This kind of mobilization is a fast track to internal unrest. If this idiot keeps going down this path, we could be looking at total disintegration of the Russian Federation.
So, did they send a woman over there just to recruit them? 😵
It’s honestly pretty grim watching these videos of young men being loaded up and sent off to war. You end up with some becoming criminals, others becoming invalids, and then there are the ones coming home in bags to their mothers—and even those who make it back physically whole won't ever really be right in the head again. It feels even more tragic seeing people from small ethnic groups being drafted; it’s going to deal an irreparable blow to their future and their standing within Russia as they've known it. Watching this is just heavy; some of them don't even seem to realize where they're actually headed. It reminds me of scenes out of "The Deer Hunter."
If this partial mobilization actually works the way he hopes, all it's going to do is drag this war out even longer without yielding any real gains. At the end of the day, he’s just playing for time to cling to power. It's all about staying in control, which means we'll likely see a full-scale draft eventually, and honestly, he might even resort to nuclear weapons just to secure his legacy and make sure history remembers him. I'm telling you, I'm pretty convinced someone will manage to oust him before he ever gets the chance to pull the nuclear trigger.
He’s just trying to hold onto what he’s already taken, but honestly, he seems to be backing himself into a corner with no way out. All this talk about nuclear weapons feels like nothing more than a desperate attempt at intimidation; I suppose he actually thinks Ukraine will just stop fighting if Russia simply declares victory over the territory they've seized. Ultimately, it looks like he’ll be forced to either admit a total, humiliating defeat for himself and Russia, or resort to using nuclear weapons. If it comes to that, I have a feeling someone might decide to decapitate his leadership.
Once this latest wave of mobilization settles, I expect we'll see some serious unrest within Russia, because people who are being drafted aren't exactly going to take this lying down.
If I were running a country and decided I needed nuclear weapons, my first move would probably be trying to buy them under the table from some Russian general. They’re a bit more careful about guarding their stockpiles these days after everything that's come to light, but honestly, it still feels like the path of least resistance if you really want in.
As for the Ukrainians, they wouldn't even need to bring them into Ukraine; just stash them somewhere near Moscow and call it an insurance policy. Let Putin spend his time wondering which one of his own people sold him out this time.
Regarding any actual use of nuclear weapons by the Russians, I don't see how they gain anything from it. Dropping a nuke on Ukraine wouldn't actually help them achieve any of their strategic goals.
James Chavez91 said:Yeah. There’s a lot of talk about nukes lately—probably too much. I guess that’s why we should all be praying to God, Krishna, Allah, Buddha, or whoever else—just hoping that some future version of us finds a way to dismantle these massive arsenals. It feels like a stretch to think humanity will ever actually reach that level of maturity, but honestly? It’s just unnatural. It’s plain evil that the power to wipe out the entire world as we know it is held by a handful of people who might not even pass a basic psych eval, let alone be sane. Just a completely twisted situation.
I'm with you on that, though if Russia didn't have these nukes, this conflict would be on a much larger scale—we'd likely see half of NATO involved in Ukraine against Russia, China, and whoever else decides to jump in.
I suspect Putin views things through a very simple lens: Russia now holds more territory than it did at the start of the year, and in his eyes, he won it. He took Crimea, so he sees himself as a significant statesman. As for the political fallout for Russia down the road? He doesn't seem to care about that; his main priority is ensuring that while he’s in power, he’s remembered for building a powerful Russia that conquered its neighbors. The citizens and their standard of living? Let's be real, that's the last thing on his mind.
Putin considers himself a great leader, and he’s determined to be recorded in history as a winner, regardless of the cost. That’s actually what worries me—people like him are obsessed with their own legacy. In Russia, nobody really cares if you bolstered the economy or brought political stability; what matters is winning a war, because that’s what gets you monuments. If he loses that ability, I honestly believe he’ll do anything to prevent it. But I also suspect that if he does fall, someone will eventually show up to toss his head onto Times Square.
