Alexander Ryzhkov

12÷2(1+2) / 14÷7(1+1) The answer is not 4. Many got it wrong! Ukraine Math Test https://lnkd.in/dPCGDBTx #math #ukraine #math #percentages #puzzleswithanswers #maths #mathsproblems #indices #fastandeasymaths

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18(2+3)÷18(2+3) The answer is not 1. Many failed! Ukraine Math Test https://lnkd.in/dydHmfzK #math #percentages #ukraine #percentages #calculate #fastandeasymaths #puzzleswithanswers #ibpsafo #IQ #reasoning

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If democratic states allow russia to defeat Ukraine then they will face the threat of being hunted buy russians in future. Here is an article about such "hunting" in the Ukrainian Kherson city: https://lnkd.in/dQBNGs6U And there are several videos about such hunts -- you are welcome to watch them -- the links will be in the comments below.

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russia’s full-blown war against #Ukraine is in its third year. While Ukraine struggles to constrain russia’s creeping advances amid delayed Western weapons shipments, there are renewed mutterings in diplomatic circles about the need to kickstart peace talks. Ukrainian officials reject this idea, stating that russia’s end goal is the capitulation of Ukraine, while critics assert that the West still does not understand the aggressor’s ultimate goal: dismantling the rules-based order. Instructive for understanding russia’s overarching goals is an article by Stas Kozliuk and Yevhen Buderatskyi in Ukrainska Pravda on russia’s failed 2014 attempt to squash Ukraine’s leanings towards EU integration and occupy half of the country following the Euromaidan revolution. Based on interviews with dozens of participants in the events and investigators and an analysis of how russian special services operated in Ukraine during this period, the article offers insights into the covert methods with which russia aims to rebuild its sphere of influence by eroding the sovereignty of post-Soviet countries. In the case of Ukraine’s Euromaidan, this included getting its agents to the top law enforcement positions and employing employees of the FSB’s 2nd department, responsible for carrying out high-ranking assassinations of politicians like Boris Nemtsov and the attempted poisoning of the late Aleksey Navalny. …

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Iran has transferred its ballistic missiles to Russia—just one of countless examples showing that the policy of non-escalation has never worked with Russia. In all my recent posts, I have repeatedly called on our allies to stop being afraid and to finally authorize deep strikes on Russian military bases, providing all necessary weapons. The news of Iran transferring its weapons to Russia means only one thing: the control of escalation and the initiative lie with Russia, not with us. This is yet another failure of the conservative strategy in this war, which has not worked against them. We all know that sooner or later, we will get this permission. The saddest part is how many lives we have lost because of this hesitation. But for those cynics who don’t care about the lives lost, there’s another argument: The U.S. has heavily invested in and is proud of its precision weapons. These weapons are highly effective against low-tech enemies and help avoid unnecessary casualties. They are expensive and profitable for manufacturers. However, all of this is becoming less effective against advanced enemies like Russia, who can learn and adapt. HIMARS systems and other precision weapons are increasingly being jammed and are not hitting targets as effectively as they used to. The biggest problem lies with the Excalibur systems. Had we received these weapons in full amounts early on, we wouldn’t be in such trouble now, struggling to effectively counterattack the Russians. I hope that this Friday, during the meeting between President Biden and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, there will be a consensus on authorizing deep strikes into Russia, and that this nonsensical hesitation will finally come to an end.

