Bunch of leaks today from Ukraines delegation in the US that Biden is actively asking Zelensky to negotiate for peace with Russia

Maybe the grift of the US taxpayer is about to end?

Looks like the polish have had enough too. Lol. Predictable.

What happens if Russia refuses peace and continues its war as they have been this entire time?

@jlaudio

I did the edit to insert the link to the article and to state that they were still allowing arm transfers.  I stated that I would look to confirm it. Which I did confirm it was false. Hence the edit.  I also made the edit before I read your post.  I will also delete my post about questioning your integrity. No reason to fight over this. I also apologize for my reaction.

[GeorgeCostanza]BufferZone[/GeorgeCostanza]

That sounds like a Ukrainian problem, not a US problem, and would be a consequence of Ukrainians previous decisions.

Actions do have consequences, you know?

Well no shit, there's been a river of Russian money flowing through the Bidens for over a decade. Russia and China own the Bidens.

Let the Taiwanese fight their own battle.  The Chinese are taunting them, either do something about it, which they are not, or start hanging photos of Xi.

Congressional approval of additional funding to benefit the USA's war gear makers and Ukraine is somewhat in jeopardy and now this?

Poland is not the only country all pissed off by Ukraine's grain export diverson due to the cutoff via the Black Sea.

Is the Ukrainian political leadership completely oblivious to their increasingly precarious situation?

It would seem so.

That's what I see happening. If the west is out, why would Putin not take advantage of that now?

Apparently not the only ones https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-09-18/slovakia-election-could-end-support-ukraine
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Weird. I figure it's guaranteed that when China decides to use force against Taiwan, North Korea will launch a full attack on South Korea to suck up US attention/resources. Guaranteed. The US will be focused on those thousands of US troops in harms way and unable to focus on anything else. And Iran stirring something up might be in play too. Shanghai Cooperation Organization - what is it?

Think bigger still. What kind of world is it when nobody holds any moral position on international relations, but everything is reduced to might makes right and those who can, do. Where the powerful plunder the weak because they can and see value in it. What does a world like that imply for commerce and trade? What does a world like that mean for people who value freedom, a condition that is distinctly limited and small in the scope of human history? If powerful nations always have complete freedom to raid weaker nations with impunity, it is incredibly disruptive to pretty much our entire way of life. Not only commerce and trade would be harmed, but in that brave new world where authoritarians are unchecked, human misery would increase exponentially. Famine and plagues would be far more common and far worse, because of the loss of commerce and trade, and diminished ability for anyone to do anything about it. The Pax Americana was the greatest boon to worldwide human existence in history, prove me wrong.

Sacks of cash and gold are going to be turning up in candidate's hands all over Europe as Russia applies pressure to western agents and supporters. AfD for one is known to be compromised by the Kremlin.

Absolutely not the only ones.




Slovakian Politics


Stop pro-Russian revenge: on whom does the formation of the new government of Slovakia depend?

On September 30 - in just two weeks - early parliamentary elections will be held in Slovakia, which can significantly adjust the internal, and most importantly, the foreign policy of our neighbor.

Currently in Slovakia, both President Zuzana Chaputova and the government are pro-Ukrainian. However, pre-election sociological polls are extremely worrying: the majority in the new parliament may be given to forces categorically against military support for Ukraine and for peace with Putin.

"EvroPravda" has already published an article about pre-election schedules in Slovakia.

Now we want to tell more about the key politicians of this country, as well as about the possible formats of the future coalition.

And if you want to learn even more, we recommend our video about 12 top politicians of Slovakia, where we cheerfully but seriously talk about those who are Putin's allies and who are true friends of Ukraine.

Anti-Ukrainian forces

The issue of the war in Ukraine is one of the key issues in the Slovak election campaign. Currently, there are at least three political forces that declare openly anti-Ukrainian slogans that have a chance of entering the parliament.

