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Foreign Affairs › Re: World News! Events Happening Around The World by Vl3ly: 9:50pm On Feb 14, 2023
Uprightness100:
The Lebanese Lira continues or crash and is now traded 72,000 liras for one US dollar.
make den no worry dollar go crash soon
Foreign Affairs › Re: World News! Events Happening Around The World by Vl3ly: 9:48pm On Feb 14, 2023
Kelvin3476:
WHEN RUSSIA GRABS AND GRABS MORE LANDS FROM THEIR FORMER NON NATO SOVIET BROTHER IS CALLED WHAT?

WHEN THEY DICTATE FOR EVERY OF THEIR NEIGHBOUR NKO ? WHAT CAN WE CALL IT ?
when USA grabbed Texas from Mexico what do they called it?

When USA also dictated to European who to trade with , what do they also called it
Foreign Affairs › Re: U.S. Tells Ukraine It Won’t Send Long-range Missiles Because It Has Few To Spare by Vl3ly(op): 9:32pm On Feb 14, 2023
Otobong3374:
Can You Live In Babkmut?? Do You Know Living In Babkmut Is A Desertrous To Humanity?? Go Closer Partially To Russian Encircled Forces And Aks About Their Lives, I Will Know That War Is Unprofitable To Mankind No Matter How Strong Your Sovereign Is.
before we start quoting each other if have rule and regulations ooo which is ...I hate abusing or cursing
Foreign Affairs › Re: U.S. Tells Ukraine It Won’t Send Long-range Missiles Because It Has Few To Spare by Vl3ly(op): 12:07pm On Feb 14, 2023
Siwisheswereesh:
I have been hearing that now for past one month embarassed

The encirclement never ends cheesy
yes!
Russia is not rushing
Foreign Affairs › Re: U.S. Tells Ukraine It Won’t Send Long-range Missiles Because It Has Few To Spare by Vl3ly(op): 9:13am On Feb 14, 2023
Siwisheswereesh:
Pro-Putin l*natics should rest abeg. smiley

Russia is not making any headway in this war and where they struggle to it at great personnel cost - a temporary pyrrhic victory - not worth it at all. embarassed
you funny,bahkmut is partially encircled hope you know that
Foreign Affairs › U.S. Tells Ukraine It Won’t Send Long-range Missiles Because It Has Few To Spare by Vl3ly(op): 8:16am On Feb 14, 2023
The Biden administration has given its Ukrainian counterparts another reason for not sending them much-wanted long-range missiles: The U.S. is concerned it wouldn’t have enough for itself.

In recent meetings at the Pentagon, U.S. officials told Kyiv’s representatives that it doesn’t have any Army Tactical Missile Systems to spare, according to four people with knowledge of the talks. Transferring ATACMS to the battlefield in eastern Europe would dwindle America’s stockpiles and harm the U.S. military’s readiness for a future fight, the people said.

That worry, along with the administration’s existing concern that Ukraine would use the 190-mile range missiles to attack deep inside Russian territory and cross what the Kremlin has said is a red line, is why the U.S. isn’t shipping ATACMS to the frontlines any time soon.

The Pentagon’s assessment of its stockpiles is informed in part by how many weapons and munitions planners think they might need to confront an enemy. Those plans have not been significantly revised since the start of the war in Ukraine, and have not recalibrated what the stockpiles the U.S. might need in reserve to face a weakened Russia, or account for the fact that Ukraine is essentially fighting that war right now.

One of the reasons the military is hesitant to send the ATACMS is due to a desire to maintain a certain level of munitions in U.S. stockpiles, said one U.S. official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military calculations.

“With any package, we always consider our readiness and our own stocks while providing Ukraine what it needs on the battlefield,” said a senior DoD official. “There are other ways of providing Ukraine with the capabilities it needs to strike the targets.”

Laura Cooper, the Pentagon’s top policy official for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia issues, said in a recent interview that “with every single capability that we provide, whether you’re talking, you know, HIMARS or you’re talking a particular kind of missile or ammunition, we’re always looking at the availability of our stocks, we’re looking at production considerations, and so that’s true of every capability, and we make decisions accordingly.”

Lockheed Martin has produced about 4,000 ATACMS in various configurations over the past two decades. Some of those missiles have been sold to allied nations, which bought the missile for their own multiple rocket launcher systems. Around 600 were fired by U.S. forces in combat during the Persian Gulf War and the Iraq War.

