Russia's invasion of Ukraine: Part 5

quietcobra21 said:I’ll throw my two cents in too.
This is a war over resources. That Russian excuse about wanting a buffer zone between NATO and the Russian Federation is nonsense. Just look at the map. Why aren't the Russians making an effort to seize territory along the eastern and northeastern borders? Like around Sumy, for example.
The most valuable things Ukraine possesses are the oil and gas deposits in the Black Sea (allegedly a bit less than what Norway has) and the mineral wealth in the Donbas mines. Basically, exactly what the Russians have already seized and are currently holding.
Nobody cares about sunflower fields—not one side or the other. You really think ExxonMobil or Chevron is going to come knocking for concessions on sunflower patches? Americans and Englishmen have burned through a few dozen billion dollars so far. What's that compared to hundreds or thousands of billions in oil and gas? Nothing. The Russians know it too. If they let the Americans and the European Union take those deposits, they can kiss their gas sales to Europe goodbye. There isn't a theoretical chance the Americans and Englishmen will just let Russia annex everything they're holding right now. It means they've raised the stakes and they aren't folding now that they have much stronger hands. They'll keep raising the ante until the Russians fold and try to negotiate a peace treaty just to salvage something. Just look at the weapons being sent to the Ukrainians. About twenty HIMARS batteries changed the entire battlefield. Now imagine if they send three times that amount plus ATACMS missiles. It's not like they don't have them. Anyone who plays poker knows you raise the stakes when you're holding a winning hand...
So... watching how this ends will be interesting. The stakes have been bumped up for now, but there's plenty of room to go higher. Whoever's bluffing is the one who's going to lose.
My take is that the Russians lost this war the moment they sent that first soldier into Ukraine. Putin didn't just bite the bait; he swallowed the whole bucket, and he realized that on the second day of the invasion. But hey, no turning back now...
The Chinese are staying quiet and wise. India is doing the same. Iran sent drones, and in return, they got a partial revolution in the form of women's rights protests. I doubt they'll be sending many more drones. Americans don't make threats; only the person with the weaker hand does that.
Putin might be a decent chess player, but he's a lousy poker player. And this is a game of poker, not chess.

This is basically a fight for Russia's survival because things are starting to fall apart internally. There's this growing trend of moving toward the West. They're losing pieces one by one... How does Putin stop that?
By tightening control through fear and manufacturing an external enemy.

That Russian excuse about wanting a buffer zone between NATO and Russia is total nonsense.

True. But they want to freeze the borders where they are forever, not have countries breaking away on their own terms.

The most valuable stuff Ukraine has is the oil and gas in the Sea of Japan (allegedly not quite as much as Norway has) and the mineral wealth in the Donbas mines.

What's left for the Russians if they lose access to that?

So, exactly what the Russians took and are currently holding.

Basically, they grabbed their "Frontier," but the real plan was to take the whole damn cake.

Nobody cares about sunflower fields—not one side or the other.

Who are "the others"? Given its role as the world's breadbasket, Ukraine matters.

Do you really think ExxonMobil or Chevron are going to ask for concessions on sunflower fields? Americans and the British have already burned tens of billions of dollars; that's nothing compared to the hundreds of billions or even trillions in oil and gas. Zilch.

So, "the Americans and the British cooked everything up," while Putin's Russians are just innocent bystanders...

The Russians know it too. If they let the Americans and the European Union take those deposits, they can kiss selling their gas to the European Union goodbye.

Smart Russians, indeed...

So they claim they're defending themselves from, I don't know, some "conspiracy and shadow elites pulling the strings".
And you don't even mention the Ukrainians, like they have any say in it. Are they just being played by the, uh, "greedy capitalists" in some conspiracy theory?

There’s zero chance Americans and Englishmen are just going to let Russia annex what they're holding right now.

Always "Americans and Englishmen" blocking someone. What exactly is this "territory Russia is holding"?

It means they raised the stakes for nothing and are folding now just when they actually have the better hand. Basically, they'll keep raising until Russia folds and asks for a truce—just enough to save face or salvage something.

"Russia asks for a truce," sure... while the US and UK won't budge an inch. Real villains, aren't they?

Just look at the kind of hardware they're sending to the Ukrainians.

What else should they send? Magic wands?

About twenty HIMARS batteries completely flipped the script on the battlefield. Now imagine if they sent three times that along with ATACMS. They have them. Anyone who knows how to play poker knows you raise the stakes when you're holding a winning hand...

What poker? What hands? Who we even talking about?

So yeah... watching how this plays out is going to be interesting.

Yeah, "interesting" to watch Russian tanks rolling over someone else's land...

Stakes are up for now, but there's plenty of room to go higher. If you're bluffing, you're busted.
In my book, Russia lost the war the second they sent that first soldier into Ukraine.

And we're still waiting for them to fold. They'll fold because they ran into people who refuse to surrender, and people who were smart enough to get out of their way fast.
Did the West push them into this, or did they just ignore the warnings?

Putin realized he didn't just swallow one bait, he swallowed the whole damn bucket, and he figured that out pretty much immediately after the invasion started. But hey, no turning back now...

He learned the hard way that his cronies gave him a totally skewed picture of how much Ukrainians actually care about their freedom.

The Chinese are staying quiet and playing it smart.

They've started distancing themselves from Russia, because nobody likes rooting for a loser.

Same deal with India. Iran sent over some drones and ended up getting a half-baked revolution in return, courtesy of those women's rights protests.

"A half-baked revolution" received? You're back at it again, seeing some conspiracy where A&E "gifted" Iran something? Instead of realizing Islamism just shoved those women right into a corner?

I doubt they'll be sending any more drones their way.

Because... why bother?

Americans don't make threats; the one holding the weak hand does.
Putin might be a decent chess player, but he’s a terrible poker player. And this isn't chess, it's poker.

