tgw

I think there should be a law against terminating accounts in good standing of nationals just because they reside abroad. the due diligence involved - and that's the reason why banks want to close these accounts - is or should be normal business for any bank. they choose to be lazy and cut on costs.

I'd rather they keep threatening. But they know that Scholz is afraid and they play that chord.

Media: Hungary wants EU to lift sanctions from oligarchs close to Putin https://kyivindependent.com/news-feed/media-hungary-wants-eu-to-lift-sanctions-from-oligarchs-close-to-putin Hungary's leadership must be so corrupt.

not high-ranking after all ????

I'll just throw the headline in here: Russian defense ministry confirms plan to expand army to 1.5 million troops https://kyivindependent.com/news-feed/russian-defense-ministry-confirms-plan-to-expand-army-to-1-5-million-troops

let's hope it's true

did some reading, and it seems the "high ranking commander" was in fact a platoon commander. is that really a high rank ?

the Swiss aren't neutral. they are actively aiding Ruzzia with that policy.

the estimated figure of Ukrainian minors abducted by Ruzzia since the 2022 invasion is close to 300.000

there's a group, "women on web", who will give advice on that topic.

from https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-1-12-23/h_47c6f959b03b6327593850aa4e584698 Top pro-Kremlin military blogger says Russian commander replacement designed to "stop blurring responsibility" I wondered before what the change in leadership was all about, and now it becomes clear: they set up a fall man

some better news at last: https://kyivindependent.com/news-feed/german-minister-berlin-shouldnt-oppose-transfer-of-polish-leopard-tanks-to-ukraine German vice-chancellor says Germany shouldn't oppose the delivery by Poland of 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Let's hope Scholz can be convinced too. What I'm wondering is whether these tanks will be delivered within their usual combat outfit applying their combat doctrine. Tanks alone are vulnerable, they need recon vehicles, some mechanised infantry to provide security and help with tank maintenance, and support vehicles, possibly also provide close range air defense. 14 Leopards could fill a tank company with 3x4 platoons + a command platoon with 2 tanks, analog to standard NATO spec. plus 2 utility vehicles, 2 cargo trucks, 1 recovery unit, but it will work best if embedded into a NATO-type combined arms tank brigade structure.

oh, it's Madyar, using his telescopic pointer of doom, who is commenting. boom, badaboom, puff, pook, jagga jagga. when he's commenting, it never ends well for the people under his pointer.

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/01/11/7384439/ Putin demotes Surovikin, replacing him with Gerasimov as commander of war in Ukraine I think that move is significant. Gerasimov has been chief of Ruzzia's general staff for over ten years. Even if Dr. Evil Surovikin will remain as his deputy, Gerasimov is an important figure. I'm unsure what Putin's goal is behind this move.

I'm glad you have the wisdom to recognize it as such

funny shutterstock photo in the opening post. T-54 and WW2 style airplanes, oh well. Ruzzia's position on the battlefield is currently not weak, as they just took Soledar, north of Bakhmut, and have been progressing on the whole Donetsk frontline, from Vuhledar to Kreminna, and I suspect there is a Ruzzian offensive breaking out of Kreminna as well. They are probably low on shells though. Ukraine needs all the help it can get.

sorry, that's not even newsworthy. at 85, he wasn't a "leading" rocket scientist anymore. "key defense official" at 85 - it's not possible to spin every side news story !

zzzzzzzzzzz nothing to see here. get him an expedited court hearing, 3000 baht damages and 20.000 fine for wasting everyone's time, remanded to prison at a rate of 100 baht/day until damages and fine are covered by time or paid, deport, blacklist. sign, stamp, end of, next.

I'm worried about the current state of affairs. There currently seems to be a huge pressure from Ruzzians on the frontline, they are attacking everywhere between Marinka near Donetsk up to Bilohorivka. New equipment and support for Ukraine is needed FAST. One can only hope the Ruzzian battlefield gains (ok, just a few Kilometers here and there, but still) come at a huge military cost.

as the perp is only in his 30ies, I'd wager the victim probably saved another person's life. with a temper like that, the perp would probably have shot someone else at some point or another. RIP to the victim. I hope the murderer is punished properly, with at least 20 full years in prison.

Ukraine already bombarded Russian airbases near Saratov and Ryazan, but nobody in Russia got to see the damage, nor would such a bombardment get much coverage in Ruzzian media. I thought about Ukraine bombarding some symbolic Ruzzian targets such as Putin's "Patriot Park" or even exploding one of the Kremlin's towers, but I recently watched some interviews of Ruzzian prisoners on this Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@LvivMedia/videos Most Ruzzian POW interviewed there are of incredibly "thick" mind, they avoid having a personal opinion on important issues by "not engaging in politics" and looking only after themselves and their family (that's the typical Russian head-down mindset). After viewing these interviews, among them are officers and most are of younger age, I'm not optimistic about a revolution happening in Ruzzia. I also hear from friends/relatives that older people only watch Ruzzian government channels all day, NTV, TNT, Rossiya-1, RTR, etc. and they mostly believe the bullcrap. Of the interviewees, most want their motherland to win, even if they are unsure if Putin was right to attack Ukraine. So I'm not sure what effect exploding a Kremlin tower would have on the public, probably just enraging some of them and not enabling a revolution at all. The interviewees are cattle. They obviously would need leaders to front the revolution. But Putin has been eliminating a lot of people. When watching these interviews, I understood what's happening: Putin is eliminating dissident elites who have money and power and oppose the war and Putin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Russian_businessmen_suspicious_deaths (that's probably just the tip of an enormous iceberg of corpses and people sent to prison/gulag/retirement) Did you know there was a new advent calendar in Russia ? Every time a window is opened, an oligarch falls out. Jokes aside, I don't see Ruzzia giving in, even if Putin dies. Peace for Ukraine can only come from the battlefield, and the world needs to put a cordon sanitaire around Ruzzia. These Youtube Channels also help to understand Ruzzians, how they live and their access to information: https://www.youtube.com/@1420channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaNfHBihSUqcUBpvHx-rwYw and frankly, why would they care about anything, they aren't world citizens, they aren't even Ruzzian citizens (citizen as understood by Socrates), because they don't participate in politics. They are just Putin's cattle.

no, they aren't. they will be sending some Marder though.

don't confuse explanation and excuse.

https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-why-russias-claim-that-air-strike-killed-600-is-almost-certainly-a-grotesque-untruth-12782550

I came across some statements of certain republicans and the insinuations were absolutely disgusting. I'm surprised Qanon sympathizers and other politicians exploiting similar crazies to gain votes are accepted in the republican party. It certainly isn't the same world today as it was 30 years ago.