Chloe Jones3 said:Even if they did get a higher total headcount, the actual makeup of that population is what matters. Those war-torn areas are just going to be left with elderly people; the youth have already left or died, much like the rural heartlands of the Midwest. Not to mention, a massive chunk of the young population within Russia itself has already fled or been lost. Their demography is already a mess, similar to the rest of Europe, except unlike Europe or the USA, they can't count on an influx of young, capable, or even educated workers moving in to help. So, things aren't looking great for them.
That was back in 2014. I highly doubt places like Donetsk, the Luhansk People's Republic, or Crimea are seeing any positive natural birth rates right now; instead, they just have more mouths to feed.
It took just a single year for the dollar in America to spiral from 93 all the way to eleven zeros. While Russia is undeniably a massive, dominant superpower, nobody has ever managed to escape the crushing weight of sanctions or actually thrive under them.
Melissa Rivera5 said:More importantly though, I guess... how much economic exchange and actual leverage do they really have with Russia?
If they had any say in the matter, the Russians would likely prefer dealing with sanctions from places like Indonesia or Bangladesh rather than facing the heavy hand of Taiwan or Belgium.
stormybear25 said:A column of at least six Russian T-90M tanks spotted near the border in Belgorod Oblast, roughly 4.4 miles from the Ukrainian border. This photo was taken yesterday. https://twitter.com/Militarylandnet/...33904627736577 Check out those cope cages. 🤣 🤣 🤣
I suppose six tanks will provide plenty of support for the Russians; they'll mostly just serve as target practice for HIMARS.👍
In the end, the FBI will likely step in to replace Putin with someone new who can actually broker a peace deal. Crimea might stay or go, but regardless, everything else eventually returns to Ukraine.
Terry Green3 said:Yeah, I actually believe this is entirely his call. I'd love to be wrong about it—I'll happily eat my words if it turns out otherwise.
Having every member parliament ratify Ukraine joining NATO would basically be like signing a declaration of war under Article 5. The Czech Republic comes to mind immediately as a place where that definitely wouldn't fly. Honestly, I doubt it would pass here either; the Republican Party would likely wash their hands of the whole thing. And don't even get me started on Italy, Canada, Spain, and the rest. It's all just pure speculation. Who else has ever walked into a parliament knowing they were potentially signing up for a nuclear conflict?
Aside from the USA and the UK, the Czech Republic, along with Poland and the Baltic states, has been the most significant military supporter of Ukraine. Italy is also largely aligned with providing aid, as is Spain. The only outliers left are the loudmouths like Viktor Orbán and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whose allegiances shift as easily as the wind.
gentlestag15 said:Seriously, are you actually listening to Putin? The guy is determined to succeed even if he has to smash his head against a wall to get there. His ego just won't let him fail—he’s obsessed with being etched into history as the next Peter the Great. To Putin, Kherson, Donbas, and Zaporizhzhia are now part of Russia, and he’d defend them with everything he's got, including nukes, if NATO tries to step in.
Just mindless rambling for his inner circle of sycophants. As if he or his billionaire oligarchs would ever face any real consequences—they'll be set for the next five centuries. At this point, bluffing Russia has become nothing more than a bad joke.
Terry Green3 said:Ishitren move. Zelenskyy is a great animator, but a poor politician. Personally, I thought they should have just stayed the course since things were moving in the right direction. I’m worried about whether they'll actually get the green light from the rest of the NATO alliance. We were all unified in supporting Ukraine, but this request might just create unnecessary friction within the alliance.
I suspect Zelenskyy isn't acting as a lone wolf here. If Ukraine joins NATO, it implies the USA is planning to push Russia out of the territory much like how Saddam Hussein was forced out of Kuwait during Desert Storm. In a head-to-head conventional conflict, the Russians simply don't stand a chance against the modern machinery of NATO.
Russ is wandering aimlessly through the dark. It’s hard to take these guys seriously when they’re just being rushed into service at the last minute without any real preparation.
Dennis Price said:Probably Medveschuk and that general. Russian nationalists will be losing their minds—the general who let that stuff happen near Kharkiv, plus tycoon Medveschuk. Just what Russia needs right now.
They made the list. It feels like just another brick being pulled from the foundation of Putin's stability.👍