Ukraine

[march]

According to BBC news Putin has told his nuclear weapons guys to get ready as NATO has been saying nasty things.

[exeterjeep]

56 minutes ago, march said:

According to BBC news Putin has told his nuclear weapons guys to get ready as NATO has been saying nasty things.

Seen that reported..... things could get worse??????

 

Also just found this.

Elon Musk sends Starlink satellites to Ukraine following request from country’s deputy PM..

https://www.devonlive.com/news/uk-world-news/elon-musk-sends-starlink-satellites-6725728?fbclid=IwAR1xkGksq37Xc2e9VvuQcpBgwqXILqhqP8Fu0UvEjyAFbcyA1t4Cyrg6Q_o

Shame they are only internet  satellites 

[Barrykearley]

3 hours ago, ramjet said:

Seems the wrong way around, I would have thought?

No it won’t be. The Ukrainians have been given very specific training in regards to this.

[exeterjeep]

5 hours ago, C8RKH said:

Over 20,000 Ukrainian troops have been armed and trained by the UK, many more by US and others which is why we are seeing such a strong resistance

Seem to recall the Iraqi troops had quite a lot of training from the UK as well.

[march]

These guys are awesome if this is true.

 

[comem47]

Did  any one else have the thought since Putin had all his tanks and supplies lined up in neat rows and blocks and since he only respects power it would have been easy to tell him to return his weapony into Russia proper pronto or it would have been easy to destroy his fish in a barrel with a few B-52 strikes?  I know it's not that simple, but it would have been nice to tell his pawns  (Russian army) to walk away a safe distance while the united world destroyed his invasive tools.  (thoughts of  Gort )

Just dreaming.

Instead I think he just bought himeslf another Afghanistan with guerrilla warfare.

One can only hope the Russian people could cut off Putin's penis (I know they don't want war).

 

 

Edited February 27, 2022 by comem47

[march]

Another one - What spirit.

 

[windymiller]

seems things arent going according to plan, units lost and run out of fuel, russian troops demoralised and not wanting to follow orders and russian citizens openly against the war, wouldnt it be nice for putin to be ousted over this

[ramjet]

3 hours ago, Barrykearley said:

No it won’t be. The Ukrainians have been given very specific training in regards to this.

I realise it is correct Barry. It is great to see. Just with the way troop numbers were initially reported, it ‘feels’ like it is the wrong way around.

 Let’s hope that sort of outcome demoralises the Russian troops. 

[PaulCP]

28 minutes ago, windymiller said:

seems things arent going according to plan, units lost and run out of fuel, russian troops demoralised and not wanting to follow orders and russian citizens openly against the war, wouldnt it be nice for putin to be ousted over this

It is proving harder than he expected and yes, his people may turn on him but therein lies a bigger problem.

Putin is not just a megalomaniac, his obsession with NATO has caused his mind to become so unstable that he now believes his own invented propaganda and now has to prove that he is stronger. 
He cannot accept that he may be wrong and hence he will not back down.
His own army, his generals and his people may turn on him but my fear is that, if they do, his last defiant act may well be to push that button.

[windymiller]

lets hope for a well placed bullet followed by a new leader

[ramjet]

Let's hope there are people around him at that time that have more sense at the time.

Surely, there is the same thing as what the USA has, of two people having to put in codes for the operation?

[PaulCP]

You would hope so, but at least the USA have elections to elect a new President every 4 years,

Putin made sure that he is President for life so why would he share anything with anyone?

[TdM]

There will not be a literal button that launches nukes. At the least he will need to get on the blower and shout at someone, who then probably need to get another group of people to actually launch.

[bogle]

55 minutes ago, PaulCP said:

You would hope so, but at least the USA have elections to elect a new President every 4 years,

Putin made sure that he is President for life so why would he share anything with anyone?

Of course, China's President Xi did the same thing.  I just don't know who played the infinite dictator card first?

[PaulCP]

22 minutes ago, TdM said:

There will not be a literal button that launches nukes. At the least he will need to get on the blower and shout at someone, who then probably need to get another group of people to actually launch.

I didn’t mean a literal button, but having a group of generals in his pocket equates to having a button in his pocket🙄

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Putin can fire over as many nukes as he likes. I’ve just repaired our garden playhouse that Storm Franklin wrecked. A trip to Wickes for a roll of roof felt, repair brackets, nails and wood screws and I reckon it’ll now withstand a 500 kiloton blast. We’ll be just fine in there. 🤪
From this:

To this:

 

 

[Barrykearley]

Might be worth tinting the windows to block out the flash chap.

[drdoom]

Just love to think that our side have been building readiness into the Ukraine forces steadily on since the occupation of Crimea. Bless the Ukrainians for their courage. Inclined to think it clear enough that deploying nukes is a suicide move, therefore even if if Putin has somehow lost his sanity those nearby would likely prefer life over nuclear annihilation and take the fucker out. Pressure's on Puty-poot, and threatening nukes is a predictable bluff, just as was waving the sabre at Finland and Sweden.

Time for the West to stand resolute, pay whatever cost short of all-out war to bring this dog to heel. Next time will be worse otherwise.

[Mark Blanchard]

This is an interesting view from someone in the medical profession:

Putin has developed a puffy face.  This might well be caused by some form of treatment for cancer.  Although direct use of Corticosteroids causes depression, the hormone ACTH is used to stimulate the body to produce it's own corticosteroids.  However the side effects increase aggressive behavior.  If Putin is terminally ill, it could explain why he is in a hurry to create a "legacy" and the treatment he is receiving could exacerbate his pathological behavior.

[ramjet]

Gosh I hope the Generals in charge of the nuclear ready taskforce have brains between them, because if brains were dynamite, I doubt Putin would have enough to blow his nose.

He thought Ukraine was going to be a pushover. If the numbers the News are relaying as casualties are correct, Russia is getting its little botty spanked by an outnumbered military, but I don't think he had bet on the resilience of the people.

The nuke threat has just got to be sabre rattling, surely?

[exeterjeep]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60549916

Ukraine conflict: Putin's war prompts dramatic German U-turn

During an emergency parliamentary session on Ukraine on Sunday, Chancellor Scholz announced an additional $113bn (£84bn) for the German army.

There was an audible ripple of shock in parliament. Some MPs clapped, some booed, others looked stunned.

Undeterred, Mr Scholz went on to announce drastic measures that would have been unthinkable a week ago, including a constitutional commitment to Nato's military spending target of 2% of GDP - and he confirmed that Germany would be sending weapons direct to Ukraine.

 

[MJON]

This article was written in 2017,  I think it gives a good insight into Putin’s mindset and the way he is playing this out within Ukraine today. 
https://www.brookings.edu/research/what-makes-putin-tick-and-what-the-west-should-do/

[pete]

 

 

[Bibs]

The International Criminal Court will open an investigation into alleged war crime conducted by Russia in Ukraine.

"There is a reasonable basis to believe that both alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Ukraine," Karim AA Khan, the ICC prosecutor has said. "It is my intention that this investigation will also encompass any new alleged crimes falling within the jurisdiction of my Office that are committed by any party to the conflict on any part of the territory of Ukraine".

About time. They're cluster bombing schools now, without a doubt war crimes are being committed.