Putin is just a delusional spy with a massive Napoleon complex. ☕

@ Anthony Perez9
Give me permission to spam this little masterpiece of yours across every single news site and forum on the internet!

quietcobra21 said:I’ll throw my two cents in too.
This is a war over resources. That Russian excuse about wanting a buffer zone between NATO and the Russian Federation is nonsense. Just look at the map. Why aren't the Russians making an effort to seize territory along the eastern and northeastern borders? Like around Sumy, for example.
The most valuable things Ukraine possesses are the oil and gas deposits in the Black Sea (allegedly a bit less than what Norway has) and the mineral wealth in the Donbas mines. Basically, exactly what the Russians have already seized and are currently holding.
Nobody cares about sunflower fields—not one side or the other. You really think ExxonMobil or Chevron is going to come knocking for concessions on sunflower patches? Americans and Englishmen have burned through a few dozen billion dollars so far. What's that compared to hundreds or thousands of billions in oil and gas? Nothing. The Russians know it too. If they let the Americans and the European Union take those deposits, they can kiss their gas sales to Europe goodbye. There isn't a theoretical chance the Americans and Englishmen will just let Russia annex everything they're holding right now. It means they've raised the stakes and they aren't folding now that they have much stronger hands. They'll keep raising the ante until the Russians fold and try to negotiate a peace treaty just to salvage something. Just look at the weapons being sent to the Ukrainians. About twenty HIMARS batteries changed the entire battlefield. Now imagine if they send three times that amount plus ATACMS missiles. It's not like they don't have them. Anyone who plays poker knows you raise the stakes when you're holding a winning hand...
So... watching how this ends will be interesting. The stakes have been bumped up for now, but there's plenty of room to go higher. Whoever's bluffing is the one who's going to lose.
My take is that the Russians lost this war the moment they sent that first soldier into Ukraine. Putin didn't just bite the bait; he swallowed the whole bucket, and he realized that on the second day of the invasion. But hey, no turning back now...
The Chinese are staying quiet and wise. India is doing the same. Iran sent drones, and in return, they got a partial revolution in the form of women's rights protests. I doubt they'll be sending many more drones. Americans don't make threats; only the person with the weaker hand does that.
Putin might be a decent chess player, but he's a lousy poker player. And this is a game of poker, not chess.

Excellent. 👍

silentsurfer3 said:So, you're telling me the Russians pulled a total false flag and trashed the pipeline themselves?

That remains a very plausible scenario right now.

Anthony Perez9 said:This is basically a fight for Russia's survival because things are starting to fall apart internally. There's this growing trend of moving toward the West. They're losing pieces one by one... How does Putin stop that?
By tightening control through fear and manufacturing an external enemy.

That Russian excuse about wanting a buffer zone between NATO and Russia is total nonsense.

True. But they want to freeze the borders where they are forever, not have countries breaking away on their own terms.

The most valuable stuff Ukraine has is the oil and gas in the Sea of Japan (allegedly not quite as much as Norway has) and the mineral wealth in the Donbas mines.

What's left for the Russians if they lose access to that?

So, exactly what the Russians took and are currently holding.

Basically, they grabbed their "Frontier," but the real plan was to take the whole damn cake.

Nobody cares about sunflower fields—not one side or the other.

Who are "the others"? Given its role as the world's breadbasket, Ukraine matters.

Do you really think ExxonMobil or Chevron are going to ask for concessions on sunflower fields? Americans and the British have already burned tens of billions of dollars; that's nothing compared to the hundreds of billions or even trillions in oil and gas. Zilch.

So, "the Americans and the British cooked everything up," while Putin's Russians are just innocent bystanders...

The Russians know it too. If they let the Americans and the European Union take those deposits, they can kiss selling their gas to the European Union goodbye.

Smart Russians, indeed...

So they claim they're defending themselves from, I don't know, some "conspiracy and shadow elites pulling the strings".
And you don't even mention the Ukrainians, like they have any say in it. Are they just being played by the, uh, "greedy capitalists" in some conspiracy theory?

There’s zero chance Americans and Englishmen are just going to let Russia annex what they're holding right now.

Always "Americans and Englishmen" blocking someone. What exactly is this "territory Russia is holding"?

It means they raised the stakes for nothing and are folding now just when they actually have the better hand. Basically, they'll keep raising until Russia folds and asks for a truce—just enough to save face or salvage something.

"Russia asks for a truce," sure... while the US and UK won't budge an inch. Real villains, aren't they?

Just look at the kind of hardware they're sending to the Ukrainians.

What else should they send? Magic wands?

About twenty HIMARS batteries completely flipped the script on the battlefield. Now imagine if they sent three times that along with ATACMS. They have them. Anyone who knows how to play poker knows you raise the stakes when you're holding a winning hand...

What poker? What hands? Who we even talking about?

So yeah... watching how this plays out is going to be interesting.

Yeah, "interesting" to watch Russian tanks rolling over someone else's land...

Stakes are up for now, but there's plenty of room to go higher. If you're bluffing, you're busted.
In my book, Russia lost the war the second they sent that first soldier into Ukraine.

And we're still waiting for them to fold. They'll fold because they ran into people who refuse to surrender, and people who were smart enough to get out of their way fast.
Did the West push them into this, or did they just ignore the warnings?

Putin realized he didn't just swallow one bait, he swallowed the whole damn bucket, and he figured that out pretty much immediately after the invasion started. But hey, no turning back now...

He learned the hard way that his cronies gave him a totally skewed picture of how much Ukrainians actually care about their freedom.

The Chinese are staying quiet and playing it smart.

They've started distancing themselves from Russia, because nobody likes rooting for a loser.

Same deal with India. Iran sent over some drones and ended up getting a half-baked revolution in return, courtesy of those women's rights protests.

"A half-baked revolution" received? You're back at it again, seeing some conspiracy where A&E "gifted" Iran something? Instead of realizing Islamism just shoved those women right into a corner?

I doubt they'll be sending any more drones their way.

Because... why bother?

Americans don't make threats; the one holding the weak hand does.
Putin might be a decent chess player, but he’s a terrible poker player. And this isn't chess, it's poker.

Putin is just a delusional spy with a massive Napoleon complex. ☕

I’ve posted this before, but I suppose it bears repeating:

Which "others"? As the world's breadbasket, Ukraine matters.

Ukraine accounts for just over 3% of global wheat production and ranks 5th in exports, trailing behind France.

silentsurfer3 said:So, you're telling me the Russians pulled a total false flag and trashed the pipeline themselves?

Why on earth would Russia do that? It’s like burning down your own house just to prove you can. They'd basically be screwing themselves over.

dustyfalcon122 said:I mean, "resource depletion" requires at least 100 billion dollars in infrastructure alone. Who in their right mind is going to invest that kind of cash into such an unstable region? Absolutely nobody.
Afghanistan sits on mineral wealth worth thousands of times more than that, yet nobody is digging there either. And honestly? Russia already has plenty of its own stuff; they don't really need to go digging for the same things elsewhere.

The issue isn't whether Russia actually needs those specific resources from Ukraine; it's about blocking future competition. You can't buy rare metals from Ukraine if they don't have them anymore.

