Russia - threadbanned users in OP

I don't know just reminds me if some poor fecker shot say out in no man's land and the enemy clearly know he's injured and more then likely out of the war maybe forever or for set amount of time and he is crawling away and they still take pot shots at him intending to kill him. But yeah your right Russia aren't upholding the Geneva convention but just something about the video left a nasty taste in my mouth (one of the first I mean in regards what Ukraine has released that has in regards to combat videos against the Russians), (Russian atrocities horrendous) in regards what was done and what in the future drones will do on a much greater scale, I just think something in regards to rules has to be put in place for them in situations like happened in the video.

But they weren't all injured so they were all a direct threat - the crux of the convention protection is those not taking part in hostilities, there is a thin line there but I would rather err on the side of caution (the guy was still armed was he not?)

Pretty sobering article below. Just like the build up before the end of the Winter Olympics it seems its only a matter of time before we get a "War" declaration from Putin (most likely on Victory Day, May 9th) followed by absolute atrocities in Ukraine by the Russians, massive western response then nukes from the Russians.

I just cannot see any other end game at this point, Russia/Putin only knows how to act like the strongman/bully and when they don't get their way any restraints are off.

If "War" is declared on May 9th, I'll be hugging my children tight 😥

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Much of what you say is true. I said similar earlier on this forum. But the more immediate concern is that Russia is engaging in war crimes and that needs to be dealt with. They are in the wrong. No amount of geopolitics or history can justify what they are doing.

were they not RU drones. And while you are at it you might also mention the pilot/ missed operator that attacked the building marked children in Mariupol, for example

Tbf, there is currently no intelligence being put out there to state that (I believe in that interview quoted he stated that this was his own opinion).

I think if they were prepping for all out war with Ukraine, the West would be shouting it from the rooftops

The fundamental issue for Russia is western (really United States) encroachment on to it's borders through NATO expansion.

The United States military is now effectively only a few hundred kilometers from Moscow.

Think about that from the Russian perspective and it's easier to understand why they feel they need to push those boundaries back.

In the Cuban missile crisis the US correctly were not going to tolerate a Russian base on their doorstep and didn't. There was no if/buts/maybes.

Yet Russia should accept an even more dangerous (as they see it) position for themselves where they feel they are getting encircled?

It's actually mind boggling how it got this far.

I think the west needs to accept a neutral buffer of countries between it and Russia or things will stay very dangerous and tense.

aww man, that gave me a good laugh :-D :-D

you looking forward to the 9th May parade? gonna be as extravagant as a Paddy's Day lockdown parade

But taking that perspective implies that the West should respect Russia. Other than gas and oil I'm not sure that Russia has anything to offer the West. I mean have you ever seen a Russian restaurant on your travels outside Russia, have you ever bought a manufactured item labelled, Made in Russia'. The West's only respect for Russia comes from their have nuclear weapons. I think we in the West are quite comfortable with a new Cold War II wall being built, enclosing Russia where they get on with being Russian and the rest of the world carries on in a globalised environment.

NATO is a voluntary defense alliance that was formed based on Soviet aggression. Anyone who joins has to opt in, as a sovereign nation, it's not like the US is brute-forcing applications.

NATO would never, and has never articulated the faintest wish to, attack Russia. Putin knows this. The whole affair was a smokescreen to attack, conquer and integrate Ukraine to sate Putin's empire lust which has failed miserably.

Now Russia is clinging to it desperately and pathetically. There are Nazis in Kiyv, then Nazi's were widespread across Ukraine, and now finally the entire world is overun with Nazi's who have assembled to destroy Russia.

There is no, and I mean absolutely zero, credible view that starts with "Well you have to see it from Russia's point of view"

They have every right in the world not to want NATO on their borders. They do not have the right to invade, ethnically cleanse, brutalise their soverign neighbor Ukraine for choosing that path.

Putin has scored a massive own goal here. He's brought NATO closer to his borders than ever before, set the Russian military back decades probably, and showcased, to the world, how pathetically feeble and medieval the Russian military actually is.

NATO, and the US, cannot actually believe what they are seeing. Russia is performing about 10 rungs below their worst case estimations in conventional warfare.

Comparing it to the Cuban Missle Crisis 50 years ago is senseless and irrelevant whataboutery. It's not 1962, it's 2022.

The past is an entirely different beast, literally and contextually, and to pretend it's a direct equivalence is wrong.

so Ukraine gift themselves to Russia?

And what about these buffer countries, why they should accept constant threat from both sides? They have a right for safety and joining any bigger group guaranteeing it. Why only Russia should have this comfort? Because is big?