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The Russian Invasion of the Ukraine.

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Olmstead said:
There are reports that the Russians have just bombed the Okhmadyt children’s cancer hospital in Kyiv, killing at least one child. Forgive me if I feel little pity for anyone fighting on that side.

I'm also very much against the concept of "I was just following orders."
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I am fairly confident that it was not the intended target.


That's the thing about "collateral damage", though. It's inevitable that it will happen, and some of the people you kill are going to be people you really, really, didn't want to kill. The only way to avoid it is to not drop bombs on anyone at all.


Which seems so simple, and yet there are people who haven't figured this sort of thing out.
 
A problem for Putin is that if Zelensky dies, he's a hero, If he lives, he's a hero and Putin looks like the bad guy either way.
 
Meadmaker said:
I am fairly confident that it was not the intended target.


That's the thing about "collateral damage", though. It's inevitable that it will happen, and some of the people you kill are going to be people you really, really, didn't want to kill. The only way to avoid it is to not drop bombs on anyone at all.


Which seems so simple, and yet there are people who haven't figured this sort of thing out.
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Maybe the solution is not to invade your neighbour and bomb their cities.
 
Olmstead said:
There are reports that the Russians have just bombed the Okhmadyt children’s cancer hospital in Kyiv, killing at least one child. Forgive me if I feel little pity for anyone fighting on that side.

I'm also very much against the concept of "I was just following orders."
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Yea, sorry but **** these people.

I'd prefer that they surrender, but if they don't, kill them all.
 
Captain_Swoop said:
Commenting on the Russian invasion Tory MP Kevin Foster says (after passing the Cenotaph sculpture in the Houses of Parliament)
"After today's events it felt all the more poignant walking past this reminder of the sacrifice previous generations made to preserve democracy and restore peace in Europe. Sadly freedom is not free."

He then tweets to a Labour MP on the Home office ban on visas from the Ukraine

"Hi Luke, As you will be well aware there are a number of routes, not least our seasonal worker scheme you will recall from your Shadow DEFRA days"

Upholding the honour of the UK.
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Foster seems to have deleted that tweet. I wonder why?
 
timhau said:
Well, no, but maybe all the disconnect Putin needed for that was believing in the strong military image Russia has been trying to project. And I bet he has plenty of folks working under him who had a stake in making him believe that image.
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Autocrats always surround themselves with sycophants. Look at Trump.
 
Stacyhs said:
Autocrats always surround themselves with sycophants. Look at Trump.
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I've always wondered about that. Why do the lickspittles do it? The top guy always turns on them. Is it a rush? Are they essentially abused and have Stockholm syndrome?
 
Captain_Swoop said:
How long do you think it takes to learn to use a shoulder launched missile compared to a state of the art stealth fighter?

What logistics support do you think a shoulder launched missile needs compared to a state of the art stealth fighter?
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It takes probably longer for a state of the art stealth fighter (which is also vastly more expensive), but Ukraine may have excellent, well trained pilots, who are curious and well informed about the latest innovations.

As for logistical support, some foreign experts could be discreetly sent on the ground.

Think about the glory if the U.S. can end a war quickly, using technical superiority, and the improvement of their reputation in the world. That would be better than a drone strike in Kabul which accidentally killed many civilians.
 
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Captain_Swoop said:
At CPAC today, speaker ‘Papa John’ Schnatter (founded Papa John's Pizza) says Biden intentionally caused Putin to invade Ukraine to “create a great smokescreen, to create a distraction from all the real issues here affecting Americans.”
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What a remarkably stupid thing to say, but somehow, just so predictable and typical. He has lousy pizza, too.
 
Jimbo07 said:
I've always wondered about that. Why do the lickspittles do it? The top guy always turns on them. Is it a rush? Are they essentially abused and have Stockholm syndrome?
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Reflected glory.

Stuart Lee explains it with his story about Richard Hammond and Top Gear (it's quite long)

 
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Michel H said:
It takes probably longer for a state of the art stealth fighter (who is also vastly more expensive), but Ukraine may have excellent, well trained pilots, who are curious and well informed about the latest innovations.

As for logistical support, some foreign experts could be discreetly sent on the ground.

Think about the glory if the U.S. can end a war quickly, using technical superiority, and the improvement of their reputation in the world. That would be better than a drone strike in Kabul which accidentally killed many civilians.
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It's a stupid, fantasy idea that isn't going to happen and wouldn't work.
 
Captain_Swoop said:
Zelensky is a far more charismatic leader than Putin, he's played a 'blinder' so far.
His use of social media has been textbook. He's been sincere and shown empathy, but it's also calculated. He knows what he's doing, and he's doing it that way because he knows it's effective.
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Zelensky is an actor, and a politician. One could argue that all politicians are actors to one degree or another, but Zelensky has synced the two specialties up in a way that fits with what Ukraine needs right now, and with what plays well to the rest of the world.

In the fight for world opinion, Putin brought a knife to a gun fight. Zelensky knows how to deal with that.

https://twitter.com/dreyfus_michael/status/1497699507106107399
 
Reports that the EU has changed tack over Swift. Ursula von der Leyen tonight announced the EU, UK, Canada and USA were recommending that Russian banks be excluded from the Swift international banking system.

The EU, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States have just released a co-ordinated statement condemning the Russian invasion.

"As Russian forces unleash their assault on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, we are resolved to continue imposing costs on Russia that will further isolate Russia from the international financial system and our economies," they say.
Measures to be implemented in the coming days include removing "selected Russian banks from the Swift messaging system".
"This will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and harm their ability to operate globally."
 
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A pair of Russian Air Force An-124 transport planes were spotted on Flightrader24, transiting through Belarusian airspace, and, judging by the altitude, using their air bases.

At this rate, we might as well just refer to Belarus as being part of the Russian Federation.

Edit: Regarding removing Russian banks from SWIFT, there was talk that they would probably move over to China's CIPS in order to lessen the blow.
 
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