First of all, it is the Smer-SD party of former Prime Minister Robert Fico. He is the leader of the race - the latest polls give him 19.4% of the vote.

Fico was never a pro-Ukrainian politician (Slovak political scientist Aleksandr Duleba previously said that this was due to his personal grudge against Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko), but during his previous premiership he concluded an important gas agreement with Ukraine, which allowed Kyiv ensure reverse gas supplies.

However, in recent years, and especially in the last months before these elections, Fico's rhetoric regarding Ukraine has changed significantly.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, Fico has been against helping Ukraine with weapons, in particular, he was against the provision of the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system to Kyiv, and he also threatened criminal prosecution against the previous government for the transfer of MiG-29 fighters.

In particular, he stated that "Nazism is tolerated" in Ukraine.

Such statements will allow Fico's party to increase its rating, drawing votes from other parties of the far-right spectrum. It should also be noted that it is fundamentally important for Fico to join the coalition in the new parliament - only this can save him from prosecution.

It is believed that in the event of Fico's victory and the formation of his government, Slovakia's politics will be somewhat similar to Hungary's - with pressure on the civil sector and conflicts with the European Commission. However, it will not be easy to completely copy Viktor Orban Fico's course - he will not have a monomajority, and therefore will have to take into account the demands of allies.

Who can become an ally of Smer-SD?

First of all, it is worth mentioning the Slovak National Party (SNP) of the former Speaker Andrej Danko.

This party has every chance to return to the parliament after almost four years of absence - currently its support is 6%. At the same time, in the previous parliamentary convocations, the SNP was a coalition partner of Smer-SD, and therefore the probability of restoring this alliance is very high.

Andrey Danko was known for his sympathy for the Russian Federation even before. Today, several more politicians with openly anti-American views have joined the SNP. Among them is Stefan Garabin, who previously demanded an apology from the United States for the fact that American aircraft struck military targets during the Second World War.

A funny moment: during his speakership, Danko managed to grant him the military rank of captain (although this was a clear violation of the statutes), allegedly for supporting an increase in the military budget. After the change of power in 2020, this order of the Minister of Defense was canceled.

The third Slovak party, which can be called anti-Ukrainian, is "Respublika".

It is the only political force in the country which, in its pre-election advertising campaign, emphasizes the refusal to provide weapons to Ukraine. "Republika" also advocates the withdrawal of Slovakia from NATO.

The "Republic" was founded by people from the country's most scandalous party - the "People's Party - Our Slovakia". The leader of the latter, Marian Kotleba, is known as an outspoken neo-Nazi and was even prosecuted for promoting such ideas: while holding the position of head of the Bansko-Bystry region, he demonstratively issued checks for financial aid in the amount of 1,488 euros to low-income families.

The criminal prosecution of Kotleba forced some of his party members, led by Milan Uhryk, to found a new party, which for some time was the third most popular with more than 10% support. However, at present, its rating has fallen significantly - to 5.2%.

However, entering into a coalition with neo-Nazis may cost Smer-S a reputation, in particular, they may be expelled from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament.

Therefore, the option of such an alliance is possible only if other forms of creating a coalition with the participation of Smer-SD do not work. An alternative option is the creation by Fico of a minority government, which will rely on the votes of deputies from the "Republic" during the voting.

"Dark Horses"

Here it is worth talking about the Slovak parties that support Ukraine (or do not advocate for the Russian Federation), but may enter into a coalition with Smer-SD.

Until recently, it was believed that the "Golden share" in these elections could be won by the "Voice" party of another ex-prime minister, Peter Pellegrini.

Pellegrini was a fellow party member of Fico and became prime minister in 2018 after the latter had to resign under pressure from strong protests. After the 2020 elections, Pellegrini and some Smer-SD MPs founded a new party to avoid being associated with Fico's toxic reputation.

This strategy worked for a while:

Currently, "Holos" has fallen to third place - but it has support at the level of 15.1%, and therefore the party's decision with whom to block may become decisive for the format of the next coalition.