Carol Johnson21 said:So, the head of this quasi-military outfit, the Wagner Group, is out there giving some sort of "motivational" pep talk to a bunch of inmates. He’s basically laying down the law, telling them they aren't allowed to drink, rape, or steal while on the job. 😁 It’s almost funny. Too bad the actual US military doesn't get those kinds of perks, while these recruits get nothing at all. ☕
The Russians are essentially scraping the bottom of the barrel to build up their alliance, recruiting their own domestic criminals. It really goes to show that those forum users were right all along with their theory—Russia is playing it safe by hoarding its massive resources rather than committing them, because clearly, they’re handling this whole mess with only half their strength. 😒
Getting rid of the scum the state has been feeding for years seems like a decent move if you ask me. I don't expect many of them to actually make it through or ever earn their way back to freedom.
It’s funny seeing all this crying over a politician who was part of the very system responsible for the worst conflict in Europe since WWII. She knew exactly what she was doing, and as such, she was a cog in a machine that kills, destroys, threatens nuclear holocausts, rapes, and steals children... Ukrainians really ought to avoid killing civilians; at the very least, they should try to keep things like that under wraps. As far as I'm concerned, an enemy operating within occupied territory doesn't really have any rights unless they surrender, at which point they can ask to be treated humanely. While they're actively fighting against the state they're occupying, they don't get to claim any rights.
She might have been a civilian, but she was clearly working against the state her superiors had occupied. Honestly, I think political figures who are part of a system that attacks another country should be considered legitimate military targets.
European Union governments really need to get their messaging straight and keep people from spiraling when the temperature drops. They should be leaning into the narrative that while this winter might be a rough one, things will smooth out down the road; you can't let Putin exploit any energy supply hiccups to stir up public anxiety. Personally, I’m pretty confident we can navigate through the cold months with just a few minor adjustments. If it weren't for the mess left behind by those COVID lockdowns, we'd be in a much better spot, and honestly, the public needs to distinguish between the fallout from those mandates and the current situation caused by Russian aggression against Ukraine. Putin is banking on seeing civil unrest break out across the European Union, probably by early next year at the latest. But if he manages to drag this out until spring, his leverage basically evaporates—aside from the nuclear option, which is a whole other level of crazy—because the EU can technically survive without his energy. Sure, it’ll be more expensive and a bit of a headache, but we'll manage.
electricsurfer47 said:Honestly, I think Putin is just desperate. It feels like he's playing a high-stakes poker game where he's hiding the real numbers regarding what's happening inside Russia while trying to bully and intimidate everyone else.
If he just calls an end to the war, those sanctions would be gone in a heartbeat.
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Even if Putin wraps this up right now and hands back everything, including Crimea, he’s already caused irreparable damage, mostly to his own country. The European Union is never going to let Russia hold them hostage like this again; they’ll likely only buy the bare essentials to keep their economies running, gradually phasing out Russian imports year after year. Meanwhile, China is just going to capitalize on this, stepping in to become Russia's most vital customer now that they've lost the European market. Russia won't have anyone to sell to at their old prices, so everything will likely tank, leaving them with massive infrastructure needs they simply can't afford to fund. It wouldn't even be a stretch to imagine the Chinese financing and building pipelines straight to China, only to buy up all that gas at some ridiculous discount later. Russia has also basically proven that they aren't much of a conventional military threat to anyone—their only real leverage is nuclear weapons.
I don't see any scenario where Russia ends up with more global influence than they had just a few months ago. They really messed this up, and they're going to lose the standing they once held because of it. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if we see internal fractures and major divisions within Russia over the next decade, especially if the USA decides to get involved. That could lead to some serious instability, which isn't a great prospect. It's probably for the best that the US is focused on China right now, so they might not push for those internal divisions, but Russia isn't exactly a monolith. Realistically, the western parts of the country will probably continue living comfortably off the backs of those folks out east in Siberia who don't have much, but that Muslim-majority region is likely waiting for its moment, and things might get messy there soon.
