War in Ukraine

[Spindle]

I keep hearing this but there's no actual proof of it.

Russia out gun Ukraine and out drone them and out man them.

I have little doubt there are thousands on both sides dying each week, but Russia can bear that while Ukraine not really.....not and have an economic future as....Well, Ukrainian.

They are going to get fully 'Blackrocked'.....Diversity enhanced and alphabeted.....and be so much poorer......and they never even had a vote on it.

Regardless, while I care about the loss of Europeans on both sides of this....unlike most who have commented for continuing the war I don't particularly care who wins this war or which slav owns what part of Ukraine.

I care about how this effects my country and all this has zero upsides and just costs.

What is the point of this war for the working class Brit? Other than virtue signalling over not liking Putin?

It's been nothing but lies from the start.

There is an upside. I just got made redundant but landed a job in defence. Won't say who, but they manufacture sophisticated arms for European NATO forces. Defence spend is up, and better some goes to me don't you think?

 

[Common Sense Club]

There is an upside. I just got made redundant but landed a job in defence. Won't say who, but they manufacture sophisticated arms for European NATO forces. Defence spend is up, and better some goes to me don't you think?

Congrats mate.

 

[Stirlingsays]

There is an upside. I just got made redundant but landed a job in defence. Won't say who, but they manufacture sophisticated arms for European NATO forces. Defence spend is up, and better some goes to me don't you think?

Oh well if you put it like that, I can see why you have a self interest.

You're quids in fella.

 

[Rudi Hedman]

If we set up a left vs right civil war in central Wales I’m all for close combat or unarmed combat.

 

[Spindle]

Bellend

Nations will 'very much regret' trying to shoot down Russian planes over its airspace, Lavrov tells Sky News

"But if their attempts are to down any flying object over our territory, in our airspace, then I think people will very much regret undertaking such an egregious violation of our territorial integrity and sovereignty."

news.sky.com

 

[Stirlingsays]

Zelensky announces he won't stand in a post war election.

Seems he isn't totally devoid of reality then.....I very much doubt he'll remain in the country post war.
A lot of people are going to be looking for missing money.

 

[Forest Hillbilly]

If we set up a left vs right civil war in central Wales I’m all for close combat or unarmed combat.

Hand tools, or agricultural machinery ? 😀

 

[Spindle]

Zelensky announces he won't stand in a post war election.

Seems he isn't totally devoid of reality then.....I very much doubt he'll remain in the country post war.
A lot of people are going to be looking for missing money.

You don't tend to say such damning things about the Russian filth though do you...?

 

[Stirlingsays]

You don't tend to say such damning things about the Russian filth though do you...?

Well no....Our money aren't going on Russia is it?....Why should I give a crap about them?
In fact we nicked a load of theirs. No massive loans given to Russia where we have to suck it if they can't pay....but there is with Ukraine.....and they won't repay it by the way....but none of the people who signed that deal will be around to be held to account.

Though I am quite happy we kicked the corrupt Russians out of London.
Problem is London is full of other corrupt foreign arseholes.....If we are going to have corrupt rich arseholes in London owning our sh1t, it needs to be OUR corrupt arseholes.

 

[beak]

The thing that shocks me about this war is the fact that Russia has more land than any other country,grabbing more land is not needed.

 

[Stirlingsays]

The city of Pokrovsk falls to the Russians according to their most reliable source. It's a significant hub city for their remaining actions in the Donbas.

It's probably true or premature by a day or two.

There are a couple of other large towns and cities under significant pressure at this time. The most important of the being Kupyansk in the north east. It's probably under 70 percent Russian control but with the Ukrainians counter attacking and they might have pushed that back.

 

[ASCPFC]

The thing that shocks me about this war is the fact that Russia has more land than any other country,grabbing more land is not needed.

Who doesn't want places full of resources?

 

[beak]

Who doesn't want places full of resources?

Greed is not pretty to see.

 

[Stirlingsays]

Greed is not pretty to see.

They will need those resources to pay for the war.

Nevertheless, Russia will fight until they no longer regard Ukraine as a threat and have the deal from the Americans that they can trust......They won't trust anything Ukraine nor Nato say.....As that's my side I find that a sad indictment of the elites in charge.....Who I regard as disastrous.

Zelensky had plenty of chances to not have this war and to even end it weeks after it began. But he's a puppet of the US state department. And the US had done very well out of this war.

If Zelensky genuinely had the best interests of Ukraine at heart then he's been a fool. He certainly listened to fools who turned out to be wrong and now Ukraine's future is in the lap of countries who don't want to pick up the bill.

Ukraine is a socially conservative country....but now it's no longer sovereign it will be a puppet of the EU/US. It's going to get all that diversity it doesn't want by the EU forcing its people to accept non Europeans to live there.....Another invasion but this time one they won't be allowed to fight.

They will get the alphabet and trans lobbies funded and pushed into their public discourse, schools and institutions. All against the majority will of the country.

They won't be allowed to fight back against that either.

So many supporters of this war weren't supporting it in the best interests of Ukraine, but because they hate Russia.......Emotional opinions might be fine on forums that no one reads but as a national state policy it's beyond reckless.

