Russian invasion of Ukraine imminent, BBC reports

[EagerBeaver]

US Bans Russian Vodka and Diamond Imports:

US to ban Russian diamond and vodka imports

Western allies also say they plan to revoke Russia’s status as an equal trade partner.

www.bbc.com

 

[gaby]

VODKA...heard yesterday 26 US STATES are already in touch with Canadian co.

 

[Skym]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ukrainian-fighter-foreign-legion-medics-vets-1.6381650

For those that are interested, several ppl can volunteer to join the fight in Ukraine.

Already several hundred Canadians have volunteered to fight the Russian army in Ukraine.

 

[Skym]

Talk of the Kremlin calling up14,000 Syrian and other middle eastern mercenary ($400/wk) fighters to invade Ukraine. Isn`t it time for France to call the French Foreign Legion into the fight ? The Russians are taking heavy losses so they want other nationalities to take the brunt of casualties.
The British have done it with success as have the French, the Ottomans, the German Nazis, Macedonians, Greeks and Romans etc. The Russians will fuck it up.

French Foreign Legion?

Speaking of mercenaries, I'm surprised Blackwater is not involved in this conflict. Why doesn't Zelensky call up Erik Prince and hire Blackwater mercenaries to join the fight?

Those guys seem to have a thirst for blood.

 

[wetnose]

WSJ report on Kharkiv, Ukraine's 2nd largest city, located in the NE

“Everyone is in shock here,” said Ihor Terekhov, the city mayor. “We used to think of the Russians as our brothers. Even in our worst nightmares, we never imagined that they would destroy our city.”

Russia’s attempt to use rapid thrusts by armored columns and assaults by paratroopers and special forces to seize the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and other cities, overthrowing the country’s government, has stalled in the face of fierce resistance. Now, Moscow is resorting to a punishing, wholesale destruction, shelling and bombing residential neighborhoods and historic downtowns.

 

[wetnose]

Talk of the Kremlin calling up14,000 Syrian and other middle eastern mercenary ($400/wk) fighters to invade Ukraine. Isn`t it time for France to call the French Foreign Legion into the fight ? The Russians are taking heavy losses so they want other nationalities to take the brunt of casualties.
The British have done it with success as have the French, the Ottomans, the German Nazis, Macedonians, Greeks and Romans etc. The Russians will fuck it up.

"Oh no, the Syrian mercenaries are coming!!" ...said no one, in the whole history of warfare, EVER.

Real sign of weakness and obvious sign that the "special operation" is not going well. What about the the rest of the Russian forces??? Are their vehicles not fit for combat???

Are they scared of little ol' Ukraine?

 

[Fradi]

Real sign of weakness and obvious sign that the "special operation" is not going well. What about the the rest of the Russian forces???

Are they scared of little ol' Ukraine?

Unfortunately they are not, the reality is that the West is scared of Russia otherwise they wouldn’t let this go on.
Who is next after this, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Latvia.
Putin only understands brut force just like he is using against the Ukraine.

 

[cloudsurf]

Unfortunately they are not, the reality is that the West is scared of Russia otherwise they wouldn’t let this go on.
Who is next after this, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Latvia.
Putin only understands brut force just like he is using against the Ukraine.

The next one to be attacked will be the little country of Moldova . They`ll be punished for harbouring more than their share of refugees , and they are not a NATO member.
BTW Fradi I`m curious what would you like the West to do .
The West is not scared of Russia but of a suicidal mad man who no one can predict what his ultimate goal is, and how far he is willing to go to achieve it.
Bio/Chemical ? Nuclear ? .

 

[Fradi]

You think watching a suicidal madman invade and destroy the Ukraine, is going to cure him of it.
I would put in a no fly zone and shoot down his planes and destroy his army of tanks as well.
This guy will not stop and is laughing at the West for allowing him to do as he pleases with Ukraine.
What makes you think doing nothing will make him not use Bio chemical or Nuclear.
Does he become predictable because the West stands by and does nothing except seize toys.
They did this very thing to the iron curtain countries before, of all people you should remember, I was there I saw it.
The West stood by and did nothing then too.caused 50 years of misery for all those countries.

 

[kabukicho]

The next one to be attacked will be the little country of Moldova . They`ll be punished for harbouring more than their share of refugees , and they are not a NATO member.

argh, you are telegraphing ideas to putin!

 

[cloudsurf]

You know what Fradi, I happen to agree with you..... but unfortunately Biden is no Kennedy and putin is no Nikita. If NATO shoots down some Russian planes and blows up some tanks, there is a good chance of WWIII . The only life that will survive on land are rats, cockroaches and ants. In 50 million years a new breed of humans will arise, descended from rats. But maybe they`ll be smarter.

