"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (7 Viewers)

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GTX said:
www.abc.net.au

Satellite images appear to show Russian-flagged ships transporting Ukrainian grain to Syria

Images from Maxar Technologies show two Russian-flagged bulk carrier ships being loaded with grain in the Russian-controlled Crimean port of Sevastopol before being spotted in Syria several days later, with trucks lined up to collect the crop.
www.abc.net.au www.abc.net.au
Click to expand...

Stealing Ukrainian grain in order to prop up another vicious dictator. Scum.
 
Thumpalumpacus said:
They might be busy elsewhere ...
Click to expand...
Perhaps.

But if Maxar sees it, the Ukraine military also sees it.

www.maxar.com

News Bureau

The Maxar News Bureau is a partnership program with trusted and respected media organizations that leverages technology for social good and global transparency.
www.maxar.com www.maxar.com
 
GrauGeist said:
Perhaps.

But if Maxar sees it, the Ukraine military also sees it.

www.maxar.com

News Bureau

The Maxar News Bureau is a partnership program with trusted and respected media organizations that leverages technology for social good and global transparency.
www.maxar.com www.maxar.com
Click to expand...

Not arguing the facts, just thinking that with dire circumstances in the Donbas, trade interdiction might have a lesser seat at the table.
 
GTX said:
www.aspistrategist.org.au

Why Putin might be pleased with the results of his war in Ukraine | The Strategist

As we reflect on the 100-day mark of the Russo-Ukrainian war and what we’ve learned, we need to understand that the West has fundamentally misunderstood Russia and continues to do so, argues Kyle Wilson, visiting ...
www.aspistrategist.org.au www.aspistrategist.org.au
Click to expand...

If that's an accurate read of Putin's views, I'm still not convinced. "We can break things" is not the same as "we can conquer things", and I think there's a real possibility that Putin has misjudged his own nation's strength.

Even if Russia takes all of Ukraine, it will suck the life out of the Russian economy, fighting for control of Ukraine in the face of an inevitable insurgency.

Putin may not care about the Russian peons, but they will sure care about him. 1917 and 1991 both put this outlook to the test. If Putin's war here sucks the air out of the economy, what's to protect him? The gendarmerie? They might hold true, or they might consider the privations of their moms etc. The intelligence services? After he's abused them the last few months? The military, after he's bled them in this war?

Even if Russia conquers Ukraine, Russia will see no profit for at least a couple of decades, by which point Putin will be dead anyway. And any successor will likely be struggling to separate himself from this self-induced catastrophe, which will be Putin's legacy.

His decision to invade has set his country back decades and there's no political argumentation that will change that. The Russian military will be unable to act outside defensive operations for quite some time, and the Russian economy will have to cope with sanctions unless and until they cease fire and remove from this invasion, in all likelihood.

He can wish for Imperial Russia again all he wants, but he played his hand too soon, when his country lacked the power to enforce it, I think. He'll be dead in a few years and his successor will be wondering what it takes to remove sanctions. Bully for you, Russia.
 
Admiral Beez said:
What's the appeal of Imperial Russia anyway? They didn't exactly bring glory to Russia. Not in the Industrial Age anyway.
Click to expand...

While their rulership was miserable, to put it mildly, I think the appeal is that that is when Russia was expansionist. They were conquering Irkutsk and Siberia.

Think of the American drive westward in the era of Manifest Destiny. We Americans will pat ourselves on the back and tell ourselves just-so stories. The Russians have that mythos in their own history too, to an extent. Their eastward expansion into Siberia is a story that hasn't really been told here in the West, but it captures much of the same vibe.

Russia was actually industrializing at a good clip in the late-19th/early-20th century, too, according to Paul Kennedy in Rise and Fall of the Great Powers. Remember, that although their track-mileage and steel output was far behind America or the UK, they could still build battleships, and indeed built the first heavy bomber in the world.

Imperial Russia was a time when Russia had stature in world affairs, and swung some weight even after their defeat in 1905. Putin is, I think, trying to redress their significant loss of gravitas over the last thirty years, while trying to avoid the potential allusions to the dissolution of the USSR. In other words, he's going far back enough that arguing the facts will be hard, and so instead he gets to promulgate the myth unfettered.

That's my take on it.
 
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Thumpalumpacus said:
While their rulership was miserable, to put it mildly, I think the appeal is that that is when Russia was expansionist. They were conquering Irkutsk and Siberia.

Think of the American drive westward in the era of Manifest Destiny. We Americans will pat ourselves on the back and tell ourselves just-so stories. The Russians have that mythos in their own history too, to an extent. Their eastward expansion into Siberia is a story that hasn't really been told here in the West, but it captures much of the same vibe.

Russia was actually industrializing at a good clip in the late-19th/early-20th century, too, according to Paul Kennedy in Rise and Fall of the Great Powers. Remember, that although their track-mileage and steel output was far behind America or the UK, they could still build battleships, and indeed built the first heavy bomber in the world.

Imperial Russia was a time when Russia had stature in world affairs, and swung some weight even after their defeat in 1905. Putin is, I think, trying to redress their significant loss of gravitas over the last thirty years, while trying to avoid the potential allusions to the dissolution of the USSR. In other words, he's going far back enough that arguing the facts will be hard, and so instead he gets to promulgate the myth unfettered.

That's my take on it.
Click to expand...
Interesting points as Australia was affected as well. In 1900 we federated to become a nation. One of the crown princes ? of Russia was at the reading of the
proclamation and is in the (in Australia) well known picture of said event.

He came to Oz in a warship and it was a state visit. All good so far.

Then, and this couldn't possibly happen today..... some political person/s and the media of the time started a scare campaign saying he was here because
Russia had designs on Australia.

A bit far fetched at the least but by the time the hype died down the new Australian government had built forts around our coast because the 'Russians were coming'.

Whether it was a quick way to install national identity or to increase newspaper sales I don't know but there you have it. The forts in Albany have been fixed up
as a tourist attraction so historically it's quite useful to be able to view.
 
ST LOUIS, Missouri, June 17 (Reuters) - The Biden administration's plan to sell four large, armable drones to Ukraine has been paused on the fear its sophisticated surveillance equipment might fall into enemy hands, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The technical objection to the sale was raised during a deeper review by the Pentagon's Defense Technology Security Administration charged with keeping high value technology safe from enemy hands. Previously the plan, which has been circulating since March, had been approved by the White House, three people said.

www.reuters.com

U.S. drone sale to Ukraine hits snag

The Biden administration's plan to sell four large, armable drones to Ukraine has been paused on the fear its sophisticated surveillance equipment might fall into enemy hands, according to two people familiar with the matter.
www.reuters.com www.reuters.com
 
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