Russia's Invasion of Ukraine, aka "Putin's Special Operation"

[Natural_Born_Cynic]

Despite the U.S deciding to ship 300 million USD of weapons, Ukraine has much more dire problem of manpower shortage.



Don't worry allies. Here is Zelensky's "morale boosting" war dance for the frontlines. DAMN SEXY!!!!

[Natural_Born_Cynic]

Yohan, I already told you what the ending would be. Jesus. Ukraine capitulates, they agree to stay neutral and not join NATO, and they will have to hand over all of the lands at the Eastern side of the Dnieper river and let the russians use Odessa port in 99 year lease, just like they did with Crimea.

Ukraine "maybe" have to pay reparations to Russia and Ukraine will remain demilitarized and their army number have to be low.
That's the ending folks.

This is the first time in my life to hear that the invaded country might have to pay reparations to the aggressor.... LOL

There was no problem for former neutral Finland and Sweden to join NATO too, as they are already members of the EU.

About NATO and EU, Ukraine and some other countries do not fit the required criteria to be allowed to join despite they like to be accepted in both organizations.

Ukrainian border line with Russia might change a little but surely not so much as you suggest. Leasing Odesa port? For what? Russia has undisputed ports like Novorossiysk connected to the Russian railway network and directly located at the Black Sea.

I said "maybe" not "definitely". Russia might or might not demand reparations because they are in the position of strength against Ukraine. Sounds silly, but Russians lost lot of men and equipment, at least the Ukrainians will pay for the losses.. who know what the Russians will demand next.. I won't go further.

Nope. Russia will take all the land at the East of Dnieper River. The River acts as an effective natural barrier and wall spliting the country in half.
In addition, lot of pro russian population at the East of the Dnieper River and lots of natural resources and factories at the East.

Leasing Odessa port is to effectively lock off Ukraine from sea trade. So Ukraine can't grow it's economy and independence. If Ukraine wants to ship its goods then they have to pay "tariff" to the Russians first. Ukraine will only use Russian oil and gas pipeline and Russia will cut off all Ukrainian trade from the West. I think, that would be another demand from Russia.. I am not sure. Turning Ukraine into an obedient satillete state just like belorussia. I think that's what Putin wants ultimately. Not invade Europe up to portegual like some video game like Command and Conquar Red Alert 1.

Well that's the ending folks.

Все понятно. Ты просто ебаный кремлебот. Идешь нахуй вместе со своим лилипутом царем. Хуй за щеку тебе, а не порт в Одессе.

have2fly = crybaby

[Natural_Born_Cynic]

Все понятно. Ты просто ебаный кремлебот. Идешь нахуй вместе со своим лилипутом царем. Хуй за щеку тебе, а не порт в Одессе.

Please calm down!

Some people here with this forum have absolutely no idea, no knowldege about the life of ordinary people especially in so-called satellit-states under Communist Russian rule.

Interesting however to observe that these Putin-fans do not live in Russia with a US$ 100,- as budget for one month and prefer to continue to 'suffer' in USA - UK and other Nazi and Jews infested countries....

Communist Russian control - this means a terrible life on a day to day basis, in poverty, fear - full of injustice.

Nobody who suffered under Russian WWII postwar occupation wants to have anything to do with Russia anymore.

This is of course true with Ukraine too - they want the Russians - all of them - to be gone, out of their country and I cannot blame them for that.

I am confident, with some support from Western countries, Ukraine will be able to survive this challenge.

The Russian dream to create a 'Russian Union' from Portugal to Alaska ist nothing but sick fantasy, arrogance, megalomania....

You see that Yohan? For a 39 year old educated Ukrainian men, he has an emotional maturity of a 12 year old.
I can not have constructive discussion with him because he keeps calling me names and do ad hominem attacks instead of offering any counterpoints. Maybe we should buy him a pack of diapers and a pacifier for him to wear becausae he keeps acting like a crybaby.
I know in Japan, they sell lots of adult and senior citizen diapers in convienent stores. We should buy and send it to have2fly in the U.S.

