Biden threatens Putin " If . . . . no longer a Nord Stream 2 . . bring end to it"

[bobo88 + 58]

10 hours ago, ronwagn said:

Putin is sitting on a gigantic fortune in oil and gas but is endangering Russia's future by trying to screw over all of Europe and alienating all of the free world. He really gains nothing in Ukraine that compares to cooperation with Europe and selling its natural gas and oil for good but fair prices. 

Ron 

The difference is I believe Europe could care less about Ukraine.

They care more about Russia as a market for their goods.

China the soon to be largest world economy loves Russia.

Russia will be fine.

Military resistance by Ukraine could incur thousands of deaths all for nothing. Putin will get what he wants whether he accepts some kind of arms deal or goes into Ukraine and takes some territory. 

Biden will destabilize the region by poring tons of weapons into the region. 

Putin knows Biden is nothing but a "Paper Tiger"

 

And considers this .  .  .  .  I believe Biden's banking sanctions on Russia will hasten China along with others to establish a new international currency standard.  If the U.S. dollar ceases to be the international currency we are screwed.

 

 

 

Edited February 15, 2022 by bobo88

[nsdp + 449]

Bobo, you need experience and a cure for attention deficit disorder First you don't use aircraft to attack railroads. That is WWII vintage stuff. "Hactivists say they hacked Belarus rail system to stop Russian military buildup   https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/01/hactivists-say-they-hacked-belarus-rail-system-to-stop-russian-military-buildup/

Then you use the internet to crash the entire Russian pipeline and grid network.  Colonial Pipeline is  a good demonstration case for the entire Russian Gas, Oil, Product Pipeline   network.  Took 11 days  to restore service. https://www.energy.gov/ceser/colonial-pipeline-cyber-incident

And lastly you blow up every bridge and culvert in the border  area. That is how the US Army stopped the Nazis in the Battle of the Bulge. Read this and realize how stupid the clown who say three days are all the Russians need. . EngineersintheBattleoftheBulge

http://www.6thcorpscombatenginethrying to control Route1 ers.com/docs/Engineers/Engineers At The Bulge.pdf  US is shiping not tanks or APCs but combat engineering.  PUT=PUT's com at engineeers can't be both at home fixing the grid, pipelines and railroads  to keep the Russian  people from starving and freezing to death and at the front taking major casualties so the tanks can move forward another 1/2 km.   Remember how Russia's attack on Finland drew foreign volunteers. Same thing happening now.  Russia does not have infrastructure for that .  You can't deploy a SAM system for every railroad or road bridge in Russia. Little rockets destroy those SAMs. Bigger rockets get the bridges. Lasers take out the photo recon satellites.

Every one of you Needs to Read street without Joy by Bernard Fall

It's about the French Army  trying to control one highway Route 1 along the Vietnam cost.  great instruction manual for the Ukrainians.

Investment tip: buy body bags PUT=PUT is going to need them by the 100,000.

[surrept33 + 609]

3 hours ago, bobo88 said:

Ron 

The difference is I believe Europe could care less about Ukraine.

They care more about Russia as a market for their goods.

China the soon to be largest world economy loves Russia.

Russia will be fine.

Ukraine could incur thousands of deaths all for nothing. 

Biden will destabilize the region by poring tons of weapons into the region. 

And considers this .  .  .  .  I believe Biden's banking sanctions on Russia will hasten China along with others to establish a new world currency standard.  If the U.S. dollar ceases to be the international currency we are screwed.

Europe won't let Putin blackmail them. 

Biden has offered to make an arms control deal in Europe to Vlad. Ultimately that's a win win situation for everybody, but will he take it? 

Ultimately, the US and Europe have to make the cost too high for Vlad. Ultimately, if he actually decides to dismember Ukraine further, there would be a much larger insurgency than there was ever a separatist movement in 2014. And this time, unlike the 1980s in Afghanistan, the US wouldn't even necessarily have to clandestinely arm anyone. We'd do it out in the open. 

