Boris Johnson to address nation as he describes Russian invasion as 'catastrophe for our continent

[Ponyclubkick]

Anyone finding the tone of this really quite terrifying...

I’m not one to get myself in a tizz over sensationalised news but this is starting to feel very different!

Speak for yourself empress The UK would never go to war against Russia alone, but with the whole alliance including the US.

@Postdatedpandemic

China lifts all restrictions on wheat imports with Russia.

You what, now?

@LondonJax

Apparently they're fighting at Chenobyl. The Russians, according to the Ukrainian President, are trying to seize the nuclear power plant...

I can't imagine what the Ukrainian people feel at the moment.

It seems that the radioactive Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, on Belarus border, is shortest direct route to Kyiv

@Keepyourheadscrewedon

Speak for yourself empress The UK would never go to war against Russia alone, but with the whole alliance including the US.

Oh yes and a war goes sooooo much better for the civilian population when yet more countries send troops in. Have we learned nothing with Iraq and Afghanistan? Or even the World Wars?

The fact is war are shorter and fewer civilians die if tons of foreign nations don’t start also sticking their oars in.

@MissHavishamsMouldyOldCake

Russia's economy is surprisingly puny but Putin and co keep their many billions overseas. If the West wants to really hurt them it has the power to do that by seizing assets. Properly seizing them, not making wimpy gestures.

Isn’t the reason that the old USSR broke up was because they were financially screwed. I remember reports of wives and children moving onto war ships as the Russian navy hadn’t been paid. The men who worked on these ships couldn’t keep up the running costs of their homes where their wives and children lived so the wives and children joined their husbands and fathers on the ship. I remember the washing lines erected on deck I also remember the sell off and how people made millions buying these ships for a tiny amount and selling them for many times more

The problem with communism is it takes away choice and if you dictate to people what they should and shouldn’t do then you don’t get the best from people .

Alright working for the greater good and everyone being equal but in reality some people are more equal than others

What usually happens is for the many everyone gets the same amount from a small pot whilst for the few at the top they get everything else.

They sent kids to WW1. It's called conscription-their views don't count-they don't ask them and I guess as long as it's a body in uniform, they don't give a shit about qualifications!

Not many conscripts who died in the trenches in WW1 were qualified.

If he was young and black he wouldn’t be in such a ‘superior’ position, I hope someone young and black would have more sense than to become a fucking general or whatever.

Who gives a fuck who he is or what he is. He’s past it, and totally out of touch. I wish him the best of luck recruiting Gen Z or the last few ‘snowflake’ Millennialls. 😂😂😂😂Fortunately they have more sense. I’m sure the ‘snowflakes will be charmed’ after being called that by his ilk.

What does posters mean China lifts all wheat restrictions?

Conscription in the UK ended in 1960. Is that when we stopped being inhumane?

China lifts wheat restrictions, pay to read so I'll look for another source
www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3168278/ukraine-crisis-deepens-china-lifts-all-wheat-import

@Keepyourheadscrewedon

Russia trying to breach chernobyl

Do we really expect that the west can sit by and let that happen?

What do you think they are going to do with it?

They are not making plans for "recruitment" they are making plans for "conscription".

Radio 4 flagship news programmes don't tend to ask for the views of those who are "past it and totally out of touch".

I wish I had your lighthearted attitude, @ArseInTheCoOpWindow

I am reading on sky news (right now) that there is serious loss of life on the Russian side at Chernobyl.
I imagine the Ukraine war experts were focused on securing that area.

Another source
apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-russia-china-beijing-c73b5249d313d661ce1836911b1dbc45

I find it odd that people scoff at conscription. Whilst I don't believe it's imminent, the tone that is being used feels slightly offensive to that "army of untrained kids" who fought for us 80 years ago. Many of our parents and grandparents amongst them. Laughing at the mere idea of 'kids' fighting for their country doesn't sit nicely at all.

China removed any restrictions on how much Russian grain can be imported back at the start of Feb. They have issues with their internal grain supply (poor weather, I think) so need to increase supplies.

It'll help Russia's ecnomy though, I suppose.

@CornishGem1975

We have to do something, it's as simple as that. We can't just sit by and watch Putin do this.

But like what? Putin has threatened to nuke whoever gets Over involved....and I’m sure he would follow through

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

If he was young and black he wouldn’t be in such a ‘superior’ position, I hope someone young and black would have more sense than to become a fucking general or whatever.

Who gives a fuck who he is or what he is. He’s past it, and totally out of touch. I wish him the best of luck recruiting Gen Z or the last few ‘snowflake’ Millennialls. 😂😂😂😂Fortunately they have more sense. I’m sure the ‘snowflakes will be charmed’ after being called that by his ilk.

You really don’t understand the meaning of conscription. It means fight or go to prison.

NATO have let Ukraine down badly. Nations in conflict cannot join. Putin has purposefully kept them in conflict to stop them from joining. I think NATO should have made an exception for this poor country clearly being bullied. Make it clear they see through his bullshit and let them join.

I agree lubey Ukraine should have joined NATO in 1991 and then we would not have this problem now.

I don’t think it was a nuke threat, surely more a bio weapons threat? He said something that had never been seen before.

@AledsiPad

I find it odd that people scoff at conscription. Whilst I don't believe it's imminent, the tone that is being used feels slightly offensive to that "army of untrained kids" who fought for us 80 years ago. Many of our parents and grandparents amongst them. Laughing at the mere idea of 'kids' fighting for their country doesn't sit nicely at all.

And people know what happened to those untrained kids. Slaughtered in Belgian mud. They're obviously not mocking them but the idea that their kids should just nod their heads and accept a similar fate.

I’m not lighthearted. It’s scary.

But we aren’t a military country particularly, and even if it was on Radio 4 it doesn’t mean anything. David Ickes been on radio 4🤷🏼‍♀️

But that general can huff and puff and say what he wants. There would be mass civil disobedience if he tried it.

Remember Vietnam and the draft? And the hippies. It would be the same as that.

And what would be their alternative? As I said, I don't believe it's even remotely likely, but if it were to be implemented, you can't just refuse. That's sort of the point.

@jgwl, he may have done but Ukraine was not even close to joining NATO then. He was toppled anyway soon after and a president sympathetic to the West was 'elected'.