‘Frustrated’ Putin Throwing Temper Tantrums as Russia Struggles in Ukraine

I hope she has a huge tantrum. Big enough to trigger a fatal stroke.

Sounds like the way Trump reacted to every little criticism and setback. Leadership!

Hitler also grew crazier and more paranoid post-Stalingrad when it became clear the end was nigh.

That was why the Junkers tried to knock him off.

Maybe the Oligarchs will be more successful.

He must be livid that he can't even capture the capital after gee...almost a week?!

I could never say this for four years about who I wanted to say it about, but I can say it about Putin:

I pray to CHRIST that someone puts a bullet in his fucking brain. The VAST difference for the better of this would being without him would be remarkable.

Take this motherfucker OUT!

What would happen if he is killed? What happens? What's the process and who comes to power? Even if the next guy is better (it would be hard not to be), is he "good"?

Even many of his fellow Russians don't like Putin. Right now he is the most unpopular man in the world!!

He has always been evil and crazy...he poisons people who speaks up against him...I think he's probably poisoned thousands...we won't know because they control everything over there...

He has always been unhinged...he's a crazy motherfucker.

When I visited St. Petersburg, Russia, about four years ago, a Russian tour guide mentioned not liking Putin. It really surprised me that she would be saying that. I can’t imagine she was the only one.

New York Ranger Artemi Panarin is not on team Vladimir Putin July 19 2019

On what he thinks about Putin:

“I think he no longer understands what’s right and what’s wrong. Psychologically, it’s not easy for him to soberly judge the situation…

I am not saying this because I see any kind of profit for myself in this. I want the people to live better, for teachers and doctors to have better salaries. I don’t want some ballerinas (Panarin is referring to the ultra-patriotic former dancer Anastasia Volochkova) to say, ‘If you don’t like it here, you can leave!’ This is raving madness! Everyone has left already, all the brains are gone. This shouldn’t be happening.”

On Putin’s “personality cult”:

“The mistake in our society is treating him like a superhuman. He is a regular person, like us, and he is serving us… Yes, to be a president you have to be smart and enlightened, but our biggest mistake, among many, is thinking that we have nobody better than Vladimir Vladimirovich. This is nonsense. How many million people live here? No question there is someone better.”

Adults who throw tantrums are pyschos. They shouldn't be in charge of ANYTHING. I agree with R5. From your fingers to the Hands of the Fates, dear R5. May the have some mercy on us all.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

He will end up nuking the place and WWIII will commence. He’s not going to stop expanding.

He has always been sort of a psycho, but now he has become a raging lunatic.

I guess him having some severe, probably even fatal disease isn't that much deviated from the truth. Perhaps he had Covid and suffers from Long Covid, messing up his brain, turning him into a full-on loon.

He might also be scared to death of getting assassinated as karma can be quite a bitch indeed . . .

Struggles? Russia is blitzing the Ukraine. Putin is no dummie . He’s got more up his sleeve

Democracies don't usually kill their former leaders. They just vote them out of office. That has to help with any paranoia. So that's a plus for democracy.

They take Kiev today

It's funny. Does Team Putin think that if they take Kiev, the sanctions will just stop?

I don't think they can take Kiev in a day. Russian casualties are no joke. It seems between 2-5K Russian casualties in a week. Taking Kiev will double that.

NATO gets involved- WW3

Putin has the oil

Boris is here. Morning, troll.

Russia is bucking up

[quote]NATO gets involved- WW3

Oh, pipe down. Ukraine is not a NATO member, so they're not going to get involved more than what they're basically doing now.

Russia is trolling the world .they know what they are doing.

R24, the world is putting a lot of pressure to send in troops. Plus, Ukraine just applied for EU membership.

Putin doesn't have *all* the oil.

BTW - I heard elsewhere, you know who's taking a big hit from the sanctions and other financial actions? The Russian Mafia. The value of funds held in the Obtshack (a weird Common Fund for Russian/Baltic organized crime) is said to be down by 50% since the invasion. Restrictions on ports and airports have blocked the Mafia's ability to trade globally (this is a cash-driven business, as you can imagine). They can't pay off politicians or racketeers the way they normally do.

And, moreover, many of the Russian Mafia groups are said to have parked their cash in big Russian companies, and they can't sell their shares to raise capital right now. It's upended business-as-usual, which is a major pain in the ass for them, so if there's some way of ending the war quickly and relaxing sanctions, the Mafia would not oppose.

I think this kind of the thing was the real message of the sanctions: "Get rid of him."

Earlier today, Russia's Central Bank blocked ruble interest payments on sovereign bonds (EFZs) held by foreign entities (I linked to a Globe and Mail article below--it's also written up in Bloomberg but that's all paywalled).

Is that technically a default? I'm not sure, but it's sure as hell going to price in a risk premium for the foreseeable future that will make it extremely difficult for Russia to borrow on the global bond market. That's a terrible burden for any economy. But, you know, Putin didn't have to make it like this.

Thing is when (hopefully not) he gets Ukraine it’s going to be hell to occupy it. I can’t imagine the hatred the Ukrainians will have towards the Russians who destroyed their country and they’ll never stop attacking them in the cities. It’s not just going to fold nicely into a province of the New Soviet Union. And it’s huge. It’s the size of NYC to Chicago horizontally. Plus Russia is pretty much broke, isn’t it? I don’t see how they can take on doing this to another country after this, but Putin is nuts.

