Russia - threadbanned users in OP

Putin / Kadyrov fan / bot club!!!!

Dont know if it's been brought up but there was a article in the examiner yesterday in which Micheal Martin discouraged russians in Ireland from organising any victory rallies on May 9th...comments on FB were supportive enough of the Russians,that they suffered a greater loss than other countries during ww2 and still deserved to honour their history

Expect the Russians to surround theirs with POWs and civilians as human shields.

I'm with the Taoiseach on this one. Any display connected to the Russian military at the moment could only be interpreted as a show of support for the invasion of Ukraine and support for Putin - it's nearly impossible to separate the two.

Those commenters on FB are ignoring the fact that Putin himself will hijack May 9th and totally use it as backing for the war crimes in Ukraine. We already know that they are planning a flypast of planes in Moscow in a 'Z' formation....it's going to be a hideous display of Russian nationalist propaganda.

I generally have no clue about how that works but it was the first thing that comes to mind. How exactly are they maintaining and certifying these fleets at the moment?

Well hopefully whatever numbers they attract will be vastly inferior to a counter rally in support of Ukraine.

It might also be nice if someone had figured out how to arrest people for displaying pro-Russian war symbology too but I don't think there's anything in our laws which would support that.

Although at the same time maybe it's also a nice illustration of the difference between Western and Russian legal and justice systems; something which will no doubt fly right over the heads of the pro-Russian attendees.

I think the answer is that they aren't really maintaining or certifying these fleets. Not a commercial aviation guy either but I've seen a few discussions on the topic. Even if sanctions and/or government directives hadn't closed airspace to Russian fleets it's very likely the relevant aviation authorities would have done so purely on the basis of aircraft safety.

So what about Russian Nationalism? Or British Nationalism or Irish Nationalism?

Nationalism is a corrosive force. If Ukraine is prevailing in terms of spirit, it's because of patriotism. Quite different thing.

Germany has destroyed its reputation in Eastern Europe. Try to convince an eastern European now that Germany values their lives, their right to exist, to freedom, to be democratic States.

Where would you even start and there is no one that would believe it.

This will affect politics in Europe for many years to come. A hostile empire to the East and it's ally to their West.

They are worried, determined but worried and they should be.

Tempers will fray, that's for sure.

I don't think folk who are totally infuriated and angry are going to be too bothered about laws. There will be plenty willing to do a small stretch in the cells for having a go at some prick waving a "z" flag whilst scenes of butchered children are still on our televisions and news.

And I think it will be a lot worse than just black eyes and fisticuffs.

So basically….

”Nationalism, the cause and solution to all life’s problems”

I'm sure I read a Twitter thread recently saying these internal Russian air flights are taking place illegally under international law. They don't have the certification or clearance to fly commercial flights (as the planes are now at risk of crashing). It might explain why Moscow Airport is empty, even the locals know the things are potential death traps.