Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 **Media Thread** NO DISCUSSION #2

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  • #401
OPINION
PAUL KRUGMAN
''Laundered Money Could Be Putin’s Achilles’ Heel
Feb. 24, 2022
''By conventional measures the Putin regime doesn’t look very vulnerable, at least in the short run.

True, Russia will eventually pay a heavy price. There won’t be any more pipeline deals; there will be hardly any foreign direct investment. After all, who will want to make long-term commitments to a country whose autocratic leadership has shown such reckless contempt for the rule of law? But these consequences of Putin’s aggression will take years to become visible.''
''But even the invasion of Ukraine probably won’t be enough to persuade Europe to make those sorts of sacrifices. It’s telling, and not in a good way, that Italy wants luxury goods — a favorite purchase of the Russian elite — excluded from any sanctions package.''

''Everyone has heard about giant oligarch-owned yachts, sports franchises and incredibly expensive homes in multiple countries; there’s so much highly visible Russian money in Britain that some people talk about “Londongrad.” Well, these aren’t just isolated stories.

Filip Novokmet, Thomas Piketty and Gabriel Zucman have pointed out that Russia has run huge trade surpluses every year since the early 1990s, which should have led to a large accumulation of overseas assets. Yet official statistics show Russia with only moderately more assets than liabilities abroad. How is that possible? The obvious explanation is that wealthy Russians have been skimming off large sums and parking them abroad.

The sums involved are mind-boggling. Novokmet et al. estimate that in 2015 the hidden foreign wealth of rich Russians amounted to around 85 percent of Russia’s G.D.P. To give you some perspective, this is as if a U.S. president’s cronies had managed to hide $20 trillion in overseas accounts. Another paper co-written by Zucman found that in Russia, “the vast majority of wealth at the top is held offshore.” As far as I can tell, the overseas exposure of Russia’s elite has no precedent in history — and it creates a huge vulnerability that the West can exploit.''


''There are two uncomfortable facts here. First, a number of influential people, both in business and in politics, are deeply financially enmeshed with Russian kleptocrats. This is especially true in Britain. Second, it will be hard to go after laundered Russian money without making life harder for all money launderers, wherever they come from — and while Russian plutocrats may be the world champions in that sport, they’re hardly unique: Ultrawealthy people all over the world have money hidden in offshore accounts.''

What this means is that taking effective action against Putin’s greatest vulnerability will require facing up to and overcoming the West’s own corruption.

Can the democratic world rise to this challenge? We’ll find out over the next few months.''
 
  • #402
Sky News
@SkyNews

8m

Ukraine war: Temperatures set to drop to -10C as thousands flee Russian attacks

Conflict News

@Conflicts

3m

BREAKING: Statement by the Polish government approves the transfer of all of the country's MiG-29 fighter jets to the US, likely as the first stage in a swap deal that will see them transferred to Ukraine.
 
  • #403
  • #404
To catch a saboteur | The Economist
March 8 2022
"Suspicion that infiltrators had entered Kyiv started almost as soon as the invasion. As reports swirled about exchanges of fire in the city centre and sightings of Russian tanks approaching Kyiv, the authorities began to arm civilians – few of whom had ever held a gun before.

Checkpoints were set up all over the city, some just a few hundred metres apart. The soldiers and reservists manning them seemed jumpy and tense, training their guns at any approaching, unmarked vehicle and aggressively questioning the occupants. Drivers began to denote their allegiance to Ukraine with a bright yellow armband or a white square, taped to the windshield. Some aspects of civil defence were even more low tech, such as taking down street signs: in 2019 Russia’s parliament banned soldiers from carrying smartphones, so they have no easy way to find their way around.''

Meanwhile...
''The basement of Ohmatdyt children’s hospital in central Kyiv looks chaotic at first glance. A pair of premature twins lie on mattresses on a dingy stone floor surrounded by brightly coloured blankets. Look closer, however, and it becomes clear that patients have been divided up according to their condition. Each section is administered by appropriate clinicians: cancer-care specialists in one part, critical-care nurses in another. The country’s largest paediatric unit is reeling from the Russian invasion. Yet, to a surprising extent, the hospital is still working – much like Ukraine itself.''

