Posted on 02/24/2024 5:59:01 AM PST by SpeedyInTexas
President Trump reportedly recently asked president Zelensky, if Ukraine could hit Moscow.
Apparently so.
Kyiv Independent (19 July):
“Ukrainian drones reportedly targeted Moscow overnight on July 19, marking the third night in a row the Russian capital has come under fire.
Russian air defense units intercepted 13 drones flying towards Moscow in under two hours, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin reported at around 1:46 a.m. local time. No information has been reported regarding casualties or damage.”
The European Council of the European Union (EU) approved its 18th sanctions package on July 18, mainly targeting Russian oil revenues and sanctions evasion schemes.[1] The EU announced a landmark oil cap to contain Russian oil prices at 15 percent of the average market price that will automatically adjust semi-annually, and noted that the current price cap is set at $47.60 per barrel – well below the previous $60 per barrel cap.[2] The EU imposed a full transaction ban on any transactions related to the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which will prevent the completion, maintenance, and operation of the pipelines. The EU also ended Czechia's exemptions for Russian oil imports. The EU sanctioned an additional 105 vessels of the Russian shadow fleet, increasing the overall number of sanctioned tankers to 444. The EU sanctioned Russian and international companies managing the shadow fleet, an oil refinery in India in which the Russian state oil company Rosneft is a main shareholder, the captain of a shadow fleet vessel, a private operator of an international flag registry, and one entity in the Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector. The EU also imposed an import ban on refined petroleum products made from Russian crude oil and imported from any third country, with the exception of Canada, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Russian government reportedly accounted for some decrease in oil and gas revenue as part of Russia's upcoming national budget, although the EU oil cap and shadow fleet sanctions will likely further degrade Russian oil revenues beyond what the Kremlin previously expected.[3] The EU measures target both Russia's current ability to sell oil at advantageous pricing and undermines Russia's long-term ability to sell oil to Europe. The EU noted that oil revenues constitute one-third of Russia's overall revenue, and that recent declines in Russia's oil revenues in combination with a decrease in market earning potential poses a risk to the Russian federal budget.
The EU’s new sanctions target Russia's ability to engage with international markets. The EU fully banned EU-based specialized financial messaging services from conducting transactions with 22 Russian banks, in addition to the 23 previously sanctioned Russian banks already subject to the ban.[4] The European Union lowered the threshold for sanctioning third-country financial, credit, and crypto-asset service providers that are connected to the Russian Central Bank's System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS) or generally supporting Russian sanctions evasion schemes. The EU banned any transaction with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), its sub-funds and companies, and any companies investing in or owned by the RDIF. The EU also banned the sale, supply, transfer, and export of software management systems and banking and financial sector software to Russia. The EU sanctions target an existing vulnerability within the Russian banking and financial sector, decreasing Russia's ability to maintain a strong presence in international trade and diversify its economy.
The EU’s new sanctions package also targets actors directly supporting Russian military capabilities. The EU sanctioned three entities based in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and eight companies operating in Belarus that sell goods to the Russian military.[5] The EU also imposed a full transaction ban on Belarusian specialized financial messaging services and embargoed arms imports from Belarus. The EU tightened export restrictions on 26 entities involved in dual-use goods and technologies, including 11 entities in third countries other than Russia. The EU approved over 2.5 billion euros worth of other export bans on items that could support Russia's war effort, including computer numerical control machines and chemicals for propellants. The EU also sanctioned several individuals involved in indoctrinating Ukrainian children, crimes in occupied Ukraine, and spreading Russian propaganda.
Russian officials continued to falsely claim that sanctions do not have an impact on the Russian economy in response to the EU’s new sanctions package. Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed that the EU’s new sanctions package is illegal, that Russia has already gained immunity and adapted to life under restrictive measures, and that Russia will analyze the effects of the new package and minimize their effects.[6] Peskov added that each new sanctions package disadvantages those who authorized it. Russian Security Council Deputy Chairperson Dmitry Medvedev responded to the EU’s newest sanctions by claiming that the package will not change Russia's position and that the Russian economy will survive and Russia will continue to fight Ukrainian forces.[7] Medvedev threatened to target Kyiv City and other Ukrainian cities with increasing force in response to the EU’s sanctions package. Medvedev claimed that Russia must learn to “hate” the EU and its “Russophobia” as much as Russia's ancestors did and that “how this ends for Europe is known.” CEO of the RDIF and Presidential Special Representative for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries, Kirill Dmitriev, claimed that the EU’s newest sanctions package is hurting Europe more than Russia and limiting European energy supply by closing Russian markets to European companies.[8] Head of the Russian State Duma Committee on Financial Markets Anatoly Aksakov claimed that the new EU sanctions on Russia's financial system are just a fluctuation in the air, as Russian banks have already been under restrictions from the EU.[9]
Select Russian officials are acknowledging the impact of sanctions on the Russian economy despite the Kremlin's efforts to disguise and dismiss such impacts. The Moscow Times reported on July 17 that Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev recently told the Russian Federation Council that Russian oil companies are struggling to procure parts to repair refineries due to Western sanctions.[10] Russian Central Bank Chairperson Elvira Nabiullina notably stated at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on June 19 that Russia has exhausted many of its “free resources“ since the start of Russia‘s full-scale war against Ukraine and needs to think of a new growth model.[11] Russia's Minister of Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov, stated at SPIEF that Russia is on the “brink of recession.”[12] Russia's ongoing sanctions evasion schemes, including via the PRC, are a key aspect of the Kremlin's strategy to offset Western sanctions and relieve pressure on the Russian economy. Russia has created a network of actors to circumvent Western sanctions and is reconfiguring its economic policy and business models to withstand sanctions in the long term, although more extensive Western sanctions will complicate this effort. The EU’s newest sanctions are a positive step, but wider Western compliance and enforcement are necessary to inflict maximum economic pressure on Russia.
