Ukraine Invasion: Part 22

[MagicFox]

Here we are again

I did suspect they wouldn’t be dropping selfies on the train in the way in. Glad to hear they made it in.

@Ijsbear Thanks for that update. It makes difficult reading but appreciate it.
I signed this petition: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/610069

Thank the Lord that Macron beat Le Pen

Has he definitely ? just thinking back to the referendum.

Thanks for those links @notimagain , interesting that some of the German Parliament and population baulked at spending as much as we do on defence, so 2% of GDP.

Yes, she’s conceded defeat.

@Ijsbear · 24/04/2022 20:28

Regarding any POWs I really hope Ukraine keeps to the rules, however hard it is. So far they are building a reputation for reasonable honesty and not the sort of brutality that the Russian soldiers exhibit. They need to keep that high ground. Apart from anything else, a rep for treating their POWs well will mean that Russian soldiers who consider surrendering won't be put off

I agree. I so hope they manage that. It is essential so as to keep them backed up in the public mind. It must be difficult to not want revenge.

Thank you @Igotjelly , listening to the radio in the car earlier, I was struck by the similarities in language in the Le Pen campaign and that of the Brexit one.

@GetYourEightYearOldOutOfATree thought that history might have something to do with it, they are bit damned if they do and damned if they don't aren't they ?

A six month old baby Ukrainian refugee who currently on her mother’s passport has been told she has to get her own biometric tests before she can get a visa to come to the U.K.

what would these tests for a baby be. Is this really necessary? Does anyone know? Do our babies have to have them to enter and leave the U.K.?

Inhumane’ Homes for Ukraine scheme requests security scans for baby girl | Refugees | The Guardian

www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/24/inhumane-uk-homes-for-ukraine-scheme-security-scans-for-baby-girl
amp.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/24/inhumane-uk-homes-for-ukraine-scheme-security-scans-for-baby-girl

@ScrollingLeaves my potential guest's 2 year old son has had to visit a VAC for a biometric photo as he doesn't have his own passport...

I found out earlier that hotels are putting refugees up (the way I found out made me angry but I won't go into that).
This seems like a good idea to me because at least they'll have their own space and bathroom. Not ideal but better than sharing a small flat or house with a stranger.

I hope our government get a move on with sorting visas for the whole family though!

Michel Rose AT MichelReuters
The Elysée says Macron’s first phone call after his re-election tonight was with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz

Hope he is giving Scholz an ear full and telling him how he is going to help Ukraine now. But I'm not holding my breathe.

www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/14/german-chancellor-stalling-heavy-weaponry-ukraine-coalition-olaf-scholz-russia-offensive

I think this article goes some way to explaining why nothing is simple in this war. If Germany gives a load of stuff to Ukraine, they might not be able to fully replace it until 2024, anyone else see the problem with that ?
Would you be happy for the UK to diminish its arms supplies in the hope we might be able to replace them in a couple of years ? The heart says yes obviously, but what would anyone serving in the armed forces right now say ?
The article also mentions heavy arms, how many helicopters, tanks or fighter jets has the UK given to Ukraine to date ? I know we have volunteered to short term loan some tanks to another country if they give theirs to Ukraine, but as far as hardware on the ground, with the keys under the visor type scenario, where are we at ?

The hotel sounds like a better idea than placing Ukrainian refugees with host families, however well meaning. It is safer for lone women with or without children (hopefully their neighbours are in similar circumstances) and gives them privacy and a safe space to grieve if they are suffering from trauma.

The article about the Swiss refusing to sell ammunition is also interesting. It's the ammunition for the heavy tanks that the Germans miiiiight be willing to supply. Except that they sold them to Greeks instead.

But the Swiss in order to maintain neutrality can't sell to Germany, it seems. But they can sell to the Greeks, if the Greeks should happen to, oh I don't know, just be sending a few tanks to Ukraine.

Just wondering. Tehre's a great deal of roundaboutery going on.

The biometrics are photo and fingerprints I think.
My guests took their children aged 4, 3 and 1 for them.
It looks like they were lucky because they were correctly advised in the beginning that they needed to. A number of people were wrongly told (I presume by the makeitupasyougoalongline) they didn’t need to and only found out 5 weeks later when they finally managed to get an answer as to why their visas hadn’t been processed and discovered they had been on put hold all that time.

@TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 24/04/2022 22:10
The biometrics are photo and fingerprints I think.
I wonder if that is an ordinary photo or one with iris recognition?

I suppose one good thing about the biometrics for infants might be that they might be a form of protection, an accurate record of them, in these chaotic circumstances. I’d like to see the U.K. governments reasoning though.

The last time I knew of a U.K. baby getting a passport, four years ago, only an ordinary photo was needed.

Well the safest housing for refugees depends. I have been to one of the hotels the UK houses Syrian refugees in (and read the reviews on TripAdvisor) and I promise you you would not feel safe there as a lone woman. (Think stag nights crapping in the lift. I am not exaggerating.)
If the spare rooms thing was properly managed (no single men looking for lone women on Facebook ffs) it would have been safer. But of course it wasn’t.

@Ijsbear are you suggesting that Greece needs lots of heavy arms about now?

Well they must be nervous given the situation to the East , I mean who could blame them if they decided to stock up and it all went a bit Sgt. Bilko ?

Ive no idea of Greece's stance on the war actually, but it did occur to me that if they sent any tanks they have to Ukraine and Germany ensured they had tanks and Switzerland sold to Greece .. it might work

But tbh its bedtime and I havent looked at Greece's support or otherwise for Ukraine.

Late check in

I was relieved to hear Macron has won in France. I'm out of the loop this weekend with what's been going on with regard to Ukraine as I've been spending time on a hobby (not cycling!) and haven't had chance to get up to date with this thread.

The UK govt visa issues for Ukrainians are far more likely to be cock up than conspiracy though, especially if they've outsourced any of the elements.

I do hope now macron doesn’t have to focus on his reelection he starts focussing on the Ukrainian needs more (and less lengthy calls to madmen). I am so relieved he got in and not her.

russian soldiers are inhumane. The fist week or so I had sympathy for the conscripts, now I have sympathy for none. I hope the captured ones guilty of the Bucha murders do get made examples of in the courts and asap.

im very relieved I’ve not seen reports of any of the things I expected today.

only 1/4 of the population of Ukraine are displaced. How many dead? I dread to think.

petitioning that the in create safe corridors won’t go anywhere, unless we go in with a no fly zone and peacekeeping troops there is no way to keep them safe. Russia shoots or bombs charity workers too. Why we can’t do a NFZ or troops has been discussed at length. A petition for nato to go in and actually fight might have more chance of being actioned except for the nukes thing,