I don't see the point of certain companies pulling out of Russia. Big companies like Boeing or Shell, yeah that's impact. Cultural stuff like McDonald's seems like a step back. A McDonald's in Moscow is a cultural takeover move.
just a couple of things: 1) Soviet Union beat Germany in the East with Russian soldiers and American, British materiel. 2) the time to beat Germany was when he militarized the Rhineland 3) the Fall of France was largely a fluke
And it's weird because the Russians who eat at McDonalds are probably not very supportive of the invasion in the first place. It's just virtue signaling.
There is this young Russian man posting videos on YouTube of himself asking fellow Russians questions about the special military operation and America. I have to say their younger people strike me as a lot like younger Americans. They know what’s up! It’s their parents and grandparents who are completely brainwashed. Somehow, Putin has them believing if they lived on eating cowsh_t...it would taste good and they can be content about it.
I think it more to do with operations - the companies simply can't operate properly. Sanctions limit their ability to connect with key suppliers/etc. The Russian banking system is disconnected. People can't use credit cards. The value of the ruble has collapsed so it either means no profits or increasing prices. There's risk of Russian retaliation on American employees (like Britney Grimer) if things escalate, etc. It's just all around an environment not conducive to business. I imagine tons of Russian companies are likely suffering too and some are likely shutting down too - we just don't hear about them since they aren't brands we know. It's not like McDonalds is leaving permanently - they said its temporary and I believe I saw they are still paying employees for now. That said, I'm sure they are also virtue signaling to say they support Ukraine - but I don't think that's the actual reason these companies are shuttering operations there. It's just likely impossible to function right now.
Boy, that IKEA had some long ass lines. They showed them closing it up for the last time with employees visibly upset.
what is a good way out at this point? are there any demands Putin can be given? or should be given? The only valid Putin concern I can seem to see is worrying about EU or NATO military alliances on his southern flank. Some kind of promise not to join may be reasonable to just put an end to it, but he wants Crimea. He wants more territories... when does it stop with greedy piggies like this? He got greedy and thought his military was better than this and now because of his ignorance Ukraine and Russia will pay for it with years of blood.
At 3:30 p.m. on March 7, Serhiy and Elena Kosyanov’s children were lying on a sofa and playing with smartphones in northern Kharkiv’s Saltivka neighborhood. Elena, a kindergarten teacher, was in the kitchen and her mother was preparing to walk their dog. Serhiy was opening the door to their apartment building downstairs. He was in good spirits: After two hours waiting in line, he had filled their car with gas. Then a Russian projectile slammed through their living room window and exploded. The building caught fire. One of the shards pierced the face of the couple’s 8-year-old son, Dmitri, and lodged between the base of his skull and his spine. The boy remains in the intensive-care unit of Kharkiv’s Hospital Number 4, fighting for his life. His sister suffered burns, and his grandmother got a concussion and broken ribs. “I came home just a little bit too late because of the wait at the gas station. We were supposed to leave Kharkiv that day,” Serhiy said, standing outside the hospital’s intensive-care unit. “All our pets have burned alive. Two cats. One dog. One hamster,” his wife said. Seven-year-old Vladimir Baklanov was in the same hospital, recovering from gunshot wounds. As the boy and his mother tried to flee Kharkiv by car, they were caught in a crossfire between Russian and Ukrainian forces on Feb. 28, four days after the invasion. His mother died. Vladimir’s father, Stanislav, a manager at a construction company, was on assignment in Uzbekistan when the war erupted. He has since returned to Kharkiv, and spends his days and nights in the hospital. Stanislav closed the door so Vladimir wouldn’t hear his conversation with The Wall Street Journal. “He probably knows that his mama is dead,” Stanislav said. “But he still keeps calling her.” damn…the reality of war How long will Putin keep going with his economy completely tanked?
He needs a way out where he can claim victory. Ukraine should negotiate that and even give concessions, but the US should pressure the West to keep all these sanctions in place. Putin needs to pay a price.
Russia has lost an estimated 12K troops? Damn, they thought they were gonna steamroll Ukraine and take them over with ease
