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

[Turn]

*Binance Says Limiting Services for Russian Nationals That Have Crypto Assets Exceeding the Value of 10,000 EUR
*Binance: Accounts Classifying Under This Restriction Will Be Put Into Withdrawal-Only Mode. No Deposits or Trading Will Be Permitted on The Accounts
https://www.binance.com/en/support/announcement/4887e569afdf4b1e89e024371d3a49b9

*Danish And Spanish Prime Ministers Meeting Ukraine's Zelenskiy In Kyiv On Thursday - Danish Government
*Spain’s PM Sanchez Arrived in Kyiv to Meet With Ukraine’s President Zelenskiy, Sanchez’s Office Said

*The National Guard Of The Luhansk People's Republic Said That The Ukrainian Army Planned To Carry Out A Provocation On Easter (April 24) And Used "Dot-U" Rockets To Open Fire On Churches And Worshippers — RIA

*Russian Central Bank Governor Nabiullina: We Continued to Diversify Our Gold and Forex Reserves in 2021
*Russian Central Bank Governor Nabiullina: Rate Hike Was Needed for Acute Period of Crisis
*Russian Central Bank Governor Nabiullina: Rate to Fall With Inflation, Volatility Decline
*Russian Central Bank Governor Nabiullina: Moscow Exchange Markets Are Now Functioning in Almost Normal Mode
*Russian Central Bank Governor Nabiullina: Will Consider Cutting the Benchmark Interest Rate at the Next Council Meeting
*Russian Central Bank Governor Nabiullina: Russia Will Extend The Number Of Countries That Accept Its MIR Banking Cards
*Russian Central Bank Governor Nabiullina: We Are Looking At Forex Controls To Avoid Deviation Of Rouble Rate From Official Levels
*Russian Central Bank Governor Nabiullina: Central Bank Wants To Maintain Single Forex Market
*Russian Central Bank Governor Nabiullina: Central Bank's Gold Reserves All Held In Russia
*Russian Central Bank Governor Nabiullina: Central Bank Can Use Some Reserves To Cover Imports
*Russian Central Bank Governor Nabiullina: Finding New Suppliers For Russian Manufacturers May Take Up To Several Months

*Russian Finance Ministry Pays 319.12 bln Rbls on OFZ Bond Coupon

 

[Turn]

*Putin Conducts Meeting With Defense Minister — TASS
*Russian Defence Minister Shoigu Tells Putin: Russia Has Captured Mariupol — IFX
*Russian Defence Minister Shoigu Tells Putin: There Are Still Ukrainian Fighters In Azovstal Plant In Mariupol
*Russian Defence Minister Shoigu Tells Putin: More Than 2000 Ukrainian Fighters Are Still Holed Up In The Azovstal Plant
*Russian Defence Minister Shoigu Tells Putin: 1478 Fighters Have Already Given Themselves Up
*Russian Defence Minister Shoigu Tells Putin: Russia Evacuated More Than 14,200 Civilians From Mariupol
*Russian Defence Minister Shoigu Tells Putin: Mariupol Is The Capital Of The Nationalist "Azov Battalion"
*Russian Defence Minister Shoigu Tells Putin: Azovstal Plant in Mariupol Is Securely Blockaded
*Russian Defence Minister Shoigu Tells Putin: Situation In Mariupol Is Calm, Allows For Return Of Civilians
*Putin: No Need To Storm Industrial Region In Mariupol
*Putin: Orders To Block Mariupol Industrial Zone
*Putin: Orders Plans for Storming the Facilities to Be Cancelled
*Putin: Congratulates Shoigu With Successful Operation in Mariupol
*Putin: Sarmat Missile Will Make Russia's Foes 'Think Twice'
*Putin: Orders Facilities to Be Blocked so That Even ‘a Fly’ Cannot Pass Unnoticed
*Putin: There’s No Need to Crawl Into the Facilities’ Catacombs Underground
*Putin: Getting Control Over Mariupol Is a Success
*Putin: Russia Guarantees The Lives Of Ukrainian Forces Who Leave The Azovstal Facility And That They Will Be Treated With Respect
*Russian Defence Minister Shoigu Tells Putin: When Militants In Mariupol Fled, They Used Civilians As Cover Four Times And Drove Them Into The Basement Of The Building

Spoiler: *Putin cancels Russian plans to storm Mariupol steel plant, opts for blockade — RTRS

 

[Custor]

I didn't think anyone would actually be dumb enough to compare blowing up kids to stopping a couple of adults hitting a ball about, but to be fair, you've completely exceeded my expectations. Well done!

You’ve completely met mine. I am sorry.

 

[andybird123]

A lot of Frenchies have always had a soft spot for Russia they had an alliance in the first world war.

