Airspace bans having an impact
He literally condemned warmongers and demanded help for Ukraine.
How could the Vatican mediate talks if it had taken sides between the two countries by condemning one of them? The talks must be mediated by a neutral party.
Seriously man why don't you engage your brain instead of bouncing around like a ball of emotion.
My father fought in WW2 and my great uncle died in WW1 at just 18.
The Starsky YouTube video basically says the west neutered itself by not keeping a big stick .
Yep, that and the West has made too many assumptions that what we may want or desire in how our nations are run is not always universal thing and applying those assumptions can be folly. I would say this current clusterfcuk is a good example of two viewpoints clashing; Ukraine looking West, while Russia wants it in the East.
I reckon from his own 'bias' and vantage point he's talking more about Britain than the EU(though he mentions Germany).
It won't matter in the end, as the war will escalate to a nuclear confrontation with Nato.
There is a danger this whole thing will descend into disaster with no winners. Russia has earned the outrage of the entire civilized world.
Would Poland do anything if Belarus invade Ukraine? (officially I mean)
Good
Contact was lost and the island bombarded, it was normal to presume they were dead. They still told the ship to go **** itself and got attacked.
Am very glad to hear they are alive.
Ukraine is being invaded and in a critical situation, it's also natural there will be exaggerations and propaganda on their side, especially for morale. There's no need to be an utter twat and start celebrating if something doesn't turn out to be exact.
It won't matter in the end, as the war will escalate to a nuclear confrontation with Nato. At that stage, talks of federalisation become redundant.
The pope refused to condemn Russia so as not upset the Orthodox cnuts who's leader said this:
"Head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, calls Putin’s opponents in Ukraine “evil forces,” and believes “we must not allow dark and hostile external forces to laugh at us.”"
The Pope is a POS.
If I were Ukraine, I wouldn't want the vatican making the tea, let alone mediating anything.
The ridiculousness of Putin's demands of federalisation of Ukraine is that Russia itself is outrageously centralised. It's a federal country in name only. All the oblasts and republics of Russia are ruled by Lord Lieutenants and Viceroys of old, thoroughly vetted by the Kremlin and displaying absolute obedience to a narrow circle in Moscow.
The proposed federalisation of Ukraine would follow the exact same pattern - Eastern federal units of Ukraine would be under the pay and command of the Kremlin. Why would or should Ukraine accept such an outcome? This is the stuff of the 19th century.
There is an arguement for Ukrainian federalisation, but only when Kremlin lackeys and agents routed and scrubbed from the system, and not before.
I'm very glad to hear they're still alive, if that is indeed the case, but the defiance of (probably approximate translation) 'Russian warship, go f**k yourself.' shouldn't be degraded by misinformation on whether the men died or not.
ahem.. I told yous so
I have a sinking feeling the hyper optimistic "plucky Ukrainians, floundering Russians" narrative will be punctured dramatically in the next few days.
Would be happy to be wrong on that.
I find myself conflicted. On the one hand I find the whole scenario riveting. A real war being played out in my lifetime. In the ultimate age of information and communication. We normally only see or hear war in movies, plays, audio or read about in books. On the other hand this war has real life catastrophic consequences. Lives lost, infrastructure destroyed and just plain misery inflicted. I'm rooting for the Ukraine and with the rest of the world behind it Russia will not succeed.
It is crucial that Putin is forced from power be that through sanctions or a failed military campaign. All his cronies must also be held accountable for their actions. For reasons I don't understand the Russian people seem to love a strong man in power. However Putin is just a megalomaniac bully who has lost touch with reality. His desire to reform the Soviet Union is laughable. He is stuck in a time warp.
Lets not forget about Lukashenko in Belarus. He also needs to go. Another despot Putin lite. The people of Belarus deserve the chance to lead free and democratic lives. It is crazy to see history unfolding before our eyes. I am too young to clearly remember the fall of the Berlin Wall. But I now understand it's significance.
Hail Hail Ukraine may she free herself of the invaders completely and ultimately prosper.
Thats what I've been saying - there is a whopper amount of propaganda from both sides, but if you point out the Ukrainian propaganda you get labelled a "putinbot" 🙄
Snake island and the "tank" running over a car were 2 big propaganda pieces - snake island soldiers were captured, and the tank (a strela AA gun) was a friendly fire incident amongst Ukrainians. Ukrainian army and civil militias firing on each other according to people in Kiev. Thankfully the old man got out alright.
The Ukrainians need propaganda to boost morale because they are fighting a much superior force in terms of numbers and equipment, its understandable. But if you want a true view of whats going on you have to take all reports from both sides with a massive pinch of salt.
Are these talks still happening in the same location, i.e. the Ukraine-Belarus border? I saw someone else posting that Ukraine were seeking talks in Russia now, which sounds more supplicatory (Oh, that's really a word. Thought I would get the red squiggly.) as if Ukraine thought the military situation was turning too bad.
What the Russians are currently offering is little less than total subjugation. Again, it's really an own goal for them long term. Even if they got what they want, the resentment they must have now sown in Ukraine means there can be no real going back in terms of friendly relations. They can install as many puppet governments as they want, but the Ukrainian people would reject it at the first opportunity given, or one they just take.
I think the Russians are basically just going to threaten the Ukrainians in these talks and say that if the terms aren't agreed to, they'll bulldoze Kiev and set the country ablaze, and it'll be on Zelensky's head because he wouldn't take the deal. Again, it reminds me a bit of how Lloyd George allegedly threatened the Irish delegation at the Anglo-Irish peace talks to accept or face 'terrible and immediate war'.
On less Putinbot /s
That's just the Putin engaging in good faith negotiations.
The daily mail is a pro-putin newspaper - wha?
Also ironic that the article references the photo of the dead boy on a turkish beach years ago, no mention of how that photo was staged - photographers were caught moving the poor boys body to the beach and positioning it to get a more emotive shot.
Truth is always the first casualty in situations like this.
Roman Abramovic claiming to be playing peacemaker at the request of the Ukrainians.
How much real influence do these oligarchs actually have? It's always hinted at and said, but we will see..
fierce snaky feckers
As I said, Ukrainian spin about "**** you russian warship" and the heroes of snake island was just propaganda piece, the men are alive and well (in russian captivity)
Lol. Which of these looks like the basket case? Debt per citizen:
In regards to orthodox Church and roman Catholic Church.
There is fundamental differences.
But close ties have been between both reparative poes over the last decade.
That's the crux of it. The mask really slipped.
It's nothing more than a personal quest based on a grudge to shore up his legacy. His entire career and Presidency has led up to this point and he sees the west as weak now with the leaders in place and post Covid finances to fund a war under pressure.
Unfortunately for him, he's made a fatal miscalculation.
He wants to hobble Ukraine within a federal structure, so that the artificial enclaves he created in the south east would have a veto on it ever joining EU or NATO. He wants it demilitarized so it can't resist Russian demands and subject to Russian influence and business exploitation. He won't tolerate any elections where the people actually have a say as if they have that they will choose to pivot to the West.
If Ukraine prospers outside Russian influence, it will send messages to the other states still under Russian thumb.
He might accept, if he gets bogged down, taking large chunks of eastern ukraine and its resources and strategic territory.
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