Ukraine: Invasion Imminent?

[Jim117 72]

Well I watched a video on YouTube the other day made by a Russian guy. He was filming in and around a large Meadowhall type mall in Moscow . The car park was at most a quarter full on a weekend when it would usually be rammed. The escalators had been turned off to save money and the place was showing a definite lack of maintenance. All the flagship stores had gone including IKEA which had apparently been the biggest draw to get customers in the place. A few food places like Burger King were open having been unofficially squatted by local businesses. Staples like fruit,veg,cheese,etc seemed plentiful but the prices had increased by quite a lot. There weren’t any smiling faces in the place and I felt quite sorry for the youtuber himself as he seemed like a nice guy and was clearly very depressed. So whatever the official stats are saying I’m prepared to bet that 100% of Russians would prefer their pre war lifestyles.

 

[Chekhov 488]

Putin really has dropped the biggest bollock since, ironically, Hitler invaded Russia and then proceeded to treat all the population, including the many many millions* who hated Stalin and initially regarded the Germen's as liberators, as "sub humans". Thus turning them against the Germans......

Everyone is losing out because of this war, including Russia whose long term economic prospects look poorer by the day. Nobody will ever trust them again and even if they can sell most of the gas to China they will want bottom price knowing full well Russia cannot sell it to anyone else.

As I have said before, I do not think all these people (incl me) demonstrating they support Ukraine are virtue signalling. They are sending a very important signal to the UK government : keep supporting Ukraine.

 

* Ironically, again, many in Ukraine, millions of whom died in Stalin's collectivisation of their farms.

[Guest makapaka]

On 19/05/2022 at 15:58, L00b said:

Respectfully, you don’t know what you’re talking about, or you’re being disingenuous.

 

Putin started with an all-country invasion 3 months ago.

 

3 months later, Putin is now down to trying to grab the Donbas alone.

 

And still failing abysmally, even though he’s been having a go at that one for the last 5 years.

 

Russia’s grasp of the DNR is fading fast. It has a “stranglehold” on the LNR. That’s it.

Maybe you should look at a map of Ukraine.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-europe-61518209

[trastrick 866]

18 hours ago, Thorpist said:

Could the solution be that the Russian people realise that they are being fed a false narrative and as life gets tougher the unease in the country gets greater giving rise to factions who try to remove Putin.

That is a possible, but in my view an unlikely scenario.

 

Totalitarians, like Putin, Xi, Castro, Ayatollahs, Mao, Hitler, Kim Il and Syria's Bashar al Assad, Emperor Hirohito, manage to survive their domestic enemies.

 

The only thing that can remove them is  external "shock and awe" brute force, as in Saddam, Hitler, Hirohito, Mussolini, Ghadiffi & Co.

 

Without the  Western will to do that, they could be around a very long time.

Edited May 21, 2022 by trastrick

[trastrick 866]

On 19/05/2022 at 10:37, L00b said:

Because the West has been measuring the cost of not “getting involved vocally and with supplies in 2014” since 24 February 2022.

 

People eventually recognising the errors of their ways and correcting them.
 

What an absurd notion, eh? 😉

Sounds like a good excuse for not confronting Russia directly.

 

Smells like pacifism to me

 

If it walks like a duck......"

[trastrick 866]

15 hours ago, Jim117 said:

Well I watched a video on YouTube the other day made by a Russian guy. He was filming in and around a large Meadowhall type mall in Moscow . The car park was at most a quarter full on a weekend when it would usually be rammed. The escalators had been turned off to save money and the place was showing a definite lack of maintenance. All the flagship stores had gone including IKEA which had apparently been the biggest draw to get customers in the place. A few food places like Burger King were open having been unofficially squatted by local businesses. Staples like fruit,veg,cheese,etc seemed plentiful but the prices had increased by quite a lot. There weren’t any smiling faces in the place and I felt quite sorry for the youtuber himself as he seemed like a nice guy and was clearly very depressed. So whatever the official stats are saying I’m prepared to bet that 100% of Russians would prefer their pre war lifestyles.

 

Sounds like the day after the riots and lootings and arson, in the 200 major U.S. cities during the BLM protests. 

 

[trastrick 866]

Well lookie here!

 

Only diplomacy can end Ukraine war, says Volodymyr Zelenskiy

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/21/only-diplomacy-can-end-ukraine-war-volodymyr-zelenskiy

 

First the Pope, now Zelenski.

 

Anymore of you armchair warmongers ready to jump on the "tripe" bandwagon?

 

Eveybody welcome! The line forms on the left. 

 

Or will you wait for the MSM to tell you it's now OK to join the new 
"narrative"?

 

Lol

 

Edited May 21, 2022 by trastrick

[Jim117 72]

56 minutes ago, trastrick said:

Well lookie here!

 

Only diplomacy can end Ukraine war, says Volodymyr Zelenskiy

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/21/only-diplomacy-can-end-ukraine-war-volodymyr-zelenskiy

 

First the Pope, now Zelenski.

 

Anymore of you armchair warmongers ready to jump on the "tripe" bandwagon?

 

Eveybody welcome! The line forms on the left. 

 

Or will you wait for the MSM to tell you it's now OK to join the new 
"narrative"?

 

Lol

 

Ffs change the record man! There are no armchair warmongers on here, just people who believe that the Ukraine has a right to defend itself. It’s really not complicated however you try to spin it.

[Guest]

43 minutes ago, Jim117 said:

Ffs change the record man! There are no armchair warmongers on here, just people who believe that the Ukraine has a right to defend itself. It’s really not complicated however you try to spin it.

Block him, not worth it

[trastrick 866]

1 hour ago, Jim117 said:

Ffs change the record man! There are no armchair warmongers on here, just people who believe that the Ukraine has a right to defend itself. It’s really not complicated however you try to spin it.

That was never in question.

 

We are talking about solutions here to  halt the slaughter and destruction going on in the Ukraine.

 

Optimum outcomes, based on reality.

 

As articulated here, in another MSM outlet, The Atlantic (who led the charge against Trump in 2019 - "Impeach Trump!")

 

And one that echoes my own opinion.

 

Ukraine' Way Out -MSN News

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/newsworld/ukraine-s-way-out/ar-AAXpsEn

 

 

 

 

Edited May 21, 2022 by trastrick

[Magilla 510]

5 hours ago, trastrick said:

Only diplomacy can end Ukraine war, says Volodymyr Zelenskiy

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/21/only-diplomacy-can-end-ukraine-war-volodymyr-zelenskiy

 

 

I just watched the interview, he's referring to *after* Ukraine has won it's land back militarily!

 

His comments re: diplomacy are about after he's driven Russia out, to prevent recurrences and it going on forever.

 

He's basically stating the obvious, since he's not able to invade Russia but merely defend against their attacks...

 

...he's not endorsing the version of diplomacy you advocate, quite the opposite!

 

 

Edited May 21, 2022 by Magilla

[Guest makapaka]

1 hour ago, Magilla said:

I just watched the interview, he's referring to *after* Ukraine has won it's land back militarily!

 

His comments re: diplomacy are about after he's driven Russia out, to prevent recurrences and it going on forever.

 

He's basically stating the obvious, since he's not able to invade Russia but merely defend against their attacks...

 

...he's not endorsing the version of diplomacy you advocate, quite the opposite!

 

 

That’s not true at all. He’s talking about ending the war through diplomacy.