I read it as meh whatever on the oligarchs, I need those fuckers, but hey ordinary people getting crushed by sanctions, you should be really mad at west sympathizing bougie types (and not me obviously).
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I read this entirely as an ominous threat to the oligarch class that is not with Putin’s war at all.
“Miami Villa / French Riviera / Foie Gras / Make money here, live there / Belonging to higher caste”
Like Putin will chew them up and spit them out when the War is over. He’s going for the oligarchs after this war is over? It’s not like he can wage “war” on some Russian commoners living in America or western Europe.
If Putin is willing to purge them all… Good?
https://twitter.com/polinaivanovva/status/1504146160579080193
https://twitter.com/polinaivanovva/status/1504146162265333763
https://twitter.com/polinaivanovva/status/1504146164513390593
https://twitter.com/polinaivanovva/status/1504146166514135042
I think doing nothing is the worst option. He has a lot of nukes. He can just keep using them to take over the world essentially if nothing is ever done.
Beyond that I don’t know. But it seems like just wiping him out of Ukraine with overwhelming firepower, ending the slaughter, would be a good start. Pray his generals don’t want to end civilization with him.
What’s the proper Western response if Putin decides to nuke his own people?
He specifically says enjoying foie-gras is not the problem and he doesn’t condemn those who have a villa in Miami. It sounds like he’s taking a jab at them, but not condemning them.
Like Riverman said, he’s condemning the bougie liberal elites in big cities, who like their iphones and such. Also others who know more than us are speculating the same things on twitter.
He’s trying to drive a wedge between them and his base - the common folk whose lives haven’t changed much or even gotten worse since the USSR. Sound familiar?
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Strong words. Thoughts and prayers.
ycbwf
Oh My God this video.
At 43 seconds you can see a Russian on top of the tank waving a white flag.
At 46 seconds that same Russian’s dead body is on the ground a few feet south of the tank after getting hit by anti tank missile.
At 55 seconds you can see a Russian climb out of his tank, and after a blast, is crawling away. Probably won’t survive.
Brutal. Now I understand why Russians want to abandon these vehicles. Fuck that shit.
https://twitter.com/IAPonomarenko/status/1504157728180256772
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He may be saying being a rich oligarch is not an issue in and of itself, but being a rich oligarch who is not behind Putin or who is not backing Russia in this war will have consequences
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Russians could not have not known this was a civilian shelter.
Yeah, the clarity of the statement left much to be desired.
Full Putin transcript: Совещание о мерах социально-экономической поддержки регионов • Президент России
Complete translation (pretty long)
Vladimir Putin : Dear colleagues, good afternoon!
Our meeting is attended by heads of the Government, plenipotentiaries of the President in federal districts, heads of Russian regions.
We are meeting at a difficult time when our Armed Forces are conducting a special military operation in Ukraine and Donbas. Let me remind you that at the very beginning, in the early morning of February 24, I publicly and openly named the reasons and the main goal of Russia’s actions. This is help to our people in the Donbass, who for almost eight years by the most barbaric methods - blockade, large-scale punitive actions, terrorist attacks and constant artillery shelling - were subjected to real genocide. And for what? Only because they sought elementary human rights - to live according to the laws and traditions of their ancestors, to speak their native language, to raise their children the way they want.
At the same time, the Kiev authorities not only ignored, sabotaged throughout all these years the implementation of the Minsk Package of Measures for the Peaceful Settlement of the Crisis, but at the end of last year they even publicly refused to implement it.
They have also begun the practical implementation of plans to join NATO. Moreover, there were also statements by the Kiev authorities about their intention to create now their own nuclear weapons and their delivery vehicles. It was a real threat. Already in the foreseeable future, with foreign technical assistance, the pro-Nazi regime in Kyiv could get its hands on weapons of mass destruction, and the target for it, of course, would be Russia.
In Ukraine, there was also a network of dozens of laboratories, where, under the direction and with financial support of the Pentagon, military biological programs were carried out, including experiments with samples of coronavirus, anthrax, cholera, African swine fever and other deadly diseases. The traces of these secret programs are now strenuously trying to cover up. But we have every reason to believe that in the immediate vicinity of Russia, on the territory of Ukraine, in fact, components of biological weapons were created.