[Yohan]

Despite the U.S deciding to ship 300 million USD of weapons, Ukraine has much more dire problem of manpower shortage.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ru ... 023-12-24/

MOSCOW, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Russia was short of around 4.8 million workers in 2023 and the problem will remain acute in 2024, the Izvestia newspaper reported on Sunday, citing experts and research from the Russian Academy of Science's Institute of Economics.

Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said last month that Russia's depleted labour force was causing acute labour shortages and threatening economic growth as Moscow pumps fiscal and physical resources into the military.

[Natural_Born_Cynic]

Despite the U.S deciding to ship 300 million USD of weapons, Ukraine has much more dire problem of manpower shortage.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ru ... 023-12-24/

MOSCOW, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Russia was short of around 4.8 million workers in 2023 and the problem will remain acute in 2024, the Izvestia newspaper reported on Sunday, citing experts and research from the Russian Academy of Science's Institute of Economics.

Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said last month that Russia's depleted labour force was causing acute labour shortages and threatening economic growth as Moscow pumps fiscal and physical resources into the military.

That's unfortunate..oh well, but there are always hundreds of thousands North Koreans who are willing to work for cheap.

[Yohan]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/eu-agrees-5- ... 52195.html

EU agrees 5 billion euro boost for Ukraine military aid fund

Thu, March 14, 2024 at 4:56 AM GMT

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -European Union countries agreed on Wednesday to provide 5 billion euros ($5.48 billion) for military aid to Ukraine as part of a revamp of an EU-run assistance fund, handing Kyiv a timely boost as its forces struggle against Russia's invasion.

Ambassadors from the EU's 27 member countries agreed to the overhaul of the European Peace Facility (EPF) fund at a meeting in Brussels after months of wrangling, with EU heavyweights France and Germany at the centre of much of the debate.

"The message is clear: we will support Ukraine with whatever it takes to prevail," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell posted on social media platform X after the decision.

The fund operates as a giant cashback scheme, giving EU members refunds for sending munitions to other countries.

France, a strong promoter of European defence industries, had insisted on a strong "buy European" policy for arms eligible for refunds. Other countries argued that requirement would inhibit efforts to buy worldwide to get weapons to Ukraine quickly.

Germany, by far Europe's biggest bilateral donor of military aid to Ukraine, had demanded such donations be taken into account in determining the size of countries' financial contributions to the fund.

Diplomats said a compromise was found that allows flexibility on "buy European" rules and takes into account part of the value of bilateral aid when calculating members' financial contributions.

"This is yet another powerful and timely demonstration of European unity and determination in achieving our common victory," said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

"We look forward to the final decision being approved at the next EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting."

The final text says the scheme should give priority to the European defence industry while "exceptionally allowing for flexibility in cases where it cannot provide within a timeframe compatible with Ukrainian needs".

The compromise will allow the fund to help finance a Czech initiative to buy hundreds of thousands of desperately needed artillery shells from countries outside Europe, according to diplomats.

The EPF has already been used to allocate some 6.1 billion euros to military aid for Ukraine, according to the EU.

Borrell proposed last year creating a new cash pot specifically for aid to Kyiv - the Ukraine Assistance Fund - inside the EPF, with a budget of up to 5 billion euros per year for the next four years.

That prompted a prolonged debate over rules for future aid, eventually leading to Wednesday's agreement.

The compromise includes measures to satisfy Hungary, which has previously blocked payouts from the EPF and said it does not want its contributions to finance arms for Ukraine.

Under the deal, its contributions will be used to fund military aid to other countries, according to EU officials.

"Ukraine needs more arms and equipment, we will provide them in sufficient quantities and in a coordinated manner," said Hadja Lahbib, the foreign minister of Belgium, the current holder of the EU's rotating presidency.

"Europe is true to its commitments. Our freedom is at stake."

($1 = 0.9124 euros)

[Natural_Born_Cynic]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/eu-agrees-5- ... 52195.html

EU agrees 5 billion euro boost for Ukraine military aid fund

Thu, March 14, 2024 at 4:56 AM GMT

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -European Union countries agreed on Wednesday to provide 5 billion euros ($5.48 billion) for military aid to Ukraine as part of a revamp of an EU-run assistance fund, handing Kyiv a timely boost as its forces struggle against Russia's invasion.

