Russian invasion of Ukraine

[Rasulis]

Biden will announce the release of 1 million barrels of oil a day for the next six months from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

He is also planning to call on Congress to pass a sweeping “use it or lose it” provision intended to prevent oil and gas drillers from sitting indefinitely on federal leases without producing.

[Mihalik]

Biden will announce the release of 1 million barrels of oil a day for the next six months from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

He is also planning to call on Congress to pass a sweeping “use it or lose it” provision intended to prevent oil and gas drillers from sitting indefinitely on federal leases without producing.

-But...but...what we need is more Arctic drilling and Keystone XL.

Republicans probably.

[PhaelixWW]

That argument hasn't had any wings since the Nürnberg trials.
I got no choice, I'm just following orders or I might get jailed or worse.

Regular soldiers weren't tried at the Nuremberg trials, only some mid- but mostly high-level officers.

[Easo]

So Russia is gonna force to pay in roubles for gas. Let's be realistic - Europe will pay, Germany absolutely has no option not to, but there are still questions how exactly will that work. Who knows, Putler might backtrack and say he meant new contracts.

Looks like Ukraine tried to evacuate some people out of Mariupol via helis and one is confirmed shot down with some 15 dead people plus couple survivors. Questions are who, exactly, were the evacuees? Just wounded soldiers (as can be seen by bodies in fatigues with dressed wounds) or actually military leadership? The survivors are talking about wounded fighters, but POWs will say anything.
Unconfirmed about 2 other helis downed, but this gives credence to the previous rumours that Ukraine has attempted this before. And, possibly, if second heli is not confirmed and POW did not lie too much - then 3-4 other helis succeeded - overall win.

From Ru internet - almost open recruiting has started for the war - so this means all the volunteers + PMC's who were denied before can now go and fight on Russia's side.

As per Arestovich (presidental adviser) - Ukraine's military industry has been destroyed. Has to be noted that sources seem shaky and it has been well known for years that Arestovich really really loves to bullshit. Well, we do know that at least a good part of companies are indeed dust now anyway.

@Eugenik
Just for you - https://twitter.com/realGonzaloLira/...64729286291459

I think it's generally people in the west do phenomenally underestimate how well propaganda truly works. While sure from the outside we can go "Why the fuck are you believing this.". When the news channel you watch drums to the same beat over and over, with others following the same rhythm. It's pretty much guaranteed to work, otherwise dictatorships wouldn't have been doing it for thousands of years.

As proven with 2016 elections. West is vulnerable to it

So...Putin ordering draft of 135,000[/url]

More dead bodies to be sent back.

You do understand that this draft is special only in the context of ongoing war? They have mandatory draft, it happens yearly at the same time. Timing, of course, is not great, but regardless it would take months before draftees are ready and useful. I doubt anyone thinks war will be ongoing after 3 months.

With Western money, obviously. Times change, welcome to the new world order.

Economists will correct me if I'm wrong - Covid relief created too much money and worsened the inflation, especially in USA, and Russian invasion is creating an efficient way to drain some of this redundant money into Ukrainian war effort, and in future "Marshall plan" equivalent, which will help stabilize Western economies. Putin helped the Biden administration with his war, ironically.

Will some of it get embezzled? Zelensky promised to fight corruption, we'll see.

I really doubt about West and the revival of Ukraine's military industry, at least up to a certain point.
You do realize that you are talking about the so called "most corrupt country in Europe"? Some WILL be embezzled. Zelensky might be a Jesus reborn, but he still cannot fix everything.

[Mihalik]

Regular soldiers weren't tried at the Nuremberg trials, only some mid- but mostly high-level officers.

Plenty of guards and regulars etc were tried in various other courts. The Nuremberg trials weren't the only Nazi warcrimes trails.

[Ripster42]

So Russia is gonna force to pay in roubles for gas. Let's be realistic - Europe will pay, Germany absolutely has no option not to, but there are still questions how exactly will that work. Who knows, Putler might backtrack and say he meant new contracts.

I still remember negative gas prices, and the structural reasons around them. You apparently don't. Remember, one of the reasons was that after shutting down production at a well head, it's often impossible to start them back up again, even with western tech.

[PC2]

Biden will announce the release of 1 million barrels of oil a day for the next six months from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Apparently the US consumes 20 million barrels of oil a day so I guess a 5% boost will help a little. Hopefully we don't get hit with another unpredictable crisis where we really needed the strategic reserve. I think it'll be fine.

-But...but...what we need is more Arctic drilling and Keystone XL.

Yes we need to maximize energy production while moving away from Russian fossil fuel.

[Specialka]

Apparently the US consumes 20 million barrels of oil a day so I geuss a 5% boost will help a little. Hopefully we don't get hit with another unpredictable crisis where we really needed the strategic reserve. I think it'll be fine.


Yes we need to maximize energy production while moving away from Russian fossil fuel.

And destroy more of the environment while you are at it ?

[Easo]

I still remember negative gas prices, and the structural reasons around them. You apparently don't. Remember, one of the reasons was that after shutting down production at a well head, it's often impossible to start them back up again, even with western tech.

