Ukraine (Mod Note & Threadbanned Users in OP)

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119568509#Comment_119568509

Current events suggest this may not be so easily achieved as it was in the days of dictatorships and absolute rule. When ethnicities and peoples could be transplanted like cattle.

And sure why would Russia need to Russify Ukraine anyway - aren't they supposed to be there as peace-keepers in the first place? To protect this oppressed russian speaking community they're so concerned for? I'm sure they're trying but given Kersons governor is currently, conveniently, on a junket in Russia I'd not worry too much.

pixelburp

70,000 demonstrators protest in Prague today, calling for an energy deal with with Russia and a half to arming Ukraine.

The protests were mostly the Far Right and Czech Communists, so not often those 2 poles meet, and not representative of the centre. It will be interesting to know if these protests become more mainstream as the winter bites - but I've seen no appetite, if even tacitly suggested along the mainstream margins. Gonna be an interesting few months, especially if Ukraine start making ground on the frontlines.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/04/czech-republic-prague-protest-sanctions-energy-crisis-gas-russia

Brussels Sprout

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119570536#Comment_119570536

I've never seen the Horse-shoe theory of politics apply as much as I have since this invasion.

The far right: It makes perfect sense that they'd support Putin. He is the embodiment of what they like to see: A nationalist strongman who crushes dissent, liberalism, journalists etc etc

The far-left: These people are truly lost. The only two reasons I can think that they would support a man who is basically the opposite of all of their supposed beliefs is:

1. He opposes the USA and anything that opposes the USA must be correct
2. The Russian Federation is seen as the heir to the Soviet Union despite it now being a hyper-capitalistic kleptocracy that bears no resemblance to socialism (apart from the lack of civil and political freedoms)

Both of those are terrible reasons for supporting him and entirely inconsistent with their supposed beliefs.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119570846#Comment_119570846

For Czech Communists point 2 is probably the explainer there; but certainly with other far left groupings I think it's as simple as you say with point 1, and the logic that if the USA are involved? It must be bad and so the reflexive response is to back the other guy - even if it's Vladimir bloody Putin. You can probably extend the geopolitical umbrella to simply be NATO, and you get to the same place WRT to contrarian (but not necessarily far left) politicians like Mick Wallace, Boyd-Barrett et al.

nigeldaniel

So the Ultra Left and the Far right are holding hands in the Czech... to quote Russel 'strange days are these'

Brussels Sprout

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119573524#Comment_119573524

It's not just there. It's everywhere. Even here.

We don't have too much of a high-profile far-right (thankfully) in Ireland but the likes of the National Party are all behind Putin. At the same time the likes of PBP/Solidarity aren't explicitly supporting Russia but they're blaming the whole thing on the USA/NATO/EU and against supplying weapons to Ukraine (which is basically the same as supporting Russia as it's exactly what they would like to happen).

Personally, I think that people at the political extremes are likely getting a lot of their information from social media or non-reputable sites (since they don't trust "main stream media"). These in turn are chock full of disinformation - which in the case of this war often originates from Russian troll farms.

This is an interesting insight into how this dynamic works on the hard-left with a real world example:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxdb5z/redfish-media-russia-propaganda-misinformation

ambro25

It’s certainly the case in France, with left horseshoe extremity Mélenchon and right horseshoes extremity LePen consistently supporting Putin, to this day.

Brussels Sprout

Another chink of light is blacked out in Russia. Novoya Gazeta has its licence revoked

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/russian-court-revokes-newspaper-novaya-gazetas-license-2022-09-05/

Whatever about what's going on in Ukraine the repression in Russia has gone off the charts since February.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119574720#Comment_119574720

As darkly glib as it might be to speculate, I await news months later about Muratov's completely accidental falling out of a 20 story window. How are there people even trying to defend the actions of this state? But but NATO! But but Azov!

Meanwhile, the proposed referendum in Kherson to join Russia has been postponed; the Moscow-appointed officials running the region have decided maybe now's not the best time. I doubt it speaks any clue as to how that counter-offensive is going, but nor does it suggest Russia have smashed or halted it either.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/sep/05/kherson-separatists-pause-poll-on-joining-russia-due-to-ukraines-counteroffensive

Quin_Dub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119574956#Comment_119574956

Bringing us to a total of 8 Senior Oil executives that have died in unusual circumstances since the beginning of the year.