Not only mangling people.. imo.
(4) Vladimir Putin sings 'Blueberry Hill' - YouTube
''Vladimir Putin sang at a charity concert in St Petersburg''
 
  • #405
9m ago14:09
Poland to allow US to use its MIG-29 jets
Poland's foreign ministry has confirmed it is prepared to deploy its MIG-29 jets to the Rammstein Air Base in southwestern Germany.

Here, they will be "placed at the disposal of the government of the United States of America".

A statement adds: "At the same time, Poland requests the United States to provide us with used aircraft with corresponding operational capabilities.

"Poland is ready to immediately establish the conditions of purchase of the planes.

"The Polish Government also requests other NATO Allies – owners of MIG-29 jets – to act in the same vein."

Ukraine-Russia live updates: Girl, 6, 'killed during ceasefire' in Mariupol as report claims peace negotiations 'much more serious' than West says
 
  • #406
Officials are similarly worried that Russia could see supplying military aircraft as direct involvement in the conflict. Polish President Andrzej Duda said last week that his country would not send any planes to Ukraine because it might be seen as interfering in the war, while Russian President Vladimir Putin has signaled that supplying fighter jets would constitute direct involvement.

Proposed plan to send fighter jets to Ukraine hits logistical snag
 
  • #407
Latvia Halts Visa Issuance for Russians - SchengenVisaInfo.com

Feb. 26, 2022
Russian citizens are no longer able to obtain a visa for travel to Latvia, as the latter has halted the issuance of visas for them due to Ukraine’s invasion by Russian forces.
[.....]
The country has also banned three Russian televisions for “war propaganda”.
 
  • #408
  • #409
Hungary will allow NATO troops to deploy in western Hungary and weapons shipments to cross its territory to other NATO member states, according to a government decree published on Monday (7 March).

In February, NATO looked at deploying four new battle groups in southeastern Europe. Some 1,000 troops would each be sent to Bulgaria and Romania, and potentially Slovakia and Hungary, to respond to Russia’s military build-up in Ukraine, diplomats said.

Budapest allows NATO troop deployment in Hungary

Cyprus forbids mooring of five Russian navy ships this week due to Ukraine war
 
  • #410
Unusual Russian Navy Concentration Seen In Eastern Mediterranean - Naval News.

Attacks on Ukrainian hospitals, ambulances increasing rapidly, WHO warns

AAUM2Bc.img
© Reuters/ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO Medical specialists transport an injured woman to an ambulance following recent shelling in Donetsk

image
 
  • #411
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  • #413
U.S.480TH EXPEDITIONARY FIGHTER SQUADRON BOLSTERS NATO'S COLLECTIVE DEFENCE ON EASTERN FLANK
RAMSTEIN, Germany- The American's 480th Air Expeditionary Fighter Squadron (480th EFS), working out of Fetesti Air Base, Romania since February 11, continues to enhance NATO's collective defence posture, supporting NATO's enhanced Air Policing mission with F-16 Fighting Falcons, critical to the cohesive defence of the Alliance.

The 480th EFS is the only U.S. fighter squadron, located in Germany.

U.S.480th Expeditionary fighter squadron bolsters NATO’s collective defence on Eastern flank
 
  • #414
US intel chiefs to Congress: Putin may escalate conflict in Ukraine with no concern for civilian casualties

From CNN's Jeremy Herb and Katie Bo Lillis

The US intelligence community believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin views the conflict in Ukraine as a "war he cannot afford to lose," suggesting he is likely to escalate the conflict without any concern for the number of civilians killed, the US's top intelligence chiefs told Congress.

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said at a congressional hearing Tuesday that US intelligence assesses Putin is unlikely to be deterred by the setbacks the Russian military has faced in Ukraine, suggesting he is doubling down on his campaign to keep Ukraine from joining NATO.


…..AND….