Anyway, it seems like negotiations will continue:

https://www.economist.com/europe/2022/02/15/russia-offers-an-olive-branch-but-still-wields-the-sword

Russia offers an olive branch, but still wields the sword

Vladimir Putin signals a readiness to keep negotiating with the West as his military build-up continues

Sitting at the end of an interminably long table, of the sort that has become de rigueur for Vladimir Putin’s diplomacy, the Russian president summoned his underlings to report on their progress. The foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, declared that the West’s response to Russia’s demands was disappointing, at times even insulting. But it had been shaken by Russia’s actions, Mr Lavrov noted, and America, in particular, had responded positively to at least some demands, notably over arms control in Europe. Talks could not drag on, but he “recommended” intensifying diplomatic contacts. “It seems to me that our possibilities are far from exhausted,” he declared, to approval from Mr Putin. Shortly thereafter Sergei Shoigu, the defence minister, said that some of Russia’s military exercises had ended and others were close to completion.

Meanwhile in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, there was another sign of possible diplomatic movement. Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, said that Ukraine’s membership of NATO was in practice off the table. Standing next to him Voldymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, said that joining the military alliance, though enshrined in the constitution, was “a dream”. In other words, neither man would formally bow to Russia’s demand for a formal guarantee that Ukraine would never join NATO. But they were more explicit than in the past in declaring that it would not happen for a long time, if ever. Whether this moves Mr Putin may become apparent when Mr Scholz visits Moscow, a week after a similar diplomatic round by President Emmanuel Macron of France. In a telephone call, President Joe Biden and the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, said there remained “a crucial window” for diplomacy.

Taken together, these signals suggest it is possible to avert a looming war—if Mr Putin choose to do so. America, which has been warning that a Russian invasion could be imminent, cautiously welcomed Mr Lavrov’s comments. They matched signals he had made in private to America’s secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said the State Department. But no new meetings had been set. To be credible, said Ned Price, the spokesman, Russia’s diplomatic feelers would have to be accompanied by “de-escalation”, of which there was still no sign.

Indeed, Mr Putin is continuing to add to his forces around Ukraine, Western officials say. “He continues to do the things that you would expect one to do if one was planning on a major military action and that is to sharpen the readiness and to add to the capabilities of his force,” said John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman. The American embassy in Kyiv is closing, and staff are relocating to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.

Western officials talk of 14 more Russian battalion tactical groups being sent to join the 100-odd already deployed around Ukraine. They include Spetsnaz special forces and Iskander missile batteries. In the Black Sea, a Russian fleet is gathering strength, and would be able both to deploy an amphibious landing force and launch “precision fires”. The order of battle suggests a thrust from Belarus to threaten Kyiv, and an effort to encircle Ukraine’s best troops, currently deployed in the east of the country against separatist militias that control two enclaves, around the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk.

[bobo88 + 58]

6 hours ago, surrept33 said:

Europe won't let Putin blackmail them. 

Biden has offered to make an arms control deal in Europe to Vlad. Ultimately that's a win win situation for everybody, but will he take it? 

Ultimately, the US and Europe have to make the cost too high for Vlad. Ultimately, if he actually decides to dismember Ukraine further, there would be a much larger insurgency than there was ever a separatist movement in 2014. And this time, unlike the 1980s in Afghanistan, the US wouldn't even necessarily have to clandestinely arm anyone. We'd do it out in the open. 

Anyway, it seems like negotiations will continue:

https://www.economist.com/europe/2022/02/15/russia-offers-an-olive-branch-but-still-wields-the-sword

Russia offers an olive branch, but still wields the sword

Vladimir Putin signals a readiness to keep negotiating with the West as his military build-up continues

Sitting at the end of an interminably long table, of the sort that has become de rigueur for Vladimir Putin’s diplomacy, the Russian president summoned his underlings to report on their progress. The foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, declared that the West’s response to Russia’s demands was disappointing, at times even insulting. But it had been shaken by Russia’s actions, Mr Lavrov noted, and America, in particular, had responded positively to at least some demands, notably over arms control in Europe. Talks could not drag on, but he “recommended” intensifying diplomatic contacts. “It seems to me that our possibilities are far from exhausted,” he declared, to approval from Mr Putin. Shortly thereafter Sergei Shoigu, the defence minister, said that some of Russia’s military exercises had ended and others were close to completion.

