Russia Vs Ukraine 2: Putin on the Fritz?

[JesusAndYourBush]

[EOLAN]

The mix of flags and leaders is  like those movie posters where the actors name are under the wrong face.

[Alberon]

Labour continuing to try and place themselves to the right of the Tories.

Labour's shadow foreign secretary has doubled down on comments from the US president about any use of chemical weapons by Russia, saying this would be an escalation and should be "met in kind".

David Lammy told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Absolutely it's the case that the use of chemical weapons would be an escalation and it should be met in kind."

He added: "It's important not to speculate about that escalation and what the response would be.

"I don't want to signal that to Vladimir Putin but I think that it's right that the scenario that is now going on both in the White House and in the Ministry of Defence is prepared for that act."

What the hell is he actually proposing?

[Pink Gregory]

Use of chemical weapons against the Russian army, presumably.

Starting to think Lammy ia a bit of a dangerous cunt, to be honest.

[TrenterPercenter]

It's just sabre rattling for the yeehaws!

They wouldn't use chemical weapons (the US and UK) anyway as it would be publicly breaking their own conventions (hence why they fired some missiles at an empty airbase before).

[Fambo Number Mive]

I thought this was an interesting and disturbing article on how Russians fleeing Putin's regime are treated outside of Russia: https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/3/24/russians-abroad-are-not-the-enemy

...Today, Tbilisi looks gorgeous covered head to toe in Ukrainian flags – it is inspiring to see an entire nation standing in solidarity with a country in distress. But it is equally heartbreaking to see this show of solidarity also includes overt hostility against us, Russians who are trying to find a safe haven in this beautiful country. Between Ukrainian flags it is common to see graffiti on walls that read "Russians go home", "return to your ugly country". It will not be the oligarchs who actually support and fund Putin's war who see these hurtful words – they are weathering the crisis in their palatial homes in Switzerland and London. These words will hurt only us, Russians who came to Tbilisi to escape the same aggressor. Russians who know – like me – that they may end up in prison if they return home.

On our first day in Georgia, one of our friends was physically attacked simply for talking Russian. After that incident, we decided to communicate only in English anywhere public. But Russophobic attacks from members of the public are the least of our worries in Georgia.

For us Russians – and also Belarusians – in Georgia accessing the most basic services is a massive struggle.

The Bank of Georgia, for example, demands that Russian citizens sign a special form with their application to open a bank account. "I condemn Russia's aggression in Georgia and Ukraine. I agree that Russia is an occupant that invaded Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014 and 2022. I agree that I won't share Russian government propaganda and help fight against it," the form says, noting that a violation of these terms will result in a termination of the bank account. Even if a Russian citizen wholeheartedly agrees with these statements, signing this document may mean agreeing to never return home. Indeed, Russian prosecutors could easily classify signing this form as an act of treason...

I don't remember British and American citizens being treated like this for the actions of Bush and Blair, and I would oppose it if they had been.

[Fambo Number Mive]

Sunak questioned over his wife's stake in Infosys and their operations in Russia: https://twitter.com/mikegalsworthy/status/1506912997578526728

[Pink Gregory]

Surely all but the most ardent nationalists in the post-soviet states understand that the post-USSR Russian Federation is not remotely driven by the will of its citizens?

[Pavlov`s Dog`s Dad`s Dead]

Point of order:

I thought this was an interesting and disturbing article on how Russians fleeing Putin's regime are treated outside of Russia in Georgia: https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/3/24/russians-abroad-are-not-the-enemy

Worth noting that #NotAllCountries in the immediate periphery are reacting in a similar way: the place where my brother-in-law has sought refuge has so far been very welcoming to the incoming Russians.

A propos of which, it would be lovely if the UK government, among others, would back up its anti-Putin rhetoric by offering asylum to dissident Russians as well as Ukrainians.

[Petey Pate]

Posted on /pol so there's a good chance none of this actually happened, but I do wonder how many people 'fell for the Azov meme' - not in the sense of believing in overexaggerated claims of neo-Nazi influence in the Ukrainian military but hoping they'd get to join their fantasy division of Aryan supermen.



On the other side of the political spectrum, this is a pretty interesting piece from 2018 reporting on 'anti-imperialist' foreign volunteers in East Ukraine who were there to defend Russia from NATO.

https://harpers.org/2018/11/light-in-the-donbass-window-tankies-and-anti-imperialist-fighters-in-east-ukraine/

[Alberon]

Russia has said today that the death toll of its soldiers is 1,351.

The US gave a 'conservative' figure of 7,000 and the Ukrainians have claimed 15,000.

I do wonder what the actual figure is, though.

[Mister Six]

NATO saying 15,000 dead, 30-40,000 total for dead, injured or missing. But, y'know, NATO's not exactly going to lowball it.

The site for pro-Kremlin Russian news tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda briefly posted a story that 9,861 Russian servicemen had been killed and 16,153 wounded a couple of days ago, but the story was deleted. It said that the figures were false, and placed there by a hacker, which is plausible - as is it being a disgruntled employee posting the true (or indeed false) figures, or a miscommunication that led to the correct figures accidentally being used.

Nobody knows, basically, yeah. Well, nobody who's going to tell.

[gilbertharding]

Posted on /pol so there's a good chance none of this actually happened, but I do wonder how many people 'fell for the Azov meme' - not in the sense of believing in overexaggerated claims of neo-Nazi influence in the Ukrainian military but hoping they'd get to join their fantasy division of Aryan supermen.



