yes, I feel the sameBlummin difficult to resist sometimes though! I'm goin bed before I break
Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Thread starter Wednesday at Stoke
- Start date
CIA backed maidan coup.
Seriously give your head a wobble.
I’ve posted a billion times in this thread the timeline leading to 2013 protests and why it happened and how the average person got involved.
Hint, maybe battering students who wanted the government to adhere to their pledge (that passed with a parliamentary supermajority) to begin the EU ascension process doesn’t make the average citizen very happy.
I’m sure the CIA was responsible for that one too.
Also please enlighten us on your glorious knowledge of the state of the Russian military in comparison to the west. I’d love to hear your in depth expert analysis
Why is every vatnik repeating the exact same talking points verbatim? Show a little creativity at least.
All of your points (that literally copy the original metodichki — documents with talking points that are being sent by the Russian government to government-controlled press, bloggers etc.) have been discussed and debunked to death over the course of this thread. If you're trying to argue them in good faith, do educate yourself, especially on the second Maidan and what exactly the Eastern regions were leaning towards (unlike Crimea, the idea of joining Russia wasn't at all prevalent even though economically and politically Donbass & Luhansk had closer ties to Russia than to EU and voted accordingly).
While we appreciate critical discussion (I'm often playing the role of devil's advocate here, criticizing some of the points from the pro-Ukrainian side that have little ground in reality), it's not the thread for rehashing talking points of Russian propaganda. Actually, those aren't even rehashed, hence why it triggers me so much — I'm probably way more exposed to it than most people on here and your post literally reads as one of those copypastas that I encounter so often, usually in Russian (CIA-backed coup, democratically elected Yanukovych, NATO provoking Russia by entertaining the idea of including a sovereign country in its alliance etc. — even the what if example of Cuba or Mexico).
Creativity and independent thinking are not desired abilities. Generations have been taught to keep their heads down and parrott the party line, no matter how openly absurd it is. Great leader has the answers, their job is just execute whatever they've been ordered.
It did look interesting at beginning.
What I don't understand is, how you can't mask yourself if you are bot for someone, some obvious propaganda always spills over.
What I don't understand is, how you can't mask yourself if you are bot for someone, some obvious propaganda always spills over.
Those of us who've participated in Russian political protests, including those that happened around the same time as 2014 Maidan, are still waiting on those CIA/Department of State money by the way. Nowadays they're blaming the delay on Russia being cut off from SWIFT but where were they for those 8 years?
As Harms said above, many of these issues have already been discussed and resolved in the preceding 1500 pages. You may want to read through them before repeating the same debubunked arguments as if its the first time anyone has brought them up.
Yes, I wonder why they have to mobilize in Ukraine.
You’re not even arguing those in the Donbass have life better than they did before the invasion. Which is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever read.
Instead you distract by bringing up entirely new questions.
Sorry but I don’t think you really believe that you’re saying so have no desire to debate, just mock your nonsense for those with sense. Have a nice day.
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see below
If you print this sentence out and read it through a mirror, you will see the light!
Nobody's bot, I just don't subscribe to the propaganda you have swallowed due to your natural inclination for consuming comfortable storylines, which fit nicely with your world view!
I will go back and have a look at the thread. I would be happy to read anything you think would expand my knowledge on the subject.
So you don't think NATO troops and bases in Ukraine and Georgia would be threat to Russia? What is the purpose of NATO and what in your opinion would be the reason of having Georgia and Ukraine join NATO?
Where you a member of Pussy Riot?
To anyone who believes that the CIA and it's NGOs had nothing to do with the Maidan uprising and several other color revolutions around the same time in various countries around Russia, as well as the so-called Arab spring; Sorry to break it to you, guys, but this is how it works!
Ever wonder why the US has broken international "rules" and "laws" time and again, at immeasurable human cost, without consequence? Because that is how it works!
Those leading the US, act, or should act, in its own best interest, as should all leaders of their respective countries. If the CIA doesn't use any means necessary to influence/topple foreign governments (competition), then it isn't doing its job, and the US wouldn't have been the global hegemon for over 40 years.
