The one thing I think it shows is that Russian ground troops have been told to try to avoid civilian deaths.
This is good news for now, but if there are talks and they don't pan out as Russia wants then the other 100k+ Russians might be sent in, and at that point I fear that avoiding civilian casualties may be tossed aside
Apologist nonsense
Really? He has ultimately led his country into a predictable and disasterous situation. He took what he considered to be moral actions, but were they wise ones?
The American intelligence which has been insanely good are adamant he is on a kill list not an arrest list.
The optics of a sovereign president being executed by foreign invaders will ring loud.
So what? They weren't part of NATO when this all kicked off. There was no obligation to intervene. That makes it a far different scenario than the Baltic nations or Poland.
I appreciate that, however, I doubt any European nations would resist a call from a NATO member being invaded. Ukraine wasn't part of mainland Europe, and has never had any serious ties to Western European nations.. It would be very different if Poland was invaded.
The Russians want Zelenskiy to go to Minsk? Capital of country that is also taking part in the invasion? Yeah no.
♪ Whistle while you work. Putin is a twerp. He's half barmy. So's his army. Whistle while you work. ♪
What if falls he down a stairs? 🙁
Accidents happen
What actions were they?
😂
Turkey shot down a Russian plane and the Russia sold them an expensive missile sustem. A plane venturing into the wrong airspace - or even 10, all shot down - isn't going to trigger WW3.
End game would be reinstating Viktor Yanukovych as president as Ukraine whose in exile in Russia. However will the Ukraine army be loyal to him? So of course he will request Russian leave Russian soldiers to police/enforce the peace.
Ultimately it's going to end up with a Ukraine resistance supplied with western arms vs a Russian backed puppet government.
Russian embassy Dublin 01 492 2048
Looks like the crux of what Russia actually wants (i.e Ukraine to move closer to Russia than NATO and the EU) will be known soon.
A spokesperson for Vladimir Putin has said the Krelim is ready to send a delegation for talks with Ukraine. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian leader is “ready” to send a high-level delegation “for talks with a Ukrainian delegation” to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, which has hosted peace talks and agreements in the past.
Infomercials running on Ukrainian Tv instructing citizens on how to make molotov cocktails.
Well this is the thing. I remember Christopher Hitchens saying he first realised Saddam Hussein was a maniac when did something (I forget what) that any rational person could see was against his own and Iraq's interests. We have been told for years that Putin's fundamental motivation is his regime's and his personal survival. I cannot for the life of me see how invading Ukraine advances that goal.
So IMO there is a distinct possibility we may be dealing with a madman who "wants to see the world burn". And unlike Saddam has the capacity to make that happen...
It will mean he can't access any assets he has in Europe and probably now in the UK and the US but like the rest of his acolytes he can still tap the Russian economy. He's supposed to be worth obscene amounts of money largely through shareholdings in oil companies.
Belarus is the world capital of "being suicided". There was an instance last year of a protest leader who manager to climb a tree with a broken leg and without a ladder in order to hang himself from said tree.
Oh look Paul Murphy/Mick Wallace/Richard Boyd Barret is back. All NATOs fault that the Gay/Nazi/Jews are being invaded.
Nuclear first strike has been on the cards for both Russia and The US. Will it come to it?
Would you like to provide some examples of this? I'll give you head start - the US just kicked out Russias No. 2 diplomat.... crickets.
The 418 error code was a nice touch
He could have bowed and scraped to Russia's 8+ years of hybrid warfare, illegal annexation, support of uprising, and absurd demands I suppose, but he wasn't elected on those terms, and he seems to represent the views of Ukrainians who have already had a Russian puppet and overthrown him.
We can all see now that Russia's plan all along was never negotiation or half-measures, only the complete control of Ukraine.
Can someone explain why roads in Ukraine were not destroyed by the Ukrainians army? The Russians seek to be able to drive armoured vehicles at top speed without fear of a mine or even a pothole.
The end game has to be the installation of a puppet government ala Belarus.
This may also include splitting the country further
Why wasn't this done in 2014?
That's likely, though the Russians usual M.O. is inexplicably falling out of tenth floor windows.
I'd reckon Putin's plan is take Kiev, try to avoid public civilian deaths, for the optics, gather as many of the current government up, though some of course will be accidently shot, or fall out of ground floor windows to their unforeseen deaths, declare a 'ceasefire', install a puppet government. Declare a victory against western Jewish nazis. Job done. The usual cut the head off the snake to avoid a protracted war, though that also usually doesn't work. Save for in actual centralised dictatorships disliked, even hated by its people.
'First strike' is effectively meanigless when it comes to a nuclear exchange. Has that senator never heard of 'mutually assured destruction?
Ireland shouldn't cancel diplomatic relations with Russia.
Nor should we be hoping that a world war breaks out.
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