The Invasion Continues...

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Thread two as thread one is complete...

Looks like Putin is going after every non NATO country in Europe. NATO won't get involved unless Russia starts on one of the NATO. The only way to take this mad man out is from the bloody inside. Surely there must be someone waiting in the wings to take his place.

Have just been reading the BBC live coverage (albeit a bit behind) Zelensky has just given a stirring and frightening speech About how the Russians will try to take Kyiv in the next few hours, that it will be a hard night but the morning will come - interspersed with reports on the UN tweaking the wording of the condemnation they want to issue, which is ultimately vetoed by - surprise surprise - Russia.

It’s like trying to fight back against an alien attack with a leaflet campaign! It’s like a terrible war film montage - scenes of bloodshed interspersed with Scenes of the the top brass sitting around trying to decide how many paper clips to order.

I'm so worried about Zelensky and his family, he has said that his wife and children are still in the capital. They're all targets.

What will happen to them all once captured? Are they likely to be killed?

I think the other issue is that the rest of the nations are trying to come up with plans, based on how a normal human would respond. But this is like when the dc ask me what it would be like if a cat could talk.

It would be shit. Our frames of reference would be too different, just like us and putin now.

Associated Press explanation of the UN Vote:

UNITED NATIONS—Russia has vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding that Moscow stop its attack on Ukraine and withdraw all troops.

Friday’s vote was 11-1, with China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstaining. It showed significant but not total opposition to Russia’s invasion of its smaller, militarily weaker neighbor.

The United States and other supporters knew the resolution wouldn’t pass but argued it would highlight Russia’s international isolation. The resolution’s failure paves the way for backers to call for a swift vote on a similar measure in the U.N. General Assembly. There are no vetoes in the 193-member assembly. There’s no timetable as yet for a potential Assembly vote.

China abstaining is interesting though

I'd never normally wish death on anyone but I hope someone/something hurries up & takes Putin out not just for the sake of Ukraine & her people but for the rest of civilisation who just want to live a normal, peaceful life.

Vlad the impala as we call him in our house must surely have dementia, BSE or is having some kind of psychotic break.

Those recent images, of Putin with various politicians sat either end of that stupid table, keep coming back to me.

Such a blatant PR/propaganda snapshot - he KNEW what he was going to do, he knew those meetings were pointless. Yet he thinks he’s shown that he was willing to discuss/negotiate.

Am aware that it’s a simplistic way to look at it, but it’s just such a pre-planned way of basically saying “fuck you” to everyone.

Me too @TracyBeakerSoYeah

It’s such a completely bizarre pedestal he’s got himself up onto. It’s like we’ve always known he’s unpredictable and untrustworthy but just hoped he stayed quiet and let us get on with it. He’s now just come leaping out his box and seems to fancy a go at anyone and everyone 🤔 I’ve seen a lot of people playing down the nuclear idea but he really could do just about anything next at this point 🤦🏼‍♀️ It would be interesting to see if he was taken out what the rest of his government would do. I feel so sorry for the people of Russia having to either stay quiet and allow this to happen or most likely face years in jail (or worse) if they dare make their voices heard about it 😢

Also without taking away from the fact I’m thinking of the people there 24/7, I can’t stop thinking of the poor animals either. It has been a relief to see that some people have taken their pets with them and Poland have now said they can bring them with them freely but how many people have maybe already left them behind? 😢 What is that dog or cat’s life now? Just sitting in an empty house with no food. It breaks your heart that this is happening right now and we can’t help

My heart goes to Ukraine xx

@Ohmnomnom

How have we (the west) let this madman amass over 6000 nuclear weapons and then use them as threat to invade and bomb innocent countries? Why are we so fucking spineless that we fawn and cater to him and give in to his ridiculous demands and ignore his spiteful threats?

I'm so angry at him. I knew he was evil, but always thought he was a smart and calculating man. But he's shown the world exactly what he is, a bitter and twisted, small-dicked, deluded, shit stain of a man. I hope they kill him soon and I hope its painful.

