You Thought US Aid to UKR and Russian Sanctions Don't Work...

[biku324]

Sorry, I've seen the 'Russian tiger' at close range and it is made of paper - paper that is old and degrading. Fans of Russia who only read about these geoploitical realities may not agree.

 

[rwsmith]

The difference between.......

Looks like Putin will be spending 41% of his country's entire budget on war next year. So sad. We spend 13.3% of ours.

"The Russian government plans to spend 17 trillion rubles ($183 billion) on national security and defense in 2025 — about 41 percent of its annual expenditures." Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, September 30, 2024 | Institute for the Study of War

Here's our 13.3% - How much does the US spend on the military? - USAFacts

For those of you who weren't around, this is pretty close to what Reagan did to break the Soviet Union - make their military budget burden unbearable.

...the US economy and the Soviet economy back then was that they US economy could take far more abuse that the Soviet economy. I think that we are losing that advantage. What's more, I think that other countries know this and are applying steady pressure on the US and I sure hope that our leaders realize where this is going over time.

This reminds me of an analogy. I saw a little muay thai fighter against a big MMA guy. The MMA guy had a great defense and the muay thai guy only had one move that connected, a kick to the right side of the MMA guy's thigh. So he kicked and kicked and after several rounds the MMA guy gave up and said that his leg couldn't take any more punishment.

 

[biku324]

And in the meantime...

"The UN OHCHR reported that 104 of the 205 interviewed Russian POWs stated that they had faced torture or ill-treatment, mostly at the initial stage of their detainment before being transferred to official facilities, but that conditions in official Ukrainian-run POW locations generally complied with international humanitarian law. The UN OHCHR found that Russian authorities, in contrast, have subjected Ukrainian POWs to torture, ill-treatment, and inhumane conditions "in a widespread and systematic manner" and that almost all Ukrainians interviewed since March 2023 discussed a wide range of methods of torture and ill-treatment during all stages of captivity and interrogation. The UN OHCHR assessed that it is highly unlikely that Russian military superiors and administrators are not aware of the treatment of Ukrainian POWs and that Russian state entities may be coordinating the use of torture. Geolocated drone footage published on October 1 shows Russian forces executing 16 surrendering Ukrainian soldiers near Mykolaivka in the Pokrovsk direction, highlighting the most recent instance of clear Russian abuse of Ukrainian POWs." (189 words) Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, October 1, 2024 | Institute for the Study of War

 

[petepeterson]

And in the meantime...

"The UN OHCHR reported that 104 of the 205 interviewed Russian POWs stated that they had faced torture or ill-treatment, mostly at the initial stage of their detainment before being transferred to official facilities, but that conditions in official Ukrainian-run POW locations generally complied with international humanitarian law. The UN OHCHR found that Russian authorities, in contrast, have subjected Ukrainian POWs to torture, ill-treatment, and inhumane conditions "in a widespread and systematic manner" and that almost all Ukrainians interviewed since March 2023 discussed a wide range of methods of torture and ill-treatment during all stages of captivity and interrogation. The UN OHCHR assessed that it is highly unlikely that Russian military superiors and administrators are not aware of the treatment of Ukrainian POWs and that Russian state entities may be coordinating the use of torture. Geolocated drone footage published on October 1 shows Russian forces executing 16 surrendering Ukrainian soldiers near Mykolaivka in the Pokrovsk direction, highlighting the most recent instance of clear Russian abuse of Ukrainian POWs." (189 words) Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, October 1, 2024 | Institute for the Study of War

That news will be most disconcerting to the Russian prisoners held by the Ukrainian forces, who I'm certain are being detained in 5-star accommodations.

 

[ladder13]

Ukraine is hiring.

 

[dockmurgw]

I'll ask you again, after all the money and equipment that Ukraine has gotten from the US and NATO, how much Ukrainian territory have the Ukrainians prevented soviet putin from taking? How much?

