Russian Invasion of Ukraine

[Gunnar]

'Wanted: Dead or Alive': Russian Tycoon Puts $1M Bounty on Putin's Head

A Russian businessman is offering $1 million to any military officer who apprehends Russian President Vladimir Putin "dead or alive" for committing war crimes in his invasion of

Alex Konanykhin, an entrepreneur and former banker, posted the bounty on social media as Russia enters a full week of military action against the neighboring country. Western governments and companies have responded to the invasion by seeking to economically punish Putin and Russia's ruling elite. The bounty offered by Konanykhin, who is now based in the U.S., places an even more direct target on the Russian leader as backlash over the invasion continues to escalate.

Konanykhin said in a Facebook post Tuesday that he promised to pay the officer or officers the money for arresting "Putin as a war criminal under Russian and international laws."

"As an ethnic Russian and a Russia citizen, I see it as my moral duty to facilitate the denazification of Russia," Konanykhin said in the post. Putin has sought to justify his invasion of Ukraine by saying Russian forces would "denazify" the country, an explanation that has been dismissed by Western powers.

Konanykhin, whose profile picture shows him wearing a shirt with the yellow and blue colors of the Ukrainian national flag, said in his post that he would continue his "assistance to Ukraine in its heroic efforts to withstand the onslaught of Putin's Orda." "Orda" means "horde" in Russian.

An earlier version of Konanykhin's post on LinkedIn included a photo of Putin with the words "Wanted: Dead or alive. Vladimir Putin for mass murder," according to The Jerusalem Post. The post appears to have been taken down.

Konanykhin, who made his fortune and rose to prominence after the collapse of the Soviet Union, said in his post that Putin came to power "as the result of a special operation of blowing up apartment buildings in Russia, then violated the Constitution by eliminating free elections and murdering his opponents."

Earlier in the invasion, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian military forces marked him and his family as top targets during a televised address last week.

"The enemy marked me as target number one, and my family as target number two," Zelensky said last week.

Konanykhin had started more than 100 companies by the age of 25, following the fall of communism in Russia, according to a 1996 article in The Washington Post. According to his website, Konanykhin is currently based in New York City and is the CEO of TransparentBusiness, a digital work platform.

Newsweek has reached out to Konanykhin for comment.

[Jersey Girl]

'Wanted: Dead or Alive': Russian Tycoon Puts $1M Bounty on Putin's Head

A Russian businessman is offering $1 million to any military officer who apprehends Russian President Vladimir Putin "dead or alive" for committing war crimes in his invasion of

Alex Konanykhin, an entrepreneur and former banker, posted the bounty on social media as Russia enters a full week of military action against the neighboring country. Western governments and companies have responded to the invasion by seeking to economically punish Putin and Russia's ruling elite. The bounty offered by Konanykhin, who is now based in the U.S., places an even more direct target on the Russian leader as backlash over the invasion continues to escalate.

Konanykhin said in a Facebook post Tuesday that he promised to pay the officer or officers the money for arresting "Putin as a war criminal under Russian and international laws."

"As an ethnic Russian and a Russia citizen, I see it as my moral duty to facilitate the denazification of Russia," Konanykhin said in the post. Putin has sought to justify his invasion of Ukraine by saying Russian forces would "denazify" the country, an explanation that has been dismissed by Western powers.

Konanykhin, whose profile picture shows him wearing a shirt with the yellow and blue colors of the Ukrainian national flag, said in his post that he would continue his "assistance to Ukraine in its heroic efforts to withstand the onslaught of Putin's Orda." "Orda" means "horde" in Russian.

An earlier version of Konanykhin's post on LinkedIn included a photo of Putin with the words "Wanted: Dead or alive. Vladimir Putin for mass murder," according to The Jerusalem Post. The post appears to have been taken down.

Konanykhin, who made his fortune and rose to prominence after the collapse of the Soviet Union, said in his post that Putin came to power "as the result of a special operation of blowing up apartment buildings in Russia, then violated the Constitution by eliminating free elections and murdering his opponents."

Earlier in the invasion, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian military forces marked him and his family as top targets during a televised address last week.

"The enemy marked me as target number one, and my family as target number two," Zelensky said last week.

