War

[printer]

Peskov answered a question about the consequences of the EU's refusal to pay for gas in rubles

Russia does not intend to supply gas for free if the European Union refuses to pay for it in rubles, said presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

When asked by the host whether the gas will be turned off for non-payers, the presidential press secretary replied: "No payment - no gas."

At the same time, he said that the final decision on how to respond to the refusal to pay for gas in rubles has not yet been made.

Last week, President Vladimir Putin instructed the Central Bank , Gazprom and the government to organize the transfer of payments for gas from unfriendly countries into rubles. At the same time, he stressed that deliveries will continue in accordance with existing contracts, since Russia values its reputation.

The first report on the execution of the order in the Kremlin is expected by March 31.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Monday that the G7 countries do not agree with Russia's demand to pay for gas in rubles and consider such a move "one-sided breach of contracts."

Commenting on the statement of the German minister, Ivan Abramov, deputy chairman of the Federation Council committee on economic policy, noted that the refusal "will definitely lead to a cessation of gas supplies."

Песков ответил на вопрос о последствиях отказа ЕС платить за газ в рублях

Россия не намерена бесплатно поставлять газ в случае отказа Евросоюза платить за него в рублях, заявил пресс-секретарь президента Дмитрий Песков. РИА Новости, 29.03.2022

ria-ru.translate.goog

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

Russia could be a better place, but Putin killed the chance. It is a sign of fear and lack of confidence that he could tolerate no political opposition, even with his many advantages. He probably had good reason to fear Nemtsov, just as he has to fear Navalny, who might not live long.

From what I've seen Russians do have some rights and Putin fears elections and he has one in 2024 along with his party. He will need to destroy the remaining democratic institutions before the election, he might find it a lot harder to cheat this time and paid goons will be killed or have the shit beat out of them at the polls. Just as they now have a capitalist economy, they also have the framework of a liberal democracy and they also have different levels of government, local, and regional elected bodies. Vlad might find it hard to control it all, for instance, he can pay his federal internal security police big bucks, but the local cops are paid shit like the population and are under the control of the mayor who can be elected apparently.

New information means intelligence agencies were authorized to leak secret information to tell the truth on Vlad the murder and pile on more bad PR.
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Who Killed Nemtsov? New evidence on Russia’s most shocking assassination - BBC News

 

[printer]

Nice place to visit...

RBC: The Ministry of Transport has developed a bill obliging taxi aggregators to transfer data to the FSB
The Ministry of Transport of Russia has prepared a bill providing for the transfer of FSB data by taxi aggregators, RBC reports citing a document whose authenticity was confirmed by market participants.

Агрегаторов такси могут обязать передавать данные ФСБ, сообщили СМИ

Министерство транспорта России подготовило законопроект, предусматривающий передачу агрегаторами такси данных ФСБ, сообщает РБК со ссылкой на документ,... РИА Новости, 29.03.2022

ria-ru.translate.goog

 

[printer]

Russia could be a better place, but Putin killed the chance. It is a sign of fear and lack of confidence that he could tolerate no political opposition, even with his many advantages. He probably had good reason to fear Nemtsov, just as he has to fear Navalny, who might not live long.

From what I've seen Russians do have some rights and Putin fears elections and he has one in 2024 along with his party. He will need to destroy the remaining democratic institutions before the election, he might find it a lot harder to cheat this time and paid goons will be killed or have the shit beat out of them at the polls. Just as they now have a capitalist economy, they also have the framework of a liberal democracy and they also have different levels of government, local, and regional elected bodies. Vlad might find it hard to control it all, for instance, he can pay his federal internal security police big bucks, but the local cops are paid shit like the population and are under the control of the mayor who can be elected apparently.
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Who Killed Nemtsov? New evidence on Russia’s most shocking assassination - BBC News

The people counting the votes are more important thane the people voting.

I heard something like that.

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

'Astounding' Number Of Casualties: Why The Invasion Is Proving Deadly For Russia

The Washington Post reports on how the Russian invasion of Ukraine is proving deadly for Russian forces, and reporter William Booth joins Morning Joe to discuss. Reporter Amy Mackinnon also joins to discuss why Russia's encrypted military phones aren't working.

 

[Offmymeds]

My bedtime entertainment usually comes down to two choices; death, destruction, and the new ways to kill each other or tricked out luxury EV's. The Mercedes EQS looks very comfortable. I can see myself in one of those. Can't see myself having my home blown up, my city wiped off the map and being displaced into Canada or Mexico.

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

The people counting the votes are more important thane the people voting.

I heard something like that.