Ambassadors from the EU's 27 member countries agreed to the overhaul of the European Peace Facility (EPF) fund at a meeting in Brussels after months of wrangling, with EU heavyweights France and Germany at the centre of much of the debate.

"The message is clear: we will support Ukraine with whatever it takes to prevail," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell posted on social media platform X after the decision.

The fund operates as a giant cashback scheme, giving EU members refunds for sending munitions to other countries.

France, a strong promoter of European defence industries, had insisted on a strong "buy European" policy for arms eligible for refunds. Other countries argued that requirement would inhibit efforts to buy worldwide to get weapons to Ukraine quickly.

Germany, by far Europe's biggest bilateral donor of military aid to Ukraine, had demanded such donations be taken into account in determining the size of countries' financial contributions to the fund.

Diplomats said a compromise was found that allows flexibility on "buy European" rules and takes into account part of the value of bilateral aid when calculating members' financial contributions.

"This is yet another powerful and timely demonstration of European unity and determination in achieving our common victory," said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

"We look forward to the final decision being approved at the next EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting."

The final text says the scheme should give priority to the European defence industry while "exceptionally allowing for flexibility in cases where it cannot provide within a timeframe compatible with Ukrainian needs".

The compromise will allow the fund to help finance a Czech initiative to buy hundreds of thousands of desperately needed artillery shells from countries outside Europe, according to diplomats.

The EPF has already been used to allocate some 6.1 billion euros to military aid for Ukraine, according to the EU.

Borrell proposed last year creating a new cash pot specifically for aid to Kyiv - the Ukraine Assistance Fund - inside the EPF, with a budget of up to 5 billion euros per year for the next four years.

That prompted a prolonged debate over rules for future aid, eventually leading to Wednesday's agreement.

The compromise includes measures to satisfy Hungary, which has previously blocked payouts from the EPF and said it does not want its contributions to finance arms for Ukraine.

Under the deal, its contributions will be used to fund military aid to other countries, according to EU officials.

"Ukraine needs more arms and equipment, we will provide them in sufficient quantities and in a coordinated manner," said Hadja Lahbib, the foreign minister of Belgium, the current holder of the EU's rotating presidency.

"Europe is true to its commitments. Our freedom is at stake."

($1 = 0.9124 euros)

That 6.1 Billion will be in corrupt Ukrainian Defense Department's pockets now and 10% to Joe Biden.

https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-zelens ... em-1863644

With the war started by Russia entering its third year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also fighting on another front—corruption.

On January 9, Zelensky's defense minister, Rustem Umerov, said an audit had uncovered corruption connected to military procurement worth 10 billion hryvnia ($262 million) in only the four months he had been in post. His predecessor, Oleksii Reznikov, resigned in September over scandals that threatened to sap domestic and international confidence in Kyiv.

These cases included the dismissal of two senior officials over allegations the ministry had inflated contracts for food supplied to troops, including eggs. In December, a defense ministry official was arrested on suspicions that he embezzled nearly $40 million in the fraudulent purchase of much-needed artillery shells for Ukraine's military.

There was also outrage in August over inflated prices for an order of 233,000 jackets for $20m from Turkish firm Vector Avia that were too light and thus useless for the impending winter.

Reznikov was not personally implicated in the scandals, but his resignation letter admitted the bad optics, amid a deadlock over continued financial aid in the U.S. and the EU whose leaders do not want to see money to fight Russia being siphoned off.

It marks a shift in the kind of corruption Zelensky has to tackle, which before the war involved influence peddling to avoid investigation or to get favorable terms. "In the past, it was unclear how this corruption affected people's lives in Ukraine—now it's very clear that corruption inhibits Ukrainians' ability to defend themselves," said Matthew Orr, a Eurasia analyst at risk intelligence company RANE.

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/2024 ... -officials

Ukraine uncovers attempt to embezzle $40 million via bogus arms deal
Ukrainian defence officials and corporate leaders sought to steal about $40 million through a fraudulent arms procurement scheme, the country's main intelligence and security agency said Saturday.

