Russia Invades Ukraine. Again
POSTED BY: captaincrunch
UPDATED: Sunday, September 6, 2026 21:09
VIEWED: 562266
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War has tamed Ukraine’s oligarchs, creating space for democratic change
Ukraine may have the opportunity to rebuild a postwar society that is more democratic, less corrupt, and more economically diversified
By Kevin Sullivan, David L. Stern and Kostiantyn Khudov
December 8, 2022 at 1:00 a.m. EST
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/12/08/ukraine-oligarchs-powe
r-war/
BURSHTYN, Ukraine — Over two days in October, eight Russian cruise missiles screamed out of the sky and obliterated tens of millions of dollars’ worth of critical machinery at this city’s hulking coal-fired power plant.
The attacks were designed to leave Ukraine cold and dark this winter. But they also deepened a financial crisis for the plant’s owner, Rinat Akhmetov, the country’s richest man.
Akhmetov’s wealth has dived from $7.6 billion to $4.3 billion since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, according to Forbes. In 2012, before Russia annexed Crimea and backed separatists in Ukraine’s east, locations where Akhmetov also had numerous assets, the magazine estimated his wealth at $16 billion.
The losses are largely from Russia’s destruction and confiscation of his vast networks of power and steel plants, coal mines and agricultural operations. Most notable were his two huge steel plants in the port city of Mariupol, including Azovstal, where Ukrainian fighters staged a defiant last stand against Russian forces earlier this year. Akhmetov is suing Russia for up to $20 billion in the European Court of Human Rights.
One billionaire becoming less of a billionaire isn’t breaking hearts in a country fighting a war for its very existence. But it provides some insight into how the Russian invasion is affecting Ukraine’s oligarchs, a group of fewer than 20 fantastically wealthy people who have wielded outsize — and often, anti-corruption activists contend, malign — influence over Ukraine’s politics, economy and society since the country’s independence in 1991.
In Kherson city, sympathies for Russia complicate reintegration into Ukraine
In interviews with more than two dozen current and former Ukrainian and U.S. officials, analysts and others, nearly all agreed that the dominant power of oligarchs in Ukrainian life has been diminished. They cited vast losses from the war, growing government pressure and a newly energized population no longer willing to tolerate the politics of the past. They said that could give Ukraine the opportunity to rebuild a postwar society that is more democratic, less corrupt and more economically diversified.
“This is the end of an epoch, the end of a political culture,” said Viktor Andrusiv, a former adviser to Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s top aide, who has written extensively about Ukraine’s oligarchs and is now fighting on the front lines in the Ukrainian army.
Akhmetov, in exchanges with The Washington Post over WhatsApp, also said he supports economic diversification. Asked about his vision of Ukraine after the war, he called for a “new Marshall Plan” of hundreds of billions of dollars in investment and a country remade in the image of the West, not Russia.
“The goal is to build a new, strong, and European Ukraine, a member of the [European Union], with strong institutions, the rule of law, clear anti-corruption rules, a democratic political system, and fair treatment of citizens,” said Akhmetov, who declined an in-person interview but answered written questions.
Pressure on oligarchs had already been building before Russia’s invasion, with a “de-oligarchization” law promoted by Zelensky that took effect this year. The law places limits on the political activity of super-rich individuals who meet certain criteria, including those who have major holdings in television and other media to press their financial interests and political agenda. The Zelensky government is also crafting antitrust measures to crack down on monopolies controlled by oligarchs in areas from coal mining to electricity to railroads.
“The system was so strong and wel
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Keep burying your last bullshit little argument that you started and lost, like all the of the other arguments you lose when you try to get personal with me, you little worm.
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Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.
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Quote:This will probably not be understood by you, but your reply today at http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=18&tid=61587&mid=11663
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Keep burying your last bullshit little argument that you started and lost, like all the of the other arguments you lose when you try to get personal with me, you little worm.