• In late January, Leonid Shulman, a top executive at Russian natural gas giant Gazprom, was found dead in the bathroom of a cottage in the village of Leninsky. The Russian media group RBC reported his death, but did not cite a cause.
• On Feb. 25, another Gazprom executive, Alexander Tyulakov, was found dead in the same village as Shulman, this time in a garage. According to the Russian media outlet Novaya Gazeta, investigators found a note near Tyulakov’s body.
• On Feb. 28, three days after Tyulakov died, a Russian oil and gas billionaire living in England, Mikhail Watford, was found hanged in the garage of his country estate. At the time, investigators reportedly said Watford’s death was “unexplained,” but did not appear suspicious.
• On April 18, a former vice president of Gazprombank, Vladislav Avayev, was found dead in his Moscow apartment, alongside his wife and daughter, who also died. Authorities treated the case as a murder-suicide, Radio Free Europe reported at the time. Gazprombank is Russia’s third-largest bank and has close ties to the energy sector.
• On April 19, a former deputy chairman of Novatek, Russia’s largest liquefied natural gas producer, was found dead in a vacation home in Spain. Like Avayev in Moscow, Sergei Protosenya was found with his wife and daughter, who were also deceased. And like Avayev, police investigating the scene said they believed it was a murder-suicide, a theory that Avayev’s surviving son has publicly rejected.
• In May, the body of billionaire and former Lukoil executive Alexander Subbotin was discovered in the basement of a country house in the Moscow region. The room where Subbotin died was allegedly used for “Jamaican voodoo rituals,” Russian state media outlet TASS reported, quoting local authorities.
• In July, Yury Voronov, founder and CEO of a shipping contractor that services Gazprom’s Arctic projects was found dead of an apparent gunshot wound in a swimming pool at his home in Leninsky, the same elite St. Petersburg gated community where Shulman and Tyulakov died earlier in the year.

Brief_Lives

Ahhh Russia....

Any idea if there will be a change of Regime there? probably not if all the dissenters and news outlets are killed, closed down..

amandstu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119578205#Comment_119578205

A state of war normally binds the populace.

Post war all bets are off.

I wonder have the regime's plans for world domination are going?

How will climate change affect Russia if it survives this "special operation"?

ambro25

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119580097#Comment_119580097

I’d venture “terminally so”, irrespective of whether Russia survives its “special operation” or not, and irrespective of whether it wins it or not: Western economies were made to (re)learn their lesson about lots of eggs and absurdly few baskets, and are busy transitioning away from fossils, irrespective of the nuclear/green mix, in one big hurry.

amandstu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119580210#Comment_119580210

Let us hope it doesn't find other markets for its fossil fuels if Europe manages to make the transition to sustainable energy sources-

Gatling

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119570536#Comment_119570536

I think that article is misleading,yes there was protests ,but alot of the protesters are complaining about the cost of living and higher than usual inflation,

Smaller groups were demanding some kind of neutrality, others demanding the country leave the EU and Nato ,

Usual far right basketcases .

ambro25

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119580545#Comment_119580545

Oh, I’m certain that it already has…

…but the 2 core issues are (1) the scale of available supply to those (significantly smaller because little infrastructure to those, which is shrinking by the week as equipment fails through lack of irreplaceable western maintenance and parts) and (2) the scale of the discount to close the sales in the face of the global mood music (significant again, at least to Turkey and China acc. to most analysts).

Vlad pulled the tiger by the tail. I don’t think his plan to deal with the teeth was fully thought-through.

pixelburp

Are the cracks starting to show? Ukraine has now launched a counterattack in the Kharkiv region, though like Kherson there's a media blackout confirming the efficacy of the attack so far.

The speculation being that Kherson forced Russia to redeploy troops away from Kharkiv, leaving it vulnerable.

https://www.theguardian.com/global/2022/sep/07/ukraine-launches-surprise-counterattack-kharkiv-region-russia

bear1

I wonder how long until the cracks in support for Ukraine amongst Europeans begin to show?

