yupididit said:In reply to stroker :
Yes but why?
To get you to break OPSEC.
Russian agents are everywhere on the internet. /s
yupididit said:In reply to stroker :
Yes but why?
To get you to break OPSEC.
Russian agents are everywhere on the internet. /s
FIFA and UEFA have banned all Russian soccer clubs and national teams from international competitions. You know how bad you have to berkeley up for FIFA to do anything? Holy crap.
A few more details about the talks
The Drive also claims EU is sending jets, we are sending soldier-held arms, and that Ukraine is being resupplied with air-air missiles.
Zelensky to US: I need ammunition, not a ride.
US: Oh, hai!
https://www.reddit.com/r/flightradar24/comments/t1o80m/knock_knock_its_the_united_states_six_boeing_c17a/
More on the business front-BP already divested from Gazprom (Russian state oil and gas company) and now Shell has done the same. Gazprom will lose financing and technical expertise and this will put additional pressure on other companies (Exon, etc) to follow suit.
tuna55 said:If real:
If that's even remotely true... Nothing will change in Russia. Not because people don't want it but look at Belarus, if the people can't win in Belarus they don't stand a chance against the FSB (or whoever) with orders to keep the war machine rolling. Shoot, when there's a war on our own history (academic mention, not political) isn't all that stellar when it comes to dissent.
U.S. sees "no reason to change" nuclear alert levels at this time -White House
Russia: "Bro I'm gonna kick your ass. "
USA: "Yea, ok."
Last one and I swear I need to do this bathroom remodel.
Switzerland has frozen Russian assets, including those of Putin and 367 others sanctioned by the EU.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/28/world/europe/switzerland-russian-assets-freeze.html
CrustyRedXpress said:Last one and I swear I need to do this bathroom remodel.
Switzerland has frozen Russian assets, including those of Putin and 367 others sanctioned by the EU.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/28/world/europe/switzerland-russian-assets-freeze.html
Oh man, that is huge. Switzerland's whole existence is based on complete and utter look-the-other-way neutrality, especially in finance.
tuna55 said:Zelensky to US: I need ammunition, not a ride.
US: Oh, hai!
https://www.reddit.com/r/flightradar24/comments/t1o80m/knock_knock_its_the_united_states_six_boeing_c17a/
To be clear, this Reddit post is from Friday.
Javelin said:CrustyRedXpress said:Last one and I swear I need to do this bathroom remodel.
Switzerland has frozen Russian assets, including those of Putin and 367 others sanctioned by the EU.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/28/world/europe/switzerland-russian-assets-freeze.html
Oh man, that is huge. Switzerland's whole existence is based on complete and utter look-the-other-way neutrality, especially in finance.
Switzerland is no longer neutral and the Taliban has asked for peace.
You know you've screwed up when you piss off both of them for the same action.
Zelenskyy urges EU to grant Ukraine 'immediate membership'
So has this become a miscalculation by Russia? and I wonder where Belarus is going to end up at the end of this....truly shocked about Switzerland, this probably has a lot of people twitchy about moving there money out.
tuna55 said:If real:
As part of that speech the Ukrainian ambassador also told Putin that if he wants to kill himself he doesn't have to start a nuclear war, he can just do what was done in a bunker in Berlin, May of 1945
Mr_Asa said:tuna55 said:If real:
As part of that speech the Ukrainian ambassador also told Putin that if he wants to kill himself he doesn't have to start a nuclear war, he can just do what was done in a bunker in Berlin, May of 1945
Love that. The balls of these people.
Russian Warship, Go Berkeley Yourself said:tuna55 said:Zelensky to US: I need ammunition, not a ride.
US: Oh, hai!
https://www.reddit.com/r/flightradar24/comments/t1o80m/knock_knock_its_the_united_states_six_boeing_c17a/To be clear, this Reddit post is from Friday.
Sure is, but it still is neat, and I figured it was worth the note. Hopefully that just means that they've had a chance to get it where it is needed.
Part of the challenge previously was that NATO was NOT inclined to grant membership to states in turmoil. It was long thought that the Annexation of Crimea and the potential annexation of The Donbas would exclude Ukraine from NATO. Basically, NATO wants its members to be politically and socially stable.
Russia then had incentives to keep Ukraine in limbo.
If NATO changes its policies towards potential applicants, it could grant Ukraine membership quite quickly.
pheller said:
U.S. sees "no reason to change" nuclear alert levels at this time -White House
Russia: "Bro I'm gonna kick your ass. "
USA: "Yea, ok."
And yet the media says the US is changing it, claiming in response...
Oh, well.
Recent developments in Belarus are interesting. First, the talks between Ukraine and Russia have ended inconclusively, but indications are that more talks are planned. Both sides are publicly taking hard lines, and there's a lot of daylight between them. Public positions are not, however, always indicative of what's actually possible. A deal behind closed doors that allows Putin to publicly appear to have delivered something (most likely Ukrainian neutralization and exclusion from NATO), while also securing Ukraine's western orientation and defensive capabilities (as seen in Finland, perhaps), is the combination most likely to yield an actual agreement.
There have been large demonstrations in Belarus against Russia. Police seem to be present but in small numbers, and protesters do not seem dissuaded. The longer this goes on, the more Lukashenko is going to have to be concerned about getting caught in a domestic situation he cannot control. Russia will certainly encourage him to use every possible asset to squash protests, but is in no position to help, which is a nasty spot for Lukashenko - unable to please either Belorussian protestors or his Russian masters.
