Russian invasion of Ukraine | Fewer tweets, more discussion

I thought people knew that already? The entire reason why the oligarchs are so weak and undermined by Putin constantly is because he holds all the keys to their wealth and it's really his to play with.

He's the world's richest man by a long, long way.
 
I thought people knew that already? The entire reason why the oligarchs are so weak and undermined by Putin constantly is because he holds all the keys to their wealth and it's really his to play with.

He's the world's richest man by a long, long way.

I thought most people already knew that?
 


It's not helpful to talk about for public figures, but Lindsay is a moron. We're all hoping for it, but don't say it on TV if you're a US Senator. Lavrov and Putin will no doubt jump on it as evidence of the US trying to orchestrate regime change in Russia.
 
It's not helpful to talk about for public figures, but Lindsay is a moron. We're all hoping for it, but don't say it on TV if you're a US Senator. Lavrov and Putin will no doubt jump on it as evidence of the US trying to orchestrate regime change in Russia.

It's also the kind of thing Putin would treat as an 'act of war'

Complete smoothbrain move from Graham.
 
It's not helpful to talk about for public figures, but Lindsay is a moron. We're all hoping for it, but don't say it on TV if you're a US Senator. Lavrov and Putin will no doubt jump on it as evidence of the US trying to orchestrate regime change in Russia.
Absolutely. This is enough for Putin scream dirty play at the West even though he's in the process of annihilating a whole nation
 
He's saying what many are thinking, but don't feel comfortable saying.

There's a reason most people aren't comfortable saying it. Wouldn't surprise me if Graham had been given the message to say it so Russia can ramp up their reaction to the west helping Ukraine. We know he's crooked as feck.

Although there is the enitrely reasonable alternative that he's just a fecking cretin.
 
He's saying what many are thinking, but don't feel comfortable saying.
His current position should make it prohibitive from making such statements unless he wants to feck it all up when Joe Biden is working hard to keep the unity going.
 
I read this earlier, and while I agree that it is terrible to have to standby and watch, that it would be naive to assume that Putin wouldn't go nuclear if NATO were to be involved militarily.
Sadly, Putin can depend on this strain of thought to enable him to finish the job in Ukraine. We do nothing, he's emboldened. Truism, but fact. We've been approaching this confrontation since at least Georgia, 2008, when the US considered then rejected the idea of bombing the tunnel through which Russian soldiers were pouring into that country.

Joe Wood, the deputy assistant for national security affairs to the hawkish Cheney, was in Georgia shortly before the war broke out, but in the end he didn’t advocate bombing the tunnel. He said he’s still unsure “whether or not it should have been more seriously considered.

“We will know the answer to that question in 10 to 20 years,” he said. “If Russia continues to assert itself either militarily or through other coercive means to claim a sphere of influence, we will look back at this as a time that they were able to change boundaries in Europe without much reaction,” he said. “And then we’ll say we should have considered harder options.”

“If not, then not using military action in this case will probably turn out to have been good judgment,” he said.


https://www.politico.com/story/2010/02/us-pondered-military-use-in-georgia-032487

Elsewhere, it is said that Putin halted on a full occupation because he feared Cheney was mooting the idea of strikes. And he believed Cheney was someone who'd follow through with the threat and actually take action.
https://www.ft.com/content/3189c20b-251d-3345-a475-0d9093a98567

There is talk of large NATO exercises in coming days and they are essential. (Trump cancelled SK-US annual military exercises near to the DMZ and it was a giveaway that costs allied forces defence readiness to this now potentially out of control moment. ) It was a capitulationist step backwards to cancel the minuteman exercises this week. At the very least, all allies have to be absolutely ready to fight tonight and to send the message to Putin that they are ready to fight tonight if he crosses another border.
 
Sadly, Putin can depend on this strain of thought to enable him to finish the job in Ukraine. We do nothing, he's emboldened. Truism, but fact. We've been approaching this confrontation since at least Georgia, 2008, when the US considered then rejected the idea of bombing the tunnel through which Russian soldiers were pouring into that country.

I mean I agree, but that's the awful catch-22. I don't really buy that Putin's mental health is questionable, but I do wonder if, after the week he's had watching his economy fall apart and the world turning on him, it'd be the final act that drove him to lash out. He's spoken quite recently, less than two months ago of how he knows Russia can't match NATO in conventional warfare, but he's certainly confident that Russia's atomic arsenal and delivery systems are the world's best.
 
I mean I agree, but that's the awful catch-22. I don't really buy that Putin's mental health is questionable, but I do wonder if, after the week he's had watching his economy fall apart and the world turning on him, it'd be the final act that drove him to lash out. He's spoken quite recently, less than two months ago of how he knows Russia can't match NATO in conventional warfare, but he's certainly confident that Russia's atomic arsenal and delivery systems are the world's best.
He's an ethnic-nationalist mythomaniac who's just spent two years in a bunker stewing in history books. The very least we show him is maximalist defence posture readiness. Only this, together with the harshest economic sanctions ever seen and full cultural/social/travel boycotts of Russia, might start rumblings amongst the FSB or the 'oligarchs' or a 'more palatable strongman'. We have to be willing to bear the pain of risk.
 
Russian oligarch jets still flying in and out of US airports despite Biden declaring airspace to be closed to them a few night ago.





How do we even know they are on-board or its even their planes? Could be ferrying their kids?

Wouldn't the Oligarchs just take like Netjets or Vistajets and be more anonymous?
 
I can’t figure out what the motive is in shelling the nuclear plant.

Are they trying to bait NATO to join the fight, and what would they gain from that? Or are they simply just that stupid?

Seems completely irrational, which is scary.