Non - Ukraine

northstandmark

northstandmark

UTC Legend
Wasn't sure whether to post this separately, but it occurred to me from various comments in threads about media distractions currently, and topics that are perhaps being kept away from the top headlines. I might suggest Ukraine and Russia?

Russia has between 50,000 - 100,000 troops sat on the border with Ukraine right now. Which isn't new to be fair, they have been gathering and training there for several months.

New developments include yesterday the UK sticking our oar in, as we sent a load of anti armour weapons and some personnel into Ukraine via two C17 airdrops, I guess by way of honouring our NATO commitments. Interestingly they had to divert around Germany.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ng-Ukraine-weapons-defend-against-Russia.html

Germany refuses Ukraine's requests for military assistance (instead offering only words for now) as they can't be seen to be to too anti-Russia thanks to their energy dependencies.
https://www.vox.com/22881709/nord-stream-2-russia-ukraine-germany-united-states-cruz
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/germany-warning-russia-ukraine-attack-b1994791.html

The USA has already been shipping arms into Ukraine and is threatening to build and back a Ukrainian counter insurgency if anything kicks off.
https://www.politico.com/newsletter...-secretive-weapons-shipment-to-ukraine-495686
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/14/us/politics/russia-ukraine-biden-military.html

It strikes me as not a good developing situation.

And to bring it slightly closer to home - Can anyone think of a particular businessman who might have a significant interest in orderly political / economic relations, and specifically the orderly trade of energy, between Russia, Eastern, and Western Europe?
 
At the risk of being labelled a Russian apologist I do think they may have a point. My understanding is that NATO agreed (jim Baker US SoS?and Helmut Kohl) at the time of German re-unification not to extend its reach into former Russian satellite states. They have already done this in several instances. Maybe Ukraine membership is a step too far for the Russkis. I don't find it surprising that Russia wants to try and ensure that NATO does not extend its scope right up to the Russian border with Ukraine.
After all the USA was not overly keen on Russian missiles being stationed in Cuba in 1962.
 
Putin is taking his chances against a seemingly weak willed West, particularly testing Bidens resolve and the new regime in Germany, clearly emboldened as well by the Afghanistan fiasco. China is doing likewise with Taiwan. It could get very messy very quickly as the west prevaricates. Putin has also been put in a much stronger position with Europes incoherent energy policy (or lack of) and his ability to turn the gas taps on or off at will.
 
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Have to hit him personally where it hurts. Freeze assets of Russian oligarchs (who are simply a front for Putin's personal assets) in western countries. He might just be the richest man in the world, and you don't get that way without being very watchful about your own money, money, money.
 
Putin .. with his experience in the KGB and his experience of office....and then I contemplate Dominic Raab.. Raab ..wtf.. f'king Raab ...he can't even hoik two sentences together that would inspire someone at a bus stop to catch a bus !
 
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Toronto John said:
Have to hit him personally where it hurts. Freeze assets of Russian oligarchs (who are simply a front for Putin's personal assets) in western countries. He might just be the richest man in the world, and you don't get that way without being very watchful about your own money, money, money.
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I think turning off the gas taps would hit us where it hurts more than anything we could do to them.
 
SlowDownDerek said:
Probably sensible but I doubt it could stop Russia driving the price up, which as we have seen could cause massive trouble in already choppy waters.
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Yeah, and there are likely contracts in place that EU (if not UK) would be bound by.

The US was on the right track to try to become energy-independent, but the cost for that would be environmental.
 
Toronto John said:
Yeah, and there are likely contracts in place that EU (if not UK) would be bound by.

The US was on the right track to try to become energy-independent, but the cost for that would be environmental.
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So instead it gets imported at great cost with no environmental control from some dodgy Arab or Russian State and lines the pockets of potential enemies !!.
 
Garbo said:
Once the nukes star flying who will care about gas…borders…NATO… Putin… Middle Eastern conflicts or the Chinese…we will all be blown to oblivion!
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Only Keith Richards and COVID-19 will survive.

redharry said:
So instead it gets imported at great cost with no environmental control from some dodgy Arab or Russian State and lines the pockets of potential enemies !!.
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Fixed.
 
cutlers_post said:
At the risk of being labelled a Russian apologist I do think they may have a point. My understanding is that NATO agreed (jim Baker US SoS?and Helmut Kohl) at the time of German re-unification not to extend its reach into former Russian satellite states. They have already done this in several instances. Maybe Ukraine membership is a step too far for the Russkis. I don't find it surprising that Russia wants to try and ensure that NATO does not extend its scope right up to the Russian border with Ukraine.
After all the USA was not overly keen on Russian missiles being stationed in Cuba in 1962.
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Yes, if Russia or China were on our doorstep holding hands with, say, Holland, I think we'd be a touch peeved. I don't like Putin's belligerence and his desire to set up his vision of the 1960s world order, but elements of his arguments have validity.
 
The current situation should not surprise anyone.

Since 2000, Putin's policy has been to recreate 'Greater Russia.' The easiest way to envisage what that entails is that Russia wants to regain most of the territory of the former Soviet Union. Russian irredentism is on the march, but it is more than that. Russia wants all the Ukraine and wouldn't mind the Baltic States and a slice of Finland.

There was a book published on this in 2010 written by Bertil Nygren, Professor at the Swedish National Defence College, Stockholm University .

Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in March 2014 and no-one said very much apart from a lot of hot air at the UN. Now (see Red Harry's post above), Putin likely reckons the west is weakened and it's time to try to and slice off a bit more of the Ukraine.

Swedish troops are on high alert and the Swedish air force was (unusually) out on practice runs over the weekend.
 
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cutlers_post said:
I don't find it surprising that Russia wants to try and ensure that NATO does not extend its scope right up to the Russian border with Ukraine.

After all the USA was not overly keen on Russian missiles being stationed in Cuba in 1962.
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Of course not. However, the Ukraine is a sovereign state with the right to make alliances with who ever they wish.

How about this:

"Russia “as it is” is a stagnating, authoritarian, kleptocracy led by a president-for-life who has started wars against its neighbors, assassinates opponents inside and outside of Russia, interferes in US and European elections, and generally seems to act as an anti-US spoiler at every opportunity.

Its leadership expects the West to grant Russia a free hand in “its” half of Europe, and to look the other way when it seeks to deprive its former neighbors - and its own citizens - of the right to chart their own futures."

From: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/report/russia-in-the-world/
 
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