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Russia invading Ukraine (NEWS/UPDATES)

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Osklen said:
This was reported back in Jan but was denied

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I’d be interested to know what China thought of his comments the other day re mobilising his nuclear forces. For all of China’s war of words with the West over Taiwan they don’t make Nuclear threats.

When he makes comments like that, or if he escalates them, he is directing them at the West but threatening every country. It’s a Global planet and there would be no isolation for any country from the impacts and effects if the World ever sees further nuclear weapon use.

If he keeps ratching up the threats and/or their own intelligence starts to get inklings he is a bit unhinged then he is a threat to even his staunchest rivals - China, India, Pakistan, Arab coubtries, and their attitudes might change sharpish
 

sonson said:
Putin isn't a Soviet. His main driver isn't history of the USSR, its Tsarist Russia and also very inspired by the history and military expansion of the Orthodox Church. Good article here

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I said this really early on but Empires do what empires do. At the heart of the concept is the idea that a certain central core or ideology is destined for greatness and is superior, and that the best good for humanity will come from its dominance. Diversity, autonomy and sovereignty of people is second to the power of whatever mandate the Empire claims for itself. That means Empires always subjugate and always expand. By definition they believe themselves to be centre of the universe.

So you're wrong in saying that ideologically Russia are like the Nazis, they're really not.

But as Empires, they are. But that is *all empires*. The experience of the Ukraine now is an insight into the experience of any nation with a concept of its own identity being coerced/forced/ into accepting the imperial claims of its conqueror.
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The way you'd described an Empire sounds like the EU
 
yamar1 said:
Putin will be shocked how hard Russia has been hit and turned on. The whole world is more or less against him right now, and rightly so.
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Question is, does he actually know the full extent. Are his advisors telling him the full truth or just what he wants to hear as they're scared of him?
 
Botchie said:
He should be out of the country by now. When the inevitability takeover he's dead. He'll do more good speaking from exile in the States.
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I don’t think that’s true. Governments in exile tend to remain just that. He knows that if the Russians win they will kill him and his family. He’s staying because he feels his presence means something to everyone else fighting for their country. It demonstrates solidarity and determination and probably is one of the reasons the Russians have met with such strong resistance. Perhaps because he’s not a career politician he doesn’t see his personal survival as so crucial he needs to be safer than the rest of his citizens? Certainly his speeches to the rest of the world have more impact coming from Kyiv than coming from Washington. He’s the public and human face of his country’s struggle. If he’s murdered by the Russians many people will feel a degree of outrage they wouldn’t feel for a leader in exile being assassinated.
 
West_Winger said:
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The £400m British investment in this was a Dominic Cummings-driven project. The fact that we bought this company may be connected to some degree with British brexit-related withdrawal from the EU Galileo project and EU Space Programme. We were left without a space strategy (through our own choice of course).

On one analysis therefore, due to brexit we pulled out of a stable, ambitious space programme being designed by 27 democracies and instead invested public money into a partnership with … well, you can see the rest.

Brexit is a catalogue of terrible decisions, of which this is one. And if people think that’s too political for this thread, I really don’t care.

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A lot of very expensive Western reconnaissance aircraft flying loops around the Belarus/Poland border today.

That US drone is 360 million alone just for one apparently

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Astra said:
I don’t think that’s true. Governments in exile tend to remain just that. He knows that if the Russians win they will kill him and his family. He’s staying because he feels his presence means something to everyone else fighting for their country. It demonstrates solidarity and determination and probably is one of the reasons the Russians have met with such strong resistance. Perhaps because he’s not a career politician he doesn’t see his personal survival as so crucial he needs to be safer than the rest of his citizens? Certainly his speeches to the rest of the world have more impact coming from Kyiv than coming from Washington. He’s the public and human face of his country’s struggle. If he’s murdered by the Russians many people will feel a degree of outrage they wouldn’t feel for a leader in exile being assassinated.
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It isn't a case of, it's when. Allowing that to happen is just stupidity, there's enough outrage about the whole situation to start with. Once the Russians take control people will start to move on if it isn't affecting them. Ukraine needs a popular voice reminding everybody what the Russians have done. Also, I'll be amazed if his family are still in the country.
 
Botchie said:
It isn't a case of, it's when. Allowing that to happen is just stupidity, there's enough outrage about the whole situation to start with. Once the Russians take control people will start to move on if it isn't affecting them. Ukraine needs a popular voice reminding everybody what the Russians have done. Also, I'll be amazed if his family are still in the country.
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Apparently they are.
 
Harry Angstrom said:
Sometimes in life you have to choose sides.
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Most times in life you do. And I never said otherwise.

But people are complex. Most people consistently do good and bad, not one or the other.

Were Russia goodies or baddies in WW2? They stopped the biggest unequivocal baddie in world History pretty much. But many of the things they did to accomplish that were unequivocally bad by pretty much any moral compass.
 
Another night of heroic resistance by Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, whilst the West cowers in the corner because - you know - we really mustn’t upset Russia.

It’s of paramount importance that we just stand by and allow Putin to trample all over anyone he wants to. We mustn’t upset Putin.
 
Astra said:
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Apparently they are.
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I saw that interview, and he said he hadn't seen them since it kicked off. You could see he realised what he he said and changed his answer to "half way through the war". I really hope they aren't, as they have no reason to be and will be unnecessarily slaughtered.
 
Botchie said:
He should be out of the country by now. When the inevitability takeover he's dead. He'll do more good speaking from exile in the States.
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He will be there til the end. Dead or alive.
Sweeper said:
Another night of heroic resistance by Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, whilst the West cowers in the corner because - you know - we really mustn’t upset Russia.

It’s of paramount importance that we just stand by and allow Putin to trample all over anyone he wants to. We mustn’t upset Putin.
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It’s shameful really.
 
Astra said:
I don’t think that’s true. Governments in exile tend to remain just that. He knows that if the Russians win they will kill him and his family. He’s staying because he feels his presence means something to everyone else fighting for their country. It demonstrates solidarity and determination and probably is one of the reasons the Russians have met with such strong resistance. Perhaps because he’s not a career politician he doesn’t see his personal survival as so crucial he needs to be safer than the rest of his citizens? Certainly his speeches to the rest of the world have more impact coming from Kyiv than coming from Washington. He’s the public and human face of his country’s struggle. If he’s murdered by the Russians many people will feel a degree of outrage they wouldn’t feel for a leader in exile being assassinated.
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Serious question: what happens if he is captured and killed? Is that an act of escalation in terms of Western intervention?
 
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