Quote:Retired Gen. David Petraeus believes Russia President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is not a war he can win due to inadequate troop numbers and fierce Ukrainian resistance. “I don’t think that this is a war, ultimately, that Russia and Vladimir Putin can win,” Petraeus said Wednesday in an interview with CNN. “They can take a city perhaps, but they cannot hold it.” Petraeus, a commander in U.S. insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Russia doesn’t “have the numbers” and beyond that, “everyone in the entire country hates them and most of the adults are willing to take action against them, whether it’s to take up weapons or to be human shields.” In addition, “you have a president who is providing Churchillian leadership, the people [are] undaunted and Ukrainian forces continue to exploit their home-field advantage.”Gen. Petraeus: Putin can't win Ukraine war | TheHill
Quote:An MP has claimed that the Russian oligarch and Chelsea football club owner, Roman Abramovich, is hastily selling UK properties to avoid potential financial sanctions. Chris Bryant, the Labour MP and head of the parliamentary standards committee, said the government was moving too slowly on imposing sanctions on those with alleged links to Vladimir Putin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He told the Commons on Tuesday: “I think he [Abramovich] is terrified of being sanctioned, which is why he’s already going to sell his home tomorrow, and sell another flat as well. My anxiety is that we’re taking too long about these things.” Announcing a package of measures in the wake of the conflict, the Foreign Office said “120 businesses and oligarchs” would be hit by swingeing new financial restrictions. Only a handful of individuals have so far been targeted, however.Roman Abramovich hastily selling UK properties, MP claims | Roman Abramovich | The Guardian
Quote:France’s finance minister has announced the country has seized a yacht linked to Rosneft boss, Igor Sechin, in the Mediterranean port of La Ciotat, as German local authorities denied reports they had also seized the $600m superyacht belonging to Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov.France seizes yacht linked to Russian oligarch at Mediterranean port | Russia | The Guardian