Who is actually winning in Ukraine?

[DarthTrader]

I actually think that Ukraine will end up being a disastrous blunder for the US-EU. Russia doesn't really have to accomplish anything further. Military defeat is unlikely. Putin's narrative has ALWAYS been to secure the Donbass and Crimea regions into autonomous or wholly Russian Oblasts. It looks like Russia's moving to secure those interests now. Anything else for them would be gravy.

But I think there's a "Great Game" here that they anticipated, because they've been preparing for it for 7 years.

Russia wants to deal a death blow to EU-US "Eurodollar" reserve currency and SWIFT. And they have. The entire world watches as the EU begs and blatantly refuses to pay Russia for gas in Rubles (a deadline which ends with the April Futures contract and payments must begin April 1st for all later Futures contracts: Nuances).

What this does for China, India, African nations we prey upon, South America, everyone else not in the elite OECD club is show that they are slaves to the Eurodollar. An expensive, controlled and abused currency. Whenever the US takes too much debt, the US prints more dollars, European Union does the same.

But when crushing trade and unfair financial practices forces Nigeria into debt, in comes the IMF, the US Aircraft Carriers, and the tools of Empire, to force Nigeria, or whoever, to bow to the Eurodollar.

How is that fair? How is that free? How is that DEMOCRATIC?

It's not.

And with the simple refusal to pay a sovereign nation in their sovereign currency for their national resources......Russia has exposed the US-EU as an impotent imperialist power that has been bloodsucking the world for decades.

The world has watched and listened.

And the world will turn to China for a neutral 3rd party, as Putin has foretold.

A world with a basket of currencies, where each nation pays for a nation's goods/services in their currency, not in some global Empire currency.

This is the death blow to the US-EU.

The question is, is it working? I think we see the cracks, but it's too early for any columns to crumble. The US-EU empire can limp on, or even recover, if it plays its cards right.

No one thinks the idiots in charge now are competent enough, however.

 

[rightwinger]

Putin has painted himself into a corner
He can no longer win

At best, he will leave a poorly supplied occupation force in the cities and have them slowly picked off

At worst, his invasion collapses and he loses his power base

 

[Sunni Man]

Putin is just sitting back and laughing as veggie Biden and his EU/Nato nitwit pals have no idea what to do? ...
Except pile on more useless sanctions and endlessly talk a good game. ..

 

[TNHarley]

Hell, there aint no telling how it is going over there.
You cant believe anything.

 

[Rye Catcher]

I actually think that Ukraine will end up being a disastrous blunder for the US-EU. Russia doesn't really have to accomplish anything further. Military defeat is unlikely. Putin's narrative has ALWAYS been to secure the Donbass and Crimea regions into autonomous or wholly Russian Oblasts. It looks like Russia's moving to secure those interests now. Anything else for them would be gravy.

But I think there's a "Great Game" here that they anticipated, because they've been preparing for it for 7 years.

Russia wants to deal a death blow to EU-US "Eurodollar" reserve currency and SWIFT. And they have. The entire world watches as the EU begs and blatantly refuses to pay Russia for gas in Rubles (a deadline which ends with the April Futures contract and payments must begin April 1st for all later Futures contracts: Nuances).

What this does for China, India, African nations we prey upon, South America, everyone else not in the elite OECD club is show that they are slaves to the Eurodollar. An expensive, controlled and abused currency. Whenever the US takes too much debt, the US prints more dollars, European Union does the same.

But when crushing trade and unfair financial practices forces Nigeria into debt, in comes the IMF, the US Aircraft Carriers, and the tools of Empire, to force Nigeria, or whoever, to bow to the Eurodollar.

How is that fair? How is that free? How is that DEMOCRATIC?

It's not.

And with the simple refusal to pay a sovereign nation in their sovereign currency for their national resources......Russia has exposed the US-EU as an impotent imperialist power that has been bloodsucking the world for decades.

The world has watched and listened.

And the world will turn to China for a neutral 3rd party, as Putin has foretold.

A world with a basket of currencies, where each nation pays for a nation's goods/services in their currency, not in some global Empire currency.

This is the death blow to the US-EU.

The question is, is it working? I think we see the cracks, but it's too early for any columns to crumble. The US-EU empire can limp on, or even recover, if it plays its cards right.

No one thinks the idiots in charge now are competent enough, however.

Maybe you ought to write a comic book?