Konanykhin had started more than 100 companies by the age of 25, following the fall of communism in Russia, according to a 1996 article in The Washington Post. According to his website, Konanykhin is currently based in New York City and is the CEO of TransparentBusiness, a digital work platform.

Newsweek has reached out to Konanykhin for comment.

AWESOME. An online search says his net worth is 300 million. Nobody in the world wants this war except Putin. I shouldn't wish death on anyone but I hope someone collects that reward. Dead OR alive. I'd like to see him face trial for war crimes. Then the coward would off himself in prison.

Done and also, done.

[Jersey Girl]

Question for the masses. If someone does in fact drop Putin in his tracks or takes him alive, what happens to the leadership of Russia? Who assumes power? Anyone who can get their hands on it or would the Oligarchs run the place until they "elected" a leader?

[canpakes]

'Wanted: Dead or Alive': Russian Tycoon Puts $1M Bounty on Putin's Head

A Russian businessman is offering $1 million to any military officer who apprehends Russian President Vladimir Putin "dead or alive" for committing war crimes in his invasion of (Ukraine).

That had better not be a million in rubles, because if it is, there’s a chance that’ll only be about USD $37 in a few more weeks.

[dantana]

'Wanted: Dead or Alive': Russian Tycoon Puts $1M Bounty on Putin's Head

A Russian businessman is offering $1 million to any military officer who apprehends Russian President Vladimir Putin "dead or alive" for committing war crimes in his invasion of

Alex Konanykhin, an entrepreneur and former banker, posted the bounty on social media as Russia enters a full week of military action against the neighboring country. Western governments and companies have responded to the invasion by seeking to economically punish Putin and Russia's ruling elite. The bounty offered by Konanykhin, who is now based in the U.S., places an even more direct target on the Russian leader as backlash over the invasion continues to escalate.

Konanykhin said in a Facebook post Tuesday that he promised to pay the officer or officers the money for arresting "Putin as a war criminal under Russian and international laws."

"As an ethnic Russian and a Russia citizen, I see it as my moral duty to facilitate the denazification of Russia," Konanykhin said in the post. Putin has sought to justify his invasion of Ukraine by saying Russian forces would "denazify" the country, an explanation that has been dismissed by Western powers.

Konanykhin, whose profile picture shows him wearing a shirt with the yellow and blue colors of the Ukrainian national flag, said in his post that he would continue his "assistance to Ukraine in its heroic efforts to withstand the onslaught of Putin's Orda." "Orda" means "horde" in Russian.

An earlier version of Konanykhin's post on LinkedIn included a photo of Putin with the words "Wanted: Dead or alive. Vladimir Putin for mass murder," according to The Jerusalem Post. The post appears to have been taken down.

Konanykhin, who made his fortune and rose to prominence after the collapse of the Soviet Union, said in his post that Putin came to power "as the result of a special operation of blowing up apartment buildings in Russia, then violated the Constitution by eliminating free elections and murdering his opponents."

Earlier in the invasion, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian military forces marked him and his family as top targets during a televised address last week.

"The enemy marked me as target number one, and my family as target number two," Zelensky said last week.

Konanykhin had started more than 100 companies by the age of 25, following the fall of communism in Russia, according to a 1996 article in The Washington Post. According to his website, Konanykhin is currently based in New York City and is the CEO of TransparentBusiness, a digital work platform.

Newsweek has reached out to Konanykhin for comment.

Well, maybe the thing to do at this point is to give Putin what he wants. He wants Ukraine to swear to never try to join NATO... fine. We swear. Now get the F out of my country. It's a promise you won't have to keep because, I'd say Putin has a pretty short life expectancy from this point forward. He doesn't have a lot of friends just now.

[Atlanticmike]

'Wanted: Dead or Alive': Russian Tycoon Puts $1M Bounty on Putin's Head

Well, maybe the thing to do at this point is to give Putin what he wants. He wants Ukraine to swear to never try to join NATO... fine. We swear. Now get the F out of my country. It's a promise you won't have to keep because, I'd say Putin has a pretty short life expectancy from this point forward. He doesn't have a lot of friends just now.

Good god man!!! Really??? No, the thing to do is to totally incinerate the 40 mile long convoy Russia has in Ukraine!! Kill every single one of them then turn to China and say fxxk you China!!! If you invade Taiwan the same thing is going to happen to you!