Under normal circumstances, for the US, the military victory is a formality. The main obstacle is the morality and self-image of their populous, who see themselves as righteous, or the "good guys" (hhhmm hhhmm). That is an integral part of patriotism and national unity, and cannot be compromised.
They therefore have to weave the narratives you are subjected to by the MSM, day after day, year after year, painting unfavourable leaders as tyrants and villains to get public backing for the next shiny new war, with no expense spared! This is how your loathing of Putin was cultivated. When they can do it with Orban, no one is safe!
The US and 'the West' as a whole wants to get rid of Putin by destabilising Russia in order to put a more favourable leader in his place. One who will allow the mega corporations access to Russia's natural resources (as well as some other geopolitical benefits, of course). It is completely understandable that they would seek to do this, as they need to keep feeding the machine.
In the case of Russia however, they cannot just fly their bombers in. They therefore have to create conditions to weaken and the overthrow the unfavourable government which the media now calls 'The Regime'. They finance local dissent through their NGOs, setting up media and protest groups.
These astro-turf groups will protest, then riot till the police eventually use their batons; the images will be broadcast globally via the media groups, spurring more protests, more violence, culminating in 'international' (see Western) condemnation, and calls for the government to fall. You don't need that many people to do this either; a few thousand and you are set. And the fun part is most don't even know they are being used as leverage.
They tried this in Russia several times, as @harms has attested, but to no avail. So they had to employ different tactics. Create armed conflicts, either within the country or with neighbouring countries. If said neighbouring countries have unfavourable leaders, follow the same recipe as above (the Saakashvili debacle was quite ridiculous). At this point, any reaction to these conflicts by 'The Regime' is portrayed as 'evil' and a violation of human rights etc. Retreat is portrayed as 'weakness/insecurity/defeat', attack is portrayed as 'evil'.
Anyway, spending way too much time trying to explain my position for no particular reason or benefit.
This is all just a big game with a few big winners who will win big irrespective of the outcome. The only losers are the young Ukrainian and Russian men dying on the front.
You're doing the exact same thing you did in the newbies: Russia is the big victim of everything and has zero agency.see below
If you print this sentence out and read it through a mirror, you will see the light!
Nobody's bot, I just don't subscribe to the propaganda you have swallowed due to your natural inclination for consuming comfortable storylines, which fit nicely with your world view!
I will go back and have a look at the thread. I would be happy to read anything you think would expand my knowledge on the subject.
So you don't think NATO troops and bases in Ukraine and Georgia would be threat to Russia? What is the purpose of NATO and what in your opinion would be the reason of having Georgia and Ukraine join NATO?
Where you a member of Pussy Riot?
To anyone who believes that the CIA and it's NGOs had nothing to do with the Maidan uprising and several other color revolutions around the same time in various countries around Russia, as well as the so-called Arab spring; Sorry to break it to you, guys, but this is how it works!
Ever wonder why the US has broken international "rules" and "laws" time and again, at immeasurable human cost, without consequence? Because that is how it works!
Those leading the US, act, or should act, in its own best interest, as should all leaders of their respective countries. If the CIA doesn't use any means necessary to influence/topple foreign governments (competition), then it isn't doing its job, and the US wouldn't have been the global hegemon for over 40 years.
Under normal circumstances, for the US, the military victory is a formality. The main obstacle is the morality and self-image of their populous, who see themselves as righteous, or the "good guys" (hhhmm hhhmm). That is an integral part of patriotism and national unity, and cannot be compromised.
They therefore have to weave the narratives you are subjected to by the MSM, day after day, year after year, painting unfavourable leaders as tyrants and villains to get public backing for the next shiny new war, with no expense spared! This is how your loathing of Putin was cultivated. When they can do it with Orban, no one is safe!
The US and 'the West' as a whole wants to get rid of Putin by destabilising Russia in order to put a more favourable leader in his place. One who will allow the mega corporations access to Russia's natural resources (as well as some other geopolitical benefits, of course). It is completely understandable that they would seek to do this, as they need to keep feeding the machine.