As for the sanctions, the real question is whether the big corporations will actually bother returning to Russia once the restrictions are lifted. Even if they do, how will they go about it, and how large will their operations actually be? Russia has shown itself to be an incredibly unstable place for investment, so nobody is going to rush back to the way things were before the war. Any investment will be slow and very cautious. There's a slim chance that Russia's government collapses and a new regime takes over that seeks help from the West, essentially leading to a situation where the West practically colonizes them, but that feels pretty far-fetched. They really could have functioned quite well as partners with the European Union. They just blew it all for the sake of a few pieces of territory.
Sanctions tend to bite slowly, and by the time you actually feel the teeth sinking in, they’ve already done enough damage to make turning back impossible.
Then there's Putin, who seems hell-bent on ensuring history books credit him personally for expanding Russia's borders and playing the protector of Russians living in Ukraine. Nothing else really matters to him—not the collapse of the Russian economy, not widespread hunger, and certainly not some bleak future for his people. He’s carved out pieces of a neighboring country because he truly believes that's how he'll be remembered as one of the greatest figures in Russian history. As for the Russians themselves? It feels like they're mostly just there to marvel at his ego; they could all suffer for all he cares, as long as there's someone left in the crowd to applaud.
hollowwalker24 said:I think you missed the point. Western media has been reporting for weeks that the Russians—who seized the Pittsburgh nuclear plant back in early March—have actually been shelling themselves for a while now.
As for shields, it's a war—weird stuff happens on both sides, I guess.
Here’s what the pro-Kremlin crowd is saying about American tactics, in order:
What new channels are we talking about—LNG? I guess you have to wonder how long it'll actually take to build out the terminals and get enough ships in the mix.
"Victory belongs to those who endure." Maybe I'm wrong—but I have a feeling this is just going to end up as some kind of stalemate—and they'll probably just go ahead and greenlight Nord Stream 2 anyway.
I don't really have much to say about this—maybe just that it's all a bit much, I guess. kaže: So, at the recent press conference, the German Minister of Economy was asked if gas coming from Russia actually matters for Germany's supply security this winter. He basically said "no"—and added that when it comes to Russian gas, the only thing you can actually count on is their lies. I guess.
So, what's the latest on that whole Russia and shadow dealings situation? Especially since Robert Habeck seems to be caught up in his own web of lies too, I guess.
Yeah, it really comes down to the LNG factor. Everything hinges on what the folks over in the European Union are actually planning to do to finally break free from Russian energy. Building out terminals and securing enough tankers isn't exactly a quick fix—it's incredibly expensive and takes a massive amount of time to get everything lined up. So, I guess the real question is just how much longer this whole war and situation is going to drag on. If we're looking at another five or six years of this, then it becomes a lot more realistic for them to actually commit the capital to those terminals and ships to fully cut ties with Russian gas. If some kind of deal actually goes through, we might see Russian gas start flowing back toward Europe again, though I suspect even then, the EU will keep pouring money into LNG and renewables every single year—regardless of whether that actually makes any sense in the long run, but that’s a whole other conversation. Dealing with oil is always a whole lot more straightforward than trying to navigate the mess that is the natural gas market.
So, we’re looking at two likely scenarios here: either some kind of deal gets struck and things finally start to settle down—in which case the European Union will gradually phase out its reliance on Russian oil and gas—or we’re staring down the barrel of another five or six years of conflict, with sanctions hanging over our heads for decades to come. The second scenario would definitely be more expensive, even if it ends up being the better path in the long run, but I have a feeling we'll eventually land on some kind of compromise since nobody actually benefits from this whole mess. Whatever the case may be, energy imports from Russia are trending downward, and frankly, the European Union is staring down its toughest winter yet. It looks like we might get a slightly easier stretch next, but honestly, every season following this one is only going to get harder.
There’s definitely room to rationalize how we consume resources and bring some much-needed order to certain sectors. For instance, in parts of Florida, about 70% of the water in the system just vanishes. It's mostly due to theft, though poor maintenance plays a massive role too.