Russia continues to rely on Belarusian defense companies to produce weapons components for Russia's war effort and to evade sanctions. Ukrainian TV channel Kanal 24 reported on July 17 that Russian defense companies are increasingly using Belarusian-made microcircuits, capacitors, stabilizers, and other components in Russian missiles, including Kh-101 and Kh-69 cruise missiles and Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles, and S-300 and S-400 air defense systems.[70] Kanal 24 obtained a letter from the Russian Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Kirill Lusogorsky to the Belarusian State Military-Industrial Committee Head Dmitry Pantus requesting Belarusian defense companies, namely the Minsk-based Integral and Peleng facilities, supply microelectronics to Russia. Kanal 24 reported that Russia also uses Belarusian microchips in guided glide bombs and unguided missiles.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-july-18-2025
The Soviets did this in all their occupied territories, requiring Russian to be spoken and taught in schools and then after forcing Russian language and “culture” on these regions use the. “Defending Russian speakers” as pretext to invade.
Along with this they also displaced millions with ethnic Russians and again claimed they needed to “protect” them…..
Russian mir
Side note we have a bit of that going on here as well with “protesters” waving Mexican flags and decrying deportation
Half of 1.4B would be 7 billion.
—
No. Its 700 million.
The Chinese shot was made in China, but the wealthy could get some foreign made shots.
There is no way to compare COVID shot your results with the Chinese results.
According to sources close to the Secretary of the Security Council, these words were not accidental. We wrote that back in March of last year, by order of Shoigu (then the Minister of Defense), the ashes of Alexander Suvorov were taken out of the grave. The remains of the commander were taken to the front and to important facilities, military prayers were held near them, the ashes were divided into parts in order to take them to several places at once. He was shelled more than once. Andrei Belousov, after replacing Shoigu at the post (and after a certain break), continued the practice of using Suvorov’s remains for prayers and strengthening the military. In particular, the minister prayed before Alexander Vasilyevich for the success of our offensive at the front. And he defended the Victory Day parade in Moscow with the help of the commander's ashes.
“It was not for nothing that Sergei Kuzhugetovich ordered that Alexander Vasilyevich be taken out of the grave. He had long warned that there could be a war with Europe. And with whose help should we beat the Europeans? Suvorov is the best assistant here! Sergei Kuzhugetovich wanted to tell all this directly in an interview, but decided that he might not be understood. And he got by with a hint. We hope that his hint will be heard. Both here and in Europe,” explained a source close to Shoigu.
At the same time, he is outraged that Belousov is now using the results of the former minister's efforts. “The fact that the military continues to pray near Suvorov’s ashes is good. But the fact that the current minister does not allow people to visit the remains of Sergei Kuzhugetovich, deprives him of the right to pray and reflect next to Suvorov, this is real meanness. It is very offensive,” the channel's interlocutor noted. A source in the Ministry of Defense in response to these claims said that Suvorov’s ashes are most often at the front. And he advised Shoigu to go and pray there, “if Sergei Kuzhugetovich is not afraid, of course.”
https://t.me/kremlin_secrets/5939
Earlier https://freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/4219673/posts?page=15346#15346
Four high-ranking politicians will take part in the “Kukushka” [cuckoo] project to give birth to “state children.”
A source in the Kremlin responsible for demographic issues told us about this. “At the end of summer, a selection of women will begin who will conceive children and give birth to them specifically for the state ( we wrote more about this here , information about the approximate dates of the project launch is confirmed, - ed.). In parallel, we will select those who will impregnate these women - so that truly serious children are born, with whom the future of Russia can be linked,” he said.