Our repeated warnings that such a development poses a direct threat to Russia’s security have been dismissed by Ukraine, their patrons from the US and NATO, and with ostentatious and cynical disdain.
Thus, all diplomatic possibilities were completely exhausted. We were simply left with no options to peacefully solve problems that arise through no fault of ours. And in this regard, we were simply forced to launch a special military operation.
The appearance of Russian troops near Kiev and other cities of Ukraine is not connected with the intention to occupy this country. We do not have such a goal, and I also directly stated this in my address on February 24.
As for the tactics of military operations, which was developed by the Russian Ministry of Defense and our General Staff, it has fully justified itself. And our guys - soldiers and officers - show courage and heroism, do everything in their power to avoid losses among the civilian population of Ukrainian cities.
I want to say this for the first time: at the very beginning of the operation in Donbas, the Kiev authorities, through various channels, in order to avoid senseless bloodshed, were asked not to engage in hostilities, but simply to withdraw their troops from Donbass. They didn’t want to. Well, it’s their decision. Awareness of what is happening in a real situation, on earth, will inevitably come.
The operation is developing successfully, in strict accordance with pre-approved plans.
I note that Ukraine, encouraged by the United States and a number of Western countries, purposefully prepared for a scenario of force, bloody massacre and ethnic cleansing in the Donbass. A massive attack on the Donbass and then on the Crimea was only a matter of time. And our Armed Forces thwarted these plans.
In Kyiv, they were not only preparing for war, for aggression against Russia, against the Donbass - they were waging it. Attempts to organize sabotage and terrorist underground did not stop. In recent years, hostilities have continued in the Donbass, shelling of peaceful settlements. During this time, almost 14,000 civilians died, including children.
On March 14, as you know, a rocket attack was carried out in the center of Donetsk. It was an outright bloody terrorist attack that claimed the lives of more than 20 people. And such shelling continues all the last days. They beat indiscriminately, in the squares, with fanaticism and frenzy of the doomed - like the Nazis, who in the last days of the Third Reich tried to drag as many innocent victims as possible with them to the grave.
But what strikes with its transcendent cynicism is not only the shameless lies of Kyiv, the statements that it was Russia (thought of it!) allegedly launched a rocket at Donetsk, but also the fact that the so-called civilized Western world, the European and American press did not even notice the tragedy of Donetsk, as if nothing had happened.
It was just as hypocritically that they averted their eyes for the last eight years, when mothers in the Donbass buried their children. When old people were killed. It’s just some kind of moral degradation, complete dehumanization.
Long-term mockery of the inhabitants of Donbass could no longer be tolerated. And in order to put an end to the genocide, Russia recognized the people’s republics of Donbass, concluded treaties of friendship and mutual assistance with them. Based on these agreements, the republics turned to our country for military assistance in repelling aggression. And we provided this assistance - we simply could not, we had no right to do otherwise.
But what I want to emphasize and ask you to pay attention to is that if our troops acted only on the territory of the people’s republics, helped them liberate their land, this would not be the final decision, would not lead to peace and would not eliminate the threat at the root - for our countries, already for Russia. On the contrary, a new front line would have been laid around the Donbass and along its borders, shelling and provocations would have continued. That is, the armed conflict would drag on endlessly, fueled by the revanchist hysteria of the Kiev regime, and the NATO military infrastructure in Ukraine would be deployed even faster and more aggressively: we would be faced with the fact that the strike, offensive weapons of the Alliance are already at our borders.
I repeat - we had no other option for self-defense, for ensuring the security of Russia, except for conducting a special military operation. And all the tasks set, of course, will be solved. We will reliably ensure the security of Russia and our people and will never allow Ukraine to serve as a springboard for aggressive actions against our country.
It is precisely the issues of principle for Russia, for our future - on the neutral status of Ukraine, on demilitarization and denazification - that we were ready and are now ready to discuss during the negotiations. Our country has done everything to organize and conduct these negotiations, realizing that it is necessary to use every opportunity to save people and their lives.
