Russia invades Ukraine -- The regional situation

[LSLGuy]

@aceplace57

Ukraine is stronger than ever.

Nonsense. Ukraine is weaker than ever. Conveniently, Russia is more-weaker.

So relatively, Ukraine is on the upswing. But it’s a brief upswing and depends utterly on the continued desire of the West and the USA (which have two different trajectories) to subsidize them with everything except live men.

[aceplace57]

I was thinking about the War production that Ukraine has developed. The drone program and the recently developed long range missile.

Unfortunately, everything is based on Western support. I can’t see Ukraine lasting very long without it.

Apparently the production of shells is by contract and not tied to International policies.

Inside the U.S. city churning out Ukrainian weapons

[Love_Rhombus]

And that trip is now the target of a Congressional investigation.

Trump says Zelenskyy insulted him; House GOP to probe Ukraine leader's PA trip

[aceplace57]

Statements like this by any candidate is beyond callous and appalling.

Ukraines population is estimated at 38 million. Down from 50 million before the invasion. But they’re supposedly all dead according to this candidate.

Is it worth opening a thread in Politics? The election is only six weeks away. May be best to ignore his b.s.

Link Election 2024: Trump says Ukraine is 'demolished' | AP News

Former President Donald Trump described Ukraine in bleak and mournful terms Wednesday, referring to its people as “dead” and the country itself as “demolished,” and further raising questions about how much the former president would be willing if elected again to concede in a negotiation over the country’s future.

[Johnny_L.A]

A post in the Breaking News thread shared footage of a Russian convoy being wiped out by a HIMARS strike. This led to the following posts that don’t really belong in the Breaking News thread. Since the side-discussion was prompted by Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine, I am posting the Iraq video (mentioned in the quotes) here.

@aceplace57

The analysis is interesting. He identifies the cannister falling and then the cluster bombs afterwards.

I wouldn’t make a good intelligence analyst. I just see a blurry mess until things are pointed out.

@Gyrate

“These three likely survived, unless a far-flung bit of debris managed to bonk them.”

@Northern_Piper

There was also one sorta funny one in General Schwarzkopf’s briefing in the wind-down of Gulf I. He said something like, « And here’s footage of one of the luckiest men in Iraq ».

@silenus

I remember that one. Very funny, in a terrifying way.

In case anyone doesn’t remember, here is the video of Iraq’s ‘luckiest man’.

(I really wish I could just post YouTube links directly in MPSIMS. I’ve seen instructions on how to do it, but I haven’t been able to make them work.)

[Pardel-Lux]

The orange one complained the Ukrainian president was “making nasty little dispersions toward” him. Oh dear, that must hurt. And the GOP goes along with this. It is so sad: how can they be so short sighted?
It is so important that he loses the election!

[Johnny_L.A]

@Pardel-Lux

“making nasty little dispersions toward”

Aspersions?

[Pardel-Lux]

I copy & pasted the linked article provided by Love_Rhombus, no more, no less.
Now, if CNBC misquoted him, that is clearly a case of liberal fake news. Sue them.

[Johnny_L.A]

Yes, I saw the quote marks.

[aceplace57]

Trump meets Zelenskyy Friday.

That should be interesting and uncomfortable. Especially after what Trump said yesterday.

Trump says he'll meet with Zelenskyy at Trump Tower Friday morning

[Sage_Rat]

Trump is a born natural politician. What he said 5 minutes ago may as well have been said by another person in another universe.

[aceplace57]

That’s true.

Zelenskyy can’t afford to say anything that hurts Ukraine. His focus is getting whatever aid is available.

It sounds like Biden has pledged (today) the aid that Zelenskyy is requesting.

What else is in Zelenskyy’s plan hasn’t been disclosed.
Harris decries Trump’s ‘proposals of surrender’ as Zelenskyy visits White House | Volodymyr Zelenskyy | The Guardian

Zelenskyy faces an uphill battle in securing support for the plan, because of caution among senior officials in the Biden administration about providing Russia with a pretext to escalate the conflict further, and the looming November presidential elections that could lead to a re-election of Donald Trump.