I hope that at 68 he’s one of the last to long for the “glory days” of the Soviet era. People younger don’t have any recollection or nostalgia for it.

The Russians are slowly strangling the cities, but too slowly and painfully. It's close to nightfall there now, effectively a week after the invasion started, and the Russian army is still struggling to encircle Kyiv and take Kharkiv. They have some limited control in the south, but they expected to have toppled the Ukrainian government by last weekend. This reality and economic hardship will soon start sinking in in the Motherland.

Jeangenie, I don't know if it's technically a default, but the economic writers I've skimmed this morning are treating it as tantamount to a default. And so presumably will the markets.

Putin going full Soviet Union. Now trying to sop people from leaving the country.

Thing is, will these siege tactics they're switching to really work? They're in effect the beginning stage of an occupation, and no one sees a costly occupation—with resistant population—going well for the Russians, even if/when they replace the government with pro-Russians. The Ukraine has about a third of the population of Russia, so if Russia does annex the country—Putin's goal—they'll basically have 25% of their population up in arms against them.

Putin doesn't know any other way but "full Soviet," which is partly why this tragic spectacle is so pathetic. He is lashing out from a 20th century playbook.

Funny that Telegram, as mentioned in the airport article, is where all the right wing nutjobs in the US hang out and it's Russian owned. What a strange coincidence.

For anyone keeping track, dogecoin is now worth more than the Russian ruble.

It gives me no pleasure to say it.

I'd like to see Alexei Navalny take his place.

Putin's face is clearly increasingly puffy. Can any of DL's medical-field posters remark on what this might indicate?

Steroid use would be my guess R37. That might explain the sudden aggression and poor decisions but I'm not in the medical field.

Not unlike Trump, eventually the money men that propped up Putin for years will decide at some point he's more trouble than he's worth - best to get rid of him & get a new face that will do the same shit, but sneakier. That said, I hope Putin doesn't go quietly & takes down all the people in his employe (ie. the republican party) to show the world he's in control of the US

My fear is that he has some terminal illness and will burn the world down with him. The same fear I had with the clown.

Puffy Face Putin may have had plastic surgery. Just a guess.

Were his eyes always uneven? Stroke?

No one has gone Gavrilo Princip yet. That’s because, at heart, Russia believes what Putin does. The Russian people are preaching anti-war - ie, Ukrainian surrender, because believe Ukraine is “theirs”.

Dumb q: since Ukranians have taken hold of fighters in Poland, why aren't they firing on the convoy slowly approaching Kyiv, or is it just a matter of training & time?

R37, perhaps corticosteroids due to some autoimmune disease. Or Cushing's syndrome. An interesting side effect of Cushing's:

[quote] Brain changes such as cerebral atrophy may occur. This atrophy is associated with areas of high glucocorticoid receptor concentrations such as the hippocampus and correlates highly with psychopathological personality changes.

Well, well, well...

Rapid weight gain Moodiness, irritability, or depression Muscle and bone weakness Memory and attention dysfunction Osteoporosis Diabetes mellitus Hypertension Immune suppression Sleep disturbances Menstrual disorders such as amenorrhea in women Infertility in women Impotence in men Hirsutism Baldness Hypercholesterolemia

Sad!

Sad last days.

Russian soldiers speak.

Bad optics for Pootie.

This is from four years ago. Putin will never turn these people into obedient little sheep. He'll have to resort to genocide or prison.

This is the product of failure in early housebreaking and socialization.

Get your puppy accustomed to "going" on a regular schedule. Train your puppy to interact with other pets and humans; the world will thank you for doing so.

Put a leash on that puppy!

Re Cortosteroids -- a close friend had to take it for a few months to get a pancreatic problem under control, and very soon turned into a raging maniac, out of control scary. I had to cease communication until she was fully weaned off it.

I hope Putin gets so worked up that he drops dead of a heart attack

If the massive protest a few months ago over Alexei Nalvany (sic?) were any indication, the Russian people are ready to replace him. He made a huge mistake imo. He showed weakness and fear, the same way he does with elections. It is weak to be afraid of a fair election. It shows fear and weakness to imprison your competition.

Putina - Bring me the ax!

Putana was so afraid of Hillary that he hacked 4 states' voting machines so she'd lose.

R59- It is said he feared her above any other politician.

[quote] For anyone keeping track, dogecoin is now worth more than the Russian ruble.

Day-old shit is worth more than the ruble.

I agree

Yup, steroids are trouble. I saw a very happy, mild-mannered, humorous octogenarian become a raving lunatic when she had to take them. She became a totally different person. After she was done she said, “I didn’t like being on them much.”

[quote] “They say those who are destined to be hanged are not going to drown,” said Putin, when asked by Stone if he worried about assassination attempts.

Well, at least he seems to be aware of his fate, LOL.

Shhh, r52!

The genocide isn't scheduled until April!

Putin's biggest fear.

Pieces of shit dragging away a Russian granny who is protesting the war!

R67- That is despectable and shameful. What tough soldiers they are, manhandling a little old lady.

[quote]r/RussiaLago - Putin Fears Being Killed Like Gaddafi

Don't bring none, won't be none.

R69- Exactly. Fuck around and find out.

How many people are protecting Putin day and night at the moment? How paranoid is he now? Is he able to sleep at all? Dictators live in fear especially when they anger the entire world.

