Russia & Ukraine

Buy1Sell2 · Mar 4, 2022

gwb-trading said:
Can't have the residents of Russia getting any realistic news instead of state approved propaganda...

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Russia and Twitter(Pravda) have a lot in common.

CaptainObvious · Mar 4, 2022

gwb-trading said:
More details on the NATO decision on not supporting a "no-fly zone" over Ukraine in their meeting today.

NATO rules out policing no-fly zone over war-hit Ukraine
https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/nato-rules-out-policing-no-fly-zone-over-war-hit-ukraine/

NATO countries refused on Friday to police a no-fly zone over Ukraine, warning that such a move could provoke widespread war in Europe with nuclear power Russia, the organization’s top civilian official said.

Speaking after chairing a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his counterparts, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged the suffering of the Ukrainian people, as Russia ramps up its use of heavy firepower, shelling cities and other sites, forcing more than a million people out of the country.

“What is taking place now in Ukraine is horrific. It’s painful and we see human suffering, we see destruction at a scale we haven’t seen in Europe since the Second World War,” he said. But, he added: “We are not going to move into Ukraine, neither on the ground, nor in the Ukrainian airspace.”

Under a collective security guarantee binding NATO’s 30 member countries — Article 5 of its founding treaty — all allies must come to the defense of an ally if it finds itself under attack. Any shooting down of a NATO warplane by Russia could trigger that clause.

“The only way to implement a no-fly zone is to send NATO fighter planes into Ukrainian airspace, and then impose that no-fly zone by shooting down Russian planes,” Stoltenberg said. He said allies believe that “if we did that, we would end up with something that could end in a full-fledged war in Europe.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appealed for the West to enforce a no-fly zone over his country, most recently after a fire overnight at one of Ukraine’s nuclear plants, the largest in Europe.

But, Stoltenberg said, “we are not part of this conflict, and we have a responsibility to ensure that it does not escalate and spread beyond Ukraine, because that would be even more devastating and more dangerous.”

NATO members and officials are alarmed at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threat to use nuclear weapons should one of their number get involved in his war on Ukraine. NATO has no weapons itself, but the United States, Britain and France are nuclear powers, like Russia.

NATO has mobilized thousands of troops backed by aircraft, tanks and heavy equipment and deployed them to countries on its eastern flank near Ukraine and Russia, such as Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania, which are nervous about Putin’s intentions for their future.

At a second round of talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations Thursday, Putin warned Ukraine that it must quickly accept the Kremlin’s demand for its “demilitarization” and declare itself a neutral country, thereby renouncing any bid to join NATO.

NATO insists that its door remains open to any European country that wants to join and can fulfill the obligations of membership. Stoltenberg said that the world’s biggest security organization will also step up cooperation with already close allies Finland and Sweden.

Blinken also held talks in Brussels Friday with members of the Group of Seven major powers and European Union countries.
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So it begs the question, what good is NATO if they're not willing to go to war with an obvious act of war occurring on their doorstep? I agree that a implementation a no fly zone risks planes being shot down, troops being killed. Putin sees NATO as a paper tiger and will continue to do so until they put some teeth behind their strongly worded complaints. Quite the delima. Risk world war, or continue to watch a country get flattened by a madman with nukes?

elderado · Mar 4, 2022

Very, very interesting.

https://davereaboi.substack.com/p/ukraine-and-the-ngo-archipelago?s=r

UsualName · Mar 4, 2022

Russians are asking questions. Out of a unit of 100 only 4 returned…

Conscripts are not supposed to go to war.

gwb-trading · Mar 4, 2022

gwb-trading said:
Yeah... whatever...

Putin claims conflict in Ukraine "is going according to plan" despite other countries' defense assessments
https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-new...s-03-03-22/h_e27835f2bd93d456654860007dfae0b0

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said the war in Ukraine was "going according to plan," despite defense assessments from other countries.

“The special military operation in Ukraine is going according to plan, in strict accordance with the schedule," Putin said, using the euphemism the Kremlin uses to describe the invasion of Ukraine.

"All tasks are being successfully being carried out," Putin said in remarks to his Security Council broadcast on state television.

However, the defense assessments indicate that Russia is facing "stiffer than expected" resistance from the Ukrainian military.

A 40-mile-long convoy of Russian tanks, armored vehicles, and towed artillery that is believed to be readying for an assault on the Ukrainian capital appears to have stalled some 30 kilometers (or about 19 miles) outside Kyiv and has made “little discernible progress” over the past three days, according to the UK’s defense ministry.

In his remarks, Putin praised Russian soldiers for their courage during the invasion. The invasion, though, has been met with more resistance than expected.

Russia has yet to establish air supremacy over Ukraine, a senior US defense official said, as the Ukrainian Air Force and air defense systems fight for control of the airspace.

“Ukrainian air defenses, including aircraft, do continue to be operable and continue to engage and deny access to Russian aircraft in places over the country,” the official said.

In his remarks, the Russian president again repeated the baseless and inaccurate claim that the democratically elected Ukrainian government is a "Nazi" or "fascist" regime. That language has been roundly condemned internationally, especially considering that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is Jewish.
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In other news.... this guy was able to find employment again.

gwb-trading · Mar 4, 2022

UsualName said:
Russians are asking questions. Out of a unit of 100 only 4 returned…

Conscripts are not supposed to go to war.

View attachment 279618
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And the Russian military is totally disorganized.... not only leading to massive logistics issues but incidents like this.

elderado · Mar 4, 2022

Lindsay missing John so badly...

Bugenhagen · Mar 4, 2022

BBC shuttering in Russia now due to new legislation making it a crime to differ from the official line.

A Russian national station closes down with a bit of style.

Van_der_Voort_4 · Mar 4, 2022

Putin is NOT crazy and the Russian invasion is NOT failing. The West's delusions about this war - and its failure to understand the enemy - will prevent it from saving Ukraine, writes military analyst BILL ROGGIO

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10569141/Putin-NOT-crazy-Russian-invasion-NOT-failing-writes-military-analyst-BILL-ROGGIO.html

Van_der_Voort_4 · Mar 4, 2022

Zelensky's spokesperson said he just went to get some sausages.