An internal fear of the war (and with it Crimea) being lost?
Russian invasion of Ukraine | Fewer tweets, more discussion
- Thread starter Wednesday at Stoke
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I'm a bit hesitant to just accept that she really confirmed it to be mostly FSB people. But if that were true, then I don't think it's, because they get a great price in the middle of a war, so probably, because they see a real risk that Russia will have to let go of Crimea or that they need the liquidity because of the sanctions?!
They're nearing Kyiv?
Can someone remind me which nation was allies with the Nazis at the start of WW2 because I keep forgetting.
Each day it seems they advance at least a little. What is more in doubt than their ability to achieve some advance is whether then can take Kyiv before the attrition to their numbers and equipment is too great.
BBC reports:
"The Russian economy will shrink by at least 15% this year, according to an assessment from the Institute of International Finance (IIF), a financial services trade group.
The IIF had previously predicted that Moscow's economy would grow by 3% in 2022, but now says that sanctions imposed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine "have led to a drastic and unprecedented tightening in financial conditions, which signals a deep recession".
Experts warned that the decline could be even sharper should there be additional Western boycotts of Russian energy supplies.
Such a move "would drastically impair Russia's ability to import goods and services, deepening the recession," the IIF said.
"The Russian economy will shrink by at least 15% this year, according to an assessment from the Institute of International Finance (IIF), a financial services trade group.
The IIF had previously predicted that Moscow's economy would grow by 3% in 2022, but now says that sanctions imposed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine "have led to a drastic and unprecedented tightening in financial conditions, which signals a deep recession".
Experts warned that the decline could be even sharper should there be additional Western boycotts of Russian energy supplies.
Such a move "would drastically impair Russia's ability to import goods and services, deepening the recession," the IIF said.
You mean another “special military operation“ when they invaded Eastern Poland and massacred 22,000 Polish officers at Katyn? I forget who it was too….
All getting ready to move to Kiev?
They would keep their apartments in Yalta as vacation homes if that were the case. More likely, they are preparing to get reassigned domestically to quell a massive uprising once the economy fully tanks.
Thought this was an interesting read even if its fake (the fsb whistleblower bit at bottom).
Retrospective nazi calling in response to a madman's propaganda machine meant for internal consumption in Russia? Really?
We know who it was and its irrelevant.
Also you're very selective in framing it. Stalin was the most and possibly only opponent of the Nazi's in the 30s on the international stage. Segregationist US didn't have an issue or the British elite who socialised with their German counterparts.
What happened in Poland was a last ditch attempt to keep the Germans at bay, not an alliance, a disgusting pact though.
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Makes sense but so would keeping property assets?
Realistically, I think the Russian government is about to tank, which means the party will be over for all, including corrupt FSB elites with Black Sea homes in Crimea. Owning property won't mean much when they would simply be lucky to be alive 12 months from now.
Based on the evidence of the 30s, who would have seemed the biggest maniac? Hitler had camps open in Germany and was clearly a vile individual but had done nothing at that stage to compare to the holodomor or the Great Terror. Plus, killing 22,000 officers is not a defensive strategy - it is a decapitation strategy aimed against a country that had only regained its independence from Russia 20 years earlier.
I hope you're right.
Stalin obviously; he was a genocidal maniac, but that still doesn't validate the one eyed retrospective analysis which forgets his previous and subsequent ideological and military opposition to the Nazis. What he did in Poland was disgusting but it didnt make him a Nazi.
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They may have gained some inches but have lost some in other areas.
They have bypassed Cherihiv to approach Kyiv but were easily repelled it seems. This is where that video of that clumped up tank column taking artillary fire comes from. The re-supply road to Chernihiv is now blocked however.
Hearing mixed reports on Hosomel, but apparently Ukraine is making good progress further North-West:
We barely know anything about Ukraine troop movements but we do know there are thousands of well armed Ukrainian/foreign legion soldiers making their way over from the west. If these reports of a successful push NW of Kyiv are true, we may see the Russians becoming the ones being encircled in the coming days.
A few years ago I realized that I knew almost nothing beyond the very basics about the Eastern Front of WWII, so I decided to read a couple of books about it to know a little bit more. I also ended up getting a bit of the history of internal USSR politics around the time, and what shocked me about Stalin was the randomness of the violence. It went beyond what you might call just politically useful (persecution of opponents or even internal rivals), and got solidly into paranoia and maybe even bloodlust territory. I don't think its a great debate as to who was most violent, hard to lead to anything. But Stalin's brutality still stands out as you read about it, not just the numbers but the nature of it too.
What's the rough estimate of the Ukraine Army plus men who have stayed back to defend...it must be in the hundreds of thousands??
I'm curious to know what books you read that you felt were particularly educational?
I'm listening to The Cold War written by Odd Arne Westad and am wanting to move onto some others soon as well.
The Ukrainian parliament passed a law to seize all russian assets on the Ukrainian territory, afaik. They probably know that things are quite bad and are trying to liquidate before it's too late.
Video title is misleading, as the strikes (outside Kyiv) are probably from Javelins and /or NLAWs and not artillery, but anyhow:
Absolute War: Soviet Russia in the Second World War by Chris Bellamy, was what I read to learn more about the war. People also talk a lot about David Glantz as one of the leading Eastern Front historians, and When Titans Clashed I think is his overview of the war book, besides his many other works about specific battles or aspects of the war.
I also read In Deadly Combat: A German Soldier's Memoir of the Eastern Front, which as the name says is a bit of the view of the war from a German foot-soldier's perspective. I've found that perspective interesting once I get some sense of the bigger picture, to know what it was like on the ground especially for the losing side (a lot of death).
This is a review of a book by someone who fought at Stalingrad: https://adamtooze.substack.com/p/chartbook-21?s=r
Review makes the book seem very interesting.
I’d like to recommend Russia’s War by Richard Overy as well.
Geez. Bigger victim complex than the Scousers.
Just can’t get by without my daily buckwheat…..gonna be a lot of disfunctional digestive systems to go with the battered economy in Russia
Oh shit
Certainly seems very interesting, added to my list to read.
If the Russians can’t beat Ukrainians without losing too many men, with all the sanctions killing their economy I see 2 outcomes coming from this, they kill Putin and the war is over or Putin uses nuclear weapons against Ukraine and then they will advance on any no NATO/EU country that used to be part of soviet Union. Countries will start shaking their boots and start trading again with Russia. They will replace their flag with the old Soviet flag and cold war version 2 to continue.
They're sending expired bulletproof vest panels and plates that can't be used. They have a life expectancy of 5 years, if I remember correctly. It's essentially a warranty though. The vest are still safe for some time after that, but I think most vest manufacturers use it as an excuse to force agencies to buy new vests/body armor every few years. If manufacturers tell everyone they can't promise the vests are safe after 5 years, no agency is going to use them beyond that.
An agency I know of had a whole pallet-sized box full of old bulletproof vests and panels that has probably grown in size if they haven't gotten rid of them. I also know of a few people who shot old vests to test them, and the vests were still effective.
I have to mention this book, "Berlin 1945 - the downfall" by Antony Beevor. One of the best books about that period of ww2.
Edit: the book is not only about the fights in and aroung Berlin but also the Soviet Union's campaign through europe leading up to that.
Hope those television execs live on the ground floor.
If true, that’s massive.