Russia has invaded Ukraine

[Sephiroth]

Originally Posted by jfman

You prefer to ignore the inconvenient question of Ukrainian democracy, so it’s swings and roundabouts really.

Ironically hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian men will be denied agency on the way to their deaths in the killing fields yet you will not bat an eye.

At some point if Ukraine doesn’t achieve the aspiration for every inch and they run out of men or second hand NATO apparatus the legitimate question will have to be asked if there were missed opportunities for a better settlement, and what decision making processes existed to rule it out.

What's the solution, then?

Originally Posted by Sephiroth

What's the solution, then?

Ukraine give up their land, then in eight years or so, once Russia have built their military back up, Russia invades again…

In related news…

https://us.firenews.video/war-in-ukr...an-federation/

A representative of the presidential faction said that Russia is the Soviet Union. Therefore, it will fight with all the former republics in order to return to the borders of 1991.

United Russia party deputy Evgeny Fedorov prepared a bill for the State Duma, in which he proposed restoring the Russian Empire within the former USSR. He justified his position by the fact that supposedly various conflicts occur all the time on the territory of independent countries and former occupied republics. Therefore, it would be “logical” to return them to the USSR, even if Russia had to fight with each of these countries. He stated this on air on the Khodorkovsky LIVE channel.

Fedorov stated that the republics were deprived of the USSR illegally, and therefore Russia has the right to return them to the borders of a non-existent state. The current invasion of Ukraine is the beginning of such a return. In his opinion, the former republics of the Union were in conflict with the Russian Federation and will continue to be in conflict in the future. He gave examples of these “conflicts” – Russia’s invasion of Georgia and interference in the politics of independent Armenia. To resolve these issues, the Russian Federation will fight with everyone, he assured.

[Pierre]

Originally Posted by Hugh

Ukraine give up their land, then in eight years or so, once Russia have built their military back up, Russia invades again…

In related news…

https://us.firenews.video/war-in-ukr...an-federation/

A representative of the presidential faction said that Russia is the Soviet Union. Therefore, it will fight with all the former republics in order to return to the borders of 1991.

did he say it in the style of the Black Knight, from the Holy Grail?

[ianch99]

Originally Posted by Sephiroth

What's the solution, then?

The only one I got was to allow Ukrainians to run away and ask someone else to die defending & liberating their homes.

In 2014, Putin’s stated justification for invading Crimea was to prevent Russia’s military facilities there from falling into Western hands. This was of course a thin pretext for imperial ambition; Ukraine had no desire to join Nato in 2014 and only a distant aspiration to even be in the EU.

Having invaded whole chunks of the rest of Ukraine last year, it seems all Putin will ultimately achieve is the inevitable loss of Sevastopol, and control over the entire Black Sea. Today’s destruction of the HQ of his Black Sea Fleet has now been revealed to have been launched from a Ukrainian fast jet; this means they fired a Western (either French SCALP or British Storm Shadow) cruise missile at it. The destruction of an amphibious assault ship and an attack sub in dry dock were also achieved using SCALP/Storm Shadow.

Even if it takes Ukraine a while to fully liberate its entire sovereign territory, the utility of Russia’s Black Sea naval base in Crimea has been fatally undermined by Ukraine’s ability and willingness to attack it relentlessly. And in the long run the only way this war ends permanently is with, at the bare minimum, a highly visible and credible security guarantee by Nato nations in Ukraine. Russia has already de facto lost Crimea to the West. The only question now is how great a cost in lives and equipment it’s willing to bear in trying to deny that reality.

[1andrew1]

Looks like Russia might be aiming to re-broadcast one of its useless idiot's Twitter broadcasts without his consent.

Russian state TV promotes new Tucker Carlson show

Rightwing former Fox News presenter said he was unaware of the “absurd” claim

Since last week, Rossiya 24 has run ads with a montage of Carlson repeatedly saying “Russia” and promising: “The high-profile American presenter is moving to another level. Here.”

The ad then cuts to a screen showing a logo: “TUCKER ROSSIYA 24.”

