Ukraine war mega thread

[sabang]

Yes but then again your predictions are absolute shit.

Dang, Pres Assad and his luvly wife been kicked out of Syria then, Guaido the killer pimp is the real Pres of Venzeuela then, yanks never had their arse kicked out of Ghan then, China still be a third world backwater then, and it just took a wee bit o' digging to find Saddams WMD. Wekcome to 'arrys alternateverse!

[NamPikToot]

Does he continue to waste his increasingly feeble military assets, go for the nuclear option, or commit to a ceasefire where he can reclaim some of the high ground for humanitarian purposes and claim a win that way?

Putin hasn't really brought full force to bear, nowhere near and he won't use Nukes, even he's not that mad.

He tested Ukraine with a light assault and its proved that Ukraine didn't fall apart but that merely means he'll just increase pressure and if that means ramping up shelling of cities then that is what he'll do and sadly the civilian death toll will increase.

Have we seen much in the way of air support to ground forces? all we have seen is a handful of tanks and light armoured vehicles in support of small numbers of ground troops, a few missiles - that is not the action of someone going in with determination to finish it quickly, that is someone testing the water - the next week is going to get very bloody.

I think as the women and children leave and the 18 - 60 YO men that are left are deemed conscripts then Putin will claim the "civilian" men are combatants and as such he'll open up fully on cities. He is waiting for the women and kids to get out of the conflict zones.

Regards the peace talks, his representation is only there to see if Ukraine will lay down arms, he has no intention of calling this off imo.

[panama hat]

My guy.

Yes, the Pooh-looking freak and the mental case . . . here they are shown exchanging books on how to kill dissidents

[panama hat]

the next week is going to get very bloody.

By then Ukraine will have thousands more anti-tank weapons, a thousand extra Stingers, loads more of those Turkish drones etc . . .

Yes, it'll be bloody, sadly, but Putin's forces will suffer as well

[NamPikToot]

The arms are being brought in by road and that means western Ukraine, they have to get them into the hot zones. Regards the drones well we've not seen Russian counter measures yet.

[Norton]

refugees from other recent wars doesn't it.

As with my ice cream preference, the EU prefers vanilla over chocolate.

[AntRobertson]

As with my ice cream preference, the EU prefers vinilla over chocolate.

The quiet part has just been said out loud.

[sabang]

What a lovely photo.

[mackayae]

I wonder how many of the new Russian passport holders in Donetsk and Lugansk have been conscripted into the Russian army.

[Takeovers]

Putin hasn't really brought full force to bear, nowhere near

Do you think they have done the invasion with poorly equipped forces and held their elite troops back? Or did hey hold back the remaining forces, strong in head count, but even more poorly equipped?

and he won't use Nukes, even he's not that mad.

I would not bet on this. But there may be people in the command chain who will refuse. I give it to the Soviet time military that they were not as stupidly agressive as Putin.

[Buckaroo Banzai]

An invitation by whom to whom and how is this an invitation? That's not a matter of perspective at all. Several ex-Warsaw Pact countries have joined and weren't invaded.

I see I forgot to post the video where it outlines all the reasons why Ukraine is important to Russia and why a Ukrainian participation in NATO would be an invitation to invade. It involves the blocking by Ukraine of the canal to bring fresh water to the Crimea , it involves huge gas deposits in the black sea, it involves Sevastpol , the only year round ice free Russian Navy port, and it involves access to the funnel leading into the Russian plateau , of which Ukraine is the only nation that is not a member of the CSTO (In Europe the CSTO consists of Russia , Armenia, and Belarus, as I said Ukraine is not a member)
So to re- cap , Natural gas, Fresh water to the Crimea, Sevastapol and NATO access to the front door into Russia is the reason why Ukraine was invaded and al the other ex-Warsaw Pact who joined NATO were not.

Two different things altogether. The US and Canada are in NATO and not in the EU, as an example.

But the US and Canada are not in the EU, all EU countries are NATO members except Cyprus. Why is that? The answer is that NATO does not want to be involved in an inter NATO conflict. Turkey is of greater strategic value to the US than Cyprus is. The point that I am trying to make is that NATO Is only interested in containing Russia and not defending any of it's members from each other or from external threats not Russian related.

[bsnub]

I see I forgot to post the video where it outlines all the reasons why Ukraine is important to Russia and why a Ukrainian participation in NATO would be an invitation to invade.