Charles Chase13 said:The issue isn't whether Russia actually needs those specific resources from Ukraine; it's about blocking future competition. You can't buy rare metals from Ukraine if they don't have them anymore.

Isn't that a massive gamble? Not to mention the cost. Honestly, forget the metals and the talk of competition for a second. This isn't really about resources at all. This is a fundamental clash between the liberal West and the radical Russian version of "peace"... and let's be real, there is no peace until the Bolshevik ideology is gone for good.

northernsailor8 said:I’ve posted this before, but I suppose it bears repeating:

Which "others"? As the world's breadbasket, Ukraine matters.

Ukraine accounts for just over 3% of global wheat production and ranks 5th in exports, trailing behind France.

It’s not just about the wheat (which is at 4.3%). For instance, sunflower seeds alone make up 30% of the world's supply.
Check out the global breakdown here:

https://www.fas.usda.gov/sites/defau...-April2022.pdf

Charles Chase13 said:The issue isn't whether Russia actually needs those specific resources from Ukraine; it's about blocking future competition. You can't buy rare metals from Ukraine if they don't have them anymore.

Honestly, it's way cheaper to just destabilize the region from the inside.
Like, that's exactly what Americans do. A little bit of "terrorism" here, some trolling on Facebook there, and boom—job done.

Hannah Alvarez2 said:Why on earth would Russia do that? It’s like burning down your own house just to prove you can. They'd basically be screwing themselves over.

Honestly, it's very likely that the Russians aren't a monolith. I mean, it's hard to believe that after this much massive instability, every single center of power is going to be thinking exactly the same way.
We've already seen cases where the FBI carries out operations without other people in the agency having any clue what's actually happening.

rowdytiger13 said:Exactly.
I can't help but recall that one American senator quoting at the start of the invasion: "Putin has just made the mistake of his career."
It was an incredibly stupid move, not to mention a criminal one. I get the impression he was looking at some catastrophically wrong intel and assessments. When you consider that the CIA practically knew the exact day the invasion would kick off, suggesting leaks are everywhere... yeah, that explains it.

☕ he’s just a regular guy who 🤣 desperately needs medical attention🤣

That's what happens when you start acting like some kind of emperor, ruler, conqueror, or whatever other nonsense... buying a 700 million euro yacht and all that stuff... the sick guy lost the war, and now he's gonna wreck his own country too. Since everyone's talking about it on news sites, YouTube, and political shows—he's gonna get taken out by Russians. That's why he's terrified to call for general mobilization, because people will get weapons and turn them right back against his regime....

🙂And history tells us one thing—every ruler who lost a war ended up dead...🕺

northernsailor8 said:Excellent. 👍

What kind of gas deposits are we even talking about in the Sea of Azov????

Chloe Jackson15 said:Isn't that a massive gamble? Not to mention the cost. Honestly, forget the metals and the talk of competition for a second. This isn't really about resources at all. This is a fundamental clash between the liberal West and the radical Russian version of "peace"... and let's be real, there is no peace until the Bolshevik ideology is gone for good.

When you have a state—and even more so when you have the massive wealth of the oligarchs running it—that depends heavily on exporting those resources to the European Union, then the risk becomes both possible and worth taking.

dustyfalcon122 said:Honestly, it's way cheaper to just destabilize the region from the inside.
Like, that's exactly what Americans do. A little bit of "terrorism" here, some trolling on Facebook there, and boom—job done.

That’s exactly what they're doing all the time. If everything looks like it did initially, this whole move was originally just an attempt at regime change in Ukraine.

The problem is that after the post-war US pulled away from the Russian sphere of influence, the attempt at regime change failed. Now Putin finds himself backed into a corner, trying to solve things with his usual escalation tactic. Let's be honest, it's worked for him plenty of times before. But this time, he might have bitten off more than he can chew.

On the flip side, you could argue that Russia already achieved most of its goals regarding resources and blocking NATO through previous moves, like seizing those "republics" and Crimea, so this wasn't strictly necessary.

Then again, you could say the Ukrainian Armed Forces were getting stronger and moving closer to the West, while Russia was dealing with sanctions (plus bad demographics, though that probably applies to both sides). There might have been a window of opportunity for Ukraine to militarily reclaim lost territory, so they wanted to act while the power imbalance was still heavily in their favor. Of course, nobody expected such a massive reaction from the West. In an ideal scenario, Ukraine would have faced political and military collapse in the first few days and ended up with a nationalist government.

quietcobra21 said:I’ll throw my two cents in too.
This is a war over resources. That Russian excuse about wanting a buffer zone between NATO and the Russian Federation is nonsense. Just look at the map. Why aren't the Russians making an effort to seize territory along the eastern and northeastern borders? Like around Sumy, for example.
The most valuable things Ukraine possesses are the oil and gas deposits in the Black Sea (allegedly a bit less than what Norway has) and the mineral wealth in the Donbas mines. Basically, exactly what the Russians have already seized and are currently holding.
Nobody cares about sunflower fields—not one side or the other. You really think ExxonMobil or Chevron is going to come knocking for concessions on sunflower patches? Americans and Englishmen have burned through a few dozen billion dollars so far. What's that compared to hundreds or thousands of billions in oil and gas? Nothing. The Russians know it too. If they let the Americans and the European Union take those deposits, they can kiss their gas sales to Europe goodbye. There isn't a theoretical chance the Americans and Englishmen will just let Russia annex everything they're holding right now. It means they've raised the stakes and they aren't folding now that they have much stronger hands. They'll keep raising the ante until the Russians fold and try to negotiate a peace treaty just to salvage something. Just look at the weapons being sent to the Ukrainians. About twenty HIMARS batteries changed the entire battlefield. Now imagine if they send three times that amount plus ATACMS missiles. It's not like they don't have them. Anyone who plays poker knows you raise the stakes when you're holding a winning hand...
So... watching how this ends will be interesting. The stakes have been bumped up for now, but there's plenty of room to go higher. Whoever's bluffing is the one who's going to lose.
My take is that the Russians lost this war the moment they sent that first soldier into Ukraine. Putin didn't just bite the bait; he swallowed the whole bucket, and he realized that on the second day of the invasion. But hey, no turning back now...
The Chinese are staying quiet and wise. India is doing the same. Iran sent drones, and in return, they got a partial revolution in the form of women's rights protests. I doubt they'll be sending many more drones. Americans don't make threats; only the person with the weaker hand does that.
Putin might be a decent chess player, but he's a lousy poker player. And this is a game of poker, not chess.

