Let’s first abolish the Åland consulate. I think it’s a greater security risk than the one in Turku.
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I don’t know, with current showings, the Z-men’s landing on Åland would get stuck in the harbor’s liquor store, and if there’s an appliance store nearby, it’s enough that it’s been preemptively booby-trapped.
It would be a mess, but if we could salvage a landing craft from shallow coastal waters, that would at least make up for something 
Edit: This belongs in the coffee room, someone could move it.
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https://twitter.com/STTuutiset/status/1580101862011056128
We’ll see when Soviet Germany wakes up, or if it ever will.
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Put on your tinfoil hat and ponder this: a judge (Sergei Maslov) who actively opposed Putin died in the Kerch bridge explosion:
Here’s an article about the previously mentioned special meeting. You can get past the subscribe wall using Firefox’s reader mode:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/10/11/g-7-russia-ukraine/
The main point is already in the title, but this can also be highlighted:
In a communique after their meeting, the G-7 leaders welcomed Zelensky’s “readiness for a just peace,” which they said included the complete restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity; safeguarding its future ability to defend itself; ensuring its recovery and reconstruction, including using Russian funds; and pursuing accountability for Russian war crimes.
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These retaliatory strikes were already planned, and this provides a good explanation for the home audience as to why territories are being lost when “we can no longer deliver equipment to the front” 
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This news probably also tells quite a lot about Russia’s desperation. No paywall.
RUSSIA has reportedly been sending prisoners to fight in Ukraine for months, but now the operation appears to have expanded further.
According to the latest information, the Russian Ministry of Defense has also started recruiting prisoners. Previously, recruitment was handled by the mercenary group Wagner, whose leader and owner is Yevgeny Prigozhin, known as “Putin’s chef”.
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One can only imagine the quality of the military units assembled from such material. Non-existent military training, motivation, equipment, and additionally, the soldiers are the dregs of society, meaning they are criminals (already). Wow. Our eastern neighbor is truly in deep.
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I also tried to find this information at some point.
https://twitter.com/ukraine_map/status/1579849243472592898
So, the first anti-aircraft system (IRIS-T) delivered to Ukraine has three launch pads and 24 missiles (3x8).
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It has crossed my mind whether Putler might be cleansing his country not only of undesirable ethnicities but also of criminals and alcoholics, and other societal outcasts, by using Ukraine as a final resting place for them. And thus, statistics measuring the health and stability of society will look much better, thanks to the Sun King (Aurinkokuningas), the Bunker Man (Bunkkerimies).
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It has crossed my mind whether Putler might be cleaning his country not only of unwanted ethnicities but also of criminals and alcoholics and other societal outcasts, using Ukraine as a dumping ground for them. This way, statistics measuring societal health and stability would look much better, thanks to the Sun King, Bunker Man.
If Putler cleans out criminals and alcoholics, what exactly would be left there? A fifth of the population? 
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However, the truth seems to be that Musk has discussed something with the Kremlin on some level. Business as usual.
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A few cents of journal structuring. On February 23rd, Putin thought he would take Kyiv and thus all of Ukraine with his elite troops in a few days of surgical operation. Ukraine’s corrupt and incompetent leadership would flee, and the people would passively follow. In Eastern Ukraine, there would be wild celebrations, with fan buses arriving for parades. The disunited West would not reach a consensus on tough sanctions. There wouldn’t even be time to discuss arms aid before the operation was over. The operation had secured China’s silent support through Olympic diplomacy. In Putin’s eyes, Ukraine had always been part of Russia. Putin, having delved into history during his COVID isolation, would secure his position as a victorious tsar, on par with Peter the Great.
Putin’s fantasy crumbled already on the first weekend. Kyiv’s leadership did not flee, Ukraine began to fight, the West did impose tough sanctions and started providing arms aid. Putin was certainly enraged, but not desperate. A gray medieval period began, lasting for months; Plan B, the operation would be pushed through with brute force. However, the army was of high quality and capable of striking, this is what Putin always wanted to hear, so this is what he was told. His own media was completely under control, initial protests clinically suppressed. At home, there was no critical discussion; the special operation proceeded “according to plan.” The trip to Kyiv went awry, but that was just a “diversion” all along – a diversion, whose small, harmless side effect was that Belarus became a complete international pariah. During this medieval period, Putin always had a devastating trump card up his sleeve: the gas taps to Europe. He did not yet see it necessary to play it, as Russia was still winning and earning gas money at the same time. However, it was insurance that would bring Europe to its knees, forcing Ukraine into unfavorable peace negotiations whenever Putin wanted.
Finally, after months of war, the true situation of his own army began to dawn on Putin. The gas card was played, already a sign of cracking confidence, creeping despair. September became a major turning point. Putin was humiliated on the front and on the red carpet. Ukraine made a breakthrough in the east, and in Uzbekistan, Xi jabbed and Modi openly criticized. Smaller countries made Putin wait for them. Behind the scenes, Xi apparently demanded a swift end to the war. Public discussion made it seem as if the Xi, whom Putin had flattered, would have preferred to be somewhere other than next to a loser.
