Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv
Posted on 11/28/2023 6:18:47 PM PST by UMCRevMom@aol.com
Rocco coined the phrase I’m using for my tagline right now. It’s just so fitting. It ties to the hilarious Youcrayno the Clown awards that are frequently and appropriately bestowed upon various zeepers.
That is just pure Russian propaganda, straight from the Kremlin's sewer pipes, nothing more.
In reality, Ukrainians, by all accounts, are proud of their constitutionally elected president, not "dictator", and Ukrainians have no evidence to confirm any of the wild accusations flowing out of the Russian lie factories.
As for Vlad the Invader, he is truly the dictator of Russia and manifest kleptocrat whose rule defines the very term, "culture of corruption".
Not one but two points of good news; Russian Major General is eliminated, & Russia can't move forward.
There may be some success each day, but there can be no happiness in Ukraine so long as a single Russian soldier is fighting to take a square yard/meter of internationally recognized Ukrainian territories.
Perhaps they should have ceased the hostilities in eastern Ukraine of terrorizing & killing Russian speaking Ukrainian citizens, as well as, executing a coup d'état against the sitting Ukrainian president, with the help of either NATO and/or the CIA.
Meanwhile Zelenskyy purchases two yachts for 75 million courtesy of you & I via our government supporting them, while ignoring the plight of many American citizens, including the vast number of military veterans who live on the streets of this nation.
In addition, money is laundered back to enrich politicians on both sides of the aisle that are members of the Uni-party.
Meanwhile, a much larger invasion of who knows who they are, is happening in our nation.
Don't lay your sob stories upon me for Ukraine.
The more I get to know you BroJoeK, the more I become convinced that you are a Deep State player.
Either thator you are a very uniformed person. Which is it?
“The share of military expenses in the Russian budget (for 2024), the total amount of which will be 36.66 trillion rubles, will reach 29.5%.” (Tripled from 2021)
While expenses skyrocket, the Russian Ministry of Finance reports that their total oil and gas revenues have dropped about 70% from 2021, before the current invasion and sanctions. That is in ruble terms. In dollars, the drop in revenue has been even greater, because the ruble is worth just half of what it was in 2021.
Unable to borrow Internationally because of sanctions, Russia is on a disastrous financial trajectory. In typical Putin fashion, they keep doubling down on their bet on the war, accelerating the financial burn rate as they speed toward exhausting their National Wealth Fund (next year at these rates).
They are likely going to keep things going like this to get past Putin’s “re-election” in March, and then (like Turkey, after Erdogan’s re-election) some jarring emergency financial course corrections will be needed - slashing civilian spending, confiscatory taxation, wild printing of more rubles (already quite excessive), likely to ignite hyperinflation. Russian interest rates are already 15%.
Are you kidding me? The average Ukrainian, sure, I feel for. But the Ukrainian government, both before and during Zelinsky, was and is notorious for corruption and graft. Or are Ukrainians paying him so much that his wife can legitimately afford to shop Paris and Tiffany’s, and he can afford multiple mansions and yachts? Oh, I know, “those are all Russian lies!” Horse hockey!
“Trump may not be able to withdraw American from NATO, but he will get members to pay up.”
Art of the Deal. Putin is also helping to get them to pay, as the “bad cop”.
Another year of attrition at these rates (assuming the US aid to Ukraine is approved for 2024), and Russia will be effectively broke financially, and will have expended their old Soviet arsenals, by the time President Trump assumes office in January 2025.
Russia will be hard up for a deal at the hands of the master, if they have not already made one by then.
2023 saw a net inflow back to Ukraine by refugees.
“you don’t really think they are going to be a member of NATO while engaging in a war do you?”
I doubt that Ukraine would be formally admitted to NATO while shooting is active, but West Germany was during its frozen conflict, while Eastern portions were occupied by the Russians (Soviets).
I expect that all the nuts and bolts of NATO interoperability will be worked out on an accelerated timeline (already are), so that accession to NATO is ready to be part of a peace agreement, as Ukraine’s security guarantee.
In the meantime, during hostilities, Ukraine will likely continue to receive many of the military benefits of NATO membership, except no NATO combatants will join the fight.
In the end, Ukraine will likely join NATO with the largest and best trained Army in Europe, able to supply significant oil, gas and grain to the EU.
Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv
“real news” articles are reports from OFFICIAL Ukraine Government
Send me something proving that-with the numbers when you get a minute. Thanks.
Send me something proving that-with the numbers when you get a minute. Thanks.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/10/1142007
“UN News asked Michael Newson, Senior Programme Coordinator for Migration and Sustainable Development at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Kyiv, Ukraine, about how people could be encouraged back home.
Michael Newson: IOM has already observed an increase of Ukrainians returning to Ukraine despite the ongoing war.”
Here is the last UN report (as of July), (https://dtm.iom.int/reports/ukraine-internal-displacement-report-general-population-survey-round-14-september-october) which counted 4,573,000 returnees. Some of them were likely coming back just to visit or wrap up business or property, but lots have returned to live, even if in another part of the country.
Europeans found it easier to fund more refugees to be supported in Ukraine, than keeping them all within their borders. Many are settling in to new lives in other countries, but a good chunk of the initial panicked crowd returned after the lines stabilized. The big outflow was just early on, and a smaller one from last Winter’s campaign against the energy infrastructure.
“Great Clowns think that the Ukraine will join NATO.”
“Great Clowns think that the Ukraine will join NATO.”
Weren’t you accosted by the tagline sheriff around these parts before pardner?
Yeah - the German dude, who is now shivering in his Lycra shorts.
Once people settle in to a host country, begin raising families, landing jobs, starting businesses and buying properties, the vast majority of them only return to the "Old Country" to occasionally visit - if even that. That's the way it's been throughout history and that's not going to change now.
You're joking, right?
It's not going to happen, and for very good reasons.
Former European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has slammed the possibility of Ukraine joining the EU, lambasting the country as massively “corrupt.” “Anyone who has had anything to do with Ukraine knows that this is a country that is corrupt at all levels of society. Despite its efforts, it is not ready for accession; it needs massive internal reform processes,” Juncker said during an interview with German outlet Augsburger Allgemeine published Thursday. “Making false promises” to Ukrainians regarding EU accession “would be neither good for the EU nor for Ukraine,” added Juncker, who was boss at the Berlaymont in Brussels from 2014 to 2019. “You shouldn’t make false promises to the people in Ukraine who are up to their necks in suffering,” Juncker said. “I am very angry about some voices in Europe who are telling Ukrainians that they can become members immediately.”
“Ukraine is working toward getting a formal invitation to join (NATO) at the upcoming conference in July 2024 (a significant, but not final step). They are also on a fast track to join the EU.”
“You’re joking, right?”
“It’s not going to happen, and for very good reasons.
Former European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has slammed the possibility of Ukraine joining the EU”
Two weeks after you wrote that, the current European Commission voted to advance Ukraine’s application to the EU, to initiate formal negotiations. Kyiv opened an office in Brussels for integration into the bloc, and the EU announced that they will open a permanent office in Kyiv.
Since the Summer, Ukraine has passed a host of new laws, and instituted many reforms, recommended by the EU to qualify - the whole list that was provided.
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