Putain is even pissing his friends off: Chinese officials speak out in unprecedented criticism of Russia on eve of G20 | The Independent
To show how upset Putin is with his world reputation he is now attacking cities all across Ukraine apparently due to the statement by the U.N. that Russia will have to pay reparations for the damages they have caused. The cornered rat has shown what it is capable of and don't think he is not prepared to do worse based on his recent actions. There has to be a time, in the not- too-distant future, where the bounds of acceptability go way beyond what the real world is willing to allow which could bring to the fore the amount of true intervention that the West will enter.
Missile attack in Poland a NATO country https://news.sky.com/story/russian-...poland-us-intelligence-official-says-12748369
learn by history, what happens when a sadistic dictator is pushed into a corner he lashes out at anything and everything, leaving just scorched earth;
Many options are on the table following this missile event: 1. Accidental Russian strike. 2. Deliberate Russian strike 3. Russian missile hit by Ukrainian intervention allowing debris to enter Poland. Whatever determination is made, followed by denials and accusations from Russia, the ante has been upped in a substantial way and will lead to some kind of response from Ukrainian allies. At some point in the minds of most pundits this was bound to happen but the response, if any, will be the most important outcome from this strike on NATO soil that killed 2 residents of Poland. If indeed this was a deliberate strike by Putin then the rules will change to whatever level NATO countries decide based on their findings. The next 36 to 48 hours will be crucial in what happens next, again if anything, as it will set the tone for how peaceful nations decide to mete out retributions for consequences set in motion by bellicose Russia. Outright aggression of the kind being used by a human being who does not have an ounce of humanity in his makeup has to be met, at some finite point, by return fire in whatever form that may take. Boots on the ground and planes in the air are closer than we may think at this very hour, and we need to hope that a similar situation to Poland's invasion in 1939 doesn't come to pass, because we all know where that led.
DIDNT GET THE NEWS TILL ALMOST 10pm ... just read upall the reports and it seems to be a s-300. I assume satellite /awacs / forte drones may have info. The tracking of missiles is lkely recorded ... they know the numbers and defence systems seem to know the source fired from although by time reaction is implemented the source likely to have moved .. like the HIMARS Stated that 73 were shot down Iranian drones amongst them ... still means about 20+ were missed! UKRAINE must react in a more aggressive way? THEY ARE INTENT ON SLOWLY REGAINING TERRITORY they should be taking out more of the Russian military installations based in the Donbas and Crimea [ bridge to Russia ] WHETHER DELIBERATE to test the reaction of the alliance or accidental it shows the Russians could cash in on no reaction and have a well placed strike ... ooooops another accident! will need to wait till tomorrow for the findings ..... Russia in the mean time says as always it wasnt us it was them!
It could also have been a ‘false flag’ incident - launched by Ukraine with captured Russian missiles in order to fool NATO into joining in?
Aside from the carnage that's gone on in and around Ukraine since this started back in February, the one question that no-one seems to be asking in the UK is just how much money is this costing us, the British taxpayer ? I'm not saying we shouldn't be helping Zelensky and his people, of course we should, but what we're sending him in hardware, training, and financial assistance to push the Russians back must run into tens of billions, when we have a £50bn 'black hole' in our own finances.
That's a fair question AN16, but a rather insular one in global circumstances. I'd rather have a "black hole" in our finances than thousands of "black holes" where the missiles, bombs and artillery shells have landed.
As I said OS, we definitely should be helping Ukraine, even if it is seen as a fairly corrupt country, and notwithstanding the huge western European and American interests held there, and we were virtually the first to offer them any support and assistance. But the question does need asking, when we as a nation are wasteful with our own finances and spend other millions/billions supporting dubious causes at home, whilst giving foreign aid to countries with nuclear programmes, whilst our own personal tax burdens are likely to rise under this Govt. Charity begins at home, so maybe our own Government should look more closely at Sorting out the illegal migrants and the money it's all costing us. Reform the NHS and stop the waste whilst providing British citizens with services that WE PAY FOR Pursue those here who are gaming the benefits system and who don't need to work. Pursue those who fraudulently exploited furlough for their own personal gains And finally put a stop the trade in knocked off/counterfeit/illegal goods upon which no tax and revenue is ever gained or recovered and which is estimated to cost trillions, never mind billions or millions worldwide every year. Maybe then we'd have an economy that could withstand a pandemic and a war or two whilst looking after the people who fund it.
@Angelicnumber16 - just to round off this chat, I only commented on your point about the "hidden" financial cost of our Ukraine support as this thread is about that conflict and not the obscene waste of our money on other issues which seem to be addressed on another thread. I hope you agree the unkown cost of funding what is actually a "proxy war" on Ukraine territory to contain it there is infinitely preferable to having the Wagner Group on the streets of Bristol.
the point of the spending is that it is basically fixed ... "our defence budget" We train our troops and buy / develop our own hardware [ could mention a lot about that but cant] the month before the war kicked off we dumped of "out of date " hardware, a few billion £'s ... however at the time was better than anything Ukraine had of its type. The hardware we have now will be replaced in due course [ dumped for updated ] the war has put a different slant on things ... our "troops" instead of repetitive exercises on Salisbury plain etc etc is now doing the same/ similar but with up to 30000 Ukrainian troops being taught, so put to better use! Kit we give them to take back will likely never get used as it is "instock" in case we have to send troops in great numbers to the artic/ antartic ... ....etc etc etc etc
pity we didnt give them the ack ack guns earlier!..... The warm winter wear will be a bonus especially if has the heater pads!
I have spent many years working and living in Arctic like conditions and believe me it is not pleasant, but you just get on with the job at hand. The extra effort required to complete simple tasks is beyond belief and exhaustion can quickly set in leaving the body confused and needing attention otherwise serious consequences will happen before you know it. Thoughtful layering is the answer to keeping warm and the old adage that most heat vanishes from the top of your head dictates serious covering for both the head and especially the ears. The coldest temperature that I ever encountered was -47C, with a wind chill of -72C, up near Hudson Bay, Manitoba in 1976. I am not so sure that Ukraine experiences those types of readings in today's moderating temperatures, but if you want any ethnicity to handle, and indeed thrive, in that kind of environment then leave it to the Ukrainians, and that's why so many of them came to Canada after the Russian Revolution. You need hardy people who never give up on hope to survive in an Arctic winter, no matter what the odds against them are, and I'm sure if you look up the definition of resilience it will include a Ukrainian reference.
not been down that cold maybe - 25c with windchill -30c but for less than an hour everything we touched stuck! especially metal ...
Ukraine war: Russian ambassador quizzed over alleged war crimes ............. How can a ambassador sit there and deny answering a question in the face of corroborated evidence .. stating each time Russia believes Ukraine is committing war crimes! when challenged about Mariupol he gave a start and said before q asked .. "dont go there" .. but was confronted by pictures of civilian areas completely trashed and 100's of people "murdered" by the damage and said ... that was Ukraine shelling not Russia! I wonder if he sleeps at night, or goes to bed thinking I wish it was all over, and I wouldnt feel so guilty about drawing my over inflated wage cheque ............and having to lie through my teeth, instead of telling the truth and fearing the novichok man