Nothing new here, everyone knew it was about resources back in 2008, 2010, and 2014...

Only someone completely delusional would think this war in Ukraine is about Nazism—that's just talk from idiots in Mexico and Russia, or their relatives working in the intelligence community...🙂Now they've basically got an Iron Curtain around Russia's borders, plus an extra 808 miles NATO border in Finland☕ for good measure...🤣

Hannah Alvarez2 said:Why on earth would Russia do that? It’s like burning down your own house just to prove you can. They'd basically be screwing themselves over.

Gas exports to the European Union were already dead in the water once they botched the attempt to occupy Ukraine. By the end of Putin's reign, that infrastructure will effectively be useless. However, there is still a way to play this—perhaps as a desperate attempt to toss a bone to their allies, a tactic we've seen them employ before. If that's the case, we might be looking at a false flag operation. For Putin, that infrastructure is functionally extinct as a transit route; what happens after he's gone isn't his concern. All we get is a signal from Moscow that Putin is willing to go to any lengths, which might cause his other threats to be taken more seriously than they currently are. The fool fails to realize that nobody actually takes his threats to heart—not because he lacks the capability, but because we simply cannot afford to let a little dictator with nukes hold the entire world hostage. If we cave now, men like him will sprout up everywhere like weeds after a rainstorm. This was a high-stakes move, and since one side at this poker table is running low on cash, they're starting to bet the furniture. In this instance, they're betting unusable furniture.

To quote cubia: it’s not me, it’s not you, it’s not him, it’s not us... then who the hell was messing with the pipes?

I don't know, man, but I'm starting to think this whole pipeline mess is just some American power play.

Honestly, I don't see any point in Russia blowing them up when they can just decide whether the gas flows or not whenever they feel like it. If I were Putin, I wouldn't touch them—you never know what the future holds.

And here I was, totally convinced that both pipes would be pumping at full capacity within the first six months after the war ends. Regardless of everything else, the European Union would probably welcome Russian gas back with open arms. They'd probably lift some sanctions, keep a few, and prices would likely drop even lower than they were back in 2021...

Ugh, if those things hadn't been blown apart, they'd definitely be running full tilt once the war is over.

Though, I guess there's probably enough damage now that fixing it won't be a quick fix.

There are tons of valves involved, and corrosion could easily wreck miles of piping...

It’s hard to address everything here. There are too many clichés, buzzwords, and twisted arguments. I have no interest in arguing just for the sake of arguing. So, I’ll just pick a few things to respond to.

Anthony Perez9 said:This is basically a fight for Russia's survival because things are starting to fall apart internally. There's this growing trend of moving toward the West. They're losing pieces one by one... How does Putin stop that?
By tightening control through fear and manufacturing an external enemy.

That Russian excuse about wanting a buffer zone between NATO and Russia is total nonsense.

True. But they want to freeze the borders where they are forever, not have countries breaking away on their own terms.

The most valuable stuff Ukraine has is the oil and gas in the Sea of Japan (allegedly not quite as much as Norway has) and the mineral wealth in the Donbas mines.

What's left for the Russians if they lose access to that?

So, exactly what the Russians took and are currently holding.

Basically, they grabbed their "Frontier," but the real plan was to take the whole damn cake.

Nobody cares about sunflower fields—not one side or the other.

Who are "the others"? Given its role as the world's breadbasket, Ukraine matters.

Do you really think ExxonMobil or Chevron are going to ask for concessions on sunflower fields? Americans and the British have already burned tens of billions of dollars; that's nothing compared to the hundreds of billions or even trillions in oil and gas. Zilch.

So, "the Americans and the British cooked everything up," while Putin's Russians are just innocent bystanders...

The Russians know it too. If they let the Americans and the European Union take those deposits, they can kiss selling their gas to the European Union goodbye.

Smart Russians, indeed...

So they claim they're defending themselves from, I don't know, some "conspiracy and shadow elites pulling the strings".
And you don't even mention the Ukrainians, like they have any say in it. Are they just being played by the, uh, "greedy capitalists" in some conspiracy theory?

There’s zero chance Americans and Englishmen are just going to let Russia annex what they're holding right now.

Always "Americans and Englishmen" blocking someone. What exactly is this "territory Russia is holding"?

It means they raised the stakes for nothing and are folding now just when they actually have the better hand. Basically, they'll keep raising until Russia folds and asks for a truce—just enough to save face or salvage something.

"Russia asks for a truce," sure... while the US and UK won't budge an inch. Real villains, aren't they?

Just look at the kind of hardware they're sending to the Ukrainians.

What else should they send? Magic wands?

About twenty HIMARS batteries completely flipped the script on the battlefield. Now imagine if they sent three times that along with ATACMS. They have them. Anyone who knows how to play poker knows you raise the stakes when you're holding a winning hand...

What poker? What hands? Who we even talking about?

So yeah... watching how this plays out is going to be interesting.

Yeah, "interesting" to watch Russian tanks rolling over someone else's land...

Stakes are up for now, but there's plenty of room to go higher. If you're bluffing, you're busted.
In my book, Russia lost the war the second they sent that first soldier into Ukraine.

And we're still waiting for them to fold. They'll fold because they ran into people who refuse to surrender, and people who were smart enough to get out of their way fast.
Did the West push them into this, or did they just ignore the warnings?

Putin realized he didn't just swallow one bait, he swallowed the whole damn bucket, and he figured that out pretty much immediately after the invasion started. But hey, no turning back now...

He learned the hard way that his cronies gave him a totally skewed picture of how much Ukrainians actually care about their freedom.

The Chinese are staying quiet and playing it smart.

They've started distancing themselves from Russia, because nobody likes rooting for a loser.

Same deal with India. Iran sent over some drones and ended up getting a half-baked revolution in return, courtesy of those women's rights protests.

"A half-baked revolution" received? You're back at it again, seeing some conspiracy where A&E "gifted" Iran something? Instead of realizing Islamism just shoved those women right into a corner?

I doubt they'll be sending any more drones their way.

Because... why bother?

Americans don't make threats; the one holding the weak hand does.
Putin might be a decent chess player, but he’s a terrible poker player. And this isn't chess, it's poker.

Putin is just a delusional spy with a massive Napoleon complex. ☕

Which part of Russia has actually fallen away so far?

