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

https://twitter.com/visegrad24/statu...5Es1_&ref_url=

So this guy basically blew himself up along with a bridge. I guess.

Gritty said:People have watched way too many cartoons and Austin Powers movies if they think one single guy runs the whole country.

Exactly. Neither Hitler nor Stalin ruled entirely on their own.

MartaB4P said:Russia is a totally inferior partner in this regard since their economy is seven times smaller. It’s like saying the USA and Canada will be a bloc. They could, but the USA will ultimately call all the shots.

I know that quite well. Russia decided on Eurasia with China and Iran. China is basically an addict that depends on everything else. They have to import most of their resources, while the Russians sell them cheap raw materials. Is it monolithic? I wouldn't bet on it, purely out of self-interest. As for how China behaves in the future, only God knows.

Betty Murphy3 said:Hypothetically speaking, if Scotland somehow pulled off independence and then immediately decided to join forces with China and Russia, would England just sit there twiddling their thumbs? Or would they be like, "Oh, go ahead, Scots, buddy up with whoever you want, it's your right"?

Where did this insane logic come from—this idea that everyone can just wander off wherever they please and it’s nobody else's business?!

It's not like we're living in the Stone Age where you don't have the freedom to pick your own partners.
Look at how Mexico is partnered up with Russia. By that logic, NATO should just roll in and launch a military intervention in Mexico because, hey, they're right on the border. It's honestly a joke.

Gritty said:That isn't a positive move—it’s a negative one, at least for us.

England has every incentive to wreck the EU economy and stir up a crisis on their doorstep now that they aren't part of the club. Even when they were members, they had no interest in seeing Germany align with Russia.

The Franco-German bloc can no longer be broken from within, which is why they left. But when it comes to disrupting any Russo-German or general EU-Russian ties? They certainly will.

True, but Europe's goal is to become independent from both Russia and the US. The priority is energy—we need to build out other options specifically because of this Russian nonsense. We can't just rely on a single supplier; over the next decade, we might deal with Russia solely on energy matters, but everything else is off the table. However, the entire EU and America must develop alternatives to their gas, oil, and everything else we import. Everyone needs to maintain a unified foreign policy on this issue—which is a tall order, making it feel like a bit of a utopia. Once this situation in Ukraine settles, Russia will likely remain the primary supplier. This whole mess is just proof that we shouldn't rely on them—especially when they are led by such unpredictable, small-minded figures.

Jose Rogers66 said:I’m watching the live cams and looks like Kyiv still has power, probably heating and gas too. I don't get the Russians—why wouldn't they just cut it all off? Let them freeze a little.

The question isn't whether they can, it's whether they actually will. I doubt they'll go straight after civilians—that would be a direct violation of point 12 on the UN list of war crimes. They'd lose any shred of legitimacy they have left, even though their current excuses are already pretty pathetic.

bubi mir said:To a bunch of tiny European bureaucrats and politicians, Boris Johnson is just an abstract concept, while a half-dead Biden... is basically a spaceship.

You're forgetting the most basic thing: Johnson speaks for one single nation.
In contrast, the EU is just a collection of different countries.

Take today, for example—the French Minister of Economy, Le Maire, stated he supports cutting Russia out of SWIFT. But... will the rest of the EU nations actually agree?

#kocar# said:Putin has made it crystal clear how far he’s willing to go if any outside parties get involved.

People just aren't listening to him again. It's the same story as when he was talking about Ukraine and those "red lines"—all we ever hear is the West making noise...

Pushing the button isn't actually that hard, and once that happens, it won't matter whether you're in NATO or staying neutral.

So, what, are we supposed to just live our lives according to Putin's threats now?

William Anderson5 said:Can you give me one good reason why Scotland would actually do that?

I don't know if you caught the news, but Russia just invaded a neighboring country. It makes total sense that Sweden and Finland would step up now.
Why on earth would Scotland just decide to team up with the Russians out of nowhere?

England took over Scotland back in 1707.
If Russia invades Ukraine now, we'll probably be seeing if Ukraine wants to break away from Russia in the year 2337.

#kocar# said:Putin made it crystal clear how far he'll go if anyone from the outside decides to jump in.

People just aren't listening again. It’s the same old story—nobody listened when he was talking about Ukraine and his red lines, so now all we get is the West just making noise without actually paying attention.

Pushing that button isn't exactly rocket science, and once it's done, it won't matter if you're in NATO or sitting on the sidelines being "neutral."

What kind of logic is that? How does Finland and Sweden joining NATO—which isn't even involved in the fight in Ukraine—count as getting dragged into the conflict?

granitebadger24 said:Good grief, this thread is absolute chaos.😁

Every third post is some clumsy, poorly constructed WWII analogy—as if people are ready to spend their last cent fighting Putin, or even the last Finn.

