The Russian central bank is now desperately trying to stop the Ruble from going up any further. For the federal government, the expenses need to be spent in Rubles and most of the revenues are in the form of Euro or US Dollar. If the Ruble goes up any further then the cushion that they enjoy as a result of the rising oil and gas prices will be lost. As of now, Ruble is trading at a rate of $1 = ₽57.50. I would say that a more acceptable exchange rate for the government would be somewhere between $1 = ₽65 to $1 = ₽70.
The other day, the head of the Central Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, gave a big press conference, and I got the impression that Russia, under the pressure of strong external circumstances, has taken a trend towards a serious structural restructuring of its economy in order to stop unsuccessfully fighting the rapidly strengthening ruble, but rather try to benefit from it . The Russian economy has a chronic lack of money supply and it seems that now this can be corrected without the risk of a surge in inflation. Let's see, at least now we can confidently say that Russia successfully withstood the sanctions shock and was able to withstand the blow, which, according to the West, should have destroyed it. Of course, there are difficulties and the negative consequences of the sanctions will still manifest themselves, but in fact the reality turned out to be much better than the most optimistic expectations. |
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Agreed. No One can full fill the supply of world but only Russia. The whole world was imposing bans on Russia without realising what Russia can do to the world. They deliberately or not deliberately ignored the part. And now everyone is worried how and from where they are going to get the oil and gas supply.
The problem lies within the stupid policymakers of the European Union. Actually it is possible to replace Russian energy in the medium term, with available resources. But the European Union shut down most of the alternatives before the Russo-Ukraine war. As a result of pressure from the Green party, they closed down most of the nuclear power plants in Germany. This made them even more dependent on Russian imports. On top of that, the Green party idiots caused hundreds of billions of Euro in losses by funding unviable renewable energy projects all along the EU. They setup wind farms where there is not enough wind flows and solar plants where there is not enough sunlight. You are right, even in the face of severe energy shortages, Germany does not appear to be changing course and plans to shut down the last three nuclear reactors later this year. And in general, the situation with nuclear energy in the European Union is close to depressing. It seems Europe has simply lost key competencies in this area - and I'm talking now about France, where there are relatively many operating nuclear power plants, but things with them are also not cloudless. There are many old reactors, several of which will have to be decommissioned in the near future, and there are almost no new reactors. And there is another problem even more serious - Europe is rapidly losing its influence in Africa (we are talking specifically about France and specifically about Mali). And without Africa, Europe has nowhere to get uranium from. The European Union has driven itself into a dire situation with its mediocre energy policy. |
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In Ukraine, Russian terrorists are destroying residential buildings with all available weapons, destroying civilians in a sadistic way, destroying infrastructure, seizing authorities, and intimidating the civilian population.
It is not true. Even foreign military observers have been surprised since the beginning of the operation how carefully Russia treats civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. You yourself are a clear example of this - it seems you mentioned that you live in Kyiv, and at least you have electricity and the Internet, since you spend so much time on this forum. You could sit in the basement, without light and water, under constant bombardment, afraid to even stick your nose out. Think about it at your leisure. |
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On the Wagner thing, I have to say that making use of them undercuts the Russian excuse for their Ukraine actions as being based on ethical principles, and 'de-nazification' in particular (which I've never put much stock in anyway.) I've never heard anyone claim that these Wagner personnel are any 'better' than the average mercenary group, and nobody puts up much of a denial that straight-up neo-nazi influences exist in at least some of them.
