I posted earlier that I am absolutely against appeasement and think we should 100% stand against Russia. But I also hold a nuanced opinion and recognise we cause a lot of this trouble ourselves. During the early USSR Crimea was never a part of the Ukraine. The Crimean oblast was granted to Ukraine by the Khrushchev government despite the fact many ethnic Russians had settled in the area long before. That issue has never ever been resolved, it was always going to cause issues whenever the two nations started to separate a bit. It's a fact most Crimean's wanted to join Russia.
Granted but after Russia invaded because they didn't like the Ukrainians ousting the Russian puppet who held power there prior and Russia lost its grip on Ukraine as a sovereign nation so then invaded Crimea and I'm sure many locals fled to safety. And even then they were not offered the opportunity to be their own sovereign state during the vote. Bit like saying to the Scots - you can be a part of the UK or you can be Danish but not independently Scottish. Russia always has been and always will be - until Putin is off'd - a bully nation trying to hold and use those smaller nations around them to their fancy and for their profit. No issue with the Russian people as a whole - and recognize their un-winnable dilemma of vote Putin or get locked up/never seen or heard of again - but as a country it's down there with the worst of them.
Of course, I for one hope we give Ukraine as many guns as humanly possible. But I also think people are naive to think Russia is this big impossible to overcome juggernaut and we're a tiny little island. It couldn't be further from the truth.
Bottom line is that it is Russia who are amassing troops on the Ukraine border. It is Russia who are objecting to “western “ influence extending and the increase in NATO. Yes we are no angels but it is Russia who are attempting to exert undue influence over Ukraine and should be unconditionally told to get lost or face the consequences be it economic or whatever else is decided. If the Ukraine is an “ally” (which it is) then we should be helping support it to allow it to make its own decisions without outside interference.
We are just brainwashed by the press to believe that because they’ve positioned some troops close to a border that’s what is instigating conflict. It doesn’t work like that. You can’t just ignore ours and our allies actions simply because the press says it is so. Neither of them are innocents in all this, but it’s far more complex than just saying “ah look Putin has stationed some troops and is gonna invade the psycho”. Your grandad has given you perspective about them as people, removes the demonisation, which helps you question the bigger picture but many aren’t lucky enough to get that insight. As I said previously I’ve given up now. You can’t reason with people who just regurgitate what warped outlets like the BBC, CNN, SKY etc are telling them. They actually can’t see the wood for the trees so it’s pointless. And you certainly can’t change these juggernauts of news when you realise how they are funded and who owns them ultimately or how far their web has been spun. These families have been running our world far longer than our existence. Money remains the evil of the world and those with the most decide the narrative now and in the future. You wanna fact check? Go ahead they own those too. You touched on something which is the most salient point in this. Just because the west are sly and manage to remove themselves far enough from public detection, it doesn’t make them any less culpable than countries who are more overt in their actions like the Russians or China. I just find it surprising they still manage to stoke people so easily when you look at how badly they’ve been exposed by the real story of past conflicts like the Middle East or Afghan. Russia/China/UK/US run round the world arming people, taking their resource, creating conflicts for gain. They don’t get our weaponry by stealing them It’s laid bare for all to see and when the next one comes along, and people are presented with a version by the same people who lied to them previously, they get behind it again with little thought. It’s the people who are accepted collateral damage I feel sorry for. Those and the people sent to fight in these conflicts, fighting for faceless ****ers in what they thought was an honourable endeavour. Hopefully it will de-escalate and whatever it is they are really arguing about like little school children (probably resource and energy) gets sorted behind closed doors.
Ah here we go again, Mr Brainwashed…hey man I watch the BBC, they tell the truth. Grow up. Still worrying about killer COVID? You know the one it turns out only 17,000 have died of in this country All while adding 50k cancer deaths due to lack of early diagnosis/treatment etc. I wonder what the true death toll is at the hands of the cult you've lapped up? You know considering cancer is just one angle. It’s all coming out now buddy. You’ll learn to think for yourself one day
Zzzzzzz What next from the scripted handbook? Accuse of believing in flat earth theories, mention the name David Icke, QAnon, fake moon landing? You’ve got so much more to work through to be starting with lizards and tin foil. Or maybe try to have an original thought, that would be good. You know to keep it remotely interesting. Your treasured peer reviews are looking a little suspect aren’t they? Whoops.
Sounds like the Ukrainian PM is keen for the US and UK to stop blowing matters out of proportion and escalating it unnecessarily. Perhaps we should take heed. Or maybe he’s a conspiracy theorist…
Think a lot of people have underestimated the effect that the push for a transition to renewable energy is having on global energy supply. The majors are being pushed by shareholders and future scenarios to diversify from fossil fuels and their lack of investment, following the supply reduction due to the pandemic, is leading to a very tight energy supply. This is giving supplier countries the opportunity to use it as a political tool. I bet the Saudi's are having a good laugh about it as well. They must be under pressure to open the taps but are not doing that yet. Maybe they are waiting until we need the money to buy Mbappe in Summer.
Perhaps he was telling lies and perhaps it wasn’t Western propaganda after all. Putin trying to annex the Ukraine or at least part of it after financially funding the separatists for years. Putin acting against International Law. Putin trying to tell an independent country, Ukraine, as to what organisation they could or could not join. Putin trying to distract Russians from the economic mess he has presided over. Putin pushing the World and Europe and NATO in particular to the brink. Maybe just Western propaganda but it all looks real to me.
