International News Russian War With Ukraine

[bazzer9461]

Do you really think these referendums will be free and fair, with everyone and anyone allowed to vote however they like, no fiddling with the results and independent observers given unfettered access?

Come on.

They’re already rigged

 

[Sheik djibouti]

Nobody thinks the referenda will be free and fair....not even Putin.

The point though is does he give a s**t....and the answer is of course he doesn't.

So then, how much does the rest of the world give a s**t?....enough to risk nuclear conflict on the European continent?

Doubt it, so once the shame referenda have run and they overwhelmingly vote to become part of Russia, the rest of the word will go into serious finger-wagging/nod of disapproval mode, but will they actually do anything (other than have a justification to impose ever-more stringent sanctions, which will simply be passed onto tho the long suffering Russian population).

 

[Marked Ox]

Nobody thinks the referenda will be free and fair....not even Putin.

The point though is does he give a s**t....and the answer is of course he doesn't.

So then, how much does the rest of the world give a s**t?....enough to risk nuclear conflict on the European continent?

Doubt it, so once the shame referenda have run and they overwhelmingly vote to become part of Russia, the rest of the word will go into serious finger-wagging/nod of disapproval mode, but will they actually do anything (other than have a justification to impose ever-more stringent sanctions, which will simply be passed onto tho the long suffering Russian population).

Rumours that Biden is trying to get Russia kicked off the UN Security Council.

I wonder if this will give the Germans the kick up the backside to supply the Battle Tanks the Ukrainians want.

Western Arms suppliers will be a growth industry in the recession.

 

[Sheik djibouti]

Rumours that Biden is trying to get Russia kicked off the UN Security Council.

I wonder if this will give the Germans the kick up the backside to supply the Battle Tanks the Ukrainians want.

Western Arms suppliers will be a growth industry in the recession.

I imagine China will object to that (I' sure they will argue there are bigger world security issues than a border skirmish in Russia, and as the country with the world's biggest nuclear arsenal, ostracising them will no end well...etc, etc) so I doubt it will happen...

 

[RussianYellow]

Obviously that is (and always has been) Putin's aim. Annexation of as much of Ukraine as Russia could possibly control was always Plan A. He's just had his hand forced by the military humiliations suffered in recent weeks, so he's now going into kitchen sink mode, which means we are entering a new and far more dangerous phase....at least if you take Putin's rhetoric at face value.

Unfortunately the prospect of his removal is I think as remote as it ever was...and in any case his removal might actually make it worse, given that he has surrounded himself with ultra nationalists who were critical Russia hadn't gone far enough.

But as the Foreign Correspondent from The Guardian has said:
“It’s strange that well into six months into this conflict, Vladimir Putin is still living in a parallel reality where really Russia didn’t invade Ukraine, but Ukraine threatened Russia.”

The problem is that this narrative has been well cultivated and protected inside Russia to date, but ore voices of dissent are being heard. Would love to know how @RussianOx sees this....

Today I listened enough for my compatriots, mainly older. Someone begins to see and doubt that Putin’s regime leads them along the right path. But still there remains a large proportion of those who fully support it, believing that the "special operation" was a preventive step.

I believe that only sons and other close relatives who returned home in zinc coffins will be able to convince some. And then far from everyone. People already sincerely believe that Ukraine began the war under the cover of the United States.

 

[Essexyellows]

Do you really think these referendums will be free and fair, with everyone and anyone allowed to vote however they like, no fiddling with the results and independent observers given unfettered access?

Come on.

Didn`t say anything about them being free, fair or otherwise.

The referendums are taking place in Russian occupied regions, where the people do not have freedom, independence and many other things we take for granted.
There won`t be any observers, there will not be unfettered access, and Putin won`t care - he just wants the "right" result.

Getting that result will give him justification to escalate things on the ground.

It needs someone to tap him off PDQ before it goes too far and reaches a point nobody will want.

 

[Oslernorth]

Nobody thinks the referenda will be free and fair....not even Putin.

The point though is does he give a s**t....and the answer is of course he doesn't.

So then, how much does the rest of the world give a s**t?....enough to risk nuclear conflict on the European continent?

Doubt it, so once the shame referenda have run and they overwhelmingly vote to become part of Russia, the rest of the word will go into serious finger-wagging/nod of disapproval mode, but will they actually do anything (other than have a justification to impose ever-more stringent sanctions, which will simply be passed onto tho the long suffering Russian population).

I may got this wrong, but haven’t Ukrainian troops been attacking parts of Crimea with Western weapons, even through it’s already been annexed by Russia through a rigged referendum?

