The Russians are desperate. They don’t have an advantage. Their generals are getting killed left and right, Russian soldiers continue to go AWOL, and now Putin is drafting 65 year olds to fight in the war.
Yea, great advantage.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Russia is exposed to a historic debt default after the U.S. Treasury Department last week allowed a key sanctions exemption to expire.
The waiver had allowed Russia to process payments to foreign bondholders in dollars through U.S. and international banks, thereby avoiding default.
So, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov reportedly told Russian newspaper Vedomosti on Monday that Moscow will continue to service external debts in rubles, but foreign eurobond holders will need to open ruble and hard currency accounts with Russian banks in order to receive payments.
Will the big boys refuse payment? I doubt it.
In the meantime, Russia continues to pound Ukraine infrastructure, destroying their economy.
The Russians are desperate. They don’t have an advantage. Their generals are getting killed left and right, Russian soldiers continue to go AWOL, and now Putin is drafting 65 year olds to fight in the war.
Yea, great advantage.
Putin is suicidal. He’s playing my gun is bigger than urs and he’ll take it to the limit. Better bunker up. And all those guns we have on the streets ain’t going to protect Jack sh.
A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives. – Jackie Robinson
The Telegraph Ukraine morning briefing: Russia loses ground in strategic city of Severodonetsk
Good morning. Ukrainian troops have pushed back Russian forces in the besieged city of Severodonetsk, according to local officials.
Sergiy Gaiday, the governor of the eastern Luhansk region, said that Kyiv's forces had gained control of around half of the city, but that the situation had "worsened a little" once again on Monday.
Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, praised Ukraine's defenders as he visited two cities near the front line.
1. Britain pledges missiles after Putin’s threats Britain has promised to send its first long-range missiles to Ukraine after a similar US pledge, which on Sunday triggered Vladimir Putin to threaten to strike new targets.
Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, said: "As Russia’s tactics change, so must our support to Ukraine.
"These highly capable multiple-launch rocket systems will enable our Ukrainian friends to better protect themselves against the brutal use of long-range artillery, which Putin’s forces have used indiscriminately to flatten cities."
Meanwhile, President Zelensky took time to congratulate the Queen on her Platinum Jubilee, and also thank her for supporting his country: [insert unavailable]
2. Russia strikes Kyiv for first time in weeks Russia took aim on Sunday at Western military supplies to Ukraine, launching airstrikes on Kyiv that it claimed destroyed tanks donated from abroad.
Vladimir Putin warned that any Western deliveries of longer-range rocket systems would prompt Moscow to hit "objects that we haven't yet struck". The Russian leader's cryptic threat of military escalation did not specify what the new targets might be.
Ukraine said the missiles aimed at Kyiv hit a train repair shop.
Elsewhere, Russian airstrikes in the eastern city of Druzhkivka destroyed buildings and left at least one person dead, a Ukrainian official said. Residents described waking to the sound of missile strikes: "It was like in a horror movie."
Ukraine's General Staff also said Russian forces fired five X-22 cruise missiles from the Caspian Sea towards Kyiv, with one destroyed by air defences. Four other missiles hit "infrastructure facilities."
3. Ukraine pushes back Russians in Severodonetsk Ukrainian troops pushed back the Russian forces to control half of the besieged city of Severodonetsk, local officials said.
Ukraine's gains in the eastern city represent a significant advance by Kyiv's troops, who days earlier appeared on the verge of being driven out of the city.
"The Armed Forces have cleared half of Severodonetsk and are moving forward," said Sergiy Gaiday, the governor of the Luhansk region.
However, he warned on Monday morning that the situation in the city had "worsened a little" again.
"Our defenders managed to undertake a counter-attack for a certain time; they liberated almost half of the city. But now the situation has worsened a little for us again," he said.
4. Zelensky visits the front lines President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday he visited Lysychansk and Soledar, two cities very close to some of the most intense fighting on the eastern front line between Ukrainian troops and Russian forces. The beleaguered city of Lysychansk is just a few miles south of Severodonetsk, where one of the war's biggest ground battles continues to rage.
"I am proud of everyone whom I met, whom I shook hands with, with whom I communicated, whom I supported," Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address after his visit. "Each family has its own story. Most were without men.
