Context - a reviewer gives his take on the nuclear question- part of a review series for 'The day after'
I have been sparring with a few people on and off - specifically on the question of Military action during this conflict
this reviewer says it all, and he says it better than i can
FYI
IMHO
Comment and debate welcome but in all honesty - please. Before you call anyone else a coward, or an appeaser - watch
But what do you think? Nobody launches a war just for the crack or to satisfy their ego. Wars of aggression are launched with a specific goal in mind be it monetary or strategic which is usually a springboard to monetary advantage anyway
Could it just be imperialism? Putin saw western division and weakness and consequently an opportunity to bring Ukraine forcefully back into its sphere of influence.
The problem now is that when they do take the country (and sadly, it's highly likely they will), there is no possible viable exit.
Even so, they've managed to commit a laundry list of war crimes - attacked civilian housing, attacked hospitals, fired at fleeing civilians, shelled a frigging nuclear power plant, made themselves an international pariah state, cut themselves off from the global markets and supply chains, destroyed their economy for at least a generation and seem to have caused the collapse their own currency, destroyed their neighbour's economy and infrastructure which impacts their own food supply, have suffered enormous military loses of people and equipment and all for what exactly? A war they can't win to take over a country that will now hate them for a hundred years...
Then in terms of his international strategy - They've unified NATO and solved all of the EU's internal squabbles overnight by uniting it against them and possibly set it on a path to being a significant military power...and remilitarised Germany!
There is no strategy to this - just a dictator with notions.
Most analysts believe that Putin thought he could take Ukraine in 48 hours flat and Zelensky would flee the country. Presumably this would have bolstered him in Russia and he could present himself as the victorious strong man.
Remind me who's missles are currently blowing up Russian tanks, helicopters and aircraft...
The only one hiding in putin locked away in a bunker somewhere ,
a true coward
So what is the endgame here?
Why exactly did Russia invade The Ukraine? and what do they expect to accomplish from this move?
To say the Russians are monsters who want to take over the world or that Putin is a nut isn't really a cogent answer. What if they aren't monsters or if he's not insane? There is that possibility. So what could be the purpose of this action?
"The impeachment of Yanukovych was unconstitutional."
Who cares? Winners are not judged and history is written by Victors.
IF we will still have a history after this pointless war...
"14 Signs of Fascism:"
Half of them still have a strong reflection in modern "democratic" systems - populism just as the best example...
So when is NATO going to save the innocent people of Ukraine? Cowards, they use these people as pawns to get at big bad Russia then go hiding when the **** hits the fan.
But it has to be said also that Daily Mail readers have abandoned the pretence of being opposed to only "illegal" migration and are now saying Britain is 'full' and there is no room for refugees from anywhere (it took a war in Europe for them to finally admit they are flatly opposed to refugees and asylum seekers, full stop).
Lol .
Sorry. The impeachment of Yanukovych was unconstitutional. 75% of the parliament needed to vote and this was not reached. His residence was seized by armed people no wonder he fled to Russia. His motorcade was fired on also but luckily he left via Helicopter.
Then you have the now top U.S diplomat Victoria Nuland saying and I quote "**** the E.U".
I also reckon that Z thing is something else too - a bit darker
Its can be used inside Russia to distinguish Friend from Foe
Thats why every day its popping up all over the country - its a way of saying you are ON SIDE with Putin. With HIS Russia
If you DONT have Z displayed prominently - the regime knows you are not on side.
Its Appalling - sickening stuff. in the 21st century
Remember they have a fairly big issue with illegals arriving by boat, the moment the UK say they are taking in thousands of Ukrainans you can guarantee that the camps in calis will become Ukrainian over night,we will even see it people arriving from outside of Europe and claiming to be fleeing ukraine
I notice that the Tory government is doing things that it thinks will play well with Conservative voters i.e. sending money, arms and humanitarian aid to Ukraine but totally avoiding the one thing that is likely to anger them : accepting in large numbers of refugees.
Most NATO countries with the resources to do so and some non-NATO countries have been sending advanced military equipment and the EU members are warmly welcoming potentially tens of millions of people who need asylum. It's very much been a team effort.
I am not saying England or the UK is unfriendly. I am just horrified (and I think a lot of British people are too) at the core of the Tory party's approach to most of the non-military aspects of this, including peppering sanctions with plenty of loopholes / timing delays. They've tightened under pressure from the EU having moved very deep very fast on those.
Things like dealing with financial through flow and money laundry issues around oligarchs moving cash needs to be acted upon very quickly. Replacing Russian gas in particular in some of the continental countries that use it extensively really is not as easy a task. If they just stop using it immediately, they risk the lights going off and that leaves another major security issue.
I'm glad to see she and the kids are OK and that they got here safely.
In fairness to London they have really stood up and helped Ukraine with aid and advanced military equipment. More than the rest of Western Europe.
England and Poland have been the stand out helpers of the Ukraine so far.
I'm mentioning Patel in reference to the refugee issues more so. She's been wrapping herself in the Ukrainian flag and saying all sorts of nice words and then locking them out of the country because she just has an anti-immigration fixation and is ultimately coming from a political base that like a bit of jingoism and xenophobia.
Johnson's quite capable of attempting to be a bad caricature of Winston Churchill. He's great at the waffle - all talk, no trousers (half the time he can't seem to even get his belt on!)
The Ukrainians need help, action and practical support - not a bunch of 'witty' waffle which, unfortunately, is all that Johnson generally has to offer.
One country's represented by a former comedian who's turned into a genuinely iconic leader and embodies all of the qualities of a wartime president. The other country is, unfortunately, led by a clown.
Such a lovely family. Hopefully they all can rebuild their lives.
It's not just Priti Patel, though I find her particularly odious. Pretty much the entire British parliament seem like soulless pencil pushers in comparison to a leader who is not only involved in a war but is right in the middle of it, nearly. Just pale men in suits speaking words of no substance or conviction.
Right.
That whole 'Z' thing is a bit weird and disturbing. The letter doesn't exist in the Cyrillic alphabet so it's just an abstract symbol being borrowed in to represent something. It looks much like the kind of symbolism you'd see around cults and weird political movements and I'm sure there's someone designing it to be so.
There's an outside chance it might be a deliberate attempt to sow confusion and conflicting priorities in the Russian command. One day there is no aerial threat, then there may be Migs in the sky within hours, then its off again, but now they're definitely coming! Given their (Russian) logistics are falling so badly short, it must be frustrating on their side, do they prioritise moving air defences up along the column, or use the available fuel to get the tanks moving again. Every day it must seem like it's Plan A, then Plan B, then back to Plan A, but we also need Plan C and D.
Sorry if it has been posted already.
https://youtu.be/fzLtF_PxbYw
Yes, the current incarnation of Putin seems far more like a totalitarian despot in the style of Kim Jong Un. I wouldn't compare him to the likes of Khrushchev and Brezhnev at all.
I think the Z the Russians are wearing on their chest is in anticipation of them becoming Zimbabwe
He's an excellent communicator. I've never seen anyone quite that good. Those quotes were picked appeal to Tories and sense of British pride / English nationalism and the wartime spirit (Churchill). It puts the likes of Patel into a very, very stark light and undermines a lot of Tory hypocrisy.
He's also demolished Russian propaganda in the West in a matter of days and become basically an international folk hero.
He speaks from the heart, with intellect and with great purpose and choses his words extremely well. The guy's going to be a legend and I hope a living one!
Ed Nashes Military analysis - he calls it brief but i found it decent, and deep - Ed is a decent military and aviation source - he is worth listening to imho
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