On the other side of the political spectrum, this is a pretty interesting piece from 2018 reporting on 'anti-imperialist' foreign volunteers in East Ukraine who were there to defend Russia from NATO.

https://harpers.org/2018/11/light-in-the-donbass-window-tankies-and-anti-imperialist-fighters-in-east-ukraine/

This is quite interesting - I just read Laurie Lee's account of his time trying to serve with the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War and pretty much the same things happened to him as happened to your Nazi guy up there - except Lee was suspected of being a spy and spent quite a lot of his time in Spain rotting in a dungeon.

[Dex Sawash]

Posted on /pol so there's a good chance none of this actually happened, but I do wonder how many people 'fell for the Azov meme' - not in the sense of believing in overexaggerated claims of neo-Nazi influence in the Ukrainian military but hoping they'd get to join their fantasy division of Aryan supermen.



On the other side of the political spectrum, this is a pretty interesting piece from 2018 reporting on 'anti-imperialist' foreign volunteers in East Ukraine who were there to defend Russia from NATO.

https://harpers.org/2018/11/light-in-the-donbass-window-tankies-and-anti-imperialist-fighters-in-east-ukraine/

clip magazine

[Alberon]

Russia changing its war aims?

The chief of the Russian army says Russia will now focus its main war effort on the "complete liberation" of the eastern Ukrainian Donbas region.

The defence ministry said Russia had been considering two options for its "special military operation" - one covering the whole of Ukraine and one focusing on the Donbas.

The comments - carried by Russian state news agencies - hinted at a possible downgrading of Russia's war aims. Russian forces have met strong resistance in the north of Ukraine and around Kyiv.

Sergey Rudskoy, head of the main operational department of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, said 93% of Luhansk oblast and 54% of Donetsk oblast was under Russian control.

Russia had destroyed the vast majority of Ukraine's air force and navy, and this marked the successful end of the first phase of the conflict, he added.

However, the defence ministry did not rule out storming Ukrainian cities that had been blockaded and said Russia would react immediately to any move to close airspace over Ukraine - something President Zelensky has repeatedly urged.

The ministry also said Russia would continue its invasion until targets set by Putin had been achieved, Ria news agency reported, without specifying what the targets were.

[imitationleather]

Posted on /pol so there's a good chance none of this actually happened, but I do wonder how many people 'fell for the Azov meme' - not in the sense of believing in overexaggerated claims of neo-Nazi influence in the Ukrainian military but hoping they'd get to join their fantasy division of Aryan supermen.



On the other side of the political spectrum, this is a pretty interesting piece from 2018 reporting on 'anti-imperialist' foreign volunteers in East Ukraine who were there to defend Russia from NATO.

https://harpers.org/2018/11/light-in-the-donbass-window-tankies-and-anti-imperialist-fighters-in-east-ukraine/

Hopefully he's managing to see the funny side of his predicament. I know I am!

[Ferris]

I saw the Russians have had to send their only aircraft carrier back for repairs. They managed to sink it in a dry dock last time so who knows what's going to happen there.

I'd guess they're scaling back, will annex Donbas, then say "ah well that's all we were going to do anyway, remember? Forget about the other fronts we were just joking" and call it a day.

The big takeaway for the west is that the Russian military is pretty shit. If they can't properly invade the country next door, I think a Red Dawn scenario is just never going to happen. They've lost a shitload of global credibility and the sanctions will knacker them economically for decades (foreign direct investment will go through the floor) and for what?

Silly old Vlad. Still, great line about JK Rowling.

[Das Reboot]

I saw the Russians have had to send their only aircraft carrier back for repairs.

No great surprise, in recent years it has rarely gone anywhere without an ocean-going tug to haul its knackered arse out of trouble. Makes you wonder what state Russia's nuclear submarine fleet is in. 

[Mister Six]

NYT just alerted that Russia has lost full control of the city of Kherson, the first it captured in Ukraine.

EDIT: Actually, NYT saying the claim comes from a Pentagon briefing, and Ukrainians on the ground are questioning it and saying the city seems to remain in Russian hands. Shame.

[JamesTC]

Had a dream that the UK was taken over by Russia. Was asked for a comment by a pro-Russian journalist and I made a smart-arsed comment about how I hope all the Russian soldiers return home safe soon and then instantly regretted it. Lesson learned.

[Blumf]

Had a dream that the UK was taken over by Russia.

Terrible thought, being ruled by a corrupt government in the pocket of oligarchs.

[Video Game Fan 2000]

Nothing but blasted Harry Potter on the telly.

[JamesTC]

Never seen a Harry Potter. This is why I love this country.

[Video Game Fan 2000]

Never seen a Harry Potter.

Your name will also go on the list.

[Zetetic]

Nothing but blasted Gary Potter on the telly.

Fixed, citizen.

[hamfist]

No great surprise, in recent years it has rarely gone anywhere without an ocean-going tug to haul its knackered arse out of trouble. Makes you wonder what state Russia's nuclear submarine fleet is in. 

Loved the bit where they dropped a crane through the flight deck and totally fucked it

[Ferris]

Loved the bit where they dropped a crane through the flight deck and totally fucked it

They set fire to it in the middle of the ocean and accidentally sank it while it was dry-docked.

Who is this fucker crewed by, Benny Hill?

[Alberon]

The one thing this war has achieved is to totally trolley Putin's reputation as a master tactician and the Russian armed forces as a credible fighting machine.

[Psybro]

A totally inept nuclear power is surely the most terrifying force imaginable?

[Ferris]

A totally inept nuclear power is surely the most terrifying force imaginable?

Yeah but looks like it's not just the Americans. There's two of the fuckers.