Putin and others in Moscow just do not view Ukraine as a country and yes a re-birth of the Russian Empire, not the USSR, is a part of his vision. There's also a deluded assumption that Ukraine would ever welcome this.
The Russian research ship, Yantar, widely known to be a spy vessel and capable of underse aoperations is currently sitting off the coast of Denmark. This vessel was working off the Mayo Coast in August, right over the optical cables on the sea bed in the area where the Russian navy conducted their "training" exercises.
There is nothing currently showing on ATIS, but I'm surprised that there is no overwatch of that area being conducted by NATO at the moment, given its vulnerability.
The issue of exhilaration masked as concern goes well beyond this thread (most news media outlets make their living using this phenomenon) but it’s definitely pretty potent here to be fair.
In fact when anyone has suggested ideas (including myself) that Ukraine should consider concessions to stop the fighting it’s shut down immediately. The assumption is made that it’s some subtle way of being a Putin backer. I was called a scumbag. Not for a minute do people need to consider the war stopping needs to be a priority and Ukraine are outnumbered and outgunned and the West won’t be stepping in with forces on the ground.
What will eventually happen in this thread is either:
I hope it’s number 1 and if it means Ukraine have to give up NATO and EU and instead get security guarantees then that’s about as much a win as they are going to get.
Some early news items
Ukraine is set to receive more Stinger and Javelin missiles from abroad, as well as another shipment of Turkish drones, according to Ukrainian defence minister Oleksii Reznikov.
Germany is prepared should Russia stop exporting gas to the country, minister for the economy Robert Habeck has said.
Asked by Deutschlandfunk radio what the government would do if Russia stops gas exports, Reuters reports Habeck replied:
We are prepared for that. I can give the all-clear for the current winter and summer. For the next winter, we would take further measures.
Russia cancelled a bid to send four of its warships through Turkish waters into the Black Sea at Turkey’s request, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, adding the decision was made before Ankara closed the straits over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
He’s sent aid to Ukraine and put heavy sanctions on Russia.
Now he’s banned Russian aircraft from American airspace.
Maybe he shouldn’t have called the invasion “smart” and putin “savvy”.
Totally agree. IMHO this is largely about the fear that Ukraine a large country physically and population wise might develop into a functioning democracy and having that sitting on his doorstep in stark contrast to life under his authoritarian dictatorship in Russia as well as the authoritarian regime in Belarus would seriously destabilize the authoritarian regimes grip on power in Russia. There also does seem to be a certain amount of yearning for a re-establishing of the old Russia empire aka the USSR on Putins part but that also fits right in with the fear of a functioning democracy developing in Ukraine.
Is it NATO expansion, or sovereign nations deciding to join NATO? He also expressed his paranoia over the EU and its "expansion" again should he have a say on what sovereign nations should be allowed to join? In general, the countries who want to join the EU, see it as a way to improve their economies.
Dammit, mutant, you stole my goodbye...
Your answer is at the start of the video, when she reminds him he has said he had no intention of invading Ukraine. How can anyone trust anything he says. He is a liar, always was, always will be.
What hope have the Ukrainians have for help when the president of the USA doesn't know who he is meant to be helping?
The Tennis authorities are a disgrace not banning all Russian's. They should be ashamed of themselves.
To be fair, is he is critical of NATO anyway, we wouldn't expect an honest appraisal of the situation.
It would be like expecting Putin to say he was wrong.
Depends on what you read or where you live.
The ‘scoreboard’ currently looks like this;
“The world has just shy of 8 billion people.
~6.5 billion live in countries whose governments have not condemned Russia, and more importantly do not view this conflict as 100% Russia’s fault.
~1.5 billion live in countries who do not challenge the NATO narrative”
Yet we are lead to believe Russia is losing the (propaganda) war.
Belarus in big trouble.
Russian forces shambolic, in disarray and mutinous. Intelligence fighting with use of machine learning assessing terrain and positioning Ukrainian forces accordingly for defence. Machine learning models did not factor in massive Russian ineptitude and aging equipment unmaintained.
Many men have dropped family at the border and gathered weapons. Many units to encircle and/or pincher the huge column which is now in effect 40 to 50000 POWs. Also units will engage Belarus forces but many will also bypass and raids to Brest in Belarus and then push eastwards. Also pro independence activists in Belarus to launch an offensive on Minsk.
Also looking at offensive to not only push Russians back to the Crimea but also to retake it.
Putin is unwell. And agents have asked doctors what sickness and medication he is using(face heavily bloated).
