Russia invading Ukraine (NEWS/UPDATES)


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If war is the only way to stop him, then war is inevitable - because he has to be stopped. The pervasive moral cowardice in the West has done nothing but embolden him and make the situation worse. If he'd been stared down ten years ago we wouldn't be in this position.

He does not want war with the West. He clearly fears it. Otherwise Ukraine joining NATO would have been of no significance to him whatsoever. The only significance of NATO membership for Ukraine is that he wouldn't then be able to attack Ukraine without the West declaring war on him. If he didn't fear that war, then Ukraine's membership wouldn't be at all bothersome.

A nice side step of @Joe Baker point about putting your boots on the ground In Ukraine

let’s face it it’s an ideal opportunity for you to show us cowards how it should be done by joining those brave guys who are on their way over there
 
This. For all of the talk of "nuclear war" (which our own politicians play up, for their own convenience), it's a vanishingly small possibility. Putin doesn't just have a red button on his desk. This isn't a Bond film. Even if he was mad enough to effectively sentence his own family to death, the Russian military officer class wouldn't be willing to do the same en masse. That order would be the end of him.

There is a lot of assumption about this but Michael McFaul who is a professor and ex US Ambassador to Russia tweeted the other day that those closest to Putin are worried by his nuclear comments. Being his network with Putins inner circle that’s not a great comment.

 
Brilliant speech by Zelensky again this morning.

Probably not the sort of thing you can bet on but if he isn’t Time man of the year I’ll be amazed. If you can bet stick some money on

Paddy Power and Betfair usually operate that market but have no odds up for 2022 yet.

On a related note, you can get 5/2 on Betfair (and 2/1 with Coral and Ladbrokes) that Ukraine will win this years Eurovision Song Contest.
 
That if you’re caught firing artillery you will be summarily executed.

It’s completely against the Geneva convention but depending on how long this goes on psychologically you wouldn’t want to be in an artillery unit

i dont read it like that all

i read it that currently Ukrainian special forces (who must be operating in the Russian rear - ooh err) must have been uptil now attempting to just capture artillery men (likely to be lightly armed troops at best)

and that now they'll treat them like any other combatant - ie, shoot first and let god sort em out
 
A nice side step of @Joe Baker point about putting your boots on the ground In Ukraine

let’s face it it’s an ideal opportunity for you to show us cowards how it should be done by joining those brave guys who are on their way over there

I didn't "side step" anything, I just thought it was so silly and pointless an implication that it didn't warrant an answer.

Every single western country has large numbers of trained, professional soldiers whose job it is to - you know, be soldiers.
 
I didn't "side step" anything, I just thought it was so silly and pointless an implication that it didn't warrant an answer.

Every single western country has large numbers of trained, professional soldiers whose job it is to - you know, be soldiers.
Translation: 'Somebody should do something - but not me'
 
Sergei Lavrov’s q&a session just now is a masterclass in propaganda and political spin. He has jumped on the stories of ethnic minorities being stopped at border points and is running with that to prove the Ukrainians are Nazis. Having seen the Reggie Yates documentary and the problems he encountered in Russia I find this a little ironic to say the least.
 
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.

I mentioned it earlier in the thread, but I actually think that the Russian cause needs him to stay alive far more than the Ukrainian cause.

If the Russian’s kill him, they are cooked.
 
It’s an extremely worrying comment actually

i suspect that @Sweeper falls into the “know him least” group

There are a lot of people worth ignoring on Twitter. Military bloggers, journalists who have interviewed Putin once or twice, drama queens etc…

He clearly isn’t one of them. He is a professor who has spent his entire career working in Russia. He advised Boris Yeltsin how to win the 1996 election and ultimately became US ambassador to Russia.

He will have a huge diplomatic network within Putins inner circle as well as Russian academics etc.. he will also know far better then anyone on this board what Russia’s nuclear command and control structure is actually like and any checks and balances on Putin.

I think it’s a million miles away from being an imminent Western concern but it’s interesting he has even felt confident enough to tweet that and being who it’s from it does suggest that those around Putin are concerned by his behaviour (Which you can pick up from videos of him with his generals anyway)
 
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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?
I reckon the opposite TBH. His coordination and skills as a communicator were key to establishing the co-ordination necessary to put this Democratic/Western bloc in place and he's been very canny in how he has directed the co-operation of nations which routinely squabble among each other over fuck all.

Remove him and I think a lot of the oxygen of a United Democratic Front is sucked out.
I agree. This time they are 100% baddies. Imho, of course.
I don't think anyone has said otherwise. I certainly haven't.
 
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