There are also some reports that Belarus intends to commit troops in western Ukraine, in all likelihood to attempt to close off ground access to supply routes from the west. If true, one has to wonder about Lukashenko's frame of mind, knowing that he is committing troops to a very unfavorable situation, and further inflaming domestic discontent - Putin must be doing some serious arm-twisting, and probably promising the world at the same time. Operationally, however, success here would be a significant obstacle to getting all that Western aid (that is surely piling up somewhere) into the active AOs, or indeed into Ukraine at all. Ukraine will be all too aware of this threat, and I'm sure provisions are being made to hinder movement from the north.
02Pilot said:Putin to publicly appear to have delivered something (most likely Ukrainian neutralization and exclusion from NATO), while also securing Ukraine's western orientation and defensive capabilities (as seen in Finland, perhaps), is the combination most likely to yield an actual agreement.
It would seem the last week has proven that Ukraine has The EU and to some degree NATO, on speed dial. And, it has been proven that they will in fact answer the phone when they call.
Could this be enough? Does this allow Ukraine to remain neutral and "not in NATO" yet leave Ukraine with enough comfort that "they are not alone."
EU agrees to finance arms delivery to Ukraine
The European Union agreed for the first time to jointly finance weapons deliveries to a third country to help Ukraine fend off the Russian invasion, EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell said.
A number of European countries including Norway, Italy and Finland have announced they will provide arms to Ukraine.
Moscow warns against supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine
Russia’s foreign ministry has said those supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine will bear responsibility should they be used during Russia’s military campaign there.
The ministry added that the steps the European Union has taken against Russia will not be left without a harsh response.
93EXCivic said:In reply to tuna55 :
Yes. This is a seriously dangerous position for the world and much rests on the mental state of Putin.
Two things I would point out, British and US intelligence seems to have a very good idea of what is happening in the Kremlin. While many of us said war wouldn't happen, they seemed fairly sure of it. They did originally miss the first date but they nailed the day and time it actually happened.
The main thing they seemed to have missed was they thought Putin was planning to bother with a pretext for a war instead of deciding "I'm berkleying Putin and I don't need a pretext."
John Welsh said:EU agrees to finance arms delivery to Ukraine
The European Union agreed for the first time to jointly finance weapons deliveries to a third country to help Ukraine fend off the Russian invasion, EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell said.
A number of European countries including Norway, Italy and Finland have announced they will provide arms to Ukraine.
Moscow warns against supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine
Russia’s foreign ministry has said those supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine will bear responsibility should they be used during Russia’s military campaign there.
The ministry added that the steps the European Union has taken against Russia will not be left without a harsh response.
Love that last line. A country that's running out of fuel, having its tanks stolen by gypsies, towed by farmers, taunted by little old ladies, and they are going to start a land war with the entirety of Europe? If not nuclear, then it's a joke.
I wonder seriously how many people in the nuclear chain of command will be ready or willing to do so if commanded.
MadScientistMatt said:93EXCivic said:In reply to tuna55 :
Yes. This is a seriously dangerous position for the world and much rests on the mental state of Putin.
Two things I would point out, British and US intelligence seems to have a very good idea of what is happening in the Kremlin. While many of us said war wouldn't happen, they seemed fairly sure of it. They did originally miss the first date but they nailed the day and time it actually happened.
The main thing they seemed to have missed was they thought Putin was planning to bother with a pretext for a war instead of deciding "I'm berkleying Putin and I don't need a pretext."
I wonder if the faked video the US warned of was supposed to show the genocide Putin claims to be preventing, which he now simply claims is happening with zero evidence.
02Pilot said:Recent developments in Belarus are interesting. First, the talks between Ukraine and Russia have ended inconclusively, but indications are that more talks are planned. Both sides are publicly taking hard lines, and there's a lot of daylight between them. Public positions are not, however, always indicative of what's actually possible. A deal behind closed doors that allows Putin to publicly appear to have delivered something (most likely Ukrainian neutralization and exclusion from NATO), while also securing Ukraine's western orientation and defensive capabilities (as seen in Finland, perhaps), is the combination most likely to yield an actual agreement.
There have been large demonstrations in Belarus against Russia. Police seem to be present but in small numbers, and protesters do not seem dissuaded. The longer this goes on, the more Lukashenko is going to have to be concerned about getting caught in a domestic situation he cannot control. Russia will certainly encourage him to use every possible asset to squash protests, but is in no position to help, which is a nasty spot for Lukashenko - unable to please either Belorussian protestors or his Russian masters.
There are also some reports that Belarus intends to commit troops in western Ukraine, in all likelihood to attempt to close off ground access to supply routes from the west. If true, one has to wonder about Lukashenko's frame of mind, knowing that he is committing troops to a very unfavorable situation, and further inflaming domestic discontent - Putin must be doing some serious arm-twisting, and probably promising the world at the same time. Operationally, however, success here would be a significant obstacle to getting all that Western aid (that is surely piling up somewhere) into the active AOs, or indeed into Ukraine at all. Ukraine will be all too aware of this threat, and I'm sure provisions are being made to hinder movement from the north.
How much "uncontrollable protesting" in Belarus and in Russia is tolerable before regime change from within? Serious question.
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