We are gearing up for the worst energy crisis ever this winter and if this ends badly for the EU then I can't see voters staying silent.

I hope the EU can weather this because Putin is just waiting for that to happen.

Also, reports coming out from experts that the constant supply for weapons to Ukraine is leaving the EU vulnerable as we aren't restocking our supplies.

Gatling

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119586561#Comment_119586561

America and Nato are backing Ukraine for the long haul, does everyone think cheap Russian gas will be returning anytime in the next decade plus ,and it's not as if we here suffer extreme cold weather,it might get a little colder for some , but nothing comes close to what the Ukrainans are going to suffer this weather,

A bit of decent planning will make things a little easier,give it time we have people complaining nobody warned them this was going to happen

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119586561#Comment_119586561

Who could the EU be vulnerable to militarily except Russia?

And now will have Finland and Sweden in the balance.

It might be a concern for US and UK given their other commitments but the weapons given by France could hardly affect its wider role.

The countries in the EU which have given the most militarily to Ukraine are the least likely to break ranks.

Gatling

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119586644#Comment_119586644

There was a tweet earlier supposedly from a Polish minister saying they expect to face a war with Russia in the next 3-10 years,

The poles have gone above and beyond to help and support Ukraine so if the eu breaks unity now and go back to Putin with begging bowls,In 3-6 years we will be doing this again only instead of Ukraine+ several other states facing putins troops and weapons .

*Tweet added *

https://twitter.com/SamRamani2/status/1567518058645790721?s=20&t=vJPNrxdUiiOlF3evX730LQ

pixelburp

If the EU shows its belly to the Russia then that's it, that's the signal Putin needs to know that if he just waits long enough, those soft euros will fold. The whole bloc becomes irreversibly corrupted by a tyrant who knows he need only threaten our central heating to get his way. And to be fair, as much as the hardships might be coming, I sense most Europeans still understand this. A line has to be drawn somewhere.

JL555

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119573574#Comment_119573574

We ( the royal we ) always seem to assume that people with opposing views are far right or far left, in most cases they are not. But it's a handy (lazy) label to slap on as it then makes it easier for the subsequent judgements on their motives to protest. People, everywhere, are usually concerned with the well being of those immediately around them, children, spouses etc. When a threat is perceived, people will naturally defend theirs and their loved ones way of life.

There is a lot of merit in shared responsibility in this whole Ukraine conflict, not solely down to the actions of Russia, we in the west need to self reflect, at a macro level it is a case of preserving our way of life, dressed up as 'stand up against Putin'. Nobody's hands are clean here, Russia, The West, nor Ukraine.

Personally, I try to get my information from as many perspectives as possible, I have a healthy distrust of the MSN, but equally, I take what I read in the non MSM channels with some degree of scepticism also, but it is possible to come to conclusions with those balanced views.

Our MSM (BBC, SKY NEWS, RTE, CNN etc.), call it what you want, state TV, state propaganda, the 'free press' is pretty much 100% biased and full of spin, just as those on the opposing sides are, as we all know, the media is an extremely powerful tool in shaping public opinion in whatever way a particular society wants/needs it to be shaped.

example: early this morning I watched a clip on Sky News where the reporter was mentioning the IAEA report on the situation of the NPP. The IAEA did mention damage from munitions at the plant but did not specify their origin and in the same sentence, the reporter cherry picked some words out of the report, out of context, that the IAEA did notice a Russian armoured vehicle at the Nuclear power plant, talk about spin. Of course there would be a Russian armoured vehicle there, there have been there for months. The thing is, that attempt to re-enforce the narrative, will work on a % of people who are quite happy to accept what others want them to think.

greenfield21

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119586812#Comment_119586812

Turning down your thermostat will solve nothing. German companies very existence are under threat from rising energy costs. Threat of insolvency, relocation,rising costs is all that matters.

Putin cutting of gas supplies has almost confirmed europe will enter a recession now. This probably could have been avoided without the price cap rhetoric from europe. A cold calculated planned move from putin, with gas prices falling and storage filled up....this is all irrelevant now as its all about demand destruction. More rate hikes needed.