With war bloggers and nationalists barking ever more openly about the Kremlin’s weakness, Putin resorted to mobilization, which he absolutely did not want to do. He broke his contract with the people – a contract according to which the people could live in peace in warm homes, enjoying the feeling of being citizens of a great power on their home sofas, but in return, they would remain politically completely passive and would not begin to question Putin’s autocracy or the corruption within his sphere of influence. Now the war burst into the eyes of “armchair patriots” – they are proud of Mother Russia, but of course, they do not want to shed their own blood or that of their relatives’ sons for it in a war that is not an existential question for Russians, but rather Putin’s personal project.
The gas card has been played, but it does not seem to break Europe’s backbone. Nuclear threats have not worked. At the latest, China’s red lines emasculate them from Putin. Blind terror bombings do not break Ukraine’s will to fight, on the contrary, they increase it. The morale and equipment of the Russian army are collapsing. Old, tired contract soldiers, burned out from their leaves, rob and rape new military forces abducted from the streets of remote villages. At home, the people see that the country is at war and on the losing side. In state media, the discussion is becoming inflamed and divisive. Extreme nationalists attack the Ministry of Defense like a foreign pig. Putin’s inner circle and the broader elite only want to live prosperous lives and send their daughters to study in London; now they are crumbling under relentless stress and the alcohol that alleviates it. Sanctions are also beginning to bite. Putin is at a dead end. First, he carefully built his power for 22 years. The spiderweb included Germany, international sports, corrupt politicians, and the far-right across Europe and the United States, former prime ministers. With this one catastrophic mistake, Putin has thrown everything away.
The most traumatic long-term chess tournament game of my life went like this: I first played systematically better than my slightly lower-ranked opponent for four hours. Eventually, I was in a winning position, but my thinking time was running low – not running out, however, because I got 30 seconds more for each move. I saw an opportunity to bring my rook into the attack to finish it. I made what I thought was a decisive move. My opponent grabbed her queen and checkmated me on the back rank. She couldn’t help but smile. One big enough blunder wipes out all previous strategic construction, whether you are an amateur chess player or the dictator of a decaying great power.
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In the United States, that kind of independent action in foreign policy matters is a highly criminal activity.
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Slightly off-topic. Musk has flagrantly overstepped and shamelessly used his position to advance his own business interests, disguising it as an effort to mitigate a nuclear threat. He recklessly bypassed the US President and the current administration. I wonder if this won’t spark a serious discussion across the pond. This kind of action from Musk is unfortunately nothing new under the sun.
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Thanks and greetings from the administration! 
This is a truly informative thread and yes, this is perhaps the best place to follow the war in Ukraine. This thread quickly provides important information in the form of tweets, announcements, and news, and the discussion has mostly been very good. Even debates give a lot to readers, as long as they are not “yes-no” debates. You probably know what I mean.
I would also like to remind you of a few general things; this is not directed at anyone in particular or at any specific discussions:
- Short, contentless remarks are unnecessary; this thread already receives an immense number of messages, so extra messages here are somewhat annoying to many. It’s important to remember that thousands of people read this thread, so it’s worth considering what you post here.
- We have excellent and smart debaters here, and Inderes’ Forum is a high-quality discussion platform, so I hope (also for this reason) that the language used reflects that. I’m sure every one of us would like to say something unprintable about dictators and all cruel injustices, but let’s leave out unnecessary brutal expressions. You can still write sharply about things, but there has to be a limit to what you write… content is key.
- Different opinions are allowed, but no trolling in this thread either. Things can be discussed and debated in a content-rich and smart way.
- Before posting a link, please check that it hasn’t already been posted in the thread.
- It’s important to stay on topic; of course, you can always deviate a bit within appropriate limits, but too much is too much. You know.
- Some messages might be better suited for other threads:
Coffee Room, a place for coffee-room-like discussion: Inderesin kahvihuone (Osa 5) - Sijoittaminen - Inderes forum
Finland and NATO discussion fits best here: https://keskustelut.inderes.fi/t/suomi-natoon-nato-ketju/
Political discussions that don’t fit here might fit here: https://keskustelut.inderes.fi/t/politiikkanurkkaus/
Discussions related to the energy crisis here: https://keskustelut.inderes.fi/t/euroopan-energiakriisi/
We are on the same side, and it is in everyone’s interest to pull together. When discussing with each other, let’s try to respect one another and remember that everyone is on Ukraine’s side - this should not be forgotten. Let’s not argue among ourselves, but have good discussions and content-rich debates that provide good food for thought and information. 
I want to thank all the contributors to the thread and especially the “actives” for the good discussion, and at the same time apologize that moderation sometimes doesn’t always succeed, even though we are genuinely trying our best. Although clearly the vast majority of messages are appropriate, we genuinely still have some room for improvement to ensure the high quality of the thread. 
I wrote this message in a hurry very quickly, so I apologize for any errors and for cutting corners. I believe you will understand the points of my message despite the rather clumsy writing.
Thanks again to everyone and happy reading!
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An interesting tweet about Russia’s true interests in Ukraine. Some might also see it as the reason for Musk’s alleged discussions with Putin:
https://twitter.com/PerttiJarla/status/1580089881056772096?s=20&t=9TUnPUx3XPUsK88_bjF5gw
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The pace is picking up.
https://twitter.com/noahpinion/status/1580054762933825537?s=21&t=XjtVYKBvBkX8971RJbWNzA
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