The corruption allegations were confirmed by Ukraine's defence ministry, which has served implicated officials with notices of suspicion.

They come as Republicans in the United States resist President Joe Biden's efforts to send more aid to Ukraine, and as former president Donald Trump, who has spoken out against US military support for Kyiv, appears to be on a glide path to the Republican nomination.

Ukraine's SBU security service said that current and former senior officials of the defence ministry and heads of affiliated companies "attempted to steal almost UAH 1.5 billion ($40 million) from the budget by purchasing 100,000 mortar rounds for the Armed Forces."

They allegedly signed a contract to buy the shells from the arms supplier Lviv Arsenal in August 2022, after which the defence ministry "transferred the full amount stipulated in the signed document to the company's accounts".

From there the funds went to a foreign commercial entity that was supposed to deliver the ammunition but "not a single artillery shell" was ever sent to Ukraine, according to the SBU.

Officials accused of participating in the scheme include the current and former heads of the defence ministry's Department of Military and Technical Policy, Development of Armaments and Military Equipment, as well as the head of Lviv Arsenal.

One of the suspects was detained by the SBU while attempting to leave Ukraine and is currently in custody.

According to Ukraine's prosecutor general, the stolen funds have been seized and will be returned to the defence budget.

Ukraine has weathered a series of corruption scandals in recent months, including several others within the defence ministry.

In August 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sacked all the officials in charge of military equipment across the regions to end a system in which some people were being allowed to escape conscription.

Reining in corruption is one of the conditions the European Union has set for Ukraine as it seeks membership.

[Yohan]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/german-defen ... 01364.html

German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall said Thursday it plans to set up at least four factories in Ukraine, as it targets a record 10 billion euros ($10.9 billion) in sales this year.

The Ukraine war has boosted Germany's weapons industry as countries seek to re-arm in the face of the growing threat from Russia, and soaring demand last year propelled Rheinmetall onto the blue-chip DAX index.

The company said the factories in Ukraine -- which has been suffering from ammunition shortages as Moscow makes battlefield gains -- would be for producing shells, military vehicles, gunpowder and anti-aircraft weapons.

"Ukraine is now an important partner for us, where we see a potential of between two and three billion euros (in sales) per year," Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger said at the presentation of the company's 2023 results.

The Duesseldorf-based group -- which makes parts of the Leopard tanks that Berlin agreed could be sent to Ukraine after much hesitation -- reported record sales of 7.2 billion euros last year, and is aiming to top 10 billion in 2024.

The company's shares soared five percent in Frankfurt after the results were announced.

Germany's largest manufacturer of military equipment had already announced an agreement with a Ukrainian company in February to build artillery shells in Ukraine.

The ground-breaking will take place soon for the plant -- in an undisclosed location -- and it will be modelled on an ammunition factory that Rheinmetall is building in Germany.

The company already operates a joint venture in Ukraine for repairing military vehicles.

Rheinmetall is also going to build a factory in Lithuania, where Germany plans to deploy a brigade-sized military unit on a permanent basis to help secure NATO's eastern flank.

The company said it was planning to ramp up production of artillery shells, as Ukraine's European allies struggle to boost output so they can provide Kyiv with more ammunition.

Not enough ammunition - this shortage will be solved this year for sure.

Not mentioned here with this report is the difficult situation in Ukraine regarding ammunition. - Ukraine still have plenty of various weapons made in Russia and the Western ammunition does not fit - different size.

There are already some East European countries, which have still some abandoned factories for Russian weapons which were in use in the past and they will be restarted soon too.

[Yohan]

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/4 ... eace-talks

Russia-Ukraine war
Medvedev says ‘Ukraine is definitely Russia’, rules out peace talks
The former Russian president says parts of Ukraine should ‘return home’ as he rules out peace talks with Zelenskyy.

4 Mar 2024
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, says Ukraine is part of Russia as he rules out peace talks with the current Ukrainian leadership.