Haven't RTFT so I'm sure this has been answered. But it's because of money. Russian money plowed in the Tory party, in our case. This is what happens when corruption is rife at the very top- innocent people suffer.

It will pass in the General Assembly but it doesn't matter because the GA can't authorise anything

@dreamingbohemian

It will pass in the General Assembly but it doesn't matter because the GA can't authorise anything

...it may well all be over by the time that happens anyway I guess.

@Tigersonvaseline

What's happening with India? I thought India was on our side? And we back them up with Pakistan?

Why did India abstain?

India has been tending towards the right for a while now. There is an axis of countries with a loose alliance: Russia, China, India, Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, Cuba, some African countries (DR Congo, Nigeria), other European nations (Belarus, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and a few others), and some Asian (Mongolia, Cambodia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka). Note this isn't an exhaustive list and obviously most of these countries didn't abstain from the vote.

@dreamingbohemian

UN Security Council vote today on a draft resolution condemning the Russian invasion (not authorising any action, just condemning the invasion):

11 yes votes
1 no vote from Russia -- a veto, killing the resolution

3 abstentions:
China
India
UAE

So we have our allies and our axis.

I fell down the rabbit hole of going on to my VK account for the first time in 2022 after a comment on another thread. This is Russian advice for Russian readers (at least) in the capital. It is a banned site in Ukraine, or was when I was last there, so one would only see this if using a VPN I suppose. Posted for information NOT endorsement.

Pinned post on vk.com/kiev044_today

Friends, the Russian Army will come to the city in the near future. All accomplices of the junta will be punished. Civilians are not in danger, but there may be some supply problems.

1. Stock up on water (as much as possible, there is a chance that there will be no water for a long time)
2. You need a lot of bread or flour - a lot (supply problems will definitely arise)
3. Collect cereals, rice, pasta, canned food (everything that is stored for a long time)
4. Put together an emergency case (valuables, medicine)
5. Seal the glass (the Web is full of manuals on how to do it correctly)
6. Don't panic! Only the Nazis should panic, nothing will save them, but they can use civilians as a human shield, and therefore limit movement near the Ukrainian military.
7. Be calm and wait for the Russians, we are already there!

@Tigersonvaseline

What's happening with India? I thought India was on our side? And we back them up with Pakistan?

Why did India abstain?

India has had strong military, economic and other ties with Russia for decades and they have been a big buyer of Soviet, latterly Russian military hardware for years.

Just woken up and read that the US had offered to get the Ukraine president out and he has refused. It's made me cry. What an incredible man.

Hopefully he has agreed for them to take his family out

Remember this when considering whether to book a holiday in Dubai or not.

Why would you want to go to Dubai anyway? It’s a horrible place with a dreadful human rights record.

And I don’t know why people are suggesting Putin must have dementia. Do you think Hitler had dementia too?

This article is depressing - it basically argues that the sanctions we’ve imposed are not much more than an “irritant” to Putin:

www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-10553185/ANDREW-NEIL-West-impotent-long.html

@Gingerwarthog

Yes - have watched so many Russian protesters being whisked off into Police vans. Those protesters knew that would happen and they still protested. That is brave.

I watched a chilling interview with some man (wish I could remember his position but he was Russian side) yesterday on bbc news.

He was saying how democratic Russia was because these people would only go to jail for 5 days and be released.

He kept going in about neo nazis.

He was right about US involvement in the past but the rest was propaganda that was really odd to listen to.

He was either held at a threat or truly believed they are releasing Ukraine from an autocratic ruling and they would be free after this

What possible reasons can he make up to invade Finland and Sweden? Okay Finland has historic ties to Russia (not sure of all the details) but Sweden barely shares a border.

As brave as the 13 soldiers who died defending the island and the soldier who died blowing up the bridge were it’s all so senseless