As someone who was against this whole stupid policy from nearly the beginning I certainly resent the extra cost this war puts on my energy bills.

 

[McAhuna]

The thing that shocks me about this war is the fact that Russia has more land than any other country,grabbing more land is not needed.

No disrespect, because I generally like your posts.
But I think you misunderstand Russia's motivations for the war.
They don't need more land as you say.
But they do want border security and they do want to protect their own people, both inside Russia and outside.

 

[beak]

No disrespect, because I generally like your posts.
But that shows a big misunderstanding of Russia's motivations for the war.
They don't need more land as you say.
But they do want border security and they do want to protect their own people, both inside Russia and outside.

...but they send them into the meat grinder that they have created. Their logic is akin to a black widow spider- mate and I eat you.

 

[McAhuna]

...but they send them into the meat grinder that they have created. Their logic is akin to a black widow spider- mate and I eat you.

Well, all wars are ultimately a form of masochistic madness.
On this day we remember the hundreds of thousands of British soldiers sacrificed not even to save our own people, but to save Belgium and Poland.
Is Russia's sacrifice for their own people in Donbass and Luhansk really so strange and unprecedented?

They thought it would be over very quickly of course. The 'We'll all be back by Xmas' attitude that we have seen many times before.

 

[Mapletree]

No disrespect, because I generally like your posts.
But I think you misunderstand Russia's motivations for the war.
They don't need more land as you say.
But they do want border security and they do want to protect their own people, both inside Russia and outside.

According to Chatham House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine is driven by a desire to reassert its geopolitical influence and dominance in the Black Sea region, which it views as a crucial "imperial sphere of influence". Other contributing factors include its perception of NATO expansion as a threat and its "realist" view of the international system as one of zero-sum competition, where it feels compelled to act to prevent perceived threats from the West.

Desire for regional dominance

• Russia seeks to dominate the Black Sea to rebuild its power and assert its status as a great power.
• This ambition is deeply tied to its neo-imperial identity and the projection of its influence into surrounding regions.
• Dominance over the Black Sea is seen as indispensable for Russia's long-term geopolitical and security strategy.

Perceptions of threat from the West

• Russia views the expansion of NATO as a major threat to its security, even though this perception goes beyond the military alliance itself.
• It frames its actions in the Black Sea as a defensive response to perceived Western encroachment.
• Russia believes that Western countries do not consider Georgia and Ukraine as important to them as they do to Russia, which it interprets as allowing it to escalate actions without risking proportional retaliation.

Strategic worldview

• Russia operates under a "realist" worldview, where it sees international politics as a zero-sum game of competition, not cooperation.
• It frequently attributes its own intentions to its adversaries and sees actions as a necessary response to hostile "external stimuli".
• From this perspective, securing a sphere of influence is not only legitimate but essential for maintaining global order, with the West viewed as the primary source of conflict for refusing to accept this idea

 

[McAhuna]

According to Chatham House, Russia's invasion of Ukraine is driven by a desire to reassert its geopolitical influence and dominance in the Black Sea region, which it views as a crucial "imperial sphere of influence". Other contributing factors include its perception of NATO expansion as a threat and its "realist" view of the international system as one of zero-sum competition, where it feels compelled to act to prevent perceived threats from the West.

Desire for regional dominance

• Russia seeks to dominate the Black Sea to rebuild its power and assert its status as a great power.
• This ambition is deeply tied to its neo-imperial identity and the projection of its influence into surrounding regions.
• Dominance over the Black Sea is seen as indispensable for Russia's long-term geopolitical and security strategy.

Perceptions of threat from the West

• Russia views the expansion of NATO as a major threat to its security, even though this perception goes beyond the military alliance itself.
• It frames its actions in the Black Sea as a defensive response to perceived Western encroachment.
• Russia believes that Western countries do not consider Georgia and Ukraine as important to them as they do to Russia, which it interprets as allowing it to escalate actions without risking proportional retaliation.

Strategic worldview

• Russia operates under a "realist" worldview, where it sees international politics as a zero-sum game of competition, not cooperation.
• It frequently attributes its own intentions to its adversaries and sees actions as a necessary response to hostile "external stimuli".
• From this perspective, securing a sphere of influence is not only legitimate but essential for maintaining global order, with the West viewed as the primary source of conflict for refusing to accept this idea

Mmm.
I actually sat on a branch the Chatham House forum. I don't say it with much pride. They are a not a neutral organisation, so although there is some truth in the above, it is subjective and doesn't tell the full story in my view.
Much of it would apply universally. Do Britain and the US have a neo-imperial identity? Or seek to project influence into other regions?

Most crucially it ignores the conflict in the Donbass that has been going on since 2014 which has seen thousands of ethnic-Russian civilians lose their lives.
Rightly or wrongly, Russia sees intervention as a 'peacekeeping' operation. You may not agree with their interpretation, but for Chatham House to leave it out of their analysis is disingenuous at best.

 

[Mapletree]

I am not sure they do leave it out. This summary is AI generated.

Let us also remember the Russian speakers in Donbas largely are there as purposeful implants from Russia exactly in order to prevent a successful independence move for Ukraine.