In a bellicose speech on Monday at a youth festival in the southern city of Sochi, Medvedev said Russia would prosecute what it calls its “special military operation” until the other side capitulated.

The former president and prime minister said what he called historical parts of Russia should “return home”.

Medvedev spoke in front of a map of Ukraine, which showed the country as a much smaller landlocked slice of territory squeezed up against Poland with Russia in complete control of its east, south and Black Sea coast.

“One of Ukraine’s former leaders said at some point that Ukraine is not Russia,” Medvedev said.

“That concept needs to disappear forever. Ukraine is definitely Russia,” he said to applause from the audience.

Medvedev said peace talks would not be possible with the current Ukrainian leadership, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

He said any future Ukrainian government that wants talks would need to recognise what he called the new reality on the ground.

https://www.eurointegration.com.ua/eng/ ... 2/7180206/

EU Commission reacts to Medvedev's statement on Kyiv and Odesa's "return" to Russia, advises him to see a shrink
THURSDAY, 22 FEBRUARY 2024

Peter Stano, the speaker of the European Commission on foreign policy issues, sees no reason to comment on Dmitry Medvedev's statements as Deputy Chairman of the Russian Federation's Security Council, but advises him to seek psychological help.

"We usually do not comment on the words of people who are attempting to draw attention to themselves, especially if it is an internal ‘number two’ for some reason. Although it is commendable that the person you mentioned publicly broadcasts his mental health diagnosis, all that can be said here is to recommend consultations and specialist help," Stano responded to Medvedev's words, who reiterated Russia's claims to Kyiv and Odesa.

He added that with the billions of dollars that Russia has spent on the war against Ukraine, Moscow could find money for programmes to keep its citizens healthy as well.

"I believe the foreign ministers of the member states made their position clear when they met on Monday: we will continue to support Ukraine, which is rightfully defending itself against aggression... The EU's High Representative (Josep Borrell) and member states are doing everything they can to provide Ukraine with ‘more and faster’, and not just ‘how much it will be necessary’, but ‘no matter how much it costs’," the speaker added.

On the weekend, Medvedev again threatened Western capitals with nuclear strikes if the Russian Federation is forced to return to the borders of 1991.

Earlier, Denmark announced a package of military assistance for Ukraine for almost US$250 million.

[Yohan]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/ ... ts-ukraine

EU moves towards using €27bn in profit from frozen Russian assets for Ukraine

Officials could put forward proposal before meeting of prime ministers in Brussels next week
Thu 14 Mar 2024 13.16 GMT

EU leaders are to take a significant step towards confiscating a potential €27bn in profit generated over the next four years by Russian state assets frozen in Europe to help fund the war effort in Ukraine.

Officials at the European Commission are poised to put forward what they believe is a legally robust proposal to be considered by member states, possibly before a meeting of prime ministers in Brussels next Thursday.

About $300bn belonging to the Russian central bank has been frozen in the west, largely in foreign currency, gold and government bonds. About 70% of these are held in the Belgian central securities depository Euroclear, which is holding the equivalent of €190bn.

Deposits held in Europe are likely to generate between €15bn and €20bn in after-tax profits between now and the end of 2027, the end of the EU’s current financial cycle, depending on the evolution of global interest rates, a senior EU official said.

This year they are expected to generate between €2bn and €3bn in profits, depending on potential interest rate changes – money that could then go straight to Ukraine.

While officials are hopeful of an agreement on seizing the profits, they do not expect a deal yet on how the money should be used, because some states are against using it to fund Ukraine’s military, preferring that the cash be spent on reconstruction and humanitarian efforts.

Ireland, for example, is bound by neutrality through its constitution but it contributes funds to Ukraine on condition that the money is spent on “non-lethal” purposes such as clearing landmines.

Sources say the European Commission will not offer options at this time in relation to the use of the money. “It means they can agree in principle to use the revenues of profits but then have a further discussion on where that money can go constitutionally for every member state,” one source said.

“The process has gathered momentum and we expect the wheels will move very quickly on this once the decision is made.”

Last month EU leaders agreed that the proceeds could be held in a separate account, clearing the war for “step B”, which would be a decision that this money could be confiscated and sent to Ukraine.