In the case of Russia however, they cannot just fly their bombers in. They therefore have to create conditions to weaken and the overthrow the unfavourable government which the media now calls 'The Regime'. They finance local dissent through their NGOs, setting up media and protest groups.
These astro-turf groups will protest, then riot till the police eventually use their batons; the images will be broadcast globally via the media groups, spurring more protests, more violence, culminating in 'international' (see Western) condemnation, and calls for the government to fall. You don't need that many people to do this either; a few thousand and you are set. And the fun part is most don't even know they are being used as leverage.
They tried this in Russia several times, as @harms has attested, but to no avail. So they had to employ different tactics. Create armed conflicts, either within the country or with neighbouring countries. If said neighbouring countries have unfavourable leaders, follow the same recipe as above (the Saakashvili debacle was quite ridiculous). At this point, any reaction to these conflicts by 'The Regime' is portrayed as 'evil' and a violation of human rights etc. Retreat is portrayed as 'weakness/insecurity/defeat', attack is portrayed as 'evil'.
Anyway, spending way too much time trying to explain my position for no particular reason or benefit.
This is all just a big game with a few big winners who will win big irrespective of the outcome. The only losers are the young Ukrainian and Russian men dying on the front.
Of course Georgia and Ukraine wanted to join NATO - Russia has been the regional bully since around 2000! Sure, NATO wants them as well, but ever considered that maybe if Russia hadn't been an aggressive dictatorship that orchestrates uprisings and incursions in surrounding countries, that then their neighbours could have turned to them instead of NATO? That includes also all other eastern European countries that looked west as soon as they could. Like, why do you think the Baltic states feel threatened? And further, in the same context, why do you think that, around the time of Maidan, western messaging/propaganda was more successful than Russian? Do you really think the CIA was that much more effective in Russia's own backyard? (It's not like it was a US-backed military coup, like during the Cold War in various countries.)
Nobody is denying that the US and NATO and EU want to expand and become more influential; but it's silly to frame that all purely as an (indirect) attack on Russia, and full-on bizarre to talk as if Russia never made any choices and doesn't have any responsibility of its own. (Funnily, that actually infantilizes Russia and Putin - surely he'd hate that perspective.)
And 'loathing' Putin - are you suggesting he's not loathsome? How about what he did to democracy, freedom of expression, corruption, and justice in Russia, or the campaigns in Chechnya, Georgian border zones, war crimes in Ukraine? (So without touching on the Ukraine situation more broadly.)
As mentioned, this has been discussed over and over again in this thread, in considerable detail. To come in here and laugh at everyone for their naive acceptance of western propaganda without any serious engagement with any of that discussion is really ridiculous.
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To anyone who believes that the CIA and it's NGOs had nothing to do with the Maidan uprising and several other color revolutions around the same time in various countries around Russia, as well as the so-called Arab spring; Sorry to break it to you, guys, but this is how it works!
Ever wonder why the US has broken international "rules" and "laws" time and again, at immeasurable human cost, without consequence? Because that is how it works!
Those leading the US, act, or should act, in its own best interest, as should all leaders of their respective countries. If the CIA doesn't use any means necessary to influence/topple foreign governments (competition), then it isn't doing its job, and the US wouldn't have been the global hegemon for over 40 years.
Under normal circumstances, for the US, the military victory is a formality. The main obstacle is the morality and self-image of their populous, who see themselves as righteous, or the "good guys" (hhhmm hhhmm). That is an integral part of patriotism and national unity, and cannot be compromised.
They therefore have to weave the narratives you are subjected to by the MSM, day after day, year after year, painting unfavourable leaders as tyrants and villains to get public backing for the next shiny new war, with no expense spared! This is how your loathing of Putin was cultivated. When they can do it with Orban, no one is safe!
The US and 'the West' as a whole wants to get rid of Putin by destabilising Russia in order to put a more favourable leader in his place. One who will allow the mega corporations access to Russia's natural resources (as well as some other geopolitical benefits, of course). It is completely understandable that they would seek to do this, as they need to keep feeding the machine.
In the case of Russia however, they cannot just fly their bombers in. They therefore have to create conditions to weaken and the overthrow the unfavourable government which the media now calls 'The Regime'. They finance local dissent through their NGOs, setting up media and protest groups.
