Vladimir Putin has mysteriously vanished for 12 days as Russia ramps up nuclear war threats

Mirror UK ^ | 11/20/2024 | Will Stewart, Chiara Fiorillo

[marcusmaximus]

Vladimir Putin has mysteriously disappeared from public view as his regime issued apocalyptic World War Three nuclear threats over the use of long-range Western missiles by Ukraine against Russian territory.

It is unclear if during the past 12 days of high international tension the Kremlin dictator has been holed up in a hi-tech bunker, unwell, underwent another round of plastic surgery, took a secret holiday or simply chose to remain out of sight. Yet Putin, 72, has not been definitively seen since an appearance at the Valdai Forum in Sochi on November 7 when he congratulated a "courageous" Donald Trump on his election victory and hinted he was ready for talks to end the war in Ukraine, according to the Faridaily Telegram channel, which monitors his movements and appearances.

"Where Putin is in these anxious days, when the war with Ukraine is entering a new round of escalation, and what he is doing, apparently only his security and a small circle of close associates know," said the channel. Putin was noticeably absent from view on Tuesday when the Kremlin announced he had signed off a new version of Russia's nuclear doctrine, a revelation which came soon after his spokesman indicated the amended text was not ready.

[PGR88]

Typical reply from a paid troll

[Kazan]

Is Putin dead and is Russia using a body double in his place AGAIN?

[USA-FRANCE]

Oh my... your links proving how wrong and utterly disconnected from reality the Russians were concerning the duration of the war... will produce another round of exploding heads.

For good measure here is yet another link from Dear KGB Leader himself from 2014:

Putin Boasts of Being Able to Take Kiev in 2 Weeks
https://time.com/3259699/putin-boast-kiev-2-weeks/

[BlackbirdSST]

Time.com which links back to NYT in the very first sentence. I don’t get why you idiots think linking to known propaganda networks does anything to bolster your own propaganda. Combine the brain power of all the clowns you pinged and you people couldn’t outwit a gnat. Dumb neocon trash. I’m embarrassed for you all.

[USA-FRANCE]

You are categorizing any news describing Russia’s bad decisions and wrong doings as Western propaganda. Your choice.

And any news coming from the Kremlin and the corridors of the KGB/FSB is considered by you as absolute indisputable truth - no questions asked. Again your choice. But I find it nonsensical to exclusively rely on Russian propaganda.

The Kremlin has not denied that Putin actually said that Kiev could be taken in 2 weeks. Instead they are trying to limit the damage by saying those words were “taken out of context”... Thats a very weak and defensive remark and it sounds spectacularly disingenuous .

[BroJoeK]

ansel12: "Putin said he could take the capitol in 2 weeks."

"Reports emerged Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin said he could take control of Ukraine’s capital city in as little as two weeks, a remark that escalated already pitched tensions between Russia and the West in the lead-up to NATO’s summit in Wales.

Putin made the incendiary comment in a phone conversation with European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, according to Barroso’s account, published by Italy’s La Repubblica on Monday.

Barroso said he asked Putin if Russian troops had crossed into eastern Ukraine, La Repubblica reports.
“That is not the question,” Putin reportedly said. “But if I wanted to, I could take Kiev in two weeks.”

The Kremlin did not deny that Putin made the statement, but insisted it was taken out of context."
Time, September 2, 2014

PGR88 #80 to BJK: "LOL - a nonsense list.
These are opinions and hot takes from people unconnected to the war.
The only “prediction” was your #1 - and who knows what the context of the prediction was?"

Two of my quotes were from Russian government officials directly connected to the war:

1. Andrei Fedorov, a former Russian deputy foreign minister, told Al Jazeera on February 27, 2022, that President Vladimir Putin's initial order was to:
   "complete the military operation with a victory by March 2"

   There is your "three day victory".

2. Sergei Shoigu, Russia's Defense Minister, assured President Putin on March 11, 2022, that:
   "everything is going to plan" and that the operation was proceeding as expected.

Two more were from official Russian state propagandists:

1. Russian propagandist, "Iron Lady" Olga Skabeyeva (April 2022):
   "The Ukrainians are crumbling in front of our eyes. The Ukrainian army is falling apart."
   "We're forced to conduct the demilitarization not only of Ukraine, but of the entire NATO alliance."

2. Russian propagandist Margarita Simonyan (March 2023):
   "We defeated Ukraine in the first two or three days.
   Then a war with NATO started"

The other two were by the US Director of National Intelligence and an Australian army general who follow Russian affairs very closely.

So, the real question is, why would anybody want to deny that Vlad the Invader expected a quick and easy victory over Ukraine when he invaded in February 2022, just as he had when he invaded Ukraine in February 2014?

What's up with that?

[Locomotive Breath]

Hahahahaha. Look who’s talking. When someone weak minded is proven badly wrong, that’s when the insults start.

[BroJoeK]

Bulwyf to Locomotive Breath: "All of us with actual experience and in the know past the media know Russia has shown great restraint."

That is the beginning of such a curious statement, we should explore all of it more carefully:

1. Bulwyf: "All of us with actual experience and in the know..."

   Who in the world are such people with "actual experience" and "in the know", and how are they/you posting on Free Republic?
   "In the know" is not Free Republic, "in the know" are elitists Democrats and radicals of all stripes.
   "In the know" is all about a cadre of superior minds who are going to rule over and direct all of us ignorant unwashed masses.

   So, on Free Republic, FRiend, you can take your "in the know" and shove it where the sun don't shine.

