Colors of Blue and Gold

[Jon Banks]

I seriously doubt that there has been one Western leader, supporting Ukraine, who believed the sanctions would settle the matter within a year.

Sanctions typically have the greatest impact in the initial phase. Eventually countries tend to figure out ways to evade sanctions. Russia seems to have shifted their supply-chains to China and India over the past year.

Did you happen to miss how Biden was claiming that the sanctions imposed last February would "cripple" Russia's economy?

Biden looks to cripple Russian economy with sanctions in response to invasion of Ukraine
https://news.yahoo.com/biden-looks-to-cripple-russian-economy-with-sanctions-in-response-to-invasion-of-ukraine-205959251.html


It hasn't stopped Russia's war machine, nor are there any signs of severe economic pain in Russia. There's a recession in Russia currently but it's nothing like what they experienced in the 1990s.

I think Putin invading Ukraine was a bad idea and Russia is paying a high price but now that they're in the war, they have to see it through because there aren't any off-ramps. Western leaders have revealed their intention to destroy Russia. There's no going back to the way things were before the war.

Ultimately, I think this war will end with some sort of official or unofficial partition of Ukraine...

[Joe Elliott]

. . . The only thing Ukraine can do is hold out and hope that Russia eventually tires of the conflict. . . .

Hope is what allowed Greece to survive long enough for the Persian empire to go home.
Hope is what allowed America to survive long enough for the British to go home.
Hope is what allowed Poland to survive long enough for the Russians to go home in 1920.
Hope is what allowed North Vietnam to survive long enough for the Americans to go home.
Hope is what allowed Poland to survive until both the Germans and later the Russians went home. Incredible but true.

Without hope small countries would not exist.

Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.

Maybe that is why we still have Poland and Ukraine. Some things are too good to die.

Regardless of what happens, Ukraine will survive. Poland survived and Ukraine will survive, in victory or defeat, as it has always done. Except this time, I don't think defeat is in the cards.

[Joe Elliott]

. . .

In a recent survey, Lev Gudkov’s Levada Center — currently the only independent opinion research organization in Russia — found that 53 percent of respondents subscribe to the view that Putin’s “special military operation” is progressing successfully. And in another survey last month, most respondents told Levada pollsters that “every real man should serve in the army.”

. . .

Yes. Most Russians think that "every real man should serve in the army". If one per cent of every real man of military age was to volunteer to serve in the army, the Russians would have something like 140,000 volunteers (assuming ten per cent of the Russian population are males of military age). They get many times that number fleeing the country. Wanting Russia to overrun Ukraine is one thing. But having a population that wants someone else to do this, not their son, not their husband, and certainly not themselves, is not a recipe for victory.

It is clear that Russia has the numbers to win. But not the will. They won in World War II because the will was there, in spades, to prevent the Russian people from being totally wiped out (not an exaggeration, certainly Hitler wanted to eliminate the Russian population in a generation or two). But the will was not there to hold Afghanistan in the 1980's. And it does not look like the will is there to take Ukraine in the 2020's. And Russian army of the 2020's is a shell of the Soviet army of the 1980's.

The will of the Ukrainians is there. It is incredible that they even attempted to stand up to the expected (by the rest of the world) Russian onslaught. The problem for the Russians is not that too many Ukrainians want someone else to drive back the Russians. The problem is that too many Ukrainians want to drive back the Russians themselves. In the absence of Russians wanting to fight the Ukrainians, that's a real problem. Not too many nations have won wars with that sort of problem.

[Richard Smith]

Yes. Most Russians think that "every real man should serve in the army". If one per cent of every real man of military age was to volunteer to serve in the army, the Russians would have something like 140,000 volunteers (assuming ten per cent of the Russian population are males of military age). They get many times that number fleeing the country. Wanting Russia to overrun Ukraine is one thing. But having a population that wants someone else to do this, not their son, not their husband, and certainly not themselves, is not a recipe for victory.

It is clear that Russia has the numbers to win. But not the will. They won in World War II because the will was there, in spades, to prevent the Russian people from being totally wiped out (not an exaggeration, certainly Hitler wanted to eliminate the Russian population in a generation or two). But the will was not there to hold Afghanistan in the 1980's. And it does not look like the will is there to take Ukraine in the 2020's. And Russian army of the 2020's is a shell of the Soviet army of the 1980's.

The will of the Ukrainians is there. It is incredible that they even attempted to stand up to the expected (by the rest of the world) Russian onslaught. The problem for the Russians is not that too many Ukrainians want someone else to drive back the Russians. The problem is that too many Ukrainians want to drive back the Russians themselves. In the absence of Russians wanting to fight the Ukrainians, that's a real problem. Not too many nations have won wars with that sort of problem.

