Soldato
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In one sense Putin is doing a lot of good with all of the knock on effects, would love to see his rage right now.
Ukraine Invasion - Please do not post videos showing attacks/similar
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In one sense Putin is doing a lot of good with all of the knock on effects, would love to see his rage right now.
So basically:
"I don't want to help my country's interests if there is nothing in it for me/I don't get the praise"
Amazingly, with that one comment he has summarised his entire ethos/mindset.
Secondly, we all know full well that he wouldn't do **** if he was president, because at every opportunity through his entire presidency, he wouldn't criticise Putin properly.
The only way I can see a climb down from this occurring would be for Putin and other high ranking officials to be forcibly removed by the people of Russia and claim they were in the grip of a lunatic. The sanctions etc introduced won't just magically disappear overnight even in such an event, God knows where they go from here.
Soldato
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Putting aside the salt mine around Trump and the result of the Brexit referendum, I think we need some numerical perspective in this conflict.
84% of NATO's costs are covered by countries other than the USA. >75% of EU members, iirc, are in the alliance with a combined economic base which dwarfs Russia, or any other serious aggressor on the continent for that matter. In economic and military terms as of today, not even China + Russia can touch this.
I don't see how destabilising one or both is helpful to the West's strategic interests or mutual defence of the continent. They both have issues, but held Europe together for decades - economic development and military security increased. Ukraine tried to join both blocs for a good reason. I hope they one day still can.
Likewise, as deranged as Putin's aggression in Ukraine is, he knows the implications of Ukraine setting an example at home and near abroad about a different style of government, economy and engagement with the world. Hence the attack to change the regime in Russia's neighbourhood - he cannot allow Ukraine to improve and go its own way.
Now that the conflict has exploded, principles are on the line. Putin's vision of the world must not come to pass, and he must be stopped. The whole pretext for the invasion is bogus, illegal and unjust - Zelensky is Jewish and fully bilingual ffs - how could he rise through the so called genocide to lead a Ukrainian 'nazi' junta hellbent on massacring Putin's so called 'ethnic Russians'? You have to be a Rasputin level mystic to believe this bs about Ukraine and what's happening in the Donbas! Same for his made up NATO concerns (annex Ukraine, Finland and Sweden, and you're facing down NATO states on the border - it's a no sequitur).
Though Ukraine is not a powerful country on its own, with global allies and their manufacturing capacity behind them routing supplies via the western border of Ukraine, the odds can be evened out against an isolated Russia, and keep an insurgency alive in the worst case scenario.
I share Entai's concerns about the damage that could be done to Ukraine, but don't see surrender and pessimism as a way for Ukraine to survive this.
Putin doesn't have 1 - 2.6 million active, loyal and capable troops it would take to occupy Ukraine, nor other material resources to do so. He needs a quick victory, change of government and compliant population - neither looks assured. The logistics of the blitz assault are badly miscalculated here, and I'm sure the Russian chiefs of staff know this privately. There's also now doubt as to how long Russia can keep up the three pronged assault, if they are desperate to take Kyiv and Kharkiv at any cost asap so early on. The longer the Ukrainians hold out, ceding as little as possible, the stronger their hand in any subsequent talks with Russia is.
84% of NATO's costs are covered by countries other than the USA. >75% of EU members, iirc, are in the alliance with a combined economic base which dwarfs Russia, or any other serious aggressor on the continent for that matter. In economic and military terms as of today, not even China + Russia can touch this.
I don't see how destabilising one or both is helpful to the West's strategic interests or mutual defence of the continent. They both have issues, but held Europe together for decades - economic development and military security increased. Ukraine tried to join both blocs for a good reason. I hope they one day still can.
Likewise, as deranged as Putin's aggression in Ukraine is, he knows the implications of Ukraine setting an example at home and near abroad about a different style of government, economy and engagement with the world. Hence the attack to change the regime in Russia's neighbourhood - he cannot allow Ukraine to improve and go its own way.