Meanwhile in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, there was another sign of possible diplomatic movement. Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, said that Ukraine’s membership of NATO was in practice off the table. Standing next to him Voldymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, said that joining the military alliance, though enshrined in the constitution, was “a dream”. In other words, neither man would formally bow to Russia’s demand for a formal guarantee that Ukraine would never join NATO. But they were more explicit than in the past in declaring that it would not happen for a long time, if ever. Whether this moves Mr Putin may become apparent when Mr Scholz visits Moscow, a week after a similar diplomatic round by President Emmanuel Macron of France. In a telephone call, President Joe Biden and the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, said there remained “a crucial window” for diplomacy.

Taken together, these signals suggest it is possible to avert a looming war—if Mr Putin choose to do so. America, which has been warning that a Russian invasion could be imminent, cautiously welcomed Mr Lavrov’s comments. They matched signals he had made in private to America’s secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said the State Department. But no new meetings had been set. To be credible, said Ned Price, the spokesman, Russia’s diplomatic feelers would have to be accompanied by “de-escalation”, of which there was still no sign.

Indeed, Mr Putin is continuing to add to his forces around Ukraine, Western officials say. “He continues to do the things that you would expect one to do if one was planning on a major military action and that is to sharpen the readiness and to add to the capabilities of his force,” said John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman. The American embassy in Kyiv is closing, and staff are relocating to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.

Western officials talk of 14 more Russian battalion tactical groups being sent to join the 100-odd already deployed around Ukraine. They include Spetsnaz special forces and Iskander missile batteries. In the Black Sea, a Russian fleet is gathering strength, and would be able both to deploy an amphibious landing force and launch “precision fires”. The order of battle suggests a thrust from Belarus to threaten Kyiv, and an effort to encircle Ukraine’s best troops, currently deployed in the east of the country against separatist militias that control two enclaves, around the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Surr 

You don't have to prove U.S./Europe can take Russia in a fight.

Much of what you and some others suggest would start WW lll .  This is a regional dispute and Russia is being a bully.  So what ? China is a bully. So what ? Some U.S. politicians are bullies. Vote the out of office.

First, while Europe puts on a good public face about how NATO  is strong and united  is bull .They could care less about Ukraine. 

Second the U.S. can support Ukraine behind the scenes with weapons, intelligence and probably some Black Ops units from the CIA paramilitary branch. 

But U.S. can't get directly involved in the fight. 

Europe doesn't care or want to be in the fight.

Ukraine is not a democracy. They shut down opposition media, imprisoned the opposition leader and new law require all media be written or presented in Ukraine language. Not Russian.

This is 2022 not 1980.  The Berlin wall is down.  Stop fighting the Soviet Union.  It's gone.

Russia still has a terrible economy, however they will make progress with oil and agriculture exports.  Some new Ukraine territory might add resources to both oil/gas and agriculture.

Putin might take a last minute arms deal but as of now it looks like he is going in and take the 5 , 7 , 9 or all 11 oblasts that were protesting or fighting in 2014. See link to map below.

If Ukraine wants to fight so be it. . The more they resist the more that die. All for naught. They can thank Biden for the weapons and the death of thousands. 

What does it prove.  Biden is tough ? No he's an embarrassment. Ukraine has no strategic benefit to the U.S.

2014 MAP 2014 pro Russia Protests

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/2014_pro-Russian_unrest_in_Ukraine.png 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 15, 2022 by bobo88

[surrept33 + 609]

3 hours ago, bobo88 said:

Surr 

You don't have to prove U.S./Europe can take Russia in a fight.

Much of what you and some others suggest would start WW lll .  This is a regional dispute and Russia is being a bully.  So what ? China is a bully. So what ? Some U.S. politicians are bullies. Vote the out of office.

