Ukraine war mega thread

[Cujo]

Putin is now demanding payment for gas be made in rubles.

[HermantheGerman]

"Hitler only fought conventional wars"
Address that one, Herman
There you have it and feel free to comment on Bsubs "well vetted knowledge into millitary history".

I wish I could, but I can't keep up with the daily BS your "buddy" Backspin alias Skidmark is posting.

I like nuances and despise your chorus of scrimp peeler hysterics.

Well, at least you haven't lost your sense of humour

[HermantheGerman]

Putin is now demanding payment for gas be made in rubles.

Putin also wants us to suck his co*k.
The three stooges are doing it for free....even before the war began.

[HermantheGerman]

Melania Trump condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Attachment 84530

Another Azov Nazi

Sabang please investigate

[David48atTD]

Putin is now demanding payment for gas be made in rubles.

Could one of TD's Big Brains please explain the advantage of Russia being paid in Rubles, when the Country appears to have a dearth of foreign currency reserves and has numerous USD/Euro denominated bond coupons to repay?

[bsnub]

I have come across many pseudo-intellectuals like yourself in my day. Many turtleneck wearing, pipe clutching half dusted on cheap wine attempting to come off as the next Nobel Prize winner.

Your position is one of utter failure. You have consistently got things wrong because you are reaching for something that is not there.

Care to stand by your comments that Russia would never invade, even when 200k troops were massed at the border in the dead of winter?

Do to your own idiocy you have boxed yourself in with two other lemmings on here, especially the idiot posting above you. Yet, you claim to be standing on the intellectual high ground.

[nidhogg]

Could one of TD's Big Brains please explain the advantage of Russia being paid in Rubles, when the Country appears to have a dearth of foreign currency reserves and has numerous USD/Euro denominated bond coupons to repay?

I do not claim to be a big brain (especially not in this area), but my guess is it means that people have to buy rubles to be able to pay in rubles. That creates demand for rubles, and pushes the value up.

I think.

[bsnub]

Sanbang?

[David48atTD]

^^ Thanks Nid ... I can't refute the theory, could be plausible.

[Cujo]

Could one of TD's Big Brains please explain the advantage of Russia being paid in Rubles, when the Country appears to have a dearth of foreign currency reserves and has numerous USD/Euro denominated bond coupons to repay?

I should have posted the article but it's a pain in the butt on the phone.
It's strengthened the ruble against the dollar apparently but I think the real reason is just to piss off and inconvenience some European countries.

[bsnub]

I am going to need a cleanup tonight. I am just glad this pace is up

[David48atTD]

I should have posted the article but it's a pain in the butt on the phone.
It's strengthened the ruble against the dollar apparently but I think the real reason is just to piss off and inconvenience some European countries.

LONDON, March 23 (Reuters) - Russia will seek payment in roubles for gas sold to "unfriendly" countries, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday, and European gas prices soared on concerns the move would exacerbate the region's energy crunch.

European nations and the United States have imposed heavy sanctions on Russia since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.
But Europe depends heavily on Russian gas for heating and power generation, and the European Union is split on whether to sanction Russia's energy sector.

Putin's message was clear: If you want our gas, buy our currency.

It remained unclear whether Russia has the power to unilaterally change existing contracts agreed upon in euros.

The rouble briefly leapt after the shock announcement to a three-week high past 95 against the dollar.

It pared gains but stayed well below 100, closing at 97.7 against the dollar, down more than 22% since Feb. 24.

Putin wants '''unfriendly''' countries to pay for Russian gas in roubles | Reuters

[David48atTD]

I am going to need a cleanup tonight. I am just glad this pace is up

He i down in the juggs

Snubbs, R U OK Mate?

Time to crack a tinnie and chill Bro

[Cujo]

It remained unclear whether Russia has the power to unilaterally change existing contracts agreed upon in euros.

I think he can and will do just what the fuck he wants regardless.
What are they going to do? Sue him?
(at this many Americans will be saying "damn right").

[sabang]

by Walt Zlotow Posted onMarch 23, 2022

Just yesterday the U.S. reiterated its stance it is not seeking to promote a negotiated truce between Ukraine and Russia that could end their month long war. It also re-stated that the best help in can provide is to flood more weaponry into the war zone.


