[WonderMomma]

Jumping to conclusions is all he does.

[WonderMomma]

"The neural network generated illustrations of what the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Zaluzhnyi would have looked like in Viking times."

[Roosta]

Originally Posted by Poster101 ↗

What is up with all the stolen washing machines brought to Russian camps, they dont have power or water so why do they take them, always wondered. Seen hundreds of them being hauled around

They need parts out of them for their weapon systems.

Originally Posted by WonderMomma ↗

"The neural network generated illustrations of what the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Zaluzhnyi would have looked like in Viking times."

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Certainly got the eyes right !

[K-Blast]

Originally Posted by scoRch ↗

I haven't seen anyone so brainwashed, srsly :D

Every single Ukrainian killed in this war brought more worth into the world than Faust ever has in his entire miserable little life.

[DrKGSmiff]

Originally Posted by WonderMomma ↗

Jumping to conclusions is all he does.

Is it really a jumped-to conclusion when your internet propagandist of choice told you to not only “think” it but to also repeat it?

[Guns N' Coffee]

https://www.thedailybeast.com/secret...-weapons-sales

The Mystery Behind Russia’s Secret VIP Flight to North Korea

The stealthy military flight comes a week after Russia’s defense minister visited Pyongyang with the goal of convincing North Korea to boost weapons sales to Moscow.

A Russian military plane made a mysterious trip to Pyongyang on August 1, according to flight radar.

The flight, RFF7203, took off from Moscow on July 31, landing in North Korea, according to flight maps from Flightradar24, a Swedish flight tracker.

The Russian Air Force Il-62M—the kind of plane used for military delegations—was on the ground for approximately 36 hours, according to NK News, which first reported the mysterious trip.

Russian and North Korean state media don’t appear to have reported on the trip.

It was the first time a VIP Russian plane made the trip to North Korea since 2019, when Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin visited Pyongyang, after which North Korea cut off travel due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The mysterious flight comes a week after Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Pyongyang with the goal of convincing leadership in North Korea to boost weapons sales to Russia, according to U.S. intelligence officials’ assessment, White House National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby told reporters.

Shoigu's visit came as part of a celebration of the 70th anniversary of the armistice for the 1950-53 Korean War. He met with Kim Jong-un, North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun Nam and other senior officials, including Jong Kyong Thaek, director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, and Im Chon Il, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, according to KCNA.

Accompanying Shoigu were Aleksei Krivoruchko, vice-minister of defense, Andrei Rudenko, vice-minister of foreign affairs, and Alexandr Matsegora, Russia’s ambassador to North Korea, according to KCNA.

Kang, North Korea’s defense minister, gave Shoigu a tour of an arms exhibition, showing off new attack and spy drones as well as intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), according to Yonhap.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said the meetings were intended to “help strengthen cooperation between our defense departments.”

The mysterious military plane trip early this month could be a followup from Shoigu’s visit to iron out military deals, according to NK News.

The effort to lean on North Korea for more favors coincides with Russian military failures to make major gains in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. It's just the latest sign that Russia is becoming more reliant on North Korea to continue to keep up the fight as Russia's own defense production and supply of equipment flounders.

“It highlights the dire straits that Russia finds itself in, when it comes to resupplying and refreshing its munitions capabilities,” Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said of the growing relationship between North Korea and Russia.

North Korea has been supportive of Russia’s war in Ukraine from the get-go. Pyongyang has previously accused the west of coercing Moscow to invade Ukraine in order to protect its security interests. Pyongyang has since provided infantry rockets and missiles to Russia’s Wagner Group, according to a White House assessment early this year.

And in March, Russia sought to solidify a deal with North Korea in which Pyongyang would provide Moscow with munitions in exchange for food and commodities it desperately needs.

