“What on earth do they think they’ll get out of it?”
I watched an analysis on what it is Putin wants. He’s a dictator propped up by oligarchs who owe their money and very lives to him. He essentially wants all of the surrounding countries to have leaders he picked who also owe their fortunes and very lives to him. Ukraine, a modestly less corrupt country, was beginning to do better. Ukraine was sidling up to Europe as a trading partner which is much more profitable than its traditional and only big trading partner, Russia. Ukraine was materially supporting Putin and, worse, it had discovered significant oil and gas deposits in the now disputed territories of the Donbas. Putin realized that the new oil and gas would compete against his monopoly, and he wanted it for himself or, at least, to keep it from competing with his monopoly.
For various reasons, the Russians stopped having kids. For one, in Putin’s Russia, they couldn’t afford them. Russia is in a Demographic collapse that is unrecoverable. If they were going to use their army to rectify any of this, they had to do it by 2025. But, not only has the invasion sparked a renewed interest in NATO, but it has also prompted an estimated one million draft age Russians to flee the country. Most of them won’t be back. This exceeds the estimated 40,000 kidnapped Ukrainian children who were shipped East to Siberia to help make up the collapsed demographic numbers. Also, anyone who was well educated has also fled. This has got to be one of the worst “oh crap!” moments any country has experienced.
Man, you sure wrap up a lot of conspiracy theories in one post - IMPRESSIVE! The Western Media still controls people, I guess.
Oil company greed (old favorite,) Ukrainian kids sent to Siberia (why not claim it, impossible for Russia to disprove), no more kids in Russia (as if Europe, other than Muslims, are having any), everyone fleeing West to avoid conscription (despite no draft for the past 10 years and no talk of significant military operations until early this year).
“For one, in Putin’s Russia, they couldn’t afford them. Russia is in a Demographic collapse that is unrecoverable.”
Coming back to this topic - while true in Soviet times and the 1990s, you may want to check where the countries line up now on birth rate. Of the major countries in Europe, only the ones with large Muslim minorities have higher birthrates than Russia. To save you the trouble, here’s the numbers.
Italy.........6.95
Spain.........7.13
Bulgaria..8.05
Poland.....8.5
Hungary...8.65
Romania...8.76
Ukraine...9
Belarus...9.08
Germany...9.08
RUSSIA......9.45
Switzld...10.36
UntdKdm...10.79
Sweden.....10.83
Belgium...10.95
Nethld.....10.99
Denmark...11.22
France......11.66
Norway......12
Ireland...12.32
Russia is a third-world totalitarian state corrupt throughout.
With nukes.