sburke

Russian state bank VTB blames all of 2022 losses on sanctions -CEO (yahoo.com) MOSCOW, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Andrei Kostin, CEO of Russia' No. 2 bank VTB on Tuesday blamed sanctions for the lender's entire 2022 losses, a rare acknowledgement that Western efforts to punish Moscow over the Ukraine conflict have crippled parts of Russia's financial sector. The West blocked several major Russian banks' access to the international SWIFT payments system soon after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year, with dominant lenders Sberbank and VTB forced to shutter operations across much of Europe. The sanctions hammer fell for VTB sooner than most domestic rivals and, being heavily exposed to international markets and with more than 20% of its loan portfolio in foreign currency, the bank was one of more than 100 loss-making lenders as the sector's profits slumped around 90% in 2022.

it is George Santos.

He's also got quite a history to show the type of person he is. he's not the great and powerful Oz, just a two bit thug with dreams of grandeur and a freakin mountain size chip on his shoulder. Masha Gessen has written some good stuff on his history. I don't necessarily agree with all the points in this interview, but it is definitely an interesting perspective tracing Putin's reaction from the western response to Serbia in Kosovo. Masha Gessen: What the Media Gets Wrong About Putin | Video | Amanpour & Company | PBS

yeah I was wondering what in the world that comment meant when most here feel exactly the opposite. My guess he meant that Russia would have occupied Ukraine in the absence of western support. The problem with that is assuming that occupying meant Russia would win when the reality is Russia would have been stuck with a massive insurgency. It may have taken much longer, but in the end Ukraine would still win.

umm .. so do quite a few other folks here many of whom have serious credentials on doing so. Unlike myself who is purely a casual student and gamer. Could you provide some credentials that would elevate yours beyond my couch potato observer level?

there is only one way to reply to China. Float our own balloon over Shanghai.

what are the odds of UA missing a mech buildup by Russia for not just the mech units but their logistical tail on a scale to make any difference?

once again you miss that ultimate weapon.. the parking garage! Even Deep throat knew they were the best places for secrets 50 years ago.

but you should have fruit on your cereal. A nice cab would take care of that.

watch your mouth. Tucker is already calling for us to invade your country. You are walking on eggshells. You were warned!

any word on a BDA for this strike? Ukraine hits concentration of Russian troops at railway station in occupied Ilovaysk (yahoo.com) The invaders’ authorities claimed the station was attacked with multiple rocket launchers by the Ukrainian side. They also confirmed that the railway infrastructure was damaged, but they gave no information about the number of casualties in the attack. Ukrainian officer and blogger, Anatoliy Shtefan, shared on Telegram the Russian reports about the strike. In particular, they wrote that military equipment and personnel were being unloaded at the moment of attack.

Ruh Roh again https://www.yahoo.com/news/russian-soldiers-bring-weapons-home-185926967.html

Just a small piece of anecdotal info from a group I donate to on the intensity of the fighting. https://manage.kmail-lists.com/subscriptions/web-view?a=QYH7Cc&c=01G4T82FWR9PYYWN06K2P651A9&k=06a9247b090166919bc1258ad2776b88&m=01GQJG0SCVGCHKE5JTCSMKFE2Z&r=UcNiZ8i

can we expect to see him in drag soon as well?

ruh roh Russians Urged to Keep Kids Indoors—as Wagner’s Freed Convicts Come Home (yahoo.com)

considering the only trip he has made out of country was to speak to a joint session of congress, i doubt he made the trip for some corporate folks. If anything, he'd tell them to come to Kiev.

I'm in favor of them using this method. heck they should expand it to any soldier who complains. About the weather, lack of winter clothing, the camo pattern on their uniforms, the price of gas, developments on real housewives of Leningrad. whatever. Just shoot more Russians.

by our doctrine yes, Problem is the UA isn't using our doctrine.

ohhhh the one that comes with the "brain in a jar" bobble head?

As I noted, I don't necessarily disagree. I am definitely way out of my depth here so bear with me. If western contractors are running logistics, I would think that means a couple things. 1 fairly decent size logistics centers considering the scale of this war. 2 some pieces fairly close to the front to facilitate recovery and replacements/repair that doesn't necessarily require going back to a depot. Given the above I don't think the scale of contractors is small. Any idea on the size of personnel requirements to implement an effort like this? One other note. While the folks who have gone to fight in Ukraine haven't been facing any legal issues yet, as I understand it there may actually be an issue with the legality. If you up that scale for contractors participating in the war effort with a wink'wink from the gov't that needs to be more explicitly clear.

The US army was in Iraq. I wouldn't be so sure the reaction in the US would track the same in this case. Not saying I wouldn't like that option to be available to help scale up UA capabilities, just not sure of the political calculus.

because Russia is a direct combatant. What happens when Russia hits one of those depots and kills a dozen civilian contractors from the US or UK? Will it spark a political backlash to either commit troops or withdrawal support? Is that a risk worth taking right now?

NATO boots on the ground in any capacity is a non-starter.

clearly a training ground of UK mercenaries equipped with Bradleys!