. Example, he may extract an agreement from Ukraine on applying for Nato membership and that is up to them. However, Vlad also want an agreement that there will be no new nato members anywhere in the region or on his border- such as Finland, Sweden. Nope. Not for him to decide or as part of his Ukraine settlement. And Vlad may extract an agreement from Ukraine on Nato but Ukranians are still going to want to be an EU member and Vlad hates the Ukraine's pro-western leaning more than the Nato. Putin says he wants guaranteed "neutrality" by Ukraine but what does that mean? He pretends that he is just talking military matters but he uses words that sound like he wants guarantees that Ukraine is not pro-western any more than pro-Russian. Yeh. good luck with that. The events of the last couple weeks have- let us just say- reduced their interest in all matters Russian to exactly ZERO or less unless it involves killing them.

What a mess. But if we/Ukraine can get agreement on the big issues, then I would give him some shiite to sweeten the pot- especially if it helped us too. And if we don't want to, I would do that too. Sick of this bullshiite about how we can't do this or that because Putin will get mad. Probably going to have to kill quite a few more Russians to get into a good bargaining position. Hopefully that can be arranged. Certainly going to lose a lot more Ukrainians.
 
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Forgeard: "What do you see happening next then? 'Cause it seems like the tensions are high. How does this all end? Is this going to be like a long-term thing? How do you see it unfolding?

Trump: "Well, and I said this a long time ago, if this happens, we are playing right into their hands. Green energy. The windmills. They don't work. They're too expensive. They kill all the birds. They ruin your landscapes. And yet the environmentalists love the windmills. And I've been preaching this for years. The windmills. And I had them way down. But the windmills are the most expensive energy you can have. And they don't work. And by the way, they last a period of 10 years and by the time they start rusting and rotting all over the place, nobody ever takes them down. They just go on to the next piece of prairie or land and destroy that."

This is not a joke. That is actually what he said.

 
Wow, an actual Russian troll farm actor in our midst, didn't think they would bother with us traders...

dude i hope al those nazis will be sorted out,every one of those mofos , swastika anything like that.if this makes me Russian troll so be it i have no problem with it


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