But we are convinced again and again that the Kiev regime, which its Western masters have set the task of creating an aggressive anti-Russia, is indifferent to the fate of the people of Ukraine themselves. The fact that people are dying, that hundreds of thousands, millions have become refugees, that a real humanitarian catastrophe is taking place in the cities held by neo-Nazis and their armed criminals, released from prisons, is all indifferent.
It is also obvious to us that Western patrons are simply pushing the Kiev authorities to continue the bloodshed. They are being supplied with new batches of weapons, intelligence, and other assistance, including the deployment of military advisers and mercenaries.
They also chose economic, financial, trade, and other sanctions against Russia as weapons, which are now hitting the Europeans and Americans themselves, by the way, through rising prices for gasoline, energy, food, through the loss of jobs associated with the Russian market. . And there is no need here, as they say, to shift from a sick head to a healthy one, blaming our country for everything.
I want ordinary citizens of Western states to hear me too: they are now persistently trying to convince you that all your difficulties are the result of some kind of hostile actions of Russia, that you have to pay for the fight against the mythical Russian threat from your own wallet. All this is a lie.
And the truth is that the current problems faced by millions of people in the West are the result of many years of actions by the ruling elites of their states, their mistakes, myopia and ambitions. These elites are not thinking about how to improve the lives of their citizens in Western countries. They are obsessed with their own vested interests and super profits.
Evidence of this is the data of international organizations, which directly say that social problems, even in leading Western countries, have only worsened in recent years, that inequality is growing, the gap between rich and poor, racial and national conflicts are making themselves felt. The myth of the Western welfare society, of the so-called golden billion, is collapsing.
I repeat, today the entire planet has to pay the price precisely for the ambitions of the West, for its attempts by any means to maintain its elusive dominance.
The imposition of sanctions is a logical continuation, a concentrated expression of the irresponsible, short-sighted policy of the governments and central banks of the US and EU countries. It was they who, in recent years, with their own hands dispersed the spiral of world inflation, by their actions led to an increase in global poverty and inequality, to new flows of refugees around the world. And the question arises: who is now responsible for the millions of starvation deaths in the world’s poorest countries due to the growing food shortage?
I repeat, a serious blow has been dealt to the entire global economy and trade, to confidence and to the US dollar as the main reserve currency.
Thus, illegitimate actions to freeze part of the Bank of Russia’s foreign exchange reserves draw a line under the reliability of the so-called first-class assets. In fact, both the US and the EU have declared a real default on their obligations to Russia. Now everyone knows that financial reserves can simply be stolen. And seeing this, many countries in the near future can begin - I’m sure this will happen - to convert their paper and digital savings into real reserves in the form of commodities, land, food, gold, and other real assets, which will only increase the deficit in these markets.
I will add that the seizure of foreign assets, accounts of Russian companies and individuals is a lesson for national business, that there is nothing more reliable than investing in your own country. I have spoken about this personally on several occasions.
We appreciate the position of those foreign companies that, despite shameless pressure from the United States and its vassals, continue to work in our country. In the future, they will certainly receive additional opportunities for development.
We also know those who cowardly betrayed their partners, forgot about their responsibility to employees and clients in Russia, and hastened to earn illusory dividends by participating in the anti-Russian campaign. At the same time, unlike Western countries, we will respect property rights.
What do I want to highlight? We must clearly understand that a new package of sanctions and restrictions against us would have followed in any eventuality. I want to emphasize this. For the West, our military operation in Ukraine is just a pretext for new sanctions. Yes, of course, they are now concentrated. But in the same way [the occasion] was for them, for Westerners, the referendum in Crimea, which, by the way, took place on March 16, 2014, exactly eight years ago, during which Crimeans and Sevastopol residents made their free choice - to be together with their historical homeland.
I repeat: it’s just about reasons. But the policy of containment, weakening Russia, including through economic isolation, blockade, is a conscious, long-term strategy. The leaders of the West themselves no longer hide the fact that the sanctions are not directed against individuals or companies, their goal is to strike at our entire domestic economy, our social and humanitarian sphere, every family, every citizen of Russia.
