re: Latest Updates: Russia-Ukraine Conflict.

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Who said I was excited? Just reporting War Updates. Zelensky and the rest of Europe should take Trump's advice and give up the Territory they already lost to Russia and go about their lives. Realize this was the cost for overthrowing a Democratically elected President in Yanukovych and don't make the same mistake again

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Russia has put no such deal on the table.

You can get a bigmac for like 6 bucks

I figured you wouldn't respond

Tell some russian citizens about their ppp being behind usa

Grok: you moron, why did you blabber about hamburger! deflect deflect

Russian PPP debunked...

AI Overview
Data concerning Russia's Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) are considered flawed due to methodological difficulties, political influences, and structural problems within the Russian economy
. These issues cause a significant discrepancy between Russia's PPP-adjusted GDP and its nominal GDP, potentially overstating the country's economic size and citizens' true standard of living.
Methodological challenges
The general issues with PPP calculations are particularly pronounced in Russia.

Difficulty in measurement: Calculating PPP is more complex than using market exchange rates. The data are infrequent, and in-between-survey figures must be estimated, leading to inaccuracies.
Varying quality of goods: Unlike the simplifying assumption of identical "baskets" of goods and services, the reality is that product quality can vary significantly between countries. Russian goods that are cheaper than their Western counterparts may be of lower quality, skewing the PPP calculation.
Non-traded goods: PPP is highly sensitive to the cost of non-traded goods and services (like haircuts or rent). In emerging markets like Russia, these are often cheaper due to lower wages, which inflates the PPP measure relative to market exchange rates.
Structural transformation: Some analysts suggest that traditional measurement methods fail to accurately capture Russia's economic reality as it undergoes structural changes.

Political and structural problems
Russia's specific economic and political conditions further complicate PPP data.

Data manipulation accusations: There have been unproven claims that Russia manipulates its self-reported PPP numbers to artificially inflate its economic standing. One example cited changing the basket of goods for measurement to replace expensive vegetables with cheaper ones.
Vast inequality: While Russia's overall GDP PPP might appear high, vast wealth inequality means the prosperity is not evenly distributed. A large proportion of the population has a much lower purchasing power than the average figure suggests. For example, studies from early 2025 noted that Moscow is relatively prosperous, but significant parts of the country lack basic infrastructure like indoor plumbing.
Rubles and sanctions: Due to sanctions and geopolitical risk, demand for the ruble is weak, depressing its value relative to other currencies. This pushes Russia's nominal GDP far below its PPP value, making PPP an attractive metric for the Kremlin to use to project economic strength.
Limited global market access: Some of Russia's economic output, particularly in industries like military equipment, is not sold on open global markets. Since these goods do not have a market exchange rate, their value is hard to assess, with some analysts claiming PPP measures in the arms industry could be wildly inaccurate.

Roll Tide.

Zelenskyy urges partners to "stop looking for excuses" for not imposing sanctions on Russia

KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO — Saturday, 13 September 2025, 20:17

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on international partners to stop finding excuses not to impose sanctions on Russia, adding that he expects "strong steps" from the United States.

Source: Zelenskyy in his evening address

Quote: "I urge all partners to stop looking for excuses not to impose particular sanctions – all partners: Europe, the United States, the G7, and the G20 states."

Details: Zelenskyy emphasised the need to pressure Russia in all jurisdictions, particularly in the energy trade.

"We can hear the position of the US, and this position should be heard by all who still choose supplies from Russia rather than from other partners. Anyone seeking an end to this war must take the necessary steps to halt Russia’s war machine. We are counting on strong steps from the United States, in cooperation with others – strong sanctions and tariff policies – which will serve as an argument for many around the world," he said.

He also announced that Ukraine will intensify "deep strikes" (long-range attacks on Russian territory) as "financing and tasks for this are already in place".

Ukrainska Pravda

more russian PPP debunking due to flawed IMF data....

AI Overview
IMF data regarding Russia's Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) and GDP is widely considered flawed and is subject to strong criticism from economists, policymakers, and independent analysts

. The core issues stem from the unreliability of official Russian statistics, the methodological challenges of measuring a sanctioned wartime economy, and the IMF's historical data collection methods.

Key reasons for the criticism

Suppression and manipulation of Russian data
Since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian government has severely restricted access to key economic data, including information on trade, government procurement, and demographics. Independent researchers also suspect that the Russian state statistical service, Rosstat, manipulates economic figures to create the illusion of stability and resilience to sanctions.

Understated inflation: Some economists, such as Torbjorn Becker of the Stockholm Institute of Economics, argue that Russia understates its inflation rate. A deliberately low inflation figure would cause real GDP and GDP (PPP) to be overstated. The IMF's 2024 forecast, for instance, showed a steep decline in Russian growth, which may still not fully capture the hidden inflation.
Missing datasets: As of August 2025, publications like The Moscow Times have reported on Russia limiting access to key economic and demographic data, including figures on inflation-adjusted retail and wholesale trade.

Methodological issues with IMF data collection
The IMF and other international organizations collect data from their member states, a process that relies on the accuracy of domestic statistical agencies. In Russia's case, the IMF has been criticized for relying on Russian-provided statistics that have been deemed unreliable.

"Zero visibility" into the Russian economy: In March 2023, the head of Yale's Chief Executive Leadership Institute claimed that the IMF's Russia Desk economists admitted to having "basically zero visibility" into what was happening in the Russian economy.
Allowing violations of transparency: According to Yale, the IMF has allowed Russia to violate its membership standards, which require members to disclose comprehensive, verifiable national income statistics.

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Some economists, such as Torbjorn Becker of the Stockholm Institute of Economics, argue that Russia understates its inflation rate.

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This is very comical considering thats exactly what we do. We exclude food and energy in the inflation numbers. Meanwhile a steak from Costco has increased over 50% in a year and they tell us Inflation is only 2.7%

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Not hamburger

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Realize this was the cost for overthrowing a Democratically elected President in Yanukovych and don't make the same mistake again

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This is my favorite idiotic repeated Putin bro talking point.

Ukraine does not have the authority to overthrow a leader it democratically elected, itself. Russia gets to decide who they can and can't overthrow.