Your last several posts, you are really coming off like a Russian apologist. There is no valid justification for this invasion.

[David48atTD]

all EU countries are NATO members except Cyprus.

Others disagree ...

Out of the 27 EU member states, 21 are also members of NATO. Another four NATO members are EU applicants—Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Turkey. Two others—Iceland and Norway—have opted to remain outside of the EU, however participate in the EU's single market.

European Union–NATO relations - Wikipedia

[Joe 90]

Cyprus

Yet the British have a sizeable force based there.

[sabang]

Have these been deemed illegal yet-



By gosh they should be.

[sabang]

An old drinking buddy of mine in Pattaya got shot there, twice. Long term Infantry guy.

[Iceman123]

An old drinking buddy of mine in Pattaya got shot there, twice. Long term Infantry guy.

For sure, many of the Pattaya special forces fought and won in countless war theatres around the globe.
Good to hear you managed to lend an ear to these unsung alcoholics - sorry heroes

[Joe 90]

Cant see the Putin one here..



The most insignificant and pointless one is microscopic.

[harrybarracuda]

Dang, Pres Assad and his luvly wife been kicked out of Syria then, Guaido the killer pimp is the real Pres of Venzeuela then, yanks never had their arse kicked out of Ghan then, China still be a third world backwater then, and it just took a wee bit o' digging to find Saddams WMD. Wekcome to 'arrys alternateverse!

You can tell sabang is a closet trumpanzee with his "alternative facts".

[Buckaroo Banzai]

Your last several posts, you are really coming off like a Russian apologist. There is no valid justification for this invasion.

What I am is inconsequential to the issue ay hand.
Did you watch the video and are there any points being made in it that you disagree with?

[harrybarracuda]

An old drinking buddy of mine in Pattaya got shot there, twice. Long term Infantry guy.

Wow sabang knows war heroes from the bars of Pattaya.

Hard to find.

[bsnub]

Did you watch the video and are there any points being made in it that you disagree with?

I didn't and don't intend to. There is nothing that can justify this criminal invasion and the atrocities that are being committed.

[katie23]

I want a set of those matryoshka dolls. I first saw them on Sesame Street. They animated the dolls going out and then coming back in.

I've just watched the vid posted by @buckaroo re: this crisis. Very enlightening. That channel (realifelore) makes good geo-political vids.

Re: the Russian soldiers - I pity them too. Most of them are young conscripts and were told that they were going for military exercises, not war. I've also seen the Ukranian refugees on the Polish side - their brothers and fathers left in Ukraine & may be gone from this earth in the next few days or weeks. Lots of death & destruction.

I hope this crisis is resolved soon.

[harrybarracuda]

This is what is called integrity.

A word beyond the comprehension of the three stooges.

Elena Kovalskaya, the most recent artistic director of the Meyerhold Theatre and Cultural Center, has resigned her post in protest over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "It is impossible to work for a murderer and get a salary from him," she wrote in a Facebook post.

[Buckaroo Banzai]

Out of the 27 EU member states, 21 are also members of NATO. Another four NATO members are EU applicants—Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Turkey. Two others—Iceland and Norway—have opted to remain outside of the EU, however participate in the EU's single market.

So lets dissect the above statement
First Turkey became a NATO member in 1952
Albania 2009
Montenegro in 2017 North Macedonia in 2020.
Iceland and Norway are not EU member states.
" NATO has added new members eight times since its foundation in 1949 with a current total of 30 members. Twelve countries took part in the founding of NATO: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1952, Greece and Turkey became members of the Alliance, joined later by West Germany (in 1955) and Spain (in 1982). In 1990, with the reunification of Germany, NATO grew to include the former country of East Germany. Between 1994 and 1997, wider forums for regional cooperation between NATO and its neighbours were set up, including the Partnership for Peace, the Mediterranean Dialogue initiative and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council. In 1997, three former Warsaw Pact countries, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland, were invited to join NATO. After this fourth enlargement in 1999, the Vilnius group of the Baltics and seven East European countries formed in May 2000 to cooperate and lobby for further NATO membership. Seven of these countries joined in the fifth enlargement in 2004. The Adriatic States Albania and Croatia joined in the sixth enlargement in 2009, Montenegro in 2017 and North Macedonia in 2020."
Member states of NATO - Wikipedia
So I think it would be safe to say that those that would disagree that Cyprus is the only EU member that is not a NATO member are simply wrong and should do the honorable thing and take a short walk on a long pier. LOL