To be worried about the Russian retaliation?

[alligatortoss]

just think you don’t fuck around with them. Anything could happen

Yes, Putin has elections, we help him play the strong leader of a Motherland under attack from the imperialist West which is what he needs.

I'm happy to give them The Look.

Helmetbymidnight

He looks very strong. While our country looks like a little shit-hole inhabited by morons.

Well, with friends like you...

Whales - there have always been friends of Russia - everywhere. Some even make it to parliament.

Some of them went to Eton/Oxbridge/MI5/MI6 and worked for the Queen.

There have been soooo many instances of Russia deliberately provoking other countries with stuff like this (usually trespassing into somebody else's airspace etc). It very much feels like the bully in the playground poking somebody in the eye until they react - total willy waving, look how macho we are, blah blah. It's sad. North Korea have a similar outlook methinks.

During the Cold War years, when there was so much discussion about unilateral disarmament, there used to be a phrase "better red than dead".
Not sure if there's an equivalent expression today.

What are Russia's aims? Of course every country wants to further their own economic interests but is Russa hoping to expand territory, suppress other superpowers etc?

I think we need a more precise question of 'What does Putin want?' He wants Russia to be The super power is my limited understanding.

Retaliation is much more likely to be cyber and energy related than missile based I believe. It may not be soon, they have been playing the long game. There may be something very soon (pure speculation on my part) simply because 'elections' are coming up very soon in Russia.

Going back over the years, we have always had similar sort of stuff coming from Russia in the run up to election times. The same in the US. I think they think that strong leadership equals scaremongering. It would have the opposite affect on me, give me the pacifists any day.

Putin is trying to safeguard himself against regime change like what happened in Iraq etc. That's why he wants a buffer between Russia and the EU which is why he can't allow former soviet republics to join. He wasn't strong enough to stop it when Latvia and the other Baltic States joined but he could stop Ukraine and Georgia and will stop others. There have also been incursions and kidnappings on the border with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. He seeks to undermine NATO for the same reason.

Yes, Putin has elections, we help him play the strong leader of a Motherland under attack from the imperialist West which is what he needs.

^
This

They really don’t give a shit what someone like Teressa May says and they’re proving it. They aren’t going to start a nuclear war. They’re going to keep doing what they’re doing. Their public statements have just been a big fuck off. At worst they may attempt am assassination if she really pisses them of but that would hardly be a disaster for Britain.

Putin is clever enough to see the west alliances becoming weaker and weaker. Why wouldn't he use it to boost his own position domestically and internationally. Without all this isolationist crap he wouldn't stand as much of a chance.

so, Jeremy Corbyn has been slated for standing up in the commons today,saying that it might not be Russia behind the nerve agent attack! The man is a disgrace.

Putin is a dreadful bully. I wish we could expel all the Russian Oligarchs and let homeless people live in their mansions.

LittleLionMansMummy NATO is nothing to do with the EU. It predates any of the institutions that morphed into the EU. It is not funded by the EU, but by NATO nations. The EU does not have a seat at the NAC, the EU is not and cannot be, a NATO nation. NATO was set up by a separate treaty in 1949.

I would also point out that Russia got itself banned from NATO and the NATO-Russia Council was suspended when it decided to annexe Crimea.

Voice NATO are concerned about Russia, hence the RAP; Finland and Sweden are getting edgy.

User14....252 The Russians are culpable either way; if they did it, or by not ensuring their nerve agent was destroyed, or by not having sufficient security in place to keep it locked away.

scary - couldnt agree more. Russia represent a credible and aggressive military threat. the constant probing of our airspace, sending carriers down the channel, popping up submarines off Scotland is all about swagger and projecting force.

Listening to some people its like the cold war never happened. Russia's military doctrine is to push, push push. And to sow dissent amongst enemy ranks. They do this for specific military postures as well. Looking at the SS20 v Pershing / Cruise debate.

SS20 was deployed in spite of Nato saying that it would deploy cruise and pershing if they did. After cruise was deployed the Kremlin set about exploiting dissent in Europe for having cruise and pershing deployed. They play the long game.

JC is a textbook definition of a useful idiot . However, I didn't know he included Putin's in the list of arses he is prepared to lick.

gussy - he was always on Russia Today.

I see a journalist today said about Corbyn "The sad and dangerous truth is that if Britain labels you an enemy, Corbyn's ears prick up and he detects a potential comrade".

Now that might be a little strong but he does rather have form of loving the reds....

At least with corbyn gone, you won't be distracted from all the failures of our strong and stable government...

The UK is largely powerless. They don't want to kick out too many "diplomats" (spies) as that'll mean British spies will be kicked out of Russia. And if they give RT the boot then BBC and so on will be kicked out of Russia.
Trump won't do anything as he's too indebted to Russia. The EU probably won't do anything as they're happy making the point that the UK is alone with Brexit. The UN won't do anything as Russia and China have a veto there.
I'm surprised the UK won't supply a sample to Russia - what is there to lose by doing that?

I’m in no way saying that it wasnt Russia that did it/instigated by Purim... but I haven’t seen/heard anything that says they have absolute proof that it was? My limited understanding is that that is why Putin has essential laughed in our faces?

Admittedly I’ve only seen the headlines and listened to R2 this afternoon, and I’m not trying to be goady, just genuinely wondering if I’ve missed something?

Now Theresa May is on Swedish television, the evening news, and now they show Lavrov. And now May again.

I don't understand why Corbyn is so unwilling to condemn Putin. During the Cold War when many on the left were aligned with the Soviet Union such support was understandable, but now Russia isn't communist any longer why does Corbyn support it?
Maybe he feels nostalgic for the days when Putin was a KGB operative in Dresden.