One workaround being considered by Kyiv is to ask for Washington’s approval to buy ATACMS from an allied country that operates the weapon, using military financing from the United States, according to one of the people familiar with the discussions. The list of ATACMS users includes South Korea, Poland, Romania, Greece, Turkey, Qatar and Bahrain.

The other issue over sending ATACMS — that it’s too aggressive a move by Biden’s team — remains. But Ukrainian officials have heard such arguments about other weapons before, only for the Biden administration to reverse course and send artillery, missile defenses and tanks.

Despite Washington’s reservations, Ukraine continues to push for more advanced weapons, with ATACMS typically at the top of the list.

“Ukraine needs long-range missiles,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a January video address to the Ukrainian people, “to deprive the occupier of the opportunity to place its missile launchers somewhere far from the front line and destroy Ukrainian cities.”
On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley will be in Brussels to host the ninth meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a monthly gathering of 50 nations that will discuss what new military support they can provide Ukraine. Kyiv is planning a spring and summer offensive to counter Russia’s assaults in the Donbas and Moscow’s drone and missile campaign against civilian targets.

One person close to the Ukrainian government said that Kyiv doesn’t anticipate any new weapons in the assistance package Austin will announce this week. The drawdowns from existing stocks and contracts for new weapons won’t include ATACMS or F-16 warplanes, but will focus on ammunition, munitions, air defense and spare parts.

Whatever the U.S. package — and other pledges by partner nations — Ukraine is looking for more secrecy when those governments announce that assistance.

Officials in Kyiv are growing concerned that some of the more detailed lists coming out of Washington and elsewhere could risk providing too much information to their Russian foes, who can prepare defenses or countermeasures if they know what they’ll be facing, according to one of the people.

Zelenskyy alluded to those growing concerns on Thursday in Brussels when he met with European Union leaders to talk about what he needs this year and beyond.

Fresh off a successful trip to London where he met with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who pledged to help train Ukrainian pilots to fly NATO fighter jets, Zelenskyy said “we have moved towards the solutions concerning the long-range missiles and the training of our pilots… Also there are certain agreements which are not public but are positive. When these items will happen, our state will know this, but I don’t want to prepare the Russian Federation.”

The U.S. and allies have long maintained some element of mystery over some capabilities sent to Ukraine, cloaking some military aid under vague catchall categories such as rocket artillery or drones that could mean any number of things.

But the U.S. has also done more than most countries to announce the amount and nature of its donations and defense contracts proposed with Ukraine, as the Biden administration tries to show its commitment to Kyiv.

Others, such as Finland, Sweden, Spain and Canada, are more vague, and generally decline to list most of the specific equipment, weapons and munitions they provide.

The desire for more secrecy can be seen as a difficult request for some countries that are eager to show how deep their support for Ukraine goes, especially when that support can also mean American military financing to replace stocks in later years. At Thursday’s EU summit, Zelenskyy formally asked Slovakian Prime Minister Eduard Heger to transfer some of his country’s MiG-29 fighter planes to Ukraine.

On Friday, Heger said he was ready to start talks on the potential transfer. “The Ukrainian president asked me to deliver the MiGs. Now, because this official request has come, the process of negotiations can be started,” Heger said.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.politico.com/amp/news/2023/02/13/u-s-wont-send-long-range-missiles-ukraine-00082652
Foreign Affairs › Re: Russia Would Provide Weapons To Sudan In Return For Red Sea Navy Base by Vl3ly(op): 11:01pm On Feb 13, 2023
Hyperchi:
It easy for Africans to get govt position in the west than in Russia and China. So why will I want a country than only want to trade with me and built base, but can easily go against my ppl in their country,
can you also allow Russia or china to be holding government office in your community talkless of state
Foreign Affairs › Russia Would Provide Weapons To Sudan In Return For Red Sea Navy Base by Vl3ly(op): 7:13am On Feb 13, 2023
February 11, 2023 (KHARTOUM) – Military leaders who control power in Khartoum approved a deal to establish a logistic base for the Russian navy in Port Sudan, in return; Moscow would provide weapons and equipment to the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF).

On February 9, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks with the Head of the Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.


Before leaving the Sudanese capital, Lavrov told reporters that the deal, which was agreed upon during the rule of former President Omer al-Bashir, is readily awaiting the approval of the Sudanese parliament, without further details.