These astro-turf groups will protest, then riot till the police eventually use their batons; the images will be broadcast globally via the media groups, spurring more protests, more violence, culminating in 'international' (see Western) condemnation, and calls for the government to fall. You don't need that many people to do this either; a few thousand and you are set. And the fun part is most don't even know they are being used as leverage.
They tried this in Russia several times, as @harms has attested, but to no avail. So they had to employ different tactics. Create armed conflicts, either within the country or with neighbouring countries. If said neighbouring countries have unfavourable leaders, follow the same recipe as above (the Saakashvili debacle was quite ridiculous). At this point, any reaction to these conflicts by 'The Regime' is portrayed as 'evil' and a violation of human rights etc. Retreat is portrayed as 'weakness/insecurity/defeat', attack is portrayed as 'evil'.
Anyway, spending way too much time trying to explain my position for no particular reason or benefit.
This is all just a big game with a few big winners who will win big irrespective of the outcome. The only losers are the young Ukrainian and Russian men dying on the front.
I for one have been awoken and now see clearly that the people from Ukraine and different other countries weren't exercising their right to self-determination and longing for a better life when they were trying to strenghten their links with the european democratic, pro freedom of speech, pro diversity (and other "pros" that typically connect with the younger generations) republics while at the same time trying to get some insurance or collateral against the more powerful, authoritarian, oppressive, militarized neighbour that is currently both occupying and treating some of the other neighbouring countries as puppet states and also has a long history of aggressions to the point that most of those nations have been invaded, occupied, pillaged, decimated and abused by said neighbour on a once a century basis. No, they were manipulated by the CIA and their infinite amount of resources that are somehow not enough to oust Putin (such a great guy btw) with a 25 year time frame; nor to deter Putin to go to war; neither to help Ukraine win said war.
It's not like something similar had happened a little over 35 years ago anyway. Especially not with a wall in between.
The ironic thing is that CIA did coups fairly regularly but it's genuinely infuriating to see people from Ukraine and Russia (speaking about those 2011-2013 protests in particular) getting stripped of any kind of agency by a conspiracy theorist who has no idea of the actual context on the ground.
Listen, he's watched some really good YouTube videos, he doesn't need to hear from anyone with first hand experience of the situation or a proper grasp of history.
You are a cheerleader for a dictator waging an illegal war against a neighbouring country.see below
If you print this sentence out and read it through a mirror, you will see the light!
Nobody's bot, I just don't subscribe to the propaganda you have swallowed due to your natural inclination for consuming comfortable storylines, which fit nicely with your world view!
I will go back and have a look at the thread. I would be happy to read anything you think would expand my knowledge on the subject.
So you don't think NATO troops and bases in Ukraine and Georgia would be threat to Russia? What is the purpose of NATO and what in your opinion would be the reason of having Georgia and Ukraine join NATO?
Where you a member of Pussy Riot?
To anyone who believes that the CIA and it's NGOs had nothing to do with the Maidan uprising and several other color revolutions around the same time in various countries around Russia, as well as the so-called Arab spring; Sorry to break it to you, guys, but this is how it works!
Ever wonder why the US has broken international "rules" and "laws" time and again, at immeasurable human cost, without consequence? Because that is how it works!
Those leading the US, act, or should act, in its own best interest, as should all leaders of their respective countries. If the CIA doesn't use any means necessary to influence/topple foreign governments (competition), then it isn't doing its job, and the US wouldn't have been the global hegemon for over 40 years.
Under normal circumstances, for the US, the military victory is a formality. The main obstacle is the morality and self-image of their populous, who see themselves as righteous, or the "good guys" (hhhmm hhhmm). That is an integral part of patriotism and national unity, and cannot be compromised.
They therefore have to weave the narratives you are subjected to by the MSM, day after day, year after year, painting unfavourable leaders as tyrants and villains to get public backing for the next shiny new war, with no expense spared! This is how your loathing of Putin was cultivated. When they can do it with Orban, no one is safe!
