CNN: Zelensky said we have been "informed" that the attack

[mobeau69]

will be on Wednesday.

[Walleye]

1. Stock market just took a dive on that news

[Budi]

4. RU ruble stock looked like on Friday, Feb 11th

Link to tweet

Not sure how the ruble is measured, but this looks significant

Gold shoots up, war zone sort of increase


And the Ruble Crashes

[Walleye]

13. I hope the damn ruble crashes down to zero fuck Putin

[lagomorph777]

2. I hope we've provided enough arms and training to make that attack...

...be a terrible mistake on Putin's part.

[mobeau69]

3. Trump's buddy Putin is a cold blooded killer.

[blm]

5. Putin trains his army to be ruthless orcs

[2naSalit]

6. Full moon day.

[mobeau69]

7. Go figure.

Hope he rues the day.

[2naSalit]

9. I'm hoping for instant karma, personally.

[liberalla]

8. WTH? now they're "scheduling" the war? It's bizarre.

My anxiety is increasing...

[sarisataka]

10. Do you think military operations

Happen when someone wakes up and says -yeah, today is good?

There is a lot of pre-planning and coordination involved. Especially under Russian doctrine which involves most artillery firing on strict schedules.

Wednesday has the advantage of a full moon after a clear day. Russia will have good intelligence where Ukrainian units are positioned. A stretch of bad weather follows which is a double edged sword. It will limit Russian aircraft effectiveness but also our satellites.

Russia may gamble on a knockout blow under cloud cover combined with a disinformation campaign about what is happening. By the time anything can be confirmed Russia will again share a border with Poland and Putin will just shrug.

[liberalla]

15. Well I don't expect it to be announced to the world and on MSM

Do I think military operations happen when someone wakes up and says yeah, today is good?

No, but I don't expect it to be announced to the world. I would think the planning and preparations would be kept private or secret, within the military leadership.

[ret5hd]

11. Beware the ides of February.

[BlackSkimmer]

20. Ha!

Well done.

[inwiththenew]

12. Crude Oil is closing in on $100 a barrel

Gas is going to over $4 a gallon here before we know it if it keeps climbing.

[WarGamer]

14. I wish it was $4...

Fast zeroing in on $5 for the cheap stuff here in SoCal

Fully expecting $6 for Premium that one of my cars takes.

I plan on driving my i3 exclusively for a while...

[inwiththenew]

16. Fair enough

I was looking at the national average at around $3.50/gallon. But yeah you folks out in California are going to be paying a bit more than that. You are already pushing $5 a gallon in some parts. I don't think $6 is out of the question if we see the national average jump above $4 a gallon.

[Celerity]

17. Aides Say He Was Joking

Ukraine's President Predicts Russia Will Attack This Week As Tensions Mount—But Aides Say He Was Joking

https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2022/02/14/ukraines-president-predicts-russia-will-attack-this-week-as-tensions-mount-but-aides-say-he-was-joking/?sh=783ba8e64267

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday he has been informed a Russian invasion of his country will start in two days, a comment that stirred confusion over whether Zelensky was delivering a sobering warning or an attempt at gallows humor, as Ukraine remains on-edge over a possible incursion.

Zelensky said in a Facebook post he’s been told “February 16 will be the day of the attack,” according to translations published by Reuters and NBC News, part of a longer message designating Wednesday as a national day of unity.

Taken literally, it’s a stark change of tone for Zelensky, who has spent weeks downplaying the risk of a Russian invasion, insisting Russia is no more likely to invade now than last year and urging Western nations not to sow panic.

But Bloomberg interpreted the message as a sarcastic comment from Zelensky, and an unnamed senior Ukrainian official told CNN the president’s dire February 16 prediction was intended to be ironic, CNN producer Vaughn Sterling tweeted (Forbes has reached out to Zelensky’s office and the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment).

Link to tweet

snip

[peggysue2]

18. I heard Zelensky say that on my way out the door

Wondered what in God's name was the strategy behind the statement.

Ironic?

LOL. Think he should add a wink-wink in the future.

What a horrifying mess.

[liberalla]

19. I hope that's what was going on - I could see him doing that.

Thanks for posting that.

He's been annoyed with the other leaders putting out dire warnings, and he decided to outdo them. Raise the doom and gloom level and just announce the attack.

[mobeau69]

21. What a time and topic to joke about.

[AngryOldDem]

23. Sorta like Reagan joking on a hot mic about bombing in 5 minutes,

That was a real knee-slapper, too.

[Tanuki]

22. Well, he was a comedian before he was elected, so reports that he was "joking"

may not be so far-fetched.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48007487.amp

... "Mr Poroshenko, who admitted defeat after the first exit polls were published, has said he will not be leaving politics.

He told voters that Mr Zelensky, 41, was too inexperienced to stand up to Russia effectively.

Mr Zelensky, a political novice, is best known for starring in a satirical television series Servant of the People, in which his character accidentally becomes Ukrainian president."...
....


Ukrainians are waking up this morning and discovering that the last few months were not a dream.

They really have elected a man who currently stars in a TV series as the president - as the country's next real president. And it wasn't even close.

The pressure will now be on Mr Zelensky to demonstrate that he knows what he is doing.

Throughout the election campaign, he avoided serious interviews and discussions about policy - preferring instead to post light-hearted videos to social media."...(more)