Vladimir V. Putin Loses His Mind And Becomes A War Criminal
Vladimir V. Putin Loses His Mind And Becomes A War Criminal
Russian President Vladimir V. Putin has just announced a “special military operation” to “de-Nazify the Ukrainian government” so as to halt the supposed “genocide” being committed against Russian speakers in Ukraine. There is not a shred of justification for any of this. The extreme nationalist fascist groups in Ukraine do not support and are not part of the current Ukrainian government, whose leader is half Jewish. There has been a low level war between the Ukrainian government and the separatist republics in the east, now officially recognized by the Putin government, with 14,000 dead on both sides. But recently the Ukrainian military has not even been responding to the heightened rate of shelling coming out of the republics. Putin has also complained of a supposed move of Ukraine to join NATO, but no such move has been going on at all.
This is pure and unadulterated aggression without a shred of justification. Reportedly missiles are now striking Ukraine’s capital city, Kyiv. This is more than just a war to defend the republics in the East. Putin has lost his mind.
I shall note one lie he made last night, one he has made previously, with it central to this invasion, with me now hearing on TV that “tanks are now rolling across the border” not far from Kharkiv. Putin claimed the night before last that “Russia created Ukraine,” with this being done by “Lenin and the Bolsheviks.” But in 1917 a Ukrainian Peoples’ Republic, which in 1918 declared its independence from Russia. It survived for two years until Poland conquered its western portion and Lenin’s Russia conquered the central and eastern parts. When Lenin established the Ukrainian SSR a few years later, it was formed out of a portion of what had been an already existing independent Ukrainian nation.
Barkley Rosser
Collaboration in German-occupied Ukraine
(Wikipedia) Collaboration with Nazi Germany in German-occupied Ukraine took place during the occupation of what is now Ukraine by Nazi Germany in World War II. The new territorial divisions included District of Galicia and Reichskommissariat Ukraine …
(It’s plausible that Putin’s Nazi rhetoric is to energize his own base. Russians retain considerable anti-Nazi sentiment from WW2 experiences. And although millions of Ukrainians joined the Red Army to fight Hitler’s Third Reich, many were collaborators, not being huge Stalin fans,)
(Under Stalin) As part of the wider Soviet famine of 1932–1933 which affected the major grain-producing areas of the country, millions of inhabitants of Ukraine, the majority of whom were ethnic Ukrainians, died of starvation in a peacetime catastrophe unprecedented in the history of Ukraine. … (Wikipedia)
So Putin drums up support against would-be enemies in Ukraine.)
Vaguely related?
Russian celebrities denounce the military operation
NY Times – Feb 24
on the theory that if you’ve seen one airstrike on a civilian population, you’ve seen them all…
NY Times: The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that its forces had destroyed more than 70 military targets in Ukraine, including 11 airfields, three command points and a naval base. Russian forces also downed one helicopter and four Bayraktar TB2 drones, said Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the ministry’s spokesman, speaking from Moscow. …
(Putin has urged Ukrainian military to desert, essentially. He has also said that cities & civilians have nothing to fear from Russian forces. More realistically, military targets will be attacked first, cities will be secured somewhat later.)
Wonder how effectively Russian troops who witnessed no “genocide” in Ukraine will report back to the Russian people that no such atrocities had been taking place in Ukraine. They speak one of the two languages after all.
After Russia suppressed the rebellion in Czechoslovakia in 1968, the invading units were shipped off to the Chinese border (in 80s, 45 out of USSR’Ss 180 tank divisions were routinely stationed there) so they could not tell the people how good things were economically in Czechoslovakia in 1968! https://www.amazon.com/Liberators-Viktor-Suvorov/dp/0425106314/ref=sr_1_18?crid=2PMSEKN8M6H2O&keywords=victor+suvorov&qid=1645725256&s=books&sprefix=victor+suv%2Cstripbooks%2C91&sr=1-18
Putin — and many Russians I suppose — long for the days when Russia was considered a great power. Some great power. An all time crackpot economic system — an all time oversized police state (never forget J.S. Stalin at its worst) — and what little economic surplus they could eke out (compared to modern countries) wildly squandered on a military that looked ready for a Mars attack.