The US and 'the West' as a whole wants to get rid of Putin by destabilising Russia in order to put a more favourable leader in his place. One who will allow the mega corporations access to Russia's natural resources (as well as some other geopolitical benefits, of course). It is completely understandable that they would seek to do this, as they need to keep feeding the machine.
In the case of Russia however, they cannot just fly their bombers in. They therefore have to create conditions to weaken and the overthrow the unfavourable government which the media now calls 'The Regime'. They finance local dissent through their NGOs, setting up media and protest groups.
These astro-turf groups will protest, then riot till the police eventually use their batons; the images will be broadcast globally via the media groups, spurring more protests, more violence, culminating in 'international' (see Western) condemnation, and calls for the government to fall. You don't need that many people to do this either; a few thousand and you are set. And the fun part is most don't even know they are being used as leverage.
They tried this in Russia several times, as @harms has attested, but to no avail. So they had to employ different tactics. Create armed conflicts, either within the country or with neighbouring countries. If said neighbouring countries have unfavourable leaders, follow the same recipe as above (the Saakashvili debacle was quite ridiculous). At this point, any reaction to these conflicts by 'The Regime' is portrayed as 'evil' and a violation of human rights etc. Retreat is portrayed as 'weakness/insecurity/defeat', attack is portrayed as 'evil'.
Anyway, spending way too much time trying to explain my position for no particular reason or benefit.
This is all just a big game with a few big winners who will win big irrespective of the outcome. The only losers are the young Ukrainian and Russian men dying on the front.
You are not morally superior just because you criticize the US. Others here have consistent principles and can condemn both the US and Russia with a clear moral compass.
You wouldn't tolerate any of your own arguments if they were made in favor of Western illegal aggression.
And you are distorting a lot of things.
Ah the old go away and do research answer followed by a the usual nonsense biased and counter factual, Putinesque history lesson.
When the matter of state independence for Ukraine was on the ballot every region voted for independence. After that Ukrainian politics is for the Ukrainians to decide.
Russia is running out of its store of Soviet kit and it can't replace it. I hope the Russian funds are seized and Ukraine continues to be supported for as long as they want to go on fighting for their independence and I hope they win.
Which ever way it ends the invasion has been a massive error by Putin.
Bags of cash and a gold toilet: the corruption crisis engulfing Zelenskyy’s government
Zelenskyy finally took action against his friends / former associates but the optics definitely do not look good.
Zelenskyy finally took action against his friends / former associates but the optics definitely do not look good.
Not sure if Zelenskyy should get credit for it. He had tried to strip NABU’s (the agency responsible for this arrest) of its independence a few months back and had to go back on his own decision because of the public protests (first notable political protests in Ukraine since the invasion).
In peaceful times he probably would’ve had to resign. Not now, of course, but this really hurts his re-election chances in the future, I’d imagine.
This is something that it's not mentioned enough. Because of the decision to invade Russia lost a ridiculous amount of money, millions of people (not only soldiers but also brain drain) in the middle of a demographic crisis, a lot of influence in the world, the prestige of their army, their navy flagship, a huge amount of planes and infrastructure and have become the first nuclear power ever to be invaded by land.
At the same time, almost 4 years later not only Ukraine remains an independent state, not only the Donbass is still in contention, but also Finland and Sweden have joined NATO and the whole EU is on a race to catch up militarly. Putin overplayed hos hand and got exposed.
Putin has also made himself into an international pariah and in the process estranged Russia from most of the developed world. I suppose this is also why he's so desperate to not capitulate to any peace deals without substantial land gains that he can use to justify that it was all worth to his domestic public.
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All so pointless.
There is a joint US-Russia push to pressure Ukraine. Demands include:
- Ukraine ceding all of Donbas, including territory it currently controls.
- Ukraine's military to be cut in half.
- Also a rollback of US assistance to Ukraine.
"Unlikely" is one way of putting it.
They are losing territory quickly recently. Any reasons to believe next time the offer on the table won’t be even less lucrative?
Quickly is a fairly subjective term. Compared to?
The rest is completely dependent on the West, Russia is going to crank up the “diplomatic” pressure regardless of what’s happening on the frontline, just as they did before. If Trump puts the pressure on Ukraine instead of supporting it… that’s way more important than Russia’s extremely slow (but fairly consistent lately) progress in territorial gains.
