Nobody will back Russia when it is pulverised by this war. It is never a good look, to back losers.
I believe that the Ukrainians can win this one
Just to update you, Indian students are been let in to Poland.
It's taking longer due to paper work.
Bus load were shuttled to the airport today for repatriation flight.
There is a notorious story about one of the times Merkel went to Moscow. She is notoriously scared of dogs so the vile little thug brought his dog into a meeting to intimidate her.
https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-merkel-meeting-dog-2017-7
They rely on Russia for weapons because of the trouble with their borders with china.
The Russians can go to hell with their archaic military defense. A lot more weapons will be deployed to the Ukrainians in the coming hours
They were allegations, even so if true. He annexed terrority under Obama and got away with it. He's threatening a nuclear strike under Biden and so far is getting away with it.
That dog won't hunt for several reasons.
1) They never repudiated the NATO standard of 2%. They simply failed to meet it.
2) They never had any issues with the amount of equipment they were buying. Obviously the Germans were happy to buy several hundred tanks, a half-dozen submarines, or whatever. Their possession when new and working was never a concern when 'mindful of their own history.' The lack of expenditure, however, led to the non-functionality of that equipment. Having all six submarines, or all 14 transport aircraft out of service due to lack of maintenance cause by lack of funding is not 'serving them well.' Even being unable to meet NATO force commitments is not serving the country well. When the political leadership commits to having 44 tanks and 14 IFVs ready for NATO service on a certain date, and only 9 and 3 respectively were considered fully operational, that's a problem.
3) The only reason one can say 'it served them well' is because, by the grace of whoever, the Germans didn't seem to need the equipment or personnel. When the nation is saying "Oh crap, we need EUR100bn right now and a permanent increase in the defense budget" it is an obvious admission that there has been a shortage. Had the kick-in-the-pants involved Germany directly and not Ukraine, the luxury of saying "OK, we can fix it" would not have been available.
4) Germany's modern history dates back to 1945. Its modern military history dates back to 1955. In all the decades from then until the 'peace dividend', the concept of Germany's military being one of the strongest in Europe didn't seem to have ruffled any feathers.
I still see planes flying between Koennigsburg and Moscow via the Baltic Sea? Is this still possible under the new rules?
If true,the city is surrounded the Russians will probably up the ante tonight.
One would hope, only way out of this is if Putin is brought down from the inside ..
F*ck Belarus. They blew up Zhytomr airport with a rocket. Belarus need to be severely sanctioned
Many more will die if its not sorted out as in negotiations to reach a deal.
Of course she spoke fluent Russian for feck sake. 'Tis awful hard to get promoted within the KGB if ya can't.
(joke based on urban myth)
This thread has been one of my best sources of news, info and opinion on the invasion, thanks to all who contribute.
One of Putin's biggest problems has probably been not being able to maintain his propaganda campaigns, inside Russia and outside too, as he's done in previous invasions. The world is so much more connected now than 8 years ago and everyone is so aware that stories need to be fact-checked now. That tactic was only going to last so long and it's incredible to see Russia come up short in the media.
Looks like everyone's moving into the phase of how this ends, as it looks increasingly likely there's a stalemate/defeat making Russia come to the table. Aside from Ukraine regaining their entire country, I hope the other powers play it very carefully with Putin so that there's no risk of a nuclear escalation. I hope he's taken down internally but what would happen in Russia then with a massive power vacuum, military coup? Civil war?
And if they can take the south and unhinge the rest of the defence, all the hard resistance around Kharkov and Donetsk will have been in vain. Putin can claim everything up to the Dnipro and then call a ceasefire with his domestic reputation intact..
Ah no, I wasn't misconstruing what you said. I was only taking the pis$ at the way it was written in a way that it could be interpreted ambiguously.
I wasn't really implying you didn't know who Mr. H was
These people can find Ukraine on a map and speak Ukrainian.
Not many "Syrians" in 2015 spoke the Syrian Arabic dialect.
You are wilfully misconstruing what I said. I do not understand how there is such support for Hitler amongst the nationalists in India. I cannot understand how anybody post-WWII can justify or even worse still admire such a truly evil sociopath that exterminated the lives of millions and treated man as no more than an ant to be crushed.
In the same vein, I don’t know how anybody beyond Russia can justify and admire Putin’s actions.
While they are definitely finding it tough going and the Ukrainian resistance is very strong, the Russians are still advancing a fair bit, especially in the south.
Well the reason is actually quite simple. Hitler wasn't a nice man. That is why he/it is "dirty word" in most countries. He was actually quite naughty back in the 1930's and early-mid 1940's. You're probably in the minority if you are wondering why there aren't more countries like India in terms of not disliking him
I was deeply sceptical of social media before all of this. But its utility for getting the message about the plight and courage of the Ukrainians has been invaluable.
India recently abstained when the UN were seeking a unanimous resolution to condemn the invasion, as a result Indian nationals who are it seems Indian students In Ukraine have been barred from entry to Poland. Its deeply unfortunate. India and Pakistan are allies of Russia and have abstained on Russia votes in the past.
Calm down!
He is finished,,, he underestimated the people of Ukraine and the rest of the world...This is 2022 not 1922, the world is a much smaller place now, information is had at the touch of button, the world will no longer tolerate a mad man trying to bring the world down with him..
India is one of the few countries where Hitler is not a dirty word. I will never understand this
India has always had a curious relationship with the USSR/Russia due to its historical non-aligned status, and more importantly the Sino-Soviet split, which drove China and Pakistan together.
It blows hot and cold, but Modi and Putin cooperate on defence technology and the space sector. Modi is another prime-time snake. Hindu nationalist and liable to go rogue. Weird times when an Indian leader makes Islamabad look good.
Anonymous tweeting that they have hacked the Belarusian Railway network. If true this would be major
I would say Putin probable thought Zelenskyy would leg ala the leader of Afghanistan or that the Ukrainians would dump him installing a pro Russian.
Instead the non politician actor has shown what real leadership is about.
A lot of the leaders in the West could learn a thing or two from him.
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