Ahead of the meeting, Biden announced more than $8bn in military assistance to Kyiv, calling it a “surge in security assistance for Ukraine and a series of additional actions to help Ukraine win this war”.

[enipla]

@aceplace57

Zelenskyy can’t afford to say anything that hurts Ukraine.

I wonder if he could tell Trump some misleading plans for the war. Just to see if Putin gets the information and takes the bait.

[Pardel-Lux]

Oh, a battle of wits! I’d like to see Putin play the Vizzini role. Pity that the whole afair will pass through the brain (sic!) of tanTrump, he will surely blunder.

[enipla]

Trump would likely go on national TV and say something like “Ukraine has a super secret plan to attack X. I’ve told him it won’t work.”

A battle of wits? Well sort of. It’s wit vs. nitwit.

Zelensky has so much on his shoulders. I’m so sorry that he has to bother to take time out of his busy schedule to deal with the moron that is Trump.

But, perhaps, if he kisses his ring, he may get something out of the deal if Trump wins. But Trump is so deep in Putins pocket, I don’t see that happening.

[Pardel-Lux]

@enipla

But Trump is so deep in Putins pocket, I don’t see that happening.

Neither do I, unfortunately. The only thing tanTrump seems good at is holding grudges. He hates Zelenski, that is not going to change. That is one more reason why he has to lose the election.

[enipla]

@Pardel-Lux

Neither do I, unfortunately. The only thing tanTrump seems good at is holding grudges. He hates Zelenski, that is not going to change. That is one more reason why he has to lose the election.

Yep, when Trump tried to extort Zelenski, it didn’t work. Nor did the impeachment for that pass the Senate.

[gnoitall]

I’m not sure if this is more P&E or here, and I don’t know if it’s already been posted there or not, but Republican types are treating Zelenski’s visit to the Pennsylvania munitions plant cranking out artillery shells for Ukraine as a White House political stunt and want Ukraine’s Ambassador to the US persona non grata’d as punishment.

Republicans Lash Out At Zelensky Over Visit To Pennsylvania

I guess they also argue it’s foreign interference in the US election. (The irony, it stings!)

I don’t want to turn that into a Republican-bashing highjack here. If you want to roll your eyes in public at the Republicans for this, I would suggest a P&E spinoff thread.

I just note it here as part of the environment of the conflict.

[aceplace57]

It’s surprising 17 countries sided with Russia and their buddy China.

Guardian Live

• China and Brazil on Friday pressed
  ahead with an effort to gather developing countries behind a plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s dismissal of the initiative as serving Moscow’s interests. Seventeen countries attended a meeting on the sidelines of the UN general assembly chaired by China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, and Brazilian foreign policy adviser Celso Amorim. Wang told reporters they discussed the need to prevent escalation in the war, avoid the use of weapons of mass destruction and prevent attacks on nuclear power plants. Zelenskyy, in a speech to the assembly earlier this week, questioned why China and Brazil were proposing an alternative to his own peace formula. Proposing “alternatives, half-hearted settlement plans, so-called sets of principles” would only give Moscow the political space to continue the war, he said.
• US secretary of state Antony Blinken, speaking later, after a meeting with Wang, underscored strong US concerns about China’s support for Russia’s defence industrial base. Addressing reporters, he said that China, while saying it seeks an end to the Ukraine conflict, “is allowing its companies to take actions that are actually helping Putin continue the aggression. That doesn’t add up.”

[aceplace57]

Someone has to lead and make decisions. The EU realizes that Russia is a more direct threat to Europe.

As the Ukraine war enters a critical period, the EU moves ahead without the US

Most of the 27-nation EU fears a Putin victory would lead to deep uncertainty. Russia’s armed forces are depleted and currently incapable of another war, but the prospect of a future land grab in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania or Poland remains.

The EU loans are part of a plan by the Group of Seven major industrialized nations to take advantage of interest earned on about $250 billion worth of frozen Russian assets, most of them held in Europe. These windfall profits are estimated at around $4.5 billion to $5.5 billion a year.

The profits underpin the G7 plan. The EU would give up $20 billion, the U.S. $20 billion, and Canada, Japan and the U.K. $10 billion together, for a combined total of $50 billion. The scheme expires at the end of the year, before the next U.S. president takes office.