re: Latest Updates: Russia-Ukraine Conflict

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A lot of truth in this post.

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Nah.

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It got unpinned b/c the tards over on the Poliboard threw a tantrum.

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I think it’s unfortunate that an active topic like this gets unpinned because of people who can’t stand a topic that circumvents their echo chamber of hate and stupidity. Maybe Elon can buy this site too so we can have balance back

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I think it’s unfortunate that an active topic like this gets unpinned

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You (we) can always RA and ask for a pin, I did. It wouldn't be the first time a thread was repinned. I would assume if enough people ask for it then it would be granted.

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Russia headed toward being a vassal state to China?

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Seems like that has been the risk

Russia just badly overplayed their hand by invading Ukraine. They look incompetent. Their troops don't want to fight. Their generals get killed like ensigns on Star Trek. The Indians and Chinese can underpay them for their oil and they converted Sweden and Finland into NATO states. Hell, at this point even Ukraine might end up in NATO eventually. Why would they promise Russia anything after 2014 and 2022?

What kind of competent government with vision can possibly take over if Putin is overthrown? Is there any stable and wise leadership that might emerge? People who say they know Russia don't seem optimistic

I did so as well. Yesterday

Seconded for a sticky.

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It got unpinned b/c the tards over on the Poliboard threw a tantrum.

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Wait, what? Elaborate?

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Vlad has one timetable in mind, Igor seems to be in agreement as there is Kompromat on the table.

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Yes, that might happen. Of course it’s way too early to make predictions on what will happen within the Kremlin. That flowchart is a rat’s nest. However between the ongoing situation with the war and Putin’s health issues, I think we can agree that he will be in a much different position by the end of the year. A compromise which allows Putin to step aside under the protection of the siloviki - those closest to him - is a strong possibility. But they must act in concert, especially after Putin steps aside. However if this were to happen, history tells us that the possibility of the Kremlin being ruled long term by committee is very small. And that would be bad for Vlad.

Shoygu, Ivanov, Bortnikov, Patrushev, Medvedev, Volodin and Naryshkin may play nice with Patrushev as titular head. But there’s a big problem - Sechin. Of all of them, he may be the closest to Putin. And that’s not because Putin likes him so much. Like everyone else, underneath it all he fears him. Thus Patrushev as head of the FSO has been named to take Putin’s place while Putin is recovering from his upcoming medical procedures. Not Sechin. The FSO may wind up being the life line for all of them. With the current status of the FSB, they could be the critical loyal source of power and protection. At a cost of course.

With guys like Sechin, loyalty is just another commodity and has an expiration date. With his nature he will never sit on the sidelines and take instructions from others. Especially not from those mentioned above. He is not a bureaucrat working with the Duma. He learned his lessons as an arms dealer in Maputo in the civil war years of the 1980’s. Will the FSO be enough to keep Sechin at bay?

Outside of the prospect of preventing more suicides, Sechin’s appeal would be the continuation of stability. Especially if he maintains his guy Bortnikov as Minister of Justice. The one thing the oligarchs want is stability. They want to keep their wealth – that which is still based in Russia – and their positions. A lack of stability encourages the sharks. If the code of mutual protection breaks down and Putin is no longer in a position to protect them, the oligarchs will have to go to the mattresses. And that’s not hyperbole. As John McCain said, Russia is just a gas station owned by the mafia. He wasn’t making a joke.

No one understands this concept better than Igor Sechin. If Sechin should catch a bad case of suicide later this year, everything would change for the better in Moscow. But don’t bet on it.

All in all, it should be an interesting year in Moscow.

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do you pray to oliver Stone before you go to bed? i like the guy on some things but he's irretrievably broken due to his Vietnam experience.


Have you watched his two documentaries on Ukraine?

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I have watched Oliver Stone's documentaries. Oliver Stone is openly pro-Putin and there are legit rumors that his documentaries on Ukraine were financed by Russia.

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Stidham8

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You might want to stop bragging about Russia's gains in the Donbas and start finding a new Russian talking point to spout.

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Ukrainian forces have launched a counteroffensive near the Russian-held town of Izium in eastern Ukraine, a regional governor said on Saturday, in what could prove a serious setback for Moscow's plans to capture the entire Donbas region.

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LINK

It took Ukraine about 2 weeks after launching a counter attack to drive the Russian forces away from Kyiv and back into Belarus. It took Ukraine less than 10 days to drive Russian forces away from Kharkiv and back into Russia. Russia is going to have to pick up the pace of its encirclement of Sevierdonetsk because the Ukrainian forces are less than 75 km from Kupiansk which is where all of the Russian lines of communication and supply for the Izium axis of advance which is Russia's main line of advance merge. If this Ukrainian counterattack is as successful as the other two then Russia will lose all of its gains in the northern Donbas in less than 2 weeks.