First, while Europe puts on a good public face about how NATO  is strong and united  is bull .They could care less about Ukraine. 

Second the U.S. can support Ukraine behind the scenes with weapons, intelligence and probably some Black Ops units from the CIA paramilitary branch. 

But U.S. can't get directly involved in the fight. 

Europe doesn't care or want to be in the fight.

Ukraine is not a democracy. They shut down opposition media, imprisoned the opposition leader and new law require all media be written or presented in Ukraine language. Not Russian.

This is 2022 not 1980.  The Berlin wall is down.  Stop fighting the Soviet Union.  It's gone.

Russia still has a terrible economy, however they will make progress with oil and agriculture exports.  Some new Ukraine territory might add resources to both oil/gas and agriculture.

Putin might take a last minute arms deal but as of now it looks like he is going in and take the 5 , 7 , 9 or all 11 oblasts that were protesting or fighting in 2014. See link to map below.

If Ukraine wants to fight so be it. . The more they resist the more that die. All for naught. They can thank Biden for the weapons and the death of thousands. 

What does it prove.  Biden is tough ? No he's an embarrassment. Ukraine has no strategic benefit to the U.S.

2014 MAP 2014 pro Russia Protests

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/2014_pro-Russian_unrest_in_Ukraine.png 

 

 

 

 

 

Who said anything about the US directly being involved in a fight? That's the opposite of what I said. We would arm the Ukrainians however. 

Much of what you are claiming about eastern Ukraine is out of date. The east is much less pro-Russian than it was in 2014, a lot of it because of what's happened in the Donbas.

 

https://www.economist.com/europe/the-ukrainian-port-of-odessa-prepares-for-war/21807702

The Ukrainian port of Odessa prepares for war

In 2014, when Ukraine was in the throes of revolution and Crimea had just been seized by Russia, there was a high chance that Odessa would also fall to pro-Russian separatists because there was considerable sympathy then for Russia in the city. On May 2nd of that year pro-revolution and pro-Russian demonstrators clashed and 42 of the latter died in a fire, trapped in the city’s trade-union building. The event was a turning-point in the struggle for southern Ukraine. Most pro-Russians decided that they neither wanted to die for Russia nor see their city racked by conflict.

 

Ever since, says Viktoria Balasanian, a sociologist, pro-Russians have kept a low profile. She points out that being Russian-speaking and having an affinity with things Russian does not by any means translate into wanting Odessa, which has its own strong identity, to be part of Russia. Thirty years after independence, she says pro-Russians tend to be older and nostalgic for a Soviet youth that they associate with Russia. The vast majority of younger Odessans, who have no memory of the old superpower, are proud to be Ukrainian.

Artem Fylypenko, head of the Odessa branch of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, says that there were successful amphibious landings in Odessa in 1919 by White Russian forces and a Soviet diversionary attack in 1941. He says Mr Putin could try the same “but then what?” Unlike in 2014, when Ukraine was unprepared in the face of Russian intervention, Ukraine’s armed and other security forces are well organised in case of invasion and will fight—as will he.

Most Odessans will be passive, though, and wait to see what happens. “If you go for a walk around the city centre, you will see that nobody is crying, everybody is relaxing and chilling,” says Viacheslav Levchenko, a software programmer. What if this calm is misplaced, and an invasion really is coming? “I will take my passport, my family, sit in my car and go to Europe,” says Mr Levchenko.

Oleg Brindak, the deputy mayor, says that up to a third of the city’s 64 city councillors hold pro-Russian views and he worries that in case of a war some might try to organise pro-Russian protests or seize buildings. But, he adds, the situation has changed significantly since 2014. Pro-Ukrainian “patriotism” has grown and, with a nod to the breakaway Russian-supported Donetsk and Luhansk republics in the east, he says, “There will be no Odessa republic for sure.”

.

 

 

[bobo88 + 58]

On 2/15/2022 at 5:27 AM, bobo88 said:

Second the U.S. can support Ukraine beh

Ukraine is not a democracy. They shut down opposition media, imprisoned the opposition leader and new law require all media be written or presented in Ukraine language. Not Russian.

