1. There's this weather term which I'd never heard before....called 'rasputitsa'.
Russian term....which means a period of the year (occurs spring and fall) where rain falls, fields get muddy, and the temperature is just right to make train travel on anything but roads a mess.
In about a week, that period of spring starts in the Ukraine. If you were stupid enough to invade, and intend tanks being a major part of your operation....well, it's too your disadvantage. You will only travel on paved/concrete roads at that point.
2. When the Russians knocked out a lot of the towers in the region....radio/cellphone type....that was the major way that the Russian commanders were passing verbal communications.
It's come up to that they switched to regular non-secure local cellphone towers of the Ukraine network, and easily listened upon. That's why so many Russian solders were seen around electronics shop in the south....breaking in and getting sim cards for cellphones.
Pretty stupid, but again.....it's why they didn't think much about the invasion.
3. German logistical companies are telling politicians that the diesel price situation is going to trigger bankruptcy situations.....unless they get relief in some form.
So, you might see some grocery shelves in April empty in Germany because the bottom level of trucking operations is shutdown.
4. I noticed someone asked the question....what's really to be 'gained' at this point for the Russians?
The only 'gain' is respect for Putin. That's it. If Ukraine had oil, or natural gas, or mass abundance of coal....it might be a different story. Every missile fired....every rocket impacting on a Ukrainian car or apartment building....every Russian tank destroyed on the field....every Russian soldier who fails to return from the war....every helicopter falling out of the sky....is one less that they can easily replace with a doomed economy and society.
5. The Kremlin made a public statement that they really weren't expecting this economic downturn, and the damage done. What they say in a simple statement....they will 'minimize' the problems.
This may mean removing half the shelves in grocery stores....so they won't appear empty. Or it might mean you only draw out x-amount of Rubles each week from the bank because you'd waste or squander Rubles on silly things like booze, cat-food, or flowers.
6. Ukraine passed down a law today that said 'anyone' (meaning a citizen, non-citizen, or just a guy passing through) can have a gun, and operate it against Russians. The law says 10 days after the war ends....you loose this gun right.
There is apparently a receipt program, so when they issue a rifle or pistol...with ammo....you sign for it, and they at least know who you were.
Age restriction? Well....looking over how it was worded.....no, they didn't say a age limit.
I should say this....up until this point, it was only Ukrainian solders who were armed and doing the shooting for the country. Mathematically speaking....it's pretty good odds that twenty-million armed Ukrainian folks make it a bit more difficult for the 150,000 invading Russians.
7. The topic of the 600-billion Euros of Rubles sitting in the Russian reserves (internally within the country) came up. Real value? Well, if you cut off the flow of European goods, inflation continues on, and the pricing of goods on the shelves continue to spiral upward....the 600-billion Euros of Rubles is mostly worthless (in a short period of time).
8. Mega-inflation getting uttered in Germany?
Well....yeah, I noticed it talked about several times this morning via business news....mostly over fuel prices and especially on diesel fuel. There's general belief in Germany that diesel will be going up to 3 Euro per liter within three months, and it'll be a pain for delivery trucks.
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