Unfortunately you are right. I think this is the case when you can not clean the cesspool and not get dirty with shit yourself. All in all, I don't understand why there is so much fuss about a few foreign mercenaries who have managed to get under the show whipping (which they probably deserved by their actions). Let me remind you that a couple of weeks ago in Kyiv, Russian soldier Vadim Shishimarin was sentenced to life imprisonment. Why shouldn't those who like to remember the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War remember this episode, when a prisoner of war was convicted by a civil court? Why tantrum after the usual symmetrical response? Or does someone here naively think that some other verdict awaits the Azov militants captured in Mariupol? |
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Statistics on Caliber used against Ukraine. Of the 100% launched, approximately 10-20% reach the targets. Part of the launched Calibers simply does not reach due to the fact that these are missiles "having no analogue"  A noticeable part is shot down by Ukrainian air defense. I also saw it happen in person. At the same time, some of those Caliber who, surprisingly, were able to fly, get anywhere - into residential buildings, wastelands, beach toilets, as it was in Odessa. So Calibers are not a problem, no matter how much you would like the opposite. I am glad that Russian Caliber is not a problem for Ukraine. Moreover, Russia ran out of them in early March due to sanctions (according to Ukrainian propaganda).  Let's omit about aircraft carriers, tell me better - why are NATO ships (of various classes, including cruisers, destroyers) constantly present in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and are they "not afraid of daggers"? And these are not only American, but also Italian, Greek, .... I'm very interested to hear the "logical explanation"! If we omit about aircraft carriers, what will be left of the former military power of the United States? This is a very sensitive issue for Pentagon generals. The "logical explanation" is simple, Russia is not at war with NATO now - this is only why. Oh yes - and more. It’s probably not news to you that the “Dagger” needs what to become a hypersonic missile? And here's what - "the missile must be dispersed by the MiG-31 carrier." Those. this "feature" works only with such a launch ("Iskander", which underlies the "Dagger" rocket itself is slow). The question is - what will happen if the enemy simply destroys the same MIG-31s at the parking points, which, in the version adapted for the launch of the "Dagger", are literally one? It's complicated ? Not ! Especially when you consider some facts:
- MIG-31 in general, only 519 units were produced for the entire time.
- A dozen of them are now monuments.
- At present, a little more than 250 MiG-31 aircraft of various modifications remain in service and storage in the Russian Aerospace Forces.
- Combat radius: 720 km (at an altitude not very convenient for NATO air defense, i.e. at the maximum ceiling).
- The car itself is quite outdated (more than 25 years old) and very unreliable - even an official Russian source speaks of almost 45 lost aircraft due to various kinds of malfunctions.
Good logic, but it has one significant flaw. In addition to the MiG-31K, Dagger missiles are also capable of carrying TU-22M3 aircraft. And about the habits of fighting To fly at maximum height and bomb Aleppo in the Syrian way, which had no air defense - this is Russian heroism. But in Ukraine, for some reason, the "heroes" do not risk inflicting massive air strikes deep into the territory of Ukraine. Can you tell me why? I will answer ! Even weak Ukrainian air defense is a PROBLEM for the Russian Air Comic Forces! Of course I can, in Ukraine, Russia does not carry out massive bombing strikes, so as not to damage civilian infrastructure. The only case so far when Russia used air bombs in Ukraine at all was the bombing of the Azovstal plant in Mariupol. |
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Yes, Dagger, this is essentially an Iskander missile "tied" to the MIG-31. And the whole hypersonic characteristic, it appears due to the summation of the speed of the aircraft, and additional acceleration due to the "fall" from a great height. As for the impossibility of shooting down, I agree that the rather outdated air defense of Ukraine can hardly cope with this task, but I’m not sure that this will be a noticeable problem for NATO, don’t compare the technologies of the 21st century and the dispersed ancient wagon from the mountain, which they pass off as a Bugatti Veyron, just because that she rolls down the mountain faster than being towed by a horse Oh yes ... I wonder how these missiles will be produced in the absence of Western high-tech components? Missile stocks are not eternal, and production will soon be completely paralyzed. "Import substitution"? Do not make me laugh ! For example, I personally observed the dismantling of the "unparalleled" Orlan-10 UAV (really a very primitive device) and the wreckage of another one, the name of which I do not know. So - if you throw out Western components from there, it will be absolutely not a functional glider for manual launch from the roof of the house For the Ukrainian missile defense