Understood once this is over that we will be adding in the lion share to rebuild but any ideas on their current monthly operational costs? And how much are we floating them right now?
Agreed if we could get a coup with a full pivot from this dinosaur mentality exhibited by Tyrantsaurus Vlad then there would be a willingness to open up for (limited) western business. #1 avg Ruskie has got to understand the west is not their enemy. We never wanted to invade, just stop fucking shit up with everyone else. We just want to live in a world where we can sponsor both Ukrainian tractors and Russian cam girls. Is that so wrong to want the best of both worlds?
Anyone have some projections on the financial stability for both Russia and Ukrain? As this meanders along it may be more of an economic attrition that decides this war. Below article covers some of the pending default details for RU. The narrowly avoided default at the start of May but has another deadline coming up on the 25th. What are the implications if they do default? How soon would that impact the purchasing power of the avg citizen?
Putin has been walking a tightrope, still trying to ride out a losing ticket, desperately trying to reinforce losses without committing to a full mobilization. He's afraid of public sentiment shifting on him, he can control the mobilization narrative but he can't indefinitely control the economic plunge.
Plus with all of the focus on Russia I'm still concerned about Ukraine's finances. Sure they are getting plenty of military assistance but how long can they sustain their economy during a total war? If it becomes a game of economic chicken who balks first?
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/10/russia-still-faces-high-default-probability-despite-payment-analysts-say.html
Sentiment may be shifting in China. Former ambassador to Ukraine gave some opinions on the war and they don't follow Xi's current narrative. Article was taken down by censors but interesting to see if a different perspective is brewing. Especially interesting are some ideas on the new international world order after Russia's defeat with predictions for a reformed UN or even possibly a new international council if the West can't get the desired changes. Not sure how likely that all is but something to keep in mind as there will be some severe geopolitical shifts once the post-pandemic, post-war, post-recession trifecta circulates across the globe.
https://gaodawei.wordpress.com/2022/05/10/fmr-prc-amb-to-ukraine-on-russias-impending-defeat-and-international-relations/
This one is chilling as fuck. Seriously Ramsay Bolton Jr vibes. If not iced during this war I hope there are some Mossad like agencies created to hunt this fucker down and beat his ass to death.
I'm tempted to join the saboteur party, secretly assassinate Lavrov, but continue to make proclamations in his name based on the below chart. Wonder how long I go before anyone notices anything amiss...
Not sure if this legit, sounds a bit too articulate and dismal for a Russian volunteer, but does give a lot of details about the defensive tactics used on the UA side. Covers a bunch of the initial attacks of the war and how his BTG ended up shredded.
A lot of things you can classify as diarrhea of the mouth but this just straight diarrhea of the mind. Really this Ruskie dumbassery should be posted in the shart thread.
Plus I suspect any sustained attacks on Russian clay = mass mobilization. That's something Putin could sell to his masses that this is now a defensive war.
Interesting article trying to better understand the general pro-war support in the Russian citizens. Difficult to trust any type of surveys in such a repressive system but this one at least tries to add some nuance to the analysis.
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/russia-ukraine-war-support-interviews-opinion/
I don't speak the language but I think this guy is describing what a piece of shit tech used by Russia as part of their UAV drones. It's basically a DIY build.