Ukraine 4

[mountaineer]

What has who gotten for our 40 billion?  Anybody know?

No idea.

[Bigun]

No idea.

I'm pretty darned sure you are not alone @mountaineer I have no clue. Well, upon reflection perhaps a few clues.

[PeteS in CA]

For what it's worth...

Lukashenko: Putin wanted to kill Prigozhin but I talked him out of it

https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2023/06/27/lukashenko-putin-wanted-to-kill-prigozhin-but-i-talked-him-out-of-it-n561125

Trotsky was deported in 1929 and assassinated in 1940. Stalin could wait, so might Putin.

[Kamaji]

Trotsky was deported in 1929 and assassinated in 1940. Stalin could wait, so might Putin.

I used to think that, but then he went and intemperately invaded Ukraine when, with just a bit more patience, Russia could have been invited in, under the auspices of the U.N., as a peacekeeping mission in Eastern Ukraine.  That is what I thought the game plan was when he moved all those forces to the border and then had them sit there for months on end.

I know longer think he has the patience of a Stalin.

[mountaineer]

Trotsky was deported in 1929 and assassinated in 1940. Stalin could wait, so might Putin.

Apparently, Putin admires - or, at least, emulates to some extent - Stalin, so it's possible.

[Bigun]

Apparently, Putin admires - or, at least, emulates to some extent - Stalin, so it's possible.

Lenin and Stalin had plenty of USA admirers as well as aid. (Reading from NY Times archives can be VERY instructive.)

[sneakypete]

What has who gotten for our 40 billion?  Anybody know?

@Bigun

The Great Soviet Bear turned into a puppy on a leash.

Compared to all the money  we have spent preparing ourselves to fight off a possible attack by the Soviets,it seems like a bargain to me.

[Bigun]

@Bigun

The Great Soviet Bear turned into a puppy on a leash.

Compared to all the money  we have spent preparing ourselves to fight off a possible attack by the Soviets,it seems like a bargain to me.

LOL! What WE have gotten is yet another big dent in the public treasury @sneakypete . What the Bidens, Romneys and who knows who else have gotten is yet another pipeline into our collective pocketbook!

[bigheadfred]

I don't think Putin will kill the Prig until a Wagner base is solidified in Belarus.

[sneakypete]

LOL! What WE have gotten is yet another big dent in the public treasury @sneakypete . What the Bidens, Romneys and who knows who else have gotten is yet another pipeline into our collective pocketbook!

@Bigun

And they weren't going to do that,anyway?

[sneakypete]

I don't think Putin will kill the Prig until a Wagner base is solidified in Belarus.

@bigheadfred

Putin is a life-long person of privilege in the USSR. He was an officer that spied on other countries and had flunkies to do his flogging of suspects for him. 

Because of this,I honestly  don't think  he gives a damn about public perception or geo-politics.

[Bigun]

@Bigun

And they weren't going to do that, anyway?

IF given the opportunity, of course they were but there are myriad ways to aid the Ukraine without sending $$$$. @sneakypete   

[PeteS in CA]

...
I know longer think he has the patience of a Stalin.

Unlike Stalin in the 1930s, Putin is 70, IIRC, and that might limit Putin's patience.

[mountaineer]

Patrick Webb
@pwleaks
BREAKING: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has banned elections until martial law is no longer in effect, according to The New Voice of Ukraine.
11:18 AM · Jun 28, 2023

Zelensky Says No Elections In Ukraine Until War Is Over
Patrick Webb
Jun 28, 2023

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told BBC last week that there will be no Ukrainian presidential election in 2024 if martial law is still in effect, The New Voice of Ukraine reported. Zelensky’s five-year tenure is set to expire in 2024, but his statements imply that if the conflict isn’t concluded by then, it would be continued indefinitely. Similar remarks were made regarding the legislative elections in Ukraine, which are scheduled to take place in October of this year.

When asked if parliamentary elections will be held this fall, Zelensky said, “If we have martial law, we cannot have elections. The constitution prohibits any elections during martial law. If there is no martial law, then there will be.”  ...

This month, Ruslan Stefanchuk, the speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, said that elections cannot take place in Ukraine while martial rule is in effect due to Zelensky’s declaration following Russia’s invasion. “Ukrainian legislation stipulates it is impossible to hold any elections during martial law. And this makes sense,” he said.

Stefanchuk added that if elections happen, it could “lead to the rupture of the state, which our enemy is waiting for. That is why I think the most correct and wise decision is to hold elections immediately after the end of martial law.” ...

