re: Latest Updates: Russia-Ukraine Conflict

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Macron has seized the opportunity to lead Europe in becoming increasingly aggressive towards Russia.

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Good. It is about time that one of the traditional European powers wake up to the fact that their liberal political systems aren't going to keep them safe. It's the ability to project strength through the military that will keep them safe. They have looked to the United States for protection for far too long in Europe.

Now I'm not saying that the US needs to completely turn its back to Europe and/or NATO, but there is zero reason that France, Germany, and the UK can't be just as strong as the US in defending Europe.

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Good. It is about time that one of the traditional European powers wake up to the fact that their liberal political systems aren't going to keep them safe. It's the ability to project strength through the military that will keep them safe. They have looked to the United States for protection for far too long in Europe

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France has been as strong as any other nation in Europe militarily with a strong economy by remaining aloof out of pride. It is the one nation which doesn't have to worry about food security. Out of pride it maintained presence in Africa which a cost higher than any economic gain from being there. If not for the stupidity of its military leadership, it would have easily stopped Germany at the beginning of WWII. Its troops were no cowards and valiantly defended the encircled forces to allow such a huge part of the British Army to be rescued at Dunkirk. It sees Germany's decline (which is at least 2 decades long) economically, and is filling the void which no other nation in Europe can fill.

Macron finally realized that Putin was never serious about any peace agreement.

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Good. It is about time that one of the traditional European powers wake up to the fact that their liberal political systems aren't going to keep them safe. It's the ability to project strength through the military that will keep them safe. They have looked to the United States for protection for far too long in Europe.

Now I'm not saying that the US needs to completely turn its back to Europe and/or NATO, but there is zero reason that France, Germany, and the UK can't be just as strong as the US in defending Europe.

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Are you remembering that nobody wanted Germany being too strong, militarily, ever again? Or that it was divided in half and both sides didn't want too much military power on the other side.

Now, they are trying to increase their military... but they're in a bad position as far as demographics, so now people fear you'd be handing over arms to the Middle-Eastern refugees who will inherit the country to launch a Jihad (I don't particularly think that latter will happen, but...).

The UK is having some issues... there's an isolationist contingent that doesn't think anything outside of their Island matters to them (which is foolish) and that sells to a lot of the population who've been convinced Globalism and EU membership are screwing them.

Poland and France are the two... and no small factor is that they are also the two with good Demographic profiles...

The rest of Europe... well, Demographic profiles, again. You can't be that strong militarily when your population and economy are shrinking.

And then the big one, what is the military threat to Europe?

Russia.

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Actually yeah , civil asset forfeiture is fricked up and a violation of due process.

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Then Russia shouldn't have kept almost all of it in Belgium. Why didn't it keep that money in BRICS nations?

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Russia kept money?

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$300 million of Russia's own money was frozen. The vast majority was in Belgium

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Actually yeah , civil asset forfeiture is fricked up and a violation of due process.

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I kind of agree, domestically, and it is abused much more often than not... and who is going to defend or sympathize with "criminals." Here in Louisiana it was pretty much a shakedown operation in a few spots where deputies figured out Asian men in a truck or SUV were probably fishermen going to buy things with huge amounts of cash on them, which could be confiscated if they "couldn't prove it wasn't drug profits on the scene right there immediately." I think it was 20/20 that did a hidden camera sting when they had enough tips about it.

ISW Update

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Key Takeaways:

Russian President Vladimir Putin articulated a theory of victory in Ukraine on June 7 that assumes that Russian forces will be able to continue gradual creeping advances indefinitely, prevent Ukraine from conducting successful operationally significant counteroffensive operations, and win a war of attrition against Ukrainian forces.

Putin's theory of victory rests on Russia's ability to outlast and overcome pledged Western security assistance to Ukraine and Ukrainian efforts to mobilize more of its economy and population for the war effort, indicating that Putin likely assesses that Russian forces will be able to leverage their advantages in manpower and materiel to overwhelm on Ukrainian forces.

Putin's theory of victory hinges on a critical assumption that the West will abandon Ukraine to Russian victory, either on its own accord or in response to Russian efforts to persuade the West to do so, and it is far from clear that the West will do so.

Putin indirectly indicated that Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory with Western-provided weapons do not cross a supposed Russian "red line" that would result in Russian nuclear escalation.

Putin heavily focused on proposals to solve Russia's labor shortage issues during his speech at SPIEF on June 7.

Putin attempted to frame Russia's economic issues in a positive light, likely to prepare Russian citizens to make more personal sacrifices as Russia sustains a protracted war in Ukraine at the expense of Russian citizens’ standards of living.

Putin continued efforts to portray Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as an illegitimate president and identified the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada (parliament) as a legitimate actor with which the Kremlin can negotiate instead of Zelensky. Putin’s recent statements are the latest in a series designed to obfuscate the legality of Zelensky's extended term by misrepresenting the Ukrainian Constitution and Ukrainian laws.

Putin attempted to introduce his children and the children of other senior Russian officials to the public sphere at SPIEF, likely to set conditions for them to eventually assume high-profile and powerful roles in the Russian government.

US National Security Council Senior Director for Arms Control, Disarmament, and Nonproliferation Pranay Vaddi stated that the US has prepared a new nuclear weapons policy specifically to deter Russia, the People's Republic of China (PRC), North Korea, and Iran.

The US Department of Defense (DoD) announced a $225 million security assistance package for Ukraine on June 7.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced on June 6 that France will provide Ukraine with an unspecified number of Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets and equip and train a brigade of 4,500 Ukrainian soldiers.

The Russian Supreme Court declared an organization that does not exist as "extremist" on June 7, consistent with previous ISW assessments that Russia seeks to expand the legal definition of "extremism" to increasingly prosecute domestic anti-war sentiment.

The Kremlin continues efforts to destabilize the Balkans and dismantle the 1995 Dayton Accords that ended the 1992-1995 Bosnian War, likely as part of a larger strategic effort that seeks to divide and distract Europe.

Russian forces recently advanced near Svatove, near Chasiv Yar, and northwest of Avdiivka.

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300 million of Russia's own money was frozen. The vast majority was in Belgium

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Cool, by the time western politicians finish enriching themselves we can rebuild a Ukrainian bus stop.


What about the rest of the stolen money and assets?

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Money overseas in the "private" sector will be from the Oligarchs.

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Derp.

So individuals own it or not?