Former Russian president and genocidal-alcoholic-in-chief Medvedev promises 'cleansing' Ukraine from people who don't love Russia enough (in his words 'Neonazis', because anyone who doesn't love the amazing peaceful nation of Russia is of course a Neonazi).

If Russia was targeting German electric vehicle supply chains (this part of Diehl), it's either bad intelligence or some kind of really long game to save the combustion engine.

Russia plans to outspend the West to win the war in Ukraine. So the decision for the West is quite simple: Match Russian spending - or expect a disaster in Ukraine.

As Michael shows, it is doable. (If we don't waste more time dreaming of a cheap way out of this conflict.)

The Western news cycle is... interesting.

Gazprom's huge revenue drop in 2023 was already clear from the Russian report at the end of March. Then, yesterday, the IFRS report came out with essentially the same content, and suddenly all the news outlets want to talk about Gazprom.

This. 1000 times.

Russia's negotiation team in 2022 was supposed to probe if and when Ukraine would be desperate enough to surrender. They were looking for a free lunch, not a deal. They didn't deliver, so Putin ended the process.

The relevant age cohort for Russian recruitment is rather 18-60 than 18-27. That cohort will shrink in the next 20 years, and the average age will increase, as there are more 40-60 year olds than 0-20 year olds. 35-40 is the biggest cohort today, almost twice as big as 20-25.

Russian defense minister Shoigu: 'In order to maintain the pace of the offensive in Ukraine, ... the quantity and quality of weapons supplies must increase.'

kommersant.ru/doc/6679586

Man kann es nur immer wieder wiederholen: Hätte die Bundesregierung 2022 auf die Kaliberexperten gehört, würden wir die Ukraine jetzt bei der Munitionsversorgung nicht im Stich lassen.

'The reason for his popularity among Westerners is not his purported influence on Putin, but the fact that he has a rich beard, reminding people of Rasputin.'

If Putin's historical hallucinations were not enough to completely bore you, Tucker Carlson has another interview for you. Dugin is also hallucinating, but in contrast to Putin he is completely irrelevant. Waste of time.

One reason why the West will have to invest more in further developing its weapons: Russia is currently gaining a lot of experience in countering them, and captured vehicles will certainly lead to more learning and adaptation in the long run.

Rant Stegner MdB

'Die wenigsten Kriege enden mit Friedensverhandlungen'

Ein sehr interessantes Interview darüber, was uns die Geschichte über Friedensverhandlungen lehrt und warum die Hoffnung auf einen Verhandlungsfrieden zwischen Russland und der Ukraine weltfremd ist.

n-tv.de/politik/Interv…