Russian lawmakers authorize Putin to use military force outside the country, Part II

[Labster]

I expect that depends entirely on whose valuation of the ruble you believe. If you could buy two cabbages and a pair of counterfeit Levis with it in Poland, let alone Ukraine, I'd be shocked.

I get the joke here, but this debt could not be paid off even in Zimbabwe dollars.

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Ukraine Update: The Next Big Battle Carries Real Consequences - Unlike many of the cities and towns touted as major captures by Russia, Pokrovsk is now only 5 kilometers away from the the front lines, and it is a major supply hub for Donetsk.  If they can't secure the front before winter sets in, there will be tough choices ahead on the Ukrainian side.

Yesterday's ISW assessment includes a note about what Patriarch Kirill has been saying, excoriating Russians who don't care about helping the war effort.  The 3-day special operation is going so well that everyone needs to pitch in and do their bit, it seems.  But he then goes on to blame all of the war crimes on "neo-pagans" who have infiltrated Russia's armed forces.  That's right, neo-pagan preachers are trying to revive paganism and instill a "cult of brute force and cruelty” in Russia.  So who is a neo-pagan in Russia?  According to a guy on Russia's Security Council, Jews in Chabad are a neo-pagan cult seeking world domination.  If the Russians really want to fight Nazis, maybe try turning the guns 180°?

In Russia, good Christians believe things like Nuclear Orthodoxy.  St. Seraphim of Sarov has been declared the patron saint of Russia's nuclear arsenal, which is especially convenient since the USSR destroyed part of his monastery to build a nuclear research town.  The Russian Orthodox Church teaches believers that the nukes will be important to take care of the forces of Satan at the end of the world, during the Second Coming.