Russia - threadbanned users in OP

@mcsean2163 .

So basically ukraine looses the east of the country and Crimea and they can never join Nato .

What kind of deal is that ?

Putin wins

I guess that the oil / gas business is not as profitable as it once was, plus fall in employment levels plus inflation? While Putin himself is not hurting, you can be sure that the majority of Russians themselves are.

@mcsean

It is 100 seconds to midnight by reckoning of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists and that is certainly the closest the clock has been set, as far as I know. However, that's not just due to a perceived heightening in the nuclear threat but the grave warnings now being given about climate change being at an unstoppable tipping point. My point of view is that it's far easier for people just to not use nuclear weapons than it is for governments and peoples to accept the short-term economic consequences of trying to get hydrocarbons out of energy production, so I think nuclear weapons and their use make of the lesser of the existential risks facing humanity right now.

I don't believe that Russia is ever going to deploy nuclear weapons in order to achieve victory in Ukraine. They haven't even broken out the gas yet, that we definitely know of. He can't do it - it would reek of desperation, belying the cool, calm exterior he likes to portray, but much more importantly than that, exposes Putin's Russia as an erratic ally and makes sitting on the fence highly problematic for China, potentially creating more international isolation for Russia.

And finally, the sight of a Ukrainian city being blasted apart by a Russian nuclear weapon would cause such an outcry in the West that NATO would be forced to move much more decisively than they are currently doing, whether that means blockading the Black Sea or occupying what's left of Ukraine, or (my preference) assassinating Putin. Western intelligence can probably get to Putin and his circle if they really want to, and in such a way that the Russians couldn't prove who did it, so Putin would do well to choose carefully where and when he escalates this conflict.

Ukrainian aviation conducted airstrikes at 9 gatherings of Russian military and equipment, several bases and 2 positions of air defense units. Ukrainian air defense shot down Su-24 plane, 3 cruise missile and a drone. Ukrainian missile and artillery troops conducted strikes at Russian army reserves at gathering points and at railway station during unloading, - General Staff of Armed Forces of Ukraine says in the morning report

4/5 Russian aircraft taken down in 2 days.

And no losses of Ukrainan aircraft.

I'm just after watching Skandal: Bringing Down Wirecard.

One of the biggest, if not the biggest, financial frauds in Europe had involvement from, or maybe it was even fully controlled by, you guessed, the russians. Their CEO escaped the day it came crushing down to, you guessed, Russia. And there are allegations that he was a GRU asset. The company was used for their involvement in the migrant crisis and far right support. It boggles the mind how Europe became so vulnerable to them, and how difficult it was to bring them down even with undeniable evidence.

How to end the war has already been answered many times......but here it is again. Russia defeated, and pushed 100 % out of Ukraine and that includes Crimea. With a weapons free 50 Klm buffer zone on the Russian side.

The Russian government regards Crimea as part of it's sovereign territory so an attack would be considered an attack on Russia itself. It would be very dangerous.

Have you been living under a rock? Crimea has already been attacked and so has territory inside the real Russian border.

They should have thought of that when they illegally annexed it.. Showed a serious lack of examination of all the pros and cons and possible outcomes down the line.

It doesnt matter about the rights or wrongs. Crimea is spilt milk that should have been dealt with at the time. Now it's a fully integrated part of the Russian federation unlike the Donbas. I could see an attack on Crimea getting very, very nasty and Russia has no qualms on using nuclear weapons in it's military doctrine if it's territory is attacked.

The west shouldn't allow ourselves to be roped in to a catastrophe if the Ukrainians try to over reach.

I think the focus should be on returning to pre Febuary borders as well as the Donbas. Attacking Crimea could set the whole region ablaze. It would be a disaster in my view.

lol no.