"Someone's husband went to war, someone's is in captivity, someone's, unfortunately, died. A tragedy. No home, no loved one. But we must live for the children. True heroes - they are among us."
[b]5. Russia has moved air defences to Snake Island, claims MoDt/b] Russian forces have likely moved multiple air defence assets to Snake Island in the western Black Sea in the wake of the Moskva ship being destroyed in April, Britain's Ministry of Defence has said. The MoD said that the weapons - including SA-15 and SA-22 systems - are intended to provide air defence for Russian naval vessels operating around the island.
It added that Russia's activity on the small island is contributing to its blockade of the Ukrainian coast and is hindering the resumption of maritime trade, including the export of grain.
not gonna lie....if a high ranking US politician ever said to us that "we must return back to the days of the 13 colonies", i'm absolutely selling all my assets on the stock market and buying all kinds of weapons. not because i'm scared of the government.
nope, because i'm scared of the clowns in this country that would cheer that crap on.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
If I was your age with two young girls, I'd move to Canada.
Wifey is talking non stop about wanting to move back to Germany. It’s much closer to ukraine than America…yet somehow safer. What a pathetic reality.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
What's racism like there? Almost non-existent? And are women equal or property like GOPers want?
it's kinda there....but it's really hard to explain. i'll try my best.
they don't discriminate based on skin tone. it's straight up nationality. for example, they don't like polish people all that much. they have a bad rep of stealing cars, driving them across the border and selling them for profit. polish are 'white' by american standards, but in Europe, nobody calls themselves white. you can't tell the difference between a french man and a german man based on looks. but the french and germans don't get along like that (for obvious reasons).
when the refugee crisis was a big deal, the Germans had issues, but all of that really calmed down lately. but it's not a middle eastern thing, because Turkish people are the largest minority group in Germany, and everything is normal. there's some issues with African migrants, but black Americans are TOTALLY different. for black and latino americans, Germany might as well be a paradise, and i'm not exaggerating whatsoever. when my wife's grandmother found out she was pregnant, she wa happy as hell talking about "imma have beautiful mixed german grandbabies!"
uhhh.....lol
even when we went to east Germany, where there's still a lot of right wingers there (by european standards), i never caught any heat. they were cool with me and all that, but because i was American, not from Africa or the middle east. it's actually kind of sad because Germany seems to know american history better than americans. and that's where the skin tone thing starts coming into play. because boy, my homeboys who were white did not enjoy Germany all like that. they caught a lot of heat because of them being white americans and how they act overseas, and black and latino americans were damn near immune from any of that crap. i know only one white dude who is currently living in germany after he got out the army. i know exactly 15 of my boys who are black and latino that currently live there either married or still having a blast.
the thing is, the children of the migrants who are born and raised in Germany are perfectly fine, because they grow up in German culture. there aren't a ton of private schools like here in the US. all the public schools teach the same things no matter which state in germany you live in. also, a big thing is the neighborhoods. you see wealthy germans living in the same neighborhoods as a poor or middle class german, as well as turkish etc. there's very little segregation in housing based on race. my wife's family is wealthy, but they're well off. she lived in a really nice neighborhood, but you still saw all kinds of people in said neighborhood. and in school, it's mandatory that they learn a 2nd language starting in elementary school, and what ends up happening is that the majority of germans know 2-3 languages fluently.
there's a lot more to it, and i'm not an expert on the entire culture so i know im missing some details. but overall, yea it's a safer country by a long shot compared to the US. way less racist, more of a melting pot than America, which we tend to just be a collection of demographics.
i literally had ONE issue with a german. and he didn't call me the N word or anything. he called me a stupid American. caught me off guard too, cause im standing there like "wait, thats it? stupid american?" lol i can deal with that all day everyday.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
What I have noticed is that many of the countries in Europe do not espouse the melting pot philosophy. The melting pot idea would seem to suggest that we all melt together and be the same. That, at least to me, suggests we leave our individualism and lineage behind and conform into one people. From the limited experience I have in conversing with people from Europe, they describe their nations more like a mosaic. Differing cultures, races and linage living together as parts of the puzzle to create the complete picture.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
that's very true. i didn't know the word for what you just described so i just said melting pot. but from birth, you're either german or you're not. skin tone or genetics means absolutely nothing when it comes to what's considered german, or french, or british etc.
