The start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (Part 1)

gentleharbor3 said:Sure, but Macron's idea regarding European strategic autonomy
only works on paper.
In reality, there are deep divides between Eastern and Western Europe
and massive, almost irreconcilable differences that have caused the EU to fail
to provide a unified or effective response to a single crisis so far.
So, despite the fact that America has acted arrogant
toward Europe—from Syria and Afghanistan all the way to the recent AUKUS deal
— this specific war in Ukraine will give NATO
a new raison d'être and further blind Europe to its dependence on the USA.

I couldn't agree more. Europe needs to start driving its own independent policy immediately. Establishing a European army should be the top priority. These current events are only going to tighten the American grip on Europe.

placidrider48 said:He definitely screwed up. I mean, he's already struggling to explain to his oligarchs why they can't just spend their dirty money over in the West.

We really ought to pull the plug on Russian citizens buying up real estate across Europe immediately—and frankly, we should just kick that degenerate state out of SWIFT once and for all.

bluerider63 said:In the age of Bitcoin, this whole thing is a joke, and honestly, it’s just going to trigger massive price hikes and inflation across Europe.

Sure. We'll just end up paying Russia in Bitcoin anyway.

https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/udland/sen...et-store-hvide

American journalists are right in the thick of it in Kyiv, with both major networks and even the state broadcaster reporting directly from the heart of the city. This one reporter actually caught a train from Kharkiv to Kyiv just yesterday. She didn't say how she pulled it off, but her last update yesterday was from the train station surrounded by huge crowds, and now she’s reporting live from central Kyiv.

If you can catch the clip, she basically says she's standing in front of some police station. They're trying to stay low-profile to avoid being filmed, they're carrying rifles, and they're busy bolting up car doors with armor plating.

She mentions the Russian Army is launching a massive offensive and getting dangerously close to the city center. You can actually hear gunfire in the background.

Rachel Allen55 said:If things actually go nuclear, it's game over for civilization. We'd be looking at dozens of laser-focused suns hitting us, followed by enough dust to block out the light forever. And don't even get me started on the radiation.

That's simply not an option. Both the West and Russia know that. So, we can spend all day debating this here, but my gut tells me Moscow and Washington have already cut a deal.

At least we wouldn't have to worry about gas prices anymore.☕

Michael Davis10 said:I guess that's why there aren't really any protests against Putin.
Once he takes over Ukraine, people will probably be celebrating him like he's some kind of hero.

And once they can't even travel out of Russia anymore, they'll drag him down just like every other dictator...

brightheron64 said:Honestly, Hmh, it feels like you just have to take a massive detour to avoid reading Index altogether... 👎

At this point, Forum.hr actually ends up being the most reliable source of information out there, and I am being completely serious about that...

That’s been common knowledge since the COVID era🙂

boldmarlin15 said:The Russians could flatten all of Ukraine in an hour. No need to explain, we all know it.

But Vladimir Putin lost this war, and Ukraine and Ukrainians are going down in history as heroes.

I could level the entire USA with atomic bombs for all I care. At least then there wouldn't be any Russians left!

Keith Williams3 said:Is this going to get sanctioned on the forum?

A bullet to a head of state?

What if someone calls for a bullet to the head of Zelensky, Orbán, or Plenković?

Would that be tolerated?

Putin calls for Zelensky's liquidation, yet would simultaneously sit down at the negotiating table with him. Likely over tea laced with polonium.

The axe is hanging by a thread over their heads... an exit from SWIFT is looking more and more inevitable.

Larry Fox5 said:I honestly believe in Putin's consistency—he’ll probably just hand Königsberg back to the Germans at lightning speed...

In my view, even if he publicly invited Germany to reclaim it, those officials in Berlin would flatly refuse. On the other hand, Warsaw would likely jump at the chance without asking too many questions. But none of that will happen because the European Union doesn't permit shifting borders. Except for Mexico, naturally. That’s just the exception that proves the rule. 😁

The longer this drags on, the worse it looks for Vladimir Putin. Aside from a few globally insignificant players like Syria or Belarus, nobody’s actually standing behind him.

It’s like how Nikita Khrushchev used to weep over Joseph Stalin, only to spend the next few years trashing his legacy. People flip-flop on their allegiances constantly—it's practically a trademark of Russian history.

velvetcyclist95 said:No matter how this plays out, NATO needs to be actively working to undermine the Russian Federation and get Putin's regime replaced.

If the EU weren't such a mess, we could actually make that happen.
The whole issue boils down to Germany's reliance on foreign energy and their crazy decision to shut down their nuclear plants.
Are we really supposed to believe every single car will be electric in five years?
They're chasing a fantasy.
Germany has allowed itself the embarrassment of having a former chancellor acting almost like an advisor to Putin.

Tyler Jones6 said:Anonymous hacked the Kremlin's website and various Russian TV stations—just to blast Ukrainian songs through their feeds 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Even a little kid can see what it's like to be a victim of a hack. With them, they just fry everything in sight.
🍿

Keith Williams3 said:Exactly. Apparently, Russia doesn't have any right to feel secure.

They do. I mean, they've got 6,255 nuclear warheads sitting there. Not to mention all that firepower they're allowed to unleash if someone decides to mess with their internationally recognized borders.

rustywalker42 said:Nicely put.

Russia didn't really have a choice, did they? They had to launch that military operation in Ukraine.

So, if Vladimir Putin threatened Sweden and Finland with political and military consequences for joining NATO, does that mean he also had "no choice" but to attack Finland?

Keith Williams3 said:Is this going to get sanctioned on the forum?

A bullet to a head of state?

What if someone calls for a bullet to the head of Zelensky, Orbán, or Plenković?

Would that be tolerated?

These Wokies are just mentally unstable, brainless, and way too emotional... they were exactly like this back when the Black Death was ravaging everything, and they haven't changed a bit. Honestly, we probably shouldn't be handing them any kind of power

loneviper4 said:Pretty sure this is old footage from Dobas. 🤔

Honestly, I highly doubt anyone actually has any recent footage.

bluemason3 said:Sanctions aren't a silver bullet or some kind of magic wand.

They do work, though. The real question is whether they work enough.

It’s a paradox: they actually tend to hit harder in autocratic regimes. Since power is held by a tiny circle of people, they don't necessarily need to worry about public opinion. It's much easier for them to maintain their own lifestyle while the rest of the country suffers economic damage.

Look at South Korea—despite all the pressure, they kept developing nukes. Iran hasn't collapsed either. Both have felt the sting of sanctions, even if they manage to bypass them through gray markets involving China and others.

That said, Russia has a much larger economy and was far more integrated into the West than the others, regardless of how much that changed in recent years.
But that’s a double-edged sword; it means the West ends up hurting its own economy too.

At the end of the day, it's a tool for pressure. A total collapse isn't guaranteed, though there is a chance that economic strain could force a different faction of leadership to step in against Putin, or weaken the military's budget. Even then, it's hard to say how much the state can squeeze its citizens versus the military, or how long they can keep exporting weapons to countries that can navigate the sanction systems.

If sanctions stay in place long enough, and if the West doesn't start pulling them back due to their own economic interests, they will eventually have an effect. You just have to view them as one tool in the toolbox, rather than a standalone solution.

Still, one has to notice how Russia has been pivoting toward Asian markets lately, such as constructing the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline toward China and so on.

It’s honestly ridiculous how some Italian media outlets are pushing this blatant fake news—they're literally just recycling video game footage and old clips to pass them off as current events.

https://www.lindipendente.online/202...ra-in-ucraina/