Russia - threadbanned users in OP

Who exactly do you think you are with your "attempts to educate people". You're nothing but a nobody on an anonymous forum. As for being "incapable of learning" then I suggest you apply that phrase to yourself as you've convinced yourself that events of over 30 years ago have influenced Putin being the madman he is today. Totally delusional.

It doesn't matter who supports Putin and who doesn't, but it is only a minority as you've agreed above. The bottom line is that PUTIN ordered the war. PUTIN directs operations. And PUTIN makes all the decisions. So about 140 million ordinary Russian people have absolutely no say in this whatsoever. And if they raise their heads above the parapet to complain then they and their families will also suffer indignities.

I agree that power corrupts. Where have I said that it doesn't???

You said that events from over 30 years ago made Putin the madman he is today. I disagreed.

Power may corrupt but it doesn't make you any more insane in the head than any other event that happens in your life.

You're really full of yourself with the insults. You're "attempting to educate me". I'm "incapable of learning", and you regard me as "a person of lesser intellect".

Some would likely report you for that, and get you a short holiday. I'm happy to just let you keep embarrassing yourself in front of lesser intellects on here.

You sure talk a load of gobbledygook.

History hasn't made Putin mad, as you claim. If history did that to folk, then with mine I'd be mad, as likely would everyone else on here.

You've got into this discussion with me simply because of my disagreeing with your assertion that events of over 30 years ago made Putin the madman he is today. A wholly ridiculous statement. And no amount of your pseudo-intellectual babble will convince folk otherwise.

Don't bother replying as I've no wish to converse with you further. You're probably too busy anyway as a person with such a high intellect as yourself no doubt has university lectures to give, and articles to compile for books of enlightenment for future generations. Zzzzzzzzzzz

So the invasion is all the fault of the West. Another Western basher.

You'll make a lot of friends on here. Not.

Embarrassing as a fellow Kilkenny man. What a clown

I can't believe that I'm saying this, but I will be bitterly disappointed if this conflict fizzles out by Russians blowing the bridges in the East, holding Donbas and the land bridges and declaring victory.

I know thousands have died and millions of people have been uprooted, but somehow I feel that NATO have missed an opportunity to cripple Russia once and for all, by calling her bluff on the WMD's.

I feel that Russia will back off soon, demand a concession from Zelensky, strangle Ukraine's economy through controlling her ports and still overshadow the country through the threat of random airstrikes in Kiev and elsewhere. In other words, Europe with a madman on her doorstep that knows he got away with the seemingly impossible.

It's also a dangerous time, for Russia at least, because the Baltics are itching for a fight, more than the rest of us, and they too will be bitterly disappointed with the loss of an opportunity. From now on is the time when " mistakes" are likely to happen to try to drag NATO into doing what I feel they should have done earlier in the conflict.

Not surprised in fairness. Hard enough to hold any type of event in the park, let alone this type of crap.

Any of the gobshítes trying to "organise" or attend a bootleg version of this rubbish needs to be fined to high hell.

I agree; but as recently as today Zelenskyy's language doesn't indicate they're looking for anything other than a complete military defeat of Russia inside Ukraine.

I suppose it really depends on how things develop over the coming weeks: if the NATO artillery and additional armoured vehicles can't be translated into any kind of forward momentum to retake areas of Ukraine then I imagine a ceasefire becomes more and more likely. They're already retaking some towns and villages in Kharkiv now though.

Also it's not beyond the realms of possibility that Russia continue to eke out incremental gains particularly around Izyum and northern Donetsk. In addition the troops who left Mariupol recently might pose more problems for Ukraine wherever they might be repositioned after refitting.

Want to know everything, and I do mean everything, about RT goon, ex-Carlow man Brian ( Bryan) McDonald?

Here's some of the best investigative journalism I've seen in a long time. And this was 2014.....

The piece also gives a fascinating insight into the murkier corners of the socio-political landscape.

Well worth a read.

https://www.interpretermag.com/life-of-bryan-how-an-rt-columnist-tries-to-influence-the-debate-on-russia-and-ukraine/

Ha! I've just discovered the same thing! It's a great piece of journalism.

Speaking of the Baltic and escalation:

"Finland's Defense Ministry says Russian helicopter violated their country's airspace

According to the ministry, the Mi-17 helicopter flew from 4 to 4.5 km in the districts of Kesyalahti and Parikkala in eastern Finland.

Yesterday, May 3, media reported that German fighter jets intercepted a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft (pictured) after it crossed international airspace"

I lived in Russia for several years, first visit in 1995 for a year, then back again in 2000 to 2003. You have to think about Russian Society back then, Communism on the way out...the only system people knew, and they were facing the unknown. Capitalism and Democracy were thought of as been from the decadent enemy west, and not to be trusted. And no one understood them anyway. I remember in the 90's when I first went there, the air of mistrust of not only foreigners ( although they attracted more attention) but of everyone, and this was considered normal. Babushkas would sit at their little desks on each hotel floor corridor, painstakingly writing down the details of who arrived and when they left. Sitting down in a restaurant having a meal, could be interrupted anytime by dark suited gentlemen, demanding your documents. They never said what or why they were doing this, or showed any identification. People were so conditioned to the Communist system, no one ever questioned them. So you had a society which was ready made, you could even say "tailor made" for Putin. Just like when you squeeze a tube of toothpaste, because the opening is round, so is the toothpaste as it comes out. If the opening was triangular or square, that's the way the tooth paste would be configured. And it was Putin who shaped Russian Society. Once he demolished the power of the Oligarchs, starting with Khodorkovsky, he established that there was one supreme boss, and it was him. And so he molded Russian society as he wished, to his benefit. Any divergence or opposition was ruthlessly put down, and we have seen countless recent examples of this. So at what point will Russians decide that they have had enough, and decide to rebel ? or will it ever happen?? They have not reached boiling point yet. One thing has not changed anyway, as far as I can see.....under the Communists, it was a police state...its still the same.

8 enlistment centres have been torched so far in Moscow.