R71- He also has a pathological fear of catching covid. He has isolated himself from almost everyone except a few sycophants. Isolated, paranoid, angry and humiliated, cornered. I sincerely hope one of his own takes him out soon.

Putin, in other words, literally embodies the Platonic idea of the tyrant, as outlined in Book IX of Plato's Republic: reaping the fruits of his injustice and greed, he lives in fear and misery, never genuinely enjoying a moment of life no matter what luxury and pleasure he has.

Is Putin going to impose martial law in Russia?

Putin and trump are brothers from another mother...

Spawned from a jackal.

[quote]Is Putin going to impose martial law in Russia?

How would they notice?

He has caused so much misery to the people of Ukraine. I've seen reporters talking to some of them and it is so sad. One women was crying saying she has no food for her baby. Another was asked what message she'd like to send people watching and she said to cherish your life. This has to stop.

He truly has. Putin has caused much misery, death, and suffering in his lifetime. If I were him in would be terrified of karma, my evidential downfall. Putin and the clown msjee wish I could believe in a burning hell.

R79- I would be terrified. Make me wish. Sigh. If only we could have an edit option before our nuclear annihilation.

It's good to know that most human beings feel empathy and hopefully those vibes will be sent somewhere into the ether to change things.

I think whatever illness VP has is fatal, say 2-3 years. He wanted to rebuild the Soviet empire to cement his legacy.

Andrei Kozyrev, Russia's foreign minister under Yeltsin (who now lives in the US), is speaking out forcefully against the Putin regime.

R83- That is major, isn't it?

He is destroying Ukraine. These people have nothing to go back to

Sadly, I believe that's his objective like razing Allepo and other Syrian cities. The pictures of devastation there are unreal and most of the west hasn't seen them. Miles and miles of bombed and burned out apartment buildings.

If I can't have her, no one will!

For the record; a lot of people said that Syria should not go in accounted for. For how long can they pass the buck?

Well, he’ll bomb Ukraine to shreds but the international community will LAVISH capital in rebuilding it, because it has become the moral rallying point of Western democracies.

Russia is going to have to ask (read:beg) for any rollback of sanctions, and I bet that won’t come without conditions. The country will have to earn its way out of economic isolation. Incrementally. The longer he goes on like this, the worse it will go for Russia.

He's olde skool and no match for the new breed of woke cancellers, who will dog him to madness like a horde of bees.

Those conditions to lift any Russian sanctions is a complete de-nuclearization of this freshly minted rogue nation. The only, the single absolute instrument, that Putin has is his nukes. If not, we would have have taken Russia down immediately. Now the rest of civilized Nations need to take that instrument away. This will prove to be the only way forward.

Fuck that R89. “Woke cancellers” have nothing on this situation. Putin is no match for a ruthless, cold blooded clutch of mafiya types and billionaire oligarchs who are losing patience with this bitch.

These last few comments are funny. If Putin becomes the proverbial wounded animal backed into a corner, he won't think twice about using nuclear weapons. The first would be exploded somewhere over the North Sea between Britain and Denmark...to demonstrate that he actually would do it and to see how the west reacts.

The next phase would be to martyr Russia and nuke the west. Everyone with real insight into Putin who's been asked say this is what will happen. Fiona Hill. Masha Gessen. Etc.

Oh and btw? His first target is believed to be New York City, which he views as the center of the western world.

The Ukrainians should send a few misses into Putin's palace and bring the war to his front door.

What’s a leppo?

I have trouble believing that in the Russian government and military, anyone but Putin thinks capturing and holding Ukraine is of any strategic advantage. The sting of an independent Ukraine allied with the EU, the warm fuzzy dream of a Greater Russia—they can't outweigh the huge cost of holding down a country a full third their size (in population) that's rebelled against them twice, now three times, in the past 17 years. It would be as if the US invaded and tried to hold a neighboring country of 110 million angry, resistant people (e.g. Mexico). And that's even aside from the economic sanctions.

The sooner they depose Putin and make some excuse to pull out of Ukraine, the sooner they avoid becoming a sad Chinese client state.

Aleppo=Syria.

R96 Putin wants to bring back the Soviet empire taking Ukraine is the first step in recreating the Soviet Union. He thought there wound be very little resistance and the world would look the other way.

R93. Exactly! So why are we behaving like eunuchs? The most obvious answer is we value our own asses and to hell with dead Ukrainians. I.e. better having them dead rather than me and mine. A massive PR stunt by western media to assuage our own cowardice. The most cynical view admittedly, but one we can’t yet rule out.

Yeah, R98. Does anyone else in the Russian military or oligarchy think that goal is worth descending into impoverished, second-tier status?

Regarding nukes - is there still surface to air defense, or is that not a thing? I mean, there's no real way to stop a nuke once it's been launched, right?

[quote] Oh and btw? His first target is believed to be New York City, which he views as the center of the western world.

She’s RIGHT — we are definitely the center!

Disinformation.

Running out the door but the Reddit sub r/Ukraine has a list of non-profits helping people and animals both within and those leaving. The Kyiv zoo animals are unable to be evacuated and I’m losing sleep over their safety. 😔

Anti-ballistic missile defenses. We need to get them ready ASAP.

In fact, this is the very reason why Puttie doesn’t want to be surrounded by NATO nations. It’s because they can surround Russia with ACBMs (anti-intercontinental ballistic missiles) that can take out Russian nukes as thy leave their launching pads. Old School rules!

