Ukraine Invasion: Part 22

[MagicFox]

Here we are again

Former head of the Polish army and defense minister accuses Boris Johnson of revealing military secrets.

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/boris-reveals-ukrainian-soldiers-poland-b2067303.html?utm_content=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR1BJGlDHYJCSgF1jf6uuZHdd_ZPONKfB5Q_Jr_SdP15Swesu48SLaO7ryk#Echobox=1651148819

FUUUUCCCKKK that explains the ridicilously poor MN upgrade.

It wasn't incompetence. It was 100% malicious sabotage by the Russians. They had a spy embedded in MNHQ to cause as much chaos as possible.

They were eventually activated and told to bring down MN by any means necessary to support the special operation. The clues are all there if you look.

I mean even the word 'upgrade' is an obvious lie and Russian tell.

I read the Angus Roxburgh article this morning before seeing it linked here and raised an eyebrow at it, considering he worked for the Kremlin, it did seem very biased and followed what Russia would want the West to think.

Scottish Power chief has a good idea for helping low income families with rising fuel bills, the Government could help fund the difference between the old price cap of £1200 and the shocking predicted price cap in October of £2500
www.theguardian.com/business/nils-pratley-on-finance/2022/apr/27/scottish-power-chief-has-a-bright-idea-to-ease-cost-of-living-crisis

We do need to cut down on energy consumption (also see climate change, the next issue we will face), but the Government needs to support people on lower incomes who are already struggling with rising energy and food bills.

Germany have slashed public transport costs to decrease demand for fuels and incentive its use.

Stuff like this or encouraging people who can afford to invest in solar to do so

Lots of little imaginative options.

Re Visas
if it true some family members get them but then say a baby dies not, it must mean completely separate officials are dealing with each family member, instead of one official working on the visas for each family member.

Some system must be stupid and chaotic.

The exact conversation I've had with someone today. Its utterly ridiculous that all applications are being treated as individuals not as families especially when a child can not enter the country unaccompanied even if their visa is issued. As it stands the visa system does not allow for unaccompanied minors.

The visa should be processed as a family unit and all issued at the same time once approved. But thats not happening.

I was talking to a lady today who is hosting 6. She has one visa thats gone through. Still waiting on the others. She says the only good thing about it is she at least knows they are in progress.

I could tell you a pile of ridiculous stories already about the inconsistency of whats happening and how it seems like complete pot luck.

Visas applied for now do seem to be going through much quicker than visa applied for several weeks ago.

I THINK the initial ones were all processed by the home office and Crapita was bought on board to help sometime in the last couple of weeks. It makes me wonder if the Home Office are being over zealous but Capita are doing the exact opposite and not checking everything they should.

Or there is some kind of secret list of people, and if your name is on the list your application gets fast tracked (only half joking here btw).

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2022/04/28/Ukraine-investigating-10-Russian-troops-over-Bucha-Prosecutors
Ukrainian prosecutors said Thursday they were investigating 10 Russian soldiers suspected of committing war crimes in Bucha, where bodies in civilian clothes were found dead after Moscow’s troops retreated.

“Ten servicemen of the 64th motorized infantry brigade of the Russian armed forces, part of the 35th army, are suspected of cruel treatment of civilians and other violations of laws and customs of war,” the Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office said in a statement.

I wonder if these are ones they captured near Izyum the other day so have them on Ukrainian soil... It sure sounds like it.

Expect Russia to make up shit for Ukrainian POWs in response.

Natasha Bertrand AT NatashaBertrand (CNN)
“If Ukraine falls, I think Putin will go after other countries in the southeast of Europe and in the Balkans,” UK Ambassador to the US Karen Pierce tells
AT brikeilarcnn

“We already see Russian efforts at destabilization there…just enough to throw those countries off balance.”

Interesting. The UK are telling the US and its press the EXACT same message as Zelensky here.

But this makes sense. I'd say Putin's appetite for control and power is insatiable.