180 armored divisions — 1st category, 75% active, 25% reserve, ready in a week, 2nd category, 50%/50%, ready in a month, 3rd category, 25%/75%, ready in three months. Components of 90 tank divisions (compared to central NATO’s 30 armored, fully mobilized), active, ready to go any time (!) — could actually man 50,000 tanks in the field. 20,000 jet fighters, 300 plus submarines (mostly conventional).
All out of the pitiful economic base.
Visions of communist Russia’s military behemoth (more like a gigantic Arab army in quality) must be what feeds the historic mirage of “the great power” in Vladimir’s mind. Forgetting the backwards, creaky foundation of that force, he remembers only its crazily over expanded muscle — in his autocratic ignorance.
Is this why Trump insisted that there be no records or recordings of his conversations with Putin? I agree that the idea of Trump giving Putin the go-ahead to invade the Ukraine is a crackpot paranoid one, but that seems to be the common mode of political argument these days.
As Russia attacked Ukraine, Trump again praised Putin
NY Times – Feb 24
I’m a little concerned about reported attacks on Chernobyl. If they bust that concrete dome there’s no telling what kind of hell will rain down all across the northern hemisphere over the next few weeks.
TB,
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-25/russia-captures-chernobyl-ukraine-s-15-other-nuclear-reactors-more-dangerous
There are Bigger Atomic Worries Than Chernobyl in Ukraine
The country’s 15 other reactors — operating with fresh fuel — pose more serious threats to nuclear safety and security.
By
Jonathan Tirone
February 25, 2022, 7:41 AM EST
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Russian forces have taken control of Ukraine’s defunct nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, prompting online speculation that the site of the 1986 meltdown could again be the source of a dangerous radioactive incident. But experts are more worried about Ukraine’s 15 operational atomic reactors.
Chernobyl remains infamous around the world because of the scale of the deadly accident in 1986 that led to many deaths, and subsequent Soviet attempts to cover up the damage and impact. Today the decommissioned plant is at the heart of a vast exclusion zone and a protective sarcophagus encloses the worst-hit of the four reactors…
*
[Along those lines.]
Lesson on copy and paste: Look before you post – my bad.
kale berg
i agree about the crackpot paranoid. buth sides now. Biden is “leaving Russian energy sector alone. tells you how serious he is about stopping this.
we have been planning for this since about 1945, and spent …about 60Trillion dollars?.*..on weapons and we can’t stop a half herted invasion? no need for nukes. a few thousand drones might do the job. might have done the job. in the first half hour.
*estimate based on present day defense budget, present day dollars.
Yeah, let’s by all means start WW III before we have to. What could go wrong?
EMike,
Putin does not want war with US and NATO, but then US and NATO do not want war with Russia. So, here we are and there we go. We have to do sanctions just to help, but winning is up to Ukraine, if and only if, US/NATO will keep Ukraine supplied with arms and fuel. Ukraine must supply the cannon fodder themselves.
Totally agree.
Coberly,
Ordinary Joe will not take liberties with standing treaties. Putin had to take action now while the US is still on its heels from its internal political conflict and, more importantly, before Ukraine has had a chance to sign on to NATO Article 5 protection. With Article 5, then Ukraine is effectively on its on so far as military combat. For so long as Ukraine’s western border with Poland remains open, then there is nothing stopping the West from providing supplies. That is the game board, cyber threats to the West notwithstanding.
Cob,
After the comment eating dog ate my longer comment, then I will just repeat w/o NATO Article 5 protection then there are limits to what Joe can do.
