Is Ukraine about to have a war?
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Often in Jersey, but mainly in the past.
Age: 79
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Sadly, I have to agree. Vlad’s ego, and his burning desire to see the USSR resurrected, outweigh any logical processes we in the West can comprehend or unravel. It’s a mirror of Stalin’s paranoia in the 30s and at the outbreak of WW2. And I find it rather disconcerting.
I fear that we are closer to a nuclear exchange now than we ever were during the "Cold War".
Maybe not strategic - I hope not - but possibly tactical.
"If I can't have Ukraine, then I'll trash it so no-one wants Ukraine". Nuclear, or chemical, or biological - who knows??
We are dealing with a mad man - I hope his Generals are less mad, and have the ability to see into their future, and somehow contain him. I am not optimistic.
I shall continue with my sleepless nights.
Maybe not strategic - I hope not - but possibly tactical.
"If I can't have Ukraine, then I'll trash it so no-one wants Ukraine". Nuclear, or chemical, or biological - who knows??
We are dealing with a mad man - I hope his Generals are less mad, and have the ability to see into their future, and somehow contain him. I am not optimistic.
I shall continue with my sleepless nights.
Equally troubling is his apparent hold on power in Moscow. There doesn't appear to be any group capable of talking him down, getting him to comprehend his plight.
PS A Van and his ilk have gone awfully quiet. Maybe they've finally been reading the right news.
Did they think that the factories that make the weapons being used in the Ukraine would not become targets ?
Anyone old enough to remember how quickly the cruise missile crisis in 1983 was de-escalated after Andropov said he did not care where the weapons launched against the Soviet Union were launched from , the Soviets would destroy the factories where the weapons were made .
Facing defeat and wishing to avoid the fate of Ghadaffi and Saddam the buttons will get pressed this time . No doubt about it .
Anyone old enough to remember how quickly the cruise missile crisis in 1983 was de-escalated after Andropov said he did not care where the weapons launched against the Soviet Union were launched from , the Soviets would destroy the factories where the weapons were made .
Facing defeat and wishing to avoid the fate of Ghadaffi and Saddam the buttons will get pressed this time . No doubt about it .
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Often in Jersey, but mainly in the past.
Age: 79
Posts: 7,814
Received 141 Likes
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It must also be deeply troubling for him that his much-hyped conventional forces, in which he has invested so much and placed so much faith, have turned out to be a paper tiger. Sheesh, if they can't mount an operation on their own borders with months of planning, what use would it be against NATO?
The hardware may be there, but when much of it on the ground is operated by brutalised conscripts without any understanding of the mission and even denied access to maps, is it any wonder it’s not going well? Brute force and Ignorance can only achieve so much against an agile and motivated opponent.
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Often in Jersey, but mainly in the past.
Age: 79
Posts: 7,814
Received 141 Likes
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OK, I'll take that number as valid. Still a weakness, though.
"Mildly" Eccentric Stardriver
Old Duffer: agree totally. I've been beating my gums about it for a while. Available on Kindle, read chapter three on how and why it kicked off. Uncanny
I fear that we are closer to a nuclear exchange now than we ever were during the "Cold War".
Maybe not strategic - I hope not - but possibly tactical.
"If I can't have Ukraine, then I'll trash it so no-one wants Ukraine". Nuclear, or chemical, or biological - who knows??
We are dealing with a mad man - I hope his Generals are less mad, and have the ability to see into their future, and somehow contain him. I am not optimistic.
I shall continue with my sleepless nights.
Maybe not strategic - I hope not - but possibly tactical.
"If I can't have Ukraine, then I'll trash it so no-one wants Ukraine". Nuclear, or chemical, or biological - who knows??
We are dealing with a mad man - I hope his Generals are less mad, and have the ability to see into their future, and somehow contain him. I am not optimistic.
I shall continue with my sleepless nights.
He has said this many times. He sees Ukraine as the birthplace of mother Russia (and he is right in that regard) The Rus. It is why he is so determined that it must be back in his control.
Just catching up on the day's events. This is truly scary now.
Let's hope that the insiders within Russia are getting as scared with the reality that lies ahead. May they realise they have a mad dog in the household, and the only way to resolve the problem is to put it to sleep; very much sooner rather than later.
Let's hope that the insiders within Russia are getting as scared with the reality that lies ahead. May they realise they have a mad dog in the household, and the only way to resolve the problem is to put it to sleep; very much sooner rather than later.