Ok, your answer is kinda confusing. ELI5 what you meant?

[Rasulis]

The scale of the apparent brain drain was laid bare last week by Sergei Plugotarenko, the head of the Russian Association for Electronic Communications, an industry lobbying group.

“The first wave – 50,000-70,000 people – has already left,” Plugotarenko told a parliamentary committee.

Only the high cost of flights out of the country prevented an even larger mass exit. Another 100,000 tech workers nevertheless might leave Russia in April, Plugotarenko predicted.

Exit visa to follow soon?

[Leobald]

So...Putin ordering draft of 135,000

More dead bodies to be sent back.

This is routine. They do the draft twice per year every year, once in spring and once in autumn, and a spring draft of 135,000 men is normal. This is not directly connected to the war.

[Mihalik]

Yes we need to maximize energy production while moving away from Russian fossil fuel.

No. What we need to do is cover the gap while we move away from fossil fuels.

You know a fungible, finite, politically dangerous and environmentally destructive resource.

Keystone has fuckall to do with oil production or its price or availability.

Also we do not need to drill more when existing capacity is being artificially bottlenecked by speculators. We just need to eliminate the speculators.

But leave it to you and your ilk to look at anything under the sun and draw the worst possible conclusions.

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

-But...but...what we need is more Arctic drilling and Keystone XL.

Republicans probably.

Nah, they're gonna @ him for his "communist" threats to "seize the means of production" and "interfere with the free market".

[Easo]

About the Russian soldiers with radiation sickness - there are certain people doubting the story - simply because the background radiation there is not big enough, not even if you live there for a month (Plus there have always been people living in the region + excursions were happening nonstop, one of the things I have wanted to do for a long time).

https://twitter.com/CherylRofer/stat...28182331248649

Question about digging up soil remains (where most of radiation should be stored), but in general this just feels like yet another nuclear fear story, same as when the training center in the taken nuclear power station was hit. Insert not great, not terrible meme here.


So about that Russian default (which itself is debatable, if Russia is blocked from everything) - per Russian sources the frozen Russian money was used for the debt payment. Think about it, it actually doesn't sound too strange.



And I really would like to finally know what kind of artillery Ben Wallace was talking about to be delivered to Ukraine from UK, as that would be the first in actual heavy hardware given to Ukraine.

P.S.
Did we have the Trump's "request for Putin to publish all Biden's dirty laundry" posted here?

[Kaleredar]

Nah, they're gonna @ him for his "communist" threats to "seize the means of production" and "interfere with the free market".

If Biden can get across that what he’s doing will drive gas prices down and leads with that, I think it will make a more compelling argument than vague accusations of communism or whatever.

[XDurionX]

So Russia is gonna force to pay in roubles for gas. Let's be realistic - Europe will pay, Germany absolutely has no option not to, but there are still questions how exactly will that work. Who knows, Putler might backtrack and say he meant new contracts.

We'll keep paying in euros and Putin will do jack shit about it. He cannot unilaterally change contracts. That €s will be turned into roubles through Gazprom bank.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe...on-2022-03-30/

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

If Biden can get across that what he’s doing will drive gas prices down and leads with that, I think it will make a more compelling argument than vague accusations of communism or whatever.

Yeah, I was mostly joking. I just think it would be funny to see them pivot from "Gas prices skyrocketing, at least we don't have mean tweets though" to "Commie Biden demands Oil companies start drilling or he will "redistribute" their oil leases"

[Easo]

US President Joe Biden is speaking about the way high oil prices are "hitting Americans at the pump".

"I know how much it hurts," he says.

He says banning Russian oil imports was "the right thing to do" but it would "come with a cost".

Biden says US oil companies are recording increasing profits and have a choice: Between putting these to use by producing more oil, giving US people a break, or "they can exploit the situation".

Biden says he is announcing a "use-it-or-lose it" policy, where companies will face fees for idle wells if they do not restart production.

Well... I would say some national level pressure at those companies should happen... Just saying.

We'll keep paying in euros and Putin will do jack shit about it. He cannot unilaterally change contracts. That €s will be turned into roubles through Gazprom bank.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe...on-2022-03-30/

There were a lot of things which were thought impossible. Look where we are. Well, we are gonna find out very soon.

[Vegas82]

Well... I would say some national level pressure at those companies should happen... Just saying.

You mean like Biden calling them out and announcing the use it or lose it policy?

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

There were a lot of things which were thought impossible. Look where we are. Well, we are gonna find out very soon.

I mean, not even Putin is saying that Europe will have to pay in roubles though...

Germany will continue to pay for Russian gas in euros or dollars, a government spokesman said, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin had told the German chancellor nothing would change for European partners despite his plan for rouble payments.

Russia has said that because of Western financial sanctions over Ukraine, it plans to require payment for its energy exports - especially the gas that Germany depends on - in roubles rather than the usual euros or dollars from April 1.

In a phone call between the leaders, Putin told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that nothing would change for European partners and payments would be made in euros and transferred to Gazprom bank, which would convert the money into roubles, the German spokesperson said.