What is it with Putin's generation and type (MAGAty) where they are obsessed with their Glory Days and the fucking past to the point where they are willing to destroy shit and kill people in a doomed attempt to drag everyone back to the past?

REALITY CHECK!!! You can't do that! You can't go back in fucking time. You're going to get old and die, your ass is going to get fat, you're going to get wrinkles, your damn empire isn't going to stay the same.

I would pity these sad fucks yearning for their salad days but they are obliterating not just Ukraine but any hope of our species advancing in any material way.

R98 re population -- I read Russia has a pop of around 150,000,000. Are you adding in Belarus and other areas?

R108, if you're referring to me (R96), Russia has a population of about 144 million, according to what I find on Wikipedia and other online sources. Ukraine has about 44 million, so roughly a third. In terms of population, Russia trying to absorb and control Ukraine would be trying to control 25% of your population, all concentrated in the same region, who don't want you there.

I'm certainly no expert, but based on the discussion between Macron & Putin in the NYT today, it seems as if Putin *wants* to pull the west into a wider war & thinks nothing of obliterating Ukraine in the process. It's scary shit because you get the sense that Putin doesn't care about the long term implications for Russia - maybe he doesn't think he's got a long term future - he'll destroy anything and everything because he can.

Yeah, and also he was trying to intimidate Macron and everybody, the way he's been doing since the beginning of this débacle and before. Sorry, Poot, that shit's old. The emperor has no clothes and is stuck moobs-deep in Dnieper mud. Blow up Ukraine all you want, you won't get your markets and currency back—quite the opposite.

[quote] What’s a leppo?

One of the Marx Brothers, Rose.

How it's going in Russia

Another reason Putin and the oligarchs want to take control of Ukraine is the large deposits of natural minerals consisting of oil, coal, titanium and lithium plus it has rich farmland, they are a major producer of wheat and corn.

I haven't heard him make any new remarks about nukes, TG. I don't want a full body x-ray times a billion.

If Ukraine somehow manages to prevail over Russia, I see a few things happening:

1. semi-autonomous Russian republics like Dagestan and Chechnya will declare outright independence, regardless of how loyal their present (and possibly future) leaders might be to Putin, if they think it'll get them off the hook and shed the postwar Russian economic albatross hanging around their necks. I specifically wouldn't put it past Kadyrov to try and make himself the first and most equal of regional warlords of his entire neighborhood... claiming he's as much of a victim as everyone else, then consolidating his power. If the US humors them, Russia will shatter. If the US tries bringing them to justice, they'll continue clinging to Putin and Russia. We'll have to decide what's more important... vanquishing Russia and watching with glee as it tears itself apart (possibly, into one or more new countries that won't necessarily be good news, either), or pushing for justice to prosecute individuals like Kadyrov at the risk of strengthening Russia's resolve to hunker down and persist.

2. The "Russian" (speaking) parts of Ukraine will rejoin Ukraine IF it agrees to a more confederation-like organization that gives them pretty much everything they want, if only because it'll subsequently get them free admission to the EU that they'd never otherwise qualify for in anyone's lifetime. One point that's been lost in the news over the past week is that the breakaway provinces is that they SPEAK Russian, but most of them still consider themselves to be more Ukrainian than Russian. The fact that they didn't want to be part of Ukraine doesn't necessarily mean they eagerly wanted to join Russia. Think: middle-American voter who sees elections between Republicans and Democrats as a contest between a douche and turd, neither of whom is particularly appealing, and both of which kind of suck. The big thing Ukraine has in its favor now that it didn't have 2 weeks ago is nearly-assured membership in the EU if it manages to survive the next few weeks.

If Ukraine ultimately prevails, I fully expect to see the eastern provinces that declared independence act like post-WWII Austria and spin a whole tearful story of Russian subversion and victimhood that paints them as pure victims of Russian evil (even if they were equally enthusiastic about it ~2 weeks ago).

I think it's guaranteed that if Russia loses Ukraine, it'll lose Crimea as well, especially if the eastern provinces end up with a good deal that makes them happy. Crimeans ARE literal Russians, but from now on, Russia will just be a weight holding them back. If they can go forward as a happy Russian-speaking province of an EU-member Ukraine, they'd have to be utterly insane to not pounce on the opportunity.

A bigger question will be the extent to which "European" Russia might split. St. Petersburg is Putin's literal hometown, but it's also neighbors with Finland. I honestly wouldn't put it past St. Petersburg to try and leave Russia and become an independent Baltic state like Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and (arguably) Finland.

Ditto, for Kaliningrad. It'll never join a neighboring country, but if Russia's economy has completely gone down the shithole, Europe's next revised map might very well have a "Prussia" again.

A dangerous scenario might be if St Pete, Kaliningrad, and the southern republics break away, and the "Moscow Motherland" merges with Belarus. On one hand, Belarus could drag the rest of Russia towards semi-normalcy if its presently exiled opposition government comes into power after merger with Russia. On the other hand, Russia could drag Belarus in the opposite direction, and become an angry pariah nation like North Korea that's content to just endlessly stir shit and troll everyone on earth to try an spread its own misery worldwide.

(continued...)

If St. Petersburg became independent and got off mostly scot-free, I think the rest of Russia would be insanely pissed, and would view it as their #1 enemy on earth (even above and beyond the US and EU). On the other hand, it would also be a spectacularly effective way to massively de-fang much of the rest of Russia. Much of Russia's nuclear arsenal is IN Kaliningrad and around St. Petersburg. If it lost access to it almost overnight, and the new countries quickly moved to let the EU and US buy the fissile material as power plant fuel, Russia would lose a huge chunk of its nuclear arsenal.