system, even relatively slow Calibers are a problem. And the hypersonic Dagger is a big and so far insoluble problem for NATO missile defense in general and the United States in particular. To effectively intercept missiles, your anti-missile must fly at least twice as fast, and preferably four times. The dagger flies at a cruising speed of approximately Mach 5.5 and the US does not have (and is not expected to in the foreseeable future) missile defense missiles capable of flying twice as fast. Another problem with NATO and the Russian Dagger is that this missile, flying in a hot cloud of plasma, is capable of maneuvering, that is, it does not fly along a ballistic trajectory, which makes it practically invulnerable. And the main problem of the United States with the Russian Dagger is that the Americans are used to fighting, urging an aircraft carrier and then bombing from it. And where are all the American aircraft carriers now? They are 1500+ km from the nearest Russian Dagger, because Dagger (even without a nuclear warhead) is a born carrier killer. That is why I said above that the first launch of the Dagger ruined most of the US plans. The Pentagon now does not know how to fight, there is no longer an effective military strategy. This is not an empty hatred in the style of "the Taliban with rifles drove the Yankees out of Afghanistan", this is a simple statement of facts and the current state of affairs. |
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No, I'm not talking about India, I'm talking about the situation in the world in general. "Money doesn't smell!". Some believe that you can earn money by working with terrorists. Bring them money, essentially sponsoring terrorism. And then put a good income in your pocket at the expense of consumers or quietly resell at a good markup or ... Yes, there are many more options that we are now seeing.
What was well shown by the terrorist war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine, and the economic war against the whole world, is the "real face". The real face of international organizations that have shown their complete lack of impotence or cowardice, instead of doing what they were created for. The real face of corrupt politicians, and much more. But now everyone is visible, and everyone understands that it is possible to "score" on moral, ethical standards and human values. True, in case of some kind of trouble, all these "persons" will begin to appeal to humanity, humanism, and the need to urgently help them ...
PS Just for the sake of interest - how did India live in a terrible oil "shortage" until 2022?
Last month, the US bought $2 billion worth of stuff from Russia. And the European Union is about 25 billion dollars. According to your logic, the US and the EU are the sponsors of global terrorism. |
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As far as mercenaries, I believe to become Ukrainian citizen they would have to give up their previous citizenship as Ukraine doesn't allow dual citizenship, which apparently didn't happen. How are they different from other mercenaries, or is the claim that there are no mercenaries at all in Ukraine and all foreign fighters fall under Geneva convention now because they signed some paper with UA army? Following that logic Aiden Aslin wasn't a mecenary in Syria as well if he also signed some form there?
Unless it's a civil war, isn't there always going to be one side made up of entirely foreign fighters? Does the geneva convention really exclude prisoners of war from human rights depending on what country their passport is from? That doesn't make sense to me. I don’t understand why you are focusing on the Geneva Convention, although neither Russia nor Ukraine have signed or ratified it, and for these countries the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War is a legally insignificant document. I have a question that you don't have to answer, but I'll ask it. Have you read the text of this convention, which has already been repeatedly mentioned? |
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Donetsk region within Ukraine. Putin is a powerful man, but he has no power over the Supreme Court of a sovereign state (he doesn't even have power over Russia's Supreme Court).
On paper he don't have such power, but reality is a bit different. And it's fun to hear that Putin dodn't have power over Supreme Court of ''sovereign country, but at the same time he want to change path of sovereign country (Ukraine) and occupy as much as possible territory of it. It looks like we both know who the most powerful person in the world is and it's not Zelensky. If Putin has enough power to impose a Putin tax on food and gas in the US, as Joe Biden said yesterday, of course he can influence anything - including the fate of two Englishmen and one Moroccan. I don't think the death sentence will be carried out, don't worry about it. A mercenary is still a soldier IMHO. They can be war criminals or even terrorists if they do not play by the rules, but that is related to their actions, not to their origin nor to the fact that they get paid - if you think of it, the RF soldiers get paid, are they not mercenaries? Are they not going to a foreign country to wage war and die just to steal territory and goods from Ukraine?
