Sanctions against Russia

[Bruce Tuncks]

My hope is that another country will take advantage of the situation with russia weakened and preoccupied to revolt. They tried it without the advantages of the current situation and it failed.

[Bruce Tuncks]

What revolts?  Too many to list here, but you can google them up easily.

[Old Koreelah]

5 hours ago, Bruce Tuncks said:

My hope is that another country will take advantage of the situation with russia weakened and preoccupied to revolt. They tried it without the advantages of the current situation and it failed.

The Russian Federation includes 21 different divisions; it’s a complex ethnic mix that Moscow is very keen to keep together. Terrible retribution has followed any attempts at gaining local autonomy, let alone separation.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republics_of_Russia

[willedoo]

There are unconfimed reports that Belorussian partisans have blown up a Russian A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft at Machulishchy military airfield. No photos have appeared as yet to confirm it. It would be a big loss if true.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

There have also been reports of undercover Ukrainian units operating far inside Russia. Presumably they were responsible for at least some of the explosions and fires in critical facilities. 

[willedoo]

This lady gets a fair bit of media coverage from time to time. Olga Bigar, callsign 'Witch' is a platoon commander in the 204th Battalion fighting in Bakhmut.

 

https://twitter.com/SlavaUk30722777/status/1627158314286194688

 

 

[willedoo]

Looking forward to a time when all Russian troops are out of Ukrainian land and Ukraine is able to join NATO, I can see Ukraine and Poland being the backbone of NATO in Europe. With the amount of gear Poland is buying and manufacturing, they will soon be the biggest land army in European NATO.  Apart from Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic states are the only Europeans who really get it when it comes to the Russians.

 

Adding to that is the fact that the Ukrainian military is now Europe's most experienced army and probably will hold that status for a long time. Another thing is the potential for a Polish/Ukrainian alliance in defence manufacturing, and it won't be a hard thing to do considering that a vast amount of Soviet military gear was developed and produced in Ukraine. They have the brains, facilities and experience to combine with Poland to be a major supplier of arms to European nations.

 

Poland and Ukraine being the future major players in NATO is entirely possible. It would also be good for the alliance, as up until now, the smaller European countries have not been able to field large forces, and the two major European nations have been Russian-sympathetic nervous nellies. Why not let Poland and Ukraine lead the way and Germany and France can take a back seat and twiddle their thumbs. They'd be more comfortable with that.

[Old Koreelah]

31 minutes ago, willedoo said:

Looking forward to a time when all Russian troops are out of Ukrainian land and Ukraine is able to join NATO, I can see Ukraine and Poland being the backbone of NATO in Europe. With the amount of gear Poland is buying and manufacturing, they will soon be the biggest land army in European NATO.

Not neccessarily a good thing.

The Poles have many grievances with the Russians, from atrocities like the Katyn Forest massacre to losing land when the Soviets moved their border westward. If Russia comes out of this conflict weakened, expect a Balkans-like series of conflicts at least as bad is this one.

[kgwilson]

Don't forget that the US & the UK are members of NATO as well. The UK has somewhat been relegated to a lesser power since WW2 but they still have a very professional Army, Navy and Air Force and produce some very formidable weaponry as well as being an independent Nuclear power. BAE Systems is the worlds 3rd largest armaments producer and their latest Dreadnought class nuclear submarines are supposed to be better than anything else with Rolls Royce producing some of the  best safest hi tech mini nuclear reactors. 

 

At present there are some 10,000 Ukrainians in the UK being trained with some of the trainers supplied by the Australian Defence force. These are practical support processes. The US has some of the best equipment and armaments and they seem content to keep throwing money at the war (while absolutely needed) rather than any real practical assistance other than some "How to use training".

[Marty_d]

19 hours ago, willedoo said:

Last October Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov established the 'Hero of Chechnya' award as the republic's highest award. A couple of days ago it was awarded to the first recipient, Ramzan Kadyrov.

 

Wait.... are they related?

[Marty_d]

19 hours ago, red750 said:

Saw a protest sign a couple of days ago

 

Put out Putin.