St. Petersburg is a strange place. On one hand, it's arguably the historical heart of Russian nationhood. On the other hand, it was deliberately marginalized by the Soviet Union precisely BECAUSE it was the seat of imperial Russia, and has never really forgiven the rest of modern-day Russia for it. It would have to "Play Austria", but I certainly wouldn't put it PAST St. Petersburg to leap at any opportunity to bail on a sinking ship. Russians would act blase about its loss and pretend it never mattered to them anyway... but it would be a lie. They'd absolutely SEETHE, especially if "Petrograd" were quickly ushered into the EU (but not NATO, unless we really wanted to inflame what was left of Russia and set the stage for the next world war).

Is that Russian state TV at R113?

This is good to know. Not all Russians are crazy.

VP is a murderous thug. He has journalists & political opponents poisoned or tossed off buildings. In other military acts prior, civilians have been slaughtered, and schools, hospitals, and orphanages bombed. Showing him respect needs to be off the agenda anywhere.

Maybe he'll die on the pot like Elvis.

People talk about his inner circle of advisers, but surely he's got a Dr. Feelgood on speed dial, too. Somebody in the upper echelons of the intel establishment has to know what cocktail he's on.

John Brennan, former CIA director, said on Nicolle Wallace's show today that because of this fiasco he believes Putin's his days are numbered in double digits.

Putin is very involved in the war.

He's definitely gonna take the whole of Ukraine and also move onto Moldova.

I hope he can be stopped but who can stop him? Unless someone in his inner circle kills him, I don't think it's gonna happen.

So they are shelling Europe’s largest nuclear power station in 🇺🇦. Lovely ..

What does it actually take to launch a nuclear weapon? Putty is a KGB guy, could he do it himself? Could he have instructed his generals to show him how to do it? What's the chain of command in Russia for a situation like this?

Please read Tom Nichol's Twitter account for accurate information about the plant.

It's likely disinformation from other sources has made the West freak out while there's been containment.

In theory, Russia actually has more safeguards in place to prevent an unauthorized nuclear strike than we do. Authorization of a strike requires an encryption key that's divided into three parts and held by three different officials... all of whom have to agree to the strike for it to happen. Putin, the Russian Defense Minister, and the General Secretary (I think this is basically the Duma/Parliament's Speaker) all have to agree.

As an additional safeguard, they can authorize a launch, then make the launch itself contingent (and automatic) upon evidence that nuclear missiles have in fact begun to strike Russian territory. Put another way, if they know they're going to be dead if an attack has been launched against Russia, but they aren't absolutely 100% certain that an attack HAS been launched against Russia, they can set the missiles to automatically launch upon detection of things like an EMP pulse, failure to cancel the launch within {n} minutes (presumably, by someone monitoring the situation who'll cancel the launch if they're still alive in {n} minutes, but will allow it to proceed if they're dead), etc. I believe this "dead hand system" was implemented after the infamous almost-accident in the 1980s when their computers reported an attack, and it was only the refusal of a single official who was (correctly) convinced it was a software bug that saved the world from nuclear holocaust. The idea was, it meant they could arm the missiles & put them on a metaphorical timer and tripwire, then wait to see what actually happened (knowing that if they were dead, we'd be joining them shortly).

The point is, nobody in the US government is seriously worried that Russia is going to attack the US, or anyone who's a NATO member. That would be suicidal for Russia, and even if Putin is willing to gamble with the deaths of millions of Russians, other government officials (and Russia's military) are likely to refuse.

That said... Ukraine should probably be scared shitless. If Putin gets really pissed and desperate, he just MIGHT use tactical nuclear weapons against targets in Ukraine. It would probably constitute a war crime, but the US/EU/NATO probably wouldn't risk starting WWIII over it (at least, not immediately). Nevertheless, I honestly can't think of any scenario where Russia could use nuclear weapons against Ukraine that wouldn't ultimately lead to greater escalation and direct involvement by the US and EU. Europe just isn't that big, and it would only be a matter of hours until enough fallout and radiation was detected in a NATO or EU member to officially trigger a declaration of war.

It's not just the Ukrainians fleeing their homeland Russians are trying to get out of Dodge too afraid that Putin will declare martial law and clamp down on the country. Trains to Scandinavia are fully booked as are the planes to countries that still allow Russian planes to land.

if he blows up the plant and Ukrainians grow 3 heads from all the radiation, that's 3 more mouths to spit on Putin's dickless corpse!! Bet on it, motherfuckers!

[quote]Unless someone in his inner circle kills him, I don't think it's gonna happen

The Ides of March.

Anyone in his inner circle can count on their corpse being pissed on, too. They could stop it by getting rid of him. They could save their country from total ignominy and have some chance at "Make Russia Great Again," which is what I would think is the "ultra-nationalist" thing to do. Easy choice. But, again, with the blundering stupidity.

His Inner Circle are a bunch of cowards with cosplay uniforms and medals they aren't fit to wear.

You know what would be really brave of them? Saving the Ukrainian people. Saving their own country. And at this point, saving the world from nuclear war.

Craven, costumed pussies.

We're already two hours from sunset on the ninth day of fighting and the Russians are still just inching along. Their endless quagmire and economic hardship is only just beginning.

