My view is the majority of people in Russia are not in favour of a war with Ukraine. The 70 percent figure is ridiculous. If I was a Russian person asked in a survey by someone unknown to me in Russia about whether I support something that the current dictator has done...I would likely say yes (even if I didn't believe it) and I dare say a significant percentage of the people asked would do the same. Just look at what he does to anyone who is perceived to be against him.
Also quit with the insults zero need for them.
Meanwhile in other parts of the world, could we be looking at a potential second invasion of a country in 2022?
If China were to ever invade Taiwan, it would be smart of them to wait until the voice of international condemnation is hoarse and then move in. I don't think China can really be sanctioned. They make all our stuff.
Where is the iffy face gone to
Where is the puffy face gone to !!!!!!!! ?
Russia pulling out of the CoE it seems.
From another source I see the Foreign Minister stated:-
"Russia will not participate in the transformation by NATO and the EU obediently following them of the oldest European organization into another platform for incantations about Western superiority and narcissism"
There is no priest as bad as a Socialist priest
Russian art doesn't express any kind of jingoism or militarism that I'm aware of.
Tolstoy became a pacifist after his experiences in the Crimean war as an artillery officer.
With Zelensky no longer seeking NATO membership, a compromise peace may not be far off.
You are trying to derail the thread with Kremlin bot nonsense and off topic fantasy.
Probably your job.
Unlikely to be honest.
Ukraine and Russia are too far apart in the negotiations
I think that it was a bit of kite flying by the minister / to be seen to be doing something/ to remain relevant . Anybody with a basic grasp of Irish agriculture would know fairly fast that the idea is a non runner . Some of the more informed boardies here have stated why it’s not on . It was a totally different set of circumstances during the Second World War when , from what I understand , every farmer was , by emergency law ‘obliged to grow a certain acreage of a grain crop . International trading was not as developed then as it is now . So we play to our strengths export our surplus, earn foreign exchange and use it to import what we want . Ukraine is not the only country that produces the type of grain we need . What the minister should be doing, along with I’ll other relevant ministers - probably them all- is to set up is to set up a committee on the basis of a wartime footing and if an emergency exists and go from there
This committee - could be cross party- should look at every aspect of the economy/ government business and how this war may impact on it but ESPECIALLY indicate the kind of things we can do for ourselves
Bloody sure they can be sanctioned. They can be cut off in the exact same way Russia were if needs be. And hopefully they understand that now. Sadly I expect they will choose not to.
F-16 flight WEASEL11 over Romania within radar range of Odessa at the moment. For those of you with military background or interest, the term Wild Weasel will be significant, especially during Vietnam and both Gulf Wars. This f-16's are normally on SEAD mission or Suppression of Enemy Air Defences. They lock on to the emissions from enemy radar and map each position. Even if the radar is switched off, it remembers its position. The aircraft are armed with HARM missiles or anti-radiation missiles. These Weasel flights are always first over the border in any conflict to clear a path ahead for ground attack aircraft.
They were suspended on the 25 February anyway by the CoE, so not exactly a shock.
Especially as Ukraine are pushing for EU membership. Putin appears not prepared to accept any closer alignment with EU.
It's all about making it seem to be their idea. Imagine a player being sent off by a referee and saying, "Ah sure I was going anyway!". In some crazy upside down warped sense of the universe these people are happy with the gifts bestowed upon them by the West. 🙃
Should this lady and family be on flight ban also and who owns the accommodation she is staying at - one of the oligarks????
True, though that means they need us to buy all their stuff too. Their economy is based on that and narrow margins and they're looking down the barrel of both a demographic problem and the largset asset bubble in history. If they go nuts into Taiwan there's an element of mutually assured economic destruction. Even there, yes the west would suffer, but China would suffer more, as western corporations are very good at rapidly pivoting to cheaper manufacturing markets which was a huge part of what made China the powerhouse it is in the first place. Plus I suspect the Chinese will simply take the longer view. Russia tends to be reactive and kneejerk, the Chinese more measured and given a choice between the money taps flowing and nationalist ideology they'll go for the former.
Why are these not being shot at// cocktailed
They can be sanctioned but the consequences would be such that it would be untenable. If Russia being sanctioned causes us problems despite what relatively little they provide, what would sanctioning China do where they make so much of what we use on all daily basis and they put on retaliatory sanctions? People could survive the hit on their standard of living, but I don't think they'd stand for it at all.
Russia is a small economy and supplies little, what it does supply tends to be very essential and it tends to be a significant player.
Ie oil, food, Fertilizer, minerals etc.
China cannot be sanctioned similarly to Russia, its simply not possible due to how reliant the rest of the world is on what they produce. Russia only produce a small percentage of the worlds required oil and gas whereas China produce a huge percentage of the worlds technology as well as fabricating vast amounts of basic day to day appliances and items.
The world is also moving away from oil and gas we arent moving away from using computers.
What is interesting to note is that apparently their social media is dominated by Russian propaganda and state media are regurgitating Kemlin talking points.
Neil Ring on Newstalk just now talking about a proposal in the councils to rename Orwell Road to Independent Ukraine Road as a show of solidarity.
I'm all for trying to help and showing support, but this is just ridiculous tokenism that is another symptom of our superficial, kneejerk , social media led society.
All it'll do is increase tensions with the Russians locally and the people who are being attacked and killed in Ukraine certainly won't give a toss or ever hear about it, so what is this for? De feelz and likes on social media?
Have we really become this infantalised as a country?
You can be certain that China gave a blessing to this invasion long ago.
Everything is possible. We are seeing that right now. It is not as if the world does not have ample warning of what China plans to do as regards Taiwan. It should be currently making and implementing plans to remove dependence on China for anything and everything, because there will very likely come a time in the not that distant future where China has to be treated as a global pariah. There's no point deluding ourselves about that.
I'm assuming that they're just passing the locations along to the Ukrainians
Meeting currently underway between FM's of Russia and Ukraine in Turkey..
https://twitter.com/Liveuamap/status/1501837878619525121?s=20&t=jKrH4Ldv_Y0XN_zcCgxeig
Possible. However the Ukrainian and Russian systems share the same radar signatures.
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