This is 2022 not 1980. 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/2014_pro-Russian_unrest_in_Ukraine.png 

 

 

On 2/14/2022 at 9:03 PM, bobo88 said:

 

 

On 2/14/2022 at 9:03 PM, bobo88 said:

Ron 

The difference is I believe Europe could care less about Ukraine.

Now the U.S. plans to put troops in new EU location and add troops to current NATO countries. Romania, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and maybe Hungary,

I thought NATO was united and stronger than ever ?  Where are the other members troops.  As always U.S. foots the bill.

EU playing Biden for a fool.

I didn't care for Trump but he was correct about NATO .

Too many 80 year old generals (and Presidents) still around. They're still fighting the Soviet Union. 

Edited February 16, 2022 by bobo88

[bobo88 + 58]

4 hours ago, surrept33 said:

Who said anything about the US directly being involved in a fight? That's the opposite of what I said. We would arm the Ukrainians however. 

Much of what you are claiming about eastern Ukraine is out of date. The east is much less pro-Russian than it was in 2014, a lot of it because of what's happened in the Donbas.

 

https://www.economist.com/europe/the-ukrainian-port-of-odessa-prepares-for-war/21807702

The Ukrainian port of Odessa prepares for war

In 2014, when Ukraine was in the throes of revolution and Crimea had just been seized by Russia, there was a high chance that Odessa would also fall to pro-Russian separatists because there was considerable sympathy then for Russia in the city. On May 2nd of that year pro-revolution and pro-Russian demonstrators clashed and 42 of the latter died in a fire, trapped in the city’s trade-union building. The event was a turning-point in the struggle for southern Ukraine. Most pro-Russians decided that they neither wanted to die for Russia nor see their city racked by conflict.

 

Ever since, says Viktoria Balasanian, a sociologist, pro-Russians have kept a low profile. She points out that being Russian-speaking and having an affinity with things Russian does not by any means translate into wanting Odessa, which has its own strong identity, to be part of Russia. Thirty years after independence, she says pro-Russians tend to be older and nostalgic for a Soviet youth that they associate with Russia. The vast majority of younger Odessans, who have no memory of the old superpower, are proud to be Ukrainian.

Artem Fylypenko, head of the Odessa branch of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, says that there were successful amphibious landings in Odessa in 1919 by White Russian forces and a Soviet diversionary attack in 1941. He says Mr Putin could try the same “but then what?” Unlike in 2014, when Ukraine was unprepared in the face of Russian intervention, Ukraine’s armed and other security forces are well organised in case of invasion and will fight—as will he.

Most Odessans will be passive, though, and wait to see what happens. “If you go for a walk around the city centre, you will see that nobody is crying, everybody is relaxing and chilling,” says Viacheslav Levchenko, a software programmer. What if this calm is misplaced, and an invasion really is coming? “I will take my passport, my family, sit in my car and go to Europe,” says Mr Levchenko.

Oleg Brindak, the deputy mayor, says that up to a third of the city’s 64 city councillors hold pro-Russian views and he worries that in case of a war some might try to organise pro-Russian protests or seize buildings. But, he adds, the situation has changed significantly since 2014. Pro-Ukrainian “patriotism” has grown and, with a nod to the breakaway Russian-supported Donetsk and Luhansk republics in the east, he says, “There will be no Odessa republic for sure.”

.

 

 

“There will be no Odessa republic for sure.”

Like

[notsonice + 1,063]

20 hours ago, bobo88 said:

Ron 

The difference is I believe Europe could care less about Ukraine.

They care more about Russia as a market for their goods.

China the soon to be largest world economy loves Russia.

Russia will be fine.

Military resistance by Ukraine could incur thousands of deaths all for nothing. Putin will get what he wants whether he accepts some kind of arms deal or goes into Ukraine and takes some territory. 

Biden will destabilize the region by poring tons of weapons into the region. 

