There were Chechens fighting on the Ukrainian side in the Donbas too, the Dudayev Battalion and the religious Sheikh Mansur Battalion in Mariupol, and they were supposed to be pretty important in the early days and then in holding Mariupol back in 2015. But as far as I can tell the last of them were disarmed and detained by the Ukrainian security service (SBU) a few years ago as part of the government effort to take over all the militias.
They need to get Russia out of swift. That, combined with an urban war of attrition in Ukraine, would break Russia economically and may mean the end of Putin.
Zelensky just put out the call for every mercenary in Europe to come join them in Kyiv.
They are already thought to be there from the Balkans, reports of fighters crossing from Poland, be interesting to see what leaves Turkey.
Very defiant.
And very admirable to see, too. Even young women (see Tweet video below) are taking up arms.
You will almost never get fully accurate proven stats for war casualties, even years or decades later.
They can hold forever in partizan mode. That has happened in Poland during II WWW. There is no way you can win a war against a 40+ million nation. Also Ukainians know what they are fighing for. The Russian side is fighting because they were told to do so. There are videos of Ukainians leaving (still) safe Poland and going east to fight - I'm sure no Russians are coming back to Russia to fight.
I would not beleive too much from either Ukraine or Russia while this is ongoing. UK MOD said last night they estimated 450 Russian casulaties.
Gutsy. Knock yourself out, but Biden just asked Congress to approve 6.2 billion in aid to Ukraine as an initial response. The money is earmarked for military and humanitarian assistance. Just to put your gesture into perspective.
Plus, I am sure there are Russians living here that have fook all to do with Putin and hate his guts. Killing 'Russians' is too nebulous. The world would be better off if we refined our hatreds: a hatred refined is a hatred tamed. You don;t hate Russians en masse, you hate their soldiers, or some of their soldiers, or the Generals, or the political establishment. And with each refinement the number of people you hate grows smaller and smaller and smaller.
War drives people absolutely mad; speech that would be regarded as hateful and quite possibly illegal in normal times is suddenly permitted and cheered on. But even when ethics goes out the window, as it does in war, there are still rules governing conduct. Lack of moral discipline leads to war crimes and stupid, hateful acts of violence.
Russian forces appear to have taken the coastal city of Mariupol.
Yes I could ignore you, but I think it is worth telling you that the vast majority of posters here could not give a single f*ck about your posts. Not a f*ck. Put on your cowboy hat and go hill-billy dancing.
Any idea where i could get Clare or Tipp flag in Cork?? A big one if possible
There should be a massive flag unfurled at the Chelsea Liverpool game today as well as a two fingers to Abramovich. Another pr1ck who needs his wings clipped.
He usually seems so reserved, is this insane act for real ? Or is it that whole Nixon mad man theory in operation ?
How long before the “private contractors” are sent in?
there seems to be a real lack of understanding on here of the propaganda going on in Russia, there was an interview with some old dear in moscow where she said there was no attacks on kyiv and the troops were peacekeepers in donbas.
there have been reports of moscow blocking “propaganda” via facebook i.e. **** down all reports from non russian controlled outlets.
business partners of ours travelled from brasov to the romania/ukraine border with a car full of supplies for refugees and had to have a sign that it was free as expectation was that they were ripping people off.
they also said that ukrainian men trying to cross the border were being charged 5k to cross the border or being told to go back and fight (both of the above are from my business partner who was speaking directly with our romanian partners)
I wouldn’t be surprised if some of these mercenaries are only mercenaries on papers. It could be help from external countries to bring knowledge and intel to Ukrainian fighters.
It's on tomorrow.
I imagine we will se quite a bit of support from around the grounds over the weekend.
"Continued Russian losses is a good thing". I fully agree. Putin is not the only evil here, now whose got the comic book mentality?
They will certainly be there to fight, but yeah they will be "mercenaries" particularly if they leave Turkey.
Liverpool fans should bring Ukraine flags
Probably a daft question, but how do people get food in these circumstances?
Surely supermarkets aren't open, for instance?
Russia apparently still does not have control of Ukrainian airspace.
It would be rather nice if the French foreign legion turned up at the border and swapped their uniforms for the local ones - ahhhem!
Some supermarkets are open for a couple of hours a day. There is actually a Billa supermarket underground in Independence Square. There is an entire shopping centre below it.
Poland football team refuse to play World Cup qualifier against Russia: https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/soccer/arid-40817169.html
Now let's see how UEFA/FIFA can swallow that.
The number Ukraine are throwing out sound too good to be true but remember they have an indirect line straight to the top in Moscow. Remember, the yanks called every. single. move the Russians made. I even wonder if the difference in foreknowledge compared to 2014 might be a sign of defections increasing among higher-ups in that time.
This isn't a bunch of shepherds with AKs. They're not firing at every light in the sky, they'll know about every plane and helicopter anywhere near Kyiv. It might just mean an extra couple of days in the end alas.
Actually it is probably one of the most important questions to ask. Supermarkets were open in Kiev yesterday, don't know about today. I do remember that Sarajevo was under seige for years and people stood in lines at shops in areas where a former Olympic target shooting competitor was taking potshots at them.
Wondering about that myself, guy's a tool but that's a big hint that something is up. Whether that's health or he's steeled for years of bloody conflict who knows?
War is a strange thing. They are defiant and will hold. Most of them have made peace to fight to the death, if it may be. With that comes clarity and a sense of calm. I was talking to my English mate yesterday and he was saying it's suicide, if it was him he would surrender.
I was saying I would fight. I know I would fight given the feelings this is stirring inside me and I think most Irish people probably are the same. This is a trait that has passed through the generations. In my opinion, the historically oppressed have more WILL to fight in them than the oppressor who just expect the easy win. An that will, belief and defiance can inflict some serious damage.
The football team shouldn't have been put in this position. Russia should already have been expelled from the competition.
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