Russia - threadbanned users in OP

Oddly enough during the Georgian war there was a large amount of bombs dropped failed to detonate and a bigger amount missed intended targets

Was there any update from the "peace" talks today?

That was not a contrarian opinion by any stretch. It was the official finding by the UN. It was well known that the weapons of mass-destruction stuff was just a pretext. I remember at the time that the US had been amassing 300,000 troops on the border for months beforehand. Just like the Russians this time, it was obvious that they were going to invade and were just hoping for some pretext before it happened.

Mr.Putin is testing the strength of the corporate cancel culture, corporations may just be powerful enough to cancel Russia and this was not the case in 1939

Why do you think it's getting easier and easier to like them? There are millions of Russians in the west,,many in High positions. I don't hear an outcry from them about what their military is doing.

I'll be fair, those Fulcrums in question aren't exactly spring chickens. They were delivered to East Germany at the end of the 1980s, taken over by the Luftwaffe after reunification and stayed Germany's premier fighters until 2003. They were then sold on to Poland for a symbolic price of 1€ per plane and they've been operating them ever since. I know from press articles at the time that the Polish Air Force officials were stunned at the good condition of the aircraft during the handover and Poland seems to have taken equally good care of them.

The Czechs, like the Hungarians, got rid of theirs primarily because they wanted a purely NATO-compatible fighter. That's why they went with the Gripen in the Mid-2000s, a decision that was not very popular in many quarters from what I hear. Make no mistake, between the extreme manoeuvrability, the helmet-mounted targeting system and the high weapons load out, these things may be an old beast, but they most definitely are a beast. Having two engines also helps with survivability.

Thats a very fair point.

I worked with a Russian friend in the US back a few years ago. At the time he was not long out of college. I got on very well with him. Sound fella. Very abrupt and direct. Appeared to have a respect for the "strongman" aspect of Putin though. I don't know whether or not he's still the same. He was someone who had studied and lived in the US for a few years at that stage. Very smart fella as well.

And as said I stand over it. Bizarre that is all you’re worried about, it really speaks volumes about you. As for the personal insults- do you think I give a flying shite what you think about me. No.

Every battle video I have seen has Russian speaking Ukrainian Army fighters defending their country, hardly surprising as the war is mostly occurring in the east. Yet the Putin apologists / useful idiot types say those same people support the Russian invasion Putin & want to be ruled by Russia!

The 1798 Wexford United Irish rebellion in Ireland had English speaking areas of Ireland fighting loyalist troops. 30,000 died in Wexford alone. Guess which side was speaking Irish, the loyalist militia troops brought in to oppress & massacre the local population.

I suppose nowadays the apologist bull-shiting stooges would be claiming exactly the opposite!

Slava Ukraine! Glóir don Úcráin!

It washes very well Dan.....so your brother in the west calls you and says

" Dan, the Govt is hiding the truth from you. The Russian army is leveling citys and slaughtering thousands in Ukraine. They are throwing conscripts into the front lines, where they are also being slaughtered. They are using Thermobaric bombs in heavily populated areas......its mass murder Dan. you have to tell the people. Start protests...this has to be stopped.

Dans Reply : No, Mike, thats not what we are hearing and seeing on the news...ita big peacekeeping action, protecting our brother Russians from the neo-nazis.

( then in a follow on msg on secure what's app: Mike, are you Fookin crazy? You want to get me arrested ?? Dimitri from down the road got the same news you just gave me, and you know where he is now? Prison...he went protesting about it, and now no one knows where he is. Don't ever send me an email like that again, use what's app, while we still have it. I'm surprised that you have forgotten so quick how things work here)

End of story Dan.