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Often in Jersey, but mainly in the past.
Age: 79
Posts: 7,814
Received 141 Likes
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65 Posts
He has said this many times. He sees Ukraine as the birthplace of mother Russia (and he is right in that regard) The Rus. It is why he is so determined that it must be back in his control.
Er, Russia' population is NOT the same as Spain! 143 million versus 47 million, not counting Crimea.
Your proposal and suggestion about nuclear weapons is totally nonsensical. An overwhelming response by the rest of the world against Russia if Putin goes nuclear would see a cataclysmic nuclear exchange with humanuty being effecively wiped out. And i am not sure that a coalition of 27 nations supplying Ukraine with weaponry, and the most comprehensive financial and economic sanctions seen in history, is 'pussy footing around!"
UK and US F-35's providing an air cap and AH-64's defending Kyiv? NOT NATO? you are having a laugh...
Your proposal and suggestion about nuclear weapons is totally nonsensical. An overwhelming response by the rest of the world against Russia if Putin goes nuclear would see a cataclysmic nuclear exchange with humanuty being effecively wiped out. And i am not sure that a coalition of 27 nations supplying Ukraine with weaponry, and the most comprehensive financial and economic sanctions seen in history, is 'pussy footing around!"
UK and US F-35's providing an air cap and AH-64's defending Kyiv? NOT NATO? you are having a laugh...
Second point, I would bloody well hope there would be an overwhelming response should Putin go nuclear, because you are already dead. Need to make sure he is as well. That’s the point of MAD!
If on the slight chance this goes really wrong for Russia. In the peace talks it would be ALL Russian forces leave all of Ukraine. Crimea and all! If those ethnic Russians that want to be Russian take offence I’m sure they will be welcomed with open arms…. In Russia.
If the ordinary Russian soldiers share that respect for the Ukrainian Peasants, it certainly won't help their morale/motivation in being ordered to launch an all out assault on them.
The Oligharcs are turning against Putin
Financial Times:
Mikhail Fridman speaks out against Ukrainian conflict in letter to staff
Mikhail Fridman, one of Russia’s richest men, said the war in Ukraine was a “tragedy” and called on the “bloodshed” to end after president Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of the country.
In a letter sent to staff at his London-headquartered private equity firm LetterOne on Friday and seen by the Financial Times, the billionaire said he was “convinced” that “war can never be the answer.”
https://www.ft.com/content/9b3ab6bb-...c-42d937147463
also on Reuters, Fridman with Oleg Deripaska, another Russian billionaire.
LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Two Russian billionaires, Mikhail Fridman and Oleg Deripaska, called for an end to the conflict triggered by President Vladimir Putin's assault on Ukraine, with Fridman calling it a tragedy for both countries' people.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe...ys-2022-02-27/
Financial Times:
Mikhail Fridman speaks out against Ukrainian conflict in letter to staff
Mikhail Fridman, one of Russia’s richest men, said the war in Ukraine was a “tragedy” and called on the “bloodshed” to end after president Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of the country.
In a letter sent to staff at his London-headquartered private equity firm LetterOne on Friday and seen by the Financial Times, the billionaire said he was “convinced” that “war can never be the answer.”
https://www.ft.com/content/9b3ab6bb-...c-42d937147463
also on Reuters, Fridman with Oleg Deripaska, another Russian billionaire.
LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Two Russian billionaires, Mikhail Fridman and Oleg Deripaska, called for an end to the conflict triggered by President Vladimir Putin's assault on Ukraine, with Fridman calling it a tragedy for both countries' people.
- Ukraine conflict is a tragedy - Fridman
- Deripaska says peace talks should begin
- One billionaire: the war is catastrophic
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe...ys-2022-02-27/
Precisely. Putin wants Ukraine to be a productive part of Russia. For that reason I believe his plan would be to throw a Nuke at another actor, probably in Europe. He will then say to Ukraine
‘You are next if you do not surrender’. He is throughly unaccustomed to being defied, and he has no idea how to deal with it.
Putin is firmly on track to lose this conflict and he cannot countenance that. He will go nuclear.
‘You are next if you do not surrender’. He is throughly unaccustomed to being defied, and he has no idea how to deal with it.
Putin is firmly on track to lose this conflict and he cannot countenance that. He will go nuclear.