In fact, such steps aimed at worsening the lives of millions of people have all the signs of aggression, war by economic, political, and informational means. It has a total, undisguised character, and, I repeat, the so-called Western political beau monde does not even hesitate to speak about it in plain text.
All verbal tinsel about political correctness, inviolability of private property, freedom of speech - all this flew off overnight. Even the Olympic principles were trampled on. They did not hesitate to settle scores with the Paralympic athletes - this is such a “sport outside of politics”.
In many Western countries, people are subjected to real persecution just because they are from Russia: they refuse medical care, expel children from schools, deprive their parents of their jobs, ban Russian music, culture, and literature. Trying to “cancel” Russia, the West tore off all the masks of decency, began to act boorishly, demonstrated its true nature. It just begs a direct analogy with the anti-Semitic pogroms that the Nazis staged in Germany in the 30s of the last century, and then their henchmen from many European countries who joined Hitler’s aggression against our country during the Great Patriotic War.
A massive attack has also been launched against Russia in cyberspace. An unprecedented information campaign has been unleashed, which involves global social networks and all Western media, the objectivity and independence of which turned out to be just a myth. Access to information is limited, people are stuffed with a huge number of fakes, propaganda forgeries, in other words, linden. It got to the point that one of the American social networks directly announced the possibility of publications calling for the murder of Russian citizens.
We understand what resources this empire of lies has, but it is still powerless against truth and justice. Russia will consistently bring its position to the attention of the whole world. And our position is honest and open, and more and more people hear, understand and share it.
I want to be very frank: behind the hypocritical talk and today’s actions of the so-called collective West, there are hostile geopolitical goals. They do not need, they simply do not need a strong and sovereign Russia, they will not forgive us either our independent course or the fact that we are defending our national interests.
We remember how they supported separatism, terrorism, encouraging terrorists and bandits in the North Caucasus. As in the 1990s - early 2000s, they now again, once again want to repeat their attempt to put the squeeze on us, put some pressure on us, as they say, drive beyond Mozhai, as people say, turn into a weak, dependent country, violate the territorial integrity, to dismember Russia in the best possible way for them. It didn’t work out then, and it won’t work out now.
Yes, of course, they will try to bet on the so-called fifth column, on national traitors, on those who earn money here, with us, but live there, and “live” not even in the geographical sense of the word, but in their own way. thoughts, in his slavish consciousness.
I am not at all judging those who have a villa in Miami or the French Riviera, who cannot do without foie gras, oysters or so-called gender freedoms. The problem is absolutely not in this, but, I repeat, in the fact that many of these people, by their very nature, are mentally located precisely there, and not here, not with our people, not with Russia. This is what they think - in their opinion! - a sign of belonging to a higher caste, to a higher race. Such people are ready to sell their own mother, if only they were allowed to sit in the hallway of this very highest caste. They want to be like her, imitating her in every possible way. But they forget or do not understand at all that if they are needed by this so-called higher caste, then as expendable material in order to use them to inflict maximum damage on our people.
The collective West is trying to split our society, speculating on military losses, on the socio-economic consequences of sanctions, to provoke a civil confrontation in Russia and, using its fifth column, is striving to achieve its goal. And there is only one goal, I have already spoken about this, the destruction of Russia.
But any people, and even more so the Russian people, will always be able to distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors and simply spit them out like a midge that accidentally flew into their mouths, spit them out on the panel. I am convinced that such a natural and necessary self-purification of society will only strengthen our country, our solidarity, cohesion and readiness to respond to any challenges.
The so-called collective West and its fifth column are accustomed to measuring everything and everyone by themselves. They believe that everything is for sale and everything is bought, and therefore they think that we will break down, retreat. But they do not know our history and our people well.
Yes, many countries in the world have long resigned themselves to living with their backs bent and obsequiously accepting all the decisions of their sovereign, looking obsequiously into his eyes. This is how many countries live. Unfortunately, also in Europe.
But Russia will never be in such a miserable and humiliated state, and the struggle we are waging is a struggle for our sovereignty, for the future of our country and our children. We will fight for the right to be and remain Russia. An example for us is the courage and steadfastness of our soldiers and officers, the faithful defenders of the Fatherland.
