Russia-Ukraine War (continuing)

I’d love to know how the government plans to handle this embarrassing situation.

Putting aside that you're basing Ireland's support of Ukraine on two random rural TDs not saying something as somehow some sort of weird implicit cooling off on Ukraine.

Cathal Crowe TD on Facebook who "failed to even mention Ukraines visit"

"Here is the view from Seat D6 in Dáil Éireann (my seat) as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy began his historic address to a combined assembly of TDs and Senators today.This man and his people are under huge pressure right now - it’s starting to look like what could be a ‘peace deal’ for Russia could amount to a ‘capitulation deal’ for Ukraine. Vladimir Putin is a 21st century Hitler and the world cannot allow him to have his way - the surrendering of a huge portion of Ukrainian sovereign territory cannot be even considered and would only serve to further embolden Putin and his invading army.Sadly, I reckon that Ukraine will have to fight on. We know all too well in Ireland that surrendering territory doesn’t work and its hurt is felt inter-generationally. Partition doesn’t work!"

If that's supposed to be half your argument that Ireland doesn't support Ukraine, it goes beyond scraping the barrel.

More on the Modi visit, looks like more Indians will be going to Russia

https://x.com/NatalkaKyiv/status/1997088676724031575

Let those countries go to to Putin for aid as they seem to think highly of him and see how that works out .

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/12/06/pokrovsk-the-city-that-changed-the-war-ukraine/

Inside Pokrovsk, the dividing lines of urban warfare have faded. In their place is a fog of suspicion, terror and chaos, with small groups of Russian infiltrators interspersed with Ukrainian defensive forces.

The Russians slip through the gaps in the front line, dressed in civilian clothes or riding on bicycles. Drones reign in the sky. But from their dug-outs, Ukrainian soldiers have revived the Biblical practice of shibboleths – code-words difficult for Russian spies to pronounce.

Ukraine really should have evacuated every single civilian including those who wanted to stay. It's creating doubt in drone operators minds and Russia are taking advantage of this.

Europe needs to close its market including the job market to India, and force European companies who want to do business in the "fast growing emerging market" to withdraw perhaps? Super unpopular but this can't be allowed to continue

Eurobarometer polls have shown 91% support for Ukraine in Ireland. But the Russian bots are working 24/7 with western names on comment pages. We see through most of the Russian propaganda but Russia knows what buttons to press in different countries. In the US its cultural issues, whereas in Ireland its neutrality.

The Financial Times has included Russian propagandist Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of Russian state-run TV channel RT, in its list of the most influential people of 2025 in the Leaders category.

Source: Detector Media, a Ukrainian analytical centre and media platform, citing the FT

………The piece on Simonyan was written by American author and journalist Julia Ioffe.

Quote from Ioffe: "She is, perhaps, Vladimir Putin's most fiercely loyal messenger, his Valkyrie of propaganda. Unlike some of the older men towing the Kremlin's line, Simonyan never had a liberal phase, not even when she was an exchange student in the US.

She was always a Putinist, which is why in 2005, at the tender age of 25, she became the founding editor-in-chief of Russia Today, the now multilingual, global Kremlin-controlled media network rechristened RT.

After the full-scale invasion in 2014, she has called for even more extreme measures, such as using Russia's blockade of the Black Sea to starve the world into submission and detonating a nuclear bomb in the atmosphere above Siberia to paralyse the world's communication systems."

More details: Ioffe also writes that Simonyan believes the West is "jealous of Russia" and refers to the UK as a "decomposed empire".

…………….

Thats an exaggeration and the fact Russia and its friends have to keep announcing it shows its more for affect than reality. The railway is not under Russian control, so they wont be able to use it to transport troops and weapons. Its true there is sporadic Russian presence north of Pokrovsk. Russia has increasingly used small detachments (a few hundred in Kupiansk for sabotage.

Also Ukrainian sources say they now control more of Vovchansk. Success in parts of Kharkiv north of Kupiansk will affect the situation in Kupiansk itself.

Putin is fortunate that the media in Russia wont dare contradict his version of events. But on social media the millibloggers sometimes have done so.