In June 2021, Lt Gen Mohamed Osman al-Hussein, Chief of General Staff, stated they need to review the agreement.


Citing Sudanese military sources, the Associated Press on Saturday reported that the Sudanese army has given the green light for the military base after getting the Russian commitment to meet Sudan’s demand including weapons and equipment.

“They cleared all our concerns. The deal has become OK from the military side,” a Sudanese military official to The AP.


The military base on the Red Sea will host 300 troops and four military ships including nuclear-powered ones. The base is crucial for Moscow’s plans to expand its influence in Africa and link landlocked countries where they are present with the Red Sea.

Moscow is accused of seeking to destabilize the Paris-supported government in Africa and offering troops hired by a Russian private security contractor Wagner to protect military regimes that flared in the continent.
Until recently, the focus was shed on the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the deputy head of the Sovereign Council after several reports about his close cooperation with Wagner in Sudan cold mining and in the neighbouring Central African Republic.

However, it appeared that the deal benefits the SAF more than the RSF.


Several countries in the region including Saudi Arabia and Egypt showed some concerns over the deal and sought to dissuade the SAF commander-in-chief from implementing the deal.

https://sudantribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/jpg_the_russian_navy_frigate_rfs_admiral_grigorovich_entres_in_port_sudan_on_28_february_2021_screenshot_from_a_video_by_ruptly_tv.jpg

Foreign Affairs › Re: World News! Events Happening Around The World by Vl3ly: 7:13pm On Feb 12, 2023
okeysoninv:
always dabbling in subject you knew nothing about .always read the history. The land of Israel belongs to Israel alone. Tell your ottoman Turks to take their people away from Israel because Israel and Jerusalem is established forever and ever.
olodo wey no know history
Foreign Affairs › Re: US Failed To Detect Past China Spy Balloons Over United States: WSJ by Vl3ly(op): 10:28am On Feb 12, 2023
Cizarr:
They knw what they are doing bro, they decide on what's best for them. You know they are capable of destroy it before entering their mainland. So they know what they are doing.
stop defending nonsense joorr
Foreign Affairs › Re: Russian Women Flying To Argentina To Obtain Citizenship by Vl3ly: 10:26am On Feb 12, 2023
BBC? Russia enemy?
Mstewww ,I will take the news serious when it is broadcasted by genuine source
Foreign Affairs › Re: Zelensky Makes 'wings For Freedom'plea In UK Visit To Push Case For Fighter Jets by Vl3ly: 10:23pm On Feb 11, 2023
God1000:
any evidence of your claims
evidence plenty even no be today wey Ukrainian gov. send letter to there Estonia, Poland and some western country embassy for the expulsion of Ukrainians liable for military services
You can google am or make I help you do am?
Foreign Affairs › Re: Zelensky Makes 'wings For Freedom'plea In UK Visit To Push Case For Fighter Jets by Vl3ly: 10:10pm On Feb 11, 2023
God1000:
Lol, your hero has started what he cannot finish bro
e go finish am neatly
Foreign Affairs › Re: Zelensky Makes 'wings For Freedom'plea In UK Visit To Push Case For Fighter Jets by Vl3ly: 12:44pm On Feb 10, 2023
orisa37:
THIS IS A WAR BETWEEN NATO AND EU VS RUSSIA AND NATO MUST WIN. RUSSIA IS TRESPASSING INTO NATO AND WESTERN EUROPEAN TERRITORIES.
I like you for this truth
Foreign Affairs › Re: Zelensky Makes 'wings For Freedom'plea In UK Visit To Push Case For Fighter Jets by Vl3ly: 12:42pm On Feb 10, 2023
God1000:
Lol, what happened to first tens of thousands of soldiers Putin sent to Ukraine? I guess they are somewhere enjoying themselves.

