Russia - threadbanned users in OP

Meanwhile..

No way could the response of this invasion by NATO be compared with what the response would be if Ireland was attacked.

I think that no matter how hard we try to bolster our defense we are too small for it to make a difference. We aren’t Ukraine and never will be. We are deeply part of the West, English speaking , UK is a stones throw away. It would never even be let get to a point of a troop build up around us. Not a chance.

That said, I was naive before and since this I am less naive and for that reason I would now agree with an increased budget towards an EU army.

Its a pity though, I sort of live and hope that the likes of Putin is the last of his breed in this chapter of humanity. In fact I genuinely didn’t think he was capable of this.

This is a romanticised view.

Without direct foreign intervention or a peace deal, Ukraine will eventually fall. A few old donated Russian airplanes and Stinger missiles isn't going to be enough to hold back the Russians forever. Russia is a ruthless opponent who can take an enormous toll in terms of causalities and materiel lost. Also, this is a matter of survival for Putin, and no price is too small to pay to achieve victory, he will not care. At some point someone in Ukraine is going to look at the scale of the life that's been lost and the damage that's inflicted and sue for peace. They will undoubtedly get the **** end of the stick, but who exactly is going to step in to ensure Ukraine get a fair deal?

An EU army sounds like the red tape to go to war would take years to get through

The world is waiting for the Russians to run out of missiles, and hoping Ukraine is still standing. That president zelensky can have a Independence Day type of victory. Life is not the movies though, but hopefully he can inspire his people to a good fight like the movies

We owe so much to social media and the creation of the woke generation.

Reality is though technically as it stands right now a rogue nation with nuclear weapons could bomb the shite out of us right now and NATO countries could only stand and watch. That is the Russian doctrine. And supplying weapons to us through a back door would be even more difficult by sea. And after the events of the last week and the comments of the Russian ambassador etc we are very much considered an enemy of Russia as much as any other European country. He actually said we are at the forefront of vociferous opposition to this invasion.

I remember in my school days whenever I got in a schoolyard scrap with another student one of the first things you quickly realize is that you are on your own.

According to news reports this morning

The Russian military will hold fire and open humanitarian corridors in several Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv and Mariupol, at 10am Moscow time (7am UK) today, according to reports.

The corridors, which will also be opened from the cities of Kharkiv and Sumy, are being set up at the personal request of French President Emmanuel Macron, the Interfax news agency cited Russia's defence ministry as saying.

The ministry added that those who leave Kyiv will then be airlifted to Russia and that drones will be used to monitor the evacuation.

Going by past performance the Russians certainly  cannot be trusted to hold to promises regarding ceasefire and evacuation.  But perhaps even more worryingly, the Russians are claiming that those fleeing will be airlifted to Russia. 

Report from the Kyiv Independent on Russian attacks around Irpin Close to the Capital Kyiv

According to Putins latest dictate Russia will stop the war special military operation only if Ukraine surrenders and that Russia is ready to negotiate after “all known Russian demands are met"

So that means there will be no negotiation at all then?

Likewise. A month ago I would have been clearly on the "No EU Army" Side of the fence. Now I'm firmly on that fence in that regard but not convinced, yet. What I am convinced of is that we need to seriously increase our defense spending. It's not fair to expect the US and UK to pick up the slack just because we want to maintain an image. Time to get real and Russia is a big wake up call. Lot's of Polish "I told ya so's" coming at us let's not make the mistake of ignoring them.