Dear colleagues!
It is obvious that the current events are drawing a line under the global dominance of Western countries both in politics and in the economy. Moreover, they call into question the economic model that in recent decades has been imposed on developing countries, and indeed on the whole world.
Let me emphasize that the obsession with sanctions by the United States and its supporters is not shared by countries where more than half of the world’s population lives. It is these states that represent the fastest growing, most promising part of the global economy. Among them is Russia.
Yes, it’s hard for us right now. Russian financial companies, large enterprises, small and medium-sized businesses are facing unprecedented pressure.
The banking system was the first to be hit by sanctions, but Russian banks coped with this challenge. Working literally around the clock, they continue to make payments and settlements of citizens, to ensure the activities of enterprises.
The second wave of sanctions was intended to provoke a trade panic. According to estimates, over the past three weeks, additional demand for goods has exceeded a trillion rubles. But domestic manufacturers, suppliers, transport and logistics companies have done everything to avoid large-scale shortages in retail chains.
I want to express my gratitude to the business community of Russia, the workforce of companies, banks and organizations that not only provide an effective response to sanctions challenges, but also lay the foundation for the further sustainable development of our economy. And I want to separately mention the Government, the Bank of Russia, the heads of the subjects of the Federation, regional and municipal teams. In the current difficult conditions, you responsibly solve the tasks facing you.
It is obvious that it was not possible to organize an economic blitzkrieg against Russia, to demoralize our society, to take us in a rush, so we will certainly see attempts to increase pressure on our country. But we will overcome these difficulties. The Russian economy will definitely adapt to new realities. We will strengthen our technological and scientific sovereignty, allocate additional resources to support agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure, housing construction, and continue to develop foreign trade relations with a view to fast-growing, dynamic international markets.
Undoubtedly, the new realities will require deep structural changes in our economy, and I will not hide it, they will not be easy, they will lead to a temporary increase in inflation and unemployment.
In this situation, our task is to minimize such risks. Not only to strictly fulfill all social obligations of the state, but also to launch new, more effective mechanisms to support citizens and their incomes.
The focus is on the protection of motherhood, childhood, support for families with children. A decision has already been made - you know about it - from April 1 to introduce payments for children from 8 to 16 years old inclusive, who grow up in families with low incomes. The amount of the payment will be from half to one subsistence minimum for each child of this age. Now the average for the country is up to 12,300 rubles. Thus, we will build a unified support system from the moment when the expectant mother is still waiting for the birth of the child, and until the child reaches 17 years of age.
I instruct the Government to ensure the operation of this system in such a way that it promptly takes into account changes in the financial situation of families. That is, if parents are faced with the loss of a job, other difficult life circumstances, the family should start receiving assistance from the state as quickly as possible.
I also ask the Government to quickly analyze the effectiveness of measures to support people who have lost their jobs. It is obvious that such measures should be expanded, including through the mechanism of the social contract.
I understand that rising prices are seriously affecting people’s incomes, so in the near future we will make a decision to increase all social benefits, including benefits and pensions, raise the minimum wage and the subsistence level, and also increase salaries in the public sector. I ask the Government to calculate the exact parameters of such an increase.
And I would like to emphasize that even in the current difficult situation, at the end of the year, we need to achieve a reduction in the level of poverty and inequality. This is a very feasible task even today. I ask the Government and the regions to concentrate on this task. And I will add that it is not only of an economic nature, you and I understand, but is also a matter of social justice.
A lot now depends on the initiative of the leaders of the subjects of the Federation, on their readiness to take responsibility. Today I signed a decree on additional powers of the heads of regions - they will be able to make flexible and prompt decisions to support our citizens, the economy, and the social sphere based on the real situation on the ground. Let me remind you that it was in this logic, which allows us to take into account the situation in each region, in the city, in the village - and it is different everywhere - that is how we built measures to combat the coronavirus.
I instruct all departments of federal authorities in the constituent entities of the Federation to coordinate their work with regional authorities in the next six months, and the governors to create operational headquarters to ensure economic development and personally lead this work.
