Posted on 03/08/2022 11:05:06 PM PST by dennisw
He says Putin overestimated Russia's military, not realizing its budget had been embezzled. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has stalled amid tough Ukrainian resistance. A former Russian foreign minister claimed that widespread corruption is among the reasons for the Russian military's apparently poor performance in the invasion of Ukraine.
Andrey Kozyrev, who served as foreign minister under President Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s, put forward what he said were misjudgments made by President Vladimir Putin in ordering the invasion.
In the thread, he claims Putin overestimated the Russian military, which he dedicated billions of dollars to modernizing. But this money, Kozyrev claimed, may have been lost to Russia's endemic corruption. "The Kremlin spent the last 20 years trying to modernize its military. Much of that budget was stolen and spent on mega-yachts in Cyprus. But as a military advisor you cannot report that to the President. So they reported lies to him instead," wrote Kozyrev.
Cyprus has long been a favored destination for Russian officials seeking to launder money, and was infamous for its long-running "golden passport" scheme that until 2020 allowed rich foreigners to effectively EU buy citizenship.
Transparency International ranks Russia as one of the world's most corrupt countries, putting it 130th of 176, with a particular problem in its defense sector.
Polina Beliakova, an expert at Tufts University, wrote in Politico, that rampant corruption meant Russian troops were going into battle in Ukraine with out-of-date rations, faulty equipment, and inadequate fuel supplies.
Kozyrev appeared to be reacting to speculation about Putin's state of mind before launching the invasion.
Some officials and commentators claimed there was no rational explanation for the invasion, and that Putin's judgment may have been hampered by his long self-imposed isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Well...
I’ll give them points for creativity, anyway...
Russia proving to be a paper tiger.
After they take Kiev, the occupation begins.
Far worse than what we have seen to date.
GOOD CATCH!
“The Kremlin spent the last 20 years trying to modernize its military. Much of that budget was stolen and spent on mega-yachts in Cyprus. But as a military advisor you cannot report that to the President. So they reported lies to him instead,” wrote Kozyrev.
Cyprus has long been a favored destination for Russian officials seeking to launder money, and was infamous for its long-running “golden passport” scheme that until 2020 allowed rich foreigners to effectively EU buy citizenship.
Transparency International ranks Russia as one of the world’s most corrupt countries, putting it 130th of 176, with a particular problem in its defense sector.”
original article on Business Insider
The Russians also evidently have had big problems with their wheeled vehicles as they used Chinese made tires which were faulty and came apart on the terrain
One fellow on twitter says that photos of Russian trucks show oil leaking from the wheel hubs. Due to the rubber seals suffering from dry rot. If true then Russkie maintenance is neglected. The maintenance funds were siphoned off to buy a Mediterranean yacht?
Yachts in the Mediterranean in summer means lots of loose babes on board. Who ride for free. Yacht means babe magnet. Though these days there must be some gay globoHomo yachts too.
Yes. There are pictures on You Tube.
Could be! Lots of thieves in the power structure, including all of the oligarchs.
This is what ultimately caused the destruction of the USSR.
The government “ordered”, the oligarchy stole, the workers who were poorly paid dragged their feet, and the mangers then lied to the government about production realities.
Same old, same old. If Russia didn’t have nukes, they would be the same as Nigeria or Somolia.
Puting is doing well. Ukraine is a side show. His aim is this economic war he is ready for.
We are in debt, we have no longer a dollar monopoly and Russia has stocked up. It’s economy works in cash and is about double what is currently on the books.
This corruption so called actually allowed half of Russia’s economy to go under the radar to Putin’s military benefit.
Rational Thought:
Putin is turning 70. He’s past his Russian Male expiry date of 68. Time’s a wastin’....... now or never
Red Chinese tires sucked. That has been reported in the media here. They are very embarrassed over it. Ukranians also flooded fields to make conditions muddy to slow their advance. Very clever.
There is an old saying:
Russia is never as strong as it seems. Russia is never as weak as it seems.
The population of the single Indonesian island of Java is greater than the population of all of Russia.
The GDP of Canada is greater than the GDP of Russia
“Putin is turning 70. He’s past his Russian Male expiry date of 68. Time’s a wastin’....... now or never”
My thinking too over the last two weeks. Plus Vlad is brain addled, meaning prematurely senile from a nasty case of Covid. He’s just another old parasitic tyrant who sends out young men to do his fighting.
Think ol Marcos of the Philippines, who treated Philippines as his personal piggy bank. These days they say Sad Vlad is worth two hundred billion via getting a 1-2% skim of oil and gas profits.
Shades of Potemkin! Pooty should’ve known better.
Putinists have told us for years that Ukraine was corrupt and unworthy of support. Now look at this: wheels falling off $10 million Russian military equipment systems due to corruption and lazy maintenance. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. LOL.
“Putinists have told us for years that Ukraine was corrupt and unworthy of support. Now look at this: wheels falling off $10 million Russian military equipment systems due to corruption and lazy maintenance. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. LOL.”
How about Pooty, for years he was coming on like a Christian true believer. Russian Orthodox. Then sends in Muslim Chechens military to subdue the Christian Ukrainians.
Pooty Poo stinks!
If you think the Russian military is corrupt you should check out the Chinese military. They make Putin's looters look like armatures. Check out ADV China podcast on Youtube. No one does corruption like the Chinese "Communists".
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