Also, the US through NATO will be putting boots on the ground in Germany and Poland. Also, we are going to bump up defense spending in the US budget for supplying defense supplies to Ukraine. Ironically, Putin may have helped mend the broken fence in US politics that he was hoping to leverage by his timing on attacking Ukraine.
Ron
my comment was not about what we can do now, but what we should have done…long time ago and as the tanks crossed the border. whole different world after the tanks are in kyev.
i don’t know anyting about article five. but there is such a thing as reality. i hear today that Putin is offering (to withdraw?) if Ukrain signs neutrality agreement.
which also could have been done. should have been done. sooner.
stopping the invasion at the border would not have started WW3.
i think (i hope) i am out of comments for a while.
Me too.
Coberly,
[I am so confused – after you said -]
“…what we should have done…long time ago and as the tanks crossed the border…”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Ukrainian_War
“…Russia moved forces into the separatist-controlled regions on 22 February 2022.[89][90][91] This culminated in a full Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February the same year.[92][93][94][95]…”
[Today is only 25 February 2022. If three days ago is now a long time ago, then things are really moving fast now. Now I get that Putin had telegraphed his punch for this invasion and IF we were going to do something then we could maybe have prepared to do it in time – and maybe not – which still begs the question WTF were we to do? As a matter of principle peaceful nations do not prepare for war while attempting to conduct diplomatic proceedings to find a peaceful solution. War preparations constitute a threat. Unlike Afghanistan and Iraq, Russia has more command of its own and adjacent air space than the US can project there from carriers. The only thing worse than the US projecting its military dominance into foreign affairs where it has not been involved is attempting to intervene militarily into the affairs of others and getting our butts kicked for the effort. ]
Ron
we prepared for war with russia in europe startig in 1945. spent a lot of money on defense. we were not prepared for putin in 2022. that’ what i meant by long time ago. sufficient conventional weapons, modernized over time, with plans and agreements with other european countries, including ukraine, as they became available, would have put the best and biggest and most sophisticated air force at the border within the weeks that putin began saber rattling. he would not have invaded of those forces were arrayed. even striking from poland and germany etc was well within our power. i don’t think putins takes would have lasted an hour….attacked inside ukraine border. would have given putin something to think about,
even today, last i checked, europe is still buying russian oil.
i don’t pretend to be a military expert. i do pretend to think our side has played this very badly, unless they have a hidden agenda.
Coberly,
Mostly you were describing what we have with NATO, but ignoring our legacy of agreements with the USSR and Russia not to poke the bear (e.g. detente). Ukraine is not in NATO and Putin wants to keep it that way.
Ron
no. i was describing what we should have had with NATO. what we said we had. what we thought we had. what we did not have when the time came for which it, and our defense budget, was created.
i think Russia has already ignored our agreements.
I haave noticed tha Fox is saying things that sound like what I am saying. I hope people are careful enough to see the differences.
Russian invasion forces penetrate Ukraine on multiple fronts and close in on Kyiv
NY Times – Feb 24
Barkley:
You are the expert here. What could Biden done better to back Putin off an short of physical aggression?
Y’know, Biden could have let Trump stay in office, and then Trump’s pal Putin would never have done what he has done to Ukraine, as I suppose Trump will let us know all too soon.
Vlad’s justification for invading Ukraine is that he has the means and no one will stop him. Vlad has been playing the RoW like a cheap fiddle.
Well, that was about the US and NATO. If anyone can stop Putin now, it will be the Ukrainians themselves. They are fighting for their homes. So, all that we can do is keep their supply lines open and hope that Putin gets his butt handed back to him by a far smaller, but more determined power.
With Russian troops moving on Kyiv, Putin signals that he might negotiate.
NY Times – Feb 25
Russian Troops Enter Kyiv as Moscow Pushes to Topple Ukraine’s Government
NY Times – Feb 25
[I would go further to add that if Putin felt that he was safe moving large numbers of troops from his eastern borders over to his western borders then he had at least tacit approval from Xi.]