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As promised, sharing my take on the weakest spots of Russian economy. 1) Low quality in state actions. Russian economy is primarily related to state actions. In parallel with the conflict in Ukraine, a covert conflict between various political fractions and interest groups is taking place in Russia over profitable corporations. For ideological or other motives, some of them work to enhance the state's economic share and, consequently, the rents that bureaucrats can charge. Some people want to take property. 2) Legal problem creates innovation holes. Redistribution battles are dangerous for the Russian economy for two reasons. First, they entail the transfer of property rights to owners who lack management expertise and ability (and sometimes even the willingness) to effectively run the companies. Their only “competitive advantage” is a better political connection. Secondly, and more importantly, politically motivated redistribution of property increases uncertainty in the eyes of the private business, which, in turn, leads to less investment and innovation. 3) Outdated leadership style. A poor managerial armamentarium is a disadvantage not only of putin but also of his entire circle, which in turn gives rise to an epidemic of ineffective decisions that affect the economic vertical of Russian reality. Save Lake Balkhash International Research Project

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🤯 An unsactioned Russian businessman supplies Russia's military-industrial complex and owns luxury apartments in the... USA! Darya Kuzmina from Trap Aggressor has exposed the unsactioned life of Oleg Volkov — the lord of the valves — whose Russian entity Armalit is one of three manufacturers that fully meets russia’s defense requirements for marine valves. “A ship is a highly sophisticated engineering structure comprising numerous pipelines for pumping a range of liquids, from fresh water for domestic use to oil and fuel for engines. In this context, valves are any element on such pipelines. The simplest example is a kitchen faucet. It is a device that controls the flow of liquids or gases. It can open or close the flow, regulate the amount of substance that passes through the pipe, or prevent it from flowing back. Without valves, all these pipelines cannot function,” explains Artem Buznyk, head of a company that supplies and manufactures marine valves. In addition to the Armalit plant, Saint Petersburg businessman Oleg Volkov owns at least one other russian manufacturer of shipbuilding valves, Spetskomplektresurs, which also supplies products to the russian navy. Over the past 12 years, Volkov has made significant investments not only in business in the United States, but also in property. Trap Aggressor has discovered that the Volkov family resides in the United States and owns significant real estate assets there. Oleg Volkov and Veronika Volkova are the joint owners of a 908-square-meter mansion situated in a prestigious area of Atlanta, Georgia. Given that the property has recently been listed for sale, we were able to conduct a detailed examination of the house in the photos. It is equipped with luxury furniture, a marble shower, and several fireplaces. The property’s courtyard features a swimming pool and a private forest area. The estimated value of the house is approximately $5 million. More details on Volkov's global supplies, businesses, and assets can be found in the full report: https://lnkd.in/evenaSZp

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One thing that is kind of remarkable is that no one in the US foreign policy establishment has mentioned *why* China wants good relations with Russia. You start with the fact that Russia is *right next door* whereas the US is on the other side of the world. Russia has 2500 nuclear warheads and several hundred of them are pointed at China. The other fact is that all of China's land neighbors are allies of Russia. India, Thailand, and Vietnam all have very close relations with Russia, and in particular India and Vietnam are very close to Russia precisely to counterbalance China. Now if you had good relations between the US and China then this would not have matters, but since Henry Kissinger is not running US foreign policy, going against Russia would be suicidal for China because it means that it gets crushed by *both* the US and Russia. The Republicans have made no secret that they consider China the "real enemy" so they want a deal with Russia and India to crush China. The problem with the Republican plan is that the analysis is based on the idea that China is strong so once the US crushes China it can put Russia and India under US dominance. Speaking of India, one thing that I find interesting is that as the Indian economy grows, you are seeing more and more friction between India and the West. If you go to Russia and India and say "we want you to crush China, because we think you are weak and so the US can dominate you" this is not going to get much support in either Russia and India. And this goes with the fundamental problem with US foreign policy. China has no problem with a rich and powerful Russia, India, or the United States.

