To be concerned about a war?

Then why don’t we just stand the army down and why are the experts concerned?

It's not going to happen. When both sides have the means to completely obliterate each other's populations in a matter of minutes (and don't let any Russian apologists tell you the UK couldn't do that to Russia because it absolutely can), the prospect of any direct confrontation between them is so remote as to not bother thinking about

They would only have to match into a NATO country for us to be drawn into a war. NATO countries boarder Russia and Ukraine so they wouldn't have to match that far.

There are so many of these threads now.

Any kind of hot war with Russia is extremely unlikely. They would have to overfly and march through a lot of other countries and the channel before they got here!

We are already in a low level Cold War with Russia, but compared to the previous Cold War, it is pretty tame.

We need to show we are serious about our own defence but, beyond that, there really is very little to worry about.

They can’t put everyone in jail

like fuck have I raised two sons to die for this shithole country and old white men’s egos.

Honestly I think we're in the grip of a psychological war first and foremost. I think 9/11 was the first real push towards global destabilisation, and there's been a steady push since then. The pandemic sped things up.

Historically there's a theory that every 80 - 100 years there's a major global disruption, so we're bang on timeline for that, be it economic crash or conflict, and the latter tends to follow on the heels of the former.

Thing is, I don't understand the rhetoric that implies a conflict would be a boots on the ground scenario on massive scale, because technology means that our infrastructure could be disabled very fast, and we also have the means for remote warfare.

Actual land invasion for the UK seems highly unlikely, so fighting on home turf is difficult to imagine, and I have doubts that many would willingly go overseas to do it.

So I agree the sabre rattling is concerning, because honestly none of it makes sense. I have no idea what the end game is supposed to be, and I'm too old and tired to worry about it much.

I've said for years that I don't think the end of the world will be apocalyptic in the fiery sense, I think it will be due to collective nervous breakdown. And of course the media joyfully pushes our buttons and clucks and revenue seal our fate.

So I shall feed my cats, have a cuppa and choose which tinfoil hat suits todays political zeitgeist, and wish you well OP.

Strange and interesting times.....

Abroad where? Russia isn’t just after us.

The media are just trying to scare us , I don’t think there’s a cause for real concern. Putin has always been simmering away and comes across in a way that can cause alarm and he plays on that.

If anything did happen which is highly unlikely the best action is no action. Be peaceful and refuse to be dragged into violence and war.

What punishment could be worse than fighting and dying in a war??

The only fight would be a moral one against being part of a war. Everyone should resist any attempt to be dragged into war.

Thanks, I needed to hear that x

My first thought is that my 18 year old daughter is in the armed forces as it has been her ambition to do so since she was very young, and if this does happen she will be one of the first to fight. It makes my stomach drop to think of it. I don’t know how realistic the prospect of war actually is, I have very poor mental health at the best of times so avoid the news and such.

News* not new

Where abroad? If the worst case scenario happens nowhere in the world is going to be unaffected.

Just like in the cold war it is unlikely to come to fighting in the streets but that is only because goverments/diplomats are taking active steps to prevent it. All European politicians are talking about the increased possibility and the need to ensure that our military are ready and that we don't rely on Russia for anything.

It’s not the major headline on three new sites that I’ve just checked, which I find reassuring for some reason.
But this was just someone speaking at an event - they weren’t issuing a directive or addressing government - so try and see it in context. Making war is what this chap does - or defending anyway.

I’m not trying to say there isn’t any risk or danger - what do I know? But life as we know it will just keep trundling on.

Edited to say - reading previous posts, I may be downplaying it too much. But I don’t see the need for scaring posters at this point.

They've been prepping us for the potential for war for the last couple of years. Remarks from the Chief of Defence Staff isn't candour it's strategy. It will happen when they decide its time and there is nothing we can do about it. Putin has been sold as Hitler for the 21st century so our government can proceed to sending our young people to die without any attempt at diplomacy.

All this ‘I/my son/my dog wouldn’t be fighting, over my dead body’ is irrelevant as you’d been forced to by law, with the punishments for non compliance being worse than actually doing it. The whole point is that it’s mandatory.

Oh no! Does it mean we have to stockpile toilet paper again?

I can tell you what "families would need to face real sacrifice" means as my family are in one of the European countries who seems to believe they are personally at war with Russia. All societal structures have been dismantled and all money is being syphoned towards non-existent war efforts. Poverty, collapse of healthcare and ever-increasing bills under the ideological guise of "war". That's what it means. Basically, business as usual.

“We suffer more in imagination than in reality”

This is something that needs to be remembered as that’s where Putin’s power really lies - in making others scared. He doesn’t need to do anything except cause anxiety and maybe a little disruption.

"Russia has repeatedly tried to persuade Ukraine’s supporters and the wider world that its victory in Ukraine is inevitable. Despite sustained aggression and significant investment of personnel and resources, Russia has made only marginal territorial gains since its full-scale invasion in February 2022. After nearly four years since its illegal invasion, Russia controls less than 20% of Ukrainian territory. This is up from the 7% it claimed to control before February 2022. Since the frontlines stabilised in November 2022, Russia has gained just 1.1% more territory, at the cost of over one million casualties."

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/russias-narrative-of-inevitable-victory-is-contradicted-by-its-military-and-economic-failures-uk-statement-to-the-osce