The Ukraine situation, where will it end?

Politics
#484

On the other hand, much of the historical detail does seem to be accurate - it’s confirmed by many other sources, including actually the UK mainstream media reporting at the time (there are indeed links in the article to sources including contemporary reporting).

For example, that the fascist militias - the Azov Brigade, etc - were within the Ukrainian National Guard and were primarily responsible for the 8-year war in Donbass - that Zelensky himself acknowledged this and indeed tried to disarm them, but for some reason in the months before the Russian invasion did a complete u-turn (and ultimately brought them within the Ukrainian army) - these things are not (as far as I know) disputed - they have just been buried by western mainstream media in their drive for a dumbed-down ‘white hats, black hats’ presentation.

Do you have a reference for the piece on Skripal - I’d be interested in reading that.

#485
#486

The crack-down within Russia continues.

#487

Interesting.

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#488

With all due respect, why are we watching some American dude in his garage? :thinking:

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#489

Why not?

#490

I think life is too short to watch some randomer bullshitting, isn’t it? Unless one likes that sort of thing of course.

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#491

You do have to ask whether the western powers have really thought this through…

#492

Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of state for Defence seems to have a different agenda to the Ukrainians bravely fighting against Russia. So is the US using them to fight a proxy war against Russia, $32bn does seem a very big amount to spend just on supporting Ukrainia to merely defend itself.

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#493

Well worth a read - if only to balance the lionising of Zelensky we see in most western mass media - and this is one of the few pieces I’ve come across that fits my personal experience in Ukraine, and that of the colleagues I worked with there…

Finally does the right thing
#494

Well it may not be ending any time soon - there’s a suggestion that Moldova will be next, and fairly soon:
.Decision to invade Moldova already approved by Kremlin - The Times

I don’t know how reliable this is. Both sides are being generous with propaganda, although only one country invaded another.

#495

I heard on Radio 4 this evening that Putin may well declare ‘all out war’ on Ukraine on May 9th - thus enabling him to impose marshal law and ramp up conscription. Things are not going the way he planned them methinks…

#496

Another article here trying to give a more balanced view of the war and what should be done…

Note to @billybutcher and others that found my last posting of an academic article on the war a bit ‘dense’ - the problem is the only place you really find balanced views from real experts is in the academic journals world, and apart from the fact that academics don’t always write in a very accessible style, they’re trying to tell a much more complex and nuanced story than the mass media - quite rightly…

Simple But Wrong
Simple But Wrong960×535 48.1 KB

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#497

Good cartoon Geof.

#498

I don’t mind “dense” Geof - just not when I only have time to glance at an article rather than read it thoroughly. Also I think my real complaint about that particular article was not only that it deserved a thorough read, not merely skimming, was that I would need to spend about 10x the time that it took me to read it to bone up on Ukrainian history to decide if it was fair.

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#499

An interesting shift in gas dependency:

#500

Oh I know what you mean Billy - there are many subjects on which I feel the same.
I’m in a different position on Ukraine I guess because I worked there on and off for several years (including a big research and advice project for USAid) so I have a long-standing interest, local contacts, and had some direct insight into the games America was playing there even before it blew up.
Which is why of course I’m frustrated that the full (or at least a fairer) picture is not getting across - not to mention the danger this entails of further escalation.

#501
#502

Interesting read (dont know anything much about the author though)

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#503

image

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