I fixed your question, and here's the answer. All of it.

 

[biku324]

That news will be most disconcerting to the Russian prisoners held by the Ukrainian forces, who I'm certain are being detained in 5-star accommodations.

You'd be wrong.

"The report noted that Russian government officials and state-owned media regularly use "dehumanizing" language about Ukrainian POWs, that some Russian public figures have explicitly called for the unlawful treatment of Ukrainian POWs, and that there are no known prosecutions or convictions against the Russian perpetrators of torture or ill-treatment of Ukrainian POWs. The report noted how the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office reported that it had conducted five pre-trial investigations into possible ill-treatment and murder of Russian POWs since mid-August 2024. The UN OHCHR reported that Ukrainian authorities continue to give the organization "regular and unimpeded" access to Russian POWs, whereas Russia has denied access to Ukrainian POWs since the start of the full-scale invasion. Russian state media only reported on the UN OHCHR's assessments about Ukrainian mistreatment of Russian POWs, withholding the details of the report about Russia's systemic abuse of Ukrainian POWs." [url]https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-october-1-2024

 

[biku324]

Ukraine is hiring.

Actually, we now have police trainers helping Ukraine rebuild their depleted police forces; the Ukrainian officers are in harm's way with emergency response, especially at evacuations, after Russian missile and artillery strikes on civilian targets, and other public safety incidents. Certainly fire and EMS trainers are also welcome.

 

[Beemerguy53]

Sorry, I've seen the 'Russian tiger' at close range and it is made of paper - paper that is old and degrading. Fans of Russia who only read about these geopolitical realities may not agree.

It is amazing to me that the very same people on here who chant "no compromise" over and over when the subject is the Second Amendment, want Ukraine to negotiate with Russia over how much territory they should cede to Putin after his illegal invasion of their country.

Winston Churchill (brilliantly played by Gary Oldman here) had the right perspective on making deals with dictators...

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GvJRbZMEjk[/ame]

 

[petepeterson]

You'd be wrong.

"The report noted that Russian government officials and state-owned media regularly use "dehumanizing" language about Ukrainian POWs, that some Russian public figures have explicitly called for the unlawful treatment of Ukrainian POWs, and that there are no known prosecutions or convictions against the Russian perpetrators of torture or ill-treatment of Ukrainian POWs. The report noted how the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office reported that it had conducted five pre-trial investigations into possible ill-treatment and murder of Russian POWs since mid-August 2024. The UN OHCHR reported that Ukrainian authorities continue to give the organization "regular and unimpeded" access to Russian POWs, whereas Russia has denied access to Ukrainian POWs since the start of the full-scale invasion. Russian state media only reported on the UN OHCHR's assessments about Ukrainian mistreatment of Russian POWs, withholding the details of the report about Russia's systemic abuse of Ukrainian POWs." [url]https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-october-1-2024

You're quite the stat guy, but detection of sarcasm is not your strength.
Have you ever been detained or imprisoned a POW in a Ukrainian holding area for Russians? If not, I'm not sure you can have an opinion.

 

[ladder13]

I’m amazed that people assume so much.

 

[biku324]

On that we can all agree!

 

[biku324]

You're quite the stat guy, but detection of sarcasm is not your strength.
Have you ever been detained or imprisoned a POW in a Ukrainian holding area for Russians? If not, I'm not sure you can have an opinion.

Not sure when your last OHCHR staff visit was (mine was in July), but their teams do prison and prisoner of war inspections everywhere on the same criteria. But you likely already knew that.

 

[farmer20]

Whatever money we spend, in my opinion, to stop Russian aggression in Ukraine is a good deal.

 

[John Patrick]

Yup, I remember. And with the Saudis recent announcement that they will ramp up oil production, putin will have a harder time paying for his aggression with less of the only thing he has...oil revenue.

Our best move is to open the spigot on our own oil.

Drill baby, drill.

It would put Putin and the Iranians back in financial trouble.