^That last sentence has a nice ring to it.

Lá Líndsey calls for Pootie to be assassinated.

Lindsey's visit to Mar-a-Lago last weekend must not have gone so well. Pootie and Orange Musolini are two peas of the same pod.

You know that scene at the end of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" when the Nazi's face melts off? (Linked below for the viewing convenience of DL'ers located outside Putin's benighted Russia).

I look forward to that happening to Vlad, may it be soon. His fat face is pretty waxen, so I bet it'll burn off clean like a drip candle.

R133, Russia is winning . They take Kiev this weekend.

Good one, R137. Taking Kyiv isn't really "winning" for Russia, except in the very short term. It's the beginning of a long economic and military drain on the country that will ruin all of Vlad's plans.

R137 you said they would take Kiev “today” on Wednesday. Where are you getting your intel? How about citing it?

"It's not just the Ukrainians fleeing their homeland Russians are trying to get out of Dodge too afraid that Putin will declare martial law and clamp down on the country. Trains to Scandinavia are fully booked as are the planes to countries that still allow Russian planes to land."

I guess geography is destiny. The US has a nice chunk of land with ample coasts and without a bunch of neighbors. Our issues/problems (depending on who you ask) with Mexican and Central American immigrants seems pale in comparison. Granted, gas will probably be $6 by July, but that's not the same sort of war-driven issue as absorbing millions of migrants at once. I have to remind myself that Europe as a whole is similarly sized to the US.

If Putin is assasinated or simply dies, what happens? I'd assume it's not just a simple turnaround to full, fair elections and a great leader - though it would be hard to do worse than Putin.

[quote] “He has isolated himself. He’s not been in the Kremlin very much. ... You’ve got less and less inputs, and these inputs are from sycophants." He (Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va) added: "I do worry that he’s been backed into a corner. I do worry that there is no obvious exit ramp.”

We should all be worried. It's not only about who is in the right - it's about what he might do on his way out.

As Russia is a gangster state, only the wealthy robber barons (about .01% of the population) are having lots of babies. Most people get no services, and corruption is endemic. The population is plummeting.

Of course that has more than a little to do with this invasion.

We are underestimating Putin .

Russia is facing an economic "collapse" comparable to the fallout from the country's default in 1998, according to JPMorgan analysts.

A "peak-to trough" crash in Russian gross domestic product is now expected at around 11%, they say, due to the impact of sanctions imposed on the central bank, disruption to exports, and obstacles for Russia's ability to sell oil and gas caused by exclusion from SWIFT.

"The sanctions will hit their mark on the Russian economy, which now looks headed for a deep recession,"

Underestimating how crazy he is, sure.

This economic crash will be much worse for Russia than 98. They weren't a global pariah/war crime state at that time, which they now are.

Anyone else worried that VP has a terminal medical illness and not one thing to lose?

No, because he has a wife and mistresses and children he's been very protective of, r147.

He looks fine to me, just lots of plastic surgery, cheek fillers and he got fat.

I hope he goes down like Muammar Gaddafi.

That’s how he deserves to die: beaten, humiliated, and finally put out of his misery like a rabid dog.

R150- That is said to be one if his biggest fears, to die like Gaddafi.

[quote]Russia is winning.

Winning in the sense of a vicious stupid psychopath beating up his partner badly, because she dares to have a mind of her own. And despite brutal savage wounds and bruises, still that mind is willed to function. To all civilised observers, not much of a famous victory.

Not sure narcissists care about any of that R148.

I wonder if he tried to launch a nuclear strike, but couldn’t get the other two to go along so he ordered the attack on the nuclear power plant as his workaround.

War is good for economy

His misplaced rage and temper tantruming scream small dick syndrome and erectile dysfunction.

IOW, if Russia and Putin weren't losers, Ukraine would actually have wanted to hook up with them. But instead, it wants to get busy with hot studs NATO and EU.

[quote]he has a wife and mistresses and children he's been very protective of

Intriguing fate, to be the partner or child of a globally notorious psychopathic mass-murderer. I mean, you know how people can be. Social life surely has its awkward moments.

[quote]That’s how he deserves to die: beaten, humiliated, and finally put out of his misery like a rabid dog.

What he deserves is to be strapped to a table and teabagged by Zelensky's massive balls until he suffocates.

[quote]Intriguing fate, to be the partner or child of a globally notorious psychopathic mass-murderer.

Tell me about it.

That fate's too good for him R158. I'm sure there are a number of people on this board who would line up for that service.

[quote]I'm sure there are a number of people on this board who would line up for that service.

Not him. He'd find it the ultimate humiliation.

R135 Graham was stupid to say that out loud and piss Putin off.

He was obviously drunk tweeting, r162.

It would be nice if all this frustration lead to a deadly stroke.

Here's WaPo's writeup of Putin's comments from earlier today, seeking "normalized relations" with the rest of the world/"no need for sanctions." He wouldn't say this shit if he wasn't feeling a li'l pinch.

Hey, Poot, we'd love normalized relations, too! Start by getting your ass out of Ukraine!

Actually he should start by committing suicide. That would be a big help.

[quote]Intriguing fate, to be the partner or child of a globally notorious psychopathic mass-murderer.

The stories I could tell you!

I believe Gadaffi was sodomized first on live TV (in the background) before being thrown on the foot of a Jeep. He died as a hood ornament after being sodomized and fatally wounded. His last statement was not recognizing who these men were. As if his killers were not even Libyans. They ultimately degraded him. Such mysteries….