Need to remember also this is not transitory and has been a long time in the making caused by idiotic energy policy.

Gatling

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119586939#Comment_119586939

Ukraine have some blame for getting invaded and occupied 8 years ago and again 7 months ago.

But with the IAEA we seen the Russian military vehicles,and heavy weapons before they arrived ,the west didn't plant them there,we also seen shells from Russian occupied territory and the explanation from a Russian fsb agent how the Ukrainans magic shells that spin 180 degrees just above the ground to make it look like they came from Russia.

Stick to rt or Sputnik that way you will only ever see the truth.......

(According to the Kremlin)

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119586939#Comment_119586939

'Shared responsibility' is false moral equivalence. It is morally and intellectually bankrupt.

So no there is no merit in it except as an aid to Russian propaganda and aims and exoneration of their guilt.

We need to reflect on the weak response to previous Russian crimes and provocations.

Putin denied there was any military equipment inside the plant.

The IAEA confirmed the presencd of vehicles.

Another Russian lie debunked.

Talk about 'spin' indeed. Russia spins lies around everything and has spun some people around alright.

JL555

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119586561#Comment_119586561

Our tendency to 'care' for others really doesn't last that long in the west, we do not have the stomach for it. the Russians know hardship, they can put up with a lot more than we can for longer. We have had a blessed couple of decades in this part of the world but when there's a possibility that our 'I want everything, and I want it now' lifestyle is threatened, we cower. We even freak out when we lose the internet for a couple of hours.

The game that the Russians and the west are playing with each other means, death and suffering to ordinary people in Ukraine, people just like you and I. This is the real tragedy. Leaders of both sides have the power to stop this but it is not going to happen any time soon. There is a long term strategic fight going on, and Ukraine is the latest casualty. Russia will not walk away from the eastern provinces or Crimea, so if this is what Zelensky is expecting to happen, he needs a dose of reality. It's an awful thing that is happening, but it must stop. I have family members living not a million miles away from the nuclear power plant, if a missile was to hit something that it shouldn't hit and there was some kind of radiation leak or meltdown, god help them. They are the people I'm thinking of.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119587089#Comment_119587089

Amazing how it is only the West and Zelensky you assign moral agency to.

We have seen this propaganda angle before and seen through its moral oblivion.

Ukraine would be a casualty too - of disappearances, oppression under Russian tyranny. That is why it fights.

Russia must be stopped. Look at the support Ukraine has from those countries who remember life under Soviet rule, who remember those hard times and life under a tyranny.

pixelburp

It has been too long since the moral equivocation brigade came along. Trotted out because of the news that, uh oh, Ukraine are not only resisting liberation -, but now on the attack. How unpeaceful of them.

Only one country invaded Ukraine. That country has the power to bring peace to Ukraine tomorrow, immediately. They choose not to.

It is not our "shared responsibility", it is Vladimir Putin's. Alone.

Gatling

@JL555 Russia will not walk away from the eastern provinces or Crimea, so if this is what Zelensky is expecting to happen..

No they won't walk away they will run away like the cowards that they are or die in Ukraine along with the other 50,000 and rapidly increasing dead russians,

Ukraine is going to be United and the russians well and truly kick out .

No deals to be made ,they we're made an offer leave or die .

Gatling

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119587158#Comment_119587158

But ,but ,but we need to negotiate don't let Zelensky do anything to the Russians .

Surprise ,suprise

paul71

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119586644#Comment_119586644

Actually Russia are no danger (beyond a nuclear one), the only armies that offer any danger to EU armies are Non EU NATO members (or Isreal for a couple of weeks), and perhaps China if they were magically able to move a million or so men around the globe.

And I cannot really see the US, Turkey or Isreal having a lot of interest in bombing Paris Berlin or Rome anytime soon.

Gatling

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119587275#Comment_119587275

Have you been following the Great Chinese silk road plans train networks and roads from bejing to Berlin in a few Short years, along with a massive military build up on a scale not seen since WW2 ,

20 + aircraft carriers under construction, another similar number of destroyers being built 5 at a time in shipyards when people laughed at the idea they could build 10 ,they will have a Naval fleet in the thousands ,they are already busy figuring out how to move troops when and where they need them.