Putin knows Biden is nothing but a "Paper Tiger"

 

And considers this .  .  .  .  I believe Biden's banking sanctions on Russia will hasten China along with others to establish a new international currency standard.  If the U.S. dollar ceases to be the international currency we are screwed.

 

 

 

I believe Biden's banking sanctions on Russia will hasten China along with others to establish a new international currency standard?????? what are you smoking??? The Ruble ?? ha ha ha or the Yuan??? dude you are so far out of touch with reality. PS it will not be Biden's sanctions it will be the House and Senate sanctions. Your posts stink of coming from Putins troll farm.

[notsonice + 1,063]

3 hours ago, bobo88 said:

 

 

Now the U.S. plans to put troops in new EU location and add troops to current NATO countries. Romania, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and maybe Hungary,

I thought NATO was united and stronger than ever ?  Where are the other members troops.  As always U.S. foots the bill.

EU playing Biden for a fool.

I didn't care for Trump but he was correct about NATO .

Too many 80 year old generals still around. They're still fighting the Soviet Union. 

I didn't care for Trump but he was correct about NATO . ???? You and Trump are the King of Stupid. How many new countries added to Nato in the past 25 years???? How many left ???? nada.  Trump is an Idiot....his accountants just left him today as they do not even believe what he has told them....Try to keep up

1999 – Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland

2004 – Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia

2009 – Albania, Croatia

2017 – Montenegro

2020 – North Macedonia

 

[bobo88 + 58]

13 hours ago, notsonice said:

I didn't care for Trump but he was correct about NATO .

 

And who pays for NATO ?

Who benefits from NATO ?

When khadafi bombed PanAm flight over Scotland French wouldn't let U.S. planes fly over French territory EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE A NATO MEMBER.

Today  Germany is closer to China and Russia than U.S. 

How has your uncle Joe's first year as President gone.  Don't you think there might be a conflict of interest with the Biden crime family revenue from Ukraine and China and iinternational policy.

Have you joined the " Hillary 2024" campaign. Lock her up.

Should Joe take a cognitive test 

Do you agree with  Crazy Joe to escalate the tension by sending 4 Nuclear Bombers to Britain. HBritain.Hes crazy. 

Stupid Joe is challenging Putin at every step trying to embarrassing him and making it impossible to have a diplomatic resolution.  Keep that in mind when they tally the death toll in Ukraine cconflict . Joe was never considered to be very bright.

Yes, China and Russia have both stated they want to end the U.S. dollar reign as the international currency.  Countries are already ending use of dollar as basis for oil ttransactions . What form that takes I don't know. 

Rather than get along with Russia Brandon will start WW lll.

Edited February 16, 2022 by bobo88

[notsonice + 1,063]

4 minutes ago, bobo88 said:

And who pays for it  ?

Who benefits from it.

When khadafi bombed PanAm flight over Scotland French wouldn't let U.S. planes fly over French territory. Today  Germany is closer to China and Russia than U.S. 

How has your uncle Joe's first year as President gone.  Don't you think their might be a conflict of interest with the Biden crime family revenue from Ukraine and China and internationally policy.

Have you joined the " Hillary 2024" campaign. Lock her up.

Should Joe take a cognitive test 

Do you agree with  Crazy Joe to escalate the tension by sending 4 Nuclear Bombers to Britain. 

Stupid Joe is challenging Putin at every step trying to embarrassing him and making it impossible to have a diplomatic resolution.  Keep that in mind when they tally the death toll in Ukraine conflict.

Yes, China and Russia have both stated they want to end the U.S. dollar reign as the international currency.  Countries are already ending use of dollar as basis for oil transactions.

Hillary lock her up by '24.

 

 

 

 

just more BS babble out of you.  Are you still crying that Trump lost? and now you are working for Putin. Loser.....Yes, China and Russia have both stated they want to end the U.S. dollar reign as the international currency.....???? dude stop smoking the wacky weed. Neither the Ruble nor the Yuan are reserve currencies of any nature. China and Russia can cry all they want the same as you.