But Carlson told the Financial Times that he was unaware of the planned show, which Rossiya advertised on Friday as debuting “at the weekend”, according to BBC Monitoring.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve never heard of this, or the channel. Of course I’m not hosting a show on Russian television. That’s absurd. Please,” Carlson said in a text message.

During the Russia-friendly presidency of Donald Trump, Carlson emerged as a favourite voice on Kremlin-run television, which regularly rebroadcast his comments dismissing allegations that Moscow had intervened in the US presidential election.

More recently, Carlson has echoed some Kremlin talking points on president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, which he has described as “a regime-change war” led by the US against Russia.

He has also given credence to evidence-free Russian justifications for the invasion, such as claims that the US set up biological weapons research labs in Ukraine. Carlson has also accused the White House of involvement in blowing up the Nord Stream gas pipeline last year.

Those statements have found a welcome audience on Russian television, which has enthusiastically replayed them on its news programmes and the bellicose political talk shows that fill the country’s airwaves.

https://www.ft.com/content/5e204059-...7-b5d7fd81e48f

And just when Russia thought things couldn’t get any worse tonight:

- It seems there might finally have been some movement on US supply of ATACMS long-range artillery rockets. A ‘small number’ is said to have been approved for transfer to Ukraine. This seems to have followed a meeting between Ukrainian Gen. Budanov and generals at the Pentagon where he shared his tactical plan and explained specifically what he could achieve with them.

- It also seems the attack on Russia’s naval HQ in Sevastopol has decapitated the Admiralty in the Black Sea. Admiral Viktor Sokolov is said to have been in the building when it was hit by at least 2 Scalp/Storm Shadow cruise missiles and was killed. Sokolov was a nasty piece of work known to have personally authorised missile attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine. Had he survived the war he would likely have been indicted for war crimes.

On the first use of American ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles in Ukraine this week:

Russia’s position this time last year on their potential supply to Ukraine by the US:



Vlad’s position the day after one of his airbases (and up to 9 helicopters) is destroyed by the first use of ATACMS in Ukraine:



It seems Russia’s red lines are only red until you cross them.

Did Putin just call his "Special Military Operation" a War ?

Yes, I think he slipped up a bit. To be honest though the media commentary within Russia has increasingly been calling it that as well. I think the justification is that the ‘war’ is the one NATO and the ‘collective West’ is waging against Russia, whereas the Special Military Operation refers specifically to Russia ‘denazifying’ and ‘demilitarizing’ Ukraine. Whatever helps him sleep at night I guess.

[richard-john56]

I think Putin should be referred to as the thing and not an he.

[Mr K]

Doesn't sound like the most reliable source but Vladimir may be in his last days (fingers crossed).
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-...utins-31151365

Russian leader Vladimir Putin is close to death following a "sharp deterioration" in his health, a controversial Telegram channel claims.

Having previously alleged that the president was terminally ill it now says his death is “imminent”. And the multiple appearances in recent weeks have all been by one or more doppelgängers, states General SVR channel, as the real Putin is too ill to conduct public meetings.

Originally Posted by Mr K

Doesn't sound like the most reliable source but Vladimir may be in his last days (fingers crossed).
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-...utins-31151365

Interesting that this has found its way into the mainstream media - these rumours have been circulating for many months now, and some people thought they’d actually caught proof of the existence of the double when ‘Putin” attended two engagements in Moscow, but didn’t seem to have quite had enough time to travel from one to the other.

These same sources have been claiming Putin is ill, in constant pain and never far from his personal physician for a while, and have recently started saying things have got worse.

[pip08456]

Putin convenes major meeting over anti-Semitic riots in Makhachkala

"Putin is planning to hold a major representative meeting at around 19:00 tonight to discuss Western attempts to use events in the Middle East to split Russian society. There will be a comprehensive conversation".

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2023/10/30/7426340/

Go figure.

https://wapo.st/48cTI6b

Straight from the horse’s mouth (to the horse’s arse)

Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host, thought Vladimir Putin went to war in Ukraine because he feared an imminent attack by the United States or NATO. Instead, after a two-hour interview of the Russian president in Moscow, Carlson said he was “shocked” to learn that Putin invaded for a different reason: “Vladimir Putin believes that Russia has a historic claim to parts of … Ukraine,” he said.