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/2/25/ukraine-russia-crisis-will-china-be-putins-economic-lifeline
Ukraine-Russia crisis: Will China be Putin’s economic lifeline?
Beijing has emerged as a key player with the potential to undermine the international pressure campaign against Moscow.
By John Power
Published On 25 Feb 2022
China could be an economic lifeline for Russia as it faces growing isolation and opprobrium on the international stage over its invasion of Ukraine.
As much of the international community rolls out sanctions against Moscow, Beijing has emerged as a key player with the potential to mitigate the economic damage and undermine the pressure campaign.
On Thursday, Chinese customs authorities announced the lifting of import restrictions on Russian wheat, which makes up more than one-quarter of the global supply.
Although the trade deal was sealed during talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in early February, the timing of the announcement – on the day Putin launched a full-scale military assault on its neighbour – was interpreted in some quarters as a deliberate attempt to undermine efforts to hold Moscow accountable…
Under Xi, China is a blot on humanity. Of course he will take dollars over lives. He’s done it his entire life.
The ‘handwriting for this has been on the wall’ ever since Putin took back Crimea.
It was only a matter of time. What is most worrisome is What comes next?
At a train station in Ukraine, many flee west as troops move to the front
Paraphrasing TS Eliot, ‘This is how the world ends. Maybe some bangs. Then some whimpers, then a big bang. Followed by more big bangs.’
“This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a whimper.” ― T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men
President Vladimir Putin said he was open to talks after Kyiv said it would discuss adopting “neutral status.” Earlier, Russia’s foreign minister said Moscow would not negotiate until Ukraine stopped fighting.
Russian Troops Enter Kyiv as Moscow Pushes to Topple Ukraine’s Government
Ukraine ready for talks with Russia on neutral status
Reuters – Feb 25
Ukraine wants peace and is ready for talks with Russia, including on neutral status regarding NATO, Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters on Friday.
run,
I do not see anything Biden could do to stop it. Publicizing accurately what was coming, I was hoping US intel was maybe weong but they weren’t, was useful. But looking at his last couple of speeches it is clear Putin has been set on this for a long time, and that he has been suffering from a lot of delusions, as well as wacko ideas about history. Some of those delusions are being shown to be false, such as that his troops would be welcomed as liberators and the Ukr military would just surrender outright.
The only sanction I think that might have bitten or still could, as Putin clearly does not care a whit about the Russian people or their views, would be to go after his own personal assets abroad and seize them, assuming they can be tracked down, which probably a lot of them cannot be. And many are certainly in Russia where they cannot be, although the Russian stock market and ruble are way down, due to Putin’s own actions not due to any western sanctions.
It is an open question what would be going on if Trump in WH. Probably Putin would have gotten Ukraine, but with less fuss and opposition, given that NATO would be in shreds.
Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. Additionally, the unrecognised state of Transnistria lies across the Dniester on the country’s eastern border with Ukraine. The capital and largest city is Chișinău.
Most of Moldovan territory was a part of the Principality of Moldavia from the 14th century until 1812, when it was ceded to the Russian Empire by the Ottoman Empire (to which Moldavia was a vassal state) and became known as Bessarabia. …
Soviet Russia in 1924 established, within the Ukrainian SSR, a Moldavian autonomous republic (MASSR) on partially Moldovan-inhabited territories to the east of Bessarabia.
In 1940, as a consequence of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Romania was compelled to cede Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union, leading to the creation of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (Moldavian SSR), which included the greater part of Bessarabia and the westernmost strip of the former MASSR (east of the Dniester River).
On 27 August 1991, as the dissolution of the Soviet Union was underway, the Moldavian SSR declared independence and took the name Moldova. … (Wikipedia)
Why does no one ask what would have happened if Mitt Romney had been elected, or John McCain?