Look man, the fact Putin had to announce fresh mobilization of 300,000 soldiers speaks volumes, stop living in denial of reality
do you also know that Ukraine is in 8th round of mobilization
Foreign Affairs › Re: US Failed To Detect Past China Spy Balloons Over United States: WSJ by Vl3ly(op): 11:04am On Feb 10, 2023
Enugurangers:
You guys like to argue on your American android phones. Lol
subtract there debt from there GDP maybe they are not going to have problem
Foreign Affairs › Re: Zelensky Makes 'wings For Freedom'plea In UK Visit To Push Case For Fighter Jets by Vl3ly: 10:36am On Feb 10, 2023
God1000:
He should be given fighter jets, Putin will never succeed.
where are the USA and allies supplied Soviet jets and helicopter
Foreign Affairs › Re: prophetic progression of Ukraine war by Vl3ly: 9:14pm On Feb 07, 2023
okeysoninv:
If you're true christain as you said you won't have said, God always provide warning before things begin to happen. Who told you nairaland is not read outside the country. Are you trying to say there is no need to warn the people because the calamity is already going to happen, shall God allow all his elect to perish, Godfobid. My message is to warn people to escape doom that is about to occur. If it doesn't suit you please walk and pass. God says my sheep knowns my voice . If through the message of God I am able to save a soul form death I will be very grateful to God. Now , you have heard the reason of this message , if your brother or sister is still in Russia or Ukraine tell them to depart from there. Yesterday , there was an earthquake in turkey, had it been there was prophet in turkey that warned people about it . Many couldn't have perish . Ok have a nice day. The message shall cont. Till end of the world.
your god no show you the coming of turkey and Syria earthquake?
Foreign Affairs › Re: US Failed To Detect Past China Spy Balloons Over United States: WSJ by Vl3ly(op): 9:07pm On Feb 07, 2023
atmy1:
The most influential: yes
The most powerful: Doubtful
The Richest: Simply because dollar is the defacto global currency
Technology: Not even in the best 3
the richest for where?
Foreign Affairs › US Failed To Detect Past China Spy Balloons Over United States: WSJ by Vl3ly(op):
WASHINGTON—China previously sent high-altitude surveillance balloons over the U.S. that went undetected until after leaving American airspace, Biden administration officials said, as the military salvaged debris Sunday from the downed balloon in a bid to learn more about the Chinese operation.

After the Pentagon disclosed last week that it was tracking the balloon that the Air Force shot down Saturday off the Carolina coast, defense officials said that there have been prior intrusions over the continental U.S. At least three of those occurred during former President Donald Trump‘s term in office and once previously under President Biden.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-decision-to-delay-shootdown-of-chinese-balloon-questioned-11675616189

Foreign Affairs › Re: The Operation To Neutralize The Chinese Balloon Involved:(pix) by Vl3ly(op): 10:16pm On Feb 05, 2023
Kelvin3476:
soo what do u mean ?
against just 1 balloon
Foreign Affairs › Re: The Operation To Neutralize The Chinese Balloon Involved:(pix) by Vl3ly(op): 9:40pm On Feb 05, 2023
Na only balloon you shoot down dey customize? when you shoot down drone unko wetin you go customize?

Foreign Affairs › The Operation To Neutralize The Chinese Balloon Involved:(pix) by Vl3ly(op): 9:33pm On Feb 05, 2023
🇨🇳🇺🇸The operation to neutralize the Chinese balloon involved:

- 5th generation F-22 Raptor fighters (one of them hit the balloon with an AIM-9X missile),

- F-15 fighter-bombers,

- Coast Guard helicopter MH-60,

- US Navy auxiliary ship USS Carter Hall,

- airborne early warning and control aircraft E-2A Hawkeye,

- nuclear aircraft carrier

- air command post (doomsday aircraft) E-4B Nightwatch,

- refueling aircraft KC-135 Stratotanker,
- potentially other ships and aircraft.

For several hours, airspace was closed over part of the two states, the work of three airports was suspended.

American clown drama

Foreign Affairs › Re: Berlin Has Woken Up by Vl3ly: 8:46pm On Feb 05, 2023
obedience4:
Please name the Turkish newspaper clown.
And also name the western source's,
Just a simple name you can't mention you are writing stories about the Ukrainian minister of defence
Show me the Turkish newspaper or site that show the Israeli intelligence saying the casualties of Ukrainian troops,


Simple request show me the Turkish newspaper or remain a clown
check it up but I know you, you go still talk other thing


https://hurseda.net/gundem/246987-iddia-mossad-a-gore-ukrayna-ve-rusya-kayiplari.html

Foreign Affairs › Re: Berlin Has Woken Up by Vl3ly: 8:40pm On Feb 05, 2023
obedience4:
A Turkish newspaperhuh No namehuh
Israeli intelligence assement?? No namehuh
Go to mossad website and you will find declassified files to read.
One thing synonymous with you purturds is posting rubbish without facts. No verified source no nothing
And what is shocking is that one of your mate comes along an endorse the unverified comments.

