It's Russian ruler's goto instinctive way of dealing with the world and has been for a very long time.
Unfortunately Putin can choose to hit easy targets and murder plenty of civilians and has no problem now in just flattening places . While other countries are supporting him things look like getting a lot worse with no sign of anybody taking him down and out .
Also there was reports last week that Ukraine have destroyed a number of bridges close to the border of Belarus. So if they do try to invade they will slowed by this.
Just dictatorship/autocracy-things!
I read that RTE article linked earlier and there's a big photo heading it up of what looks very, very like one of the little delta-wing Iranian drones buzzing civilians in Kyiv, but the Grand Poobah's foreign minister in Iran denies they are supplying Putin with weapons.
The British pilots discovered that they could fly alongside them with the wing of the Spitfire just over the wing of the missile and flip it over with air turbulence..
Macron doesn't like or support Putin, he's used as a European device to be able to communicate with Putin and get a read on him. That's the grim reality of geopolitics, or Real Politik. If it wasn't Macron it would have to be someone else.
My friend's partner was over here for dinner at the weekend and I now have a cool stamp of my own:
Ukraine continues to successfully hit behind lines Russian logistics positions with advanced western tech. So long as they do this Russian battlefront gains should be mitigated.
Worry appears on the Belarus front were training exercises are now occurring with thousands of new Russian conscripts. Once again the Russians could attempt to capture Kiev by a surprise crossing of the Belarus-Ukraine border in massive force.
Drone fishing is a thing, where a fisherman attaches the baited hook to a device strapped beneath a drone. The drone carries the baited hook and line out from the beach. The device drops the baited hook when the drone aux light is turned on, using a light sensor as the device trigger. No need to re purpose anything, they're commercially available.
Russia isn't going to be able to capture Kyiv and it certainly won't be a surprise if they attempt it.
You'd better hope he doesn't read boards.ie or he might not take to kindly to you inviting his new missus over for dinner and stamps
Israel may start supplying weapons to Ukraine
Yeah how could you pull a 'surprise' like that in an era of satellite surveillance etc.
The view of Baltic states counter intelligence officials on russia, very interesting read. Once more proving putrids words "we are not like you", and shining a light on Western ignorance.
And yet the useful idiots continue to demand that Ukraine “negotiate” with Putin.
Excellent point. Sadly I invited him too but it's one to ponder.
Putin’s reliance on Iran will surely raise questions about Russia’s still strong ties with Israel, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, all of whom are sworn enemies of the Islamic Republic.
Tehran is using Kiev as target practice
There is no worry about an attack from Belarus as @EOQRTL said it will not be a surprise. Armour will not be an option as the UA will wipe it out with there massive surplus of anti tank weapons. The Belarus Airforce is puny so it will be down to what artillery they have. Drone and shoot and scoot systems will decimate this within a week to ten days.
There is also the risk that either Poland or the Baltic states may intervene at that stage. Slovenia and Slovakia are barely staying on the sidelines either
If the Belarus army suffered a significant defeat and troop losses you could have munity by the Belarus army which could cause the overthrow of Luka. This would cause as much or more problems for Putin as any new government would be west leaning.
The Iranian government are exhibiting the same levels of strategic stupidity as their counterparts in Moscow.
So, let's see we're isolated on the world stage, our economy in ruins from sanctions and our population is restless. Ah yes, let's hand over a bunch of drones to murder Ukrainian civilians...that'll fix things.
2 dead, 4 wounded as result of Russian drone attack against residential house in Kyiv
Ah yes, this old trope... Putin planning to take over Europe and re-create the old USSR.
Meanwhile, we're being told how useless Russia's military is, and how weak modern Russia is. How these things manage to compute in people's brain is quite bizarre really.
I've noticed early talk of a new iron curtain, has been replaced in recent weeks with talk of nuclear Armageddon. Most likely because the western propaganda spin merchants realise that they've failed to convince enough people about the coming red wave across Europe... and so now have to terrify people in ever more creative ways. Anything to keep fear and uncertainty at the requisite levels, to maintain support for permanent war!
As Julian Assange very succinctly put it regarding war in the middle east: “The goal is an endless war, not a successful war!” In other words, follow the money. Another man they've tried to destroy for knowing too much, and speaking the truth.
I suppose Putin should be rolling the tanks into every bordering CIS country soon. Yet he was in the Kazakhstan capital Astana, for the central Asia summit. No tanks or artillery in sight. Also seemed to have some constructive dialogue with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
Far from having desires on taking over Europe, Putin seems to be determined to cut ties with the west and disentangle his country from our financial matrix. One that is looking increasingly fragile with many of these sanctions backfiring spectacularly on our own economies. This conflict is accelerating the process that he had already started many years ago.
