Russia-Ukraine war and related tensions Megathread

[Hindsight was 2020]

Or the writers of those op-eds are all different people 🤷‍♂️

[Hindsight was 2020]

https://twitter.com/Faytuks/status/1709577845209485327?s=20
Well this is thinking outside the box lol

[jaichind]

https://thenationonlineng.net/olena-zelenska-spends-1100000-on-cartier-jewelry-gets-sales-employee-fired/

"Olena Zelenska spends $1,100,000 on Cartier jewelry, gets sales employee fired"

Nigerian media reports that Zelensky's wife spent $1.1 million in a NYC jewelry store based on information from an ex-employee

[President Johnson]

I'm disappointed and upset about this. Haven't we still learned the lesson that appeasement doesn't work in dealing with Russia's terror regime?

https://twitter.com/Froschfriseur/status/1709632861798641929

[GeneralMacArthur]

Eight of the nineteen posts on this page are jaichind and most of them are just him posting huge screenshots of Russian agitprop.

When will it end.  What will it take for the mods to step in.

[walleye26]

Eight of the nineteen posts on this page are jaichind and most of them are just him posting huge screenshots of Russian agitprop.

When will it end.  What will it take for the mods to step in.

Eight of the nineteen posts on this page are jaichind and most of them are just him posting huge screenshots of Russian agitprop.

When will it end.  What will it take for the mods to step in.

When will people just learn to set him on ignore? Since I put him, Bilaps, and 2016 on ignore this place has been much better.

[CanadianDemocrat]

https://twitter.com/Faytuks/status/1709577845209485327?s=20
Well this is thinking outside the box lol

I would love to see a Ukrainian soldier shooting down a Iranian Shahed drone with a captured Iranian machine gun.

[pppolitics]

https://thenationonlineng.net/olena-zelenska-spends-1100000-on-cartier-jewelry-gets-sales-employee-fired/

"Olena Zelenska spends $1,100,000 on Cartier jewelry, gets sales employee fired"

Nigerian media reports that Zelensky's wife spent $1.1 million in a NYC jewelry store based on information from an ex-employee

So this happened in New York City, but the only one reporting on it is a Nigerian newspaper?

Definitely legit Russia disinformation.


jaichind, just how stupid do you think we are?

[jaichind]

https://news.yahoo.com/slovakia-halts-military-aid-ukraine-021910789.html

"Slovakia halts military aid to Ukraine following election"

Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová has opposed sending additional military assistance to Ukraine following the electoral victory of pro-Russian Robert Fico and his party SMER, the Slovak news outlet Dennik N reported on Oct. 4.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

snip

The press in some countries can have different priorities. Let's not get overly categorical here. And we don't know if this is the only country where this is being reported either. I don't know that. I hope you aren't arrogant to think you know that you know it.
The story around the First Lady of Ukraine falls under the 'maybe' category. In any case, it's not that important even if true. The Zelensky family is rich enough to have real estate in Crimea, 1.1 million would not surprise me. At the same time, it's neither an indictment of the Zelensky family nor a sign of virtue.
I do not care for shaming the First Lady of Ukraine for how she spends her money.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

https://twitter.com/Faytuks/status/1709577845209485327?s=20
Well this is thinking outside the box lol

Well this should help Ukraine significantly or at least somewhat. And it's yet another case of us using this conflict as a way of reducing weapons mantainence.

[Landslide Lyndon]

When will people just learn to set him on ignore? Since I put him, Bilaps, and 2016 on ignore this place has been much better.

Amen to that. Putting these Russian trolls on ignore vastly improves the experience of following this thread.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

https://kyivindependent.com/peter-tkacenko-slovakia-after-election-if-not-friend-certainly-not-enemy-of-ukraine/
Ukrainian press is downplaying the election in Slovakia. This person says that Fico is more domestically focused than Orban is.
I dunno who Peter Tkacenko is. Estrella would be more knowledgeable in this specific case.

[jaichind]

Russia's oil revenue surge is both a function of rising energy prices and a decrease in the "discount" Russian oil has to be sold given the price cap and sanctions as Urals crude increases well beyond $60 toward $100.

Energy prices are likely to fall next year due to the world economic slowdown so this most recent Russia energy bonanza will decline next year.

[jaichind]

https://www.mdr.de/nachrichten/welt/osteuropa/politik/ukraine-taurus-iran-usa-eu-juncker100.html

"Former EU Commission chief Juncker against Ukraine's admission to the EU"

“Anyone who has had anything to do with Ukraine knows that it is a country that is corrupt at all levels of society,” said Juncker in a published interview with the “Augsburger Allgemeine”.