What should be the priority here?
A key role in overcoming current problems should be played by private business, which is able to rebuild logistics in a short time, find new suppliers, and increase the production of products in demand. How quickly private business will find the right decisions, make them, depends on the preservation of employment, income and salaries of citizens, in general, ensuring a stable, rhythmic work of the economy. Therefore, we must respond to external pressure with maximum entrepreneurial freedom and support for business initiative.
I ask the Government, law enforcement agencies, supervisory authorities to continue to work on removing unjustified administrative and regulatory barriers. Moreover, it is impossible to distract business and regional authorities from solving the most acute, urgent tasks, loading them with all sorts of checks and control measures.
One of the key problems for enterprises now is the lack of working capital, the unavailability and high cost of loans, but the Central Bank was forced to take appropriate measures. In this regard, I instruct to implement the following steps.
First. Enterprises that fulfill orders from government authorities and companies with state participation should receive money for the delivered goods and services as soon as possible, put them back into business. In this regard, I propose to increase the amount of advance payments under government contracts. The advance payment must be at least half of the total amount of the contract, and the payment term for the delivered goods and services shall be reduced to seven working days. A similar decision must also be made at the level of subjects of the Federation, municipalities and companies with state participation.
Second. It is necessary to expand the opportunities for entrepreneurs to attract additional resources from development institutions. We are talking about expanding the work of the “Project Finance Factory” (it works for us, and it works well, practice has shown that it is in demand), about providing resources for business investment plans through the Industry Development Fund (one of the really well-functioning instruments), the Bank for Small and Medium Enterprises also, and in addition, through regional support institutions, including guarantee funds. I instruct the Government to allocate additional funds to the subjects of the Federation for such regional instruments.
I draw the attention of the Government and colleagues in the regions: the most important task is to ensure the availability of goods on the consumer market, first of all, I mean essential goods, medicines and medical products. It is necessary to quickly solve logistical and other objective problems that lead to price surges. At the same time, it is necessary to exclude manual intervention in price regulation. It is the increase in supply that should lead to a decrease and stabilization of prices.
Separately, I would like to address our exporters. In a situation where there are difficulties with deliveries to foreign markets, it is necessary not to reduce production, but, on the contrary, to send additional volumes of goods to the domestic market. This should objectively lead to a reduction in prices within the country, including for gasoline, diesel, bitumen, metals, and other export goods. I ask the Government and the Federal Antimonopoly Service, regional authorities to constantly monitor the situation in these markets.
Further. Given the new challenges that Russia is facing, we must maintain and expand our long-term development agenda, including continuing the implementation of all planned projects, both at the federal and regional levels. We must fully utilize the potential of our budget system as an incentive tool.
Federal financing of projects and construction projects will be carried out, as agreed, in full. Moreover, back in December, it was decided to allocate additional funds - in the event that the cost of construction objectively increased.
What I consider important to note is that in the current situation there will be no problems with funding from the federal budget. Our economy today generates a sufficient, good amount of income, which means that we will not need to resort to emission. Simply put, the Central Bank will not need to print money. We have incomes – marketable, healthy incomes. The problem now is not money. We have resources, I repeat. Key difficulties are related to the supply of components, equipment, building materials, and the organization of the work of contractors. Therefore, the timing and methods of implementing specific projects, their stages may change, and this will require the coordinated work of authorities and business representatives, the accelerated implementation of import substitution projects - this is what is important.
At the same time, it is important to simplify the procedure for interaction between regions and federal authorities, to give the subjects of the Federation more freedom in maneuvering resources, as well as opportunities to launch new construction projects and programs.
Thus, additional funds have already been allocated to the regions for road construction. I ask the Government to work out the issue of increasing funding for other infrastructure facilities that can be put into operation this year, as well as increasing purchases from Russian enterprises, including for upgrading public transport, for example.
It is clear that the budgets of the constituent entities of the Federation are now under a serious additional burden, therefore, as agreed, we will additionally index subsidies to equalize budgetary security. We are also using other measures to support regional finances, namely, all payments on budget loans planned for the current year will be deferred, shifted, as they say, to the right, and payments on commercial loans, where necessary, will be replaced by budget loans. I ask the Government to study this issue in detail and delve into each specific case. Only such individual work will lead to the desired result.