last time i went to Oktoberfest, there were black and middle eastern dudes wearing lederhosen and drinking with everyone else. and nobody except my ignorant american ass noticed nor did they care. you're either german or you're not.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
That was just my opinion based on what I had heard with little interaction to base it on. You on the other hand have far more experience interacting with Europeans. My hope was more to see if you, who have far more experience with them had any input on my opinion. Thanks for responding.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
and your opinion is correct. it's both a great experience to live over there, but unfortunate because it really opens your eyes to what our own country is and isn't.
For example, i learned from germans that Hitler was inspired by the US's jim crow and segregation policies on how to enact them in Germany. I also learned from germans that FDR and congress passed policies due to a big debate on what was essentially moral authority. like how could the US speak out about germany when we had our own racism thriving at the same time. that's why i take history so seriously than before i got stationed over there, because it was made clear that history isn't just story time to tell the kids before they go to bed; history is supposed to be taught to learn how situations in the past affect our society today, what did and didn't work, what went wrong, what went right, how to rectify the mistakes and build on the decisions that turned out well.
Germany ofcourse isn't perfect. no country is. but i really appreciate a country who doesn't lie about it's past and tries to ignore a problem instead of solving it. wish we had some of that in our country, bro.
but, ya know...
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Yeah, the "we are perfect and the good guys always" version of history is what I was taught in school and what people are still fighting to preserve in schools. It's no wonder we never face our issues head on. People want to hide them all away like they never happened and still don't exist.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is planning to force the West to end its sanctions by causing a widespread famine, Yale historian Timothy Snyder argues.
Snyder, a Levin professor of history at Yale University, pointed to Russia's ongoing blockade of Ukrainian grain, which shows no signs of stopping. Ukraine is a major global producer of grain, supplying mainly Middle Eastern and Asian countries.
Snyder argues that Putin's plan is not only to destabilize Ukraine by cutting off exports but also destabilize the European Union by generating "refugees from North Africa and the Middle East, areas usually fed by Ukraine."
yea but the problem for Putin is that we have plenty of food to give. Americans just by ourselves throw away something like 40% of our food. very plentiful.
it'll just end up with Russia having more sanctions placed upon them, because Putin just admitted he's attempting to a geonice of ukrainian people by starving them to death.
His trash ass planning and statements says this is exactly how Trump would run this country if allowed. no direction, no plan, no policies, just "do what i say or else".
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
as ive been saying, you dont bow down to clowns like him just because he threatens nuclear strikes. Putin has now basically threatened everybody with nukes. some of yall with zero backbone was all "omg he said he might nuke us we need to maybe not back ukraine uuurrrgggg"
This dude is a joke. all this talk about Russia being this big baddie ended up being completely off base. This dude would threaten jesus with a nuclear strike if given the opportunity.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Remember, he thinks he’s Peter the great, wanting to unify all the former Russian territory. Not just Soviet, but imperialist Russia. That Chinese opium he’s smoking must be that grade A stuff.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
China white? Naw, sounds more like krokodil. That eats their brains and bodies. And I'm pretty sure its cheap crudeness and nasty contribution to the world came from the same place they are from, Russia. Pretty much like this dumbass war and the inflation it has created. Except it actually eats people instead of eating them financially. And more than a handful of Russians living under Putin, as well as some having gotten out from under him, have now called him and this war out. They are calling him nuts pretty regularly and I don't think he will last much longer, especially if he takes a nuclear action. I don't think those birds would ever fly, even if he gave the direct order at this point. His army has said many times on Ukrainian tv that they were lied to and sent there to die for his crazy plans. There were no nazis in Ukraine and it's just Putin's greed and or, he's simply gone mad. Can't imagine that news didn't make it into Russia.
Looks like this war has settled into a stalemate with the advantage to Russia.
Russia is picking off Ukrainian infrastructure with missiles, attacking them economically which they feel will hurt more than killing soldiers.
