Off the top of my head I believe Kaliningrad is a significant industrial centre for things like ore processing, ship-building, metal forging and so on; all things which are presumably likely to ramp up during wartime. It's my understanding that FIRMS also picks up many industrial and agricultural processes as potential anomalies so I guess that might explain it.
I'd go so far as to say that the majority of Russians are against this war in one way or another. Or they are, at least, completely bewildered by it. They gain absolutely nothing from it and lose a hell of a lot...and all on the whim of the reckless actions of a few people in the top echelon of the Kremlin.
The problem is is that they have no way of articulating any kind of protest against Putin's war. People are already getting their collars felt if they say anything against it and no doubt there's a cohort of the brainwashed faithful that are only itching to shop their neighbours if they speak out of turn.
If the average Ivan or Katya had the chance on turning back the clock and erasing this useless conflict altogether, I'd bet that they would in a heartbeat. They're watching their country go down the toilet because of some barney that has no discernable reason for being.
A few years back in London there was marchers with Stalin banners on a demonstration. I think it had many Turkish communist party members taking part, who certainly wouldn't dare to do this in Turkey under Erdogan's rule.
If someone was actually carrying Hitler banners they would have been arrested immediately.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/john-mcdonnell-didn-t-know-may-day-protesters-were-flying-communist-and-syrian-flags-behind-him-a3531446.html#comments-area
I think the really interesting bit will be how they respond in such a scenario though.
Just because Article 5 is triggered it does not mean NATO suddenly ride into Ukraine all guns blazing: my money would be surgical strikes against any units on NATO territory.
And if it's a missile or other ranged strike I would expect them to use stand-off attacks against the specific unit and/or command structure that would have been involved in the actual attack; and that would be that.
Heartwarming to see that your average joe such as labourers and farmers are all willing to do their bit for mother Ukraine...
My feeling too. But after the financial crash or 1929 , the 1930's happened. After 07/08 here we are. On the cusp of WWIII
Believe it or not, he was Azerbaijani😊
My entirely uneducated guess is that Russia has had to divert their longer range weapons systems to Belarus/Ukraine so they've been forced to conduct more "standard" bombing runs in Syria.
It was quite bizarre and somewhat disturbing but it just goes to show how amateurish the Russian PR regime is. A stadium event with rock music and borrowing from Trump rallies yet Sergei Lavrov was making the case for it's all the fault of the USA today.
I wouldn't dwell that much in the past.
There won't be Nuclear war not a single chance of it. But its time NATO stepped up as an organisation and defend a country especially whos hospitals are getting bombed where sick children are located and weren't the instigator of the war. How on earth can we stand by and see poor innocent children been harmed. It would give you nightmares. Can you live happily afterwards seeing all the children getting killed wrecklessly and Intentionally by the Russians? I can't.
It was a pity some Hitman wasn't present in the football stadium today and sniper Putin. All we need is one bullet to his brain.
I would describe it as a Trump rally on steroids though and borrowing more from Nuremberg. People waving Z flags and the presenters and guest acts wearing it on their lapels, slogans on the big screens about the Donbass and defeating "Nazism", Russian flags everywhere......a hyper nationalist event.
The Romans didn't. The Norse didn't. The Normans didn't. The Germans didn't (although it's arguable that they never had any real intention on invading England either).
Ireland has never been a stepping stone to Britain.
Was thinking that about Putin myself. Then I though he probably had bullet proof glass around him
You missed the best part about that helicopter... it was already shot down in Ukraine:
The amount of Irish people in the comments crying about "what about Irish hospital waiting times" or "what about ambulance coverage" is honestly infuriating.
Because anti-aircraft systems are complex. You don't just turn them on and away they go; they need to be transported by trained logistics crews, setup and maintained by trained engineering crews, and then operated by trained air defence crews.
That single Sky Sabre system for example requires over 100 personnel to travel with and operate it; that would mean NATO/EU/whoever personnel on the ground in Ukraine operating an air-defence system which is a #1 priority target for Russian forces.
That's why you've heard talk about Soviet-era anti-air systems for Ukraine; because they're the ones that Ukraine is trained and equipped to operate themselves.
I'm not talking about nuclear war. I'm talking about the rise of ultra nationalism and conflict. Proxy wars and the general rise or extremism in Europe
You must be a Russian to say such things!
Yeah, Poles are bitter because they were defeated fighting over Russia, Ukraine and Belarus? What about Russians invasions and occupations of Poland few times in the meantime.
It's like accusing Ireland to be bitter towards Britain because of Irish imperialistic needs, not because Ireland become independent from UK after WWI. (Poland unfortunately lost this freedom from Russia after WWII) Is Poland showing any imperialistic needs towards Russia or Ireland towards UK?
Projects your own imperialistic needs on someone else...
I think the ordinary voters across the EU and US will have to ensure that the isolation is brought to bear on Russia. Politicians will naturally cede to Russian normalisation over time but if that happens with no reform or corrections for Russia's actions then it's incumbent on Western society and the voters within, to demand from politicians that we not forget what happened.
This Wall Street Journal article is an account of how the town of Voznesensk defeated the invading Russian force.
Yes, the reason we're not hearing about Russian opposition to the war that it is simply too risky for them to speak out. People are apparently fearful of giving even an interview in the street about the war (even to Russian based media) for fear of the knock coming on the door the following morning.
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It's a ruse - anyone who sells will be identified as not having got Putin's message about 'traitors and scum' and will spend the rest of their days in a Siberian Gulag.
And then the Russian Ruple will crash down more.
Did it have young girls with their hair in plaits - a propaganda staple used by Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Greta?
Did a blast of air from an explosion catch his hat and rip his head clean off?
Ah, he will have to reduce the price of his services to the Assad regime so.....☺️
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