Is it because of the distinct-yet-horrible possibility that Trump will vault himself into what he will consider his third term all too soon, in just 21 months.
Don’t imagine I want this to happen, BTW.
Trump has a non-zero probability of vaulting himself
into what he would consider his third term in just 21 months.
we need to forget the politics long enough to give these refugees a home. if you think for one minute that these Ukrainiams would pose a security risk to the US then at the very least you could offer immigration slots for Polish to come here. this offer would give more space for the ukrainians to stay in Poland. Polish and other NATO citizens need free plane tickets to USA and spending money to get restarted here.
Eastern European folk are hard working jovial folk that have added more to this great nation than you realize. We have at least nine million open employment slots waiting and begging for NATO workers to fill them.
Our local, state & federal governments need them, need to do more and fast, more to bring them here.
Write now! Write to your Congressman.
Bless
America
!
Justin:
I tossed you in spam because your post was a mess of Russian and English. I had few (you do piss me off) issues with you previously. If you wish to be at AB, you had better come clean or I will block you forever.
Having worked all over Europe and Asia, my mind is open to good food and beer. And not GD hackers.
Justin
i guess i have had some problems with your opinions too. but i agree that we should help refugees from ukraine or Guatemala. [spell-check insists capitalize Guatemala but not ukraine].
i don’t think we will ever be able to “forget politics” though.
Justin:
Are you still around and kicking? What is going on in eastern Europe?
Zelenskyy welcomes offers to moderate talks with Russia
By The Associated Press
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is welcoming efforts to open talks with Russia.
In a video message Saturday, Zelenskyy said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev offered to help organize talks and that “we can only welcome that.”
Diplomatic efforts to end the bloodshed have so far faltered.
Zelenskyy offered Friday to negotiate a key Russian demand: that Ukraine declare itself neutral and abandon its ambition of joining NATO. But movement to actually advance any diplomacy has appeared to sputter.
https://lasvegassun.com/news/2022/feb/26/zelenskyy-welcomes-offers-to-moderate-talks-with-r/
we need to forget the politics long enough to give these refugees a home. if you think for one minute that these Ukrainiams would pose a security risk to the US then at the very least you could offer immigration slots for Polish to come here. this offer would give more space for the Ukrainians to stay in Poland. Polish and other NATO citizens need free plane tickets to USA and spending money to get restarted here.
Eastern European folk are hard working jovial folk that have added more to this great nation than you realize. We have at least nine million open employment slots waiting and begging for NATO workers to fill them.
Our local, state & federal governments need them, need to do more and fast, more to bring them here.
Write now! Write to your Congressman.
Bless
America
!
The Importance of Debt Creation in the Asset-Debt Macroeconomy.
On 18 February 2022 the Russian Moex valuation was 3500. On 21 February Putin recognized Doneisk and Luhansk as sovereign states. On 22 February Russian troops entered these Ukrainian territories. On 24 February Putin entered the rest of Ukraine on large scale. Within four market trading days 18. 21, 22, 24 Feb and – before the very effective Western banking sanctions put the Ruble in a 28 February 2021 deep freeze and a 30 % freefall against the dollar – the Moex had fallen over 50% to 1690 Moex, below the March 2020 Moex low.. Moex trading stopped on 25 February 2022 and before the ruble currency drop.
In the Asset-debt macroeconomic system, debt creation denial, denial of access to assets, and currency devaluation can obliterate an economy and its asset valuations within hours.. Does Putin, in his current state of mind, view this non-military action as an overt act of war?
What Putin’s awful invasion of a nation recognized as a sovereign by nearly all nations of the UN community has done is to illuminate for the world the interdependency of the global asset-debt macroeconomic system and to provide a better understanding of the game theory in living within that very interdependent system.
Hopefully Putin will be offered a well communicated off ramp to reverse his miltary action and return to a better place before he opts to use examples of his nuclear capabilities. He is deep in the corner with no good options.