Also Putin claimed to have taken Chasiv Yar last Summer and it is still contested. Pokrovsk though has a road to Chasiv Yar so if Pokrovsk fully fell, it would threaten Chasiv Yar too.

Former commander-in-chief of Russia’s Ground Forces Vladimir Chirkin has openly acknowledged one of the Kremlin’s biggest strategic failures during the invasion of Ukraine.

According to Chirkin, Russian intelligence assured the leadership that 70% of Ukrainians would support Russia, and only 30% would resist.
But when the invasion began, reality proved the exact opposite — and this miscalculation helped derail the Kremlin’s dream of a “three-day blitzkrieg.”

Chirkin said the Russian army “underestimated the enemy and overestimated itself,” leading to the collapse of the plan to seize Kyiv and the eventual retreat.
He also recalled how former defense minister Sergei Shoigu tried to “save face” after the disaster:

“Shoigu attempted to get out of the situation gracefully, calling what was happening a gesture of goodwill.”

During his India visit, Vladimir Putin was unexpectedly caught off guard by an Indian journalist who asked a painfully direct question:

What would he say to Russian-speaking Ukrainians who once trusted Moscow — but now ask, “Why is Putin doing this to us?”

Geeta Mohan reminded him that many Ukrainians who spoke Russian, never hated Russia, and never saw Moscow as an enemy were shocked when Russian bombs destroyed their homes.

Putin froze for a moment and replied:
“I didn’t understand the question — shocked by what?”

When she clarified — shocked that Russia bombed them — Putin defaulted to his usual propaganda talking points:

• Claiming Ukraine was “destroying” those regions.
• Insisting Russia was “forced” to invade.
• Saying civilians could have simply “left” if they didn’t want to “be with Russia.”
• Repeating myths about “open referendums.”

Accusing Ukraine of using AI is absolutely hilarious given we've all seen the Russian-made AI video of Ukrainian soldiers supposedly fleeing Pokrovsk, including one solitary leg that didn't have a guy attached and another one with 1 leg and 3 crutches. If Pokrovsk truly had fallen don't you think Russia would be shouting it from the roof tops ? Even TASS who love to make **** up aren't mentioning it.

As for claiming Bild confirmed it: Julian Ropke (the same guy you mentioned) literally posted a tweet an hour ago of Ukrainians raising their flag in the north of the city.

He reminded Rozova, who complained of being filmed without her consent, that his country was invaded without permission.

These children of despots living it up in the West know their rights.

Somewhat off topic but still holds some validity to the topic at hand.

But in some ways I’m actually glad the drone incident has happened to us.

We are absolutely feckless when it comes to defence and should ashamed of ourselves that we have allowed the country to reach levels that Collins would turn in his grave over.

Instead of holding pointless inquiries and wondering why it happened, the question is already answered. It happened because we can’t be **** bothered in taking defence seriously.

I can’t fathom why the navy didn’t shoot down the drones, it is mind boggling and the person in charge of that decision needs to be dragged to government building and made to justify this idiotic decision.

Fast track this and that, but for **** sake, start taking things seriously and stop caring how the public views it.

I’m sure there are countless countries that would throw their defence industry at Ireland if we requested it.

It’s embarrassing.

This pseudo neutrality is just pissing me off, we are one of the richest countries on the planet, have one of the biggest economies in Europe, one of the busiest airports on the continent and a sea area so vast to protect that it’s any wonder we haven’t armed the fishermen at this stage.

No one is expecting nuclear powered subs to roll into Dublin bay but Christ can we for once get off of our lucky charms asses and invest.

What is the point of our constitution if we can’t guarantee safety for animals let alone citizens.

A total joke of a government and previous governments.

I swear to Christ we need a charley haughey 21st figure to get in charge.

Sick and tired of reading the embarrassment Ireland has become in foreign media.

Fairly vocal publicly about Israel and the Eurovision but act like mice when it comes to a coherent defence vision.

See this argument could be used for any shoot down.
If that is the criteria we use when it comes to a military drone over a city or any residential drone then what’s the adequate response? Let it reach its target or destroy it in the hopes nothing happens on the ground?