In addition, the Ministry of Finance will additionally provide an unconditional credit line to each constituent entity of the Russian Federation. It will amount to ten percent of the total income with a maturity date not earlier than the end of the current year.
We will maintain the volume of infrastructure budget loans. I instruct the Government to organize flexible management of this program, to take into account all the difficulties associated with the implementation of projects - I have already mentioned them a little higher. Regions should be able to quickly make decisions on changing the portfolio and content of projects, focus on those that can be implemented with maximum efficiency in the current conditions. If necessary, we will consider a possible increase in the volume of infrastructure loans. It’s possible, it can be done. In general, we will closely monitor the situation with regional finances and make additional decisions to support them, if necessary.
Let me emphasize that direct communications between all levels of government and a clear algorithm of actions are of fundamental importance now. And here the State Council and its specialized commissions have already proved their effectiveness. I am asking the public administration commission, headed by Sergei Semyonovich Sobyanin, to work on problematic issues on the regional agenda together with our colleagues from the Government, develop optimal solutions and scale them up to all Russian regions. We had a good experience in the fight against the epidemic.
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Oligarchs are a few people and he doesn’t really need their support. What he needs is to drive a wedge between liberal urbanites and his ignorant poor base. He seems to be planning for a mid-30s Germany transformation. Use the pain of sanctions as a resource to blame and punish people within Russia for the loss that’s coming.
Translation - final part (too many characters for one post)
Dear colleagues!
Our economy, state budget, private business have all the necessary resources to solve long-term tasks. All strategic, national goals that we have set for the period up to 2030 must be achieved. The current challenges and the opportunities they open up should only mobilize us - that’s what we should set ourselves up for, aim to achieve tangible results in the interests of citizens.
Obviously, we will need to fine-tune our programs, and here the initiatives of business circles, scientists, and public associations are in demand. In this regard, I ask the regions to actively join in organizing the forum of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives “Strong Ideas for the New Times”, within which every citizen of Russia will be able to present their proposals, specific projects aimed at developing their city, region and country as a whole.
I repeat once again: the current situation is, of course, a test for all of us. I am sure that we will pass it with dignity, through hard work, joint work and mutual support we will overcome all difficulties and become even stronger, as it has always been in the history of thousand-year-old Russia. It is for this, for this kind of work, that I want to set you up.
Let’s move on to discussing the agenda.
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Ukraine has never used these drones as far as I can tell. So presumably these drones will be operated by US special operations soldiers/CIA agricultural advisors? I’ve assumed there were US special forces in Ukraine this whole time but if they’re actively killing Russians that seems noteworthy.
These are backpack suicide drones that need to be deployed close to the target in the field. They can loiter for 40 minutes before running out of juice. Basically an remote-control loitering javelin.
A lot of the training is in launching them and maintaining. Seems like having a US-based pilot and some kind of fancy relay to the backpack control base wouldn’t really help much. This is what I’m being told on twitter anyway.
It’s gonna shoot to #1 in a day, I bet
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Right, that’s why I assume they’ll be used by US special forces soldiers on the ground in Ukraine.
Maybe. But the US operator need to be close to the front lines, and if one gets killed it could be trouble. Also you’d be counting on every Ukrainian to keep their mouths shut. Seems like just training the Ukrainians on them would be easier. Hopefully they’ve already been training on some Slovakian 300s or something.
When it comes to long range drones - then US operator makes total sense. But we aren’t selling them any of ours afaik. Also twitter says our long range drones are twice as big as TB-2s and can easily be shot down by Russian anti-aircraft. Our drones are designed to blow up ISIS in trucks.
I’ve read a number of little tidbits to the effect that our weapons aren’t designed for this kind of WWII warfare, but snuffing out insurgents. I imagine that new plans for a lot of weapons, and maybe reviving some old ones, are being introduced fast.
I think some of the oligarchs are trying to create pressure on him to fix this situation so their assets get unfrozen