I haven’t been following this thread completely, but why can’t the US, UK, and EU counter with air strikes?
Because it would lead to a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia, and likely a nuclear war. Russia has already threatened the nuclear option if NATO directly interferes.
In fact, the part that worries me is how long it will take before they consider sending weapons and sanctions as a direct act of war.
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Because it would lead to a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia, and likely a nuclear war. Russia has already threatened the nuclear option if NATO directly interferes.
In fact, the part that worries me is how long it will take before they consider sending weapons and sanctions as a direct act of war.
Russia really doesn't have a leg to stand on with that argument. They've been feeding Iran, Syria, various insurgent groups (both directly and indirectly), etc... with weapons for decades, that have then been used directly on US troops.
Maybe a silver lining here is that once Putin gets a taste of his own medicine, all sides will decide to stop flooding the world with weapons....wishful thinking obviously.
Russia really doesn't have a leg to stand on with that argument. They've been feeding Iran, Syria, various insurgent groups (both directly and indirectly), etc... with weapons for decades, that have then been used directly on US troops.
Maybe a silver lining here is that once Putin gets a taste of his own medicine, all sides will decide to stop flooding the world with weapons....wishful thinking obviously.
That argument only works if you are using it on a rational individual, I think Putin has demonstrated thus far that he is far from rational, and his nostalgic love for the old USSR is all he really cares about.
That argument only works if you are using it on a rational individual, I think Putin has demonstrated thus far that he is far from rational, and his nostalgic love for the old USSR is all he really cares about.
A lot of the weapons feeding was, historically, a way to woo countries onto the conflicting sides of the cold war. It's now been demonstrated that the middle east and part of South America are totally uncontrollable though. Surely, the previous strategies need to be rethought. What is Russia getting out of supporting Assad and the Ayatollahs at this point? The USA gets oil out of its middle eastern allies, but the USA may become a net exporter shortly.
Maybe I'm being cynical, and this is a legitimate goodwill gesture.
That's a serious amount of money to be donating, if true. Surely this will put him at odds with Putin though? I'm guessing I'm not seeing all the angles for why he is doing this.
I imagine he thinks he's losing that money in any event. Only a matter of time until the English government puts him on the list (i dont think he is right now?) and starts seizing his assets, including proceeds of sale.
This would certainly be a way of saving face and being on the right side of history knowing that the likelihood of seeing that money is slim regardless.
I imagine he thinks he's losing that money in any event. Only a matter of time until the English government puts him on the list (i dont think he is right now?) and starts seizing his assets, including proceeds of sale.
This would certainly be a way of saving face and being on the right side of history knowing that the likelihood of seeing that money is slim regardless.
Fair enough.
There's also probably a lot of grey area about what "all net proceeds from the sale" means. He might be able to walk away with a significant portion of the sale, as opposed to nothing.
Now the FSB is interrogating people trying to flee Russia. It must be a frightening time for people looking through the veil of the Kremlins controlled narrative.
I imagine he thinks he's losing that money in any event. Only a matter of time until the English government puts him on the list (i dont think he is right now?) and starts seizing his assets, including proceeds of sale.
This would certainly be a way of saving face and being on the right side of history knowing that the likelihood of seeing that money is slim regardless.
I haven't seen any formal list, but I did see him featured in another article yesterday regarding Oligarch real estate holdings in NYC... He's likely the biggest and most well-known of the Oligarchs, so it would be hard to imagine he wasn't at the top of any list.
I'm sure the well-paid PR machines are working overtime behind the scenes.
Apparently the Kremlin is losing control of the narrative internally, so the speculation is that the next step is to declare martial law in Russia on Friday.
This scares the crap out of me. My wife and daughter have a flight out on the 8th. I’ve tried to convince her to leave earlier but she’s convinced everything will be fine. I don’t know if she’s delusional or if I’m unnecessarily panicking.
Most of the earlier flights require a transfer or stay in Moscow and she refuses to go there. The only other alternatives are Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan.
Not looking forward to watching my family through the internet for the next decade...
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Maybe I'm being cynical, and this is a legitimate goodwill gesture.
That's a serious amount of money to be donating, if true. Surely this will put him at odds with Putin though? I'm guessing I'm not seeing all the angles for why he is doing this.
I would reserve judgement on the effectiveness of these financial sanctions to the elite's of Russia and the effect it may have on Putin's power until we see more. We need to see plenty of asset's seizures, for sale signs on acquired property and a whole lot more before we jump with glee about how great of a job they are doing. We need some action and some enforcement with teeth.
One thing that hasn't been made public would how elected officials in democracies like Canada can be bribed to similar levels as they can in places like Russia. I am curious what may come out of some of this. The difference with a lot of these countries is that their economies and the imbalance of rich/poor powerful and weak is larger so they can't hide it as well. In Canada we have a larger economy and are generally wealthier so your average Joe doesn't have the same concerns with the same level of basic necessities.
Bottom line is you can hide the corruption better in democracies.
Any idea why Ukraine hasn't been able to be offensive and launch rockets into Russia and hit the troops stationed at the border? Taking out vital supplies and equipment?
Obv that would be an escalation and would warrant a response. I am just wondering if it's an equipment and weaponry issue, a tactical issue, an escalation issue or what?
Perhaps Ukraine has been targeting military installations directly in Russia and I am not aware of that.