If that’s correct, I can’t see how annexing the eastern regions of Ukraine through a referendum would carry any weight with Ukraine or the West?

 

[Marked Ox]

I may got this wrong, but haven’t Ukrainian troops been attacking parts of Crimea with Western weapons, even through it’s already been annexed by Russia through a rigged referendum?

If that’s correct, I can’t see how annexing the eastern regions of Ukraine through a referendum would carry any weight with Ukraine or the West?

It won't but Putin will use propaganda about NATO/Ukrainians* attacking Russian soil when boots on the ground are actually attacking. Expect lots of references to the Germans and WW2. It also opens up new 'legal' routes for Putin to call up/conscript citizens from the reports I've read. Hence the wealthy enough men getting out of Russia asap.

*They are already talking about Ukraine being NATO slaves.

 

[Sheik djibouti]

Putin is already saying that NATO troops are on the ground and fighting in Ukraine.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/62974506

 

[Oxymoron]

Whoops...

Former rector of Moscow Aviation Institute dies after "falling down flight of stairs"

Anatoly Gerashchenko, the former rector of Russia's Moscow Aviation Institute has reportedly died after falling down a flight of stairs, as reported on

euroweeklynews.com

 

[Berliner]

Jesus, their organised, trained army is absolutely f*cking rubbish...what are they going to do with a bunch of shop clerks and mailmen?
Pointless loss of many lives on both sides incoming.

 

[Oxymoron]

Looks like he may have misjudged that call as well.

China Calls for Cease-Fire in Ukraine

Shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s bellicose speech on Wednesday, China urged the Kremlin to deescalate. “We call on the parties concerned to achieve a cease-fire and an end to the war through dialogue and negotiation, and find a way to take into account the legitimate security concer

www.wsj.com

Of course, this could all be a pre-amble to having his "referendum", declaring that the areas in the South & East of Ukraine are now Russia territory by the will of the people and then calling for a ceasefire and negotiated truce where Ukraine [reluctantly] cedes those areas in return for proper security guarantees.

It's about the only way I can see this ending without a Rubicorn being crossed....

 

[Essexyellows]

The queue at the Finnish border is reported at 35km, and you can`t get a flight out of Russia to any "safe" (military service exempt) country.

 

[boogaloo]

I know it's just a comic, but the Daily Star are giving us a list of best places to live assuming Mad Vlad decides to press the big red button!

Estate agent shows map of best places to survive nuclear war in the UK

Russian president Vladimir Putin has warned he is 'not bluffing' over the use of nuclear warheads, and should an unlikely nuclear strike hit the United Kingdom, these are the areas safe from a blast

www.dailystar.co.uk

 

[Marked Ox]

I know it's just a comic, but the Daily Star are giving us a list of best places to live assuming Mad Vlad decides to press the big red button!

Estate agent shows map of best places to survive nuclear war in the UK

Russian president Vladimir Putin has warned he is 'not bluffing' over the use of nuclear warheads, and should an unlikely nuclear strike hit the United Kingdom, these are the areas safe from a blast

www.dailystar.co.uk

I'd prefer to be vaporised by one of the bombs rather than the likelihood of a slow death.

 

[Thomas/Brock/Jones]

I'd prefer to be vaporised by one of the bombs rather than the likelihood of a slow death.

Or live in Skegness !!

 

[Marked Ox]

Or live in Skegness !!

Not existing anymore wins with that choice!

 

[Marked Ox]

The queue at the Finnish border is reported at 35km, and you can`t get a flight out of Russia to any "safe" (military service exempt) country.

The Finnish/Russian border:

Kelikamerat - raja | Kelikamerat

www.kelikamerat.info

 

[unification]

I'd prefer to be vaporised by one of the bombs rather than the likelihood of a slow death.

So would I.

I’ve seen ‘Threads’ (one of the best things the BBC have ever made, @Essexyellows) and it’ll haunt you forever. Instant death over glibly trying to survive a nuclear winter - I think Carl Sagan said that a nuclear holocaust would kill all plantlife so much everyone would be doomed anyway so it may well be academic.

Mad Vlad fires a nuke and it’s ’MAD’ for the lot of us.

 

[m]

So would I.

I’ve seen ‘Threads’ (one of the best things the BBC have ever made, @Essexyellows) and it’ll haunt you forever. Instant death over glibly trying to survive a nuclear winter - I think Carl Sagan said that a nuclear holocaust would kill all plantlife so much everyone would be doomed anyway so it may well be academic.

Mad Vlad fires a nuke and it’s ’MAD’ for the lot of us.

Watched that again a couple of years ago.

Unsurprisingly it still freaked the B*****s off me.