China is one to watch

paul71

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119587345#Comment_119587345

I'm old enough to remember the red army were a genuine concern Gatling, it was massive if a little suspect in tech. Problem with a massive army is not just building it up, it must also be paid for to maintain its strength. That's what collapsed the Warsaw pact, a control economy is simply not up to the challenge of paying for such behomets whereas the EU and the US can comfortably do so.

The Chinese may well face a choice between collapsing their fast stalling economy and buying fuel for their massive navy to enable to actually leave a port. We saw it for 25 years with Russia, massive airforce but pilots getting 2 hours flight time a month

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119587275#Comment_119587275

I don't entirely agree with that: Russia is a bit of moribund power ATM, but there's a power vacuum coming once Putin dies IMO; depending on who's sitting atop the pile of bodies (be they metaphorical or literal), I honestly think there's a potentially calamitous situation for Eastern European states.

I'd be lying if I said I knew of the big players in Russian Backroom Politics, but there's a very public and vocal rump of old Communists, belligerent military men and hyper-nationalists or fascists - any of whom would curdle potential flippancy about the threat of Russia, were they to gain access to the nuclear codes. Putin himself yearns for the glory days of the USSR, sees Ukraine as "historical Russia", but even he has limits. The next guy may not.

Now, maybe the incoming Putin 2.0 would be quick to place nice with the EU & US to get those sanctions lifted - that's almost a given. Maybe there's a bunch of Von Stauffenbergs knocking about, ready to violently wrest control from the extremists, towards a path of sanity. But who'd know? Not like Stauffenberg was successful himself ...

Brussels Sprout

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119586939#Comment_119586939

I don't know you . I don't know what you watch or read. What I do know though is I recognise the language that has been injected into the discourse by those wishing to muddy the waters:

"All of the Media is as bad as each other" - This is rank false equivalency. While it's true that no news is ever going to be 100% accurate, there are levels to this:

1. At the ground level you have international news services like Reuters who tend to report factual information without too much opinion or spin.
2. Then you have domestic stations likes the BBC and Sky News who will have a more western lean and if you squint hard enough you might find some inaccuracies.
3. Then you have the likes of GB News, Fox News or MSNBC who spin all news through a prism in order to show it in a light that is more appealing to their owners and target audiences
4. Finally you have Russian TV which just straight makes up news stories to fit whatever the Kremlin requires.

Saying that the pro-Kremlin TV sites are "as bad" as the BBC is frankly quite ignorant of the content of their respective coverages. It feeds into the Russian playbook of sowing cynicism, a feeling of learned helplessness and division in the West to their own benefit.

paul71

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119588598#Comment_119588598

Its irrelevent what comes behind Putin. Russia is a country of 120m with a fast declining population, and a workforce with no skills beyond fossil fuel extraction.

As future world power they will never keep pace with Germany, France, Britain, Canada, or Japan.

Their place will be alongside powers like Italy, Spain or Australia.

20silkcut

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119588606#Comment_119588606

Great description. Learned helplessness that’s a new one to me really hits the nail on the head as to what Russian propaganda is trying to achieve. It’s trying to make us bewildered and give up on politics and democracy. Just like they do in Russia.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119590383#Comment_119590383

But again, this isn't some random nation - it's a noted, historically belligerent nation with nuclear weapons and a massive army currently being "humbled". We've seen what a post-colonial country can do when it struggles to define itself during a period of relative decline; we're experiencing that with our own next-door neighbour. Russia is a basket-case of a country and sham-democracy, and if the next leader is a hyper-nationalist trying to restart the USSR out of bruised ego, what's happening in Ukraine could be replicated elsewhere. Georgia, Moldova etc. would watch their back.

It's all speculation but while I agree Russia's geopolitical status is quickly diminishing, as the adage suggests, beware the stings of the dying wasp. Slovenia and Croatia aren't worried about a suddenly militant Italy trying to regain its former glory.

amandstu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119594010#Comment_119594010

Yes that seems to be what we are looking at.

