The Russians are on their way...why am I not shocked.

[Zubrman]

Is it just me who sees shades of Sudetenland in all this?

Is it just me, or did anyone else read 'Sunderland' in the above?

 

[BlueBearBoots]

much easier to understand whats going on by reading this thread than listening to the news! - Thanks for that post Skashion, I had no idea

 

[GazC]

Is it just me who sees shades of Sudetenland in all this?

Not in the sense of the false flag to annex an area, but maybe in the west's half-hearted response.

The Sudetenland had a German minority, and it was only a minority of those that would associate themselves as being of German nationality (until 1918 the vast majority of the area had been part of Austro-Hungary) - a sizebale number of the German speaking population of that area had moved there to escape the political discontent in Austria in the late 20s/early 30s. Skash summed it up on the last page, but it's also worth noting, that unlike the then Czechoslovakia, Ukraine is no longer represented by a diplomatic government. There was no coup, no protestors removing a democratically elected government and no real German interests before ze Germans marched into lower Silesia.

Reading comments on the likes of the BBC, Pravda and social media, from both sides, I think this could be the first time where the political elite on both sides may call for war and nobody will answer.

 

[2sheikhs]

The pro western side in Ukraine are just trying to protect their independence as a country and rightly so, Russia is rushing in and taking a opportunity solely based on civil unrest. They need to be stopped.

Russia is rushing in and taking something that for the vast majority of its history has belonged to them and where ethnic Russians outnumber ethnic Ukrainians by over a two-and-a-half to one ratio. The Ukraine was only given the Crimea by Russia as essentially a diplomatic gesture during the Soviet era and obviously under the presumption that the Ukraine and Russia would remain joined under the Soviet Union. There was no transfer of sovereignty when it was handed over because it all fell under the umbrella of the Soviet Union. Now this materially-empty gesture in the Soviet era apparently means something material and apparently the west has a right to interfere when it's none of our business. Would we take a blind bit of notice Russia telling us what to do with Northern Ireland, Gibraltar or the Falklands? Would we fuck - and all those cases are less straightforward than the Crimea. It's absurd to expect Russia take any notice of the west about trying to regain territory a) it has a hugely legitimate claim to b) where the majority of citizens want Russian sovereignty and where the Parliament has just voted to join Russia. Unless Russian soldiers are massacring ethnic Ukrainians, we've no right to interfere.

These were my initial thoughts but I didn't want to voice them in case I was wrong. The U.S. and some European countries have behaved less than admirably in recent years, yet the Russians have not taken any action. They may have voiced disapproval but stopped short of taking action. This smacks of sheer hypocrisy by the west.

 

[blueinsa]

Putin is laughing his bollox off at the west and rightly so imo.

Who the fuck are we to start laying the law down on invading countries given our own recent history/behaviour?

Crimea is Russia, history shows that and despite all the bluster, fuck all will stop him and nothing of any consequence is going to happen.

Visa restrictions lol.

 

[aguero93:20]

Is it just me who sees shades of Sudetenland in all this?

Is it just me, or did anyone else read 'Sunderland' in the above?

No, I did as well.

In response to what a couple of posters have said about the Russians in Crimea wanting to join Russia, it's exactly the same in Donetsk and that's where it will get nasty if it happens, it's the biggest source of mineral wealth in Ukraine.

 

[GazC]

Is it just me who sees shades of Sudetenland in all this?

Is it just me, or did anyone else read 'Sunderland' in the above?

No, I did as well.

In response to what a couple of posters have said about the Russians in Crimea wanting to join Russia, it's exactly the same in Donetsk and that's where it will get nasty if it happens, it's the biggest source of mineral wealth in Ukraine.

The difference with the Don Bass region, is, unlike Crimea, is that although the majority are Russian speaking they still see themselves as ethnic Ukrainian, rather than Russian. Things appear to have somewhat simmered down in the east since the law acknowledging Russian as an official language was reinstated.

 

[aguero93:20]

Is it just me, or did anyone else read 'Sunderland' in the above?

No, I did as well.

In response to what a couple of posters have said about the Russians in Crimea wanting to join Russia, it's exactly the same in Donetsk and that's where it will get nasty if it happens, it's the biggest source of mineral wealth in Ukraine.

The difference with the Don Bass region, is, unlike Crimea, is that although the majority are Russian speaking they still see themselves as ethnic Ukrainian, rather than Russian. Things appear to have somewhat simmered down in the east since the law acknowledging Russian as an official language was reinstated.

Fair point, but there's been plenty of bad relations between the region and Kiev in the past and you can bet Putin will be in their ears, he'd love to get his hands on the mines. Have they re-acknowledged Kiev's authority or is that still out?

 

[GazC]

No, I did as well.

In response to what a couple of posters have said about the Russians in Crimea wanting to join Russia, it's exactly the same in Donetsk and that's where it will get nasty if it happens, it's the biggest source of mineral wealth in Ukraine.

The difference with the Don Bass region, is, unlike Crimea, is that although the majority are Russian speaking they still see themselves as ethnic Ukrainian, rather than Russian. Things appear to have somewhat simmered down in the east since the law acknowledging Russian as an official language was reinstated.

Fair point, but there's been plenty of bad relations between the region and Kiev in the past and you can bet Putin will be in their ears, he'd love to get his hands on the mines. Have they re-acknowledged Kiev's authority or is that still out?

As far as I'm aware there’s no immediate threat; the ultras of Dynamo and Shakhtar even played a match when the league game was cancelled last weekend out of solidarity and to show support for each other. However, that's not to say there isn’t dissenters in the East that would like nothing more than to be under Russian rule – Kiev appointing oligarchs to the role of governor in Dnepropetrovsk and Donestsk hasn’t helped things.

If the EU does proceed to seize Russian assets, will that mean the end of Cyprus?

 

[west didsblue]

Is it just me, or did anyone else read 'Sunderland' in the above?

No, I did as well.

In response to what a couple of posters have said about the Russians in Crimea wanting to join Russia, it's exactly the same in Donetsk and that's where it will get nasty if it happens, it's the biggest source of mineral wealth in Ukraine.

The difference with the Don Bass region, is, unlike Crimea, is that although the majority are Russian speaking they still see themselves as ethnic Ukrainian, rather than Russian. Things appear to have somewhat simmered down in the east since the law acknowledging Russian as an official language was reinstated.

Thats not quite true. Unlike the Crimea in which ethnic Russians outnumber Ukrainians by 2 or 3 to 1, in Eastern Ukraine the numbers of Russians and Ukrainians is roughly the same.