Ukraine

[Sly Boots]

Putin is now Trump. Take him as face value. He does not bluff. If he says he will push the button - he will.

Isn't that exactly what he wants the West to think, though? Every reckless move he's made so far only reinforces the belief that he's a loose cannon who would destroy the world before losing, but it could simply be a calculated bluff - like a false tell in poker.

He might be forced to go down the escalate / de-escalate route sooner rather than later given that Russian interest rates have gone from 9.5% to 20% overnight. Double (t)rouble! Wars cost money, and the longer this one goes on, the less likely Putin will be able to take and hold Ukraine. If there's one thing the major conflicts of the past half-century have demonstrated, it's that occupying forces fighting against a guerrilla war do not fare well.

... or he's forgotten one of the golden rules, never get involved in a land war in Asia.

[Wrathbone]

Inconceivable!

[Animalmother]

Assuming Putin doesn't obliterate the planet what's the future going to be like? A country under crippling sanctions, humiliated in a war and full of angry people sounds a bit familiar. Whatever the current outcome this is going to come back to bite the West in the ass at some point.

Very interesting explanation of how Russia got itself into this mess. It's pretty long but is very informative.



TLDR: Russia is extremely corrupt and Ukraine got it's shit together after 2016.

[Lenny Solidus]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... raine.html
From incarceration to defending your country, now that's how you give someone something to fight for.

[Mantis]

Looks like the frustrated Russian command is starting to indiscriminately bomb civilian centres in the cities now. Footage floating around of housing areas in Kharkiv on the receiving end of Grad barrages.

Not the best optics to claim you're liberating a population from a Nazi government when you're also bombing the ever loving shit out of the civilians. But then the Russian military has form for these kinds of atrocities.

I hope they hold out just long enough that this turns out to be the end of Putin. Hiding away like the little coward he is in his Urals retreat. The military is still taking hefty losses and now their economy is in freefall. Hopefully one of his subordinates decides that enough is enough and puts a bullet in his head.

[Raid]

It's absolutely terrifying that a developed nation would fire unguided artillery into major civilian centres in this day and age, when the possibility for low-collateral-damage strikes with guided weapons is available. They're hitting blocks of flats for goodness sakes, and as far as I'm aware the city hasn't been told to evacuate. There could be hundreds of people in each of those buildings.

Just what the hell is this conflict supposed to achieve? Is Putin hoping to destroy the country so badly that NATO can't then use it as a base? I've never paid that much attention to Russian military doctrine before, are civilian casualties just not considered an issue?

[Mantis]

Russia offered the following on one of the reasons behind them moving their nuclear alert level to high:

Statements were made by various representatives at various levels on possible altercations or even collisions and clashes between Nato and Russia.

We believe that such statements are absolutely unacceptable.

I would not call the authors of these statements by name, although it was the British foreign minister.

I assume he was referring to the fact that Truss said in an interview yesterday that she would support Brits who want to volunteer to go abroad and enlist in the Ukrainian military to help defend the country. Not even considering that enlisting in a foreign military to fight someone the UK is at peace with is illegal and will see them prosecuted when they come back home, I wonder if the thought even entered her head how ridiculously dangerous it might be to suggest that she endorses British volunteers fighting Russia in a proxy war. Absolute stupidity like that is exactly what will lead to a conflict between Russia and NATO and then we all die.

She's a dangerous moron. The absolute worst people in the cabinet are leading us through this crisis. God help us if this ridiculous campaign push works out for her and she ever becomes PM.

[Wrathbone]

To be fair to Russia, whenever I hear Liz Truss speak I too yearn for the sweet, merciful winds of nuclear annihilation.

[Raid]

As much as I detest Liz Truss, I find it difficult to believe that the threat of nuclear annihilation was made because of the comment she made about allowing Brits to go over and fight. She's the Foreign Secretary, so she ought to be in constant communication with Moscow. If it's true that she's provoked Russia, and given how moronic she is I'm not discounting that possibility, she'll probably have just made some idle threat in an effort to appear strong. Otherwise, it's just more rhetoric from Putin.

But with Putin appearing increasingly unhinged, what we probably shouldn't be doing is saying, in public, that he's bluffing.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-60553356
Let's not poke the bear, eh?

And in other "Idiotic things the British Government is doing around the Ukraine crisis" news, our Immigration Secretary published and then deleted a tweet suggesting that people fleeing for their lives from the conflict could come to the UK and pick our summer fruit. On a temporary basis of course. Can't have those dirty refugees sticking around next winter, eh? But Kevin needs his strawberries. Think of Wimbledon!

[eny]

Truss is an idiot, but hardly a reason to annihilate the entire planet...

Heartwarming efforts by the British public though, queuing up to donate to Poland and their efforts to receive refugees. One polish woman wanted to buy paracetamol, but was told she could only buy 2 boxes, so the entire store—shoppers and staff—bought boxes for her, and helped in driving them to the collecting point.

[Achtung Englander]

Russia offered the following on one of the reasons behind them moving their nuclear alert level to high:

Statements were made by various representatives at various levels on possible altercations or even collisions and clashes between Nato and Russia.

We believe that such statements are absolutely unacceptable.

I would not call the authors of these statements by name, although it was the British foreign minister.

I assume he was referring to the fact that Truss said in an interview yesterday that she would support Brits who want to volunteer to go abroad and enlist in the Ukrainian military to help defend the country. Not even considering that enlisting in a foreign military to fight someone the UK is at peace with is illegal and will see them prosecuted when they come back home, I wonder if the thought even entered her head how ridiculously dangerous it might be to suggest that she endorses British volunteers fighting Russia in a proxy war. Absolute stupidity like that is exactly what will lead to a conflict between Russia and NATO and then we all die.

She's a dangerous moron. The absolute worst people in the cabinet are leading us through this crisis. God help us if this ridiculous campaign push works out for her and she ever becomes PM.

totally agree

[Achtung Englander]

one of the big questions is whether Sergie will continue to promote comparethemarket.com?

[Raid]

one of the big questions is whether Sergie will continue to promote comparethemarket.com?

Don't worry, Newsthump have already covered that.

https://newsthump.com/2022/02/28/alexsa ... _oUQs1rQwQ

[Animalmother]

https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/elon ... 24749.html
Are people just making shit up now? It's turning into a farce at this stage.

[Rossell]

I got to be frank, anything nuclear scares the hell out of me. Always has done. So seeing what he did there is unforgiveable to me. It could just be a case of switching the system on or he hasn't done anything at all and isn't intent on taking himself out and wanted to get the rise off people.

But the thought of being wiped out by something like this just scares me shitless. Just wanted to get it off my chest.