 

[Fradi]

What guarantee is there that if they do nothing Putin will not attack a NATO country next.
There is no bargaining with a madman the only thing he understands is brut force and a military response. This is now the second time the West is standing idly by only now he is destroying the whole of Ukraine.
There is a good chance of WWIII even if the West allows Ukraine to be devastated.
You are right Biden is certainly not Kennedy although Kennedy didn’t do so well either if I recall. The Bay of Pigs was not one of his finest moments.

 

[sene5hos]

Putin is irrational, and I hope he wants to recover the three small countries in the North, these are the Baltic countries, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
They are part of NATO.

 

[wetnose]

It's now 2022 and people vote with their feet - not bad enough that the Russian people are heading into a economic black hole, but the young and smart are leaving too:

Russia faces brain drain as thousands flee abroad

Many Russians who can afford it have fled to nearby countries since Russia invaded Ukraine.

www.bbc.com

According to one estimate by a Russian economist, as many as 200,000 Russians have left their country since the start of the war.

For her the moment of decision came with a new "state betrayal" law that has come into force in Russia. Anyone expressing support for Ukraine could face jail sentences of up to 20 years and Anya believed she could be a target.
"Fear of closed borders, political repression and forced military service is in our DNA. I remember my grandmother telling me stories about the state of fear they lived in during Stalin's time, and now we are experiencing it," she said.

 

[Cap'tain Fantastic]

There is no bargaining with a madman the only thing he understands is brut force and a military response

The difference between WWII and a hypothetical WWIII is that today, as oppose to 1945, Russia has +6000 nuclear heads, ready to use and in the hands of Putin. Also, the europeans knows what such a conflicts cost. The americans, sitting on their couches in front of their screens have no idea of what it involves. Easy for them to scream for punishment, living some 7000 miles from where the horrors will happens.

 

[Fradi]

The difference between WWII and a hypothetical WWIII is that today, as oppose to 1945, Russia has +6000 nuclear heads, ready to use and in the hands of Putin. Also, the europeans knows what such a conflicts cost. The americans, sitting on their couches in front of their screens have no idea of what it involves. Easy for them to scream for punishment, living some 7000 miles from where the horrors will happens.

You are correct, however there is no guarantee that a madman like Putin will not use them and what is the West supposed to do keep watching him use this threat while he took Georgia, Crimea, and now the whole of Ukraine.
Do you think the people of Ukraine should be just sacrificed so that all of Europe can keep sitting on their couches like North America, and if so who is next.
None of us have any idea what a nuclear war would be like and hope we will never find out, but some of us do know what it is like to live under a Russian madman’s rule and do not wish that on the Ukraine or a repeat for many countries that have managed to climb out of that.
Many Europeans also know what allowing Russian rule over them costs also, I am one of them, and that is why Ukrainians are now putting their lives on the line.

 

[cloudsurf]

I`ll tell you what it was like to to live in communist Hungary in the 50`s. My grandfather was thrown into prison for 7 years because he was selling a few of his own antiques privately, so that he could buy food. The Russian controlled commies called it black marketeering.

Russian leaders can call anything you do a crime and throw you in prison for any reason that wouldn`t even get a second glance in the west. Or even kill innocent children without facing consequences.

Some of you are pissed at having to wear a mask when you go into a crowded indoor space....imagine getting arrested and being held in jail for years just for holding a garage sale.

 

[cloudsurf]

Now Russia has bombed a Ukraine training center that is situated 20 miles from the Polish border. They did it with missiles fired by jets deep inside Russia. What if some would have landed in Poland ? Any mistake could set off a huge retaliation and escalation of the conflict.

 

[Fradi]

I can tell you similar stories.
I watched the tanks roll into Hungary and children not much older than me going up against them with Molotov cocktails.
People hung on telephone lines, a trek through the woods for 8 hours in waist high snow with flares and machine gun fire then 11 months in refugee camps in Yugoslavia ended that.
I carried my own suitcase through the woods as an infant.
My parents would have been carted off to Siberia or one of the meat grinder victims with their remains ending in the Danube, the secret police were quite diligent in making people disappear.
This is what the Ukraine is fighting against.

 

[sene5hos]

American journalist Brent Renaud shot and killed by Russian forces in Ukraine

Brent Renaud, a 50-year-old filmmaker, was killed when Russian troops opened fire, according to the head of Kyiv's regional police force.

www.cbsnews.com

Washington — An American journalist was killed and another journalist was wounded by Russian forces in the town of Irpin outside the capital of Kyiv on Sunday, Ukrainian police said.

Brent Renaud, a 50-year-old filmmaker, was killed when Russian troops opened fire, according to Andriy Nebytov, the head of Kyiv's regional police force. Nebytov posted a graphic photo purportedly of Renaud's body on Facebook, as well as pictures of his American passport and media credentials issued by The New York Times.

A spokeswoman for the Times said Renaud was "a talented filmmaker who had contributed to The New York Times over the years," most recently in 2015, but he "was not on assignment for any desk at The Times in Ukraine."