Some very good questions in his press conference, covering a range of topics, for anyone who is interested in watching.
Just a note running about in my head. Iran and its supply of weapons to Russia may well be what its middle east enemies wish to happen. Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and its friends which these days include shock and horror Israel knows that if Iran keeps all that up the US will find it hard to reach any deal with them over its Nuclear programs. Ultimately, keeping Iran in the dark with No deal is what the rest in the middle east are looking for. Outside Europe and the USA, no one cares too much for Ukraine. Ukraine's defence against Drones and missiles is up to Europe and the USA.
I wouldn't dismiss Perun as "the gamer". Yes, he was making gamer videos before but really that's all people know about him as he doesn't tend to disclose any information about himself (at least not in the videos that I have watched anyway). His work speaks for itself though. His military content is well respected, so much so that he had General Ben Hodges on a previous episode doing a detailed Q & A.
He also bends over backwards to qualify all of his statements - to an extent that is rare. Youtube is full of commentators who will bluff and bluster or try and fill in the gaps. Prerun is not one of those.
He deals in facts and figures and if there is uncertainty in those, he will make that explicitly clear. He doesn't tend to make broad predictions. Even his presentation style is more like an academic lecture than a regular YouTube video.
Sounds like a very reasonable conclusion. Russia has an advantage in air defence, for now, hence why Ukraine is sourcing lots of it and getting it from allies.
I had a friend who travelled to an Irish soccer match in Moscow in 2002 it was frightening the levels of brutality they were subjected to by Russian hooligans and no protection from the police. Russia is a country of absolute brutality on every level.
Which is why he broke ranks and let Putin know that France would not use nukes if he did
Macron is just playing his own game.
Interesting article. This part was one that jumped out at me: No one would use Angela Merkel or Olaf Scholtz to improve their analyses of Nazi history, but nothing in Russia has changed. Now I wouldn't be nearly so definitive, but it mirrors what I was musing earlier. Namely that the edifice that is Russia is far more permanent and has more permanent cultural narratives and ways of doing than what Nazi Germany had. That was the outlier. Just before it came to power we had one of the most liberal areas in Europe and almost to the second Adolf put a bullet in his brain they pretty much reverted to type.
Russia, imperial Russia had the czars and the mechanisms of feudal rule. They kicked them out and were bloody close to moving well past that, but all too soon they reverted to their type. Then the Wall came down and their satellite states went back to normal and away from them(Belarus and Ukraine being the odd men out), while Russia fell into her worst nightmare; chaos. And in turn a new czar and feudal rule came along to push that chaos down. It's one of the biggest reasons Russians support putin. He got them back to their type, what they were used to and most comfortable living in and away from chaos. He knows them well and knows how to keep pushing their buttons. Beware the chaos at our doorsteps! The only way to stop chaos is to kill the outside influences! Dying for Mother Russia is a great honour! And so on.
IMHO we have to stop thinking of Russia as a country. It's an empire(like China) and empires think and operate quite differently to sovereign states and that comes from the grassroots all the way to their emperors. One feeds off the other. And faded empires like Russia are very dangerous, very paranoid, very resentful and will keep pushing hard. Diplomacy is seen as weakness, unless it's subterfuge. Most of all by the people. Unless they happen to get lucky with a clever ruler. They rarely do and such rulers are often resisted. We tend to think and hope that if it gets too much for the Russian people this will turn putin. I disagree for the most part. He nearly has to double down or lose everything and a large enough percentage of the Russian people want him to.
Russia really is a terrorist nation.
Isn't that NATOs line too though?
Nate
Why would anyone waste their time watching this when he's been proven time and time again to be full of ****?
From the cold war onwards, The accepted line from all western nuclear powers has been not to specify what their response will be to any form of nuclear attack, Macron chose to explicitly break ranks on that. You can decide for yourself what he was at.
Also worth noting that Frances left wing and greens have organise strikes among oil workers and are planning fuel protests. A rerun of 1930s when the french communists did everything to undermine France's defence against the Germans in service of their Russian masters
But Europe Yay, eh?
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://we.vanillicon.com/v2/e050b53be62f0ae2404c620976170938.svg)
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://w9.vanillicon.com/v2/99cb88aba86d6cd761548c5d5bb50f6a.svg)
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://we.vanillicon.com/v2/eaabbaf8a16773590ee22dd6c15f1d68.svg)