The USA is running trolling farms to destabilize Russia to bring Putin down, and staging acts of sabotage and terror in Russia.see below
If you print this sentence out and read it through a mirror, you will see the light!
Nobody's bot, I just don't subscribe to the propaganda you have swallowed due to your natural inclination for consuming comfortable storylines, which fit nicely with your world view!
I will go back and have a look at the thread. I would be happy to read anything you think would expand my knowledge on the subject.
So you don't think NATO troops and bases in Ukraine and Georgia would be threat to Russia? What is the purpose of NATO and what in your opinion would be the reason of having Georgia and Ukraine join NATO?
Where you a member of Pussy Riot?
To anyone who believes that the CIA and it's NGOs had nothing to do with the Maidan uprising and several other color revolutions around the same time in various countries around Russia, as well as the so-called Arab spring; Sorry to break it to you, guys, but this is how it works!
Ever wonder why the US has broken international "rules" and "laws" time and again, at immeasurable human cost, without consequence? Because that is how it works!
Those leading the US, act, or should act, in its own best interest, as should all leaders of their respective countries. If the CIA doesn't use any means necessary to influence/topple foreign governments (competition), then it isn't doing its job, and the US wouldn't have been the global hegemon for over 40 years.
Under normal circumstances, for the US, the military victory is a formality. The main obstacle is the morality and self-image of their populous, who see themselves as righteous, or the "good guys" (hhhmm hhhmm). That is an integral part of patriotism and national unity, and cannot be compromised.
They therefore have to weave the narratives you are subjected to by the MSM, day after day, year after year, painting unfavourable leaders as tyrants and villains to get public backing for the next shiny new war, with no expense spared! This is how your loathing of Putin was cultivated. When they can do it with Orban, no one is safe!
The US and 'the West' as a whole wants to get rid of Putin by destabilising Russia in order to put a more favourable leader in his place. One who will allow the mega corporations access to Russia's natural resources (as well as some other geopolitical benefits, of course). It is completely understandable that they would seek to do this, as they need to keep feeding the machine.
In the case of Russia however, they cannot just fly their bombers in. They therefore have to create conditions to weaken and the overthrow the unfavourable government which the media now calls 'The Regime'. They finance local dissent through their NGOs, setting up media and protest groups.
These astro-turf groups will protest, then riot till the police eventually use their batons; the images will be broadcast globally via the media groups, spurring more protests, more violence, culminating in 'international' (see Western) condemnation, and calls for the government to fall. You don't need that many people to do this either; a few thousand and you are set. And the fun part is most don't even know they are being used as leverage.
They tried this in Russia several times, as @harms has attested, but to no avail. So they had to employ different tactics. Create armed conflicts, either within the country or with neighbouring countries. If said neighbouring countries have unfavourable leaders, follow the same recipe as above (the Saakashvili debacle was quite ridiculous). At this point, any reaction to these conflicts by 'The Regime' is portrayed as 'evil' and a violation of human rights etc. Retreat is portrayed as 'weakness/insecurity/defeat', attack is portrayed as 'evil'.
Anyway, spending way too much time trying to explain my position for no particular reason or benefit.
This is all just a big game with a few big winners who will win big irrespective of the outcome. The only losers are the young Ukrainian and Russian men dying on the front.
Russia is running trolling farms to destabilize the West to bring democracies down, and staging acts of sabotage and terror in Europe.
One of these two is real.
You‘re the worst poster in here since that fake Everton supporter.
Zuma’s Daughter Linked to Recruiting Africans for Russian War
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...linked-to-recruiting-africans-for-russian-war
At the current rate of affairs, it would take around 20 years for the whole of Donbas to fall.
Oh yeah, thanks for the reminder. 250 posts on redcafe, 249 of which were espousing pro-Russian views on a Man Utd forum. Absolutely fantastic stuff.
Also, in fairness and for the sake of balance, the West does do operations against Russia.
It's just far more subtle and doesn't touch the average Russian anywhere near as much as Russian espionage attempts on the West.