Edited February 15, 2022 by notsonice

[Jay McKinsey + 1,489]

Both China and Russia are about to fall off a demographic cliff.

China:

Russia, a country of old women:

The US is in good shape, prepare for the next American century:

Edited February 16, 2022 by Jay McKinsey

[Andrei Moutchkine + 828]

13 hours ago, surrept33 said:

Who said anything about the US directly being involved in a fight? That's the opposite of what I said. We would arm the Ukrainians however. 

Much of what you are claiming about eastern Ukraine is out of date. The east is much less pro-Russian than it was in 2014, a lot of it because of what's happened in the Donbas.

 

https://www.economist.com/europe/the-ukrainian-port-of-odessa-prepares-for-war/21807702

The Ukrainian port of Odessa prepares for war

In 2014, when Ukraine was in the throes of revolution and Crimea had just been seized by Russia, there was a high chance that Odessa would also fall to pro-Russian separatists because there was considerable sympathy then for Russia in the city. On May 2nd of that year pro-revolution and pro-Russian demonstrators clashed and 42 of the latter died in a fire, trapped in the city’s trade-union building. The event was a turning-point in the struggle for southern Ukraine. Most pro-Russians decided that they neither wanted to die for Russia nor see their city racked by conflict.

 

Ever since, says Viktoria Balasanian, a sociologist, pro-Russians have kept a low profile. She points out that being Russian-speaking and having an affinity with things Russian does not by any means translate into wanting Odessa, which has its own strong identity, to be part of Russia. Thirty years after independence, she says pro-Russians tend to be older and nostalgic for a Soviet youth that they associate with Russia. The vast majority of younger Odessans, who have no memory of the old superpower, are proud to be Ukrainian.

Artem Fylypenko, head of the Odessa branch of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, says that there were successful amphibious landings in Odessa in 1919 by White Russian forces and a Soviet diversionary attack in 1941. He says Mr Putin could try the same “but then what?” Unlike in 2014, when Ukraine was unprepared in the face of Russian intervention, Ukraine’s armed and other security forces are well organised in case of invasion and will fight—as will he.

Most Odessans will be passive, though, and wait to see what happens. “If you go for a walk around the city centre, you will see that nobody is crying, everybody is relaxing and chilling,” says Viacheslav Levchenko, a software programmer. What if this calm is misplaced, and an invasion really is coming? “I will take my passport, my family, sit in my car and go to Europe,” says Mr Levchenko.

Oleg Brindak, the deputy mayor, says that up to a third of the city’s 64 city councillors hold pro-Russian views and he worries that in case of a war some might try to organise pro-Russian protests or seize buildings. But, he adds, the situation has changed significantly since 2014. Pro-Ukrainian “patriotism” has grown and, with a nod to the breakaway Russian-supported Donetsk and Luhansk republics in the east, he says, “There will be no Odessa republic for sure.”

.

 

 

Less pro-Russian because that gets you burned alive. Of course. How very democratic and pro-Western, too.

[Andrei Moutchkine + 828]

3 hours ago, Jay McKinsey said:

Both China and Russia are about to fall off a demographic cliff.

China:

Russia, a country of old women:

The US is in good shape, prepare for the next American century:

Russia just passed US in total fertility (1.85 vs 1.8) Prepare for Russian century, instead?

[Andrei Moutchkine + 828]

4 hours ago, notsonice said:

just more BS babble out of you.  Are you still crying that Trump lost? and now you are working for Putin. Loser.....Yes, China and Russia have both stated they want to end the U.S. dollar reign as the international currency.....???? dude stop smoking the wacky weed. Neither the Ruble nor the Yuan are reserve currencies of any nature. China and Russia can cry all they want the same as you.

There is progressively little point for any "reserve currency" at all.

[Andrei Moutchkine + 828]

On 2/14/2022 at 2:50 PM, bobo88 said:

Europe depends on 80% of gas from imports.  German Corporations own a majority of Nordstream 2.

Keep dreaming.

Putin is a despot . But he is calling the shots.

