Trump is in talks with Russia to end the war

[UltraBudgie]

Both Trump and Biden have shown clear symptoms of dementia.

Dementia usually begins with episodic loss of rationality. Most of the time people with early onset dementia are all good, except for the times they 'loose it'.

A classic example was Trump's repeated inability to say "origins", where he instead says "oranges', over and over again, and you can see he realizes that something is wrong, but is unable to use the correct word for some time until his fugue is over (there are numerous videos of this).

Also, people with dementia develop ways of covering their momentary confusion, using tricks like Trump's 'accordion hands' movements, inappropriate and extended stunted 'dancing' moves and other wordless gaffing-about.

hmm seems like bit of orange stretch only found videos of the one instance and it seems more close to his normal pronounciation not a fugue?




anyway he crazy haha yeah

[sahgwa]

its his mumbley way of saying 'origins.'  This is a real stretch. 
Of course it comes from Guardian tabloid land.  Slow news day for them. 

Here is Guardian tabloid land again

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...080a1af276

22 hrs ago as of 1200 EDT

• Talks between the US and Ukraine are due to take place in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, before similar discussions between the US and Russia tomorrow.
  
• Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday he expected “some real progress” at the talks in Saudi Arabia, “particularly as it affects a Black Sea ceasefire on ships between both countries, and from that you’ll naturally gravitate into a full-on shooting ceasefire”.
  
• Bloomberg is reporting that the Trump administration is aiming to secure a broad truce agreement between Russia and Ukraine by April 20.
  
• Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said “difficult negotiations” lie ahead and that “we are only at the beginning of this path”.
  
• Russia launched a barrage of drones across Ukraine overnight, striking Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Odesa and the Donetsk regions, as well as the capital Kyiv, according to officials.
  
• Three people, including a 5-year-old child, were killed and 10 others were injured in a drone attack on Kyiv, the city’s military administration said.
  
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian attacks across his country continue to be a “daily reality” despite the partial ceasefire agreed to last week. “New decisions and new pressure on Moscow are needed to bring an end to these strikes and this war,” he wrote in a post on X.
  
• Russian troops reportedly seized the small village of Sribne in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, while Ukraine’s army said its troops had recaptured a small village called Nadia in the eastern Luhansk region.
  

[quintessentone]

Ukraine now has redeveloped their own cruise missiles, so is this the new 'peace through strength' in changing the balance of military might? Is this Zelensky's ace in the hole card?



 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that he received "significant" news on the country's missile program, specifically that the "Long Neptune" had been tested and successfully used in combat.
 
"A new Ukrainian missile, an accurate strike. The range is a thousand kilometers (or 620 miles)," Zelenskyy said in a post on the Telegram messaging platform. "Thank you to our Ukrainian developers, manufacturers, and military. We continue to work to guarantee Ukrainian security."

https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-...sia-2025-3

[putnam6]

Ukraine now has redeveloped their own cruise missiles, so is this the new 'peace through strength' in changing the balance of military might? Is this Zelensky's ace in the hold card?

[Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yjN2WS4YBw]
 

https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-...sia-2025-3

Sounds as if for the immediate future this is to supplement Western missiles.

Media reports also suggest that Ukraine burned through its last ATACMS missiles in January, the Long Neptune will be a nuisance but it doesn't sound like a results changer. Especially since negotiations are about removing attacks on energy infrastructure on no attacks in the Black Sea.

Ironically the target of the Long Neptune was a Black Sea coastal refinery. 

https://www.dw.com/en/will-ukraines-nept...a-71998877

 

Can Kyiv replace Western weapons?Until the arrival of the Neptune, the American ATACMS as well as UK-supplied Storm Shadow rockets were the only longer-range missiles that Kyiv had at its disposal. Publicly accessible data suggests those rockets had maximum ranges of up to 300 kilometers.
Media reports also suggest that Ukraine burned through its last ATACMS missiles in January. So far, it's unclear whether further shipments have been sent by the US. Kyiv is also running low on Storm Shadow rockets.
That's why experts are happy to see that Kyiv now has a long-range missile of its own. Nevertheless, they doubt the new missile will allow Ukraine to entirely replace its Western arsenal.
"Considering what the Ukrainian armed forces needs in terms of missiles, this isn't about replacing Western rockets. It's about supplementing them," said Sunhurovskyi.

 
Open source intelligence analysts and media outlets have reported that Ukraine used the new rocket to hit a Russian oil refinery in the Black Sea port of Tuapse this past weekend. Regional Russian officials confirmed a fire at a facility in the town — some 550 kilometers from the front line. Experts told DW that the new rocket is likely a modification of Ukraine's Neptune R-360 anti-ship missile.
The R-360 cruise missile was developed by Luch Design Bureau in Kyiv, and has been employed by Ukrainian forces since 2020. The R-360, along with the RK-360MC-System, is used to protect Ukraine's coastline by recognizing and destroying enemy ships. The R-360 has an explosive payload of up to 150 kilograms (331 pounds) and has a range of up to 300 kilometers.

