Russia - threadbanned users in OP

I'm completely ignorant about it, but isn't that easy to make? other countries can begin production or increase production quite easily I'd have thought?

Could be very counter-productive for them. Their state TV propaganda machine is telling them about a minor military operation "to protect the Donbass" and with no Ukrainian civilian casualties and yet they've just shut down the two biggest social media networks. I'd say a fair few people in Russia must be beginning to smell a rat and wondering if things are a lot more serious than they are being told.

"Isn't getting invaded by a hostile country the exact kind of thing that would make a country think, "Hey maybe we should be part of a defensive alliance which would ensure that'll never happen again!"?"

Yes. If all were equal it would be in the Ukrainian peoples interest to move closer to the west and eventually join the EU. After all, Russia offers nothing except militarism. That would be no problem if it sat in a different geo-political reality or geographic position.

But the reality is that it sits in a position where a nuclear power with huge conventional forces and complex cultural and historical connections has for decades asserted that it joining Nato would be a red line - however "bullying" that may be. And in this circumstance the wiser approach would have been to thread and navigate a neutral path for the mutual benefit of everyone. Ukraine cant and wont join Nato now and the government that pursued it will either flee or enter negotiations that will treaty it.

The cost benefit analysis of taking a neutral line would have been the more logical policy to pursue for Ukraine. Pursuing the alternative is now a futile war of destruction.

Who they gonna sell it to?

Not Lovin' each day...it could be my last...don't need you right here next to me.

We had a fetiliser industry in Ireland. We shut down. Ditto peat and sugar production…I’m sure you can gather where this is going.

Eco eye on rte recently had a programme about the huge increase on the price of fertilizer.

Not in farming, but they said planting mixed grasses can help absorb nitrogen into the soil.

Thus reducing the reliance.

It sounded like the future?

Do you question why our governments is "cancelling" Russia, including media? No? Then why do you assume your Russian counterpart is any different?

People generally believe whatever the TV tells them. If you go outside that, you'll be attacked - in Russia and here.

Don't forget though that the vast majority of people don't use social media to "read the news" but instead to interact with each other. There is a big difference between the EU blocking Russian news media websites like RT and Sputnik (who would only even be read by a tiny number of Putin fans) and Russia shutting down huge social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

It’s a puzzling one. I suppose it’s an absolutely huge country, and their Mig 29s can take off from a decent stretch of road. I have wondered whether Ukrainian aircraft can use the airspace of surrounding countries to duck in and back out. Maybe they are rarely flying at all. For the Russians, it may be that their intelligence isn’t up to snuff so it’s very hard to pinpoint worthwhile targets in advance. Then you have the surface to air missiles making life very hard for attack helicopters.

most of our and the world's potash comes from belarus and russia.

belarus weren't supposed to be exporting it in recent times because of the sanctions in the last year or so, but they had done a deal with lithuania where it was basically being sneaked out of the country.

there's a massive crisis currently for all farmers eu-wide re fertiliser shortages. even the us farmers are starting to have difficulties

that's inevitably going to translate into food production declines later this year