Putin is not a despot, believe it or not.

[Andrei Moutchkine + 828]

On 2/14/2022 at 4:09 PM, Boat said:

It’s pretty to take out Russian nat gas infrastructure if Russia calls a shot. Lol You never let a thug win. This is why we’re not speaking Japanese, Italian and German. 

This is why we won't let you win, thugs.

[Andrei Moutchkine + 828]

On 2/14/2022 at 4:16 PM, Boat said:

No need to deliver more weapons. Plenty of weapons with plenty of range. Pick an armed force. Any of them can handle Russia without help. Any one of them would not need the help of NATO. You just need to learn how to Google. In the US that information is available. I know that is confusing to you but we’ll get you woke over time. When you have 800+ military, bases kinda eliminates the need to move shyt. 

Spread paper-thin, easy to break.

[Andrei Moutchkine + 828]

On 2/13/2022 at 8:16 PM, Eric Gagen said:

I don’t think that Biden is capable of remembering anything that long, much less a 5 step plan over the course of months.  He just sort of stumbles into events as they occur and makes up a response based on what he’s heard about it in the last 20 minutes.  

Excellent. Can we just skip to giving him the Nobel Prize, and be done with it?

[Andrei Moutchkine + 828]

On 2/13/2022 at 8:16 PM, Boat said:

We agree on that. This Russian stunt will cause economic expansion to retreat. There should be a split in trade relations. It may take a decade or longer but eliminating trade with the enemy seems like common sense. There was a large experiment with Russia and China, expanding trade, and it didn’t work. It wasn’t wrong to try, maybe just a little naive. 
Governments have always sacrificed their populations and even economies for big causes. Killing trade with rogue nations may be the best thing for the world. Don’t get mad because Musk may or may not sell you space space. Lol 

Yes. With the rogue nation being cut out being the US.

[Andrei Moutchkine + 828]

On 2/13/2022 at 9:23 PM, ronwagn said:

So I can put you down as another supporter of Putin the dictator for life of the totalitarian regime of crony capitalists. No different than Hitler. Under the name of communists they were worse than Hitler. They killed and enslaved more people. The Chinese have done even more. You deserve what you get. 

By far the largest body count after Hitler belongs to US.

[Andrei Moutchkine + 828]

On 2/13/2022 at 1:15 AM, ronwagn said:

It is about freedom also. Do you value it, or not?

Everything US stands for is detrimental to world freedom. Your lip service to "freedom" fools no one anymore. The Evil US Empire must die. And will, soon enough.

Russia is the new free world.

[Jay McKinsey + 1,489]

3 minutes ago, Andrei Moutchkine said:

Russia just passed US in total fertility (1.85 vs 1.8) Prepare for Russian century, instead?

Not everyone agrees on those numbers. But more importantly the US has immigration. No one moves to Russia voluntarily. 

[Jay McKinsey + 1,489]

4 minutes ago, Andrei Moutchkine said:

Everything US stands for is detrimental to world freedom. Your lip service to "freedom" fools no one anymore. The Evil US Empire must die. And will, soon enough.

Russia is the new free world.

Is that why you live in Austria?

[Andrei Moutchkine + 828]

On 2/10/2022 at 5:37 PM, notsonice said:

keep babbling bullshit. The US has supplied recently thousands of Javelin Anti tank missiles to Ukraine. Did you miss the planes landing in the Ukraine???? training is going on right now. Take a few minutes to check into how lethal they are.......95 percent rate of success in wiping out targets..... Mobile 2 man crews who can shoot and move within seconds.......Ouch. How much do those Russian tanks cost???? Putin can kiss Joes ass..... Putins tanks , armored vehicles etc will be decimated if they attack. Putin was in the drivers seat ....he no longer is. 2022 is not 2014. Now Nordstream 2 is getting the axe.......Putin in the drivers seat????? Do you know what happens to a tank when it gets hit by a Javelin...turns it into a chicken roaster in seconds. 

Excellent. Soon to be resold to LDNR for fraction of the price.