Planet Rugby Forum

openclashXX

Unpopular opinion, but I don't believe anyone in the West should be cheering for Chechnya to become headline news again

Without the Russian thumb sitting on top of it, it's far likelier to become the next aspiring Islamic caliphate than a peaceful beacon of Western-style democracy

openclashXX

Tuchel looks like he might be lined up for the Man United job.

Imagine the amount of abuse he's going to unload on the current bunch of wasters. Hope they bring back Sancho just for the inevitable blowup

openclashXX

Mark Galleoti, the Russian political observer who writes for the Spectator, did a good breakdown of what might happen if Kadyrov dies the last time there was a major health scare reported - Kadyrov would likely insist on his 18-year-old son Akhmat being named as successor, in order to keep the famil...

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More news about Kadyrov's health issues. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has been living with a diagnosis of pancreatic necrosis for more than five years, the independent news website Novaya Gazeta Europe reported Monday, citing anonymous sources at the Moscow presidential hospital where he was allege...

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The use of English is an interesting one that I've seen elsewhere. Recently was in Tbilisi - sat at a restaurant, next to a Russian-speaking couple, having a conversation in Russian. The restaurant staff also clearly spoke Russian since the menu was printed in Georgian, English and Russian, but the ...

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I was listening to a podcast the other day with The Telegraphs former Moscow bureau chief, Julius Strauss, who recently visited Kharkiv. He said that there is still about 1m people living in and around the city, which is incredible really, but the major difference he found this time compared to whe...

openclashXX

So torturing and slaughtering may make them fonder of Russia? Or do you mean sue for peace. I don't mean either of those things. Just that Ukrainian history post-independence is a little more complex than you're making it out. The three defining events since 1991 - the Orange Revolution, Euromaidan...

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In 1991 there was a free and fair election held in which 93% percent of the population voted in favour of independence. Every single region voted in favour of it. I'm pro-Ukraine and I still find using the 1991 election as an indicator of people's views in 2024 to be a flawed argument. A lot of tim...

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Speaking of elections in Ukraine - Zelensky is now 18 points behind Zaluzhnyi in the polls Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would lose to the commander-in-chief he fired if an election were to be held now, according to a poll. Zelensky removed Valerii Zaluzhny from his post in February followi...

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In 1991 there was a free and fair election held in which 93% percent of the population voted in favour of independence. Every single region voted in favour of it. I'm pro-Ukraine and I still find using the 1991 election as an indicator of people's views in 2024 to be a flawed argument. A lot of tim...

openclashXX

You'd have to assume Russia will have to ramp up funding for the war even more to try and keep up - it already accounts for one-third of their entire state budget

$60bn is a massive number... the entire Russian defence budget for 2024 is $110bn

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David Sacks predictably going into meltdown @DavidSacks It’s not “just” $61 billion. Ukraine will need massive annual cash infusions to stave off total defeat. So it’s $61 billion as the baseline for an annual appropriation in a new forever war. @DavidSacks It’s no coincidence that the Uniparty is s...

openclashXX

Russian reactions to today's votes in US Congress: ◾️Peskov: - on seizing Russian assets: "If it's really about confiscating our assets, the USA will answer for that. Moscow will take measures in accordance with our interests, no time limits." - on aid to Ukraine: "the decision will make the USA ev...

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Donald Trump has said the survival of Ukraine is important to the US, in what Reuters describes as a shift in tone days before Republicans are due to vote on a $61bn aid package in the US House of Representatives. “As everyone agrees, Ukrainian Survival and Strength should be much more important to...

openclashXX

Perhaps a sad indicator of the times we live in - there are already playable video games based on the war in Ukraine, produced by each side Death from Above is the Ukrainian offering - you play as a drone operator behind the frontlines taking out Russian tanks Best in Hell is the Russian offering - ...

openclashXX

Total US aid for Ukraine between 2022-2024 thus far has been $74bn

Difficult to understate how massive another $60bn would be, if approved

Hopefully this is the impetus for Ukraine to get its act together on mobilization

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Luna: Furthermore, remember, Ukraine chose to not join NATO. Berman: It was NATO and the US and others who didn't want Ukraine to enter Luna: I’m going to have to respectfully push back on that because I disagree https://x.com/Acyn/status/1780951793322574145 On that evidence they need to pass a bil...

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Germany's going through one of its "we support Ukraine" phases again Germany has written to dozens of countries including Gulf Arab states to plead for more air defence systems for Ukraine, saying Kyiv needed urgent help to protect its cities, troops and critical infrastructure from the “murderous o...

openclashXX

The question is more what he'll table at this point I think. If the Dems will be prepared to swallow a loan type aid deal and if there's any unacceptable riders on it. Content has been published: The content of the Ukraine aid bill has been published on the House of Representatives website. Similar...

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The BBC's independent verification of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine, through sources like funeral postings, newspapers, social media and graveyard satellite photos, has now climbed above 50,000 confirmed killed

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-68819853

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towny wrote: ↑Wed Apr 17, 2024 6:14 pm So the US would loan Ukraine to buy obsolete/expired equipment and ammunition that’s in US inventory instead of the US throwing it out?

