McDonald’s leaving Russia…
Ukrainians returning home….
With so many soldier’s killed….Russian hires outsiders to fight….
Finland and Sweden move to join NATO…..
(Puin says he has ‘no problem’ with the moves)
NATO troops from 14 countries hold military excercises in Estonia, a NATO country in Northern Europe ….
15,000 troops are involved in a country that holds a common border with Russia….
Russian actions being slowed or repelled by strengthen Ukrainian’s…
Moving from Russian oil means BIG money for the Midddle east…..
But the Russian economy plods along….
There is little, to no, good news for Russia these days….
And Russian’s in the home land are having to deal witha Putin ‘defeat’ and its implications….
Sweden announced it would formally request NATO membership after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — ending what its prime minister called 200 years of military non-alignment. Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson reportedly said Monday the country planned to hand in its application this week, in coordination with Finland.
“There is a broad majority in Sweden’s parliament for joining NATO,” Andersson said, according to Reuters. “The best thing for Sweden and the Swedish population is to join NATO.” Both Nordic nations both dispatched troops to participate in large-scale exercises by the military alliance, as Russia called their moves toward joining NATO a “mistake” that could have “far-reaching consequences.”
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the war in Ukraine “is not going as Moscow had planned,” citing Russia’s failure to take Kyiv, its pullback from around Kharkiv and a stalled offensive in the eastern Donbas region. Yet the presence of Belarusian forces near the border with Ukraine is likely to tie up Kyiv’s troops so they are unable to support operations in Donbas, British defense officials said Monday. Russia is continuing attacks elsewhere in the east as it seeks full control of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
As the Western business exodus from Russia continues, McDonald’s said Monday that it “has initiated a process to sell its Russian business” and is seeking a “local buyer” for its portfolio there, which includes 850 restaurants. French automaker Renault Group also said it would pull out of Russia, and sell its shares there to Russian government entities.