Putin is waiting for his genocide buddy in Beijing to give the green light,just finish the olympics first
They kicked nato membership 30 + years already ,and look where that got them
Genocide buddy lol, the USA has caused far far more destruction and chaos around the world than anyone else has in the last 20 years, yet somehow the USA has managed to convince people that Xi Jinping is the bad guy.
I mean, it's an opinion but not one that I share.
Putin obviously hankers back to the glory days of the Soviet Union (when he was a pretty insignificant cog in the KGB machinery of disinformation and repression) and wants to reestablish control over the former republics of the Western Soviet Union. He wants to drive apart the EU and NATO.
Now consider if recent events have strengthened our weakened his strategic position. I would contend he has weakened his position considerably.
The Western allies are more united than in decades. The former western republics are turning ever further to the West for protection and solidarity. The Biden administration ahs woken up from its slumber and is playing an absolute blinder. Putin's only ally is that fat fascist thug that he is propping up in Belarus.
This is a strategic misstep of enormous proportions by Putin. So much so that I have wondered aloud and in print if he might be suffering from some sort of mental illness above and beyond the usual megalomania and kleptomania.
And isolates him almost completely on the international stage. It's almost like he wants to turn Moscow into a version of Pyongyang, power at all costs and damn the consequences.
I don't think so. The very worst case scenarios (Putin tries to partition Ukraine, sets up a Russia friendly puppet govt. on captured territory, or even take it all by force) will most likely result in huge numbers of civilian deaths, many soldiers killed also [possibly on both sides], and millions of refugees fleeing West from their homes, basically with what they can carry with them in a car/truck.
So that would be a disaster on a larger scale than the Yugoslav wars of the 90s, so by definition the worst violence/warfare seen in Europe since WW2 (but not WW3).
Well, ultimately the people do...as you can always vote the bums out!
In Russia, there are literally no checks or balances (apart from sham ones). Putin is a dictator with unfettered power.
Yes, domestically speaking. But what if every bum you vote in increases the military spend? I get what you're saying though. Internationally, various laws and conventions are supposed to act as another bulwark against military adventurism and misconduct. Mixed success, I'd say, especially when the security council is a cartel of those with a monopoly on violence.
Biden and his security have literally called out in advance exactly what Putin was going to do. Very impressive intelligence and unprecedented to watch it play out before our eyes in real time. They really have played an absolute blinder and I'd say Putin can't quite believe it as he has found himself in a no win situation.
I do also wonder, as others have suggested, if Putin is thinking clearly as it's hard to rationale what he is going to gain from all of this. There are world leaders scratching their heads in disbelief that he is going to plough on by the looks of things.
That's a truly chilling scenario.
Even something more surgical like an engineered coup where they imprison and\or execute Ukraine's leaders would invariably be bloody and there would be ongoing resistance. Kiev 2022 could look like Grozny after one of Vlad's other adventures.
I agree. I genuinely think he's mentally ill and incapable of rational thinking.
Remember he's a modern-day emperor so pretty divorced from reality in any case. And he's spent the last two years locked in a bunker. The only surprise is probably that he hasn't gone round the bend before now.
Border conflicts with 16 nations,illgally expanding their maritime borders,building illegal islands,disturbing freedom of navigation,illgal dumping,illgal oil and gas exploration,illegal fishing,genocide of uyghurs,firewalls,banned social media,24/7 surveillance with face recognition,reeducation camps,organ harvesting of prisoners.
Sounds like the perfect place doesnt it
And whataboutism isnt going to change that
I would suggest taking it to another thread.
This is all about Ukraine and the immediate threat. It's as clear and as obvious as September 1939 who the aggressor is, and who we should be supporting.
On a slightly more positive note, if the wagner group ( even some of them) are withdrawn from other places, that has to be good news for the places they left, like Syria....
We should be supporting the ordinary Ukranians and Russians caught up in all this through humanitarian aid and fast tracking of visas for a number to come to Ireland. If that's what you mean, then I agree.
Also, given that Russia has less regard for the international laws and conventions I mentioned, you should be encourgaging that line of argument, not suggesting that talk of international laws and conventions is irrelevant. That's too Russian for my taste, TBH. :)
For all the talk, for all the waffle, the reality is the situation IS this simple.
Every reference of Putin should be framed through the historical knowledge of what Hitler was.
At the moment he is looking like the puppet master but yes, it could all end in tears for him.
These posts will be mildly amusing in the coming days.
Significant military movements underway, Russian military equipment within 5km of the border in many locations. Videos appearing of armoured vehicles with whitewash (temporary camouflage that lasts a week or so depending on conditions), equipped for combat and fully loaded with troops carrying full combat equipment. We're heading in one direction and no one seems to be caving to Putin's security demands.
We need to stop calling Putins demands "security demands". These words frame what Putin is "asking for" as rational and reasonable, rather than the reality - that he is a war criminal, a kleptocrat, an imperial empire fetishist, murderous and potentially genocidal.
I was actually wondering are there any protests outside the Russian embassy in Dublin? If not, there should be.
Not that it changes a damn thing but it's important to show some of the righteous outrage you have just expressed.
I'm far from an expert on these affairs but I don't think I have seen western powers as united on a single issue in recent times. EU, UK and US are all on board with the same message.
Obviously if shells start falling things may change.
Yet, all he is asking for is a no-man's-land between Russia and the west. The west, since the breakup of the Soviet Union, has been refusing this sensible agreement. NATO are as evil as he is.
Moscow is isolated already, it's not like Putin will be unaware of the consequences of all this. Keep in mind it's very likely he will rule Russia until he decides not to, and also he has laid down the ground-work to fully protect himself (from investigation, etc) even after he leaves office. I wouldn't compare the leadership of modern Russia to NK, but I would compare it to the Mafia - and they don't have much of an issue being at odds with the law (Europe/US/etc).
You’re very believing of what ex KGB members say.
Jesus Christ!
Don't you think the people who live in these countries should have the right to choose their own path of self-determination?
I don't think I've read such a repulsive post for quite some time, it literally reads like something a fascist sympathizer would have written about the Sudetenland.
Yes Denmark,Norway and Poland are most evil,Einstein
I see that the promised Russian withdrawal from Belarus following recent "exercises" has been cancelled. From to-day's Guardian: "As recently as Wednesday Belarus’s foreign minister, Vladimir Makei, said “not a single” Russian soldier would remain in the country after the massive joint drills – a promise echoed by Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov".
See: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/20/russian-troops-will-remain-indefinitely-says-belarus-as-fears-rise-of-ukraine-invasion
I wonder did Lavrov and Co have some new intelligence on the "threat" from Ukraine since last Wednesday. I wonder how Putin's running dogs will spin this one.
One sure thing: you can never believe anything these gangsters say.
Do you honestly think NATO countries are going to invade Russia.
Countries in the EU and NATO are ruled by democratically elected governments, there is no equivalence with Soviet regimes.
The lies are spectacularly brash alright
No there is a referendum on extending his leadership until 2030 at least and giving him immunity from prosecutions for crimes he may have committed as president ,he also Plans to permanently station Russian forces and nuclear weapons in Belarus ,
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