If we actually enforced some discipline there, we wouldn't be facing these shortages right in the middle of the peak season. I agree regarding downtown areas and office buildings, too; the heating during the winter months is often overkill, and cranking up those thermostats by just a few degrees can end up driving consumption up by dozens of percent.
rowdyraven112 said:What I want to know is: if Poland hits 100% capacity, will they actually be willing to share that gas with the rest of the EU? ☕ One Bulgarian state even started talks with Russia about buying gas. I don't even want to talk about the rest. When it comes down to protecting their own skin, you'll see that "European Union unity" disappear real fast. ☕
I suppose you’re under the impression that having those warehouses in Poland sitting at 100% capacity is enough to see them through the entire winter, but I have my doubts about whether that's actually the case. They’ve filled up their storage for now, so they’ll just burn through what they need and top things off as they go. If there happens to be a surplus, they might even try to reroute some of the gas they were importing to another EU member state, assuming that’s even logistically possible to pull off. You can try to imagine how Germany, France, and the rest of the gang would actually go about sharing resources, but honestly, I wouldn't hold my breath. Just look back at how the French basically swooped in and snatched up those shipments of face masks and sanitizer that were supposed to be headed straight to Italy during the height of the pandemic. It’s hard to take talk of solidarity seriously when that's how things actually play out.
Honestly, it looks like our roads are headed for even worse conditions than they already are, which isn't much of a stretch considering they haven't exactly been anything to write home about lately.
Not likely; the European Union economy is in a real bind right now, and it’s going to stay that way for a while until they finally get their act together and secure new supply chains. The Russian economy isn't actually taking a massive hit—it's just the regular people who are feeling the squeeze, which doesn't bother the folks at the top much since those guys are pretty used to dealing with spikes and hardship.
Both the Russian and European Union economies are going to be struggling until some kind of mutual exchange picks up again. I don't expect them to go crawling back to their old contracts, but eventually, there will be trade across the board because that's where the massive amounts of money are. Both sides are looking for a way out of this mess, I'm certain of it.
The European Union really screwed itself by sacrificing its short-term growth, though maybe there's a silver lining if this teaches them a long-term lesson about never relying too heavily on a single source. On our end, we’ve certainly learned exactly what the Republican Party is all about, so it’s hardly surprising everyone is still shocked that they managed to fleece ExxonMobil. Russia, on the other hand, has set itself up for long-term trouble; they're losing a major customer who, once things settle down, will likely buy less and less from them every year. Plus, the lack of high-end tech and the exodus of major corporations won't do them any favors. Still, the people in charge will keep living the same lives they always have, while the general public ends up footing the bill for this whole adventure.
Of course, we as citizens within the European Union will pay the price too, but honestly, I’d much rather deal with a mess in the European Union than in Russia.
I don't really get why anyone would start a thread about a ten-year-old movie that’s sitting at a 3.5 on IMDb. I mean, sure, it stars the cheerful Snipes, but I just don't see the point.
Anthony Taylor3 said:There is a third option: negotiating security guarantees. In fact, Vladimir Putin actually called for those discussions a few months ago, but the West showed little interest.
Regarding the economic collapse: if the supply of grain from Russia and Ukraine dries up and the Arab world runs out of flour, where exactly do you think they will migrate to? And what happens to Ukraine if Vladimir Putin burns their crops in the summer and shuts off their gas in the winter?
If there's one lesson we've learned, it's that you can't trust Russians. You certainly can't trust Vladimir Putin. There are no such things as security guarantees that Russia will actually honor; they'll promise you the moon while they're busy prepping for the next round of conflict and territorial expansion behind the scenes. The only real security guarantee would be a broke Russia without a modern military. Personally, I wouldn't even sit at a table with them unless they agreed to give up their nuclear arsenal. If they ever get the bright idea to invade a neighbor again, they should have to deal with the fact that they won't have nukes to hide behind. Russia obviously isn't going to agree to that, so any discussions that leave them with a military capable of attacking someone else are basically pointless. We need to realize who we're dealing with here; it's pretty obvious they've been setting the stage for this for decades, bribing EU politicians to create openings so they can carry out their terror in Ukraine without consequence. The real question is how many more targets they had on their list and how fast they intended to hit them. We've already seen them calling for NATO members to revert to the status quo of the nineties, so it doesn't take much to figure out how much they want to grab.