A PP pointed out that the Russian word for peace also means world and that the ambiguity suits russian ambition very well.

This has really stuck with me.

No surprise, as discussed earlier, these people need to shut their mouths and carry on doing what they are doing, rather than bragging for short term electoral gain.

Putting UK troops at risk too.

Yes, and I don't doubt this is his ambition. But, after his army has been totalled in Ukraine, how will he achieve it? This is why weaning off Russian gas and oil and starving the war machine is so important long term

Yeah, we need a new prime minister. The next general election is waaaay too far away. I hope we don't see a Tory government again for a long time

I don't understand this, one minute Putin is ill, possibly dying and his military a proven disaster, having failed in all his aims in Ukraine, the next, is about to take on NATO.....

In terms of approach to Ukraine there has been very little dissent between the parties. We have no reason to think any other party would handle it any better or indeed any differently.

On other, internal matters, I agree that the Tories are a heap of shit.

Destabilisation doesn't necessarily mean throw your army in. Not straight away at least.

Backing Serbia Nationalists and trying to undermine Bosnian law enforcement through corruption would be good examples (mentioned very briefly in one thread - US and UK just sanctioned a couple of individuals because of this). Moldova would be another one to watch.

Its the whole, turning a blind eye to things and it will continue to escalate.

@Igotjelly yes def , I didn't mean about ukraine specifically I just meant generally.

This was his modus operandi in Belorus and Ukraine already, though he overreached himself in Ukraine and they voted another party in. It works for him and he's better at this than actual war. Corruption really is his thing isn't it, corruption of companies, politics and countries.

He really does seem to be struggling health wise though doesn't he when you look at him, when you consider his body language and someone (Owl?) said he was repeating himself and losing track of what he was saying in the last few days.

Former head of the Polish army and defense minister accuses Boris Johnson of revealing military secrets.

Trump was rather good at that sort of thing, wasn’t he?

I don’t think it’s overzealousness. I heard of some in the early days that went through despite not having had all the documents submitted. I think something happened in the beginning which caused large numbers of documents to be lost, and now they are either not losing them or are putting more effort into finding them.
Ours were put on hold twice due to missing things. The first time I sent them another scan of DH’s passport , the second time they managed to find the missing biometrics when they looked.
Then we had another wait before they got round to sending out the letters.
We were lucky because my MP has a competent & efficient caseworker, otherwise we would never have known it was on hold or why.

Just announced on the radio 1British person killed in Ukraine and another missing but they had no more information than that

Deborah Haynes AT haynesdeborah
BREAKING: A British man has been killed in Ukraine and a second British man is missing, the AT FCDOGovUK said on Thursday. It is thought that the pair had been fighting against Russian forces as volunteers in support of Ukraine’s military, although this has not been confirmed.

So official, not just rumour. And thought to be military related not civilian.

Samuel Ramani
@SamRamani2
BREAKING: The U.S. House of Representatives passes a bill allowing for sanctioned Russian assets to be used to help Ukraine

Seems just. I wonder how the oligarchs will react. Some of them must have hoped they'd get some of the assets back if Ukraine won the war.

And who said Biden doesn’t read Mumsnet 😂 we were saying this days ago. Frankly I think our talents are wasted.

I've been at work, but to go back to earlier comments about empty shelves etc.

The governments of the west need to make it crystal clear to their electorates that this is a war for democracy and personal freedom. Putin did as he liked in Chechnya, bugger all happened. He did as he liked in Crimea, bugger all happened. He did as he liked in Salisbury, bugger all happened. He did as he liked in a few other places, bugger all happened. He's now tried it in the Ukraine again and been told by the Ukraine, the West and NATO to fuck off.

If he gets away with it this time, he'll be trying something else next year. And the year after.

It's like watching remake of 'Adolf in the Sudetenland'. He has to be stopped.

Sky News Breaking AT SkyNewsBreak
The British national who has been killed in Ukraine has been named as Scott Sibley