There is logic in your words and I think you are right. The soldier of the Russian army, who serves under the contract, is also in a sense a mercenary. It's not a problem to be a mercenary in itself, it only becomes a problem if you were taken prisoner in the DPR and you have some strange passport in an incomprehensible language with you. |
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"Two different things
Inflation and recession describe the momentum of an economy. Inflation makes the economy barrel forward at full speed, sometimes uncontrollably, leading to price surges and a higher cost of living for the average consumer. A recession would be the opposite, a much slower economy marked by a decline in economic activity and potentially higher unemployment.
Sometimes the stars converge in such a way that inflation is combined with a recession, this is called stagflation (stagnation + inflation). This is the scariest beast of all - when the economy slows down and prices rise at the same time. |
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Ok, Ukraine, which does not have significant air defense, missed a certain number of Kinzhal missiles. Here no one disputes this fact.
Even Biden had to admit that the Dagger is an ordinary missile, it's just almost impossible to intercept it. Do you know what this means in reality? That 80% of all NATO strategies and combat plans flew into the trash after the first successful combat use of the Dagger. And after that, NATO realized its incompetence and in every possible way avoids the escalation of the conflict, so as not to be drawn into it by its direct participation. And this is a relatively light rocket, in fact, the usual good old Iskander, which was hung under the plane and thus dispersed to hypersonic. But at the same time, the Ukrainian army, in many other situations, just showed the uselessness of Russian "unparalleled" ones (the funniest narrative from Russian media). The cruiser Moscow, Zmeinny Island, the "vaunted" electronic warfare and other advertised "fakes", especially the welded grilles on the towers of "tanks that have no analogue", "guaranteed to save from being hit by a javelin", all of them showed their effectiveness, which is very different from the declared one. Of course for the worse. But for some reason you "forget" about it, a sort of selective sclerosis. Engagement? Don't be fooled, the sinking of the Moskva is actually Ukraine's only significant and meaningful tactical success in this confrontation with Russia. Otherwise, Ukraine acts as a whipping boy. I pay tribute to the courage of Ukrainian soldiers, they show great fortitude, despite the absence of even the slightest chance of success. The forces are too unequal, Russia is in a different weight category. |
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I believe in less than three months Putin's kingdom is over , what do you think?
False. Russia will hit until it will be able to do so. For russia (not only for Ukraine, yep) this was is existential. If it will fail - for russia this will means an and and country (as we know it) will collapse. That rare case when I agree with you. Russia does not have much choice to continue or end, there is too much at stake. |
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I mean unstoppable Russian hypersonic weapons that can easily destroy city blocks
The main problem that there to few of such weapons in russia. For example, X-32 missile has a velocity around 3,5—4,6M. But the main problem that there around 30-40 such missiles (!!!). If orcs will use them all, they will be without such weapon at all. This rocket uses western parts in it, so there will be no more new missiles X-32 anymore. Only what's left. And the same story with all new weaponry in Russia. The main "working horse" of the war - Kalibr cruise missile, late soviet project, mainly was built since 1994 , when there were no sanctions at all (the same story with Iskander ballistic rockets). And we can't see any new (which was announced after 2014) weapons on the battlefield in significant numbers. Why so? The answer is easy: sanctions after 2014. And after 2022 I doubt that russian will be able to built even 5 missiles in year. So the answer for your question can be enough simple: orcs and their rules - gnomes, just economize their few modern missiles and rockets. It would be to my advantage to leave you in the dark about the true state of things, but I'll say it anyway. The main workhorse of Russia now is cannon artillery, and ammunition supplies are almost unlimited. Of the missile weapons, the main workhorse is the X101 air-launched cruise missile. However, since it has no export analogue, the sea-based Caliber missile, which became the main star of the operation in Syria and remains the main star of the operation in Ukraine, took all the glory of high-precision missile strikes (there was even a special term "calibrate"). I don’t want to upset you, but Russia’s stocks of these missiles are quite large and are constantly replenished. |
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Officers of the Ukrainian defence army are there to implement the official policies. As of now, the official policy is to follow the rules of war and the Geneva Convention as far as I know. There may be groups in Ukraine that may not have such a degree of discipline, but that is a completely different matter from having an official policy of classing PoWs as "terrorists" and kill them.