[jaichind]

https://www.abc.es/internacional/crece-rechazo-apoyo-militar-ucrania-20231003173321-nt.html

"Rejection of military support for Ukraine grows"

Retired Spanish Lieutenant General Pedro Pitarch writes that pushback against support for Ukraine is growing in the EU

[Hindsight was 2020]

So Biden and the EU have a work around if the house holds up aid. Transfer 300 billion dollars in frozen Russian assets to Ukraine so they can turn around and just buy the weapons from us. Can’t wait for people fake concerning about the US taxpayer funding the war to turn around and oppose this as well
https://twitter.com/AndriyYermak/status/1709816872948875385?s=20

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Seizing Russian assets and giving them to Ukraine is an idea I have always opposed, on grounds relating to my valuing of a right to property. Moreover, there's also the fact that a ton of American-owned assets overseas are made more at risk if we make the seizure of Russian assets part of how the game is played. A country like America should not be undercutting the right to property by even appearing to limit it to people who we like. That's bound to take us down a road that would undercut the financial prosperity of the country (and entities based within its orders or tied to it) as a whole.

Giving the rest of the world a signal that this sort of thing is okay to do when we say so, is a price too high to pay for larger amounts of Ukraine aid. Freezing the assets is one thing, but seizing them outright is a bridge too far even in these sorts of circumstances.

[jaichind]

https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-mccarthy-united-states-speaker-war-russia-invasion-weapons-ammunition/

"Ukraine is ‘freaking out’ as McCarthy chaos threatens US aid"

There are clear majorities in the USA Senate and House for Ukraine aid so I think in the medium run there is nothing to "freak out" about.  Other than other domestic issues I think the Biden administration wants to prevent an up-or-down vote for Ukraine aide to avoid the poor optics of a large number of GOP Members of the House voting no and breaking the image they are trying to project to the world on bi-partisan support for aide to Ukraine

[jaichind]

BBC Oct 2022 vs Oct 2023

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

https://thenationonlineng.net/olena-zelenska-spends-1100000-on-cartier-jewelry-gets-sales-employee-fired/

"Olena Zelenska spends $1,100,000 on Cartier jewelry, gets sales employee fired"

Nigerian media reports that Zelensky's wife spent $1.1 million in a NYC jewelry store based on information from an ex-employee

So this happened in New York City, but the only one reporting on it is a Nigerian newspaper?

Definitely legit Russia disinformation.


jaichind, just how stupid do you think we are?

Great example of why I have him on ignore. Definitely not missing anything.

[pppolitics]

Seizing Russian assets and giving them to Ukraine is an idea I have always opposed, on grounds relating to my valuing of a right to property. Moreover, there's also the fact that a ton of American-owned assets overseas are made more at risk if we make the seizure of Russian assets part of how the game is played. A country like America should not be undercutting the right to property by even appearing to limit it to people who we like. That's bound to take us down a road that would undercut the financial prosperity of the country (and entities based within its orders or tied to it) as a whole.

Giving the rest of the world a signal that this sort of thing is okay to do when we say so, is a price too high to pay for larger amounts of Ukraine aid. Freezing the assets is one thing, but seizing them outright is a bridge too far even in these sorts of circumstances.

Let's say that you destroyed your neighbor's house.

The court is going to seize the money in your bank account (and other posessions) to pay for the damages.

[2952-0-0]

Let's say that you destroyed your neighbor's house.

The court is going to seize the money in your bank account (and other posessions) to pay for the damages.

To be fair, it's an independent third party that's seizing the account. The bank can't and shouldn't do so by itself.

I think that seizing Russia's foreign reserves might be a step too far. It would be fair if, as part of a peace treaty, Russia "voluntarily" agreed to forward its foreign reserves to a Ukraine reconstruction fund in exchange for a lifting of economic sanctions. But seizing them now would be questionable.

[pppolitics]

Let's say that you destroyed your neighbor's house.

The court is going to seize the money in your bank account (and other posessions) to pay for the damages.

To be fair, it's an independent third party that's seizing the account. The bank can't and shouldn't do so by itself.

I think that seizing Russia's foreign reserves might be a step too far. It would be fair if, as part of a peace treaty, Russia "voluntarily" agreed to forward its foreign reserves to a Ukraine reconstruction fund in exchange for a lifting of economic sanctions. But seizing them now would be questionable.

So which "independent third party" would this be?

Author's note: Russia doesn't comply with rulings from the International Criminal Court.

[bilaps]

Let's say that you destroyed your neighbor's house.

The court is going to seize the money in your bank account (and other posessions) to pay for the damages.

To be fair, it's an independent third party that's seizing the account. The bank can't and shouldn't do so by itself.

I think that seizing Russia's foreign reserves might be a step too far. It would be fair if, as part of a peace treaty, Russia "voluntarily" agreed to forward its foreign reserves to a Ukraine reconstruction fund in exchange for a lifting of economic sanctions. But seizing them now would be questionable.

So which "independent third party" would this be?

Author's note: Russia doesn't comply with rulings from the International Criminal Court.

Neither does America Einstein