IAEA says it's lost contact with remote data transmission from safeguards monitoring systems at Chernobyl

From CNN's Amy Cassidy in Glasgow, Scotland

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Tuesday that it has lost contact with remote data transmission from safeguards monitoring systems installed at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine, which was taken over by Russian forces last month.


Live updates: Russia invades Ukraine
 
  • #415
‘Putin is angry’: U.S. intel chiefs warn that Russia may escalate attacks

“We assess Putin feels aggrieved the West does not give him proper deference and perceives this as a war he cannot afford to lose. But what he might be willing to accept as a victory may change over time, given the significant costs he is incurring,” Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, told members of the House Intelligence Committee.

CIA Director William Burns, a former ambassador to Moscow, warned Tuesday that Putin now finds himself in an untenable position.

"I think Putin is angry and frustrated right now. He's likely to double down and try to grind down the Ukrainian military with no regard for civilian casualties,” Burns said of Russia’s efforts, which have already resulted in an estimated 2 million Ukrainian refugees.

“But the challenge that he faces — and this is the biggest question that's hung over our analysis of his planning for months now. … He has no sustainable political endgame in the face of what is going to continue to be fierce resistance from Ukrainians,” Burns continued. “So I think that's what his calculus has been. And I think that's the reality of what he faces today."
 
  • #416
@idreesali114

Bumble announces that it is discontinuing its operations in Russia- Reuters.

Pepsico inc announces the suspension of the sale of Pepsi-Cola, and global beverage brands in Russia, including 7up and Mirinda- Reuters
 
  • #417
Ukraine says it sank the Russian warship that attacked Snake Island: 'We f------ hit them!' | Fox News
skynews-map-ukraine-refugee_5698329.jpg

''People in Ukraine have been seeking refuge in counties including Poland and Hungary

Poland has taken in the most - more than a million - but one of Europe's poorest nations, Moldova, has also helped about 80,000.''

Rows of camp beds line a sports hall at one centre in the capital, Chisinau, as volunteers look after several hundred refugees from Ukraine's Roma community.

Ukraine war: Refugees escape besieged cities with traumatic stories - 'The house is destroyed, my husband is dead, I know nothing about my child' | World News | Sky News
''A Ukrainian woman has said her husband's body was trapped for days after their house was destroyed - and that she now doesn't know if her daughter is dead or alive.

The woman fled the besieged city of Mariupol, which has been cut off from water, food and power.

"We were shelled, the house is destroyed, my husband is dead," she said, without giving her name.

"They couldn't get his body out for three days. When we were evacuated it took three days''

"The lads who led us out promised to bury him and would later tell me where."
She broke down as she admitted: "My child is on the other side of the city - I know nothing about her - is she even alive?"
 
  • #418
  • #419
French Aircraft Carrier Now Supporting NATO

The French Navy (Marine Natiionale) aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and its air wing has started supporting NATO's enhanced Vigilance Activities in the Black Sea region following a short logistical stop in Cyprus.

French Aircraft Carrier Now Supporting NATO - Naval News

@French_CSG
set sail again yesterday after a few days of port call in Cyprus. #Clemenceau22 continues, but the mission evolves to adapt to the current geopolitical situation. The flexibility of the carrier vessel nuclear and her escort is once again a major asset.

https://twitter.com/MarineNationale.../french-aircraft-carrier-now-supporting-nato/
 
  • #420
'Free of charge': Poland gives Ukraine more than two dozen MiG fighter jets

That decision to transfer the planes to Ramstein, a U.S. Air Force base in Germany, represents an attempt to sidestep the risk of Russia regarding Poland as a belligerent in the war in Ukraine.

“We are not sending any jets to Ukraine because that would open a military interference in the Ukrainian conflict,” Polish President Andrzej Duda said last week. “We are not joining that conflict. NATO is not a party to that conflict.”

“At the same time, Poland requests the United States to provide us with used aircraft with corresponding operational capabilities,” the foreign ministry said. “Poland is ready to immediately establish the conditions of purchase of the planes.”
 
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