All in all, this simply makes life much harder for both RF and Ukrainian soldiers.
Mercenaries are not prisoners of war. These people came to Ukraine to kill for money, and they are not entitled to any leniency for their actions. It is better for foreign mercenaries to choose another place for safari, because death or death awaits them here - on the battlefield or as a result of a court verdict. This is an unambiguous and clear signal to those 3,000+ foreign mercenaries who are still fighting on the side of Ukraine - pack your things and go home. Funny that you say this and at the same time commend the tourists that joined the RF orcs army. So the criteria is that only Ukrainian nationals are soldiers? Then all this guys are terrorists fighting for Adolf Putin: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/24/what-role-is-chechnyas-ramzan-kadyrov-playing-in-ukraineJust two days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine was launched, Ramzan Kadyrov, president of Russia’s Chechen Republic, announced his forces were deployed to the battlefield. They would do well to go back home and use their time making more little Chechens instead of dying (as terrorists) for Putin. Kadyrov's Chechens are not mercenaries, but a special police regiment as part of the National Guard. But the fighters of Wagner's private military company are mercenaries. Although they are fighting on the side of Russia (and seem to be quite successful in combat missions), you have never heard me praise them here. |
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It was always funny to watch the Western haters who, with great joy, stuffed “unsecured dollars” and “fake euros” into their pockets. Moreover, in 99% of cases, they were stored in those very Western banks, and there, for a calm and comfortable life, all these Western-haters bought real estate, businesses, taught children there ... But they always told their people how bad it is to live there, what it is degradation, and other sins at every turn! But as soon as they begin to take away their illegally acquired property, or expel their children or wives to the "holy homeland", such squeals and hysterics begin, resentment that he was deprived of the opportunity to live "in the most sinful west"! This is the huge positive effect of Western sanctions on Russia, which alone outweighs the many negative side effects. Paradoxically, sanctions hit hardest of all not ordinary Russians, but oligarchs, fifth-column liberals, and the duplicitous hypocrites you speak of. |
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Both suspended and launched, production is not in the combat zone, as well as a significant part of the raw materials sources (industries).
In Ukraine, two companies prior to the start of the operation were cleaning Russian neon for the needs of microelectronics - Cryoin in Odessa and Ingaz in Mariupol. I think Ukraine will hardly be able to launch a company in Mariupol in the foreseeable future, there are also doubts about Odessa. And now bother to provide evidence that all the neon produced by Ukraine was just a post-treatment of the Russian one? But just not links to fake generators like RushToday or other fake media from Russia? It is not difficult to confirm this information with a link, it is more difficult to find a link that is not affiliated with Russia and which you can trust. For example here is an article in a Spanish newspaper. Ukraine provides half of the world's supply of neon, which is necessary for the production of semiconductors. Neon is used in lasers, which are used to create patterns on chips. The Odessa company "Cryoin" played an important role in deliveries of neon to the USA, South Korea and Japan. Gases generated as a by-product in Russian steel mills were supplied to Cryoin, where they were then purified. Quote from the article at the link, highlighted by me. The article smells very strongly, no, not for biased, but absolutely about the Russian. The result of the article - well, where are you without Russia!? Would they lie if the truth was reprinted in Russian media https://inosmi.ru/20220531/resursy-254354103.htmlBy the way, there is not a word about the fact that Russian resources are the main raw material for all neon production in Ukraine. It only says that 1 out of 2 plants supplied products from the Russian steel industry. "Ukraine did not produce neon itself, but purified Russian - your words"? Maybe you didn't understand the question? Ok, I repeat once again - indicate a trustworthy source containing verified information that everything, as you indicated, Ukrainian production works on Russian raw materials, and without it it cannot produce neon? Did you mean that in your original post? If not, then there is no particular problem, only part of the raw materials for 1 plant "fell off", which can be compensated by supplies from other countries - Germany, Slovenia, Italy ... Or are there steel mills only in Russia? I can only add, I stand by the truth in any situation, that Ukrainian companies, in some cases, partially used Russian raw materials, both for part of their needs, and on a contract basis, for Russian producers, performing post-treatment of primary raw