Most liked posts in thread: World war 3....

Imagine it being the M62, the road works would make them surrender.

 

A power-hungry mad man invades neighbouring sovereign country in Europe making historic claim to land, despite weeks of claiming he has no intention of invading, against a backdrop of fascism and communism being on the rise, civil liberties being infringed and the dehumanisation of a particular demographic. I’ve seen this documentary before.

 

Agreed. Agent Trump was (and is) one of Russia's useful idiots, but they must be rather disappointed in him. In the long run, less useful and more of an idiot than they wanted! You just can't get the help these days...

RCB

 

RT in the UK is not pro Putin and they gave one of their "ministers" don't know what else to call them an absolute pasting in an interview last week. They're anti US and EU for sure but they do provide a different slant on things which actually helps form some kind of balance. Censorship is rife on both sides tbf .

 

think @Tony Wilkinson is the biggest snowflake on here.

"Snowflake" - overly-emotional, easily offended, and unable to deal with opposing opinions.

 

Are you really a free country if you have to ask a neighbour who you can be friends with in case they get upset?

Imagine not being able to control your own foreign policy without ask permission from your larger neighbour

 

Probably because Russian definition of fake or biased is anything that goes against Putin and his line

 

independent Reports? One of which is written by someone who fought during the fighting in the area in 2014 on the Russian side.

 

It is now as it always has been, Sadly

 

Youre the last person who would stand up for a right wing organisation. And the mention of this apparent right wing organisation within Ukraine is merely a distraction as to what is really going on.

 

I didn't notice any celebrity fund raising concepts when we illegally invaded Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

Another top post from you in this thread. You have completely tied poor bantamlad92 in knots now

 

you do realise how patronising you sound?

Well ok, if we’re all that gullible, who told you not to trust ‘biased’ media? who seeded that narrative? Fwiw, I don’t discount some ‘conspiracy’ type talk and actually have some understanding of that area but it has changed a hell of a lot in recent yrs in thar it now is itself, mainstream. Conspiracy theory has been totally normalised and utilised by some areas in pushing certain narratives. You claim we’re blind to the biased nature of mainstream media, well It works both ways. As I’ve said before, conspiracy and throwing this kind of doubt is currency, these days. To me, that is more ‘interesting’ and concerning in that arena than the whole, don’t trust the media BS you get peddled all the time.
Question things yes, but things a rarely binary and so simple, even if some like to make out it is. It’s far more complicated than that.

 

The simple fact that Russia conducted the referendum in another country without their authority tells you everything you need to know.

 

It will cost all of us a helluva lot more, for a lot longer, if Russia is not defeated now so thoroughly that i) there is regime change there, and ii) it cannot even think about further invasions for a generation or so. They will remain a threat until any Russian who is now 40 or over is either off this planet or no longer involved in any positions of power. Ukraine was only going to be the beginning; Moldova would probably have been next, and after that the remaining countries right on their borders: Finland, the Baltics, Georgia and the rest of the Caucasus, and then, I'd expect, Poland.

(And I rellay hope you're not serious with that "democratic referendum" bit, but just fishing for a reaction.)

* * *

Russia's hope for rejoining the civilised world rests in those who grew to adulthood in the post-Soviet era -- but who knows how many of those have now fled, and of those, how many will be willing to return there and rebuild the country from the ground up. As a country it has natural resources, a vibrant culture, many noteworthy sights, and people who have proved -- once removed from Russia itself -- to be worthy inhabitants of their new countries. But they have to eliminate the Muscovite mindset, and face up to the end of dreams of Empire. That is unlikely to happen in the over-40s.

Readings elsewhere led my to the writings of one Timothy Snyder -- well worth reading. This piece looks at the end-stages of this war:

https://snyder.substack.com/p/how-does-the-russo-ukrainian-war

and links in that article lead back to other interesting works, including one that further links to a very chilling piece -- one Russian's manifesto for the extermination of Ukraine and Ukrainians, published just as the horrors of Bucha were being discovered. A direct link doesn't seem to work, but here is Snyder's piece that then links to the manifesto:

https://snyder.substack.com/p/russias-genocide-handbook

Obvious from there, but also in general, that "Nazi" has just become a completely meaningless term of vulgar abuse.

RCB

 

My concern is it's not their fault, they will die a horrific death, it's not a computer game sadly ...

 

He has very long-held beliefs that Ukraine is part of Russia, has no history or culture independent of Russia and should never have been allowed to develop as a sovereign country. He also hates democracy and western culture, believing it to be weak and decadent, so Ukraine's desire to be a part of the western family of democracies is anathema to him. He hates the fact that the Ukrainian public overthrew their Russian puppet government and replaced it with a popular west-leaning Ukrainian leader.
He clearly believed that his army would overwhelm Ukraine in a matter of days and obviously had no idea just how outdated and ineffective it has become. He falsely believed that most Ukrainians were really Russian sympathisers and expected them to capitulate rather than fight fiercely for their homeland and independence.
Because the West effectively capitulated over his previous illegal annexations in East and South Ukraine he expected it to do likewise this time. He's obviously completely underestimated the resolve of the West to prevent him recreating the Russian empire in northern Europe that he wants to do .
On pretty much every level he has got it badly wrong.

 

Yep. The hilariousness of BBC News having to explain that the M4 road that Wagner troops are heading up to Moscow is not the same one that goes from Bristol to London.

Clearly residents of Slough are fearing the worst.

 

When they do get to Slough they will wonder who had got there before them ....