Post and endorse fact not fallacies
this the link to the news

https://hurseda.net/gundem/246987-iddia-mossad-a-gore-ukrayna-ve-rusya-kayiplari.html
Foreign Affairs › Re: Who Will Succeed HIMARS In The Ukrainian Military? by Vl3ly: 7:49pm On Feb 05, 2023
Leopard

Foreign Affairs › "Putin Assured Me That He Would Not Kill Zelensky."- Bennett by Vl3ly(op): 4:46pm On Feb 05, 2023
🇮🇱🇷🇺🇺🇦 "Putin assured me that he would not kill Zelensky." The former Prime Minister of Israel spoke about the promise of the President of the Russian Federation.

In early March last year, Bennett met with Putin and asked if he was going to kill Zelensky, who at the time was hiding in a secret bunker. The former prime minister of Israel spoke about this in an interview with Channel 12.

"I'm not going to kill Zelensky," Putin said.

Bennett replied: "I need to understand that you give me your word that you will not kill Zelensky." And Putin again promised not to do this.

After that, according to Bennett, he called Zelensky to warn that he was not in danger.

"Are you sure?" Zelensky asked.

"One hundred percent," Bennett replied.

According to him, a few hours later, Zelensky returned to his office and shot a video where he stated that he was not afraid of anything.
Foreign Affairs › Re: WWIII Would Come If Russian Tanks Get To Kyiv Says Crosetto by Vl3ly: 10:44pm On Feb 04, 2023
Otobong3374:
grin Bitch, I'm Not An African Puppet, Okay? I'm An American Living In A Very Good Edifice, Okay? I'm Not Screaming Or Seeking For African Food. Boy, Stop Wailing Like My Black Pussy Cat, Okay? I Don't Want To Minggle With African Trolls.
don't worry Russia nuke go rich you soonest
Foreign Affairs › Russia Economy Is Growing Faster Than Germany-ukdaliy by Vl3ly(op): 10:04pm On Feb 04, 2023
At first glance they look like bugs. This week, the International Monetary Fund’s analysts released forecasts that the Russian economy will grow in the coming year, while Britain’s will contract. And that Russia will actually grow faster than Germany, Europe’s economic powerhouse.

But there are no mistakes – just twists and turns in all the countries involved.

The numbers would have been hard to imagine in the early days of the war, when Western sanctions sent Russia’s stock market and local currency, the ruble, into free fall and hundreds of international companies – from McDonald’s to Boeing – withdrew from the country. In March 2022, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen confidently predicted that “the Russian economy will be devastated”.


The Russians also expected a deeper economic crisis. According to reports, the Russian Ministry of Finance expects GDP to fall by more than 10 percent. As recently as December, a Reuters poll of 15 economists predicted a 2.5 percent decline for the coming year.

Also read: The global HVAC market is forecast to grow by USD 74.02 billion during the period 2023-2027, accelerating to a CAGR of 6.5% during the forecast period

And yet here we are, in early 2023, and the IMF is now forecasting that Russia’s economy, after contracting 2.2 percent last year, will grow again in 2023, by 0.3 percent and then by 2.1 percent in 2024 percent will grow for these European powerhouses? UK expected to shrink 0.6 percent; Germany will still be in the black, but only just; Growth of a feeble 0.1 percent is expected this year.

“On the one hand, the Russian economy is definitely in a very complicated situation,” Sergey Aleksashenko, a former Russian central banker and deputy finance minister, said last month during a call hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. But as for the idea that there was a total “collapse,” he added, “That’s not true.”


The question then arises: How could this have happened?

Better news for Russia on the home front…
The answer begins with two different economic stories: the first about what happened in Russia; and the second on Russia’s ties to the outside world.

Western sanctions were intended to pressure Moscow both domestically and internationally; The idea was to “limp” Russia’s domestic economy and trade relations, as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson put it in late February 2022. The restrictions included measures to cut off the Central Bank of Russia from the international financial system and block its access to invest billions of dollars in assets abroad and evict the country’s private banking industry from the so-called SWIFT system, which allowed it to trade with global markets counterparties to transact business.


The fallout was almost instantaneous. Ordinary Russians, worried about their savings when news of the sanctions hit the headlines, queued at ATMs in early March and rushed to withdraw as much cash as possible, fearing banks could collapse.

But the evidence now shows that Russia experienced some kind of domestic recovery in the second half of 2022. And the paradox is that the war itself helped propel the turnaround.