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Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.
19#1166319 does not make good sense. My opinion is that most of what you do, 6ix, is not what a sensible person does. That is true about Russians, too. Their whole history does not make much sense, but I don't think they could do better. They are not mentally tough enough to be anywhere other than right in the middle of the messiness, stupidness and preposterousness they create for themselves. It is awe inspiring how Russians are unconscious about being half-asses at life. If Russians can't get their shit together, they will shame themself for all time in Ukraine. But being unconscious, most Russians won't notice. The few Russians that do notice will emigrate and start over somewhere better than Russia.
5 Million Russian Citizens Left Russia Under Putin
Young, well-educated Russians are seeking a better life abroad.
By Uliana Pavlova
Updated: Oct. 13, 2021
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/10/13/5-million-russian-citizens-l
eft-russia-under-putin-a75246
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:
My opinion is that most of what you do, 6ix, is not what a sensible person does.
Nobody gives one single fuck about your opinion.
Back to this. We're not done here.
Quote:
Originally posted by second:Quote:Do the unemployed become employed when their benefits end? No, 6ix. Your "definition" of employed is flawed. Workers in most states are eligible for up to 26 weeks of benefits from the regular state-funded unemployment compensation program, although ten states provide fewer weeks.
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
I'm not unemployed. Joe Biden* wouldn't tell you that I'm unemployed. You have to be filing for unemployment benefits to be unemployed.
https://www.cbpp.org/research/economy/how-many-weeks-of-unemployment-c
ompensation-are-available
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
I didn't give a definition of employed. I simply pointed out that since I wasn't filing for or collecting unemployment benefits that I am not considered by the government to be unemployed. Joe Biden* likes that. One less person bumping up his unemployment numbers.
If there's any flaw here, it's the government's definition of unemployed that is flawed, which is an argument I've made in the past several times in the RWED boards.
I also didn't make any claim that I was currently employed or unemployed.
I'm neither employed nor unemployed. I'm retired with hobbies.
AND
Quote:
Originally posted by second:
I'm collecting $4,555 per month from Social Security Retirement. Does that mean I am retired? No, 6ix, I am working.
Oh... And that's cute. You got that number for the maximum benefits paid out when retiring at 70 from here:
https://www.bankrate.com/retirement/average-monthly-social-security-ch
eck/
Yanno... The same very same article that Google used to misrepresent what the average SS payout for retiring at 62 was when they instead gave you the the maximum number and fooled you into posting something stupid just yesterday right here:
http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=18&tid=65414&mid=11662
29#1166229
Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Since the average Social Security check at age 62 is $2,572
No it isn't dummy, but I know exactly how you got that. Looks like Google lied to you again.
Click on the bankrate.com article that Google used to provide those fake numbers and actually read it.
The Average check today for ALL recipients, of any age, including disability payments and survivor benefits payments is only $1,550.48.
Here's the part that Google grabbed and presented as the answer to your question:Quote:
The maximum initial monthly benefit for 2023 by retirement age:
At age 62: $2,572
At age 65: $3,279
At age 66: $3,506
At age 70: $4,555
These figures assume a worker had steady earnings at the maximum taxable level since age 22. For 2023, maximum taxable income is $160,200, a number that usually rises each year.
This isn't only hilarious, but is a great example of how you lack any critical thinking skills whatsoever, and why it is so easy for the Legacy Media to make you believe whatever they tell you to.
Have a nice day!
This ain't the real world where you can lie to people all day long in person and there's no receipts of you lying and/or all the dumb shit you say dude.
We know nothing about you dude. Nobody believes anybody who tells the world that they're perfect and always right and always better than everybody around them, both online and in real life.
I know I'm a flawed individual. Perhaps even deeper than the Median person is.
And even with all the things that I have been doing right and all the improvem
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If you don't want to talk about yourself and your lies in Russia threads, than you'd be advised to stop pulling my personal life out of context into your puny little dick-brained "arguments".
