Would take bets on the champions league final’s current venue lasting less than 10 days.
Interesting to see Gazprom plastered over all the champions league matches tonight. Sportswashing has been used by Russia too, hasn’t ever been much spoken out about it. Organisations like UEFA with Russian companies hands all over them, few clubs with them as sponsors too.
Even today, UEFA hesitant to pull the champions league final from St. Petersburg.
Wow that speech from Biden was pathetic.
Basically if putin sits still now in Ukraine nothing else will happen,
extra emphasis on The word NATO
and troop movements are purely defensive.
The response from the EU and the US to the invasion of Ukraine for all their talk has been useless.
maybe they know more than we do.
Has efforts at diplomacy helped at all so far? I know the relied upon wisdom in this situation is to keep coming back to the negotiation table with Putin. But if the west hadn’t done anything to appease Putin would anything be different whatsoever. Putin actions seem to be only directed at rallying his own people rather than finding any accommodation with the west.
That’s a fantastic breakdown.
Attention:
AN-124 leaving Moscow heading for Belarus, possibly.
And to the south, a Russian Airforce IL-76 on the move, again worth watching. Belarus seems to be getting a lot of attention from Russian aircraft at the moment.
Needs a swift response ..
It's a service that allows banks to communicate with each other securely. Technically a country could be cut off from it, by blocking any Swift addresses associated with that country. The Swift service is controlled by a basket of mainly European countries + US/Canada. It's doable but very much a final option.
Ireland is on the UN Security Council atm so he is doing his job. Don't see the issue.
I would say Coveney is far from an embarrassment. Always on top of his brief and handles himself well on the media.
Meanwhile, this is pathetic even for RT
Apparently they still can force swift to close to Russia , but it the likes of Germany decides to pay for Russians gas they would use the Russian system which is primarily based in former Soviet states in the EU ,or find other work arounds
It's been claimed that it wouldn't be used off the bat, but could be used in a final resort
An excellent concise review of Ukraine history;
"It's not about history" References a conflict that started in 2004
😂😂 Sounds like coveney alright.
In terms of Bidens speech, I thought he did well just now, I'm not usually a fan of his.
Right... What a double bind then. Thank you.
I bet the west is waiting to turn it into a proxy war in Ukraine. Another Afghanistan for Russia. I hear there are generals in the Russian army who are dismayed with Putin's actions. Let's hope they put a bullet in his head.
they looked into it and apparently the Russian state is too integrated into Swift, so its not a runner
Tell that to Irish Republicans.
The Western powers had been talking about cutting off Russia from SWIFT (the inter-banking institution). I guess that's the nuclear option, so to speak. Can the West do this? Who controls SWIFT anyway?
can't argue with that tbf. especially wrt israel.
still, you are equating saddam's iraq regime (one of the most brutal in modern history) to Ukraine (a stable and mostly fair democracy) in a roundabout way, and they are not remotely comparable.
Thing is, it’s going to be soon time for more then words… actual words will need to be backed up…by actions…
it’s a dangerous precipice we are facing but I’m inclined to think Putin is really capable of being up there in terms of Adolf and Stalin with his current trajectory of thinking and actions.…
to get this far is he really of the capabilities want or desire to back down ? I don’t see it, so….
600 nato troops in Bosnia
And I have responded to you several times on this false point. How many times does it have to be said, it's not about history. Boris Johnson and Joe Biden yesterday and today are condemning Russia while at the very same time they are watching on as the Saudi's and the UAE attack civilian targets in Sanna...with munitions from the UK and financed in part by the US...
Putin isn’t invading Ukraine because of something the USA did in the Middle East.
and a heads up - I’ve reported one of your posts to highlight to mods that you’re totally off topic. What they do with the report is up to them but just so you know it was me wink.
I am interested in views and opinions from both sides but …… your posts are on a different tangent.
I dunno, this kinda feels like it'll be used by Russia again. If NATO won't intervene then take Moldova in a couple of years. Then Serbia help Bosnia be "united"?(I don't think there's NATO troops in Bosnia but very much open to correction) Maybe Azerbaijan assert themselves in Armenia. Maybe steal a bit of Kazakhstan along the way? I think Putin's happier now than he's been in a while.
I'm not a spokesperson for Putin, I suggest you direct your questions there...
And this has been addressed many times. A current administration is not beholden to something another different administration did X many years or decades ago. If Germany criticises Putin's current annexation of territory, they aren't being "hypocritical" because a previous German leadership did the same thing decades prior.
The fixation on this perceived "hypocrisy" is ridiculous, and smacks of individuals who personify countries like they are people.
Firstky, I'm firmly on topic, Ukraine is in the middle of an inter imperial conflict between the US and Russia....Secondly, unless your a mod, don't tell me what to post.
is it time to start making nukes again in Ukraine?
Grow up and be an adult FFS...
yeah coveney is an embarassment. he was on CNN last week talking about Iran's nuclear capabilities ffs. he was on the radio this morning and the presenter asked him some domestic question to which he replied he was too busy travelling to munich for security councils, like he's some major geopolitical player. literally no one gives a **** what ireland/coveney thinks about major international issues. it's laughable.
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