Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

[N.E. Brigand]

The Euromaidan started ten years ago today. I admit I'd never heard of Mustafa Nayyem before now.

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Can they just leave them fueled and unattended for a few minutes?

I TOLD YOU I WASN'T JOKING!

The Polish military dismantled about 10 MiG-29 fighters and left them in parts in a forest near the border with Ukraine. Kyiv was informed about "lost" parts, which were then picked up and quickly collected on the Ukrainian side of the border, - Polish journalist Parafianowicz in his book "Poland at War". This happened in May 2022, a few months before the official transfer of aircraft to a larger international coalition

That's incredible!

[Frelga]

On that note.

Swiss authorities have launched an investigation against the Polish company UMO SP.

The Swiss are mad about the Poles exporting 145 000 Swiss sniper cartridges and 500 000 rounds of rifle ammunition to Ukraine.

Well…sometimes things get lost and end up in Ukraine

Swiss are the prime example of neutrality being on the side of the oppressor.

[N.E. Brigand]

Merrick Garland, the U.S. Attorney General, has announced that four Russian military service members have been charged with war crimes by the U.S. for having abducted and tortured an American who lived in 2022. Obviously the four are unlikely to ever actually be arrested by Americans.

[N.E. Brigand]

South Korea this year has sold more artillery shells to Ukraine than all European nations combined, albeit far fewer shells than North Korea has sold to Russia.

[N.E. Brigand]

1. The Guardian reports that there will be a meeting in Washington D.C. tomorrow between Congressional Republicans and emissaries of the Hungarian government with the aim of ending U.S. funding for Ukraine's defense against the Russian invasion. Hungary also hopes to block European funding for Ukraine.

2. Hungary's president, Viktor Orban, was in Argentina today. So was Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. There was an animated conversation between the two of them.

3. Tomorrow, Zelenskyy will be in D.C. to meet with all U.S. Senators at the invitation of Senate majority and minority leaders, Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell.

Edited to add that President Biden has invited Zelenskyy to visit the White House on Tuesday.

[N.E. Brigand]

Is Vladimir Putin paying J.D. Vance, the junior senator from my state? I struggle to find another explanation for him saying such nonsense.

[Frelga]

Yeah, probably. Russian government sucks at a lot of things, including most things that have to do with the wellbeing of its citizens. But this, they do extremely well. This being behind the scenes political manipulation, bribery, assassination, and information warfare.

Although enough useful idiots just volunteer for free.

[N.E. Brigand]

Reuters reports that a "declassified U.S. intelligence report assessed that the Ukraine war has cost Russia 315,000 dead and injured troops, or nearly 90% of the personnel it had when the conflict began." The report's release was probably timed for President Zelenskyy's visit to the U.S.

[Frelga]

Russia don't care. The burden falls largely on far-flung, minority heavy regions, and it is not displeasing to putin to kill off the male population that might otherwise be enticed to riot. In some regions, like Buryatia, the fallout has been called an attempt at genocide, and while it may an exaggeration of the effect, it's not necessarily one of intention.

[N.E. Brigand]

Yeah, probably. Russian government sucks at a lot of things, including most things that have to do with the wellbeing of its citizens. But this, they do extremely well. This being behind the scenes political manipulation, bribery, assassination, and information warfare.

Although enough useful idiots just volunteer for free.

I wonder if Bill Clinton has been reading our discussion, because today he said: "There is a core in our Congress that seems determined to do whatever Vladimir Putin wants because he worked so hard to help them get the White House in 2016."

[N.E. Brigand]

I've noticed quite a few random social accounts pushing messages quite similar to J.D. Vance's nonsense. You can see some in the replies to this post from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in which he notes, among other things, that Ukraine's military successes in the Black Sea mean that Ukrainian "maritime exports have resumed, bolstering both our economy, which is now growing at 5%, and global food security."

A few weeks ago, David Frum wrote this about funding for Ukraine: "If the president now asks for $75 billion over the next two years, that will represent about a 4 percent share of the defense budget for that period--or roughly one-tenth of one penny for every dollar of national output. The United States should be able to cope."

In fact, the amount that President Biden requested from Congress is $61 billion.