[Gunnar]

'Wanted: Dead or Alive': Russian Tycoon Puts $1M Bounty on Putin's Head

That had better not be a million in rubles, because if it is, there’s a chance that’ll only be about USD $37 in a few more weeks.

Given the fact that (as stated in the article):

Konanykhin had started more than 100 companies by the age of 25, following the fall of communism in Russia, according to a 1996 article in The Washington Post. According to his website, Konanykhin is currently based in New York City and is the CEO of TransparentBusiness, a digital work platform.

I seriously doubt that Konanykhin was considering offering the money in rubles or would have any difficulty making the payment in U.S. dollars.

ETA: Of course, there still the question of how and where a Russian citizen and resident would be able to cash or spend that million dollars given the current state to which the Russian economy has been reduced because of the draconian sanctions imposed on it by most of the rest of the world.

[canpakes]

Russian news channel RT to broadcast on Rumble after Big Tech curbs
By Sheila Dang

March 3 (Reuters) - Russian state-controlled news network RT said on Thursday it will begin broadcasting on Rumble, a YouTube-like video site, after tech companies including Meta Platforms (Facebook.O) and Twitter (TWTR.N) have restricted access to RT following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Tech companies in recent days have moved to restrict Russian state-controlled media including RT and Sputnik in response to requests from governments and calls to prevent the spread of Russia propaganda. Russia has called its actions in Ukraine a "special operation."

Streaming media company Roku (ROKU.O)has removed the app for RT from its Roku Channel Store globally, a spokesperson said.

Facebook owner Meta said on Tuesday it was globally demoting content from Russian state-controlled media outlets' Facebook pages and Instagram accounts.

Rumble is a video site popular among U.S. political conservatives. In December former U.S. President Donald Trump's media venture, Trump Media and Technology Group, said Rumble will deliver video and streaming for Truth Social, the venture's social media app that launched in the Apple App Store on Jan. 21.

In December of 2021, Trump Media & Technology Group announced that it entered a "wide-ranging technology and cloud services agreement” with Rumble, in a statement which also revealed that Rumble would operate part of the TRUTH Social network. RT will mesh nicely with that venture.

[Jersey Girl]

Well, maybe the thing to do at this point is to give Putin what he wants. He wants Ukraine to swear to never try to join NATO... fine. We swear. Now get the F out of my country. It's a promise you won't have to keep because, I'd say Putin has a pretty short life expectancy from this point forward. He doesn't have a lot of friends just now.

Good god man!!! Really??? No, the thing to do is to totally incinerate the 40 mile long convoy Russia has in Ukraine!! Kill every single one of them then turn to China and say fxxk you China!!! If you invade Taiwan the same thing is going to happen to you!

Incinerate diesel burners? I suppose it could be done but I'm skeptical.

[MeDotOrg]

JP Morgan is estimating the Russian Economy will shrink 35% the second quarter:

LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - JPMorgan said on Thursday it expected Russia's economy to contract 35% in the second quarter and 7% in 2022 with the economy suffering an economic output decline comparable to the 1998 crisis.

"A peak-to trough decline in Russian GDP is now expected at around 12%, comparable to 1998 (~10%) and 2008 (~11%) crises and COVID-19 shock (~9%)", Anatoliy Shal at JPMorgan said in a note to clients.

JPMorgan expected exports to decline around 13% this year, domestic demand about 10% and imports by around 30%.

"What is clear though, is that Russia’s growing economic and political isolation will lead to lower growth in the long-run," Shal added.

"We expect Russia’s growth at around zero next year (vs. -1.0% previously) and a trend growth of around 1% in the long-run."

Since Vietnam, we have always talked about the 'hearts and minds' that need to be won before a war can be successful. The hearts and minds of this war are the citizens and troops of Russia. How effective will Putin be at selling the inevitable hardships that are coming? How much information unfiltered by the State will reach the general population concerning the suffering of the Ukrainian people?

Putin's 'shock and awe' campaign was a shock to the troops, many of whom thought they were going on border exercises and not told they were invading Ukraine. How long will the Army be able to maintain discipline and morale for the average soldier?

There are a few things of which I'm sure: More Europeans will die in this war than any land war in Europe since 1945. Putin will feel no guilt or remorse about committing human rights atrocities. If Europe and the U.S. can hold firm, the real war will truly be for the Russian hearts and minds.