Just because you ask that she Put out,  doesn't mean you get to Put in.

[willedoo]

1 hour ago, kgwilson said:

Don't forget that the US & the UK are members of NATO as well.

Certainly haven't forgotten those two. NATO would be nothing without them.

 

2 hours ago, Old Koreelah said:

Not neccessarily a good thing.

The Poles have many grievances with the Russians, from atrocities like the Katyn Forest massacre to losing land when the Soviets moved their border westward. If Russia comes out of this conflict weakened, expect a Balkans-like series of conflicts at least as bad is this one.

I recon the Poles would love to have the Russians out of Kaliningrad, but as a NATO member, are they likely to embark on any unilateral action of aggression? Hard to say as they are a fairly sensible lot. I suppose it could be said there are precedents, such as Turkey invading Syria without NATO approval.

[red750]

My late uncle (by marriage) was a Polish refugee after WWII. Came here to work on a tunneling project to divert water from a dam in the hills to the city. The works camp was near the farm my family had. He married my fathers sister. Common Polish name - Kowalski.

[willedoo]

2 hours ago, kgwilson said:

Don't forget that the US & the UK are members of NATO as well. The UK has somewhat been relegated to a lesser power since WW2 but they still have a very professional Army, Navy and Air Force and produce some very formidable weaponry as well as being an independent Nuclear power. BAE Systems is the worlds 3rd largest armaments producer and their latest Dreadnought class nuclear submarines are supposed to be better than anything else with Rolls Royce producing some of the  best safest hi tech mini nuclear reactors. 

 

At present there are some 10,000 Ukrainians in the UK being trained with some of the trainers supplied by the Australian Defence force. These are practical support processes. The US has some of the best equipment and armaments and they seem content to keep throwing money at the war (while absolutely needed) rather than any real practical assistance other than some "How to use training".

I probably should clarify my previous comments regarding Poland and Ukraine's future in NATO. The U.S. and their joined at the hip partner, the U.K., are for sure the backbone of NATO overall. I meant the comments in context of power and influence among the continental Europe members; who are regarded by some as being tied to America's apron strings. The U.S. and the U.K. will always be rock solid without Trump or a Trump clone in the White House, but the European sector of the alliance can be a bit nervous and indecisive at times. That's where I can see Poland and Ukraine stepping up in Europe. Germany and France might feel a bit put out with their born to be big mentality but it could become a case of crap or get off the pot for them. In the future, the smaller European members will take a lot of notice of what Poland and Ukraine have to say.   

 

The war might result in European NATO members rethinking their financial involvement with Russia, and that could be a good thing. It's a crazy situation where NATO exists to contain a possible Russian threat, but when a neighbour is attacked, some member states are hesitant to do anything as they make a lot of money from Russia, not to mention their former energy dependence on Russia. It's a conflict of interest to be too financially tied to your biggest potential threat. At least now Germany is starting to wake up to that and reduce their involvement with putin.

[willedoo]

Things have been a bit grim for the Ukrainian defenders at Bakhmut lately. Gains by the Russians have threatened to encircle the Ukrainian forces in the town to force an inevitable withdrawal. The last couple of days however, has seen the Ukrainians counterattack and take back ground north of Bakhmut. In the map below, the blue arrows show the Ukrainian advancements over the last 48 hours. It leaves that Russian flank vulnerable as an exposed salient, and if the Ukrainians can join up in the middle and wipe that section of Russians out, their northern flank will be in a much better position.

 

 

[Jerry_Atrick]

News about blowing up the Rouski's plane: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/27/belarus-anti-war-partisans-russian-plane-drones-machulishchy-damage-claim

 

[kgwilson]

8 hours ago, willedoo said:

Things have been a bit grim for the Ukrainian defenders at Bakhmut lately. Gains by the Russians have threatened to encircle the Ukrainian forces in the town to force an inevitable withdrawal. The last couple of days however, has seen the Ukrainians counterattack and take back ground north of Bakhmut. In the map below, the blue arrows show the Ukrainian advancements over the last 48 hours. It leaves that Russian flank vulnerable as an exposed salient, and if the Ukrainians can join up in the middle and wipe that section of Russians out, their northern flank will be in a much better position.