Now that the conflict has exploded, principles are on the line. Putin's vision of the world must not come to pass, and he must be stopped. The whole pretext for the invasion is bogus, illegal and unjust - Zelensky is Jewish and fully bilingual ffs - how could he rise through the so called genocide to lead a Ukrainian 'nazi' junta hellbent on massacring Putin's so called 'ethnic Russians'? You have to be a Rasputin level mystic to believe this bs about Ukraine and what's happening in the Donbas! Same for his made up NATO concerns (annex Ukraine, Finland and Sweden, and you're facing down NATO states on the border - it's a no sequitur).
Though Ukraine is not a powerful country on its own, with global allies and their manufacturing capacity behind them routing supplies via the western border of Ukraine, the odds can be evened out against an isolated Russia, and keep an insurgency alive in the worst case scenario.
I share Entai's concerns about the damage that could be done to Ukraine, but don't see surrender and pessimism as a way for Ukraine to survive this.
Putin doesn't have 1 - 2.6 million active, loyal and capable troops it would take to occupy Ukraine, nor other material resources to do so. He needs a quick victory, change of government and compliant population - neither looks assured. The logistics of the blitz assault are badly miscalculated here, and I'm sure the Russian chiefs of staff know this privately. There's also now doubt as to how long Russia can keep up the three pronged assault, if they are desperate to take Kyiv and Kharkiv at any cost asap so early on. The longer the Ukrainians hold out, ceding as little as possible, the stronger their hand in any subsequent talks with Russia is.
I suspect they won't be going away at all until Russia hands back territory that is rightfully Ukrainian, though assuming that Ukraine accepts those territories as lost to end any further conflict it might stop there.
Money to buy food doh
This is a message that needs to be made clear to Putin. Then it makes continuing this effort futile. He probably thinks it will be all over once he takes Ukraine. This needs to include territory from the 2014 conflict as well.
Soldato
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The reporting is often of the "Comical Ali" variety, agreed.
To be fair, the Russians probably have a heavy news blackout for operational reasons. They are unlikely to report on progress or casualties at all, as that is useful intelligence.
My preference is for Russia and Belarus to be peaceful, rational nations like the rest of Europe instead of constantly at odds for no good reason.
Only if it involved terrorism I believe.
money to go to supermarket?
Soldato
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The Act isn't that tight. The HS can basically make you stateless on a whim or under tabloid pressure.
money to go to supermarket?
robbing the rich (banks) to give to the poor (Supermarkets)
didnt know the russians were fans of robin hood
Any cases of where that’s happened when fighting for the “right side”?
Seems like Germany decided to pull their weight and add 100bn euros to their defence budget, maybe if they did this when Trump told them to back in 2016 they'd have a large military capable of the defence of Western Europe now instead of us relying on American tanks if Russia decides to keep going past Ukraine.
Soldato
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Exactly, but neither country can enter the brotherhood of nations under Putin or his stooge in Belarus. It's heartening to see young people protesting there, online or otherwise, and soldiers having doubts on the ground. The change has to start somewhere. Putin's generation just can't see beyond the power vertical, corruption and the strongman act. He is not a stupid man, but made all the wrong conclusions about recent history and it's a great tragedy that other people have to pay for it now.
I think this is all gonna go wrong in a bad nuclear way.
Putin already looks like a fool to most of the world. I think he will order a launch on something.
Im not talking ww3 MAD but, cliche, keep hitting a dog with a stick it will bite back eventually.
More out of spite than tactically.
OFC then he is signing his own death warrant. If thats not already done.
Putin already looks like a fool to most of the world. I think he will order a launch on something.
Im not talking ww3 MAD but, cliche, keep hitting a dog with a stick it will bite back eventually.
More out of spite than tactically.
OFC then he is signing his own death warrant. If thats not already done.
Yup thus the apparent reluctance of Putin's generals, if he forces them to throw everything at those cities ASAP then it's going to be chaotic, they know already it could be a huge loss of life.
Soldato
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Just read on another forum, apparently the French Foreign Legion has said that the Ukrainians in their ranks are given leave to return to Ukraine to fight - and take all their equipment with them.
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