Rail stations, power companies and fuel are priorities.
‘Surrender or die,’ militia leader tells Ukrainian fighters in Severodonetsk; Pope says war perhaps ‘provoked’ Pope Francis has again criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but also said that the war was “perhaps somehow ... provoked.”
In the text of a conversation he had last month with the editors of Jesuit publications, Pope Francis said “what we are seeing is the brutality and ferocity with which this war is being carried out by the troops, generally mercenaries, used by the Russians.”
But, he added, “the danger is that we only see this, which is monstrous, and we do not see the whole drama unfolding behind this war, which was perhaps somehow either provoked or not prevented,” he said, adding that the “interest in testing and selling weapons” was perhaps a contributing factor to the conflict.
“Someone may say to me at this point: so you are pro-Putin! No, I am not. It would be simplistic and wrong to say such a thing,” Pope Francis said, adding: “I am simply against reducing complexity to the distinction between good guys and bad guys without reasoning about roots and interests, which are very complex.”
Looks like this war has settled into a stalemate with the advantage to Russia.
Russia is picking off Ukrainian infrastructure with missiles, attacking them economically which they feel will hurt more than killing soldiers.
Rail stations, power companies and fuel are priorities.
‘Frozen conflict’: Ukraine war could last 10 years or more if Russian forces aren’t pushed back
-Analysts fear that Ukraine could be losing the upper hand in the Donbas, leaving it vulnerable to being wholly seized by Russia. -Russia initially focused its invasion of Ukraine on the south, east and north but later changed its strategy to focus on eastern Ukraine. -Russia has seen far more “successes” in eastern Ukraine, where most of its resources are deployed.
A Russian lawmaker on Wednesday said Moscow will look to repeal its recognition of the independence of former Soviet nations like Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in an attempt to revoke their NATO protections.
State Duma deputy Yevgeny Fedorov told a Latvian news outlet that reversing Russia’s decision to recognize the Baltic States as sovereign would allegedly create legal grounds to force the alliance to divert to 1997 borders.
"The NATO Charter contains clause six, according to which the disputed territories cannot be included in the alliance. As soon as the territories of the Baltic countries are recognized as disputed, this will become the basis for the exclusion of the Baltic countries from NATO," Fedorov said.
Last week Fedorov introduced legislation targeting Lithuanian sovereignty and claimed it illegally left the Soviet Union more than three decades ago.
Lithuania became the first republic to announce it would restore its independence from the collapsing USSR in March 1990 after being under Soviet control since 1940.
Moscow, under President Mikhail Gorbachev, acknowledged Lithuania's sovereignty by September 1991.
Fedorov claimed that Lithuania was Russia’s first NATO target as it posed the greatest threat to Moscow and claimed it was "NATO's gateway to the Baltics."
But the Russian lawmaker also said that other former Soviet states could be next.
"The Commander-in-Chief determined that our ‘red lines’ run along the borders of NATO in 1997. This means that we need, at a minimum, to push NATO beyond the borders of the former Soviet Union," he said in reference to an era before eastern European nations were invited to join the alliance.
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, all of which share borders with Russia or Belarus – which has been described as a Russian puppet state – joined the NATO alliance in 2004.
The only nations to join between 1997 and 2004 were Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, and Russia has repeatedly called for the disarmament of these nations – a move NATO has flatly rejected.
"If countries do not pose a threat, then we will not change anything with them - there will still be peace and friendship," the state deputy claimed.
Fedorov threatened that should Russia decide to reverse its recognition of independent Baltic States then NATO should boot them from the alliance or accept that a "Third World War will begin."
NATO has not publicly commented on Russia’s potential move to repeal its recognition of Baltic States’ sovereignty.
But in an address Wednesday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg pledged to bolster security efforts within alliance and beyond.
"President Putin's goals goes beyond Ukraine, and that's the reason why we need to both provide support to Ukraine as we do, but also strengthen our deterrence and defense not least in the eastern part of the Alliance," he told reporters.
Despite Russia’s unveiled threats to NATO allies, experts told Fox News there was no chance Moscow would be able to dictate NATO membership.