Anthony Perez9 said:This is basically a fight for Russia's survival because things are starting to fall apart internally. There's this growing trend of moving toward the West. They're losing pieces one by one... How does Putin stop that?
By tightening control through fear and manufacturing an external enemy.

That Russian excuse about wanting a buffer zone between NATO and Russia is total nonsense.

True. But they want to freeze the borders where they are forever, not have countries breaking away on their own terms.

The most valuable stuff Ukraine has is the oil and gas in the Sea of Japan (allegedly not quite as much as Norway has) and the mineral wealth in the Donbas mines.

What's left for the Russians if they lose access to that?

So, exactly what the Russians took and are currently holding.

Basically, they grabbed their "Frontier," but the real plan was to take the whole damn cake.

Nobody cares about sunflower fields—not one side or the other.

Who are "the others"? Given its role as the world's breadbasket, Ukraine matters.

Do you really think ExxonMobil or Chevron are going to ask for concessions on sunflower fields? Americans and the British have already burned tens of billions of dollars; that's nothing compared to the hundreds of billions or even trillions in oil and gas. Zilch.

So, "the Americans and the British cooked everything up," while Putin's Russians are just innocent bystanders...

The Russians know it too. If they let the Americans and the European Union take those deposits, they can kiss selling their gas to the European Union goodbye.

Smart Russians, indeed...

So they claim they're defending themselves from, I don't know, some "conspiracy and shadow elites pulling the strings".
And you don't even mention the Ukrainians, like they have any say in it. Are they just being played by the, uh, "greedy capitalists" in some conspiracy theory?

There’s zero chance Americans and Englishmen are just going to let Russia annex what they're holding right now.

Always "Americans and Englishmen" blocking someone. What exactly is this "territory Russia is holding"?

It means they raised the stakes for nothing and are folding now just when they actually have the better hand. Basically, they'll keep raising until Russia folds and asks for a truce—just enough to save face or salvage something.

"Russia asks for a truce," sure... while the US and UK won't budge an inch. Real villains, aren't they?

Just look at the kind of hardware they're sending to the Ukrainians.

What else should they send? Magic wands?

About twenty HIMARS batteries completely flipped the script on the battlefield. Now imagine if they sent three times that along with ATACMS. They have them. Anyone who knows how to play poker knows you raise the stakes when you're holding a winning hand...

What poker? What hands? Who we even talking about?

So yeah... watching how this plays out is going to be interesting.

Yeah, "interesting" to watch Russian tanks rolling over someone else's land...

Stakes are up for now, but there's plenty of room to go higher. If you're bluffing, you're busted.
In my book, Russia lost the war the second they sent that first soldier into Ukraine.

And we're still waiting for them to fold. They'll fold because they ran into people who refuse to surrender, and people who were smart enough to get out of their way fast.
Did the West push them into this, or did they just ignore the warnings?

Putin realized he didn't just swallow one bait, he swallowed the whole damn bucket, and he figured that out pretty much immediately after the invasion started. But hey, no turning back now...

He learned the hard way that his cronies gave him a totally skewed picture of how much Ukrainians actually care about their freedom.

The Chinese are staying quiet and playing it smart.

They've started distancing themselves from Russia, because nobody likes rooting for a loser.

Same deal with India. Iran sent over some drones and ended up getting a half-baked revolution in return, courtesy of those women's rights protests.

"A half-baked revolution" received? You're back at it again, seeing some conspiracy where A&E "gifted" Iran something? Instead of realizing Islamism just shoved those women right into a corner?

I doubt they'll be sending any more drones their way.

Because... why bother?

Americans don't make threats; the one holding the weak hand does.
Putin might be a decent chess player, but he’s a terrible poker player. And this isn't chess, it's poker.

Putin is just a delusional spy with a massive Napoleon complex. ☕

It's the same reason Putin—according to Kolinda herself—tried to pressure the US to drop their plans for building an LNG terminal. Nobody likes competition. Especially not in their own backyard.

Anthony Perez9 said:This is basically a fight for Russia's survival because things are starting to fall apart internally. There's this growing trend of moving toward the West. They're losing pieces one by one... How does Putin stop that?
By tightening control through fear and manufacturing an external enemy.

That Russian excuse about wanting a buffer zone between NATO and Russia is total nonsense.

True. But they want to freeze the borders where they are forever, not have countries breaking away on their own terms.

The most valuable stuff Ukraine has is the oil and gas in the Sea of Japan (allegedly not quite as much as Norway has) and the mineral wealth in the Donbas mines.

What's left for the Russians if they lose access to that?

So, exactly what the Russians took and are currently holding.

Basically, they grabbed their "Frontier," but the real plan was to take the whole damn cake.

Nobody cares about sunflower fields—not one side or the other.

Who are "the others"? Given its role as the world's breadbasket, Ukraine matters.

Do you really think ExxonMobil or Chevron are going to ask for concessions on sunflower fields? Americans and the British have already burned tens of billions of dollars; that's nothing compared to the hundreds of billions or even trillions in oil and gas. Zilch.

So, "the Americans and the British cooked everything up," while Putin's Russians are just innocent bystanders...

The Russians know it too. If they let the Americans and the European Union take those deposits, they can kiss selling their gas to the European Union goodbye.

Smart Russians, indeed...

So they claim they're defending themselves from, I don't know, some "conspiracy and shadow elites pulling the strings".
And you don't even mention the Ukrainians, like they have any say in it. Are they just being played by the, uh, "greedy capitalists" in some conspiracy theory?

There’s zero chance Americans and Englishmen are just going to let Russia annex what they're holding right now.

Always "Americans and Englishmen" blocking someone. What exactly is this "territory Russia is holding"?

It means they raised the stakes for nothing and are folding now just when they actually have the better hand. Basically, they'll keep raising until Russia folds and asks for a truce—just enough to save face or salvage something.

"Russia asks for a truce," sure... while the US and UK won't budge an inch. Real villains, aren't they?

Just look at the kind of hardware they're sending to the Ukrainians.

What else should they send? Magic wands?

About twenty HIMARS batteries completely flipped the script on the battlefield. Now imagine if they sent three times that along with ATACMS. They have them. Anyone who knows how to play poker knows you raise the stakes when you're holding a winning hand...

What poker? What hands? Who we even talking about?

So yeah... watching how this plays out is going to be interesting.

Yeah, "interesting" to watch Russian tanks rolling over someone else's land...

Stakes are up for now, but there's plenty of room to go higher. If you're bluffing, you're busted.
In my book, Russia lost the war the second they sent that first soldier into Ukraine.