When you think things couldn't get any weirder, you have Vicko showing up—though it seems more like Fatima's doing.

The Finns will make him pay for it. Let him try; they'll knock every single tooth out of his head. Then winter hits, and we'll see the frantic retreat when those Finns start skiing down the slopes with machine guns.

#kocar# said:Putin has made it very clear how far he’s willing to go if anyone from the outside gets involved.

I guess people just aren't listening again. It's like when he was talking about Ukraine and those red lines—everyone just ignored him and focused on all the Western noise instead.

Pressing the button isn't actually that hard, and once it happens, I suppose it won't matter much whether you're in NATO or staying neutral.

That's what happens when everyone just skims the headline instead of reading Putin's entire speech. People seem to base their whole opinion on three sentences from a title without looking at the big picture.

Jeremy Peterson4 said:It's not like we're living in the Stone Age where you don't have the freedom to pick your own partners.
Look at how Mexico is partnered up with Russia. By that logic, NATO should just roll in and launch a military intervention in Mexico because, hey, they're right on the border. It's honestly a joke.

NATO intervened in Mexico back in '99 and ended up taking a chunk of their territory.

What’s the latest word from the Germans regarding SWIFT?

#kocar# said:Putin has made it crystal clear just how far he’ll go if outside powers get involved.

Nobody is listening to him again, much like when he was talking about Ukraine and his red lines—it's just constant Western noise.

Pushing the button isn't actually that hard, and once it happens, it won't matter whether you're in NATO or staying neutral.

Putler will keep moving until someone stops him by force.

Looking forward to that.

I honestly don't get why, say, the EU countries haven't just agreed to offer asylum to any Russian soldiers who decide to lay down their arms.

Maybe even give all the commanders who do it some real estate somewhere...

Money's moving, I guess.

Keith Williams3 said:NATO intervened in Mexico back in '99 and ended up taking a chunk of their territory.

I guess they just saw what the Russians were doing and decided to copy them.🤣

granitebadger24 said:The question isn't whether they can, it's whether they actually will. I doubt they'll go straight after civilians—that would be a direct violation of point 12 on the UN list of war crimes. They'd lose any shred of legitimacy they have left, even though their current excuses are already pretty pathetic.

What's "collateral damage" supposed to mean? Is that concept only applicable when American Freedom bombs are dropping? It's a war, for heaven's sake. They should just let them rain down everything they've got on Kyiv. Let them pray for mercy.😛

William Anderson5 said:I suppose you could ask yourself: what on earth would drive Scotland to make a move like that? I mean, if you really sit down and analyze the underlying motivations, there might be some logic to it, though I'm certainly not saying I agree with their reasoning. Maybe it’s a matter of political leverage, or perhaps they feel pushed into a corner by certain federal policies. It’s hard to say for sure without more context, but I guess there has to be some sort of strategic incentive driving them toward such a drastic decision.

I don't know if you've been paying close attention to the news lately, but Russia has launched a full-scale aggression against its neighbor. It’s a complete violation of everything we stand for. Honestly, looking at the current geopolitical landscape, I feel like a move by Sweden and Finland to join NATO would be the only logical response to this kind of provocation. It just makes sense, doesn't it?
Why on earth would Scotland just decide to align itself with the Russians out of nowhere? I mean, seriously, what could possibly motivate such a move? It makes absolutely no sense to me. I guess there might be some obscure political angle I'm missing, but honestly, it seems completely irrational. Maybe there's some underlying tension or a strategic shift we haven't accounted for yet, but right now, it just looks like a total non sequitur. It’s baffling, really.

Ukraine wanted to join NATO, and honestly, I feel like most people would just accept them if it meant doing some damage to Russia—even if that meant watching the whole thing fall apart. It’s a messy situation. I guess you could draw a parallel to how Russia would probably love for Scotland to align themselves with them just to stick it to England. It's all about finding ways to undermine the opposition, isn't it?

I honestly don't understand how you can be this dense. How is it not clicking for you yet? Everyone has their own agenda, plain and simple. You seem to be under this delusional impression that NATO's interests are somehow rooted in humanitarianism or that they actually give a damn about other countries and the lives being lost there. It’s pure self-interest, period!🙄

Could someone give me a snapshot of where things currently stand? I might have to quit my day job just to keep up with all this 🤣

pilif12 said:The Ambassador from Kyiv is saying the Russians are getting so close to the center—it's like they're practically in New York City.

Caught my grandma talking this morning—she mentioned she was heading to the shelter. She probably peeked out the window and saw the Russians, or maybe she’s just scrolling through the news and passing it along.