An interesting article from an experienced journalist critical of Nato
NATO have not done very well in Afghanistan or Libya !
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/natosource/examples-of-natos-accomplishments-in-recent-years/
Came across this video of Putin from a couple months ago, does anyone want to debunk the points he's making about Nato expansion? I don't know if it's all lies or if he has a point as I don't follow the topic closely
Putins “concerns” are a blatantly invented pretext. Pitons real concerns are there is was a real chance a successful large democratic regime would emerge in Ukraine that would start people asking questions closer to home, and that he wants to be “remembered” for reassertion of Russian imperialism in the region.
I guess I shouldn't really have expected an educated response from you.
Just so people are aware, Volodymyr Zelenskiy is a native Russian speaker who has been against any suppression of the Russian language and ran on a platform of unity between Russian speaking and Ukrainian speaking Ukrainians. Since being elected he has been too preoccupied with the autocratic megalomaniacal imperialist loon he has had to deal with, as well as this major pandemic you may or may not have heard of, to focus on policy changes yet.
This doesn’t suit the narrative that the chronicle gullible are being fed from Putin bots however
I'm sorry, but you've lost me. What was the point you were trying to make?
The Moscow to Kaliningrad route is getting busy this morning. But look at the routing.
I cannot see this as being viable for much longer. It will be interesting to see if Russia will try wet-leasing through other carriers in order to sneak around Europe.
So tell us what this age is! We can pack it with all the other bollix from the guys who said there was no way Russia was going to invade.
You say NATO will never intervene on Ukraine soil, but feel Russia can eliminate the west with one bomb. Get the fuckin boat!
I've no doubt Putin has something up his sleeve, cos he's been planning this for years. But the time has come to put a stop to this guy. In fairness the west has helped create this issue by not standing up to him before. If nothing is done now, we're all fucked in the future.
I hope Putin and his Russia rots.
Comment is gone.
There is a lot of posters here calling Russians Nazis and so on. The same posters when presented with a different view backed up with credible links call for the ignore button. Pot, Kettle, Black.
Putin will not use Nuclear Weapons, he won't be allowed to. No one wants Ukrainian Citizens slaughtered. Every person including me wants the War to stop. But not addressing Putins concerns will not help in bringing it to an end.
And finally, there is a lot on here expressing anger as if Ireland was invaded. Calm heads must persist. And some are going as far as to leave Google reviews on Russian Businesses. I can only assume to get the word out to every day Russians in Russia. They know whats going on. The majority support Putin. They have Internet, they can see whats going on, how do you think they will see your reviews/comments? Of course by browsing online, hence they have Internet. If some of the posters are that hot under the collar go and fight in Ukraine or quit attacking posters with a different opinion. The International Legion are looking for foreigners to fight. Here is a link to help you on where to start.
I might also add, i would only fight if an attack was directly on Ireland, which is a possibility if it worsens. I would not fight for Ukraine or any other Foreign Country.
Go to bed .Will you..and go for a good walk and plenty of fresh air .your brain is frazzled from doing nothing
Sorry, I quoted the wrong guy. It was the guy quoted by the guy I quoted. Make sense? No, me neither...
Mods, wake up. Comments, ( and by extention the user) like the above have no place on any forum. This thread used to a solid place of good Information gathered from various media sources and decent, logical debate.
Most of the good posters have moved elsewhere and the discussions have decended into the usual keyboard warrior bickering.
To the posters who keep going around and around and around. NATO is never going to directly attack Russia on Ukranian soil. Russia always, always has an ace up its sleeve and I've a fair idea what that ace is going to be. I suspect it's going to shock everyone, and I do mean everyone here in Ireland. Can anyone guess what that ace is going to be? Unknown to many people around the world, I think Putin has us by the short and curleys, but not in the way everyone is stating.
By the way, one poster mentioned that there is a possibility that the Russian nukes are obsolete and may not actually work. For those of us born in the 70's during cold War and having to live through the horror and terror that the Chernobyl disaster caused, all it takes is one, over the right surface material, with the wind blowing the right way. Christ, all he has to do is use a conventional bomb on the Sarcophagus, with a stiff Westerly, and it's game over for the West.
You seem to have gotten around! We're you in Damascus at all? A very odd mixture of French and Russian. I was there a few times from 2009 onwards. We're you armed forces or NGO?
Some more details on the group of Chechens reportedly sent to kill Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
https://www.timesofisrael.com/ukraine-says-it-killed-chechen-forces-sent-to-assassinate-zelensky/
No you're not.
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