I don't remember him being sodomized.

As an interview was taking place by Libyan liberators, Gadaffi is seen kneeling on the ground as his captors encircled him. There is rudimentary movement and a cutaway to a grimace on Gadaffi’s face. It’s very quick and indeed no one has come forth, but there is video documentation that’s left up to interpretation. It’s a traditional revenge in the region along with hitting the criminal with their shoes. I.e. symbolic. I remember seeing this footage in real time as it happened. A benefit to being an adult watching this shit on live TV. So sorry you missed it.

R172- Most accounts claim he was sodomized with a bayonet.

I’m vomiting.

I tried to watch some of that video. I could not.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

I’m a bit confused as to how these channels were broadcasting in Russia when we been told the Russian state media are controlling information about the war. It would seem the government would have shut them down, not that the networks would have a choice to make.

I understand that the article also talks about reporting from inside of Russia to the outside world being suspended, but it otherwise sounds like Russians could just flip over to CNN or BBC News on cable if they wanted to.

R175. Yeah as terrible as Gadaffi was, torture is never the answer. They should have just shot him in the head and been done with it.

Same with Putin. Shoot him and then they can display his body for people to spit on.

Putin should be drawn, quartered, emasculated, hanged in his entrails with his cock stuffed into his mouth until almost-dead, sprayed with alcohol, then dropped into a vat filled with cockroaches. And livestreamed, of course.

those channels are blocked by the govt.

Obviously Putin deserves any or all of the fates imagined above. Equally though I'd like him to be securely imprisoned, in conditions like Navalny. Eventually to be put in a glass booth a la Nuremberg trials. Before the eyes of the civilised world, his vast list of crimes against humanity would be read out to him - coupled with his obscene lies of denial.

The best lawyers in the world could icily hold him to account, day after day, with justified contempt and sarcasm. Putin hasn't been close to being held to account for decades, so even the basic scenario would incense him. Trapped before the eyes of the world as his psychopathic crimes are laid out for the historical record. A stroke from rage couldn't be discounted, so it would all be very much win-win.

Unless the cowardly, useless people surrounding Putin do something other than to bow like slaves and help him murder innocents nothing will happen to him until he dies of natural causes. It's enraging! Those fat tubs of shit in their little green general outfits with the sparkly medals are the biggest pussies on the entire fuckin planet. The entire planet!

^ Masha!

President of Israel is meeting with Putin in Moscow today.

Masha, Masha, Masha!

I meant Prime Minister.

Putin is actually in Moscow?!?

[quote] His Inner Circle are a bunch of cowards with cosplay uniforms and medals they aren't fit to wear.

An image of Prince Edward popped into my mind.

[QUOTE] Putin is actually in Moscow?!?

He will ensure that nobody knows where he is at any given moment.

That massive compound that he lives in has miles of tunnels beneath it.

Maybe the intel that Putty is unhinged is a deliberate ploy to persuade the West to be cautious instead of decisive and aggressive in our handling with Putty.

I don't doubt he would use nukes if he's cornered, but how successful would he be to actually strike and land them in Kyiv, Berlin, London, NYC??

Also, if Putty can use the nuke threat everytime he wages war at a pro western country and we make concessions to him, were not doing a good job with our military power and deterrence.

Oh, R191, just stop embarrassing yourself. The West's response has been both cautious AND decisive and aggressive. The immediate concerted sanctions, together with Putin's own incompetence, have Russia in an incredibly tight spot. Not to mention all the arms shipments to Ukraine.

And check your English-language dictionary before you use prepositions.

[quote]He was obviously drunk tweeting,

Graham tweets obsessively starting after mid-day usually. Some of it does sound as if he is intoxicated. Often his views will flip within hours or during the next few days. Then, flip again as he deems beneficial to him.

Graham has the compulsion to try to appear "macho" and militaristic with foreign adversaries. The closet thing may have much to do with it.

The media adores him.

R182- Haven't we been told for years to mind our our business? Mocked , guilted for interference in other countries? So now we are doing just that and OP is berating us for it?! I'm so confused, sob!

R191 Russia has nukes pointed at every city in the US. Those ICBMs are very accurate. It would only take a few nukes in a couple of major cities to destroy the US. So many on these threads don't seem to have a clue about Nuclear Weapons and what damage they can do.

Putin posing with the junior stewardesses was straight out of Austin Powers. I flew on Aeroflot years ago. The stewardesses were more Babushka than hotties.

I wonder how much top secret military intel Trump and Flynn passed to Putin. Probably all of it.

R194- Wrong thread, sorry.

The US should put a billion dollar bounty on Putin's head. I am sure the psychopathic Chechens are up for it.

But don't we have a missile defense system? We can intercept and shoot down the nukes!

It's so disheartening to wake up and see more and more of the country destroyed by Putin, they are just bombing the fucking shit out of Ukraine...so sad

I hope you're joking R200. That line of thinking went out with Reagan.

R201 If we get through this ok and the Ukrainians want to return, their homes will be gone.

R192, we don't have Putin in a tight spot if we're afraid of his nukes and can't install a no-fly zone to end this war within a week.

I said this before. Putin is on his way making Russia a second North Korea. Heavily sanctioned, completely cut off from the world, but still posing as a major threat because of his nukes.

