4 ms·

Two countries with extremely low fertility rates just wiped out hundreds of thousands of their young boys. And hundreds of thousands of people fled including a

by alecco 9mo ago

Two countries with extremely low fertility rates just wiped out hundreds of thousands of their young boys. And hundreds of thousands of people fled including a significant fraction of young girls. I wonder who actually benefits from this?

general1465 9mo ago
It is not some insidious entity in the background trying to destroy Russia. It is just Putin, thinking that he can take over Ukraine like USSR took over Czechoslovakia in 1968. But unexpectedly for Putin he got full scale ware which he can't back off from because that would be political end of his. So he can only continue to fight and hope that Ukraine folds first. Unlucky for him, Ukraine is being economically kept alive and still fighting after 4 year by the blue elephant in the room called EU, which Russians are so desperately trying to ignore.
- tim333 9mo ago
  From the comments I've seen they seem to curse the EU/Europe more than ignore it. See Putin calling the leaders little pigs and the like.
  - general1465 9mo ago
    They do curse EU, but then they will avoid talking to EU. I believe they do that because negotiation with EU would mean recognition that EU is a power. And by Russian logic powers have spheres of influence. So now by Russian logic, EU could have a legitimate claim on Ukraine, Kaliningrad and Belarus as they are in the EU's sphere of influence. So let's close our eyes and pretend that EU does not exist. See below Peskov from few days ago: "Russia will never discuss anything with EU Foreign Policy chief Kaja Kallas and so Moscow will simply wait for her to leave her post, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said." https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2026/01/25/russia-will-never-discuss-anything-with-eu-s-kallas-the-kremlin-says https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2026/01/25/russia-w...
    - tim333 9mo ago
      It's a completely different system really - Russia with it's ruler in Moscow commanding a large army and dictating what happens vs the EU with no central army, no central ruler, governed by local democracies and human rights laws and the like. It doesn't fit with their way of thinking much really. With Trump they can kind of say we get this bit of Ukraine you get that, we both get rich from iffy minerals deals but the EU doesn't work like that. Kaja Kallas for example recently announced "the first €10 million for the establishment of a Special Tribunal for Crimes of Aggression." She wants to prosecute the Russians for war crimes, not make a deal with them. So you can understand why they are not keen to chat there. Not sure how that all works out.
      - drysine 9mo ago
        >the EU doesn't work like that It does work like that. The EU just plays a zero-sum game. "As part of its strategy to secure supplies of critical raw materials, the European Union signed an EU-Ukrainian strategic Partnership on Critical Minerals with Ukraine in July 2021. This agreement, which covers around a hundred projects, aims to secure the supply of ten essential raw materials. It forms part of the European Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials, which seeks to diversify sources of supply and reduce dependence on suppliers from outside the EU. This partnership brings together several major players, including the European Raw Materials Alliance, a platform that aims to ensure a sustainable and secure supply of raw materials for the European industry, and the European Battery Alliance, a strategic initiative to build a competitive and sustainable battery value chain in Europe." [0] [0] https://regard-est.com/ukraine-critical-materials-a-strategic-challenge-for-europe https://regard-est.com/ukraine-critical-materials-a-strategi...
    - drysine 9mo ago
      >they will avoid talking to EU The only thing the EU is saying is "Get out of the Ukraine and we maybe remove sanctions in some distant future if you behave". You may think that it is a right stance towards Russia but it leaves no place for talking and you can't put the blame for lack of talking on Russia. > EU Foreign Policy chief Kaja Kallas She's a rabid russophobe and was put into her position exactly for that reason.

by alecco 9mo ago

general1465 9mo ago

It is not some insidious entity in the background trying to destroy Russia. It is just Putin, thinking that he can take over Ukraine like USSR took over Czechoslovakia in 1968. But unexpectedly for Putin he got full scale ware which he can't back off from because that would be political end of his. So he can only continue to fight and hope that Ukraine folds first. Unlucky for him, Ukraine is being economically kept alive and still fighting after 4 year by the blue elephant in the room called EU, which Russians are so desperately trying to ignore.

tim333 9mo ago
From the comments I've seen they seem to curse the EU/Europe more than ignore it. See Putin calling the leaders little pigs and the like.
- general1465 9mo ago
  They do curse EU, but then they will avoid talking to EU. I believe they do that because negotiation with EU would mean recognition that EU is a power. And by Russian logic powers have spheres of influence. So now by Russian logic, EU could have a legitimate claim on Ukraine, Kaliningrad and Belarus as they are in the EU's sphere of influence. So let's close our eyes and pretend that EU does not exist. See below Peskov from few days ago: "Russia will never discuss anything with EU Foreign Policy chief Kaja Kallas and so Moscow will simply wait for her to leave her post, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said." https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2026/01/25/russia-will-never-discuss-anything-with-eu-s-kallas-the-kremlin-says https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2026/01/25/russia-w...
  - tim333 9mo ago
    It's a completely different system really - Russia with it's ruler in Moscow commanding a large army and dictating what happens vs the EU with no central army, no central ruler, governed by local democracies and human rights laws and the like. It doesn't fit with their way of thinking much really. With Trump they can kind of say we get this bit of Ukraine you get that, we both get rich from iffy minerals deals but the EU doesn't work like that. Kaja Kallas for example recently announced "the first €10 million for the establishment of a Special Tribunal for Crimes of Aggression." She wants to prosecute the Russians for war crimes, not make a deal with them. So you can understand why they are not keen to chat there. Not sure how that all works out.
    - drysine 9mo ago
      >the EU doesn't work like that It does work like that. The EU just plays a zero-sum game. "As part of its strategy to secure supplies of critical raw materials, the European Union signed an EU-Ukrainian strategic Partnership on Critical Minerals with Ukraine in July 2021. This agreement, which covers around a hundred projects, aims to secure the supply of ten essential raw materials. It forms part of the European Action Plan on Critical Raw Materials, which seeks to diversify sources of supply and reduce dependence on suppliers from outside the EU. This partnership brings together several major players, including the European Raw Materials Alliance, a platform that aims to ensure a sustainable and secure supply of raw materials for the European industry, and the European Battery Alliance, a strategic initiative to build a competitive and sustainable battery value chain in Europe." [0] [0] https://regard-est.com/ukraine-critical-materials-a-strategic-challenge-for-europe https://regard-est.com/ukraine-critical-materials-a-strategi...
  - drysine 9mo ago
    >they will avoid talking to EU The only thing the EU is saying is "Get out of the Ukraine and we maybe remove sanctions in some distant future if you behave". You may think that it is a right stance towards Russia but it leaves no place for talking and you can't put the blame for lack of talking on Russia. > EU Foreign Policy chief Kaja Kallas She's a rabid russophobe and was put into her position exactly for that reason.