The Biden administration will for the first time send controversial armor-piercing munitions containing depleted uranium to Ukraine, according to a document seen by Reuters and separately confirmed by two U.S. officials.

The use of depleted uranium munitions has been fiercely debated, with opponents like the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons saying there are dangerous health risks from ingesting or inhaling depleted uranium dust, including cancers and birth defects.

  • barsoap@lemm.ee
    94·
    10 months ago

    You expect me to pay for an article from a neolib shitstain outlet?

    Have another neolib shitstain outlet, this time for free: https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-economy-brain-drain-labor-shortage-workforce-exodus-capital-flight-2023-9

    The truth is that it’s all quite hard to measure as Russia is lying about its economical figures (they make no sense whatsoever) and going via secondary indicators is possible, but also frought with uncertainty. But two things really stand out: a) investing in a war you’re losing is GDP flushed down the drain, b) they’re cut off from any advanced technology at even half-way reasonable prices, c) massive brain drain, there’s also d) report of very excessive inflation when it comes to food.

    If they manage to raise GDP by exporting more oil or whatnot – that’s raising GDP. It’s not actually doing the country any good. More petrorubles for the kleptocrats.

    But all that is rather besides the point. Russia, alongside with Ukraine, did a lot of stuff wrong in the 90s. Look at Estonia or e.g. Czechs (if you want to keep it among Slavs) on how to do it… nah, not right, but definitely better.

    Ukraine then managed to turn around, develop an actual civil society and clip the wings of the oligarchy, Russia didn’t. That is what I mean with “perfectly capable of messing up on their own”. It’s also the reason for the war it’s a matter of regime stability: There’s plenty of family ties between Russia and Ukraine, if Russians see that Ukraine can escape the yoke of the kleptocrats then they could start to believe that they, too, can do that.

    • The_Walkening [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
      222·
      10 months ago

      clip the wings of the oligarchy,

      “Pandora Papers Reveal Offshore Holdings of Ukrainian President and his Inner Circle”

      Like seriously, you’re arguing that Ukraine’s liberal democracy is somehow better than Russia, when the point of liberal democracies under late capitalism is to strip all the copper out of the walls (privatize, austeritize, union-bust), everywhere, all the time.

      • barsoap@lemm.ee
        32·
        10 months ago

        …and? The man is a successful comedian, has a production company, and everyone knew he’s a millionaire. Shuffling money offshore is how you keep it safe in a corrupt country.

        No tax fraud, no shady business, no nothing has been found regarding those offshore companies. Forbes estimates him at around 20 million Euro, that’s nowhere even close to oligarch scale.

        when the point of liberal democracies under late capitalism

        …is to be not as bad as straight-up Kleptocracies. Russia is a mafia state. In Ukraine the state arrests you for corruption, in Russia you get arrested for reporting about corruption. The difference is that simple.

      • barsoap@lemm.ee
        66·
        10 months ago

        Ukraine turned into the most corrupt country in Europe, and things have only kept getting worse.

        Ukraine and Russia both did. One of them is making efforts to get out of that swamp.

        I find it rather telling that of all the things you found weak retorts for, you completely left out the “More petrorubles for the kleptocrats” part, and how GDP is not a proper measure of the wealth of a people, at least in any even remotely leftist sense.

        Ask Tuvans without access to electricity, running water, heck even a fucking gas station, how wealthy they are. Yet they’re not even counted as poor in the official statistics as the way poverty is counted in Russia is highly regional: If you’re poor in Moscow you count, if you’re infinitely worse off in the periphery you don’t.

        That is why you see Russian soldiers – primarily from the periphery as joining the army is the only way to make any money as there’s no actual jobs – looting toilets. Fucking toilets. Back in WWII it was water faucets. Nothing the fuck has changed in that regard.

        If you think that Putin is “draining the swamp” then you’re no less naive than your run off the mill Trumpet.

        (Side note, speaking of WWII: Remember that Soviet flag on the Reichstag picture? That’s of a Ukrainian. Taken by a Ukrainian).

        • pelikan@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
          15·
          10 months ago

          “Looting toilets” is the funniest part. Do you really believe that Ukraine is such pauper country that invading soldiers couldn’t loot anything more valuable than used toilets from occupied cities? It’s required to have literally zero critical thinking in order not to understand that this is propagandistic bullshit.

          • barsoap@lemm.ee
            21·
            10 months ago

            People take PCs, jewellery, and smartphones with them when fleeing. You usually leave the toilet behind.