Russian invasion of Ukraine

robbieh said:
The latest US intelligence re kidnapping, torture and death lists just reeks of childish desperation to hoodwink the western public.
It may well be that terrible things will happen if things kick off but that's war.
And the idea that the West doesn't kidnap and torture the enemy is laughable. Rendition, water boarding, targeted assassinations.
Click to expand...
I think it creates context helping citizens understand why European & other Western democracies need to be engaged, beyond the geopolitical reasons, even though Ukraine is not a NATO member.

Hearts and minds at home are sometimes as important as boots and bullets at the front.
 
All those years of frustration and resentment building in him since Russia lost the Cold War, now he sees the time to avenge the many humiliations he feels they've suffered..
Mussolini, Hitler and the Donald all made of the same crackpot stuff.
 
inbetween said:
The thing is if he takes Ukraine then doesn't NATO in Poland at 'Russian' borders now become an issue? Does he then take Poland? But then what about Germany, does he then take Germany....?

Obviously that's silly but it just proves that this NATO expansion argument is rubbish and actually it's just a pretext to reform the ex-Soviet territories under Russia to mask his failings over the last 10 years. The only reason Ukraine and other countries would even entertain NATO membership is because of Russian behaviour.

The Russian economy has contracted by 1/3 since its high prior to 2014. Putin also can't handle the fact that the Eastern bloc is looking westwards and not eastwards for prosperity. We have him over a barrel, he knows it and that's why he's using military posturing to mask that fact.

The wildcard for me is China, Putin has trended towards allying with China but we've yet to see the Chinese position in terms of where they fit into the last 30 years of global powerplays dominated by war in the Middle East. If China did become involved somehow and allied with Russia then we are in for a lot more potential indirect pain then we probably realise at the moment.
Click to expand...
China has almost impenetrable western and southern barriers, with no one who could harm them. It is their Pacific front, where they feel hemmed in by western leaning democracies, where they feel vulnerable. Accordingly, they’re addressing that issue now.

Xi knows Putin must be envious of both his money and his military power (men & equipment) and his ability to produce more in the blink of an eye. Therefore, he has no fear of an attack from that direction, but must address the short distances between US Allies and his eastern front.
 
AliBobbyJ said:
All those years of frustration and resentment building in him since Russia lost the Cold War, now he sees the time to avenge the many humiliations he feels they've suffered..
Mussolini, Hitler and the Donald all made of the same crackpot stuff.
Click to expand...
While his KGB past is often mentioned he is now blaming Lenin for the creation of Ukraine.
I have no idea which historical Russian figure he most identifies with but it would be interesting to know.
 
robbieh said:
While his KGB past is often mentioned he is now blaming Lenin for the creation of Ukraine.
I have no idea which historical Russian figure he most identifies with but it would be interesting to know.
Click to expand...

There isn't one.

He wants to be "the" historical figure
 
www.reuters.com

In Moscow, Macron found a different, tougher Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin spent much of his marathon talks with France's Emmanuel Macron this week on the Ukraine crisis reciting grievances that date back to the end of the Cold War, two sources in the French leader's entourage said.
www.reuters.com www.reuters.com


Russian President Vladimir Putin spent much of his marathon talks with France's Emmanuel Macron this week on the Ukraine crisis reciting grievances that date back to the end of the Cold War, two sources in the French leader's entourage said.

In the first detailed read-out on Monday's meeting in Moscow from the French delegation, the sources said Macron had been struck by how different Putin was to the man he had met in his summer residence on the French Riviera three years ago.

"(Putin) gave him five hours of historical revisionism," said one of the two sources, describing how the Kremlin leader laid out his belief that the West had broken commitments to Russia since 1997 with the enlargement of NATO to include former Soviet bloc states.

"So he goes on for hours rewriting history from 1997 on. He drowns you in these long monologues. And the president (Macron) kept on going back to the issues of the day," said the source.

"These more than five hours of talks make us realise how different the Putin of today was to the Putin of three years ago," said the source, who was briefed on the contents of the Macron-Putin talks and spoke on condition of anonymity.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top