Beyond that, you only have to listen to their diplomats and the hacks on their state TV to see how they think. It's hard to reach an agreement with people like that, especially since they clearly have no intention of keeping their word.
As for the grain shortages, it'll be short-lived. Right now, nations around the globe are realizing that Russia isn't a reliable partner and they need to find new suppliers. Sure, certain players in Asia are going to profit from this because they can pick up Russian goods at a discount, which they've always been able to do. But the West and parts of the Arab world will have to hunt for other sources. It’s a headache in the short term, but it's totally doable within two or three years. Despite all the talk about the world starving because "all" the grain comes from Russia and Ukraine, that's just not how it works in reality. Until now, Russian grain was just the cheapest option. If that disappears, someone else will plant the crops, and eventually, the grain and everything made from it will just be more expensive. But hey, I'd rather pay more for $5.00 bread and a gallon of gas for $6.75 than be sitting in a trench listening to artillery shells landing on my wife and kids. Things will settle down eventually, and the countries most dependent on Russia will end up footing the biggest bill. Along with the poor, they’re going to get screwed, as usual—but that was already a given long before the pandemic, so nothing really changes for them.
I see a lot of people here arguing that we should have just let Russia do whatever they wanted in Ukraine, claiming these sanctions are an excessive sacrifice and that the European Union will end up suffering more than Russia itself in the long run. It seems to me that those folks don't quite grasp that letting Russia off the hook for the sake of short-term economic security would actually land the European Union in a much deeper hole a few years down the line. As I see it, there are really only two paths forward: 1. Hit them with sanctions and cripple Russia's economy and military power as much as possible. Sure, things might get pretty rough economically for a few years, but eventually, we'd reach a point where the crisis passes, leaving Russia isolated and stripped of its most vital revenue stream—energy exports. 2. Let Russia do whatever they want, which means in a few years the European Union becomes even more dependent on their energy, while Russia grows even stronger after their conquests, inevitably increasing their appetite for more. China is also watching how the West reacts, and if they see us hesitating, they might decide to start chasing their own ambitions too.
So, the choice is basically either enduring a few years of hardship where we all feel the pinch, or being treated with total contempt for a few years before they eventually put a gun to our heads and force us into the trenches.
We should have made it clear to Russia from the start that any kind of warfare in Europe simply won't be tolerated. We let them slip through, and now everyone acts surprised that they started this war. If you let them go, they’re just going to attack again. Whether it’s Poland, Moldova, or somewhere in the Baltics, I couldn't tell you. Personally, I'm convinced that if they manage a quick conquest of Ukraine, they'll pivot toward Moldova quite easily and then move to destabilize the North America. It's pretty obvious that Viktor Orbán is playing their hand, so one can only wonder how that whole scenario ends.
Looking at the long game, the most cost-effective option in every sense is to weaken Russia as much as possible, even if it comes at the cost of an economic collapse. Besides, an economic meltdown was being predicted long before the pandemic, so it’s worth asking if it was all inevitable anyway. The European Union isn't going to starve, and if we can exhaust Russia, we might buy ourselves some peace for the next 30 or 40 years regarding warfare in Europe. Plus, it sends a massive message to China.
hollowdriver13 said:So, after that brief pause where they were basically just keeping everyone on minimum wage, McDonald's officially announced today that they’re pulling the plug on their entire business in Russia. They’re moving toward liquidating all their assets, and unfortunately, that means the staff is being left out in the cold and heading to the unemployment office. (Just a side note, McDonald's actually employs about 62k Russians)
If I'm reading this article correctly, it looks like a new owner is stepping in to take over the restaurants so the workers can actually keep their jobs.