The communique drafted by ambassadors for prime ministers’ approval next week is sufficiently vague. “The European Council reviewed progress on the next concrete steps towards directing extraordinary revenues stemming from Russia’s immobilised assets for the benefits of Ukraine including the funding of military support,” it states.

It is expected that some of the money will be retained in the EU as part of a defence fund against expected Russian legal retaliation in the long term.

Any agreement will put pressure on the British government to follow suit. The Russian central bank holds £26bn in the UK, and the foreign secretary, David Cameron, has joined the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in calling for the money to be seized and handed to Kyiv.

However, the idea is being resisted by financial institutions, who fear it could undermine trust in the City of London.

The move is likely to be met with retaliation in Moscow before and after the end of the war, and officials think some of the money should be held in Euroclear as a defence buffer for any future court costs.

“We need a significant amount in Euroclear … because Euroclear will face a lot of claims,” the official said.

Russian courts do not recognise western sanctions and could move to seize €33bn in Euroclear’s assets held in national securities in Moscow.

This week the Swiss parliament voted in favour of allowing some of the €8bn Russian assets it had on deposit to be used for reparations for damage caused by an aggressor.

There has been concern that such a move would jeopardise Switzerland’s longstanding position of well-armed military neutrality.

According to Agence France-Presse, its foreign minister, Ignazio Cassis, said: “We don’t have to blush when we talk about Ukraine on the international stage.”

[Natural_Born_Cynic]

@Yohan
@Winston

Jesus christ! This site's server is still god awful! It took me several attempts just to log into this website.

All that money will be useless when half or more of it will be embezzled, pocketed, funneled into the hands of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry and the essential equipments will be sold to the black market. Ukraine's Corruption problem has been going on for at least three years now. Who knows how much Zelensky and his friends took despite the Western media say all of Zelensky's mansions, Designer clothes, and two luxury yachts are merely "Russian Properganda". I know the Russians are suffering from that problem too prior to the war, but it doesn't matter anymore as more political pressure is going to winning the war by Putin and the Russians are producing three times more artillery shells, several times more tanks and missiles than NATO and America combined. It also doesn't matter what Rheinmetal does in Ukraine.. Their factories will be bombed as soon as they set them up and those haughty Germans will sell their weapons at a premium price with "German Engineering" bullscheisse sticker on it with markups while their effectiveness are questionable or as same as the Russian ones. I know, because I did business with the Germans in the past, and those haughty Arschlöcher charges us additional markup while delivering subpar cargo or service.

[Winston]

Full documentary by Oliver Stone from 2015 called "Ukraine on Fire" about how the US ignited the conflict in Ukraine, which the mainstream media has covered up. Stone is usually very factual and what he says is usually well documented. Full 90 min documentary below. @Yohan how do you explain this?



Clip from the film and commentary, if you don't have time to see the whole film.

[Natural_Born_Cynic]

Full documentary by Oliver Stone from 2015 called "Ukraine on Fire" about how the US ignited the conflict in Ukraine, which the mainstream media has covered up. Stone is usually very factual and what he says is usually well documented. Full 90 min documentary below. @Yohan how do you explain this?



Clip from the film and commentary, if you don't have time to see the whole film.

@Yohan will probably think that video is Pro Russian Propaganda since Oliver Stone is known to be Pro Russian similar to Robert F Kennedy Jr's view towards Russia.

[Yohan]

Full documentary by Oliver Stone from 2015 called "Ukraine on Fire" about how the US ignited the conflict in Ukraine, which the mainstream media has covered up. Stone is usually very factual and what he says is usually well documented. Full 90 min documentary below. @Yohan how do you explain this?
...
Clip from the film and commentary, if you don't have time to see the whole film.
...

@Yohan will probably think that video is Pro Russian Propaganda since Oliver Stone is known to be Pro Russian similar to Robert F Kennedy Jr's view towards Russia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_Born_Killers

Theatrical release poster - Directed by Oliver Stone

Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter, not a politician.