 

 

Classic pincer movement to encircle troops, cut off supplies and exit routes. Used very successfully in WW2 by both the Germans & Soviets & also to destroy the German counter attack in Normandy which led to the liberation of France.

[red750]

This photo on Facebook gave no indication of where or when it was taken, but I thought it interesting.

 

[red750]

The Telegraph
Ukraine war: Putin says Russian people 'may not survive'

 

Vladimir Putin has said that Russian people may not survive in their current state as he claimed the West was trying to "disband" Russia.

 

The Russian president said the West wanted to divide up Russia and then control the world's biggest producer of raw materials, a step, he said, that could well lead to the destruction of many of the peoples of Russia including the ethnic Russian majority.

 

Putin's existential framing of the war allows the 70-year-old Kremlin chief to gird the Russian people for a much more deeper conflict while it also allows him much greater freedom in the types of weapons he could one day use.

 

"They [the West] have one goal: to disband the former Soviet Union and its fundamental part - the Russian Federation," the Russian leader told Rossiya 1 state television in an interview recorded on Wednesday but released on Sunday.

 

He added: "I do not even know if such an ethnic group as the Russian people will be able to survive in the form in which it exists today."

 

He said the West's plans had been put to paper, though did not specify where.

 

[facthunter]

Not many trust what the "Terrorgraph" writes.  Nev

[willedoo]

putin's butt plug Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus has wrapped up his visit to China saying he fully supports China's peace proposal. It's a different position from that of putler's, which would normally create a risk of accidentally falling out a window, but also possible his position has been cooked up by the pair of them. Maybe the old good cop, bad cop routine. If so, the peace proposal would be putler's way of cutting his losses and holding on to what he holds now.

 

China's proposed deal is a win for Russia and nobody else. Ending sanctions on Russia, an immediate cease fire and peace talks to begin. The problem with that is that it amounts to Ukraine ceding all territory currently held by Russia. Only a fool or a dreamer would expect putin to give anything back at the negotiating table. A ceasefire gives him breathing space to fortify and reinforce the lines, and the only way for Ukraine to gain anything would be to break the ceasefire agreement and re-start hostilities.

 

Ukraine doing that would play right into putin's hands as he could push the line that Ukraine was the aggressor and the guilty partner in breaking the agreement. Any nervous supporters of Ukraine might then have second thoughts. putin's tactics have always been to divide and sow disagreement between his perceived enemies. A peace deal for Russia formulated by China and supported by Belarus; it's a joke.

 

https://www.news.com.au/world/europe/belarus-leader-alexander-lukashenko-says-his-country-fully-supports-chinas-ukraine-war-proposal/news-story/dd183c0e2dc58797d188dabe0d11d417

[Marty_d]

The Ukrainian leadership have proved over and over again that they're not fools.  I think this proposal will get exactly the level of support from anyone (except the axis of authoritarianism) that it deserves - none.

[Bruce Tuncks]

I really don't understand why they ( the ordinary russians )  put up with being so poor while the oligarchs are so rich. Oligarchs can get away with being super-rich here, but there is a big middle-class and nobody is really poor. ( But in the US, there sure are poor, yet they seem politically supportive of the rich.)

[kgwilson]

Ordinary Russians especially older people have seen worse times under Soviet rule but they are continually fed lies about the West and only see what State propaganda allows them to on TV which is based on being attacked by the West and defence of the motherland. Putins support is very high amongst these people and they believe they are being attacked by Nazis and now by LGBTQI+ Nazis. They also have something in common with the US poor. Most are devoutly religious and believe their god will provide. Yeah right.

 

The educated, intelligent and informed Russians have mostly fled the country if they don't have major family ties keeping them there. Authoritarian regimes have almost all got where they are by eliminating intellectuals, academics, political challengers and top religious leaders. The Russians are masters of this from centuries of practice. Stalin got rid of 20 million.

[facthunter]

Exterminate the SMART people Yes that'd be a good move for sure.. Nev