   And what, exactly is your "actual experience" -- in the Russian army?

2. Bulwyf: "...know Russia has shown great restraint."

   Of course, Russia is "restrained" by any number of factors, including:

   • Restrained by the limits of its own military resources, especially manpower and weapons.

   • Restrained by the perceived limits of Russian peoples' willingness to tolerate current deprivations in support of the Ukraine war.

   • Restrained by the limits of Russia's allies and supporters, like China, NoKo & Iran, to supply Russia with weapons and people for the Ukraine meat grinder.

   • Restrained by the limits of NATO allies to tolerate Russia's military aggressions near their borders.

   • Restrained by the limits of self-destruction Russians are willing to tolerate if Vlad the Invader launches nuclear weapons at his enemies.

   Notice that what's not included in the list of restraints on Russia's actions are any interest in issues of legality, morality, safety, economic or humanitarian concerns for even Russia's own people, much less Russia's enemies.

   So, yes, Russia has shown "great restraint", but not for any reasons that need to concern us.

   

3. Bulwyf: "What alarms us is that people don’t realize that and think they can just keep pushing."

   What everyone not blinded by Russian propaganda does realize is that the only way to stop and defeat an aggressive dictator/empire builder, like Vlad the Invader, is to threaten or stop him militarily -- there's no other way.
   The only real issue is: do we stop him while he's relatively small & weak, or must we wait until his conquests have made him too powerful to defeat with anything less than a global scale war? -- i.e., 1930s redux.

4. Bulwyf: "I guess most won’t be happy until the see the warheads coming, or if they’re lucky they’ll only have to send their kids to their deaths."

   I'd call that Russians projecting their own mental pathologies onto their enemies.

5. Bulwyf: "The war cry can be 'for the glory of the NWO!'["New World Order"] "

   In reality, the Old World Order is the one established by the US and our Western allies beginning in 1945.
   It is centered in Western-style democracies in North America, Europe and the Western Pacific, but includes many other friendly nations as well.
   From 1945 to 1991 the "Old World Order" was strongly opposed by Soviet style Communism and since Vlad the Invader's rise to power around 2000, it's increasingly opposed by Russian Tsarist-style empire building -- so, Vlad's is the "New World Order" that he wants to replace our Old World Order.

6. Bulwyf: "...you’re all being played by your own and either too daft to see or don’t want to because you can’t admit you were lied to and it would ruin your worldview and the entire history as you were programmed to believe."

   It does seem to be a standard claim of all our "in the know" elitists that, in effect: -- the rest of us ignorant & unwashed masses have been deluded & brainwashed into believing that good is bad, up is down, day is night, and the reality we see is not really real.

   Such claims are at least entertaining, if worth entertaining only briefly -- pending some new & indisputable fact that can reveal what the "real truth" might actually be.

   But I would not hold my breath waiting for such a "real fact" to be revealed by those "with actual experience" and "in the know".
   I think the reality is that nearly all such claims are just scam & nonsense.

7. Bulwyf: "Another robot."

   Another self description by one of our "in the know" pro-Russians.

"Old World Order" -- World of US allies (blue), partners (green) and enemies (red), not 100% accurate:

[BroJoeK]

ansel12: "Here is Putin being OK with Ukraine joining NATO since they are their own sovereign country."

Well worth repeating:

"Back in 2002 Putin had no problem with Ukraine joining NATO‼️

“Ukraine is a sovereign state and has the right to choose the path to ensure its own security.
I don’t see anything unusual here in principle.
Or something that would spoil the relations between…
Or could possibly spoil relations between Russia and Ukraine.”
- Vladimir Putin at NATO Summit Meeting in Rome, Italy (May 28, 2002)"

Here is the complete video.

So, the very core of Russia's propaganda about "NATO expansion" is pure nonsense.
It was not a problem until Putin decided to make it one of his excuses for resurrecting the Old Tsarist/Soviet empire.

[Locomotive Breath]

Masterful takedown. Absolutely correct in all respects.

[Churchillspirit]

Perhaps The Kremlin is doing a “General Franco” on us.

[Churchillspirit]

LOL!

[Churchillspirit]

Chamberlain was much maligned but did one good thing. He gave the UK - which was standing alone against Nazi Germany - a year to prepare.

[ansel12]

You guys don’t need to ping everyone on the thread every time you post something.

[BlackbirdSST]

Masterful takedown. Absolutely correct in all respects.

I don't see how it's masterful or even a takedown. It seems have been quite the effort to simply say "I'm a neocon so shut up!".

BTW, don't ping me unless you and I are conversing. If I want to interface with neocon trash I will do so on my own.

[Dat]

He didn’t say anything neocon. That is just a non-sequitur and an ad-hominem.

[BlackbirdSST]

He didn’t say anything neocon. That is just a non-sequitur and an ad-hominem.

That's your opinion.

If I want to interface with neocon trash I will do so on my own.

You don't have to struggle with that. It is rather straight forward.

[Locomotive Breath]

You joined in an already long ongoing conversation. If you don’t want to hear the conversation then don’t join.

WRT to the post originally TO ME every false point posted was proven wrong.

Once again a person with nothing valuable to add resorts to name calling.

[BlackbirdSST]

You joined in an already long ongoing conversation. If you don’t want to hear the conversation then don’t join.

Look slick, when I tell you not to ping me to YOUR wider conversation, don't ping me to YOUR wider conversation. Thems the rulz! Get it?

[Locomotive Breath]

You set “the rules” here. Hahahahaha. Apparently you’re a little too fragile for FreeRepublic.