Ukraine Invasion - Please do not post videos showing attacks/similar

[Uther]

If NATO didn’t respond militarily when a NATO member was attacked, that would be the green light for Putin to do whatever he wanted. It simply cannot, and wouldn’t happen.

After the Americans saying they would be happy if the Poles handed jets over, but not from an American base I'm not so sure any more.

 

[bainbridge]

I always thought that Putin was very clever. I never liked the man, but I got the impression that everything he did somehow turned things to his advantage.

Whatever he was hoping to achieve has massively backfired. Things are different now. I'm old enough to remember how the first McDonalds restaurant opened in Moscow turned into a huge news story. Since then russian people have steadily become consumers of all the goods that us westerners enjoy, and now they're being taken away. Mobile communications and the internet means that, hopefully, russian people will still get to know what is really going on, even though Putin's regime try to stop the flow of info.

I know it's a long shot, but a russian revolution resulting in a true democracy and Putin getting his comeuppance would be ideal.

 

[wordy]

i would hope NATO would attack back in kind. something equally.

But if he threatens nukes again then will we just stand by and let him. It’s the same threat, we’re already to scared to do something when he bombs a ****ing maternity hospital because he’s threatening to use nukes, so surely he invades Lithuania and makes the threat to use them again we’d just bottle it.

 

[chrismscotland]

So, thermobarics, attacks on a childrens hospital, what next, chemical warfare attacks? This can't go on.

I wonder what China is thinking right now, realistically they are the only nation with any sway or pull to influence Putin.
At this point I think even if the West said "stop, pull out and we'll lift sanctions" Putin would choose economic oblivion, he knows he's done.

I don't think even chemical attacks will spur any more action among NATO members.

 

[a1ex2001]

Said this from the start on here won't change my mind.

I think if chemical weapons start getting used that might well be the trigger of the rest getting involved.

They were used in Syria and the rest of the world didn’t get involved.

 

[dunker]

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[chrismscotland]

I always thought that Putin was very clever. I never liked the man, but I got the impression that everything he did somehow turned things to his advantage.

Whatever he was hoping to achieve has massively backfired. Things are different now. I'm old enough to remember how the first McDonalds restaurant opened in Moscow turned into a huge news story. Since then russian people have steadily become consumers of all the goods that us westerners enjoy, and now they're being taken away. Mobile communications and the internet means that, hopefully, russian people will still get to know what is really going on, even though Putin's regime try to stop the flow of info.

I know it's a long shot, but a russian revolution resulting in a true democracy and Putin getting his comeuppance would be ideal.

You make the assumption that Russian's want a "true democracy", there's plenty of older Russians who are very happy with a "hardman" leader in the style of the old Soviet leaders and couldn't give a stuff about "liberal values", I think we sometimes make assumptions about "democracy" being the be all and end all.
It wasn't in the Middle East and in certain parts of Eastern Europe its on a shoogly peg with some of the actions of leaders in places like Poland and Hungary in recent years.

 

[chrismscotland]

when did Putin threaton uk? all he said was he put his nuke stuff on special something or other.
does'nt mean anything.

or did you just discover MAD?

He's called Britain out on its own several times in the weeks prior to the just after the invasion started.

 

[Custor]

Not quite a billion in the 1st hour

You call it recklessness ? It's not, it's wanting to stand up against injustice and potential genocide

I counter youre flabbergastery with my own, in that I'm shocked how many cowards there are who are afraid of Putin, he's a bully, you're letting him win with your cowardice

I’m not entirely sure anyone is afraid of Putin in this entire thread. I don’t reckon the leader of Russia would go out of his way to **** over a forum member,
The end of the world in the other hand is a bit crap. To not have a bit of trepidation over the end of civilisation … you’d have to be simple.

But crack on regardless. Keep being surprised that war’s bad… while wanting more war… but only on the winning side where we win… and they don’t shoot back.

 

[dunker]

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[C.R.A.Z.Y]

was it CNN "journalist" lady sniffing the backpack of the chemical attack, sniffsniff yup smells like chemicals to me.
case closed Syria bad.