Unlike Smer-SD, Holos avoids talking about foreign policy, criticizing the government for economic failures and positioning itself as a classic social democratic party. People who know Pellegrini well describe him as a completely pro-Western politician who has no sympathy for Russia today.

However, the probability that "Holos" will enter a coalition with Smer-SD is very high. In particular, according to Slovak media, Fico is ready to cede the premiership to Pellegrini for such a step. There is also a lot of talk about the confidential information that Fico has on Pellegrini (you can listen to what kind of confidential information it is in our video).

Another potential partner of Fico is the party "We are a family" of the current speaker Boris Kollar (5.2%).

It is the only party in the current coalition that can unite with Smer-SD. The reason for this is that "We are a family" is rather a political-technological project created around Boris Kollar. Although the party emphasizes the support of the traditional family, Kollar completely contradicts this image - he is primarily known for having 13 children by 12 women, none of whom was his official wife.

However, this is precisely what attracts the nuclear electorate of this party. It consists of women with a history of difficult divorces or single mothers. In Kollar, they are impressed by the fact that the politician always provides financially for both his children and his former partners.

This image could not destroy even the recent scandal related to the accusation of domestic violence from one of Kollar's former partners.

Against everyone

The party with which both Smer-SD and pro-Western forces refuse to form a coalition. It is about OL'ANO and its leader Igor Matovych (7%).

In the 2020 elections, Matovych became a real sensation, abandoning traditional meetings with voters and betting on revealing videos that were watched by the whole country.

Even then, this caused concern - Matovych was known as a person who was chronically unable to work in a team. And his party was a typical leadership project.

And so it happened - numerous conflicts in the coalition, which were often directly created by Matovych, led to his resignation, and later - to the collapse of the coalition.

Currently, Matovych is going to the elections with the populist idea of ??paying 500 euros for participation in the elections.

He is also known for his work among the Slovak Roma, where he has high support.

Friends of Ukraine

Who can stop Fico from winning?

Currently, the high popularity of the "Progressive Slovakia" party gives the chances for this. One of its founders is the current president, Zuzana Chaputova.

This party became the main outsider in the 2020 elections - with high ratings, it went to the bloc elections (although this requires passing a slightly higher electoral barrier).

However, in the last weeks before the elections, the party's rating decreased - unexpectedly for everyone, "Progressive Slovakia" did not reach the threshold of 0.03% for blocs.

However, staying outside the parliament benefited the party - this political force, whose leader is Michal Shimechka, did not participate in conflicts within the coalition, and therefore now has high ratings. Currently, he is in second place - 15.1% of Slovaks are ready to vote for him. And according to some forecasts, "Progressive Slovakia" even has a chance to overtake Smer-SD, winning first place in the elections.

However, in order to create a coalition, it is necessary that other forces with similar views on foreign policy enter the parliament.

Among them, it is worth mentioning the "Democrats" party of former Prime Minister Eduard Geger.

Geger came to the parliament as part of Matovych's party, took the position of finance minister in his government, and when Matovych was forced to resign, took the place of prime minister.

It was the Heger government that made the decision to provide military aid to Ukraine after the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation.

Geger himself is known for his religiousness - because of this, it is believed, he always keeps his word.

This quality, however, prevented him from distancing himself from Matovych in time. Because of this, the rating of "Democrats" is currently only 3.5%, which is not enough to pass to the parliament (the barrier for parties is 5%).

Another party that can join such a coalition is "Freedom and Justice" (SaS) of Richard Sulik (7.4%).

Sulik himself is known as a good economist, but he has a "skeleton in the closet." Even as many as two.

In 2011, SaS under his leadership leaves the coalition, which leads to the fall of the government of Iveta Radichova - and the return to power of Robert Fico.

In 2022, this story repeated itself. As Sulik tried not to react to the attacks of Matovych, who deliberately provoked him, SaS left the coalition again, which led to the fall of the Geger government. And maybe - before Fico's new return to power.

