Nobody has the intention to invade Ukraine

[Wheelimus]

Um, to do it BEFORE 2024 they'd have to sure do a hell of a lot.

Anyway I don't buy Trump as an automatic winner in 2024 anyway, latest polls showed Biden barely beating him. A majority of this country hates Trump. Hates Biden too but that's a problem for another day.

 

[Nevermore]

Also, will an open endorsement by Putin help or hurt Trump?

 

[Wheelimus]

Right now with America mostly united against Russia, save for a few extreme right wingers, I think it hurts him.

 

[wonko the sane?]

Assuming the goal is to get trump reelected and not, you know, a massive attempt to distract attention or, gods forbid: further divide the ideology of the population and foster a civil war.

 

[Paladin]

Unprotected Russian soldiers disturbed radioactive dust in Chernobyl's 'Red Forest', workers say

Russian soldiers who seized the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster drove their armoured vehicles without radiation protection through a highly toxic zone called the "Red Forest", kicking up clouds of radioactive dust, workers at the site said.

www.reuters.com

the HBO executive who wished for a second season just curled their monkeys' paw...

 

[Nevermore]

Unprotected Russian soldiers disturbed radioactive dust in Chernobyl's 'Red Forest', workers say

Russian soldiers who seized the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster drove their armoured vehicles without radiation protection through a highly toxic zone called the "Red Forest", kicking up clouds of radioactive dust, workers at the site said.

www.reuters.com

the HBO executive who wished for a second season just curled their monkeys' paw...

I... already reported that exact same story yesterday, same link and all?

Also, them kicking up radioactive dust was already heavily assumed a month ago as the most likely explanation when there were reports of radiation detectors around the site detecting higher than normal (for the area) radiation levels. I don't think there's a huge risk of Chernobyl 2.0 happening despite what all the doomsayers keep suggesting, but those poor uninformed Russian soldiers might indeed be in for a bad surprise in the following months and years.


Meanwhile, there are now multiple reports that Putin was indeed fed wrong information about the progress of his own troops' war effort. Turns out if you keep surrounding yourself with yes-men and make everyone afraid of telling you bad news, they will just keep lying to you. You cannot make people magically succeed simply by not allowing them to fail.

 

[Ironbite4]

Paladin doesn't read threads nor does he read his links.

Ironbite-it's...frustrating.

 

[Rust]

Meanwhile, there are now multiple reports that Putin was indeed fed wrong information about the progress of his own troops' war effort.

It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest, but by that same token, what an amazing back pedal for Putin. "I had no idea! This was all the work of treasonous advisors! I'm guiltless in all of this!"

 

[wonko the sane?]

But given the nature of the report, we have to question it's veracity because we already know that everything that russia says is a lie. This just might be a very desperate putin trying to shift blame and extract himself from the quagmire.

 

[Cyoti]

These claims that Putin is increasingly isolated and misled are from US intelligence (https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/03...-advisers-ukraine-us-intelligence-determines/). It's pretty clear that they have been reading Putin like a book since before the invasion either because a) they have someone in his inner circle or b) compromised some type of electronic device close to him.

 

[wonko the sane?]

Or C.) he's literally a textbook psychopathic tyrant and entirely predictable in regards to his personnel and power structure. I think we know what putin is apt to do NOT because he's insane but because the people stuck complying with his order aren't insane.

 

[Ungnome]

Or D) all of the above.

 

[Nevermore]

The assessment of Putin also matches up with what former Russian foreign minister Andrei Kozyrev said about Putin weeks ago.

 

[Nevermore]

Meanwhile, Ukrainian singer Mariana Sadovska, in an interview with German-language media, insists that Western media are telling a very rose-tinted fairy tale that claims the majority of everyday Russians do not support the war, and are talking about rather than with the Ukrainian people.

This is the same woman who previously insisted that a global nuclear war would be a worthy price to pay if only the world would help defend her home country. Geez.



Update: There's a frightening recent poll that backs up these claims. Apparently, over 80 percent of Russians are in support of Special Military Operation.

Putin's Popularity Rises in Russia, Drops Among Americans, Polls Say

A poll showed that approval of Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions has increased from 69 percent in January to 83 percent in March.

www.newsweek.com

Putin’s Domestic Approval Rating Reaches Highest Level In Five Years

A poll released this week by an independent Moscow organization found 83% of Russians approve of Vladimir Putin’s activities as president, a sharp increase since he ordered Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

www.forbes.com

 

[Ironbite4]

................um. You sure that was from an "independent" organization?

Ironbite-you very sure?

 

[Ungnome]

Indeed. Given Putin's control over the media narrative in Russia, would said poll(based in MOSCOW) even RISK putting out a poll critical of Putin?

 

[Shattered Trousers]

Yes, those 83% of Russians who approve of Special Military Operation approve so strongly nobody even needs to ask their opinion, the State just knows.

~L~

Also, there is a 17% margin for error, so the approval rating might be higher than reported.

 

[Shattered Trousers]

The second link Nevermore attached, the article on Forbes.com, tells you everything you need to know about this story under the "Key Background" heading.

Russians do not have access to much accurate information about the war in Ukraine, as the Kremlin has tightened its grip on the narrative in Russia over the last month, making any reference to Russia’s military offensive as a “war” or “invasion” a crime punishable by up to 15 years in jail. Levada was an early victim of Putin’s information crackdown, as the Russian government labeled the polling firm as a foreign agent in 2016 in a move Levada attributed to “political censorship.”

Any information Levada puts out regarding Putin's approval rating can automatically be filed as "bunk."

As the kids used to say, "well, duh."

~L~

 

[wonko the sane?]

If russia itself is reporting something: it is a lie.

 

[Pale Rider]

FB friend:

Once Putin achieves his goal of taking control of Ukraine's most valuable oil and gas resources and then leaving Ukrainians to rebuild the shattered remains of their country, how long will the West maintain its principled resistance to doing business with him?

Markets are the enemy of principle. If he's offering cheap oil and gas, how long before people resume business as usual?