Off Topic Politics Thread

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Well let’s all just let Putin get on with it. I’m sure he’ll stop at Ukraine.

Im not totally disagreeing, but if NATO get involved I imagine and fear this escalates far worse than it is.

I just dont think after 8 days or whatever it is, that now is the time for that, and i understand that may sound inhumane, just now as bad as it could be if Putin goes all guns a-blazin.
 
Im not totally disagreeing, but if NATO get involved I imagine and fear this escalates far worse than it is.

I just dont think after 8 days or whatever it is, that now is the time for that, and i understand that may sound inhumane, just now as bad as it could be if Putin goes all guns a-blazin.
Yes I appreciate that, it terrifies me. But Putin has guaranteed himself power until 2036, he’s only going to get more stubborn and unpredictable.

He keeps upping the ante; targeting a nuclear power plant, breaking a ceasefire to allow civilians out, threatening nuclear war, threatening anyone who dares get involved.

Im afraid of escalation but also afraid for him to carry on unchecked. The more I learn about Russia the closer it feels to North Korea than to Europe.
 
Yes I appreciate that, it terrifies me. But Putin has guaranteed himself power until 2036, he’s only going to get more stubborn and unpredictable.

He keeps upping the ante; targeting a nuclear power plant, breaking a ceasefire to allow civilians out, threatening nuclear war, threatening anyone who dares get involved.

Im afraid of escalation but also afraid for him to carry on unchecked. The more I learn about Russia the closer it feels to North Korea than to Europe.

I get that, i just think we all need to hold our nerve just now and see how this pans out.

My wife as 2 grandparents and an uncle in an apartment on the road the army will be riding tanks down. Her nan is unable to walk far or fast, and they’ve made the decision to sit tight and hope they are lucky when they start bombing - they are less than 1km from the port in Odessa. Not nice for them or us waiting to see it unfold.

And Putin may be in for a while, but I can see him being on a sticky wicket in Russia with what is going on, people hopefully just wont stand for it and will start to rise up, particularly the more the sanctions start to bite.
 
I get that, i just think we all need to hold our nerve just now and see how this pans out.

My wife as 2 grandparents and an uncle in an apartment on the road the army will be riding tanks down. Her nan is unable to walk far or fast, and they’ve made the decision to sit tight and hope they are lucky when they start bombing - they are less than 1km from the port in Odessa. Not nice for them or us waiting to see it unfold.

And Putin may be in for a while, but I can see him being on a sticky wicket in Russia with what is going on, people hopefully just wont stand for it and will start to rise up, particularly the more the sanctions start to bite.
Thoughts and prayers with your wife’s family Billy. My cousin’s partner has family in Kharkiv, it’s just a nightmare.
 
I get that, i just think we all need to hold our nerve just now and see how this pans out.

My wife as 2 grandparents and an uncle in an apartment on the road the army will be riding tanks down. Her nan is unable to walk far or fast, and they’ve made the decision to sit tight and hope they are lucky when they start bombing - they are less than 1km from the port in Odessa. Not nice for them or us waiting to see it unfold.

And Putin may be in for a while, but I can see him being on a sticky wicket in Russia with what is going on, people hopefully just wont stand for it and will start to rise up, particularly the more the sanctions start to bite.
Oh god that’s terrible, my heart goes out to them and your family.

Im hoping that Putin finds a way to exit and save face without escalating.
 
I get that, i just think we all need to hold our nerve just now and see how this pans out.

My wife as 2 grandparents and an uncle in an apartment on the road the army will be riding tanks down. Her nan is unable to walk far or fast, and they’ve made the decision to sit tight and hope they are lucky when they start bombing - they are less than 1km from the port in Odessa. Not nice for them or us waiting to see it unfold.

And Putin may be in for a while, but I can see him being on a sticky wicket in Russia with what is going on, people hopefully just wont stand for it and will start to rise up, particularly the more the sanctions start to bite.
I've been to Odesa, the city is beautiful. I really hope the city and your wife's family are spared from the worst of it and come through all this okay.
 
I get that, i just think we all need to hold our nerve just now and see how this pans out.

My wife as 2 grandparents and an uncle in an apartment on the road the army will be riding tanks down. Her nan is unable to walk far or fast, and they’ve made the decision to sit tight and hope they are lucky when they start bombing - they are less than 1km from the port in Odessa. Not nice for them or us waiting to see it unfold.

And Putin may be in for a while, but I can see him being on a sticky wicket in Russia with what is going on, people hopefully just wont stand for it and will start to rise up, particularly the more the sanctions start to bite.

Billy I am sorry that is awful. I turned off the news yesterday as it was upsetting me, but I know you can't.

Really hope it all works out.
 
1.3 million refugees and countless deaths. Am I the only one who thinks NATO should take military action?

In an ideal world NATO would confront them directly and kick them out of Ukraine, but there are a number of reasons why this won’t happen.

- The scope of the war could widen, most likely risking an attack on the Baltic at minimum.

- Russia could start using tactical nukes on Ukrainian territory.

- It could escalate to full scale nuclear war.

The unfortunate situation is that NATO entering isn’t likely to improve the outcome for Ukrainians, or anyone else.
 
Disaffected urban workers, and the liberal petit bourgeoisie, serving as the center of gravity for a movement that largely wasn't supported by the rural populace, and then gaining momentum when a badly damaged and totally demoralized military wavered and then eventually decided that they weren't willing to kill civilians in order to maintain an autocrat who was sending them off to die.

It's the broad outline of more than a couple regime changes, most notably the February Revolution in 1917. Do I expect it to happen? Not really. But the longer this goes, the more plausible it becomes.

Stalin was even more of a monster than Putin and still no one in Russai did anyhing about removing him. Same with the Nazis too. There were a few assassination attempts against him but no out and out rebellion even when the situation was lost by the beginning of 1945. The people most likely to move against Putin will be the oligarchs who have lost fortunes as a consequence of his actions.
 
In an ideal world NATO would confront them directly and kick them out of Ukraine, but there are a number of reasons why this won’t happen.

- The scope of the war could widen, most likely risking an attack on the Baltic at minimum.

- Russia could start using tactical nukes on Ukrainian territory.

- It could escalate to full scale nuclear war.

The unfortunate situation is that NATO entering isn’t likely to improve the outcome for Ukrainians, or anyone else.

Do you think that the Russians won't so how retaliate once the sanctions start to bite? I am concerned by the comments Putin made yesterday and think that he will take some sort of more direct action. I still don't think he will result to a nuclear option but you could see him fermenting trouble by sturring things up in Mexico or even confiscating shippingor blockading shipping routes such as Suez. There is no way Russian will take the sanctions on the chin without retaliating in some fashion.
 
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