So what, English is not my first language, you understood well enough what I wanted to say to disagree with me.

He has one disadvantage the North Koreans lack... his elite class and even his underclass know a different kind of life than what they will endure as NK2.0.

I don't minimize the situation but I never underestimate the will to survive and human greed. The oligarchs don't want to be rich in Russia.

I agree R205. Putin hasn't come close to the level of brainwashing that NK has been deploying for 50 years.

So far Putin has been able to stay in power in Russia. If he goes North Korea style, who's stopping him??

Father Time.

Oh wait; he's only 69.

Vlad been crazy for a long time and this invasion has been doing on for over week, yet I still find myself saying "this is actually happening?" And it's getting worse. Who the fuck knows how this ends even though there's a hundred articles everyday trying to sort it out.

The homophobe Pompeo was exceedingly deferential to Putin. He had these lavish parties, even during Covid, at taxpayers expense. There were gifts, including very expensive wine, for which he never gave an accounting. Pompeo was easy putty for Putin.

Another consideration for Putin's inner circle of ass-crack cockroaches: since he's being humiliated so badly in the eyes of Earth's 7.7 billion inhabitants (ex-his own terrorized and politically suppressed population), he's bound to carry out some kind of Stalin-style purge in the time he has left. He's gonna have to clean out whatever people "told him this was a good idea."

I find his lack of cyber attacks so far suspicious, considering it's practically an industry in Russia.

It will happen, both in Ukraine and amongst all his enemies- especially since the brutal sanctions. Will we survive them?

Yes, Masha, we will.

Several countries in Europe like Germany have aging populations and low birth rate. They may greatly benefit from a huge influx of young people.

Vlad's little hissy-fit today calling the sanctions an act of war is the same as saying that he can't fund the war with the sanctions in place.

So, the sanctions are working, and there's more where those came from.

Notice how the trolling on SM has dried up when the sanctions hit?

Dried up likeMarge 3toes pussy!

Sanctions take time to work, but they will do damage to him where it matters. Westerners need however to suck it up, and take the hits that sanctions will also bring to their doorstep: higher prices for most goods including food, and much higher oil and gas prices.

The same people out there crying for Ukrainians and wanting so badly to help out, to insure that this kind of thing doesn't happen again (or is greatly deterred) can do so by putting up with the inevitable inconveniences, gracefully: tightening their belts; buying simpler groceries and eating at a more basic level; lowering their thermostats; using public transport and carpooling.

There's going to be a lot of pain to go around for everyone, until Russian goods and services (including gas and oil products) are wrung out of the markets and pricing settles back down to normal levels. We all have to toughen up, sacrifice and stay the course.

True.^^If it helps Ukraine by really hurting Putin and the oligarchs supporting him...it's a sacrifice that will be well worth it. Internet access needs to be taken away, also...as much as possible. A cyber attack could be as devastating, maybe more, than a traditional battle. Russia has that hacking down pat, unfortunately.

For those speculating about Pooty's health, here's the scuttlebutt from two years ago: He's got Parkinson's as quite a few of the Tabloids named it (sorry about the less than stellar journalistic source - only one I can find). I have zero idea as to the validity of the claims, especially viz a viz the Cancer claim, but one thing WAS for certainly: the Russian Parliament (or whatever e it's called( DID in fact pass a bill/law at the time giving VP "full immunity" from any future prosecution should he step down from office. Quite an audacious step if you ask me.

As a side note, I had an elderly relative who had Parkinson's for several years before they died, and one thing I can tell you is if the disease itself doesn't completely scramble your brain, the meds to treat it can. My poor sweet uncle (ok yes, favorite of mine sweet man) was put on a merry go round of meds in the beginning including one that made him HEAR VOICES. Poor guy was afraid he was flipping out completely- , so much so that he was afraid to tell my cousins, his kids, in the beginning, until they finally got it out of him. Once he revealed it, all it took was going back to his neurologist who said something like, "Oh, is that all? Happens all the time- we' ll just switch you to something else instead- no problem!" 😵‍💫 As if maybe warning my poor uncle there was a chance he could have a psychotic episode wasn't important!!. 🙄

All of which I mention as others have, that there's a high probability, that if those rumors were true at the time- (and I've seen them resurrected of late) Ole'buddy Vlad is quite possibly Mad as a Hatter!

I think Phil Collins should play Putin if the movie about him ever comes out

Why do you hate me so much r221?

You think Putin's ugly, just get a load of his "personal Rasputin," radical neofascist Alexander Dugin.

Here's a link to British writer Toby Venables' Dugin explainer on Twitter. Don't all jerk off in ecstasy at once.

He sounds like a real catch, r223!

[quote]You think Putin's ugly, just get a load of his "personal Rasputin," radical neofascist Alexander Dugin.

I think he's tremendous.

Dugin loves Steve Bannon. So he told Daily Beast in 2019.

Dugin again, interviewed by Reset Dialogues/ResetDOC in Dec 2018, in which he recounted having met with Steve Bannon in Rome a couple of years prior.

These Dugins and Bannons with their grand, apocalyptic theories of world empire are like a bad hangover from the late 19th/early 20th century.

Is Milo Y. on here? I hear that little shit loves Alexander Dugin, too. We should get his take. Don't be shy, sweetie.

I appreciate your insights and linked material, jeangenie. Since your so active on Ukraine threads, I have to ask if you live in the region or have family there.

Nope, just colleagues and work contacts.