[quintessentone]

Sounds as if for the immediate future this is to supplement Western missiles.

Media reports also suggest that Ukraine burned through its last ATACMS missiles in January, the Long Neptune will be a nuisance but it doesn't sound like a results changer. Especially since negotiations are about removing attacks on energy infrastructure on no attacks in the Black Sea.

 

It appears Putin needs to keep the war going to keep the money flowing.

Negotiations at this point in time, to me, seem doomed to failure, unless Russia can come out of this economically unscathed if he agrees to a complete ceasefire and peace.

[sahgwa]

A lot of people say that Russia in Ukraine is less about geopolitical manoeuvering against NATO and more about shoring up their economy and gaining resources.  This led me to become curious.  We have all seen the Youtube videos of Russians, and foreigners in Russia, shopping and showing how things have changed but are still good, after sanctions.  Shots show corporate chains like Starbucks and Macdonalds becoming their Russian domestic brands; consumers say the product is identical in taste and quality, just the logos are different.  They show shots of full supermarkets with an abundance of local produce, both in the cities and in the small countryside kiosks. OK , fair enough. Cherry picked maybe.  So what kind of unbiased economic reporting can I find when I search in Brave?
'economy in Russia after sanctions'First link I found was not updated since early 2023. But it said 'Russian Economy is shrinking' OK it leaves out like 2 whole years.
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/infog...n-economy/
Let's find something more recent. October 2024
https://internationalbanker.com/finance/...utperform/
Sanctions Notwithstanding, Russia’s Economy Continues to Outperform
 International Monetary Fund (IMF) released the latest edition of its “World Economic Outlook”. Published twice a year, the report’s October issue confirmed that the organisation expects the Russian economy to grow by 3.6 percent this year, up from the 3.2-percent expansion stated in the preceding edition published in April and also comfortably ahead of the United States (2.8 percent), Germany (0.0 percent), France (1.1 percent) and the United Kingdom (1.1 percent). With Moscow still facing an onslaught of economic sanctions levied against it by Western nations, speculation continues to mount over whether Russia’s economy can continue to withstand this raft of punitive measures and maintain the same growth trajectory over the next few years.

That sounds like Russian propaganda.
Let's find a different source.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russia-econ...0-minutes/
Countries have imposed thousands of sanctions on Russia since it launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, but more than two years later, Russia's economy is growing.Russia is the third largest oil producer in the world and this year, despite the price cap, its oil and gas revenues are expected to increase 2.6% to nearly $240 billion. The Kremlin has circumvented the price cap using the dark fleet.
The dark fleet, or shadow fleet, is used to move a million barrels of oil around Western sanctions every day. The term shadow or dark fleet refers to aging vessels with opaque ownership that moves oil to evade sanctions.

OK but is it only oil keeping them alive? These damn Russians must learn....
It's not just India that's fueling Russia's economy – the U.S. is playing a role, too. Most enriched uranium purchased by the U.S. is now of foreign origin, with around a quarter of the enriched uranium entering the U.S. coming from Russia, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. 

OK So despite Sanctions and Losing the War, Russia has a booming economy due to oil and uranium.  

It appears Putin needs to keep the war going to keep the money flowing.

Russia needs to continue the war to save it's economy, how is that again?

[quintessentone]

OK but is it only oil keeping them alive? These damn Russians must learn....
It's not just India that's fueling Russia's economy – the U.S. is playing a role, too. Most enriched uranium purchased by the U.S. is now of foreign origin, with around a quarter of the enriched uranium entering the U.S. coming from Russia, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. 

OK So despite Sanctions and Losing the War, Russia has a booming economy due to oil and uranium.  
Russia needs to continue the war to save it's economy, how is that again?

It is explained in the video I posted.

When will Russia run out of cannon fodder is another important question in this brutal war?

[sahgwa]

It is explained in the video I posted.

When will Russia run out of cannon fodder is another important question in this brutal war?

I don't have the ability to watch videos right now, would you care to share the pertinent synopsis in text for others, or at least myself? It would be appreciated !

[Oldcarpy2]

Being reported that a ceasefire in the Black Sea might be on the cards, but Putin wants some sanctions lifted first.

[quintessentone]

I don't have the ability to watch videos right now, would you care to share the pertinent synopsis in text for others, or at least myself? It would be appreciated !

It basically says the same thing as always, that Putin is running out of civilian factory workers, cannon fodder for the front lines, and resources to keep this war going. Throw in an inflation rate of 21% and Ukraine taking out key oil refineries and other strategic military targets, then ask yourself "How long can Russia's economy take these hits?"