Ukraine (Mod Note & Threadbanned Users in OP)

That arrangement suits Britain fine. They have full military access to Irish airspace if required and do not have to worry about us as a threat to them.

The reality is Russia or China will never be a threat to us. The last time this country was under a credible threat of invasion was probably 1940 when Britain was contemplating invasion. If we are ever invaded again who else will it be only our neighbour to the East either to subjugate us again or to invade us for their own protection from some other force.

Is there any recent info on the survivors of the Moskva?

It's probably very far from a new type of propaganda, but we've seen it used a lot over the last decade. The more narratives there are, the harder it becomes to establish the truth. If you give one version of a story, your opponent gives another, and then 6 associates of yours each provide a different version of story, all of the stories will be called "fake news" by the others. And then suddenly you have introduced a false equivalency into it. Even if your version is total bull, it's still six against one when it comes to your opponent's story. They can't all be wrong, can they?

It's the, "I'm spartacus" approach to disinformation. When you've got two stories, the truth is easy to spot. When you've got twenty of them, the truth is a lost cause.

The fact that before the invasion the Russians were intending to send war ships to do "exercises" off our coast should have been enough of a wake up call for ourselves. I would also add that it is utterly selfish as well on our part to not stand up and play a role not just in our own security but that of Europe collectively. We are part of the EU after all.

"Firehose of falsehood"

A relatively small group of Ukrainians are tying up multiple Russian battlegroups. Groups that could now be fighting in the East. Also, Mariupol is the critical final piece of that land bridge between Crimea and Russia, it's strategically very important to the Russians.

It's an incredible feat of fighting and heroism that the Ukrainians have held out there for so long.

The vast majority of Ukrainians don't share your views, in a country of 44 million most remain, polls show they are strongly against Russian occupation and in strong support of Zelensky.

"I'm still waiting for this pathetic Russian army to collapse by the way. I heard weeks ago that they're pathetic, no morale, hungry, cold etc. Yet it's Zelensky who's already received hundreds of millions worth of weapons who is still begging for more."

Odd views. It's the second or third largest military in the world. Just because many of their soldiers have low morale and they have logistical issues doesn't mean they aren't potent. What the Ukrainians are receiving is still just a fraction of the equipment their occupiers have.

Of course Zelensky is asking for more, he needs more. Hundreds of millions is nothing, one fighter jet costs around 30 to 40 million (higher for more advanced), the Russians have thousands of fixed wing aircraft. What the Ukrainians are currently doing is extraordinary.

You reference to Zelinski's beard and haircuts are really quite a ridiculous diversion.

What if the Russian plan is to completely ethnically cleanse those parts of the Donbas they intend to hold in perpetuity (and it seems they're already pretty far along in this project)? AFAICS the 'corridor' across to Crimea/Kherson is currently pretty wide at all points, once the Mariupol nut is cracked. Once the Russians decide to 'consolidate' what they hold, likely patrolling most of it for the Russian army will be comparable to patrolling East Antrim for the British Army. If there are no or very small numbers of insurgents 'behind the lines' it shouldn't be that hard for Russia to hold annexed 'Ukranian' territory.