Wednesday, December 06, 2023
A CONSPIRAÇÃO CONTRA A EUROPA - PARTE SEGUNDA
Tuesday, December 05, 2023
A CONSPIRAÇÃO CONTRA A EUROPA*
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Putin seems to be winning the war in Ukraine—for now
His biggest asset is Europe’s lack of strategic vision - c/p The Economist
FOR THE first time since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on February 24th 2022, he looks as if he could win. Russia’s president has put his country on a war footing and strengthened his grip on power. He has procured military supplies abroad and is helping turn the global south against America. Crucially, he is undermining the conviction in the West that Ukraine can—and must—emerge from the war as a thriving European democracy.
The West could do a lot more to frustrate Mr Putin. If it chose, it could deploy industrial and financial resources that dwarf Russia’s. However, fatalism, complacency and a shocking lack of strategic vision are getting in the way, especially in Europe. For its own sake as well as Ukraine’s, the West urgently needs to shake off its lethargy.
The reason a Putin victory is possible is that winning is about endurance rather than capturing territory. Neither army is in a position to drive out the other from the land they currently control. Ukraine’s counter-offensive has stalled. Russia is losing over 900 men a day in the battle to take Avdiivka, a city in the Donbas region. This is a defenders’ war, and it could last many years.
However, the battlefield shapes politics. Momentum affects morale. If Ukraine retreats, dissent in Kyiv will grow louder. So will voices in the West saying that sending Ukraine money and weapons is a waste. In 2024 at least, Russia will be in a stronger position to fight, because it will have more drones and artillery shells, because its army has developed successful electronic-warfare tactics against some Ukrainian weapons and because Mr Putin will tolerate horrific casualties among his own men.
Increasing foreign support partly explains Russia’s edge on the battlefield. Mr Putin has obtained drones from Iran and shells from North Korea. He has worked to convince much of the global south that it has no great stake in what happens to Ukraine. Turkey and Kazakhstan have become channels for goods that feed the Russian war machine. A Western scheme to limit Russian oil revenues by capping the price for its crude at $60 a barrel has failed because a parallel trading structure has emerged beyond the reach of the West. The price of Urals crude from Russia is $64, up nearly 10% since the start of 2023.
Mr Putin is also winning because he has strengthened his position at home. He now tells Russians, absurdly, that they are locked in a struggle for survival against the West. Ordinary Russians may not like the war, but they have become used to it. The elite have tightened their grip on the economy and are making plenty of money. Mr Putin can afford to pay a lifetime’s wages to the families of those who fight and die.
Faced with all this, no wonder the mood in Kyiv is darker. Politics has returned, as people jostle for influence. Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, and Valery Zaluzhny, its most senior general, have fallen out. Internal polling suggests that corruption scandals and worries about Ukraine’s future have dented Mr Zelensky’s standing with voters.
Saturday, October 28, 2023
E CONTINUÁMOS FELIZES FIÉIS COMUNISTAS
"Giovanni é realizador e marido de Paola, uma produtora de cinema com quem trabalha há anos. Enquanto ele se dedica a uma longa-metragem sobre a Revolução Húngara de 1956, ela começa a trabalhar numa outra produção cinematográfica, algo que o deixa bastante ressentido.
E tudo parece estar contra o projecto de Giovanni: a indústria
cinematográfica enfrenta mudanças de paradigma difíceis de contornar, o
seu casamento aparenta alguns sinais de estar em crise e o co-produtor
do seu filme está à beira da falência. Com tudo isto a acontecer ao
mesmo tempo, ele vê-se a repensar a forma como encara a vida e a própria
arte, a quem se entregou de corpo e alma." - c/p aqui
Tuesday, July 26, 2022
A TERCEIRA ROMA - PARTE 3
Russia says it wants to end Ukraine’s `unacceptable regime’ - aqui
Mas qual é, afinal, o objectivo último de Putin?
Na Itália, líder da extrema direita ganha força com discurso pós-fascista - aqui