No, Le Pen is funded by Russian money

 

[PlacidCasual]

No, Le Pen is funded by Russian money

But isn't that only because her party has effectively been black listed by French banks.

 

[Brazo]

Don't tyou think its silly banning Russian and Belarussian Tennis players from Wimbledon it makes us look petty and its not their fault what Putin has done.

Whilst clearly not every Russian is a murdering raping scumbag the world doesn’t have much appetite for things Russian at the moment and understandably wishes to distance itself from the country. Ordinary Russians may wonder why their athletes can’t compete and that may help to open their eyes.

 

[Hagar]

Whilst clearly not every Russian is a murdering raping scumbag the world doesn’t have much appetite for things Russian at the moment and understandably wishes to distance itself from the country. Ordinary Russians may wonder why their athletes can’t compete and that may help to open their eyes.

Allegedly Putin stopped his eldest daughter from leaving the country for somewhere hot to spend her 37th birthday. Because she wasn't coming back.
Sanctions must be biting.

 

[Turn]

*Russian Ministry Of Defense: Russian Artillery And Missiles Strike 1001 Targets In Ukraine Overnight
*Russian Ministry Of Defense: The Russian Armed Forces And The Luhansk People's Republic Militia Have Taken Full Control Of The Village Of Kremena, Which Was Once A Stronghold Of Ukrainian Nationalists
*Russian Ministry Of Defense: On The Night Of April 20, Russian Tactical And Army Aviation Attacked 20 Areas Where The Ukrainian Army Concentrated Its Soldiers And Military Equipment
*Russian Ministry Of Defense: In The Past 24 Hours, Russian Air Defense Forces Shot Down 13 Ukrainian Unmanned Aerial Vehicles And 1 Dot-U Missile
*Russian Ministry Of Defense: Since The Special Military Operation, The Russian Army Has Destroyed More Than 500 UAVs On The Ukrainian Side
*The Ukrainian Armed Forces Use the Mariupol Children’s Rehabilitation Center As a Shooting Position — RIA
*The Russian Ministry of Defense Released a New (Fourth) Detailed List of Ukrainian Military Casualties, Including 20 Dead and 68 Deserters — RIA


*Russia Fines Google 4mln Roubles Over Its Failure to Delete ‘Fake’ Information About Special Operation in Ukraine — Reuters
*Moscow Court Fines Google After Finding It Guilty of Illegally Distributing Video Clips Produced by Ukrainian Far-Right Groups — TASS — Reuters

*Russia and Belarus Will Respond to Strengthening of NATO Forces on Borders of Union State — TASS Cites Russian Foreign Ministry

*Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Demands Russia To Allow Immediate Humanitarian Corridor For Civilians In Azovstal
*Danish Prime Minister Pledges To Deliver More Weapons To Ukraine
*Japan's Marubeni: Will Freeze All New Transactions In Russia Including Those Not Subject To Sanctions, Will Seek To Terminate Existing Deals As Much As Possible

*UK's Prime Minister Johnson: Hoping To Complete Another Free Trade Agreement With India By The End Of This Year
*UK's Prime Minister Johnson: India And UK Have Shared Anxieties About Autocracies In The World

 

[norm]

Given the sheer scale of destruction in Ukraine that the Russians have caused, is it that outrageous to suggest that Ukraine would have been better off surrendering at the beginning and instead operating a counter insurgency?

We've seen from Iraq how difficult it is to occupy an enemy country, so the Ukrainians could have employed similar tactics to overthrow the Russians?

 

[RoboCod]

Whilst clearly not every Russian is a murdering raping scumbag the world doesn’t have much appetite for things Russian at the moment and understandably wishes to distance itself from the country. Ordinary Russians may wonder why their athletes can’t compete and that may help to open their eyes.

We live in a networked, media driven world now too, comparing it to the 80s is folly. Public opinion is important and now massively swayed by PR/propagand, presentation and gestures. Winning the pr war is just as important as the actual war.

It just isn't right to have Russian players at a prestigious British tournament.

 

[RoboCod]

Given the sheer scale of destruction in Ukraine that the Russians have caused, is it that outrageous to suggest that Ukraine would have been better off surrendering at the beginning and instead operating a counter insurgency?

We've seen from Iraq how difficult it is to occupy an enemy country, so the Ukrainians could have employed similar tactics to overthrow the Russians?

Sets a precedence that Russia can just go and roll over any country it likes though.

 

[andybird123]

But isn't that only because her party has effectively been black listed by French banks.

People who want bank loans typically have to show they have a way of paying back the loan - politicians usually get funding from donations rather than bank loans because by definition political parties don't generate cash with which to repay the loans. This is typically true for most western/democratic countries. Sometimes they can get a loan if there's a big election coming up but they would still have to show fund raising that would be able to return that loan over time.