He fears the remnants of Russian civil society, now more than ever, he made a monumental blunder and really stepped into it now. He can no longer quietly and slowly strangle liberty is Russia, now he must take the gloves and mask off and do an encore of Stalin. Everybody in Russia knows about Stalin, even if he banned the movie in 2018! Been there done that!
The trailer is even funny, Stalin is still alive in Russia, in Putin's heart and in the people's memories, we will see. Hopefully Vlad's lackeys will be a bit better than Stalin's.

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

My bedtime entertainment usually comes down to two choices; death, destruction, and the new ways to kill each other or tricked out luxury EV's. The Mercedes EQS looks very comfortable. I can see myself in one of those. Can't see myself having my home blown up, my city wiped off the map and being displaced into Canada or Mexico.

It would piss a fellow off for sure, more so if family and friends died, it's one of the reasons volunteers for the army or reserves are not hard to find and there's a waiting list of applicants for both by now I hear. It's the reason Ukrainian soldiers are so well motivated and morale is so high and also why their enthusiasm to defeat the enemy overcomes their fear and they get creative and aggressive in battle, so do their officers.

The NATO tactical doctrine they use depends on individual initiative and they've got loads, it's a match made in Hell for the enemy when a liberal democracy in an existential fight with good leadership from top to bottom uses it. When summer comes the hundreds of thousands of guerillas will be active, they will have been armed trained, organized and experienced, by summer, as good as soldiers, which many are now, in the local reserves. The reservists are as motivated as the regular troops more so, because it's their local area the enemy is in and that brings it close to home and the closer to home, the harder you fight.

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

This looks professional and reliable
Russia Ukraine Conflict: Ukrainian counterattacks retake territory

BBC source:
The Ukrainians are attempting a number of counter offensives, liberating people who've been under Russian occupation as they move forward.

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

The local defense forces are being organized, only the old guys are left in town, but they've all been soldiers drafted in soviet times and the weapons are familiar, so no training is required there and for other things. The old guys are staying locally and not moving around too much, a 70 year old can mow ya down in an ambush, as well as a 20 year old who has gone to join the army. They can hold prisoners and catch spies and generally secure the district. Younger guys in their 50's can hold territory from defensive positions captured in the counter attacks, after the enemy has been weakened and driven back. This will allow troops to be quickly deployed to new fronts and saves a lot of the quality young trained troops from having to sticking around to secure the area and mop up.

Kyiv is surrounded by urban sprawl, villages, bedroom communities and suburbs, that go on for many miles along the approaches to the city, that is where I think these guys are located.
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Volunteers Take To Trenches To Protect Ukraine's Capital

A volunteer who calls himself "Havrush" is in a trench, guarding Kyiv from Russian attack. His position is about a kilometer from a village held by Russian forces. Current Time correspondent Borys Sachalko talks with him and other volunteers defending Kyiv.

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

The Ukrainians have more thanks than they started with, they never expected to get so much Russian equipment! Looks like the volunteers organized into a military unit to get the job done and are getting stuff towed in daily. Even the destroyed tanks can offer some usable parts. It was common practice to recover knocked out tanks, repair them and weld patches over the shell hole that pulped the crew. Open the escape hatch in the bottom and fire hose the gore out onto the ground.
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Ukraine's forces repair, reuse abandoned Russian equipment

Ukrainian forces are using every available weapon to strike back against Russian attacks, including military hardware abandoned by Russian soldiers.

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

Apparently there is a new sport among the armed local volunteers, hunting Russians who run into the woods. There must be a million Americans stroking their guns with fair away looks in their eyes upon hearing the news... They call it safari season in Ukraine.

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

I don't agree that Ukraine will be conquered by Russia, if required they would be up against 5 million soldiers armed to the teeth with modern weapons and millions more reservists. The NATO pipeline of logistics and modern arms would be wide open and Belarus would be in revolt with the support and instigation of Ukrainians. The CIA would be starting fires all over Vlad's empire, he only has junk and untrained troops to send who will be slaughtered. If he starts a draft, it will mean drafting 19 to 25 year old's first and sending them into Ukraine with little training this summer.

If Vlad keeps this shit up he will be blead white by summer and will be kicked out of Crimea, it is for the reasons listed in the video that Ukraine has and will build a very large army, it will end up more of an armed camp than a country by summer. If Vlad ain't gone by summer it will be Hell for the Russians there. I also think Vlad will have trouble on the streets of the cities this year as the bottom falls out of the economy. I think Vlad is in more trouble at home than most people believe, he blundered too badly to last and this is not the Russia of the past, even though it is imprisoned by it for now.
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How Russia Will Die | Peter Zeihan

 

[ANC]

the last couple of seconds is very telling, the West pushes germany with an army of 4 million and it stayed 4 million to the end while russia ate through like 7 million conscripts in the smae time.

