Russia's Invasion of Ukraine (Official Thread)
- Thread starter newarkhiphop
- Start date
Average life expectancy for a Russian man is around 66. Shoigu is 66. Might just be his time.
It’s like asking what if Russia joined the G7 to make the G8.
We’d just make a new organization
mr heyzel
All Star
accepting Russia into any organization is a poison pill.
Hood Critic
The Power Circle
There is audacity and then there is trying to touch the defacto leader of the free world. Vlad is a stone cold killer but he's not that stupid or crazy.I mean Biden is about to be in Poland which is directly neighbouring a Ukraine at war. NATO has to bare its fangs so Russia doesnt try any fukkery
Andrew Roth
Wed 23 Mar 2022 08.28 EDT
The lines for sugar in Saratov were hard not to compare to the Soviet era, part of a recent run on Russian staples that have revived fears that the Kremlin’s invasion in Ukraine will lead to a virtual slide back to the shortages or endless queues of the Soviet Union.
Bags of sugar and buckwheat began disappearing from local markets in early March, just a week after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. And when the local mayor’s office announced that it would hold special markets for people to buy the staples last week, hundreds showed up.
“People are sharing tips about where to get sugar. This is crazy,” said Viktor Nazarov, who said that his grandmother had tasked him with visiting the special market last weekend to stock up. “It’s sad and it’s funny. It feels like a month ago was fine and now we’re talking about the 1990s again, buying products because … we’re afraid they’ll disappear.”
After an hour and a half waiting at the city’s main square, he was limited to buying one bag of five kilograms, he said.
Other videos shared on social media have shown fights for sugar in markets in other cities in Russia, all while officials have maintained that the shortage is part of an artificial crisis.
“What is happening with sugar today is aimed at creating a panic mood in society,” said the governor of Russia’s Omsk region, which is facing similar shortages, on Tuesday.
The sudden shortages are a first taste of what is going to be a hard year for Russia, marked by a massive economic contraction, high inflation and an unprecedented cutoff from the world for a globalised economy.
“I think we are steadily going back to a USSR,” said Elina Ribakova, deputy chief economist for the Institute of International Finance, indicating that the Russian government would likely continue to close off from the world economy. “I’m not seeing it as a temporary shock and then we’re going to go back to the liberal democracy and reintegration into the world, unless there is a change in government.”
As Russian troops pressed forward in Ukraine, stores in some big cities have reported shortages of essential products such as tampons. Prices on imported goods, such as Tide detergent, clothing, or toothpastes, have also skyrocketed as the rouble tumbled in value.
For the rise in price on basic goods, the government has blamed panic buying and speculators, saying it has more than enough supply to satisfy demand.
“As in 2020, I want to reassure our citizens now: we fully provide ourselves with sugar and buckwheat. There is no need to panic and buy up these goods – there are enough of them for everyone,” said Viktoria Abramchenko, a Russian deputy prime minister, in a public address.
More worryingly, medicines such as insulin have begun disappearing from pharmacy shelves. Some polls have indicated that Russian doctors are facing shortages of more than 80 medicines at pharmacies, including insulin and a popular children’s anti-inflammation medicine. Once again Russian officials blamed panic buyers, noting that most western pharmaceutical companies have said that they will not limit shipments of essential medicines to Russia.
But as Russia’s economy contracts, inflation is expected to skyrocket as high as 20% this year, said Ribakova. For ordinary Russians, she said, that would mean “poverty. Poverty and desperation.”
“People were so busy with just surviving,” she said. “Getting basic drugs, basic foods, surviving on minimal pensions … people are coming very skinny to this crisis. They don’t have savings, they were barely surviving before, and now they’ll be spending days in queues and lacking access to basic healthcare and drugs.”
Natalia Zubarevich, an expert on the economy of Russia’s regions, noted that the main reason for the recent shortages was not just the damage from sanctions but also the failure of supply chains and hesitancy to make big purchases while the value of the rouble remains so volatile.
“I understand that the instincts of the Soviet-Russian people don’t change,” she said during a recent radio show, noting how sugar was a traditional item to purchase during unsure economic times. “But I’d think like this: If you have a beloved pet, think about where the pet food is made and from what … I was berating myself because I bought too little [medical pet food]. This isn’t sugar. I should have bought more.”
Thousands of employees have been affected as large foreign companies including Ikea and McDonald’s have temporarily exited the market. Meanwhile, local factories and other employers have also begun halting production. Earlier this month, AvtoVAZ, one of the country’s largest automakers, had been forced to halt production of certain lines of vehicles.
And Moscow’s Sheremetyevo, the country’s largest airport, said on Monday that it would have to furlough a fifth of its staff and halt further hiring as passenger traffic slows due to sanctions.
In the longer term, entire sectors of the Russian economy could be at risk, as the lack of access to western component parts could affect everything from air travel to production of consumer goods.
“Economic growth is sacrificed for the sake of this wartime economy,” said Maria Shagina of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs and the Geneva International Sanctions Network.
The additional risks and volatility of operating in Russia now mean that many companies will decide not to reenter the market, she said.
And the recent exodus of the youngest and the brightest of the country makes it unclear who will step in to prepare alternatives.
“It is possible that a couple of years down the road that there will be Russian alternatives for products from Microsoft to tampons but it will take time to produce,” said Ribakova. “And the question is who will produce that.”
Neo. The Only. The One.
THE ONE
How you the head of the army and your daughter out here taking pictures in ukraine colors
Putin got the puters putin on ol boy
But I get the feeling that he wasnt the rat...
THAT right there is a good reason as to why the russians were taking MASSIVE Ls like that... i couldnt wrap my head around it. Im sure theres some level of incompetence and rustiness but 5 major generals kia, hundreds of destroyed or captured vehicles and over 10k dead in a little less than a month?
They got a rat problem and now Putins gonna go into full blown Stalin mode, its gonna get very very ugly inside Russia.
Unprecedented western unison and support+battle frenzied ukrainians that know the home turf × low morale russian conscripts being double crossed at the highest level =
It was evident there was a rat from jump.
Come on, man. Biden and Blinken were reporting Russian plans in real time as they were being planned.
No technical surveillance is THAT good. We had a man on the inside the whole time. I thought that was common sense.
But at that level? shyt if the russians put in trump we already repaid them in kind then
And nah it aint common sense the russians were poppin too much shyt, almost claiming to be airtight. Someone as calculated as putin wouldnt have taken that risk if there was a possible rat in the camp. Dudes cabinet is surrounded by kgb colonels loyal to the agenda. 2014 and the georgia war went nothing like this.
The question now is will these purges affect the war effort for better or worse, and will it cause an atmosphere were theyll either seek a coup or bring in fresh new hardliners that would seek to escalate?
ADevilYouKhow
Rhyme Reason
88m3
Fast Money & Foreign Objects
You don't think the US is that good?
Spidey Man
Superstar
The alphabet boys have been dealing with, analyzing and planning against the Russians since WWII. We just LeBron telling the raptors what plays they gonna run before it happens.
Too bad our intelligence isn't that good in regards to China
Agree. That's also why I don't think this conflict will escalate in a direct confrontation with NATO and that they are most likely reinforcing just in case.