Russia-Ukraine War (continuing)

A Russian anti drone missile took out that fuel container. It can be clearly seen from the footage available.

Maybe, it's the 'especially' Ireland bit that's so ridiculous, as if it would be near the top of anyones list of countries needing this, rather than nearer the bottom.

If it's light entertainment you want, have yourself a chuckle at the Russian economy:

The Central Bank poured almost 5 trillion rubles into banks to fill Putin's military budget - Russian Service of The Moscow Times

The Kremlin is preparing to increase spending on the war by 40%, despite the "hole" in the budget - Russian Service of The Moscow Times

If Russia does collapse its treatment by the west will be key for a stable future for Europe.

The treatment of Germany post WW2 (and indeed Japan) was better in ways than how USA allies during war were treated. The realpolitik of having a German bulwark against Stalin moving west made for some unsavoury choices.

Not least of which was much of the population up to their eyeballs in enabling the Nazi regime got away without issue and became part of the new west German state. Nuremberg resulted in a dozen or so death sentences and a couple of hundred convictions but it only scratched the surface.

In comparison with the punitive terms of Versailles treaty it was a walk in the park (despite the German/Nazi crimes) but it worked.

Ukrainians are going to be given some difficult choices

Let's see how the Russian papers reacted to yesterday's surgical attack…

"Nothing to see here, we're still beating those Nazi scum…, and we hit bigger!!"

I gotta have that dog with the oil cover in its mouth as my new desktop screen saver. 😎

It appears Moscow is currently experiencing Day 2 of its Blitz!!

Lots of videos showing up of drones flying…

All very true. But I think the fact that this is really just Putin's war, there being no massive nationalistic fervour on the streets of Moscow, coupled with an acceptance that opposition and dissent isn't accepted in Russia, plus the fact that Ukraine has avoided targeting Russian civilians, means that it should be a route that is navigable. Distasteful, but if the war can be farmed as Putin's, and in exchange for Russia at the very least withdrawing to 2022 borders and agreeing to return all POWs and kidnapped children, some kind of compromise can probably be reached in terms of reparations and the presence of Western forces in Ukraine that would allow both sides to walk away with a sense of achievement (Ukraine) and some semblance of dignity (Russians).

We all want to see Russia pay 100% for what it has done, but the reality of politics is that completely gutting the country would likely prove counterproductive in the long term. Insisting on Ukraine getting everything it is morally entitled to is only going to prolong the war - the question is where the line is drawn, and that's a question that only Ukraine should be allowed to decide. It's not for the US or EU or UK to tell them what is/ is not an acceptable deal.

The one outcome I want to see is a world without Putin and a gutted FSB.

You might go so far as to describe it as a bit of a, I dunno… "cauldron" right now?

Its nice to see Moscow getting hit. Most of the population there and St Petersburg have been largely unaffected by the war with most recruits or conscripts coming from the provinces.

Not fast enough. The interference by Trump and his cronies has only added time to the war duration.

I'll link my own post from back in January where I said Russia missed the boat on maximising a deal for themselves in 2025.

Do we want Russia to come to the table now to save themselves (if they even can be) or now wait for them to inflict even more damage on themselves first so that they're not a problem for Europe again for a few generations? I'd like to see genuine negotiations happen. Even those could drag out for a long time.

Yep.

Democracy only works where it is a fit for the existing culture/political landscape.

A culture like Russia between brutality under the czar, brutal civil war, Lenin, Stalin, secret police, abject corruption following Stalin etc etc was never going to be an easy project.

Someone like Putin can only arise in a dysfunctional society.

They are going to be a problem for Europe for a long time yet.

Not allowing it to collapse is in Europe's interest. Russian implosion with their military munitions, modern drone tech, huge nuclear arsenal etc etc is some potential mess.

I've no idea what the answer is; any reasonable political alternative is long since poisoned, thrown out a window etc.

Current USA administration will make it worse to get the best solution.

Yep. But I would say the Idiot Putin (like his Bigliest Fan) has wittingly done the goading. In his geriatric delusion, he thought upping the terrorism stakes and targetting some of Kyiv's/Ukraine's most precious cultural heritage would deal a mortal blow to their moral. Instead, I'm fairly sure the wargamers in Kyiv had a Moscow Plan ready to go for some time, and were just waiting for the right time. The coincidence of the price of oil dropping and that attack on Kyiv was the perfect excuse to push the big red button.

It's been quite a while now that Ukraine have been able to directly target and disable various air-defence systems, so I think they knew they could get where they wanted. Not sure they would have included random incompetent Chechens with man-pads adding extra baddabooms to the operation, though!

Solovyov is practically lost for words. He's so rattled he broke ranks and called it a war.