About Russia and relationship to Putin around 2015 he significantly changed his opinion in written form on Mar 4, 2022 7:04 AM ·
https://twitter.com/TheOliverStone/stat ... 4802577408
(screenshot)

-------------------------------------------------------
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... -depardieu

He was not the only one, who changed his opinion, see link above.

Shortly after Russia launched its attack on Ukraine, the veteran US film director Oliver Stone, who has defended Russia’s actions in Crimea in his documentaries and in 2017 conducted a series of interviews with the Russian leader, tweeted that Putin’s “aggression in Ukraine” was a “mistake”.

“Although the United States has many wars of aggression on its conscience, it doesn’t justify Mr Putin’s aggression in Ukraine. A dozen wrongs don’t make a right. Russia was wrong to invade.”

https://deadline.com/2022/03/oliver-sto ... 234973037/

full text of the article regarding Oliver Stone comment:

Oliver Stone Criticizes “Mr. Putin’s Aggression In Ukraine” After Previously Saying There Was “No Proof” Russia Intended To Invade

March 7, 2022 3:45pm

Oliver Stone is well-known for taking contrarian stands both onscreen and off.

Stone went to Russia and interviewed its president for a documentary called The Putin Interviews, which aired on Showtime in 2017. Now, with Putin and Russia driving the 24-hour news cycle, the director has been offering his perspective on his Facebook page and in interviews.

Early last month, Stone told KCRW’s Robert Scheer:

“The United States and its allies in NATO have been provoking Russia for, since two years now — actually three years – over the Ukraine…”

In the same interview, the director decried “bloodthirsty” media coverage saying, “they have no proof that Russia intends to invade Ukraine; I doubt that they would. I think Russia is concerned only with the Donbass region.”

After the invasion, Stone — who had also criticized the media for using the term “invasion” to characterize Russia’s plans — came around.

“Although the United States has many wars of aggression on its conscience, it doesn’t justify Mr. Putin’s aggression in Ukraine. A dozen wrongs don’t make a right. Russia was wrong to invade.”

Stone, who served in the Vietnam War, has long made films critical of U.S. politicians (W., JFK and Nixon) the media (Natural Born Killers, Talk Radio) and American intervention abroad (Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July). He’s also made a string of documentaries featuring controversial world leaders such as Putin, Fidel Castro and Lula da Silva.

Taking a plot point from one of his more popular films, Stone contended, “Now is the time, as JFK and Khrushchev faced down the perilous situation in Cuba in October 1962, for the two nuclear powers to walk this back from the abyss.”

Here is the full text of Stone’s most recent Facebook post:

Although the United States has many wars of aggression on its conscience, it doesn’t justify Mr. Putin’s aggression in Ukraine. A dozen wrongs don’t make a right. Russia was wrong to invade. It has made too many mistakes — 1) underestimating Ukrainian resistance, 2) overestimating the military’s ability to achieve its objective, 3) underestimating Europe’s reaction, especially Germany upping its military contribution to NATO, which they’ve resisted for some 20 years; even Switzerland has joined the cause. Russia will be more isolated than ever from the West. 4) underestimating the enhanced power of NATO, which will now put more pressure on Russia’s borders, 5) probably putting Ukraine into NATO, 6) underestimating the damage to its own economy and certainly creating more internal resistance in Russia, 7) creating a major readjustment of power in its oligarch class, 8 ) putting cluster and vacuum bombs into play, 9) and underestimating the power of social media worldwide.

But we must wonder, how could Putin have saved the Russian-speaking people of Donetsk and Luhansk? No doubt his Government could’ve done a better job of showing the world the eight years of suffering of those people and their refugees — as well as highlighting the Ukrainian buildup of 110,000 soldiers on the Donetsk-Luhansk borders, which was occurring essentially before the Russian buildup. But the West has far stronger public relations than the Russians.

Or perhaps Putin should’ve surrendered the two holdout provinces and offered 1-3 million people help to relocate in Russia. The world might’ve understood better the aggression of the Ukrainian Government. But then again, I’m not sure.