So, apparently, Russia is starting to sell off its gold reserves now.
Why does the US insist on Ukraine surrending again?
Why does the US insist on Ukraine surrending again?
Because Trump is Putin‘s little bistch.
Amongst the rest of your Pro-Russia propaganda nonsense this stands out as the silliest assertion of all. "The West" very much wished that Putin had not invaded a neighboring democracy.
The rest of you post reads like bad fan fiction (or mere regurgitation of Kremlin propaganda talking points).
Maidan wasn’t a “CIA coup.” Millions of Ukrainians protested for months. Independent observers, Ukrainian researchers and even members of Yanukovych’s own party confirm that he fled after losing political support, not because of some CIA takeover. Parliament, including his former allies, voted to remove him, which is not how coups work. There is zero evidence of CIA involvement.
Russia didn’t “get provoked” into invading. Democratic Ukraine chose closer ties with Europe repeatedly, through elections and public protests. Russia responded with force in 2014 and again in 2022. If NATO “provoked” invasions, Russia would have attacked Estonia or Latvia decades ago. And your idea of provocation would have householders blamed for getting burgled for daring to have windows.
The Cuban Missile Crisis analogy is nonsense. Ukraine is an independent state and NATO wasn’t putting nuclear missiles there. NATO also borders Russia already, peacefully, in several places.
Zelensky won campaigning on ending the war in Donbas, not on giving up sovereignty or allowing Russia to dictate Ukraine’s political future. Russia offered Ukraine only one version of “peace”: accepting territorial loss and political control from Moscow. That’s not peace; it’s subjugation.
If Russia were remotely as powerful as you suggest, the war would have been over within days. Instead, they’ve suffered enormous equipment losses, rely on North Korea for shells, and are still struggling to take towns a few kilometres from their border.
The idea that seizing Russian assets would “destroy the EU” is simply hyperbolic nonsense. How exactly is the EU going to be destroyed?
These are my favorite type of posts in this thread. I know what you’re talking about but by not going to the source and vaguely misquoting it you’ve made a big deal out of something relatively banal (that is indicative of inflation and undeniable crisis, but is hardly news news).
Personally, I'm not reading much into the selling off of physical gold by Russia's central bank. Gold price is hovering around its historic peak so it's likely a good time to cash-in on some to fund the war effort.
It's no secret that Russia has been getting creative with methods aimed at and both propping up the economy and limiting (to the extent possible) the economic pain felt by the average joe.
But the base facts remain the Kremlin has:
1) an economy driven by the sale of natural resources, which will always find buyers (even if at a discount)
2) am iron grip on the country and a subjugated populace
They can still inflict way more economic pain on the people before risking failing to be able to fund the war effort. They are not going bankrupt any time soon I don't think. And even if they approach that point, I imagine China will prop them up with loans.
As for the US-brokered deal. Sounds like Putin's wishlist.
It's no secret that Russia has been getting creative with methods aimed at and both propping up the economy and limiting (to the extent possible) the economic pain felt by the average joe.
But the base facts remain the Kremlin has:
1) an economy driven by the sale of natural resources, which will always find buyers (even if at a discount)
2) am iron grip on the country and a subjugated populace
They can still inflict way more economic pain on the people before risking failing to be able to fund the war effort. They are not going bankrupt any time soon I don't think. And even if they approach that point, I imagine China will prop them up with loans.
As for the US-brokered deal. Sounds like Putin's wishlist.
Full peace plan can be seen here:
https://abcnews.go.com/Internationa...-ukraine-russia-peace-plan/story?id=127735249
https://abcnews.go.com/Internationa...-ukraine-russia-peace-plan/story?id=127735249
Russia has been trading gold for a while, but sources now say that they are actually starting to sell off their physical gold as well, it seems like a big deal to me, is it not?
This is real gold, no longer being in the hand of Russian government anymore.
I'll try to be better about posting a source in the future though.
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025...ts-selling-physical-gold-from-reserves-a91192
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Asking Ukraine to cede Donetsk is just baffling and not going to happen.
There was another article that said the White House feels it's just a matter of time that Russia will take it in whole anyway.