 

[jwoodie]

But when crushing trade and unfair financial practices forces Nigeria into debt, in comes the IMF, the US Aircraft Carriers, and the tools of Empire, to force Nigeria, or whoever, to bow to the Eurodollar.

How, exactly, did/does that work and how would economic conditions change if payments to oil exporting countries are made in their own currency??

 

[badger2]

I actually think that Ukraine will end up being a disastrous blunder for the US-EU. Russia doesn't really have to accomplish anything further. Military defeat is unlikely. Putin's narrative has ALWAYS been to secure the Donbass and Crimea regions into autonomous or wholly Russian Oblasts. It looks like Russia's moving to secure those interests now. Anything else for them would be gravy.

But I think there's a "Great Game" here that they anticipated, because they've been preparing for it for 7 years.

Russia wants to deal a death blow to EU-US "Eurodollar" reserve currency and SWIFT. And they have. The entire world watches as the EU begs and blatantly refuses to pay Russia for gas in Rubles (a deadline which ends with the April Futures contract and payments must begin April 1st for all later Futures contracts: Nuances).

What this does for China, India, African nations we prey upon, South America, everyone else not in the elite OECD club is show that they are slaves to the Eurodollar. An expensive, controlled and abused currency. Whenever the US takes too much debt, the US prints more dollars, European Union does the same.

But when crushing trade and unfair financial practices forces Nigeria into debt, in comes the IMF, the US Aircraft Carriers, and the tools of Empire, to force Nigeria, or whoever, to bow to the Eurodollar.

How is that fair? How is that free? How is that DEMOCRATIC?

It's not.

And with the simple refusal to pay a sovereign nation in their sovereign currency for their national resources......Russia has exposed the US-EU as an impotent imperialist power that has been bloodsucking the world for decades.

The world has watched and listened.

And the world will turn to China for a neutral 3rd party, as Putin has foretold.

A world with a basket of currencies, where each nation pays for a nation's goods/services in their currency, not in some global Empire currency.

This is the death blow to the US-EU.

The question is, is it working? I think we see the cracks, but it's too early for any columns to crumble. The US-EU empire can limp on, or even recover, if it plays its cards right.

No one thinks the idiots in charge now are competent enough, however.

Russian Army's most important target was Mariupol, which is finished. Putin's Chechens are now going building-to-building to root out the remaining Azov neo-nazis.

 

[task0778]

My guess? Nobody. Everybody is losing. Not many winners outside of Ukraine either as far as I can tell.

 

[Likkmee]

The military industrial complex wins. They always have

 

[badger2]

On the economic front, there are Russian sanctions morphing.

2022 marta 31 (Aprelia 1) Porshchanie geishii: v Rossii stanet men'she iaponskikh avtomobilei
Fairwell to Geishii: There Will Be Fewer Japanese Cars in Russia
https://iz.ru/1313076/evgenii-bagda...v-rossii-stanet-menshe-iaponskikh-avtomobilei

In addition, Putin's daughter is a Japanese philologist. Duh

 

[FA_Q2]

I actually think that Ukraine will end up being a disastrous blunder for the US-EU. Russia doesn't really have to accomplish anything further. Military defeat is unlikely. Putin's narrative has ALWAYS been to secure the Donbass and Crimea regions into autonomous or wholly Russian Oblasts. It looks like Russia's moving to secure those interests now. Anything else for them would be gravy.

You start your rant with a direct lie...

Putin says Russia will achieve goals in Ukraine, won't bow to West

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia would achieve its goals in Ukraine and would not submit to what he called a Western attempt to achieve global dominance and dismember Russia.

www.reuters.com

Putin has directly, and has since the start of the war, claimed much higher goals than securing Donbass region. If that was the goal, he could have done so with no problems at all and likely no sanctions, mass deaths of his troops and unifying NATO.

When you have to resort to pure delusion to try and spin this in Putins favor you are just making the case against Putin and his mistakes for everyone else. It is so obvious even you cant spin reality in favor of Russia.

 

[badger2]

Readers should really try to see the pretty cars in the photo, above.

 

[badger2]

You start your rand with a direct lie...

Putin says Russia will achieve goals in Ukraine, won't bow to West

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia would achieve its goals in Ukraine and would not submit to what he called a Western attempt to achieve global dominance and dismember Russia.

www.reuters.com

Putin has directly, and has since the start of the war, claimed much higher goals than securing Donbass region. If that was the goal, he could have done so with no problems at all and likely no sanctions, mass deaths of his troops and unifying NATO.