But now, it’s too late. Putin has allowed himself to be baited and fallen into the trap set by the U.S. and has committed his military, empowering the worst conclusions the West can make. He probably, I think, has given up on the West, and this brings us closer than ever to a Final Confrontation. There seems to be no road back. The only ones happy about this are Russian nationalists and the legion of Russian haters, who finally got what they’ve been dreaming of for years, i.e. Biden, Pentagon, CIA, EU, NATO, mainstream media — and don’t overlook Nuland and her sinister neocon gang in D.C. This will significantly vindicate the uber hawks in public eyes. Pointing out the toxicity of their policies (Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, NATO expansion, breaking nuclear treaties, censoring and omitting crucial facts from the news, etc.) will be next to impossible. Pointing out Western double standards, including Kyiv and Zelenskyy’s bad behavior, will likewise fall on deaf ears as we again draw the wrong conclusions.

It’s easier now to smear those of us who tried to understand the Russian position through these last two decades. We tried. But now is the time, as JFK and Khrushchev faced down the perilous situation in Cuba in October 1962, for the two nuclear powers to walk this back from the abyss. Both sides need to save face.

This isn’t a moment for the U.S. to gloat. As a Vietnam War veteran and as a man who’s witnessed the endless antagonism of the Cold War, demonizing and humiliating foreign leaders is not a policy that can succeed. It only makes the situation worse. Back-channel negotiations are necessary, because whatever happens in the next few days or weeks, the specter of a final war must be realistically accepted and brokered. Who can do that? Are there real statesmen among us? Perhaps, I pray, Macron. Bring us the likes of Metternich, Talleyrand, Averell Harriman, George Shultz, James Baker, and Mikhail Gorbachev.

The great unseen tragedy at the heart of this history of our times is the loss of a true peaceful partnership between Russia and the U.S. — with, yes, potentially China, no reason why not except America’s desire for dominance. The idiots who kept provoking Russia after the Cold War ended in 1991 have committed a terrible crime against humanity and the future. Together, our countries could’ve been natural allies in the biggest battle of all against climate change. In its technical achievements alone, in large scale science, in its rocketry, heavy industries, and its most modern, clean nuclear energy reactors, Russia has been a great friend to man. Alas, in our century so far, man has failed to see or reach for the stars.

I think, Oliver Stone is highly critical about Western politics, but very sceptical about Russia and Putin about how he reacts now....

He wrote the same what I wrote many times with this HappierAbroad Forum:

Or perhaps Putin should’ve surrendered the two holdout provinces and offered 1-3 million people help to relocate in Russia.

Why not, Russia is large, plenty of space, shortage of workers and salaries are about the double of those in Ukraine.
Why to invite workers from North Korea or Iran when you can offer best opportunities for ethnic Russian people living nearby in a not friendly environment with Ukrainians?
Putin is wating a lot of money and many human lives with his miscalculation - for what? What did he gain from it during the last 2 years?

[Natural_Born_Cynic]

@Yohan

I stand corrected on Oliver Stone. However then he would be relegated to a sellout jerkoff to switched to Ukrainian side when Russia invaded Ukraine. I guess because he doesn't want to lose his career, get harassed by all those pro Ukrainian people, get ostracized and condemned for being a pro russian supporter. THe Hollywood film business would throw him out of the curb if he is a pro russian supporter.

My Username was inspired by "Natural Born Killers" hence "Natural Born Cynic"

Why not, Russia is large, plenty of space, shortage of workers and salaries are about the double of those in Ukraine.
Why to invite workers from North Korea or Iran when you can offer best opportunities for ethnic Russian people living nearby in a not friendly environment with Ukrainians? Putin is wating a lot of money and many human lives with his miscalculation - for what? What did he gain from it during the last 2 years?

I agree with you on that. Although Russia somewhat gained Donbass, Luhansk, new alliance of North Korea, China, Iran, Suadi Arabia, India, etc,
Russia also lost their European market, their currency devalued, Russia lost tens of thousands of lives, suffering brain drain, lots of money and equipments Putin has miscalculated thinking that the war would end in couple of days. Nevertheless it was NATO and America who provoked the war by ignoring Russia's request to not to expand NATO to their borders. The West is also guilty too.