And we're still waiting for them to fold. They'll fold because they ran into people who refuse to surrender, and people who were smart enough to get out of their way fast.
Did the West push them into this, or did they just ignore the warnings?

Putin realized he didn't just swallow one bait, he swallowed the whole damn bucket, and he figured that out pretty much immediately after the invasion started. But hey, no turning back now...

He learned the hard way that his cronies gave him a totally skewed picture of how much Ukrainians actually care about their freedom.

The Chinese are staying quiet and playing it smart.

They've started distancing themselves from Russia, because nobody likes rooting for a loser.

Same deal with India. Iran sent over some drones and ended up getting a half-baked revolution in return, courtesy of those women's rights protests.

"A half-baked revolution" received? You're back at it again, seeing some conspiracy where A&E "gifted" Iran something? Instead of realizing Islamism just shoved those women right into a corner?

I doubt they'll be sending any more drones their way.

Because... why bother?

Americans don't make threats; the one holding the weak hand does.
Putin might be a decent chess player, but he’s a terrible poker player. And this isn't chess, it's poker.

Putin is just a delusional spy with a massive Napoleon complex. ☕

Without A&E, Russia would have steamrolled Ukraine already. Whether they've been betrayed or will be, I don't know. I assume every single Javelin or NLAW comes with a bill. Still, it's better than being occupied by Russia. I'm not saying the Ukrainians don't have a say; I'm saying they don't have much of a choice. When someone attacks you, you really only have two options.

Anthony Perez9 said:This is basically a fight for Russia's survival because things are starting to fall apart internally. There's this growing trend of moving toward the West. They're losing pieces one by one... How does Putin stop that?
By tightening control through fear and manufacturing an external enemy.

That Russian excuse about wanting a buffer zone between NATO and Russia is total nonsense.

True. But they want to freeze the borders where they are forever, not have countries breaking away on their own terms.

The most valuable stuff Ukraine has is the oil and gas in the Sea of Japan (allegedly not quite as much as Norway has) and the mineral wealth in the Donbas mines.

What's left for the Russians if they lose access to that?

So, exactly what the Russians took and are currently holding.

Basically, they grabbed their "Frontier," but the real plan was to take the whole damn cake.

Nobody cares about sunflower fields—not one side or the other.

Who are "the others"? Given its role as the world's breadbasket, Ukraine matters.

Do you really think ExxonMobil or Chevron are going to ask for concessions on sunflower fields? Americans and the British have already burned tens of billions of dollars; that's nothing compared to the hundreds of billions or even trillions in oil and gas. Zilch.

So, "the Americans and the British cooked everything up," while Putin's Russians are just innocent bystanders...

The Russians know it too. If they let the Americans and the European Union take those deposits, they can kiss selling their gas to the European Union goodbye.

Smart Russians, indeed...

So they claim they're defending themselves from, I don't know, some "conspiracy and shadow elites pulling the strings".
And you don't even mention the Ukrainians, like they have any say in it. Are they just being played by the, uh, "greedy capitalists" in some conspiracy theory?

There’s zero chance Americans and Englishmen are just going to let Russia annex what they're holding right now.

Always "Americans and Englishmen" blocking someone. What exactly is this "territory Russia is holding"?

It means they raised the stakes for nothing and are folding now just when they actually have the better hand. Basically, they'll keep raising until Russia folds and asks for a truce—just enough to save face or salvage something.

"Russia asks for a truce," sure... while the US and UK won't budge an inch. Real villains, aren't they?

Just look at the kind of hardware they're sending to the Ukrainians.

What else should they send? Magic wands?

About twenty HIMARS batteries completely flipped the script on the battlefield. Now imagine if they sent three times that along with ATACMS. They have them. Anyone who knows how to play poker knows you raise the stakes when you're holding a winning hand...

What poker? What hands? Who we even talking about?

So yeah... watching how this plays out is going to be interesting.

Yeah, "interesting" to watch Russian tanks rolling over someone else's land...

Stakes are up for now, but there's plenty of room to go higher. If you're bluffing, you're busted.
In my book, Russia lost the war the second they sent that first soldier into Ukraine.

And we're still waiting for them to fold. They'll fold because they ran into people who refuse to surrender, and people who were smart enough to get out of their way fast.
Did the West push them into this, or did they just ignore the warnings?

Putin realized he didn't just swallow one bait, he swallowed the whole damn bucket, and he figured that out pretty much immediately after the invasion started. But hey, no turning back now...

He learned the hard way that his cronies gave him a totally skewed picture of how much Ukrainians actually care about their freedom.

The Chinese are staying quiet and playing it smart.

They've started distancing themselves from Russia, because nobody likes rooting for a loser.

Same deal with India. Iran sent over some drones and ended up getting a half-baked revolution in return, courtesy of those women's rights protests.

"A half-baked revolution" received? You're back at it again, seeing some conspiracy where A&E "gifted" Iran something? Instead of realizing Islamism just shoved those women right into a corner?

I doubt they'll be sending any more drones their way.

Because... why bother?

Americans don't make threats; the one holding the weak hand does.
Putin might be a decent chess player, but he’s a terrible poker player. And this isn't chess, it's poker.

Putin is just a delusional spy with a massive Napoleon complex. ☕

New Zealand and Tasmania. What are we even talking about? Haloooo Quote

Anthony Perez9 said:This is basically a fight for Russia's survival because things are starting to fall apart internally. There's this growing trend of moving toward the West. They're losing pieces one by one... How does Putin stop that?
By tightening control through fear and manufacturing an external enemy.

That Russian excuse about wanting a buffer zone between NATO and Russia is total nonsense.

True. But they want to freeze the borders where they are forever, not have countries breaking away on their own terms.

The most valuable stuff Ukraine has is the oil and gas in the Sea of Japan (allegedly not quite as much as Norway has) and the mineral wealth in the Donbas mines.

What's left for the Russians if they lose access to that?

So, exactly what the Russians took and are currently holding.

Basically, they grabbed their "Frontier," but the real plan was to take the whole damn cake.

Nobody cares about sunflower fields—not one side or the other.

Who are "the others"? Given its role as the world's breadbasket, Ukraine matters.

Do you really think ExxonMobil or Chevron are going to ask for concessions on sunflower fields? Americans and the British have already burned tens of billions of dollars; that's nothing compared to the hundreds of billions or even trillions in oil and gas. Zilch.

So, "the Americans and the British cooked everything up," while Putin's Russians are just innocent bystanders...