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[In recent weeks, there have been numerous articles and news reports about problems with #Ukrainian defence positions, difficulties with mobilization, russian army superiority in everything, even using the words like “possible frontline collapse” etc. As I mentioned numerous times as well, the situation is difficult but very dynamic and many articles and reports don’t take this into account, instead basing their conclusions on older, stale or incorrect data. Below is the most recent example, which shows that “the devil is not as scary as they want us to believe”.] Day 792: 24 April Today, there is a lot of news from the Lyman direction. Here, russian forces refused to accept the defeat in the Battle for Terny, and suddenly opened a new vector of attack to prevent the collapse of their bridgehead, and retake the initiative back in their hands. The reason for the failure of the russian mechanized assault along the third axis of advance is threefold. Firstly, the 𝗨𝗸𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗩𝗣 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁. Notably, the map of successful drone attacks in the area by both sides reveals an overwhelming advantage of Ukrainian drone capabilities that has dramatically compromised russian attempts in recent weeks, particularly in helping to prepare an overwhelming response well in advance. Secondly, according to various Ukrainian sources, the 𝗨𝗸𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗵 𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗽𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀. Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi recently announced that rotations had begun in various directions on a widespread level since troops had not been rotated in many places for more than a year. Due to the rotation, russian troops here had to face much fresher Ukrainian troops. And thirdly, it appears that 𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗳𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀. The size of this mechanized assault was much smaller than those observed over the last few weeks, which is a clear indicator of exhaustion of the forces.

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Not many non-russians know russia as well as Oleksandr Lytvynenko. Ukraine’s new national security chief spent five formative years in Moscow as a cryptology cadet at the elite kgb Academy. More recently, as head of #Ukraine’s foreign-intelligence service during two years of war, he busied himself undermining and extracting information from his one-time peers. At the end of March, he took over one of the country’s most critical jobs. So Mr Lytvynenko deserves to be listened to. And he has a warning for those Western politicians (Donald Trump being the most notorious example) thinking about pushing a premature peace deal on Ukraine which would require it to give up territory. “𝗣𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗱, 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝗲.” Ceding territory to Russia in return for peace would be a “cruel betrayal” of the Ukrainians left under violent occupation, he says. Many more innocent people would be killed, more would be thrown into cellars. But there is a more pragmatic reason to reject it, too. An agreement made with a compulsive liar probably means only one thing: him regrouping, rearming and trying for more in two or three years. 𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮’𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 “𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱” 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗨𝗸𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲, Mr Lytvynenko says. “The next time he won’t make mistakes, but will prepare his operation much more carefully, according to all the laws of military art.” Things were not supposed to have turned out like this for russia, of course. Ukraine was not expected to put up a fight. russian soldiers were supposed to be parading in Kyiv within days of the invasion. With his “blitzkrieg”, Mr Putin’s aim was to present the West with a fait accompli, Mr Lytvynenko argues. “He wanted to say: Ukraine’s over, guys, now let’s talk on my terms.” Ukraine’s heroism foiled that plan. It also fundamentally changed the negotiation. “Now a victory over the West can only come if Putin first has victory in Ukraine. In russians’ minds, victory in Ukraine means victory over the United States.” Has the message got through to those who need to hear it? Mr Lytvynenko heaves a sigh, and delivers a politician’s line, stressing Ukraine’s “critical partnership with the American state…regardless of who is in power.” This week, Congress might finally begin the task of signing off on much-needed military assistance. But even if it does, the emphasis is on giving Ukraine just enough to stay in the game, rather than the tools to secure a victory. And all this is before a possible Trump presidency, which could make things much more precarious. … Full text in comments. [The key to understanding the situation is realizing that Putin is “𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱” 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗨𝗸𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲. So any proposal of negotiating in exchange for peace or freezing the war is the same as saying “let’s give the addict what he wants”. Anyone knows perfectly well what that means.]

