So that's the invasion kicked into gear then..."peace-keeping mission" my arse
I think this is exactly the play. In a couple of weeks all will be forgotten, markets will get a shock and recover quickly as apathy sets in and money is made.
It would be as dopey as the UK claiming that the USA was not a legitimate country because it was manufactured for some third-party reason.
But presumably a large swathe of the Russian population are stupid enough to swallow what Putin has said.
At least they have 5000 new helmets
Awesome idea. Brilliant. Now sell that latest brainwave to all the countries and industries and carriers who cross Russian airspace every minute.
That was as cold a political gesture as seen in a long time.
Apparently they didn't receive the helmets yet
No it's not.
I remember watching that programme on RTE about Exercise Armageddon - the vaunted plan by which then Taoiseach Jack Lynch would send in an Irish army force into Northern Ireland under the pretext of intervening against the subjugation of the Irish Catholic minority living there. Even though I would be sympathetic to the Irish side of things in terms of the Troubles, I would have no problem recognising that this still would have constituted an act of open war by incurring into sovereign territory. So, if I have no problem recognising it, there, I certainly have no problem recognising Russia doing the very same, and actually going through with it. Moving your hostile forces into another nation's territory is an act of war, and should be treated as such, but Russia have been getting away with it for ages.
If Putin thinks NATO is a hostile alliance, how does stealing more of Ukraine help with that? It doesn't, because using countries wanting to join NATO to protect themselves as an excuse is a blatant lie.
some people are saying what is the harm in letting putin have parts of georgia and now the 2 breakaway parts of eastern ukraine...
we all know why ...
estonia, latvia and large chunks of the rest of ukraine will be next .. putin wont stop he has the bug now..
If he's saying breaking up the soviet union was a mistake, doesn't that mean he'll want all former soviet states?
The weakest US president since James Polk . No wonder Putin is taking the piss.
Is it known if Putin was following an autocue or not?
Yes
If he makes any sort of a move towards NATO protected soil, he'll actively draw in Turkey, which would be the end of the Russian adventure. How he intends to progress beyond Ukraine is anyone's guess. Any push into the Baltic's will draw in Britain, actively. Any push into Romania /Bulgaria will alarm Turkey. Who are unafraid of Russia.
As for Germany, no one has anything to fear from the Bundeswehr. Not for at least a decade. A mess of an órganisation.
No they haven't, the only request made by Ukraine was in 2014 when Yuriy Sergeyev requested a meeting with the Security Council (yes, just a meeting, not even a request for peacekeepers) to discuss the situation in Crimea, Russia exercised it's veto (and again when re-requested in 2015) and there was no meeting, other than that Russia has only vetoed one other issue relating to them, that the 2014 Crimea referendum would be unlawful.
Under Article 27 of the UN Charter Russia as a P5 member must abstain rather than accept or veto any issue to which it is a party in conflict.
The security council will be meeting on Tuesday morning to discuss the situation, could be an interesting meeting with Russia being a P5 member and in attendance.
Will Western leaders come out and state that Russia has invaded Ukraine? That’s the first test for me.
Taking on a NATO member would be by many orders of magnitude a bigger deal than taking Ukraine. Christ. This is bad enough.
Might do the aul fallout shelter meself if that happens... although there is a strong counterargument that a post-nuclear war world might not be worth surviving into. Might be better off getting wiped out in the first blast. 😐️
Briany, you are an astute observer. The Russians don't bluster they just act. So when bloviating is the order of the day then one knows that other things are afoot. The US has lost this round Nd lost it quite badly. Russia has now announced that the y will recognise Donbas calls for independence. All the **** on this thread hammering about invasion.
I understand the concern over Ukraine.
I don't understand this idea that we'll be living in some post-nuclear winter in June.
So you're saying Russia holds all the cards, and the sanctions are just a joke.
Tbf I never thought he would go as far as he has. I've seen a very unhinged side of Putin today, much more than I thought he was capable of.
I was certain it was posturing to gain concessions and show strength domestically. I won't hang my hands in shame but I'll admit I was wrong.
It would be some escalation alright.
Irish centrist dads don't get enough credit for their geopolitical knowledge.
Freedom for the ethnic Russian minorities in Ukraine.
A great day comrades we sail into history.
If Trump was president Putin would never invade, as Trump was as mad as him, and would respond in kind.
Biden is weak on the other hand.
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