The Invasion is ongoing...Part 6

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Things are ramping up. No end in site as yet.

Link to thread 5 here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/4494173-The-Invasion-is-ongoing-Part-5?pg=1

He won’t stop at Ukraine, he is backed into a corner, domestically and internationally.

He might not stop at Ukraine, but he hasn't won there (yet) and may not (long term). NATO are biding their time and sticking to their "defensive alliance" status.

@DGRossetti

The videos of unarmed people just calming walking towards tanks, in front of the nuclear plant...

People need to watch "Gandhi"

Do people need to go to bed with young children to prove their abstinence as well?

Another superyacht seized. This time by the French. Belongs to Igor Sechin, one of Putin’s closest of confidantes.

The Russians are already occupying part of Moldova.

Moldova used to be one of the Soviet republics. When the Soviet Union broke up, it had a short civil war. There is a strip of land in the eastern part of Moldova, bordering Ukraine, on the east side of the Dniester river -- this was the most Soviet/Russian part of the republic, it hosted a large Red Army presence and lots of industry. People in this part of Moldova (Transnistria) preferred to stay part of Russia. They were worried that Moldova might try to reunify with Romania (there are a lot of historical and cultural links).

So in 1991 there was a short civil war which ended in stalemate. Ever since then Transnistria has been a de facto state, which cannot be reclaimed because there are several thousand Russian troops stationed there to guard its autonomy.

It has been run mostly as a mafia state, completely corrupt, depending on huge organised crime funding to survive. BUT in more recent years it has been trading more with the EU, and people think in the long run the conflict can be resolved through closer economic integration.

Russia has never wanted to annex Transnistria but it is a hugely convenient base for them and they will not want to give it up either.

If they can take Odessa and all of southern Ukraine then they can attach Transnistria to this territory. I do not think they would try to take the rest of Moldova. They would not gain that much and it would cost a lot, and there is not the same historical/cultural pull.

@StrychnineInTheSandwiches

Another superyacht seized. This time by the French. Belongs to Igor Sechin, one of Putin’s closest of confidantes.

Why hasn’t BoJo ordered the seizure of Oligarch’s homes in London? Good on the French for doing that though.

I saw a video of Lukashenko on sky news the other night with a map & a stick basically outlying the invasion strategy to his ministers & kept pointing at Moldova...
First thoughts were who leaked the video & secondly it was only a rouse to redirect the Ukranians?

Do people need to go to bed with young children to prove their abstinence as well?

Depends how much like Gandhi you want to be. My point was the bravery of Indians queuing up to be smashed in the face by British soldiers. One after another after another ...

Its being said Ukraine are saying 9000 dead russians. I am taking this with a large dose of salt because the source is a Ukrainian and actually says 9000 russian troop losses. That doesn't necessarily mean dead. It could mean casualty - dead, wounded and pows.

Thats still quite a number.

But it also raises questions about Ukrainian losses too.

Why hasn’t BoJo ordered the seizure of Oligarch’s homes in London?

Just you wait .... 30 days.

Why hasn’t BoJo ordered the seizure of Oligarch’s homes in London?

Quite!

Although I was just reading that Ben Elliott, co-chair of the Conservative Party (as well as nephew of Camilla soon to be queenie), owns a luxury 24-hr concierge business called the Quintessentially Group, that is still operational in Russia.

Says it all as to where the Tories' true motivations lie.

@JS87 - easy to say that when it's not even a possibility. In reality political partition is fraught with issues.

Why are super yachts seemingly the seizing in choice?

Do they also take their properties etc

Of..

@MarshaBradyo

Of..

Worth many millions. A symbol of lavish lifestyles.

@Roundeartheratchriatmas

Just spotted this - a Russian businessman has placed a million dollar bounty on Putin's head to have him arrested and brought in as a war criminal 'dead or alive' - also being reported on other news sites.

Wonder what would if a few more did this ?

I agree. $1M is nothing really. It needs to be far more and I'm sure someone would then oblige.

And frequently moored around the Med, etc.

Btw Moldova and Georgia show why it's way too simplistic to believe this narrative that the West started all these terrible interventions and Russia is just following suit.

Way back in the early 1990s Russia was supporting separatists in Moldova and Georgia, they still support them to this day and are the reason both countries have to accept these criminalised de facto states within their territories.

Russia controls 15% of Georgian territory and is slowly expanding it every year through illegal land seizures. In 2008 it actually invaded Georgia proper, another unlawful aggression.

Russian support for separatists in Eastern Ukraine after 2014 followed this exact playbook, provide support to separatists and create a 'frozen conflict' that prevents the country from further integration with the West.

The precedent is not Iraq or Libya, these were entirely different kinds of conflicts. In Ukraine Russia is just doing what it has done in other former republics for a long time.

Sure it is but why not go the whole hog?

Just the yacht.. maybe they have a couple, some jets and multi million properties so a symbolic gesture to be left alone

Pp to We

@workisnotawolf it's been the case for a few years now that threads in chat don't disappear. Only the ones in 30 days only

@WeAreTheHeroes

And frequently moored around the Med, etc.

Maybe they’re just easier to take. And yes in the Med

IKEA has announced it is closing all 17 of its stores in Russia and won't source goods from Russia or Belarus

Thats a lot of job losses and a big right off for Ikea.

@MarshaBradyo

Why are super yachts seemingly the seizing in choice?

Do they also take their properties etc

By far the most expensive and the most obvious reason, they can move em around/sell, you can't a house quite as easily, so there is more time to act on these.

I’d like the luxury brands like Chanel to join in closing

Ukraine armed forces saying they expect 16,000 foreign volunteers to arrive soon (!!) in the new international legion.

They said they only accepted people with previous military experience so presumably they won't be totally useless.