"First, NATO would not ‘boot’ any nation out of the Alliance. NATO is the result of a treaty, the Washington Treaty, so the only way for a NATO member to leave the Alliance is by their own choice," Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Europe and NATO, Michael Ryan, said. "Second, the United States never recognized the incorporation of the Baltic States into the Soviet Union.
"Just because a Russian Duma member suggests that Russia does not recognize them as independent nations, all the members of NATO do, so nothing changes," he added.
Similarly, former intelligence officer for Russian doctrine and strategy with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Rebekah Koffler, told Fox News that this was another example of "Putin using his propaganda machine to scare the people of the Baltic States, to foment discord, and ratchet up the tensions with the West."
"NATO will absolutely not consider kicking out the Baltics," she added.
________________
ummm.......does Russia realize that the plan isn't gonna work since they just publicly admitted to try and game the system with some legal loophole?
"we no longer recognize these states as part of NATO!!"
"lol. Sure, Russia, sure."
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
I thought that, too, when I read it. My guess is it's another ploy for them to try and call Europe's bluff at their willingness to actually react. Scholz and Macron are showing their underbellies right now and that doesn't help the situation.
On the flipside, it doesn't seem like Russia should try to open another front at this point, for their own good.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
It's a wonder how the railroads changed things. Praise God. Halelujah, the Kingdom of Heaven is so precious. There will be wars and rumors of wars until the end of time.
Can Deshaun Watson play better for the Browns, than Baker Mayfield would have? ... Now the Games count.
That is not to support one country or another country, all countries are on one side, and God is on the other side. The day of the LORD is approaching.
Can Deshaun Watson play better for the Browns, than Baker Mayfield would have? ... Now the Games count.
honestly it's just embarrassing for russia. they have. this city under occupation for now, but the EU is already gonna try and bring Ukraine in. Russia is now beefing with lithuania, and word of default in the russian economy looms.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Putin deserves everything that is happening to him, He is costing the world trillions and great hardship with his BS. I wish congress would do MORE for them since we've committed. Taking down Putin would be a huge score, but then you have to worry about who replaces him and what that will look like. I'd love to see the people there install a true democracy. If they had a democracy, I know some GOPers that would probably move there.
Putin isn't going to be taken down from outside. When you lose the economy, you lose the people. When you lose the people, it's time to pull the trigger on your exit strategy, 'go bag' at the ready.
Swish, I know you realize we're watching history right now. This pimp has been on the streets since you were in Underoos®... and now, it's all unravelling on him like a cheap KMart sweater. It's fascinating, in a sick, apocalyptic, "I don't know what's next" kinda way.
We hear stories of his failing health. We hear stories of failed plots to take him out. We hear stories of his increasing isolation and paranoia.
This is a prime example of what I've said before. Dictatorships always end in one of three ways:
assassination/coup massive popular uprising flight to obscurity
I don't yet know how this dood's story ends... but the end is near. All the signs are there.
I’m actually concerned by the gains he’s been making in the eastern provinces. My hope, however is that he’s overextending himself. They are taking a plodding, WWI attrition approach it seems, given that they don’t know how to successfully operate advanced logistics, but they do out-muscle the Ukrainians. What I’m curious about, though, is for how long he can keep up the bombardment. I have to imagine they’re burning out their candle wick on that front rather quickly.
As far as the default goes, I’m really paying attention. It’s up to the creditors from everything I’ve read. Russia will make the payment in roubles, which is against the rules. The creditors can either choose to accept or reject the payment (which would cause the default). At least I think that’s the case. We’ll see.
One area I’m really weak in my understanding is the whole currency issue. Russia I guess he figured out a way to implement strict currency controls to prop up the value of the rouble. It’s touted as a success on their part, but I’d have to think there’d be a downside to that. Anyone with a better economic background than me able to explain that?
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
honestly it's just embarrassing for russia. they have. this city under occupation for now, but the EU is already gonna try and bring Ukraine in. Russia is now beefing with lithuania, and word of default in the russian economy looms.
Maybe it's just my distrust of our politicians and media, but coverage of an illegal invasion and war is not good for politics when they are trying to reform gun control in our own country.
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
"aight they officially broke as hell lets go run up in them, boys!!!" was my first initial reaction.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
