Russia - threadbanned users in OP

So tell us what this age is! We can pack it with all the other bollix from the guys who said there was no way Russia was going to invade.

You say NATO will never intervene on Ukraine soil, but feel Russia can eliminate the west with one bomb. Get the fuckin boat!

I've no doubt Putin has something up his sleeve, cos he's been planning this for years. But the time has come to put a stop to this guy. In fairness the west has helped create this issue by not standing up to him before. If nothing is done now, we're all fucked in the future.

I hope Putin and his Russia rots.

I'm sorry, but you've lost me. What was the point you were trying to make?

I guess I shouldn't really have expected an educated response from you.

Came across this video of Putin from a couple months ago, does anyone want to debunk the points he's making about Nato expansion? I don't know if it's all lies or if he has a point as I don't follow the topic closely

Belarus in big trouble.

Russian forces shambolic, in disarray and mutinous. Intelligence fighting with use of machine learning assessing terrain and positioning Ukrainian forces accordingly for defence. Machine learning models did not factor in massive Russian ineptitude and aging equipment unmaintained.

Many men have dropped family at the border and gathered weapons. Many units to encircle and/or pincher the huge column which is now in effect 40 to 50000 POWs. Also units will engage Belarus forces but many will also bypass and raids to Brest in Belarus and then push eastwards. Also pro independence activists in Belarus to launch an offensive on Minsk.

Also looking at offensive to not only push Russians back to the Crimea but also to retake it.

Putin is unwell. And agents have asked doctors what sickness and medication he is using(face heavily bloated).

To be fair, is he is critical of NATO anyway, we wouldn't expect an honest appraisal of the situation.

It would be like expecting Putin to say he was wrong.

What hope have the Ukrainians have for help when the president of the USA doesn't know who he is meant to be helping?

Dammit, mutant, you stole my goodbye...

Totally agree. IMHO this is largely about the fear that Ukraine a large country physically and population wise might develop into a functioning democracy and having that sitting on his doorstep in stark contrast to life under his authoritarian dictatorship in Russia as well as the authoritarian regime in Belarus would seriously destabilize the authoritarian regimes grip on power in Russia. There also does seem to be a certain amount of yearning for a re-establishing of the old Russia empire aka the USSR on Putins part but that also fits right in with the fear of a functioning democracy developing in Ukraine.

Some early news items

Ukraine is set to receive more Stinger and Javelin missiles from abroad, as well as another shipment of Turkish drones, according to Ukrainian defence minister Oleksii Reznikov.

Germany is prepared should Russia stop exporting gas to the country, minister for the economy Robert Habeck has said.

Asked by Deutschlandfunk radio what the government would do if Russia stops gas exports, Reuters reports Habeck replied:

We are prepared for that. I can give the all-clear for the current winter and summer. For the next winter, we would take further measures.

Russia cancelled a bid to send four of its warships through Turkish waters into the Black Sea at Turkey’s request, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, adding the decision was made before Ankara closed the straits over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian research ship, Yantar, widely known to be a spy vessel and capable of underse aoperations is currently sitting off the coast of Denmark. This vessel was working off the Mayo Coast in August, right over the optical cables on the sea bed in the area where the Russian navy conducted their "training" exercises.

There is nothing currently showing on ATIS, but I'm surprised that there is no overwatch of that area being conducted by NATO at the moment, given its vulnerability.

The NATO expansion line used in defence of Putin shows how successful propaganda can be. Granted there is propaganda coming from all sides.

If you go to Finland and talk to the Finnish, talk to Estonians, Latvians or Lithuanians in Ireland - they never trusted Putin and couldn’t wait to get their countries into NATO. Finland opted to stay neutral but with big defence spending. Sometimes the aggressor really is the dictator sitting in Moscow. The Salisbury incident in the U.K. should have showed people what a thug Putin can be.

People are trying to make sense of this and most are pretty angry about it so it's not a surprise to see some respond accordingly but I can't say I've seen clichés about Russians. Almost everyone has acknowledged that this is a Putin war, not a Russian one and certainly not one supported by the Russian nation. Yes, the adult comment applies to all posters even those judgemental know better posters wagging fingers at others.

Yeah I read that, she makes some very good points but also a little bit histrionic. Annoying article format too!