Following Shoigu’s visit, Kim appears to be doubling down on weapons production plans. He called for North Korean weapons production to increase and for programs to modernize weapons, according to Yonhap. Kim made the rounds, visiting major North Korean military factories days after Shoigu’s trip came to a close, including those that make engines for strategic cruise missiles and large-caliber multiple rocket launchers, according to Yonhap.

Kim said the facilities are important for “war preparations” and called for "steadily increasing the performance and reliability of the engine" and "rapidly expanding its production capacity," according to KCNA.

North Korea’s work to bolster its weapons production comes as tensions between Pyongyang, Washington, and Seoul have mounted. Kim has been launching a series of missile tests in recent weeks as South Korea and the United States prepare to launch their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise. While Washington and Seoul brand the drill as a defensive mechanism, Pyongyang has claimed they are a rehearsal to invade North Korea.

Kim’s tour of weapons facilities could be a warning from Pyongyang that it can hold its own in the face of perceived threats from South Korea and the United States, South Korea's Unification Ministry said.

“We express deep regret that North Korea continues to develop nuclear weapons and ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) as well as conventional weapons at the expense of the wellbeing of its citizens,” Koo Byoungsam, a spokesperson for the ministry said.

[Guns N' Coffee]

https://www.businessinsider.com/krem...s-putin-2023-8

Kremlin says Russia 'theoretically' doesn't need to hold elections next year because it's 'obvious' Putin will win

A spokesperson for the Kremlin said this week that Russia "theoretically" doesn't need to hold presidential elections next year because it's "obvious" that Vladimir Putin will win.

Dmitry Peskov, Putin's chief spokesperson, described Russia's presidential election as "not really democracy" but "costly bureaucracy" in an interview with The New York Times over the weekend.

"Mr, Putin will be reelected next year with more than 90 percent of the vote," he added.

After the article was published, Peskov claimed he was misquoted by The Times and tried to clarify his comments, telling Russia's RBK news outlet that the 2024 election "theoretically" doesn't need to happen because "it's obvious that Putin will be reelected."

Putin's reelection in March 2024 is indeed almost certain; but the Russian leader has largely maintained his grip on power by cracking down on the independent press, reportedly approving the assassinations and imprisonment of dissidents and political rivals; and approving a sweeping change to Russia's constitution that allows him to stay in power until 2036.

Next year's presidential election — if it happens — will also come amid Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Putin, who described the invasion as a "special military operation," has characterized it as being essential to Russia's survival as a nation, but the war is increasingly unpopular among Russian citizens and even within the Russian military.

One Russian inmate told The New York Times in June that he believed he was signing up to become an army construction worker when a government official recruited him from prison. Instead, he was sent to the frontlines in eastern Ukraine and captured by Ukrainian forces a few days later.

Other Russian soldiers said that they were "fucking fooled like little kids" and had no clue they were being sent to a war zone. In one audio recording previously obtained by The Times, a Russian soldier told his mother during a phone conversation that "no one told us we were going to war. They warned us one day before we left."

[WonderMomma]

"World football stars played in a large-scale Game4Ukraine charity match in London.

What a game!

It was incredible to see so many famous names from the world of football and music come together to help Ukraine!

The number of people who came to support our country is unbelievable! "

[RedactedKaos]

Feeling. Patriotic... And yes this is 100% accurate, God bless America
.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the data used to construct this is from 2018 which was a good year for Russia economically... now it's magnitudes than what this shows

[Guns N' Coffee]

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blog...s-green-light/

The 2008 Russo-Georgian War: Putin’s green light

Originally published August 7, 2021




On August 8, 2008, Russian forces began the invasion of Georgia, marking the start of Europe’s first twenty-first century war. The conflict itself was over within a matter of days, but the repercussions of the Russo-Georgian War continue to reverberate thirteen years on, shaping the wider geopolitical environment.

The international reaction to Russia’s military campaign in Georgia was to prove remarkably muted, with Moscow suffering few negative consequences. On the contrary, EU leaders led calls for a ceasefire that appeared to favor Russian interests, while the US under the new Obama administration was soon calling for a reset in relations with the Kremlin.

