Ukraine Invasion: Part 32

[MagicFox]

Gosh, that last one filled up quick! Welcome to 32, all 🇺🇦

@Igotjelly Yes I sometimes miss the gossip headlines I must say 😂

The recriminations and blame are heating up. The deputy head of the Russian Kherson administration has reportedly called on Shoigu to kill himself.

twitter.com/TadeuszGiczan/status/1577973576107540482

The Russian MoD also reportedly arrested a number of Wagner executives in Moscow yesterday. I'm trying to find a link for that.

This kind of infighting would have been unthinkable a month ago. It's bad news for Putin. With most of the Rosgvardia (what's left of them) in Ukraine, he doesn't have much personal security left to protect him from a coup.

What is this utter bollocks? Why on Earth would a country who surrendered its own nuclear weapons want a nuclear war? This whole thing is just so irrational and ludicrous.

The Russian invasion of Alaska has begun. Don't worry, we're ready for them.

Two Russians sail to Alaska seeking asylum in US

I'd be pleased if more came. The Alaskans are lovely people and will take very good care of them.

Blimey, that makes a crossing of the English Channel seem trivial....I assume the weather is still OK up there though I wouldn't fancy taking a swim..

"The Alaskans are lovely people"...Well the Alaskan born and raised USAF officer we had on one unit I served on in the UK was a great guy, so I can believe it..

That's not really what he said. He said that some people say that officers like Shoogu should shoot themselves. He didn't present this as his own opinion.

I just checked, and it's still fairly mild there. Good point, though. Anyone trying this had better do it soon.

Alaska is so thinly populated that people rely more on each other if that makes any sense.

I hope you're over the worst of your cold, @notimagain.

Ijsbear · Today 09:55
geh, wrong pic at the end

^🐻 UAnimals zoo workers rescued a bear from Lyman
The animal is in a terrible state and shell-shocked after the explosions. The bear will be taken to the Wildlife Rescue Center for treatment.^

Ijsbeat, that bear is pitiful. I hope it can find some peace in the rescue centre. It looks almost beyond rescue.

shreddednips and Hillsmakeyoustrong

I agree with you about the irresponsible press. I did not see that map of the most likely places in the U.K. to be hit by a nuclear bomb, but that is awful. People are so depressed and anxious already. Think of teenagers seeing it.

The response I used to give to God-botherers on the doorstep who asked whether I was worried about nuclear war was "Living where I do, I am quite sure I am less than five miles from the target of at least five Russian bombs and probably ten American ones, so no, I'm not worried. I won't know a thing about it when it happens."

If I was feeling specially kind, I would add that it was all God's plan anyway so worrying would be blasphemous.

They used almost to run down the front path in their eagerness to escape from the loony. The I would get some peace until the next lot came round a few months later.

Ijsbear · Today 14:08
In Europe we definitely need to do more to ensure that those vulnerable to slipping into poverty are able to keep a roof over their heads, heat their homes and eat, not only is that the moral thing to do, but it will also help to stop mass protests that reveal the cracks in our resolve, which only encourage Putin and his hawks to consider their energy hybrid war a success.

I agree, but the roots of this go back a long way. Before the war. The levels of poverty have been awful, people struggling to eat, not able to heat their homes. The rich-poor divide getting wider has been that way for years. The Ukrainian conflict is making things worse for the previously-unaffected but this has been coming a long time. Gas and Electricity prices were already going up. Health services going down in the UK.

Focussing on the Ukraine conflict is an easy way to deflect looking at what's really going on. It's made things worse sure - and if Putin/Russia wins this conflict it really won't stop here, he will keep going and things will carry on getting worse. I wish the newspapers would point this out :/

Yes, I agree with what you say. The great poverty ( shown by the need for food banks), inflation, and energy prices going up started before Russia invaded.

Of course it makes everything worse, especially in Europe, but ‘Putin’s War’ is being used too much as a way of deflecting any criticism.

strawberriesarenot · Today 19:47

^Fladdermus · Today 16:33
I don't want my electricity to go off. I don't want to sit in a cold dark house eating cold baked beans by candlelight. But, by god, I'd choose that every single time over giving in to a mass murdering bastard.^

Completely agree for myself and dcs.

