Here we go again-Ukraine once again

[Jimbuna]

[Jimbuna]

Putin 'given two or three years to live' and is 'losing his eyesight'

Russian president Vladimir Putin has apparently been given a maximum of three years to live by doctors.

A number of unconfirmed reports in recent weeks have suggested the 69-year-old president’s health has been deteriorating quickly.

And now an officer from the Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia has claimed Putin ‘has no more than two to three years to stay alive’ due to ‘a severe form of rapidly progressing cancer’.

Messages apparently seen by FSB defector Boris Karpichkov from an unidentified Russian spy also claim Putin is losing his sight and suffering from headaches.

The Russian officer told The Sunday Mirror: ‘We are told he is suffering from headaches and when he appears on TV he needs pieces of paper with everything written in huge letters to read what he’s going to say.

‘They are so big each page can only hold a couple of sentences. His eyesight is seriously worsening.’

The spy also said Putin’s limbs are ‘now also shaking uncontrollably’.

It has recently been claimed Putin may be forced to hand over control of Russia as he disappears to have cancer surgery, according to an insider.

The president allegedly already delayed the operation which was scheduled for the second half of April, but it is apparently set to happen ‘in the near future’.

Footage from earlier this year appeared to show his hand ‘shaking uncontrollably’, while he also appeared to grip a table for support.

Oscar-winning film director Oliver Stone, who spent two years shadowing Putin, claims the president had cancer but thinks he has overcome it.

But a Russian oligarch with close ties to the Kremlin recently reportedly confessed to a Western colleague Putin is ‘very ill with blood cancer’ in a secret recording.

The billionaire, whose name has been withheld for his safety, was allegedly secretly taped in mid-March expressing his contempt for the ‘crazy’ Russian president’s invasion of Ukraine.

In the recording, obtained by New Lines Magazine, he said: ‘[Putin] absolutely ruined Russia’s economy, Ukraine’s economy and many other economies — ruined [them] absolutely.

‘The problem is with his head… One crazy guy can turn the world upside down.’

Speculation over the nature of his possible illnesses has varied from Parkinson’s disease to cancer of the thyroid, a gland in the neck that controls heart rate and body temperature.

Paranoia, impulsive behaviour and delusions are known symptoms in patients with advanced Parkinson’s.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...out&li=AAnZ9Ug

[Jimbuna]

[Cybermat47]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

AFAIK those lawmakers were members of the communist party.

Ironically, some of the most vocal western supporters of Putin are pro-Stalin and pro-CCP communists, AKA 'tankies'.

Having interacted with tankies, I can guarantee that they'll continue to support Putin and accuse these lawmakers of being CIA agents

[Jimbuna]

Fighting in the Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk is "very fierce" and the "situation is very difficult", the regional governor says.

Russian troops are advancing after entering the outskirts of the key eastern city, according to Serhiy Haidai.

Severodonetsk is a key Russian objective as part of its goal of capturing all of the eastern Luhansk region, but Ukrainian forces are mounting stiff resistance.

Moscow says its top priority is eventually to take all of the Donbas - a former industrial region made up of Luhansk and another area called Donetsk.

EU leaders will meet later to discuss a total ban on Russian oil imports, but Hungary's opposition remains a likely obstacle.

Ukraine's president will address the EU summit and push for new sanctions against Russia.

[Skybird]

The war is going well for Putin at the moment, for almost 2 weeks. The sanctions don't bother him, the losses also not, the army knocks everything down and reaches locally numerical superiority of 7:1 to 11:1, I read. The advance is slow but steady.

The Russians have obviously learned their lesson. Unfortunately.

But whether that translates into "war success" in the long run remains to be seen. After all, what territory and cities they conquer, they must then be able to hold, against Ukrainians who resort to asymmetric warfare and partisan warfare.

The narrative, according to which the advantages slowly shift back in favor of Ukraine the longer the war lasts, because they are getting more and more fire supeirority, I also do not believe uncritical, because this requires the delivery of heavy weapons, fast and steadily. The USA may stay involved - but Europe? France, Germany? Deutschland has not delivered anything at all for 10 weeks, not even light weapons. Paris and Berlin seem willing to accept a Russian dictatorial peace. They could betray Ukraine by forcing it to sign one through lack of arms deliveries - for lack of ammunition and weapons. Hopefully, Washington will steer against that. And hopefully the war will be over before there is the next presidential election in the uSA. And these start already a year before the election date, paralysing policy-making significantly.