When you have to resort to pure delusion to try and spin this in Putins favor you are just making the case against Putin and his mistakes for everyone else. It is so obvious even you cant spin reality in favor of Russia.

Reality is in favor of Russia, now that it has access to the Black Sea. The Russian-Indian version of SWIFT will allow other banks, such as Venezuelan banks, to join. Shipping may affect future political ties between countries, while Germany tries to scrape up the rubles.

'If the "Chinese century" does indeed start around 2030, it is unlikely to last long, ending perhaps sometime around 2050, when the impact of global warming becomes unmanageable. With its main financial centers at Shanghai flooded and its agricultural heartland baking in insufferable heat, China's days as a global power will be numbered.'
(McCoy, To Govern the Globe, p. 312)

'

 

[Sunni Man]

Putin has an agenda and isn't going to back off.
He said from the get-go that he wanted 4 things.
#1 Ukraine lay down its weapons
#2 Donbas area to leave Ukraine (become independent state or join Russia)
#3 Ukraine never be allowed to join NATO
#4 No EU/NATO missiles, nuclear or conventional, on Ukraine land.

 

[FA_Q2]

Reality is in favor of Russia, now that it has access to the Black Sea. The Russian-Indian version of SWIFT will allow other banks, such as Venezuelan banks, to join. Shipping may affect future political ties between countries, while Germany tries to scrape up the rubles.

'If the "Chinese century" does indeed start around 2030, it is unlikely to last long, ending perhaps sometime around 2050, when the impact of global warming becomes unmanageable. With its main financial centers at Shanghai flooded and its agricultural heartland baking in insufferable heat, China's days as a global power will be numbered.'
(McCoy, To Govern the Globe, p. 312)

'

So now AGW is going to save Russia from cratering its international influence....

Sure thing.

 

[BlindBoo]

And the winner is..... munition manufacturers.

 

[FA_Q2]

Putin has an agenda and isn't going to back off.
He said from the get-go that he wanted 4 things.
#1 Ukraine lay down its weapons
#2 Donbas area to leave Ukraine (become independent state or join Russia)
#3 Ukraine never be allowed to join NATO
#4 No EU/NATO missiles, nuclear or conventional, on Ukraine land.

Not sure what #1 entails, that just sounds like a vapid request. Ukraine is not going to stop fighting any more than Russia. When they come to terms both sides will 'lay down' their weapons.

#2 is almost assured IMHO. Though Putin could have attained this with FAR less damage to Russia overall by simply focusing on this. I think the annexation of Donbass is Putin's best chance at saving face when his intention have always been a change in Ukraine government that was essentially controlled by Russian interests.

#3 is a given at this point. It was unlikely before and NATO has some blood on its hands by toying with but not following through in Ukraine's admittance into NATO. It would have either been done or not bantered about. One thing we need to learn, toying with these ideas does cause reactions from other geopolitical powers at great cost to the smaller players.

#4 was never even on the table AFAIK.

All in all, the only real gain to Russia is going to be permanent strained relations between the west and Ukraine, as we did NOT protect them from Russia as we claimed we would, and gains in Donbass. I have hears some interesting theories on Putin possibly having a hidden agenda in energy but I am less sure that he will make real gains there as the west is actively looking for long term solutions to get away from Russian energy exports. They will achieve this because of Putin's nuclear threats. He would have been FAR better off had he left that little outburst in his head.

 

[Lastamender]

Maybe you ought to write a comic book?

Maybe you should stop reading them.

 

[toobfreak]

Who is actually winning in Ukraine?​

Offhand, I'd say Putin is.

• He has utterly BASHED Ukraine destroying cities and key infrastructure, sending millions fleeing.
• He has goaded the West between a rock and a hard place now sending our economies reeling and our inflation soaring as we struggle to cope with the costs of our own actions.
• Russia is raking in money hand over fist now as their oil and gas exports pour out at high prices!

Russia is on pace to rake in $321 billion from energy exports this year as trade partners continue buying its oil and gas

The $321 billion would mark an increase of more than a third from 2021, according to a Bloomberg analysis.

markets.businessinsider.com

And all we got out of the deal in Potatohead:

 

[Rye Catcher]

Maybe you should stop reading them.

See only two shelves in my personal library in my avatar.