Ukraine Invasion: Part 25

[MagicFox]

Hi all, another thread for supporting and sharing

But, again, I will never believe in any peaceful intentions of the Russians. Because I put the responsibility for what is happening on the whole Russian people. I do not like this talk that only Putin is an unconditional evil. Yes, he is. However, he would not be able to do what he does now if he did not have such public support

This is interesting because elsewhere we’re told not to blame all Russian people. I would hope not to be blamed for the actions of the UK government given they were elected by only a third of the population. But his sentiment is understandable. You just need to see enough supportive Russians to blame them all when suffering as much as the Ukrainians.

The Russian population isn't one amorphous blob though. We're talking about huge differences in terms of geography and generation. The massive brain drain Russia has experienced surely speaks to this generational divide.

And we return again to the "two-speed" EU that wasn't anywhere near good enough for the UK back in 2015.

Also, look at the rise of fascist ideology in America right now and we can see that in the UK too. There is a horrible and dangerous backwards looking uprising that wants to contain and target minorities, to control women and their bodies. They want to go back to this dark time where evil old men controlled everything. Democracy and equality feels under threat everywhere, not just in Russia. This is a tipping point that has to open our eyes to what we've been blindly walking into for years

Given some previous comment perhaps time for an alternative POV..

The good cop is still on the side of the cops. France has supplied self-propelled artillery and thousands of shells to help arm the Ukrainians. It promises to send more. France has condemned the Russian invasion at the United Nations, has joined the stiff sanctions that are choking Russia’s economy and has sent forensic experts to help collect evidence of Russian war crimes. The alliance remains strong.

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/13/ukraine-france-playing-good-cop-putin/

I know kicking “Macron”/ the EU is popular in some quarters but I think we need to remember it’s in some peoples interest to play up any apparent lack of solidarity.

@katem98 in response to your question about China, just seen this

Alternative European Union is an interesting idea, though not sure I'd like it (though I would like the UK being brought back into some kind of Union)

Lighthearted news - Finnish brewery is brewing a NATO beer. Hope they send a case to Putin yle.fi/news/3-12447932

I wonder what that means

Ah thank you @MagicFox. I can't work it out either @Natsku Haha. Have just been wondering for a while, that's all.

Kevin Rothrock AT KevinRothrock
Speaking at today’s CSTO summit, Putin said that NATO membership alone for Finland and Sweden poses no threat to Russia, but Moscow will respond in kind to any buildup of military infrastructure in these nations. Russia’s response will depend on the buildup.

Thats toned down...

Not sure, it implies it might be a factor in their friendly relationship but restates they friendly relationship. So I can't tell if it's a veiled threat/warning or if they're saying we notice this but hope to maintain our friendly relationship. Maybe both. Maybe diplomacy-ese. In short, sitting on the fence again?

@MagicFox That's kind of how I'd interpreted it, too!

Kamil Galeev is mid thread. I'm not sure its going to be a particularly enlightening one, but there is something interesting in it I will highlight.

Kamil Galeev AT kamilkazani
Pretty much all of the Russian leadership attended his [Vladimir Zhirinovsky] funeral. Putin, Medvedev, Kirienko, Shoigu, Naryshkin, etc. And yet, did you notice the difference between Putin and others? When Medvedev or Naryshkin approaches the body, the honorary guards are standing near the coffin

When Putin approaches the Zhirinovsky's coffin, there is no one around. Nobody is allowed near Putin. Even the honorary guards have to leave their places. That tells a lot about Putin's character. He is super cautious, suspicious and risk avoidant person

What was it again? Blood cancer was the rumour, wasn't it?

Jack Detsch AT JackDetsch
U.S. assesses Russia has committed 80 percent of battalion tactical groups to Ukraine: senior U.S. defense official

Russia now has 106 BTGs in the country, but still has a "majority" of the 140 units he dedicated to Ukraine mission.

Putin "doesn't have a whole lot" to add to fight

You know though, rumours about Putin being mortally ill have been around since the early 2000s. I'm not sure I buy it. Especially as it's convenient propaganda. Isn't it more likely (and true to form) that he's paranoid about assassination/the possibility of a coup?

Hope something carries him off soon, whether its illness or assassination, but probably not going to happen anytime soon.

Denmark, Norway and Iceland have offered Finland and Sweden security guarantees now as well, so not just the UK able to do that.

I wonder what that means

it can mean anything, which is exactly what they want.

@AskingQuestionsAllTheTime · 16/05/2022 16:43

I was being slightly facetious

Oops sorry ! :D

@MagicFox

Magic the clips of him recently though - he really isn't the fit man he used to be. Even knowing that a pile of stuff was set up for him (seems a bit medieval really, all this hunting of tranquillized tigers etc) before, he looked fit and healthy and was still doing Judo.

His judo days look very much over now and he really doesn't look either fit or healthy at all when you cross reference the few video clips of him now.

Hope you're right @Ijsbear - it's pleasing that he was removed as president/patron of the judo federation (or something like that)

Found this article on the future of arms control interesting as I think the wider implications for global security are now being really thought through: foreignpolicy.com/2022/04/01/russia-war-ukraine-nuclear-arms-control-dark-ages-renaissance/

The Kyiv Independent
@KyivIndependent
·
32m
⚡️Norway, Denmark, Iceland give security guarantees to Sweden and Finland.

The Scandinavian countries stand ready to assist their Nordic neighbors “should they be the victim of aggression” before obtaining NATO membership, Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said.

The move follows Russia’s threats against Finland and Sweden, including a Russian official’s statement that they may become targets for a military attack. The statement also comes amid Ukraine’s quest to obtain Western security guarantees to repel Russian aggression.

(Perhaps that's why Putin backed down a bit in his latest statement about them joining NATO? Although it's difficult to believe in anything he says so I pay no more credence to that than to his threats).

I've been in favour of an 'alternative EU' since before Brexit (I voted Leave). I think the concept of the EU is brilliant but don't agree with what it's morphed into, and I've always felt that the answer was to have a competitive alternative - like we do with political parties. There's no incentive for the EU to try and keep all its members happy if the only other option is to go it alone - a move that's too drastic for most. But if there was an alternative union and the flexibility to switch between them, both would think more carefully about their remit and the interests of all members (rather than a dominant few), in order to retain or attract them.

Oh, don't be! You gave me a reason to explain what I meant, which I really hadn't.

That would be, um, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan... I think that's yer lot.

Put it another way.

Does it look like the actions of a man willing to risk nukes hitting Russia?