That is even dumber than the dumb US policy since 2008 of dangling NATO membership to Ukraine, supporting a coup to topple the Russian leaning elected Ukraine president, then arming and training the new ultra nationalist government to fight the civil war ignited by that US coup. Over 13,000 have been killed in the Donbass, mostly Russian speaking Ukrainians, in the 8 years since.

So while Russia’s war is illegal, immoral and criminal, dumb US policies played a major provocation. Poke the beehive long enough, the bees will eventually attack.

But once the war started, US policy got even dumber, if that was at all possible. Ukraine has no chance of prevailing militarily to drive out Russian forces. Based on their widely regarded poor performance, Russia will likely get bogged down in a Vietnam style insurgency that will bleed Russia endlessly.

Those are precisely conditions that make a negotiated settlement possible, and the 2 sides have been talking daily in Turkey brokered peace talks. But rather than praise Turkey’s efforts, the US and the rest of NATO prefer MALT (More Arms, Less Talk). That may weaken Russia in the long term, but in the short term it will pile up more dead Ukrainians and more demolished Ukraine buildings.

Dumb in Dumber in the movies was a comedy. US Dumb and Dumber in Ukraine is a tragedy.

US Policy in Ukraine Dumb and Dumber - Antiwar.com Blog


But it isn't so dumb is it, if you are working for or representing the MI complex.

[David48atTD]

Putin unrepentant

Despite making limited progress in his invasion so far, Putin appears undeterred.
Russian forces are now believed to be conducting a period of reorganization before resuming large-scale offensive operations on and around Kyiv.

Taras Kuzio, a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, wrote in an article for the Atlantic Council on Tuesday that it is “increasingly obvious that Russian President Vladimir Putin has badly miscalculated.”

’He appears to have sincerely believed Kremlin propaganda fairytales about the weakness of the Ukrainian military and the readiness of ordinary Ukrainians to welcome his invading troops with cakes and flowers,” Kuzio said, stating that Putin had drunk the Kremlin “kool-aid.”

Putin'''s invasion of Ukraine is his biggest mistake and weakens Russia

[David48atTD]

^ Further ...

In addition, Putin seems to have been unprepared for the ferocity of the international response or for the scale of domestic opposition to his invasion, Kuzio noted.

“Thanks to these catastrophic miscalculations, Putin now finds himself with no good options to end a war that is threatening to accelerate Russia’s geopolitical decline as a great power.”

[harrybarracuda]

Could one of TD's Big Brains please explain the advantage of Russia being paid in Rubles, when the Country appears to have a dearth of foreign currency reserves and has numerous USD/Euro denominated bond coupons to repay?

Desperation and Puffy Putin throwing his toys out of the pram.

[kingwilly]

Could one of TD's Big Brains please explain the advantage of Russia being paid in Rubles, when the Country appears to have a dearth of foreign currency reserves and has numerous USD/Euro denominated bond coupons to repay?

Because Germany will need to buy Rubles first.

[Backspin]

Official Ukraine MOD uses Arma 3 video game footage again of alleged evidence of Russian helicopter losses

[Backspin]

^ Further ...

In addition, Putin seems to have been unprepared for the ferocity of the international response or for the scale of domestic opposition to his invasion, Kuzio noted.

“Thanks to these catastrophic miscalculations, Putin now finds himself with no good options to end a war that is threatening to accelerate Russia’s geopolitical decline as a great power.”

The US or Europe isn't prepared for an economic war of attrition evidently.

How many forum members live on continental Europe? Now your gas bill will get converted directly to Russian Rubles.

[Backspin]

LONDON, March 23 (Reuters) - Russia will seek payment in roubles for gas sold to "unfriendly" countries, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday, and European gas prices soared on concerns the move would exacerbate the region's energy crunch.

European nations and the United States have imposed heavy sanctions on Russia since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.
But Europe depends heavily on Russian gas for heating and power generation, and the European Union is split on whether to sanction Russia's energy sector.

Putin's message was clear: If you want our gas, buy our currency.

It remained unclear whether Russia has the power to unilaterally change existing contracts agreed upon in euros.