Understandably, many in Moscow interpreted this accommodating approach as an informal invitation for further acts of aggression in Russia’s traditional sphere of influence. Six years after the Russo-Georgian War, Russia embarked on a far more comprehensive military campaign against Ukraine, where Moscow continues to occupy Crimea and large swathes of eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region.

The 2008 Russo-Georgian War is now widely recognized as a landmark event in the transition from the era of post-Soviet cooperation between Russia and the West towards today’s Cold War climate. The Atlantic Council invited a range of experts to share their views on the legacy of the conflict and its impact on the international security environment.

John Herbst, Director, Eurasia Center, Atlantic Council: Thirteen years ago, Europe experienced major power aggression for the first time since Hitler’s defeat in 1945. Russian troops attacked and defeated Georgian forces in a short war that Moscow and its proxies in South Ossetia provoked. The reaction of the West was slow and weak. French President Nicolas Sarkozy negotiated ceasefire terms that Moscow largely violated without consequence. The Kremlin learned that the West preferred to ignore or at least minimize Russian bad behavior in the so-called Near Abroad.

Moscow applies this lesson in Georgia today as it regularly moves the demarcation line between South Ossetia and the rest of Georgia a few meters further into the country. Russia also applied the lessons of 2008 in Crimea and Donbas. It took the West some time, and the July 2014 shooting down of the MH17 passenger airliner, to impose serious sanctions on Moscow for its aggression in Ukraine.

If US President Joe Biden would like to demonstrate the fresh resolve in dealing with Moscow that he promised as a candidate, he should announce contingency sanctions that the US will apply the next time Moscow “adjusts” that internal demarcation line in Georgia.

Matthew Bryza, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council: The weak international response to Russia’s invasion of Georgia greenlighted Russia’s subsequent military assault on Ukraine.

Many senior officials of transatlantic governments with whom I worked to mediate the conflicts over Georgia’s breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia condemned Russia’s invasion, but also blamed then-Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili for provoking Vladimir Putin.

Hence, the ceasefire agreement brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy was one-sided in favor of Moscow, while the subsequent EU report about the five-day war (incorrectly) blamed Georgia for firing the first shots. Later in 2008, Paris announced plans to sell Russia a Mistral-class helicopter carrier, prompting a Deputy Chief of the Russian General Staff to declare how much easier it would have been to defeat Georgia with the ship already in Russia’s arsenal.

But neither did Washington do much to deter future Russian military aggression in the Black Sea region. Days after the ceasefire in Georgia, the Bush administration rejected Tbilisi’s request for anti-tank and air defense weapons. And a few months later, the new Obama administration awarded Moscow with its “Russia Reset” policy. Based on this reaction, Putin could only have concluded that the benefits of invading Ukraine would exceed the costs.

Alexander Vershbow, Distinguished Fellow, Atlantic Council: Russia’s 2008 invasion of Georgia brought the West’s relations with Russia to their lowest point since the 1980s. Coming less than six months after NATO’s Bucharest Summit, which had declared that Georgia and Ukraine would be NATO members one day, the invasion was a direct challenge to both countries’ right to choose a Euro-Atlantic future.

The invasion of Georgia should have been a wake-up call to the international community, a clear signal that Western efforts since the fall of the Berlin Wall to integrate Russia in a collective security framework had failed. Yet a year later, the US and its allies decided to try again, to “reset” relations with Moscow, and to continue to treat Russia as a strategic partner rather than an adversary.

Only after the illegal annexation of Crimea and the launch of Moscow’s hybrid war in eastern Ukraine did the West finally acknowledge that Putin’s Russia had become a revisionist power seeking to reestablish its dominion over the eastern half of Europe. We can only speculate whether a firmer and more clear-eyed Western response in 2008 could have prevented the tragic events of 2014.