Russia - threadbanned users in OP

Putin literally pretends to be religious to garner support. If you were actually here you're probably picking up on decades of religious suppression or hanging out in the type of places where these religious people are not going to be. I haven't been there though so just going off what I've heard over the years.

Well the point of its posts seems to be to push whatever the appropriate Russian narrative is today.

Initially that narrative was there will be no invasion whatsoever. Russia is naturally very very very scared of NATO the Warmonger and just wants a few promises. It can move it's peace loving troops about on its own territory and that of its allies as it sees fit to protect itself from Nasty NATO and the Nazi Ukraine.

Then, okay we can't really deny the invasion any more as it is happening (!), can't credibly blame NATO for a Russian war of choice, so it moved onto a textbook demoralisation effort - which is where timmy is at right now.

A few days ago there would be no sanctions, or no meaningful ones anyway from Europe.

Why would you ordinary joe poster on here encourage such sanctions? Better just go back to sleep. They won't work. Don't you fools know this will cost you dear?

Now there will be sanctions it seems, and Western (Irish) public opinion seems likely to back that too so the message is just becoming these won't work, and good old Chairman Xi will ride in on a white charger and bust up any of these unfair Western sanctions for his friend in the Kremlin.

Manufacturing and energy both.

Maybe, but plenty of anti-Western and jaded Putinbots looking for any scraps to haggle over.

Difficult to get proper information in any war, take everything with a pinch of salt. We're building a rough picture here. It's natural to support the Ukrainians in this situation and understand they will produce propaganda and inflate any successes, it's critical for their morale, which is pretty much the only thing holding them together right now. Celebrating that something didn't turn out to be fully true is a bit bizarre given the context, and smacks of someone wearing a mask of objectivity.

The USSR tried to sideline the orthodox church but never managed to fully rid them from public life. Not for lack of trying though. When the Great Patriotic War came about Stalin relied on the support of the church and they've kept their position since. The people themselves remained very religious the entire time, increasingly so as you left the major cities and moved out into the villages scattered all over the place.

Reports the Wagner mercenaries are in country ready for the order to take out the president, the Klitschko brothers etc. Talks are nothing, just a sham on putins instruction....

But what do they care about then? What greater good would be served by unleashing hell on the world?

Russia and Ukraine between them produce more grain than the US and EU combined and most is exported east and south to Asia and Africa, add to that the sanctions, drought in most of north Africa, and Russia and China banning fertilizers exports means a huge shortfall.

China will be fine as they'll get their share, but there's going to be problems elsewhere. One of the big drivers for the Arab spring was grain shortages.

See, even Putin is scared of O'Leary...;)

Good.

"Van with captions "People, wake up!" "This is war" "Putin is a scum!" crashed into the fence at Puhkinskaya square in Moscow and caught fire"

This is becoming truly horrifying.