It is once again a sad fact: without America, nothing works. An indictment of the Europeans.

But even if Ukraine "wins" in the end, it will have to deal with a destroyed industrial structure in the east and severe damage in countless cities and throughout the country. How this will continue, I dare not predict. The global economic and financial environment is deteriorating rapidly and drastically. The ukraine can maybe win - and still lose.

There is one winner. And that is surprisngly neither China, nor Russia - but America. China is stumbling, tackled by its superman Xi and his stubborn totalitarianism, covid lockdowns and lurching economy, its not material but verbal support for Russia and its aggressiveness in Asia, which leads to a strengthening of resistance in the region, giving China visibly problems, which a year or two ago no one wanted to suspect. Russia has prevented the modernization of its economy for more decades to come, is a pariah, ultimately abandoned by China, which only pays lip confessions. Europe - has left itself behind. The U.S., on the other hand, is once again pushing its global dominance, economically, diplomatically, militarily, even financially. It is unbelievable! And in this environment: good.

A German analyst in an editorial this morning interpreted the massive Russian numerical superiority in the Donbass battles as a sign of military weakness, and I think he is right. He argued that a ratio of 3:1 to 4:1 is expected for successful offensives, and that if the Russians are now massing 7:1 to 11:1, it probably means that they estimate the combat strength of their units to be so low that this enormous over-massing of forces is needed to compensate. Given the terroitorial challenges Russia faces elsewhere in its empire, the huge loss of prestige and the obvious combat weakness of the Russian army is another long-term problem that could cause Russia headaches in the future. If others no longer take you seriously, how can you deter them from challenging you?

[Reece]

Good news about Putin's health!!

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Reece

Good news about Putin's health!!

In one way. In another way it means we are not dealing with a rationally thinking man, but an irrational paranoid with plenty of weapons. We should not wish for him being ill, but we should wish for him simply dropping dead right now, right in place. Maybe the FSB arranges some surprise during the next surgery.

[Skybird]

There are reports mounting that seem to show that the White House is apparently very positive about delivering MRSL batteries, though with ammunitions of shorter ranges of only 70km, not the longest range ammo with over 300km - a safeguard against the Ukraine striking deep into Russian territory.

I think every russian convoy on Russian soil heading for the ukraine and every Russian base on Russian soil supporting the logistics for the Ukraine war are valid targets for Ukraine.

Russia started to play with fire, so it should get its fingers burnt. Its fingers, not just the fingers of the other.

70 km is nice, but it puts the batteries more at risk than 300km. It means the units must travel more and longer before reaching firing positions, and that gives Russian intel/recce more time to track the movement. Once fired, it of course plays no role, since then the unit's missile arcs got detected by radar and the paltforms must bug out ASAP, means: fast. These platforms will be top priority targets for the Russians, they will want to track them down and take them out at all cost.

[Dargo]

The Russian company Gazprom will stop supplying gas to the Netherlands after today. This is reported by gas trader Gasterra, which is owned by Shell, Esso Nederland and the Dutch state.

Gasterra does not want to comment on the payment demands of Gazprom. These are a result of a decree drawn up by Russian President Putin on payment in rubles. As a result, the Dutch company will not be supplied with 2.0 billion m3 of gas in the period May 31 (tomorrow) to September 30, 2022. The company says it has anticipated this by purchasing gas elsewhere.

Gasterra gives two reasons for not meeting the payment demands. By paying in rubles, the company would violate EU sanctions against Russia. In addition, it would have to open bank accounts in Moscow. These are governed by Russian law, which would be too great a risk, according to Gasterra.

[Jimbuna]

So, as of today, which EU countries are paying in Roubles and have therefore opened a Russian bank account?

[Dargo]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

So, as of today, which EU countries are paying in Roubles and have therefore opened a Russian bank account?

That depends on when their gas contract needs to be renewed, and you now see only the smaller importers getting cut off, do not think Putin wants to kill the golden goose.

[Jimbuna]

I was under the impression all contracts had been terminated and would only be renewed on Putins terms.

[Dargo]

Originally Posted by Jimbuna

I was under the impression all contracts had been terminated and would only be renewed on Putins terms.

He could have said it like that, but Gazprom acts differently.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Dargo

He could have said it like that, but Gazprom acts differently.

I was under the impression everyone and everything in Russia does as Putin instructs them.