Where it's not true is countries where the banks are state owned and the state wants to gain influence over said politicians.
So yes it is probably true that french banks wont lend her money based purely on the fact that she she has no means of paying it back, where as Russian state owned banks are quite happy to accept "favours" as payment.
So whilst it might technically be true that she's been unable to get a bank loan, without knowing anything about her parties revenue and what bank loan she was asking for, I don't buy "going cap in hand to Putin was my only option" as a valid excuse for being pro Putin, pro toddler raping and old person murdering.

 

[XeNoN89]

Given the sheer scale of destruction in Ukraine that the Russians have caused, is it that outrageous to suggest that Ukraine would have been better off surrendering at the beginning and instead operating a counter insurgency?

We've seen from Iraq how difficult it is to occupy an enemy country, so the Ukrainians could have employed similar tactics to overthrow the Russians?

No. Look at what happened in the Russian occupied areas. Rape and murder of civilians. Now imagine you let Russia take the whole country and carry out the same on an even wider scale ...

 

[norm]

No. Look at what happened in the Russian occupied areas. Rape and murder of civilians. Now imagine you let Russia take the whole country and carry out the same on an even wider scale ...

That sort of thing is taking place regardless though. If Ukraine fell to Russian hands they couldn't realistically spread their troops all across the country and it would be very hard to counter sporadic fighting. At least that way innocent civilians wouldn't have been displaced from their homes, a lot of which are now destroyed and many people wouldn't have lost their lives.

I think Ukraine has been manipulated and encouraged by the West to a degree to mount an all out fight so the West can guage Russia's military might, but in truth it's not in Ukraine's best interest.

 

[norm]

Sets a precedence that Russia can just go and roll over any country it likes though.

They're doing that anyway though, Chechnya, Georgia, Crimea, now Ukraine.

 

[Rroff]

Given the sheer scale of destruction in Ukraine that the Russians have caused, is it that outrageous to suggest that Ukraine would have been better off surrendering at the beginning and instead operating a counter insurgency?

We've seen from Iraq how difficult it is to occupy an enemy country, so the Ukrainians could have employed similar tactics to overthrow the Russians?

Aside from other considerations - Russian occupation forces wouldn't have their hands tied the same as international forces did in places like Iraq - insurgency would be put down far harsher with a lot more indiscriminate measures and achieve very little other than give the occupation forces a bit of a headache.

 

[norm]

Aside from other considerations - Russian occupation forces wouldn't have their hands tied the same as international forces did in places like Iraq - insurgency would be put down far harsher with a lot more indiscriminate measures and achieve very little other than give the occupation forces a bit of a headache.

Without direct help from other countries Ukraine is going to fall anyway. The thought that they can beat Russia might be a noble one, but ultimately it's going to cost a lot people their lives and destroy the country.

I don't think an outright fight is the way to play this personally, who knows how much longer Putin is going to be around anyway, if a new leader is brought into power in Russia they might take an entirely different view to Ukraine if there is enough dissent from the people there.

 

[Hook]

That sort of thing is taking place regardless though. If Ukraine fell to Russian hands they couldn't realistically spread their troops all across the country and it would be very hard to counter sporadic fighting. At least that way innocent civilians wouldn't have been displaced from their homes, a lot of which are now destroyed and many people wouldn't have lost their lives.
I think Ukraine has been manipulated and encouraged by the West to a degree to mount an all out fight so the West can guage Russia's military might, but in truth it's not in Ukraine's best interest.

If they did there wouldn't be a Ukraine anymore.

 

[gronf]

But isn't that only because her party has effectively been black listed by French banks?

"But isn't Hitler making the Soviet pact and invading peeps only because French et al banks have either blacklisted him or want waaay too many fees?"

 

[andybird123]

Without direct help from other countries Ukraine is going to fall anyway. The thought that they can beat Russia might be a noble one, but ultimately it's going to cost a lot people their lives and destroy the country.

I don't think an outright fight is the way to play this personally, who knows how much longer Putin is going to be around anyway, if a new leader is brought into power in Russia they might take an entirely different view to Ukraine if there is enough dissent from the people there.

That line of thinking leads to our parents/grandparents all having never stood up to Hitler and us all living in a world where a dictator mass executes anyone who he doesn't like. Most of us think we should all be doing much more to help Ukraine, not that Ukraine should have rolled over from the outset.

The longer Putin is in power and actually in control, the higher the chance the next person will be just as bad. You don't change things by capitulating. In hindsight the west should have stood up to Putin much sooner, not exacerbate past mistakes by repeating them.