 

[Offmymeds]

I don't agree that Ukraine will be conquered by Russia, if required they would be up against 5 million soldiers armed to the teeth with modern weapons and millions more reservists. The NATO pipeline of logistics and modern arms would be wide open and Belarus would be in revolt with the support and instigation of Ukrainians. The CIA would be starting fires all over Vlad's empire, he only has junk and untrained troops to send who will be slaughtered. If he starts a draft, it will mean drafting 19 to 25 year old's first and sending them into Ukraine with little training this summer.

If Vlad keeps this shit up he will be blead white by summer and will be kicked out of Crimea, it is for the reasons listed in the video that Ukraine has and will build a very large army, it will end up more of an armed camp than a country by summer. If Vlad ain't gone by summer it will be Hell for the Russians there. I also think Vlad will have trouble on the streets of the cities this year as the bottom falls out of the economy. I think Vlad is in more trouble at home than most people believe, he blundered too badly to last and this is not the Russia of the past, even though it is imprisoned by it for now.
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How Russia Will Die | Peter Zeihan

Very enlightening. Both frightening and promising. The role China plays is interesting. It's hard to see how Russia recovers from this in the long-term.

It seems almost off topic but as ignorant as Trump is, he eventually realized how powerful nationalism can be. That puts America at risk but our economic demographics are holding us together. It highlights the real danger of malignant narcissists and how fragile the world is.

 

[CCGNZ]

The Ukrainians are just getting started and are still organizing, finding out what works and getting resources to it. The story on drones illustrates the point, in a couple of months, how much bigger, organized and well equipped will this unit that uses commercial drones to drop dumb bombs be?

I am certain the Ukrainians are training an infantry force several times the available Russian forces and besides they probably have a few million reservist trained and armed by now. The have 5 million fit men to draw upon, all volunteers, even though there is a draft, so they can raise several hundred thousand new regular troops if required and NATO or the EU can arm them, with soviet era small arms, RPGs and mortars from storage. All the modern anti tank weapons and stingers pouring in make them effective against tanks and helicopters too. The Ukrainians are using 500 Javelins a day and more NLAWs and they ain't wasting them shooting at trees!

The fighting is ferocious whether the Russians want to take new ground or try to keep it, the Ukrainians won't let up. The Russian army could end up collapsing completely in Ukraine, if they don't pull back (if they can) and consolidate their lines near their logistics in Russia. Every week the Ukrainian army gets bigger and the new offensive operations are part of that I think. The Russian army has been ground down enough for offensive operations and as the Ukrainian guy said, summer is gruella war season and they will have millions of those by then, organized, equipped, experienced and well trained.

This movie clip best illustrates the Russian's situation in Ukraine.

Saw the movie,when it was released at the theatre,one of the best scenes.

 

[Friendly_Grower]

The news this morning is saying Russia is scaling back their attacks.
I'm guessing they will finish that "land bridge" from Crimea to Donbas effectively carving off part of Ukraine.
So NOW the news sounds like Russia wants to talk Peace.

I say the Crocodile Putin has bitten on more than he can swallow for now.
All he has to do now is shore up his economy enough to rearm for the next push on Ukraine.

You know perhaps not agreeing to be Neutral in any Peace Talks and then joining NATO with what is left of Ukraine will be Ukraine's only hope to keep what lands they have left.

Russian Troops are moving away from Kiev. U.S. says don't read too much into it as it could be a regroup.

 

[ANC]

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

Saw the movie,when it was released at the theatre,one of the best scenes.

I thought it demonstrated what Vlad and his gang have gotten themselves into, it will not end well for them. If the Ukrainians keep organizing, receiving arms, training new soldiers and building military power, then in a couple of months the Russians will be in a lot more trouble than they are now. Uncle Sam and NATO are betting heavily on Ukraine cause they like what they see and if it continues as it does, it will bleed Vlad white of arms and cash over the next couple of months. Raising a million men is one thing and arming them should not be an issue, but training them is, making sure they don't starve to death is another. Making sure they don't hate Vlad's guts is another thing they might have to contend with too. There is much to be done by the Ukrainians, they need to ramp up their psychological warfare IMHO, with low Russian morale that can be exploited more. Also I haven't heard of too many IEDs going off behind Russian lines yet, but that is coming too.

Vlad's biggest issue from a strategic point of view is he has 4 separate fronts with small armies on each that are not mutually supporting. A large mobile force of Ukrainians, could defeat each much smaller force in succession, just like Napoleon did, Generalship 101 and a fundamental error, never divide your forces!