How do you know so much about the "will" of the Russians and Ukrainians?  Is that from CNN or MSNBC?  How do you know so much about the state of the Russian army?  Is that from reading some of Old Joe's classified documents?  The US news media has an agenda on this story.  They report only news sympathetic to Ukraine.   When the Ukranians are filmed executing Russian POWs it is suppressed.  I'm not sure why any American would feel so emotionally invested in this conflict.  There are numerous such conflicts in Africa and other places that are never mentioned.  There was a clear propaganda campaign to promote US involvement in Ukraine.  It portrayed this in the most simplistic manner to appeal to the emotions of Americans.  We were told it had something to do with "democracy" even though Ukraine is a corrupt country run by oligarchs.  It was a David and Goliath struggle like an Afterschool Special.  Or as Kamala put it "Russia bad" and "Ukraine good."  So $100 billion taxpayer dollars later the country is in ruin with no end in sight.  A replacement war for Afghanistan to enrich the defense contractors.  They must fall on the ground laughing at the rubes who display their Ukranian flag but who couldn't find the country on a map.

[Martin Weidmann]

How do you know so much about the "will" of the Russians and Ukrainians?  Is that from CNN or MSNBC?  How do you know so much about the state of the Russian army?  Is that from reading some of Old Joe's classified documents?  The US news media has an agenda on this story.  They report only news sympathetic to Ukraine.   When the Ukranians are filmed executing Russian POWs it is suppressed.  I'm not sure why any American would feel so emotionally invested in this conflict.  There are numerous such conflicts in Africa and other places that are never mentioned.  There was a clear propaganda campaign to promote US involvement in Ukraine.  It portrayed this in the most simplistic manner to appeal to the emotions of Americans.  We were told it had something to do with "democracy" even though Ukraine is a corrupt country run by oligarchs.  It was a David and Goliath struggle like an Afterschool Special.  Or as Kamala put it "Russia bad" and "Ukraine good."  So $100 billion taxpayer dollars later the country is in ruin with no end in sight.  A replacement war for Afghanistan to enrich the defense contractors.  They must fall on the ground laughing at the rubes who display their Ukranian flag but who couldn't find the country on a map.

How do you know so much about the "will" of the Russians and Ukrainians?

Asks the guy who is arrogantly making "definitive" statements about all sorts of things, as if he has an inside source or even was there himself. Hilarious!

When the Ukranians are filmed executing Russian POWs it is suppressed.

If that's true (and it's a big "if"), how do you know about it?

[Richard Smith]

How do you know so much about the "will" of the Russians and Ukrainians?

Asks the guy who is arrogantly making "definitive" statements about all sorts of things, as if he has an inside source or even was there himself. Hilarious!

When the Ukranians are filmed executing Russian POWs it is suppressed.

If that's true (and it's a big "if"), how do you know about it?

You are from "Europe".  Right?  So fill us in.  The video of Ukranians killing Russian POWs is on You Tube.  Do your socialist masters allow you to access that in "Europe"?


"The UN human rights chief said on Friday that videos showing Ukrainian soldiers executing Russian prisoners of war appear to be "authentic" and called for allegations of summary executions on both sides to be fully investigated.

Volker Turk said the video, which has been circulating on social media and allegedly shows Ukrainian forces killing Russian prisoners as they lie on the ground, appeared to be “highly likely to be authentic”.

[Martin Weidmann]

You are from "Europe".  Right?  So fill us in.  The video of Ukranians killing Russian POWs is on You Tube.  Do your socialist masters allow you to access that in "Europe"?

"The UN human rights chief said on Friday that videos showing Ukrainian soldiers executing Russian prisoners of war appear to be "authentic" and called for allegations of summary executions on both sides to be fully investigated.

Volker Turk said the video, which has been circulating on social media and allegedly shows Ukrainian forces killing Russian prisoners as they lie on the ground, appeared to be “highly likely to be authentic”.

You are from "Europe".  Right? 

You don't know the difference between living somewhere and being from somewhere?

The video of Ukranians killing Russian POWs is on You Tube.

So, it wasn't suppressed after all... So much for your BS rethoric.

Do your socialist masters allow you to access that in "Europe"?

Who exactly are my "socialist masters"?


"The UN human rights chief said on Friday that videos showing Ukrainian soldiers executing Russian prisoners of war appear to be "authentic" and called for allegations of summary executions on both sides to be fully investigated.

Volker Turk said the video, which has been circulating on social media and allegedly shows Ukrainian forces killing Russian prisoners as they lie on the ground, appeared to be “highly likely to be authentic”.

"appear to be "authentic"" ?

"appeared to be “highly likely to be authentic”."?

Wow...

But let's get real here for a minute. If Ukrainian soldiers executed Russian P.O.W.'s, it's a war crime and should be investigated, just like the countless times when Russian soldiers raped Ukrainian women, killed civilians in the streets and bombed hospitals and civilian shelters.

But you only care about a couple of Ukrainian soldiers killing 12 Russian soldiers P.O.W.'s after one of them opened fire on them, right?