Very worried about dm, nearly 90, lives alone, far too old to be alone in the dark and mucking around with candles. And she won't be the only old person in that postition. Really hope any powercuts are in daylight hours.

I was thinking about un-safe candles with children around too. Why not get her some battery operated lanterns in case of power cuts?
HomeLife Nebraska LED Storm Lamp with 15 Bright LED's / Carry Handle / Weatherproof Design / Variable Dimmer Settings / Energy Saving / Battery Operated - D1201CP - Copper

amzn.eu/d/cdgbD1q

By the way, well said Fladdermus.

I was thinking about un-safe candles with children around too. Why not get her some battery operated lanterns in case of power cuts?

I live in a heavily wooded area that's prone to tropical storms and the occasional hurricane, so we have several LED camping lanterns, loads of flashlights (torches to you all) and a petrol-powered generator. We went without power for 10 days once. The biggest problem was finding gasoline for the generator. Hope for the best, and prepare for the worst.

I bought some battery powered lanterns when they announced they might be doing rolling blackouts here. They've since said it probably won't come to that but I like to be prepared (learnt my lesson from the time I had a 5 day long powercut in the middle of winter out in the countryside and didn't even have candles!)

Since Finland stopped tourist visas there's been more Russians crossing the border to go back to Russia than leaving it, which is making me wonder, what Russians are going back now?

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/07/biden-warns-world-would-face-armageddon-if-putin-uses-a-tactical-nuclear-weapon-in-ukraine

This jabbering reports d quite widely in the prress. What Is POTUS aim in this speech. Is this once again to reaffirm western resolve or to tentatively hint we have to redemPtion an off ramp and if so what? I was originally of theologians there maybe scenarios where a WMD could be used in Ukraine but with the consequent fails of Russia but Biden I think is being quite bleak.

There have been a number of thoughtful pieces on this thread minimising the chance of nuclear war and attempts to limit scare mongering; is Joe adding to this?

(Basically what is the point of the speech in terms of.public response)

This piece is reported....not jabbering...

I think he's making it clear that no nuclear use can be tolerated, maybe it's a version of what the US have told Russia through the back channels. It also undermines Russia's position to its allies, underscores how irresponsible for the whole world these threats/nuclear use would be.

It’s reported in Sky News too. Apparently it wasn’t a speech by Biden but off camera private comments that were overheard by journalists. Which frankly worries me more.

Also I think what he actually said is that the world hasn't been this close since the Cuban missile crisis. The emphasis is on the fact that responsibility is on Russia. He said ": “I don't think there's any such thing as the ability to easily (use) a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon.” He's saying if Russia does this it's irresponsible, threatens the whole world (inc you, China!)

Re the comments being made privately the Washington post puts it like this:

"Biden’s comments came during a private fundraiser for Democratic Senate candidates at the Manhattan home of James and Kathryn Murdoch. He tends to be more unguarded — often speaking with just rough notes — in such settings, which are open only to a handful of reporters without cameras or recording devices."

So off script, yes

From the FT:

Speaking at a fundraiser in New York on Thursday night, Biden said Russia’s president was “not joking” about the “potential use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons because his military is you might say significantly underperforming”.
“We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since [President John] Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis,” Biden said, adding that “we have a direct threat of the use of nuclear weapons if in fact things continue down the path they are going”.
Biden said he was trying to find a way for Putin to back down. “I’m trying to figure out: what is Putin’s off-ramp?” Biden said. “Where does he find a way out?”

He also spoke about finding Putin an off ramp that allows him to save face. Thought we had moved past that being a possibility?

I'm just posting these other reports to show that it was more nuanced than "the world is facing Armageddon" which is the headline the press is going with

Off ramp definitely mentioned but not saving face as far as I can tell. Could this be an appeal to the Russian elites? There needs to be an off ramp, if putin is past the point of one, he needs removed so russia can have one?