materials (a by-product of metallurgy) . But Russian raw materials were not of any critical importance. By the way, you forgot to mention that the article says "Ukraine provides half of the world's neon supplies." Half is 50%, or do you think differently? The plant located in Odessa will be launched. The plant in Mariupol, after being freed from terrorists, will also be put into operation - the country and business need money. I am not ready to say how much the Neon plant suffered from terrorists, but if it cannot quickly enter into operation, it is possible that production will be increased in Odessa. Yes, there will be a noticeable decrease in supplies, but the world market will now perfectly understand that dealing with such terrorist suppliers as Russia should never be done again. I did not go deep into the technology of neon production, as far as I understand, this is not a very environmentally friendly event. Therefore, in principle, its production can be established within a year in many countries of the world, but there is no queue of those who want to. In fact, at present, inert gases are a strong lever of pressure from Russia on unfriendly countries, in the future this situation may change, but now it is so. |
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Melitopol is located in the Zaporozhye region and you habitually think that this is Ukraine. However, it's time to get used to the new reality, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions are Russia. Donetsk and Lugansk regions are independent people's republics of Donbass. All your accusations of stealing Ukrainian grain are baseless insinuations.
I don't think that Ukraine will ever get back these territories. Crimea is gone and already merged with Russia. Rebels control more than 95% of Lugansk and close to 60% of Donetsk. One-third of Kharkiv is gone, so is more than two-thirds of Zaporozhye. Kherson is now almost 100% under Russian control. If Ukraine announces a ceasefire now, they will be able to save the remainder of their South-east region, such as the oblasts of Odessa and Mykolayiv. Zelensky and his regime needs to be realistic about their chances and the outcome of this war. Russia was ready to conclude a peace treaty and end its operation in Ukraine in March, when some common ground was reached in the negotiations mediated by Turkey, then Russia, as a gesture of goodwill, withdrew its troops from the north of Ukraine from near Kyiv. However, Kyiv disrupted the negotiations and significantly worsened its position. The problem is not that Zelensky is a drug addict, but that Ukraine is not an independent state that is completely dependent on the choice of foreign policy from curators from the United States and the European Union, who are apparently ready to fight in Russia to the last Ukrainian. |
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Both suspended and launched, production is not in the combat zone, as well as a significant part of the raw materials sources (industries).
In Ukraine, two companies prior to the start of the operation were cleaning Russian neon for the needs of microelectronics - Cryoin in Odessa and Ingaz in Mariupol. I think Ukraine will hardly be able to launch a company in Mariupol in the foreseeable future, there are also doubts about Odessa. And now bother to provide evidence that all the neon produced by Ukraine was just a post-treatment of the Russian one? But just not links to fake generators like RushToday or other fake media from Russia? It is not difficult to confirm this information with a link, it is more difficult to find a link that is not affiliated with Russia and which you can trust. For example here is an article in a Spanish newspaper. Ukraine provides half of the world's supply of neon, which is necessary for the production of semiconductors. Neon is used in lasers, which are used to create patterns on chips. The Odessa company "Cryoin" played an important role in deliveries of neon to the USA, South Korea and Japan. Gases generated as a by-product in Russian steel mills were supplied to Cryoin, where they were then purified. Quote from the article at the link, highlighted by me. |
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Officers of the Ukrainian defence army are there to implement the official policies. As of now, the official policy is to follow the rules of war and the Geneva Convention as far as I know. There may be groups in Ukraine that may not have such a degree of discipline, but that is a completely different matter from having an official policy of classing PoWs as "terrorists" and kill them.
All in all, this simply makes life much harder for both RF and Ukrainian soldiers.
Mercenaries are not prisoners of war. These people came to Ukraine to kill for money, and they are not entitled to any leniency for their actions. It is better for foreign mercenaries to choose another place for safari, because death or death awaits them here - on the battlefield or as a result of a court verdict. This is an unambiguous and clear signal to those 3,000+ foreign mercenaries who are still fighting on the side of Ukraine - pack your things and go home. |
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