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Here is a description of how the US got outgunned by Russia. It goes through the mechanics, but doesn't quite address the political miscalcuations. So the political miscalculation has to do with the Munich myth. So the idea is that you shouldn't "appease" dictators and if you show strength they will back down and you can avoid a war. The trouble is "what if you DON'T?" What happens if Putin goes through and says "okay, you won't back down, I will start a war." At that point you go from Munich to Vietnam, at that point you have a war that the public does not want, and you have a huge problem. Also a lot of the Munich myth involves personalizing things. So you make Putin the bad guy or Xi the bad guy and then you assume that if you make the evil dictator the enemy that the people will support you overthrow the dictator. The trouble is that the Russian public cares about Ukraine and the Chinese public cares about Taiwan more than either the EU or the US would. It is very obvious that American/EU public opinion will break before Russian public opinion does. Finally, the problem with Munich is that Russia and China in 2024 is simply not Germany/Japan in 1939, and it also ignores that the thing that brought the US into the war in 1941 was Pearl Harbor. https://lnkd.in/gdPSrpSJ

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There are over 2000 people here in Berlin for #urc2024. Lots of Ukraine federal/state/city level government people. Many Ukrainian companies—most in the drone or mining spaces. Lots of German and EU government officials. Many civil society organizations. Almost no institutional investors, and very few banks. Not a single investment bank other than Mits Capital. For Ukraine to “recover” it needs three things. 1. Control of its airspace. 2. Offensive munitions 3. MONEY. Note to Ukraine—we are going to need to attract private investment capital. Yes, European government funding will be critical as a catalyst. But we need to make Ukraine attractive to private capital. Now is the time to start the marketing campaign. Put me in coach. #ukraine #Ukrainewillwin Ukraine.ua The Kyiv Independent Ukraine Business News

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Just looking at the media war between the Russians and the Ukrainians. The fascinating thing is that the US press is no longer cheerleading for the Ukrainians, and the message from the US press seems to be to prepare the public for a pullout an a Russian victory. The UK press is still cheerleading and talking about how Russian losses is going to cause Putin and Russia to give up. The UK is still talking about a Ukrainian victory whereas the US has stopped talking about this. The difference between the US/UK might have to do with the fact that both major parties in UK are pro-Ukrainian, whereas the Republicans and Trump are pretty clearly pro-Russia. It's also that the Republicans seem like that they want a war with Iran and China and so they are willing to cut their losses with Russia so that they can go to war with Iran and China. Netanyahu is about give a speech in Congress, and the US has this very bizarre relationship with Israel. So if it is choice between Israel and Ukraine, Ukraine loses. Whereas Israel is not nearly as powerful with the UK. How this is going to work if Russia allies with Iran and China no one has mentioned, but the UK seems to want to go to war with everyone. I think the difference between the US and UK is that the US is still haunted by the ghosts of Vietnam and this *feels* like Vietnam in 1971 (i.e. we have lost, we know we have lost, we just want to get out without looking too bad). The other thing is what the US decides *really matters*. The US is still the most powerful nation on the planet, whereas the UK can just play armchair general without too much consequences.

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Every day you see a lot of news and media from #Ukraine posted on LinkedIn. Do you want to be among the first to read or post some breaking news about the war? It’s as easy as 1-2-3. 1. Download a Telegram app and subscribe to one or more reliable Ukrainian news channels. 2. Get a notification from your favourite channel and open the most recent article. 3. If needed, translate the article to understand if it’s worth your attention. Save the article media file(s) to your personal device. Copy/paste/edit and post the content on LinkedIn, attaching the corresponding media file(s). Done! If you just beginning with this, the amount of relevant channels could be overwhelming. To save your time I can recommend just a couple of channels to start with: 1. UNITED24Media: https://t.me/United24media This channel translates the news in English, which is very handy for those who don’t want to deal with translation. While some news may not be up to the minute, this channel has media with English subtitles too, so it gives you a ready to post material for LinkedIn. 2. OperativnoZSU: https://t.me/operativnoZSU This is one of the main Ukrainian news Telegram channels about the war. It usually gathers and posts the most recent news (and a lot of media) from different other channels, so you don’t have to browse dozens of them yourself. There are of course plenty of other reliable channels with their own great content. If you like more recommendations to work with just let me know! 📹 How to get the content to post on LinkedIn from a Ukrainian Telegram channel: from OperativnoZSU about the recent return of Ukrainian defenders from captivity.

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