War in Ukraine

Slap some Ukrainian markings on them, take them to some remote airfield and have Ukrainian pilots fly them to Ukraine. Then they can try to establish their own no fly zone without the risk of the USAF etc engaging Russian pilots in air to air combat (and the escalation that would likely come from that).

 

that presupposes that Putin’s real concern is NATO, and not cultural, reclaiming the old empire, trying to show how strong he is by taking back what he thinks is theirs etc. as soon as we offered up ukraine, his next ask would have been Poland and the other post Cold War adds, as he has already said. What then? Compromise again?
especially when most intelligence agencies think it’s about restoring empire anyway, and NATO is a convenient excuse.

 

Recycling is good

 

Get rid of the modern day swastika aka that big Z, paint some Ukraine colors on them, and off they go.

 

gives Poland deniability, if they give them directly to Ukraine they would be considered fair game probably. Russia won’t do that with us. At least that’s the calculus I’m sure.

 

I don't think he's racist, I used it to get what I wanted, which is for him to state what he he and probably a large portion of the population as well as the media is really worried about when they cry "carnage". And for the record, I don't necessarily have a problem with that, I'm realistic about how the world really works and who we humans really are. I just think it's easier for us all to make informed decisions when we're honest to ourselves.

 

"US estimates Russian military has lost 8% to 10% of military assets used in invasion of Ukraine, official says
From CNN's Jim Sciutto

The US estimates that as much as 8% to 10% of Russian military assets used in the invasion of Ukraine is now destroyed or inoperable, according to a US official familiar with the latest intelligence.

The equipment lost includes tanks, aircraft, artillery and other military assets. That is close to double the losses that CNN reported last week when it was estimated Russia had lost 3% to 5% of its military assets.

The US estimates the Ukrainian military has lost a similar percentage of its assets, the official said. "

 

That or the pilots are there training/waiting? (In Germany)

 

How on earth is imposing sanctions and opting not to enter a shooting war equivalent to "admitting defeat"? It's a direction that has been chosen for now, for fairly obvious reasons. Of course we don't yet know how that will work out in the long run, nor do we know how more aggressive options would work.
As for your win-lose scenario....it's FAR from that simplistic. Let's suppose we actively engage in the defense of Ukraine, Putin is losing, on the brink of disaster, and pushes the nuclear button. Who won and who lost in that scenario?

 

Did see a funny joke on Tiktok. From a German user:

Okay just to be clear. You WANT us to build an army, and you WANT us to march through Poland AND fight the Russians if fighting breaks out?

Comments were hilarious including "through not stop", and "don't head the other way towards France".

Some humor for you.

 

Germany's GDP is twice that of Russia. Germany building up its military is bad for mother Russia.

 

too soon

 

That is almost decimated.

 

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/the-unz-report/

Unz.com media bias:

 

From CNN live:

"State Department official: "Russia is trying to up the ante and broaden its demands" in Iran nuclear deal

From CNN's Jennifer Hansler and Kylie Atwood

A top State Department official said Tuesday that “Russia is trying to up the ante and broaden its demands” regarding the Iran nuclear deal “and we are not playing ‘Let's Make a Deal'.
....
In his public comments, Blinken has stressed that the Ukraine and Iran nuclear deal issues are "totally different" and "not in any way linked together.”

However, when asked by Sen. Todd Young, a Republican from Indiana, if “anything about your negotiations with the Russians changed as a result of their invasion of Ukraine,” Nuland replied: “Senator in this open setting, I will simply say that you are right. Russia is trying to up the ante and broaden its demands with regard to the JCPOA and we are not playing ‘Let's Make a Deal.’”
Nuland said the US is not negotiating with Russia “vis-à-vis” Iran and echoed the top US diplomat that Russia and the US share the “same strategic objective” when it comes to efforts to salvage the nuclear deal: to ensure that Iran is never able to get a nuclear weapon."
‐--------------------

Interesting. Didn't realize Russia was also trying to keep Iran from getting nukes

 

Also. From Bank of Russia...withdrawals in US dollars?

""From March 9 to September 9, 2022, the Bank of Russia establishes the following procedure for issuing funds from foreign currency deposits or accounts of citizens: all customer funds from foreign currency accounts or deposits … the client can withdraw up to 10 thousand US dollars in cash, and the rest of the funds — in rubles at the market rate on the day of issue," the statement read."

How would that work? Aren't they cut off from the central bank or something? Do banks there just keep USD in stock?

 

That’s one way to crucify someone.

 

RIP McShrimp. We hardly knew ye’.

 

There’s a large Russian and Ukrainian contingent in my town in the Portland metro and I used to play on a Russian indoor soccer team. A Russian family lived two doors up from me and four doors down it’s a Russian/Ukrainian couple. They’ve had a lot of marital strife so I can only imagine what this is doing now since much of her family is still in Ukraine.

Not that any of that matters just rambling.