And finally, the Christian Democratic Movement (6%) – one of the oldest parties in Slovakia – has a high chance of returning to the parliament. This is a conservative political force that is completely pro-Ukrainian in foreign policy.

It should be noted that the formation of a pro-Western coalition is possible, but requires a number of conditions. For this, Heger's "Democrats" must be admitted to the parliament, as well as consent to join the "Voice" or "We are a family" coalition (or perhaps a combination of these two parties).

All this makes Fico's chances of forming a coalition around Smer-SD higher.

However, as the 2020 elections showed, everything can change in the last days before voting.

And most importantly, Slovak coalitions traditionally consist of many parties. Accordingly, Slovak politicians have considerable experience in making compromises for the sake of a common goal.

And this time, this goal is quite obvious – to prevent Slovakia from turning around and turning it into an authoritarian state.

https://www.eurointegration.com.ua/rus/articles/2023/09/15/7169406/

Hey, I'm a 'Ukebro' and proud of it, but Ukraine is never going to be able to 'beat' Russia. They were invaded and they might be able to push them back to the pre-invasion borders. The real goal is to have the whole Russian system collapse under the weight of this war and for Putin to be ousted, at which point the Russian invasion would end. A reformed Russian government could very well become very cozy with the EU and NATO might then cease to exist, having fulfilled its purpose.

This is just a ludicrous statement. You are portraying Russia as though it's a passive participant when in fact Russia is the only one actively choosing war.

Russia could withdraw back to its borders at any time and the war would immediately end.

Where is your evidence for that statement, given that Ukraine has habitually attacked inside Russian borders and in Crimea?

If Russia decided to stop fighting and go home the US would still want to pour money into Ukraine to rebuid it. Way it always works. One crisis dries up find another to milk taxpayers and funnel money to those on the inside.

Tough shit, that's Ukraine's problem.

First of all, a year ago the idea of Ukraine hitting Moscow was met in threads exactly like this one with howls of laughter, and now that it is an every day occurrence, that's evidence that Ukraine is the belligerent one?

Do you work for a MFA somewhere?

What happens?

There is one less corrupt country in this world.

Birds of a feather

This went much further than I ever anticipated but we’ll see how this pans out over the long term https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66873495.amp
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1) you're assuming that this new regime would be more peaceful and wouldn't go full retard to restore Russian honor

2) you're assuming that this new regime would be reformed  and not go full Stalin, wishful projectonism at best

3)  that money pit boondoggle has as much chance of going away as the EPA or the FBI

While Putin might want to put the band back together, he isn’t going to live forever and the Russians in general are not hungry for endless war.

Since Russia was actively attacking it?

Russia has invaded quite a few countries since the wall fell and wasted no time in invading Moldova and Georgia.

If states started ceding our government would do the same.

Crimea is Ukraine bruh, they attacked the Russian occupiers that invaded in 2014

There is zero chance that Russia is ever going to forgo Crimean access.

No one believes what you write here and It’s not absurd at all. It’s Ukraine’s problem to deal with, not Americas. We have already given them $130billion plus and even pay their retirees pensions. All while able bodied males party on beaches in Odessa.

What is insane is unquestionable support for Ukraine.

It looks like America isn’t the only place thinking this way, considering Polands moves today. If Ukraine was smart they would hold an election and get rid of Zelenskyy, considering his embarrassment on the world stage this week.

@smullen you do know that the Ukes have basically been the technical expertise on most of the former Soviet Union’s high tech programs since like Sputnik.
Including the space and nuke programs.

This fact should bring your insight on the conflict in to focus…

Are you just like, special or something?

Biden may be in talks with Putin now, stop all aggressive advances, buffer zone and Biden has one positive bullet point for his presidential campaign.