Does the Russian public as a whole buy into that croap or have the loons just taken over the asylum** again I wonder.

To have this happen just when we should be converting our efforts to combat climate change is so dispiriting but we are where we are and the consequences will follow

Are we shidding the bed in the one world that we know for sure is habitable and capable of producing a civilisation worthy of of the name?

**a lazy analogy but has the loony fringe taken over the reins of power there?

Pete_Cavan

So the Ukrainians have breached (and likely encircled) the Russian second line of defence over a wide front south of Kharkiv and are on the march towards Izyum. That apparently is a major rail hub and if the Ukrainians take control of it, they will hobble already poor Russian logistics in that region. Good map here showing big change in a short space of time;

https://twitter.com/m/status/1568026431028097024

In the last week or so, the Ukrainians have made huge gains, probably more then the Russians made in the previous two months. Ukraine had been talking of taking back Kherson, so Russia sent soldiers from Donbas to reinforce there but left Kharkiv exposed, the Ukrainians shouted "look over there" and the Russias fell for it. No doubt we'll have the usual suspects in soon to tell us this is all part of the Russian plan and that they have something in reserve. Russia could try to drag more antiquated Soviet materiel out of storage and intensify their recruitment of cannon fodder, but if there was any mileage in that for them, they'd have done it already.

fash

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119595474#Comment_119595474

Kharkiv [edit] IS opportunistic - it wasn't Ukraine's actual primary aim. Ukraine's aim was to trap as many Russians (especially their experienced guys) as possible in Kherson - destroy their escape routes and then slowly & methodically destroy them while losing as little manpower as possible.

It just so happened that in doing that, and a lot faster than expected, Russia depleted its manpower elsewhere enough that it provided Ukraine with a really tempting target in Karkhiv.

Pete_Cavan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119595708#Comment_119595708

I wasn't suggesting that there is anything opportunistic about it. What we are seeing now was obviously well planned in advance, including letting the Russians believe something else.

pixelburp

Aside from the weapons being sent to Ukraine, we also know the US had been sharing satellite info to their military. But that's the stuff we can know about. You'd have to wonder how many consultations and quiet tactical training sessions various limbs of the Ukrainian military have been receiving. The poverty of Russian logistical and hierarchical infrastructure is well established and documented by now; I'd be shocked if the top brass in the Ukraine army weren't being given fast-track instructions on how to war better by those with more experience or skill.

Pete_Cavan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119595885#Comment_119595885

It's well documented that Ukrainian soldiers are getting trained by other nations, the equipment they are receiving would be of no use without proper training.

You can also be sure that the US military are using all their intelligence resources and is treating this as if they were actively at war in all bar actually engaging in combat. They are collecting huge amounts of information, processing it, playing out scenarios, developing strategies and feeding the best tactics to the Ukrainians, along with follow up actions depending on how successful each action is and how the Russians react. Its this behind the scenes stuff that is so important, nothing is done without a specific purpose.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119595970#Comment_119595970

It might be a bit atypical in that NATO can use its full surveillance \ intel gathering against Russia, while knowing those (vulnerable?) assets can't be touched as they are outside Ukranian airpsace. In a wider conflict with a major power that wouldn't apply.

JL555

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119588606#Comment_119588606

It seems you tend to cautiously agree in the most part. Although some of your paragraphs may have been in reference to a different post or something you read elsewhere?

paul71

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119596832#Comment_119596832

No JL, he did not agree with you. He took your post into careful consideration. Clinically analysed it, dismissed the waffle and addressed the points you made. Then he clearly and eloquently shredded it as nonsense.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119595474#Comment_119595474

The Guardian is reporting that the Ukrainians have indeed taken Kupiansk and Izium, the latter you mentioned as a rail hub. The Russian puppet governor of Kharkiv told residents to flee for Russia as it had been retaken - will be interesting how many, if any, take him up on the offer off safe passage.

Pete_Cavan

Russia now claiming they are "withdrawing" troops from the Kharkiv region. The truth is their soldiers are getting the hell out of dodge as staying there means either being killed or captured. Moscow trying to claim they have any control over the situation is laughable. Well done Ukraine, they executed that counter-offensive brilliantly.