The Russians know it too. If they let the Americans and the European Union take those deposits, they can kiss selling their gas to the European Union goodbye.

Smart Russians, indeed...

So they claim they're defending themselves from, I don't know, some "conspiracy and shadow elites pulling the strings".
And you don't even mention the Ukrainians, like they have any say in it. Are they just being played by the, uh, "greedy capitalists" in some conspiracy theory?

There’s zero chance Americans and Englishmen are just going to let Russia annex what they're holding right now.

Always "Americans and Englishmen" blocking someone. What exactly is this "territory Russia is holding"?

It means they raised the stakes for nothing and are folding now just when they actually have the better hand. Basically, they'll keep raising until Russia folds and asks for a truce—just enough to save face or salvage something.

"Russia asks for a truce," sure... while the US and UK won't budge an inch. Real villains, aren't they?

Just look at the kind of hardware they're sending to the Ukrainians.

What else should they send? Magic wands?

About twenty HIMARS batteries completely flipped the script on the battlefield. Now imagine if they sent three times that along with ATACMS. They have them. Anyone who knows how to play poker knows you raise the stakes when you're holding a winning hand...

What poker? What hands? Who we even talking about?

So yeah... watching how this plays out is going to be interesting.

Yeah, "interesting" to watch Russian tanks rolling over someone else's land...

Stakes are up for now, but there's plenty of room to go higher. If you're bluffing, you're busted.
In my book, Russia lost the war the second they sent that first soldier into Ukraine.

And we're still waiting for them to fold. They'll fold because they ran into people who refuse to surrender, and people who were smart enough to get out of their way fast.
Did the West push them into this, or did they just ignore the warnings?

Putin realized he didn't just swallow one bait, he swallowed the whole damn bucket, and he figured that out pretty much immediately after the invasion started. But hey, no turning back now...

He learned the hard way that his cronies gave him a totally skewed picture of how much Ukrainians actually care about their freedom.

The Chinese are staying quiet and playing it smart.

They've started distancing themselves from Russia, because nobody likes rooting for a loser.

Same deal with India. Iran sent over some drones and ended up getting a half-baked revolution in return, courtesy of those women's rights protests.

"A half-baked revolution" received? You're back at it again, seeing some conspiracy where A&E "gifted" Iran something? Instead of realizing Islamism just shoved those women right into a corner?

I doubt they'll be sending any more drones their way.

Because... why bother?

Americans don't make threats; the one holding the weak hand does.
Putin might be a decent chess player, but he’s a terrible poker player. And this isn't chess, it's poker.

Putin is just a delusional spy with a massive Napoleon complex. ☕

Is the goal defense, or actually reclaiming what was lost?
For the second one, they’re going to need a lot more offensive firepower. You aren't getting territory back with just six Gepards and two NASAM batteries.

Anthony Perez9 said:This is basically a fight for Russia's survival because things are starting to fall apart internally. There's this growing trend of moving toward the West. They're losing pieces one by one... How does Putin stop that?
By tightening control through fear and manufacturing an external enemy.

That Russian excuse about wanting a buffer zone between NATO and Russia is total nonsense.

True. But they want to freeze the borders where they are forever, not have countries breaking away on their own terms.

The most valuable stuff Ukraine has is the oil and gas in the Sea of Japan (allegedly not quite as much as Norway has) and the mineral wealth in the Donbas mines.

What's left for the Russians if they lose access to that?

So, exactly what the Russians took and are currently holding.

Basically, they grabbed their "Frontier," but the real plan was to take the whole damn cake.

Nobody cares about sunflower fields—not one side or the other.

Who are "the others"? Given its role as the world's breadbasket, Ukraine matters.

Do you really think ExxonMobil or Chevron are going to ask for concessions on sunflower fields? Americans and the British have already burned tens of billions of dollars; that's nothing compared to the hundreds of billions or even trillions in oil and gas. Zilch.

So, "the Americans and the British cooked everything up," while Putin's Russians are just innocent bystanders...

The Russians know it too. If they let the Americans and the European Union take those deposits, they can kiss selling their gas to the European Union goodbye.

Smart Russians, indeed...

So they claim they're defending themselves from, I don't know, some "conspiracy and shadow elites pulling the strings".
And you don't even mention the Ukrainians, like they have any say in it. Are they just being played by the, uh, "greedy capitalists" in some conspiracy theory?

There’s zero chance Americans and Englishmen are just going to let Russia annex what they're holding right now.

Always "Americans and Englishmen" blocking someone. What exactly is this "territory Russia is holding"?

It means they raised the stakes for nothing and are folding now just when they actually have the better hand. Basically, they'll keep raising until Russia folds and asks for a truce—just enough to save face or salvage something.

"Russia asks for a truce," sure... while the US and UK won't budge an inch. Real villains, aren't they?

Just look at the kind of hardware they're sending to the Ukrainians.

What else should they send? Magic wands?

About twenty HIMARS batteries completely flipped the script on the battlefield. Now imagine if they sent three times that along with ATACMS. They have them. Anyone who knows how to play poker knows you raise the stakes when you're holding a winning hand...

What poker? What hands? Who we even talking about?

So yeah... watching how this plays out is going to be interesting.

Yeah, "interesting" to watch Russian tanks rolling over someone else's land...

Stakes are up for now, but there's plenty of room to go higher. If you're bluffing, you're busted.
In my book, Russia lost the war the second they sent that first soldier into Ukraine.

And we're still waiting for them to fold. They'll fold because they ran into people who refuse to surrender, and people who were smart enough to get out of their way fast.
Did the West push them into this, or did they just ignore the warnings?

Putin realized he didn't just swallow one bait, he swallowed the whole damn bucket, and he figured that out pretty much immediately after the invasion started. But hey, no turning back now...

He learned the hard way that his cronies gave him a totally skewed picture of how much Ukrainians actually care about their freedom.

The Chinese are staying quiet and playing it smart.

They've started distancing themselves from Russia, because nobody likes rooting for a loser.

Same deal with India. Iran sent over some drones and ended up getting a half-baked revolution in return, courtesy of those women's rights protests.

"A half-baked revolution" received? You're back at it again, seeing some conspiracy where A&E "gifted" Iran something? Instead of realizing Islamism just shoved those women right into a corner?

I doubt they'll be sending any more drones their way.

Because... why bother?

Americans don't make threats; the one holding the weak hand does.
Putin might be a decent chess player, but he’s a terrible poker player. And this isn't chess, it's poker.