The rouble briefly leapt after the shock announcement to a three-week high past 95 against the dollar.

It pared gains but stayed well below 100, closing at 97.7 against the dollar, down more than 22% since Feb. 24.

Putin wants '''unfriendly''' countries to pay for Russian gas in roubles | Reuters

Not so fast Sabang. Seems you are conceding this fantasy that Russia is bogged down. Let's ask the Pentagon

Pentagon Drops Truth Bombs to Stave Off War With Russia – Consortium News


Two leaked stories from the Pentagon have exposed the lies of mainstream media about how Russia is conducting the Ukraine war in a bid to counter propaganda intended to get NATO into the conflict, writes Joe Lauria.

Meanwhile, Western corporate media, depending almost exclusively on Ukrainian sources, report that Russia is losing the war, with its military offensive “stalled,” and in frustration has deliberately targeted civilians and flattened cities.

Biden has bought into this part of the story, calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal.” He has also said that Russia is planning a “false flag” chemical attack to pin on Ukraine.

But on Tuesday, the Pentagon took the bold step of leaking two stories to reporters that contradict those tales. “Russia’s conduct in the brutal war tells a different story than the widely accepted view that Vladimir Putin is intent on demolishing Ukraine and inflicting maximum civilian damage—and it reveals the Russian leader’s strategic balancing act,” reported Newsweek in an article entitled, “Putin’s Bombers Could Devastate Ukraine But He’s Holding Back. Here’s Why.”

The piece quotes an unnamed analyst at the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) saying, “The heart of Kyiv has barely been touched. And almost all of the long-range strikes have been aimed at military targets.”

A retired U.S. Air Force officer now working as an analyst for a Pentagon contractor, added: “We need to understand Russia’s actual conduct. If we merely convince ourselves that Russia is bombing indiscriminately, or [that] it is failing to inflict more harm because its personnel are not up to the task or because it is technically inept, then we are not seeing the real conflict.”

The article says:

“As of the past weekend, in 24 days of conflict, Russia has flown some 1,400 strike sorties and delivered almost 1,000 missiles (by contrast, the United States flew more sorties and delivered more weapons in the first day of the 2003 Iraq war). …

These Pentagon sources confirm what Putin and the Russian Ministry of Defense have been saying all along: that instead of being “stalled,” Russia is executing a methodical war plan to encircle cities, opening humanitarian corridors for civilians, leaving civilian infrastructure like water, electricity, telephony and internet intact, and trying to avoid as many civilian casualties as possible.

[David48atTD]

^ Who is Consortium News?

Overview

Ad Fontes Media rates Consortium News in the Hyper-Partisan Left category of bias and as Mixed Reliability/Opinion OR Other Issues in terms of reliability.

Consortium News was launched in 1995 as the first investigative news magazine based on the Internet.

The founder, journalist Robert Parry, was dedicated to breaking the pattern of “silliness and propaganda” that he saw in American journalism.

Consortium News Bias and Reliability - Ad Fontes Media

backspin ... you are

[sabang]

Not so fast Sabang.

And then you quote D48.

I don't know what the 'real' (as in unpropagandized) situation is on the ground mate. From my POV, I question why Russia has such a large column dedicated to Kiev, when it has yet to fully take Mariupol. Mariupol is critical to the Donbas Republics- Kiev is not.

I am sure though that the US wants Russia to get bogged down in Ukraine, basically a repeat of the Afghanistan scenario. This drains Russia of financial (and human) resources, keeps energy prices high, and makes a nervous Europe buy more of their munitions- so no real cost to the US, not even any real skin in the game. The cost of this is mainly borne by the European nations, and Ukrainian lives. I think it would be dumb of Russia to fall for this. Europe too, but they appear to have no real independence from US hegemony.


^ Consortium news is a good source, quality journalism. They are not just a bulletin board aggregating other writers content, as many of these Alt sites are.

[sabang]

Strange really- the Pentagon and Conservative America (eg Fox) are being the sensible parties here. State Dept, MSM, and much of Congress are being the liars, spin merchants, and war hawks. None of whom know war at all, only spin. Lionizing that scoundrel Zelensky- what a joke.