While spending on various other domestic programs has fallen by about a quarter and certain industries have suffered huge losses (one estimate put Russian auto sales in 2022 likely to end with a staggering 60 percent drop), the domestic wartime economy has expanded — and did — dramatically more than make up for the difference.


According to a recent analysis by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, about a third of all spending in this year’s budget goes to the security sector. According to business daily RBC, Russia’s military spending is expected to increase by almost 5 trillion rubles ($71 billion) in 2023, with spending on internal security and law enforcement expected to increase by almost the same amount.

Last month, Russia’s state-owned defense conglomerate Rostec said it “continues to increase the pace and volume of arms production” after ramping up production over the past year. Personnel spending is also rising: in December Moscow announced that it would increase the size of its military from 1 million to 1.5 million – a sign of its struggle in Ukraine but also a confirmation of increased spending in the country’s defense sector.


The defense sector’s production spikes have meant that the overall statistics for Russia’s industry have not been as disastrous as one might have expected. Despite international sanctions, industrial production fell by just 0.1 percent in the first 10 months of 2022. And now let it grow.

“We have to understand that if you produce weapons instead of butter, GDP can grow, and that was definitely the effect in the second half of 2022,” stressed Aleksashenko, the former Russian central banker.

… and a lot of support from other countries
While domestic image has been bolstered by war spending, Russia has continued to trade relatively freely beyond its borders, amounting to tens of billions of dollars – even as sanctions made it difficult for Russian firms to do business with foreign partners.

There are two main reasons for this: Russia’s ability to persuade key trading partners to ignore Western sanctions; and Russia’s vast and diverse natural resources.


Russia continues to occupy a dominant position in the world’s oil and gas markets. It is also the world’s largest exporter of fertilizers. And for many countries, regardless of their stance on the Ukraine war, the sudden abandonment of Russian supplies has proved too costly.

The result: Moscow’s influence in these markets has meant that several countries continue to trade extensively with Moscow, despite the efforts of the United States and its European partners. India is a prime example: while Western nations have struggled to reduce their dependence on Russian energy, India has greatly increased its consumption of Russian oil. In fact, India now imports an estimated 1.2 million barrels of Russian oil each month — 33 times the amount a year earlier, according to Bloomberg data.

NATO ally Turkey also continues to trade with Moscow. In December, for example, it imported 213,000 barrels of Russian diesel every day, the most since at least 2016.

Imports to Russia have also proved more resilient than sanctions headlines suggest as Moscow deepens ties with countries like China and Turkey. Imports from Turkey to Russia, for example, totaled over US$1.3 billion in December, more than double the year-earlier figure.

And in Europe itself, even as the continent hastened to end its dependence on Russian energy, leaders decided that if war broke out, they couldn’t just turn the spigot off. Climate campaigning group Europe Beyond Coal estimates that European Union countries have spent more than $150 billion — that’s right, billions — on Russian fossil fuels since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, despite the war.

Problems in Germany and Great Britain
While Russia found ways to trade and support its economy domestically, at least temporarily, its invasion of Ukraine triggered a sudden spike in global energy and food prices. And that, in turn, put pressure on the economies of its rivals, including Britain and Germany.

As reported by Grid, the war caused particular economic trauma for Germany, which was heavily dependent on Russian energy supplies prior to the Russian invasion. Initially, energy prices soared, fueling inflation and straining the wallets of millions of Europeans. The effect has continued; Latest figures showed that retail sales in Germany fell sharply in December from November figures, despite expectations of a slight increase for the holiday season. Analysts had expected a sales increase of 0.2 percent; Official figures showed that they had actually fallen 5.3 percent.

Food and fuel inflation and its impact on the cost of living have hit the UK hardest. It didn’t help that the UK was experiencing its most politically tense year in recent memory (marked by three Prime Ministers and competing economic policies) and that the country is only just beginning to feel the ill effects of Brexit – Britain’s political separation from the European Union, its largest trading partner. As Sophie Hale, chief economist at the Resolution Foundation, an independent London-based think tank, told Grid in November: “If Brexit hadn’t happened, I think the UK would have done better relative to its peers.”

The result: even as Covid-19 restrictions were lifted and economy after economy began to recover, the UK lagged behind its international peers. And now the IMF is predicting that it will actually be the other way around.