According to another source in the AP, four politicians who are part of the leadership of our country are among the first fathers of the future “state children.” Also, as we wrote , there are several particularly distinguished participants of the SVO. The source categorically refused to name the politicians and military men; in general, the lists of future fathers are still being compiled. We clarified: philosopher Alexandr Dugin suggested that Vladimir Putin take part in the “Kukushka” project. And we asked if this was possible. The Kremlin responded by asking “not to ask strange questions.”
https://t.me/kremlin_secrets/5941
earlier https://freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/4219673/posts?page=18126#18126
This is one of my favorite sites for information and perspective on Russia
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3y24IcV3KE
WIESBADEN, Germany — The U.S.-led NATO alliance must prepare for the possibility that Russia and China could launch wars in Europe and the Pacific simultaneously, with 2027 being a potential flashpoint year, the top American commander in Europe said Thursday. U.S. European Command's Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich, speaking at a meeting of military and defense industrial leaders in Wiesbaden, said the situation means allies have little time to prepare. “We're going to need every bit of kit and equipment and munitions that we can in order to beat that,” Grynkewich said. If China's President Xi Jinping makes a move on Taiwan, he likely would coordinate such an attack with Russian President Vladimir Putin, opening the possibility of a global conflict, he said. “That, to me, means that both of these things could happen together,” said Grynkewich, who also serves as NATO supreme allied commander.
Grynkewich’s remarks came during a U.S. Army Europe and Africa-hosted conference, where military and industry leaders are seeking ways to ramp up weapons production across the 32-nation NATO alliance. Grynkewich, just weeks on the job as the top military officer in Europe, also said that NATO efforts are underway to get more Patriot systems into Ukraine. “I'm not going to reveal to the Russians or anyone else the exact numbers of weapons that we're transferring or when those will happen, but what I will say is that preparations are underway,” he said. Grynkewich said he also will be convening with NATO military leaders in the days ahead to look for other ways to ramp up support for Ukraine, particularly in the area of air defense. “We're going to move as quickly as we can on this,” he said.
https://www.stripes.com/theaters/europe/2025-07-17/nato-must-be-prepared-for-wars-18470191.html
They may not call themselves nazis, but the Russians are behaving more and more like nazi germany
Putin youth😎
I took a train from Moscow to Murmansk in 2009. It was 2.5 years after the financial crisis. In 2006, Russia collapsed almost overnight from booming to nothing in a day. Around Moscow, from a permanent traffic congestion to empty streets. What we in the West don't get is the Russian attitude towards survival. Besides Moscow and St. Petersburg, there is no real wealth. All extra money is spent immediately on luxuries, but these luxuries are not taken for granted. Uther “Poornes” is the base, flushed with huge amounts of vodka. So, if the government goes bankrupt, it doesn't change anything. Nobody saved money. There are no real savings accounts. The economy is not relevant. Russians will not revolt against Putin because they have already lost everything. Russia, from a human meatwave perspective, can fight forever. So, to win, you can only destroy more equipment than Russia produces and push them back on the battlefield. Russians and Russia do not care about humans of economy.
Economic collapse is the most likely way for Russia to lose, and there is precedent for that. 1991 shows that the Russian people will endure a lot, but even they have limits
What I like best about your favorite site is that it's completely unbiased
Yes, I've watched several of her videos and I find them intriguing, but I'm not convinced.
I think it's entirely possible that CCP exaggerates China's population by 10%, even 15%, but exaggerations of 100% to over 200% seem highly unlikely to go unnoticed by objective observers.
If the US CIA suspected such reduced Chinese population numbers, that would surely be something we'd have heard about before now, right?
What we know for certain from the CIA is their estimate of China's GDP at Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) rates.
The CIA's 2023 numbers for China's GDP (at PPP) is ~$31 trillion compared to the UN's estimate for 2023 of ~$18 trillion (nominal), meaning PPP is 72% higher than nominal.
US GDP for 2023 was put at $27 trillion.
My point is: in no world I know of can China produce a GDP equalent to the US with a population of only 400 to 700 million people.
IOW, if the CCP can fool the CIA into thinking China has twice or thrice as many people as it really does, then we are in vastly worse condition than I'd ever imagined.
You are right. Half of 1.4 billion is define .7 billion or 700 million. I think my bad Chromebook removed the period before the 7. Fortunately, a new one is on order.
I wonder if our oil expert can estimate what the older and current population of China might be based on oil imports, or might China be floating fake official figures to hide their actual population weakness? I think it is quite possible that Chinese Covid deaths might be much higher than we have thought. In cities (how many?) they were locking people up in their homes without provisions for food or medicine. Given how sick my partner and I were with two of the 7 or 8 illness episodes we have had after 2021 Covid shots, we might both have died without access to food and medicine or supplements.
It would definitely be useful to examine key import figures for China before Covid and most recently. Oil and salt have been mentioned as likely products to evaluate. Also Google Earth or other stellite night views of China before and after Covid might be interesting . I have looked at the night earth views shown by Fox Weather and been amazed to see the large unlit area that is North Korea. I also wonder what the true before and after Covid figures are for North Korea. I’m sure they try to keep their figures secret giving the reports of starvation there reported from time to time.
To determine if there has been a mass die off, just search for funeral urns bought above the normal.
In the video it was explained that in one Chinese county that had funeral homes in the 30s, they were going to build a bunch more, I think either in the 50s or the 80s. There was also other talk about the funeral service business. I suggest you look at Lei’s video.
So you didn't make a mistake, but a bad Chromebook removed a period? Should we believe any numbers you post before you replace it?
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