Russia - threadbanned users in OP

@run_Forrest_run

China's at the apex of that alliance. Russia's not got the economic muscle to be an equal partner. It's not even that strong of an alliance because China is very much not a vocal supporter of Russia's military effort in Ukraine. They'll take the cheap oil, though, if it's going.

It would be a lot more common than people realise,

you won’t see in the likes of Chechnya or Dagestan or whatever other republics, Moscow or St Petersburg , but all those villages , towns in the east of the country , that would be pretty common.

and I presume that’s where most of the cannon fodder and animals will come from.

They're fond of the vodka alright, must be cheap and readily available. Next time you hear someone lecturing us that Irish people are the heaviest drinkers of Europe etc., think of all these East European countries and the like of Russians lashing it down. Someone wrote recently that average life of Russian males is about 67, no wonder! And the average life expectancy of Russian men about to fall even further when these lads hit the front.

At least these lads have some fight in them. Not content to go meekly to the slaughter

I remember reading a Nat Geo article about Russian men who would be flown out to Siberia to fight forest fires. One of them was smoking filtered cigarettes and cited health consciousness as the reason.

Translation: you know you're probably consuming western propaganda (and regurgitating it), but you don't really care because it's from "your side" so who cares? I'm different, I don't really have any skin in the game. I'm just interested in whatever the truth happens to be.

As far as I'm concerned, this war is not really any different to most other wars. And I'm not under any illusions that either side are perfectly good or diabolically evil. People who buy into that sort of rhetoric, really don't have 2 brain cells to rub together as far as I'm concerned.

I don't really give a toss if my opinions are unpopular, as I've never expressed opinions in order to be well liked. You can put me in whatever "cuinne dana"or box you wish, couldn't give a monkey's tbh. It actually puzzles me why so many people seem to be so terrified of holding an unpopular opinion... this is what drives so much groupthink - fear of not fitting in by agreeing to the consensus opinion on something. Is being well liked on an internet forum really that important to people? lol

He Said , putin said .

But neither ever produced these agreements ,it was raised with the state department but as far as I can see there was no high level meeting or an actual aggrement,no signed international treaties,

You would think one of the biggest international story at the time that there would cross signed agreements by both governments or in this case 28 other nato members governments.

It's like the common Heard story here when it comes to housing been built sure your man from the council promised me not a blade of grass would be touched and no housing would be built on a particular plot ,

Who in the council agreed to this your man in the council promised me ,

...

...

Not going to fly very far with engine 1 on fire ,and not extinguished

it’s not a new thing in Russia - id actually go so far as to say the army are probably supplying it or at the very least not banning them drinking it. Its much easier to load a group of cut lads onto a plane or bus than a group of lads capable of critical thought.

He doesn't care