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Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.
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Quote:6ix, you share characteristics with Putin and Trump. All three of you are belligerent, obnoxious, and stupid. Putin showed that side of himself only after he was in power. Trump has always shown it, but he has been protected by the best lawyers money can buy. When the average Trumptard, unprotected by power and money, displays belligerency, obnoxiousness, and stupidity, the Trumptard gets fired, gets kicked out of their relationships, or falls into various troubles that they will blame on the Democrats rather than their stupidity. The average Russian does the same: it is the Democrats' fault our mighty military is losing in Ukraine. Nuke the USA!
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
If you don't want to talk about yourself and your lies in Russia threads, than you'd be advised to stop pulling my personal life out of context into your puny little dick-brained "arguments".
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
He likes to threaten, harass (IRL), libel, lie, insult, and bob and weave.
That's not arguing. Arguing is when you assemble your facts and use facts and logic to dispute another's position, or posit one of your own
SECOND: Vladimir Putin appears ‘drunk’ as he charges Ukraine for attacks
Friday 9 December 2022 04:19 , Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of initiating attacks on civilian infrastructure in the ongoing invasion by Moscow.
“There’s a lot of noise right now about our strikes against the energy infrastructure of the neighbouring country,” Mr Putin said at a state awards ceremony where he appeared with a glass of a sparkling beverage.
Swaying from one side to another, he said: “Yes, we are doing it, but who started it? Who struck the Crimean bridge?”.
Economist and author Anders Aslund said: “This is the first time that I have seen Putin seeming drunk in any context. He talks nonsense as usual, but he seems to realise that he is a loser. Very interesting & promising. All Russians will see that he is drunk & weak.”
“Putin, clearly drunk at today’s Russian military awards ceremony, gets his Kremlin propaganda lies mixed up - it’s supposed to be Crimea that Ukraine denied water to, not Donetsk,” said Ukrainian editor and journalist Euan MacDonald.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/ukraine-news-%E2%80%93-live-russi
a-installs-multiple-launch-rocket-systems-at-nuclear-power-plant/ar-AA154OMn
Quote:. And that includes posting M$M disinformation.
SIGNY: He likes to threaten, harass (IRL), libel, lie, insult, and bob and weave.
That's not arguing. Arguing is when you assemble your facts and use facts and logic to dispute another's position, or posit one of your own
You're a miserable hate-filled little man, SECOND.
Get help.
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Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake
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Yeah. It must be painful to be Second.
I had a great day today. How about you Sigs?
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Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.
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Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Yeah. It must be painful to be Second.
I had a great day today. How about you Sigs?
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Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.
We had a nice day relaxing together. Tomorrow ... well today, actually... we're supposed to get rain, so I'm goimg to get on the stick and finish cleaning the house. Maybe get a Christmas tree and get one up early for a change. I'm hoping for a nice family Christmas this year. Make warm memories for us.
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Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake
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Quote:Is the Russian Nobel Peace Prize laureate a miserable hate-filled little man, Signym?
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
And that includes posting M$M disinformation.
You're a miserable hate-filled little man, SECOND.
Get help.
Russian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Yan Rachinsky blasted President Vladimir Putin’s “insane and criminal” war on Ukraine in his acceptance speech in the Norwegian capital Oslo on Saturday.
Rachinsky, from Russia’s human rights organization Memorial, claimed resistance to Russia is known as “fascism” under Putin, adding this has become “the ideological justification for the insane and criminal war of aggression against Ukraine.”
Memorial, one of Russia’s most well-known and respected human rights groups, worked to expose the abuses and atrocities of the Stalinist era for more than three decades before it was ordered to close by the country’s Supreme Court late last year. https://www.memo.ru/en-us/ https://memohrc.org/en
https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/10/europe/russian-nobel-peace-laureate-sla
ms-putin-war-intl/index.html
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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