Yeah and you're right but these kind of images will be all around Russian TV. The Americans were doing the same thing in Afghanistan and Iraq and they called it the battle for 'hearts and minds'. Its will play well for Ukranians to an extent, but it's mostly for the people back home to support the 'special operational, as they call it.
Scoff at it if you like but it's as important in the propaganda war for Russians as any of the violent images thst we've seen which have boiled our blood or the compassionate images which melted our hearts.
I agree somewhat, but I think the mass cut-off of Russia, of almost everything, sends a message from the world that the Kremlin can't hide. If they don't get it now, they never will.
I am just watching the BBC news here showing trains full of refugees arriving in Berlin, and the overwhelming generous reception they are getting.
The concourse was full of German host families holding up signs offering accommodation so much so they were outnumbering the refugees.
The sheer humanity and decency of the German people is really heartwarming and quite emotional to witness.
Such a stark contrast to the sheer brutality from the Russians.
You do realise that in a war situation all collabotaters are dealt with. Worth bearing in mind.
Is there anything to protect Moldova from Russian invasion if it becomes part of the EU?
There's no point reaching out to these people at all. Putin controls the narrative and they have a tendency to entrench and back their strong man anyway. We can only hope that those Russians who haven't drunk the Kool-Aid can get the message to the others.
That or it finally dawns on the rest why their lives are now sh1t. Hammer them economically and...er...sportily(?)...as hard as their army is hammering Ukrainian civilians militarily.
Not really no. It's seems to me it's more symbolic than anything, it means they are hitching their wagon to the EU, no ambiguity. Makes it harder for Putin to play his propaganda games down the line. Even if they don't get accepted, it's a smart move considering the current atmosphere.
the western world is about 8 years too late on this, they should have intervened when they invaded Crimea in 2014
They have figured out things before, in 1917 and 1989, takes them a long time, but seems to get through.
Putin has coincided with Russian prosperity, so he's ridden that wave. Now he'll be residing over a declining economy and global pariah, he might find he's not so popular. The more draconian he has to get, the more propaganda he has to spew out, the more obvious it should become to average Russians. We'll see.
They will need to get accepted fast. Or is it a case that if they do get accepted by the EU and Russia invades them, no one in Europe will do nothing to back them or help them out just like the Ukraine. Are they in any better position by joining EU or not?
Reports of a large explosion in Kyiv. No further details yet.
No they already have thousands of russians soldiers based inside Moldova in Transnistria despite repeated calls from Moldova to withdraw , expect Transnistria to rapidly expand its claim to territory and need assistance from Russian peace keepers just like Georgia and eastern Ukraine
I think China are just going to stand aside and let him hang himself. It's beneficial for their regard.
It is also their test ground for what they may see if they invade Taiwan.
I think you're presuming a lot there. The first thing is that the process you describe would leave Ukraine without defence and subject to any future dictates of a power hungry megalomaniac.
The second is whether Putins objective is taking only a part of Ukraine (He has already told the French president that he is going to take the whole country, Moldovas security is looking increasingly shakey and he has threatened Finland and Sweden if they join NATO.
The third whether the Russian people are happy to keep Putin as dictator for life. The last is, does China want anything to do with the current shitefest that is Putin acting out his personal old time Soviet fantasies? All that said I reckon Putin has already signed his own death warrent regardless.
Looking like they’re going to “nationalise” (seize) the leased aircraft btw. Articles appearing on various Russian media about it at the moment. That has a big impact on the leasing companies, many of which are Irish based. You’re talking a large number of billions of assets if you consider the book value of a new Airbus A320 is about €100 million. It will fall on those companies and their insurers though, not the state.
I’m not sure how it will work out as they’ve no parts or maintenance for Airbus, Boeing, any of the engine brands and I assume probably Embraer will be challenging too.
Those aircraft won’t be airworthy within a few months anyway and the consequences of screwing over those leasing companies are going to make it very difficult to rebuild the Russian aviation sector in the medium and even long term.
Even producing their own airliners wouldn’t be that easy as they don’t have the domestic supply chains and rely on parts from elsewhere.
There’s a bit of a fantasy going on that Russia is the Soviet Union, a massive entity that incorporated supply chains from across Eastern Europe and beyond. It simply isn’t that anymore and a lot of domestic Russian companies will be absolutely crippled by these sanctions.
The humanitarian impact of the invasion in Ukraine beyond words, but Putin also probably utterly destroyed the Russian economy and the prospects of a whole generation and for what exactly? War games? Invading a country that will fight them to the bitter end and then overthrow them eventually anyway?
Whole thing is utter madness.
I wonder how putins daughters Mariya Putina, 36 and Katerin Tikhonova ,35 , feel now that they can't hop to Switzerland or monaco for the weekend!
Things are more complex than this, taking Crimea was a different and much safer and more calculated move by Putin. Crimeans supported that in massive numbers to the point that there would have massive bloodshed had the West intervened.
The biggest complaint Crimean's seemed to have was why the bridge connecting it to Russia was taking so long.
Are these two cretins back in Russia?
plenty of niteclubs in Moscow😎
Her timing was perfect in fairness. Without that it wouldn't have been half as fun.
I'd be amazed if they were still in Europe and haven't been spirited back to Russia.
Even just the application to join sends a strong enough message. I don't know what will happen with that application, but I presume if Moscow did become threatening down the line, the EU could fast-track membership and it would allow funds and measures to flow to the country quickly.
That's an air-refueling tanker aircraft. It picks a predetermined point and begins a racetrack flight pattern around that point, staying there for hours at a time. All NATO fighter aircraft that are operating in the general area know of this tankers position so, if they run low of fuel during a Combat Air Patrol, they scoot over to the tanker, grab some fuel then go back on station. You cannot see the fighter aircraft on FR, as they have their transponders off, or switched to a different frequency, but they are there. Hope that answers your query.
Like others Russians they'll now be going to Beijing and Dehli, for as long as the aircraft hold together
Sure both are mulibillionaires they can can go anywhere ,
But will the eu take them if the country suddenly breaks out into civil war
Why are the Russians labelling the Ukrainian Nazis?
What is your personal opinion on it?
China will learn little from this as the sanctions that were imposed on Russia are designed to have minimal effect on our economies. If we did the same to China, pretty much every western business would stop tomorrow. We're far too reliant on them as the pandemic showed.
Europe should really look to transition alot of its core suppliers from China to Eastern Europe over the next decade. It may cost us more but it will benefit the union and have the added benefit of raising the living standards in these countries.
The other version is better.
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://we.vanillicon.com/v2/e050b53be62f0ae2404c620976170938.svg)
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://w8.vanillicon.com/v2/8178309a5a0e69536b91519809ede871.svg)
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://we.vanillicon.com/v2/eaabbaf8a16773590ee22dd6c15f1d68.svg)
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://w9.vanillicon.com/v2/9429a6e87ca90295fb14e1083556c0c3.svg)