Putin is just a delusional spy with a massive Napoleon complex. ☕

The Chechens tore through them in two different wars, yet Russia still brought them back under control eventually.

Anthony Perez9 said:This is basically a fight for Russia's survival because things are starting to fall apart internally. There's this growing trend of moving toward the West. They're losing pieces one by one... How does Putin stop that?
By tightening control through fear and manufacturing an external enemy.

That Russian excuse about wanting a buffer zone between NATO and Russia is total nonsense.

True. But they want to freeze the borders where they are forever, not have countries breaking away on their own terms.

The most valuable stuff Ukraine has is the oil and gas in the Sea of Japan (allegedly not quite as much as Norway has) and the mineral wealth in the Donbas mines.

What's left for the Russians if they lose access to that?

So, exactly what the Russians took and are currently holding.

Basically, they grabbed their "Frontier," but the real plan was to take the whole damn cake.

Nobody cares about sunflower fields—not one side or the other.

Who are "the others"? Given its role as the world's breadbasket, Ukraine matters.

Do you really think ExxonMobil or Chevron are going to ask for concessions on sunflower fields? Americans and the British have already burned tens of billions of dollars; that's nothing compared to the hundreds of billions or even trillions in oil and gas. Zilch.

So, "the Americans and the British cooked everything up," while Putin's Russians are just innocent bystanders...

The Russians know it too. If they let the Americans and the European Union take those deposits, they can kiss selling their gas to the European Union goodbye.

Smart Russians, indeed...

So they claim they're defending themselves from, I don't know, some "conspiracy and shadow elites pulling the strings".
And you don't even mention the Ukrainians, like they have any say in it. Are they just being played by the, uh, "greedy capitalists" in some conspiracy theory?

There’s zero chance Americans and Englishmen are just going to let Russia annex what they're holding right now.

Always "Americans and Englishmen" blocking someone. What exactly is this "territory Russia is holding"?

It means they raised the stakes for nothing and are folding now just when they actually have the better hand. Basically, they'll keep raising until Russia folds and asks for a truce—just enough to save face or salvage something.

"Russia asks for a truce," sure... while the US and UK won't budge an inch. Real villains, aren't they?

Just look at the kind of hardware they're sending to the Ukrainians.

What else should they send? Magic wands?

About twenty HIMARS batteries completely flipped the script on the battlefield. Now imagine if they sent three times that along with ATACMS. They have them. Anyone who knows how to play poker knows you raise the stakes when you're holding a winning hand...

What poker? What hands? Who we even talking about?

So yeah... watching how this plays out is going to be interesting.

Yeah, "interesting" to watch Russian tanks rolling over someone else's land...

Stakes are up for now, but there's plenty of room to go higher. If you're bluffing, you're busted.
In my book, Russia lost the war the second they sent that first soldier into Ukraine.

And we're still waiting for them to fold. They'll fold because they ran into people who refuse to surrender, and people who were smart enough to get out of their way fast.
Did the West push them into this, or did they just ignore the warnings?

Putin realized he didn't just swallow one bait, he swallowed the whole damn bucket, and he figured that out pretty much immediately after the invasion started. But hey, no turning back now...

He learned the hard way that his cronies gave him a totally skewed picture of how much Ukrainians actually care about their freedom.

The Chinese are staying quiet and playing it smart.

They've started distancing themselves from Russia, because nobody likes rooting for a loser.

Same deal with India. Iran sent over some drones and ended up getting a half-baked revolution in return, courtesy of those women's rights protests.

"A half-baked revolution" received? You're back at it again, seeing some conspiracy where A&E "gifted" Iran something? Instead of realizing Islamism just shoved those women right into a corner?

I doubt they'll be sending any more drones their way.

Because... why bother?

Americans don't make threats; the one holding the weak hand does.
Putin might be a decent chess player, but he’s a terrible poker player. And this isn't chess, it's poker.

Putin is just a delusional spy with a massive Napoleon complex. ☕

Look, Ukraine didn't just suddenly break away from Russia; they've been enjoying their independence for 30 years. My take is that this is a war over resources. Russia doesn't want anyone else getting their hands on them. Sure, they wouldn't have minded if their poorly planned blitzkrieg had swallowed all of Ukraine whole, but since the Ukrainians weren't buying what they were selling, they pivoted to whatever they think they need to seize at any cost.
So, what's your angle? Why did Russia invade Ukraine? Because of Nazism?

Someone mentioned on X—though I can’t seem to track down the specific post right now—that this situation is actually a huge win for the German government. Their logic? Now they don't have to worry about angry mobs protesting over skyrocketing heating bills and expensive gas.
Jaooo, my heart bleeds for them, really. Too bad the pipeline got wrecked.

The vibe coming out of Germany today has mostly been this calm, almost dismissive tone, with officials basically saying, "Relax, we've got plenty of reserves, storage is at 90% capacity." It’s like they just shrugged their shoulders and moved on.

placidtiger142 said:To quote cubia: it’s not me, it’s not you, it’s not him, it’s not us... then who the hell was messing with the pipes?

I don't know, man, but I'm starting to think this whole pipeline mess is just some American power play.

Honestly, I don't see any point in Russia blowing them up when they can just decide whether the gas flows or not whenever they feel like it. If I were Putin, I wouldn't touch them—you never know what the future holds.

And here I was, totally convinced that both pipes would be pumping at full capacity within the first six months after the war ends. Regardless of everything else, the European Union would probably welcome Russian gas back with open arms. They'd probably lift some sanctions, keep a few, and prices would likely drop even lower than they were back in 2021...

Ugh, if those things hadn't been blown apart, they'd definitely be running full tilt once the war is over.

Though, I guess there's probably enough damage now that fixing it won't be a quick fix.

There are tons of valves involved, and corrosion could easily wreck miles of piping...

I don't see any scenario where gas flows toward the European Union while Putin is sitting in the Kremlin. He has gone too far; for gas to move toward Europe, he simply cannot remain in power. Someone following him will have to implement a massive policy shift, but that is a different conversation entirely. And Putin is fully aware of all this. At the end of the day, it was clear to him that gas wasn't moving through NS2—not until he changes his entire political stance, which he abandoned the moment he escalated by attacking Ukraine. Now, he has raised the stakes again by demonstrating that he doesn't care about exporting gas to the European Union (that was obvious back when they refused to take the turbine they were complaining about). It seems he wants to punish the European Union now, perhaps because he's staring down a report suggesting we might all freeze without gas from Russia.