Advance as normal after his second term

We’ll find out what Congress decides in a week but either way there’s only 5 weeks till mud season
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4215092-clock-ticks-in-ukraines-offensive-as-bad-weather-approaches/amp/
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@Mickdog13
Na, I don't, or didn't.  
I don't usually follow or know anything about the Ukraine and only slightly more about Russia.
Honestly, until this beef between the two started, I never really heard much mention of the Ukraine or any of its players.

Now its on the air, web Social Media, etc, etc, daily...

I've always felt like at least half the shit you read about Russia was likely lies from us about them, or lies from them about us or over exaggerating their wealth or capabilities.  So, I never know whats factual and BS from over there.

Sadly, I guess our Govt is not a whole lot different.

Ukraine is clearly run by idiots. To be fair, so are we.

How are they in a "grain row" with Poland right now?  How the #$%* do they manage to piss off maybe their biggest supporter?  

Their strategy appears to be to take the position that they're doing all of NATO a serious favor and therefore we owe them as though it's not in their interests at all not to be conquered by Russia.  I think it's a very piss poor strategy on their part to have little Zelenskyy going around dressed like a 5.11 catalog vomited on him demanding everyone thank him for his service.  I understand that for Ukrainian domestic pride purposes he doesn't want to be seen as a someone begging for money, but there is a middle ground where pride can be maintained without being hostile to your financial backers.

I have seen this a hundred times, if it isn't in a tasking or a OPORD it won't get done unless someone takes the initiative.  If simple shit like not having a fueler on a gunnery range can get forgotten.  You know the big stuff does as well.  Hell I went to Germany with a bunch of other troops in 98.  This was before DTS and all that shit.  Centrally funded tickets on commercial air.  Thirty soldiers and I stood in the airport for hours because we didn't have tickets.  Like someone in the transportation office forgot fucking tickets.  

Maybe some nerd staff weeny is looking at this in his spare time but no one above him will look at it.

Pax Americana is benevolent might makes right.

Whoa.

Ukraine is NOT Afghanistan.

No comparison.  

There is a distinct paucity of radical Muslims.

Your issue with Zelensky is that he's humiliating Russia

That sounds made up. Zelenskyy is doing well humiliating himself and making Ukraine a pariah amongst western allies. Ukrainians would be well served by replacing him.

It’s not surprising that support and cash for the Zelenskyy government grift is drying up.

CNN is all aflutter today about the Zylensky visit.  He looks tired and beaten down.  Reality is biting him.

Seems to me that Biden's words of support are just words.

The end of aid to Ukraine is a foregone conclusion, not just in the U.S., but worldwide.

It can only be pushed so far and the end is in sight.

This is a RUSSIAN problem.  They are dealing with a recalcitrant and troublesome neighbor that was historically part of Russia and contains many ethnic Russians who have been oppressed.

The only logical conclusion is to let Russia deal with her own problem.

It is FAR outside of our hegemony.

The sooner Ukraine is pacified (and grain is flowing to the world again) the better.

Biden has enjoyed the distraction from American domestic problems..........but it's time to get back to reality.

It's also totally factual.

Or do you have actual input to offer rebuttal?

The facts:

The end of aid to Ukraine is a foregone conclusion, not just in the U.S., but worldwide.

It can only be pushed so far and the end is in sight.

This is a RUSSIAN problem.  They are dealing with a recalcitrant and troublesome neighbor that was historically part of Russia and contains many ethnic Russians who have been oppressed.

The only logical conclusion is to let Russia deal with her own problem.

It is FAR outside of our hegemony.

The sooner Ukraine is pacified (and grain is flowing to the world again) the better.

Biden has enjoyed the distraction from American domestic problems..........but it's time to get back to reality.

A win in my book would be pushing Russia back to its pre-2022 holdings. I don't have any illusions about ejecting Russia from the Donbas or Crimea.

Man you've drunk the Russian Kool-aid.

Maybe ask Ukrainians what they think? Ukrainian polling in support of a long war is +90%.