And what may seem like an IMF balance sheet misfire to non-economists actually adds up: Russia is faring far better than most pundits expected — even better than some of the economically powerful nations that wanted to punish the Kremlin for its invasion of Ukraine .

Back in May last year, three months after the invasion of Ukraine, Janis Kluge, an expert on the Russian economy at the German Institute for International Security, told Grid: “When [Vladimir] Putin says Russia got over the initial shock of sanctions, you know, that’s hard to argue with.”

Now, almost a year into the war, and despite unprecedented Western action, the statistics suggest it’s still hard to disagree with Putin’s assessment. Maybe even harder than back then.

Thanks to Dave Tepps for editing this article.

Source

https://ukdaily.news/russias-economy-is-now-forecast-to-grow-faster-than-those-of-germany-and-the-uk-in-2023-how-is-that-possible-325956.html

Foreign Affairs › British Army 'would Last An Afternoon' Against Russia -british Military Expert by Vl3ly(op): 6:00pm On Feb 04, 2023
As Ukraine's defence chief warns that Vladimir Putin is planning a ‘maximum escalation’ of the war, a leading British military expert has said that if the British Army were to be pulled into the fight, it would run out of ammunition in “a busy afternoon.”.

General Sir Richard Barrons, former Joint Forces chief, says years of government neglect have left Britain’s military ill-equipped for a major conflict, and our armed forces “smaller and less ready to fight than at any time in living memory”.

His words echo a warning from the Royal United Services Institute in December that said Britain’s ammunition stockpiles were “woefully deficient” and that in any serious armed conflict the Army would run out of ammunition in a week.

READ MORE: WW3 fears as US general tells of 'gut feeling' about war with China in 2025

Defence analyst Francis Tusa, explained: “From the Treasury’s point of view, holding stock is wrong. But we need to hold six months’ worth of ammo in case we get into a serious war.”

General Sir Richard Barrons was Commander Joint Forces Command from April 2013 until his retirement in April 2016 (Image: PA)
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Sir Richard, writing in The Sun, says we rely on imported explosives for tank and artillery shells and ammunition factories in the UK would take a year to make as many shells in a day.

The forced have been “hollowed out” by spending cuts, he says.

The cuts might have made sense, Sir Richard admits, when the Cold War ended and we no longer faced the threat of war with the Soviet Union.

The General says we would run out of ammo 'in a busy afternoon' (Image: Getty Images)
READ MORE
Putin 'couldn't give a s*** about people dying' as war is set to get 'much bloodier'
“We spent money on health, education and welfare instead,” he says.

But now, Sir Richard adds, “we have a war in Europe, and our Armed forces are smaller and less ready to fight than at any time in living memory.

“The Army is on track to slip below 76,000 troops, about half the size of our Cold War force”.

Ben Wallace admitted that armed forces spending had been neglected in the recent past (Image: Tim Merry / Daily Express)
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And with significant quantities of key equipment, such a shipment of 14 Challenger tanks, being loaned to Ukraine that leaves our own regiments distinctly low on kit.

In the Commons earlier week, Tobias Ellwood, the chairman of the Defence Select Committee, said that the war in Ukraine had “exposed serious shortfalls in the war fighting capability of the British army”.

A defence source told The Times that many of the warnings about Britain's declining military capability were “based on assumptions”, and pointed out that exact levels of our ammunition stocks are "highly classified".


https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/british-army-would-last-afternoon-29124780?int_source=amp_continue_reading&int_medium=amp&int_campaign=continue_reading_button#amp-readmore-target

Foreign Affairs › Re: Chinese Balloon Could Be Dry Run To Deliver Nuclear EMP Device by Vl3ly(op): 3:18pm On Feb 04, 2023
Aurelius1:
Can you hear yourself? What is difficult in shooting a balloon in the sky? Is it covered with some form electromagnetic shield? Nobody knows what the balloon is carrying, hence shooting it down would be suicidal. That's the only sensible explanation.
if you need the video of the shot drop your what's app number
USA has tried to shoot it down! google it,no dey give unnecessary problem

This is how the balloon look like no be suicidal stuff as you stated

Foreign Affairs › Re: Berlin Has Woken Up by Vl3ly: 3:08pm On Feb 04, 2023
engrchykae:
Germany have never before succeeded against Russia
Both during operation Barbarossa (led by Frederick Barbarossa)and the second Barbarossa led by Hitler.
The German wolf is no match for the Russian Bear.
If you know what I mean
hey! the best quote of the year

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