That’s a good deal, right?

Yes, and the money the Ukrainians "pay" would go towards restocking. It's effectively a subsidy for American weapons manufacturers

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Russian "peacekeepers" officially withdrawing from Karabakh - that's around 2,000 troops. Full control of the territory now with Azerbaijan Russia has begun withdrawing its "peacekeeping" contingent from Nagorno-Karabakh, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on April 17, according to Russian...

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CanNZ2000 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 17, 2024 4:31 pm Saturday could be a very good day for Ukraine, support wise, fingers crossed.

https://twitter.com/foxreports/status/1 ... SFNmRh_ECg

He's likely signed his own political death warrant by finally moving ahead with a vote on this bill, but it's long overdue

openclashXX

Last night's strike on Dzhankoy in Crimea looks more and more curious Early indications that the Ukrainians used ATACMS missiles ($1m each) to strike the base. Russian milbloggers claiming it was as many as 11 missiles, likely a massive exaggeration but certainly multiple were used as more than one ...

openclashXX

The UK already has one of the lowest smoking rates in the developed world, under 15% of people smoke, down from around 35% in 2000. That's considerably below the 20-40% range across most of the EU. The anti-smoking legislation passed during that time clearly had some effect. I would've preferred hav...

openclashXX

Completely forget there was Champions League on tonight

These scores

openclashXX

So it looks like the US house vote on Ukraine aid will be voted on, potentially as early as this Friday - but not as part of a combined bill with Israel + Taiwan + border funding, but instead as a standalone funding bill for Ukraine Would be keen to know whether that improves or harms its chances of...

openclashXX

Reports emerging that morale among Russian troops is so low that many are now committing ritual seppuku instead of running head-first into the next meat wave assault source: trust me bro LOL. Keep swallowing whatt America, the UK, Western MSM, Facebook and youtube allow. You're being completely not...

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Reports emerging that morale among Russian troops is so low that many are now committing ritual seppuku instead of running head-first into the next meat wave assault

source: trust me bro

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According to The Standard, the FA recently released data on the Chelsea stars as part of their annual agent payments report last week. The data suggests that the Blues have extended the contracts of Fernandez and Mudryk until 2032 and 2031 respectively. If both the players stay at Stamford Bridge u...

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Suggestions that they've exhausted the combat capabilities over several areas of the frontline at this point based on the expenditure of men and materiel over their winter offensive(s). Surely it'll take them a good while to reconstitute and resupply before they can throw people into the grinder ag...

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While all the focus is on Israel: Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) Head Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov stated that Ukrainian forces are preparing to repel a future Russian major offensive expected in late May or the beginning of June but noted that this will be “catastrophi...

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If you believe it’s over, explain how? The City run-in is how. Hard to make a case for them getting anything other than the full 18 points available. Spurs away is the only fixture you could conceivably see them dropping points at, which looks less and less likely with their form in the last few ga...

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300 drones and missiles fired, only 7 actually hit anything. No casualties, no major damage Great Iranian success :thumbup: If you want to appear like a tough guy who lashes out indiscriminately at the first provocation, ie Israel, it isn't, but if what you're doing is playing a longer game, it is....

openclashXX

300 drones and missiles fired, only 7 actually hit anything. No casualties, no major damage

Great Iranian success

openclashXX

The latest Battlegrounds episode is worth a listen. The section with journalist Julius Strauss on his field visit to Kharkiv and Eastern Ukraine, interactions with soldiers and locals, the reactions he gets when speaking in Russian now vs 1 year ago. Insightful https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Cbiw...

openclashXX

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4p4cb4gsuR4dpInygeYMbT?si=NiVE1Un3SV6WSOHfBM-wSQ&nd=1&utm_medium=organic&product=open&%24full_url=https%3A%2F%2Fopen.spotify.com%2Fepisode%2F4p4cb4gsuR4dpInygeYMbT%3Fsi%3DNiVE1Un3SV6WSOHfBM-wSQ&feature=organic&_branch_match_id=1249975132369160527&_branch_referrer=H4...

openclashXX

Do refinery attacks matter for the Russian state budget? They mostly don't - this sounds counterintuitive, but let me explain how it works Russian state collects all petroleum taxes at the wellhead. There are two different regimes for different fields, one is called Mineral Extraction Tax (NDPI), o...

openclashXX

Ukrainian soldiers have criticised the country’s new conscription law after provisions were removed to send soldiers home from the front lines after 3 years. It had been hoped that the bill, which has been the subject of heated debate, would have paved the way for the demobilisation of soldiers aft...

openclashXX

Germany's anti-nuclear energy stance coming back to haunt it - gas-intensive German industries no longer competitive enough globally German industry is unlikely to recover to pre-Ukraine war levels as elevated prices from imported liquefied natural gas have put Europe’s largest economy at a “disadva...

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