You'd wonder about that car 'accident'
I think it was about control of the population. Russia has a population of 144m and it is declining. It dropped by 1m in 2021.
Putin meeting the same fate in Moscow ( or elsewhere ...) would have the same effect....
Fully agree. I think it might even be worth pursuing a strategy in Europe to lure young educated Russians west. Try to get their best and brightest.
Whatever about getting NATO membership (or some similar defence guarantee from US/NATO allies?), Ukraine likely cannot accept Russia limiting their protection to a promise of Putin and a reduced army (that as you say, Russia can just take another run at in a few years).
They'll need to be able to get the best of weapons off who they like and prepare themselves even better so Putin or any warmongering Russian leaders who follow will know it will be even more painful and difficult trying to attack Ukraine in future.
I expect millions of Ukrainians living in hellish conditions would disagree and accept a half decent peace deal.
So easy to cheer for more war when you're sitting here at your laptop in Ireland.
The UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague has ordered Russia to stop it invasion, saying it had not seen any evidence to support the Kremlin’s justification for the war, that Ukraine was committing genocide against Russian-speakers in the east of the country, Julian Borger writes.
The court ruled by 13 votes to two for a provisional order that “the Russian Federation shall immediately suspend military operations that it commenced on 24 February 2022 in the territory of Ukraine”. Only the Russian and Chinese judges on the court voted against the order.
The order was in response to a Ukrainian appeal to the court on 26 February, asking for a urgent ruling on Russian unsupported claims that Ukrainian forces were committing genocide in Russian-backed enclaves in Luhansk and Donetsk, regions in eastern Ukraine, as a justification for the attack.
Russia did not attend an initial hearing on the case, nor did its lawyers turn up to hear today’s ruling. Instead they sent a letter to the court claiming the ICJ did not have jurisdiction over the case. The court’s president, Joan Donoghue, rejected Russia’s argument, pointing out the frequent occasions that Vladimir Putin and other senior Russian officials had claimed the alleged genocide was the reason for the attack.
The ruling is unlikely to influence Putin’s choices, but it does provide an authoritative refutation of his pretext for starting the war.
Putin is an absolute joke now
Putin's mouth performs the same function as a hippo's tail.
Millions maybe but it could also lead to division. I'd be wary of ceding too much to Russian demands and any attempts by them to divide the Ukrainian nation further. You only have to look at Ireland to see where that could lead. It really will be a tough one for them but easier for the rest of us to say what we think should happen (or would like to happen more accurately). When you're up to your neck in sh1t and someone throws a bucket of sh1t at you. Do you duck?
On the other hand they are the ones most likely to want a different Russia, I'd have thought.
It's been a topic of great discussion in my household.
The upshot is my bird and her mate have decided they cant sit idly by any more.
Even as I speak they are flying out, resplendent in the Ukrainian colours, and looking to help destroy Russian convoys.
I am so proud.
Nato countries are united in backing the alliance’s position that it will not establish a no-fly zone in Ukraine.
"We see destruction, we see human suffering in Ukraine but this can become even worse if Nato took actions that actually turned this into full-fledged war between Nato and Russia." - Stoltenberg
Not at all surprising.
Pity to know many Russians will never see this, but important that it's out there. Fully believe war should never be sanitized.
Nice
I don't believe Russia will ever move towards a true democratic system, it is too corrupt. So it is best that it is weakened by having a reduced population, particularly among the more educated. Putin would really see that as a loss in my opinion. Particularly given that people have a choice and they choose to turn their backs on him.
@Dohnjoe Where are they getting the S-300s from? Presumably the US doesn't have any so it's the likes of Slovakia, Bulgaria etc? Suggests limited quantities.
I don't like the source, so please forgive it. There is an interesting infographic on Russian arms sales. Apparently 28B over 2016-2020. I can't imagine there will be a huge market for this stuff going forward given how it has performed. The fanboys were always saying they keep their best stuff for Russian use, but that seems to have been blown out of the water now (no pun intended).
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/9/infographic-which-countries-buy-the-most-russian-weapons
It's actually terrorism happening on a massive scale right now in 2022. Scum of the earth.
I'd say that he got carried away a bit........😎
Other demands Ukr should have is that Russia should cancel the recent agreement it has with China re , I think mutual military support and the military agreement it haswith other nations eg Belarus. The Ukr should then also agree that it will never attack Russia , directly or non directly. These could be added to what’s currently on the table
The way things are going, I'd say he is having second thoughts about that job......😂
Ehh...worth remembering that the Ukranians are using a lot of the same kit as the Russians.
And hence the reason why Ukraine can never be a NATO member as long as Putin is in power,but that might change in the future
The war must be hugely problematic for journalists working at the state TV channels. Russians and Ukrainians are dying in their thousands and the channels are acting as cheerleaders for the deaths with the non stop lies and propaganda - this must be weighing on the conscience of quite a few people.
That was very moving. All the the kids, very upsetting and the mass grave jesus. Horrible.
We still can't close the sky but that is so horrible.
I am aware of that. But they aren't engaging in tank battles very often and a lot of the success they are having is with drones and various types of anti armor weapons (NLAW, javelin).
I am surprised they have been around in western countries for so long,but Putin knows how to use freedom of journalism and speech against the west,since he loves to keep brainwashing and propaganda in state media in Russia,and kill anyone that criticize him or Russia.
If there is some sort of peace agreement, Zelenskyy will have to make concessions that won't be popular. He is going to have to concede Crimea and Luhansk. Donbass is a mess, basically Northern Ireland.
If he does concede and Russia withdraw, then we have to remember that there are hundreds of thousands of weapons now in the hands of average Ukrainians. It's going to be a very hard state to police.
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