The OPCW confirmed chemical weapons were used in Syria, WTF are you talking about

 

[bainbridge]

You make the assumption that Russian's want a "true democracy", there's plenty of older Russians who are very happy with a "hardman" leader in the style of the old Soviet leaders and couldn't give a stuff about "liberal values", I think we sometimes make assumptions about "democracy" being the be all and end all.
It wasn't in the Middle East and in certain parts of Eastern Europe its on a shoogly peg with some of the actions of leaders in places like Poland and Hungary in recent years.

The older Russians aren't the ones who grew up with western goods and services, it's the younger people, the vast majority of russians that I've seen demonstrating are young. I accept that people have been brought up to not speak out, and that's what their parents were taught to do, but it's a different Russia now.

 

[Freddie1980]

It will, the west are cowards

That's exactly how we are behaving and it just emboldens Putin's resolve and believe that the west is weak and impotent.

Currently the city of Mariupol has a trapped population of 500,000 people with no electricity, food or water and surrounded by an army who has no qualms about shooting at civilians, children or blowing up people's home. Are we as a collective group of nations who have the means to stop this slaughter just going to let 500,000 people suffer their fate which at this point in time looks bleak, how many are we prepared to sit back and just watch them die knowing we could stop this if we choose too. I've always believed in the west and most of it it's institutions but what I'm seeing now really upsets me (I have family their in Ukraine so it's kind of personal and yes this is probably warping my views somewhat but I don't care about that right now).

Earlier today I told @Shamikebab I wanted the Russian population to hurt as a result of what their government has done. Now that's not like me to wish that on anyone, in the past I would have said 'but their brainwashed by propaganda', 'it's just how it is over there' but when it's this close to home it's funny how your outlook on the world changes.

 

[wordy]

i disagree with you we can not ever be bluffing around with nuclear war.
imho Ukraine go nuetral right now and we cut off Putin competely. we arm
heavily every none NATO country near him and wait and see.

What if he wants to invade Lithuania and makes the same nuclear threats if we try to stop him? Same threat, when it comes down to nuclear Armageddon is Lithuania worth the risk but not Ukraine.

 

[Semple]

Looks like Russia (Putin) is setting the ground work to start using chemical/biological weapons

I do think if Putin resorts to chemical attacks then the west may intervene, even if just to threaten Russia. It's one thing to bomb the **** out of a city, but chemical attacks are a complete no-go. I do wonder if Russia are testing how far they can push.

 

[wildman]

I wonder what China is thinking right now, realistically they are the only nation with any sway or pull to influence Putin.
At this point I think even if the West said "stop, pull out and we'll lift sanctions" Putin would choose economic oblivion, he knows he's done.

I don't think even chemical attacks will spur any more action among NATO members.

why would it ? Ukraine is not a NATO member and NATO is a defensive pact not the global police. Everyone who is saying we should just get stuck in is still in command and conquer red alert mode.

The harsh truth is that for all the words that leaders like Biden and Johnson and Macron and every other western leader say, the fact is that they don't raelly give 2 ***** about Ukraine. There end game here is just about containment of Putin and preventing the rest of Europe / US getting dragged in. If the price to pay for that is watching the systematic razing of Ukraine, then that is the price that will be paid. Everyone thinking that NATO is going to suddenly go in to full offensive mode is delusional.

Yeah it's a ****** deal, but that is the way global politics work.

 

[C.R.A.Z.Y]

I do think if Putin resorts to chemical attacks then the west may intervene, even if just to threaten Russia. It's one thing to bomb the **** out of a city, but chemical attacks are a complete no-go. I do wonder if Russia are testing how far they can push.

I'd like to think so but I'm not so sure. We didn't seem to care too much when the Assad regime released the nerve agent sarin on its own people in the Ghouta district of Damascus, killing more than 1,400 Syrians, many of them children

 

[Minusorange]

If NATO didn’t respond militarily when a NATO member was attacked, that would be the green light for Putin to do whatever he wanted. It simply cannot, and wouldn’t happen.

He already got the green light when the UK did nothing when first Litvinenko was poisoned and later the Skripals, Putin literally ordered 2 chemical weapons attacks on the UK and nothing was done

Keep being surprised that war’s bad…

What's surprising is how blasé many on this forum are to Putin's fear tactics, surely morality is more important than life itself, if you have no morals then what is the point in living unless you're a pyschopath

 

[Thekwango]

That sounds like something the DUP would come up with ?

this appears a much underappreciated reply so quoting and giving it a

 

[dunker]

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