But Republicans are dragging their feet with demands for ever more concessions from the Biden administration on immigration. Biden's team has been negotiating on this, and as I have said before, Biden may have to compromise more than he wants in the end, but Greg Sargent of the Washington Post points out that Democrats "are already making a very good offer to Republicans on border security. Biden’s funding request would spend billions on security and also help fix asylum." And even David Frum, who has been quite critical of Democrats' position on immigration, asks, "How do you 'cave' when there isn't even a coherent demand to which to cave?"

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has been supportive of aid for Ukraine, said today that he doesn't expect matters to be resolved until at least January.

House Speaker Mike Johnson says his party needs more details about what Zelenskyy plans to do with U.S. funding. Newsflash, Mike: they plan to use it to kill Russian invaders.

In the meantime, Biden dug through the couch cushions for spare change and found $200 million in emergency funding, which he announced while meeting with Zelenskyy at the White House. I think that works out to about five weeks' worth of support.

The same report says that following a meeting with U.S. senators today, some of them said they appreciated that Zelenskyy addressed them entirely in (fluent) English, which they took as a "sign of respect." Here's a picture of Zelenskyy arriving:



Returning to David Frum, he responded to Bill Clinton's comments on Congressional Republicans with this apt comparison: "If you think that's unfairly tough, just imagine what Republicans would have said if Democrats in Congress had refused to fund the war on al-Qaeda or ISIS unless the GOP 'caved' on single-payer healthcare funded by taxes on the rich."

I think that's what I should ask when I call Vance's office: why is their boss demanding that Zelenskyy cave to a terrorist like Putin?

[RoseMorninStar]

What many people don't understand (and Republicans/Republican leaning news outlets seem to be taking advantage of although they should know better) is that much of the funding for Ukraine is spent here making munitions, pumping money into our economy. Money is not being sent to Ukraine.

[Frelga]

Rose, exactly! It's an investment in American industry, or it is a way to dispose of old equipment that costs money to maintain or store. It's also an advertisement for American weapon manufacturing, seeing how even the old models are kicking ass of anything Russia can field.

We could all wish that American industry was not focused on weapons, but in the world today, para bellum.

On a somewhat lighter note.

20231114_074825.jpg (105.33 KiB) Viewed 6304 times

The boar joins a goose, bees, some goats, and a fish as a member of Ukrainian fauna that took out at least one Russian soldier.

[Frelga]

Overnight, Russia fired 10 ballistic missiles at residential neighborhoods in Kiyiv. All 10 were intercepted, probably thanks to the US-provided Patriots, but debris damaged several buildings and injured over 50 people.

[N.E. Brigand]

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. complained yesterday that President Zelenskiy was "literally meeting with defense contractors."

[N.E. Brigand]

The European Union has approved opening talks with Ukraine about joining* that body. If it does happen, it will take years. The EU also approved Moldova for accession talks today.

Vladimir Putin said today that Russia's goals in the invasion remain the same: the "de-Nazification" and "demilitarization" of Ukraine.

Tim Mak, who has been reporting from Ukraine since the invasion began, talks about the mood of the Ukrainian people.

This is a decent summary of the consequences of a Russian victory in Ukraine, which would be reasonably likely if U.S. support for Ukraine should falter.

*Edited to add: Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, has been opposed to such talks, but he left the room when the vote happened so that it could be unanimous.

[N.E. Brigand]

The European Union has approved opening talks with Ukraine about joining* that body. If it does happen, it will take years. The EU also approved Moldova for accession talks today.

*Edited to add: Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, has been opposed to such talks, but he left the room when the vote happened so that it could be unanimous.

But then Orban blocked an EU measure that would have provided Ukraine with $55 billion.

[N.E. Brigand]

Fox News polling finds that U.S. support for Ukraine remains almost where it was a year ago, with 66% of Americans now saying the U.S. should maintain (dropping from 40% to 35%) or increase (growing from 29% to 31%) its current level of aid to that nation. The number who say U.S. assistance should decrease has grown from 26% to 30%, though.

[N.E. Brigand]

Is Vladimir Putin paying J.D. Vance, the junior senator from my state? I struggle to find another explanation for him saying such nonsense.

So it turns out that Senator Vance was repeating twaddle from The DC Weekly, a pseudo-news organization run by an American expatriate in Russia that spews pro-Putin propaganda and whose journalists" don't actually exist:

[RoseMorninStar]

I hope someone informs Vance (and his followers) of this. But one does wonder if spewing such garbage is intentional and not just gullible stupidity.