More at The Leading Report

[kevindavis007]

What has who gotten for our 40 billion?  Anybody know?

Draining Russian resources of their blood and treasure is money well-spent imho. Better make the Orcs suffer now, then put up with them in the future. Besides it will take years to rebuild their military if there is a Russia still.


 

[Kamaji]

Patrick Webb
@pwleaks
BREAKING: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has banned elections until martial law is no longer in effect, according to The New Voice of Ukraine.
11:18 AM · Jun 28, 2023More at The Leading Report

A country that is fighting for its very existence should put everything on hold so it can have a campaigning and nomination process, followed by elections?

What sort of a bizarre idea is that?

[kevindavis007]

A country that is fighting for its very existence should put everything on hold so it can have a campaigning and nomination process, followed by elections?

What sort of a bizarre idea is that?

Can you imagine campaigning when all of a sudden missiles attack also what makes you think that Moscow may try to silently back a candidate?

[Timber Rattler]

@bigheadfred

Putin is a life-long person of privilege in the USSR. He was an officer that spied on other countries and had flunkies to do his flogging of suspects for him. 

Because of this,I honestly  don't think  he gives a damn about public perception or geo-politics.

Putin was also the KGB liaison to the Red Army Faction terrorist organization based in East Germany during the 1980s.

[PeteS in CA]

Draining Russian resources of their blood and treasure is money well-spent imho. Better make the Orcs suffer now, then put up with them in the future. Besides it will take years to rebuild their military if there is a Russia still.

I realize some people want to believe that Ukraine is the most corrupt nation on Earth *, but US' and EuroLanders' aid to Ukraine has been used to stymie Putin's invasion and push back his orcs, with substantial losses in men (especially Russia's best and most experienced; Putin isn't resorting to Wagner and Chechen mercenaries to be "inclusive"), tanks and other vehicles, and aircraft.

* Ukraine doesn't even make the Worst 20 or 50, https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/most-corrupt-countries , but people who believe the slander are probably not inclined to let facts mess with their belief.

[PeteS in CA]

A country that is fighting for its very existence should put everything on hold so it can have a campaigning and nomination process, followed by elections?

What sort of a bizarre idea is that?

 

[kevindavis007]

I realize some people want to believe that Ukraine is the most corrupt nation on Earth *, but US' and EuroLanders' aid to Ukraine has been used to stymie Putin's invasion and push back his orcs, with substantial losses in men (especially Russia's best and most experienced; Putin isn't resorting to Wagner and Chechen mercenaries to be "inclusive"), tanks and other vehicles, and aircraft.

* Ukraine doesn't even make the Worst 20 or 50, https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/most-corrupt-countries , but people who believe the slander are probably not inclined to let facts mess with their belief.

It's better to drain Russia now (and to some extant China) than face a strong Russia (and to some extant China) in the future.

[sneakypete]

IF given the opportunity, of course they were but there are myriad ways to aid the Ukraine without sending $$$$. @sneakypete   

@Bigun

You may well be right as I am NOT an expert on money  manners,but I DO know that even if all you do is send them a loaf of bread,SOMEBODY had to buy the  bread,ship it,and hand it out to the hungry.

Surplus military  equipment is a special class because almost all of the items donated were obsolete items that were due to be sold for scrap,anyhow. Of course,the INSTANT anyone decides to donate it,the value shoots right through the sky because people are looking for both character credit,as well as tax write-offs.

There ain't no such  critter as a world free of accountants and lawyers.

[sneakypete]

Unlike Stalin in the 1930s, Putin is 70, IIRC, and that might limit Putin's patience.

@PeteS in CA

It can also limit his  ability to reason,also.

Don't ask me how  I know this. I don't want to embarrass  any friends.

[sneakypete]

Putin was also the KGB liaison to the Red Army Faction terrorist organization based in East Germany during the 1980s.

@Timber Rattler

I did not  know that.

Thank you!

[Hoodat]

Russian general Sergei Surovikin allegedly arrested amid rumors he had advance knowledge of Wagner rebellion

Darian Douraghy 06/28/2023

Russian General Sergei Surovikin has been arrested, with The Moscow Times reporting that it received confirmation of his apprehension from two sources who are close with the nation’s Ministry of Defense. The outlet notes that the department has yet to officially provide its own comment on the matter.

https://twitter.com/Faytuks/status/1674134663579815959

https://humanevents.com/2023/06/28/breaking-russian-general-sergei-surovikin-arrested-amid-rumors-he-had-advance-knowledge-of-wagner-rebellion