War in Ukraine

[anton pulisov]

Yes there's lots of war porn on twitter, drone camera footage of Russian tanks being taken out etc.

It's an unjust invasion by a bloodthirsty Russian leadership, but it's still somebody's young son sitting in that tank.

A friend of mine in Kyiv was looking for donations to help buy night goggles for her brother's regiment. I was tempted, but for the reasons above I ultimately I prefer to give to the Red Cross.

Easy for me to say, of course. It's not my home being invaded.

[Logan Mountstuart]

Well, at least we'll be spared the prospect of Truss or Johnson parading themselves in Kyiv for a while.

[Lang Spoon]

https://twitter.com/EagletonOliver/status/1578682443048984577?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

I suppose a more wretched take on everything is possible, but wow. Such vile bullshit at every turn.

[Satchmo Distel]

Could you expand on that? What are his three most vile arguments?

[Lang Spoon]

I'm typing this on a twenty minute break and I'm not your student so I'll leave it at this egregious piece of victim blaming bullshit for now. If only he'd done what Russia wanted and ignored Vested Interests none of this had to happen!!

9283CEB9-4F89-4913-9BB6-47689D15EDF4.jpg

[San Bernardhinault]

I agree with Spoony here. One particularly ridiculous line that often gets repeated is that "If only we'd agreed to Russian demands that Ukraine was not protected against invasion by Russia, then Ukraine would not have been invaded by Russia." The fact that Russia needed guarantees that Ukraine would be permanently undefended and easily invadable is never questioned. It's always considered a completely reasonable request that everyone could just sign on to. And that Russia could dictate Ukrainian foreign and defence policy through threat of force is also an entirely fair and unproblematic proposition.

[anton pulisov]

Putin already broke every preceding agreement he made with Ukraine, but sure, this time his word can be trusted.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

I agree with TonTon and, to an extent, Nef. I understand that my desire to see Russian troops and control withdrawn to outside the internationally understood borders inevitably has to result in the deaths of Russian military - I don’t see any other workable route. But I’ve seen a lot of glorifying celebrations of death on Twitter, not just from Ukrainian military. And I find it thoroughly unpleasant and unnecessary.

See I'd go along with this. People banging on about the war as though ukraine was their football team and celebrating ever grainy drone camera shot of a t-72 turret doing its signature spinning trajectory through the air, as though it was a long range shot into the top corner, have somewhat forgotten the three people inside who were instantaneously immolated. This isnt a spectacle put on for their entertainment and their involvement and level of personal sacrifice Is small in the extreme. These people are ghouls.

The calculus is different for ukrainians though. When they see a video of a catastrophic explosion in a tank, that's three dead invaders and one less tank. I'm sure the ukrainians will write a polite letter of reply to outsiders policing their reactions to blowing up the.kerch bridge, when they stop digging up mass graves of hundreds of civilians exhibiting signs of torture.

[Logan Mountstuart]

A Dutch airforce jet flew really low over my house today. Nothing unusual these past few years. But it seemed much more terrifying today. I imagined what it would feel like if it was there to drop bombs that might land on me or my daughters.

If that fucker got shot down I would shout my joy from the rooftop. The only people who can stop this obscenity, and the threat of even worse obscenity are the Russian people themselves.

I admit that to do this they are going to have to braver than I ever could me myself probably.

[anton pulisov]

There was some gobshite American defence analyst on the World Service a few weeks ago, promoting the idea of banning Russians from entering the EU to escape mobilisation. When pushed by the interviewer as to what they should do, he said, "there is a clear way out for them: surrender to Ukraine at the front".
Yeah simples, just walk through a torrent of bullets and artillery fire and hand yourself over.

[Amor de Cosmos]

The only people who can stop this obscenity, and the threat of even worse obscenity are the Russian people themselves.

I agree.

Unless I missed it I haven't read that Ukraine forces destroyed the bridge. I do wonder whether it might have been taken out by anti-Putin Russians.

[ad hoc]

Three of today's cruise missiles flew over Moldova which, erm, is getting a bit close too home for me

[Balderdasha]

There was some gobshite American defence analyst on the World Service a few weeks ago, promoting the idea of banning Russians from entering the EU to escape mobilisation. When pushed by the interviewer as to what they should do, he said, "there is a clear way out for them: surrender to Ukraine at the front".
Yeah simples, just walk through a torrent of bullets and artillery fire and hand yourself over.

Ukraine has launched a 24 hour surrender hotline for Russian soldiers who want to negotiate handing themselves over safely. Ukraine claims that it's had 2,000 calls in the first few days, from troops at the front line, to new conscripts, to Russians who are just concerned that they might be called up. I don't know how much this is just propaganda aimed at reducing Russian troop morale even further.

[Patrick Thistle]

Where is this British anti-war movement going to protest? Oh, in Britain? Right. Great.

I mean, head off to Moscow and protest and I'd respect that.

[Nefertiti2]

Where is this British anti-war movement going to protest? Oh, in Britain? Right. Great.

I mean, head off to Moscow and protest and I'd respect that.

What a stupid and reactionary thing to say. Could have been said by any jingoist and Little Englander - or Little Waleser -at any time from about 1903.

(ignoring too that those who protest in Britain face increasingly stringent sanctions and prison sentences)

[DCI Harry Batt]

Three of today's cruise missiles flew over Moldova which, erm, is getting a bit close too home for me

Blimey, yeah.

[Patrick Thistle]

What a stupid and reactionary thing to say. Could have been said by any jingoist and Little Englander - or Little Waleser -at any time from about 1903.

(ignoring too that those who protest in Britain face increasingly stringent sanctions and prison sentences)

Enjoy marching.

[Discordant Resonance]

130 Ukrainian women and children had just integrated into the community in Killarney, working and attending local schools, and the Government proposed moving them to Mayo to make way for 200 asylum seekers. Thankfully, the decision has now been reversed, but clearly demonstrates the lack of a long-term refugee policy.

[Patrick Thistle]

https://twitter.com/yarotrof/status/1580637031432003585?t=thASAFpz2qXvxGsJgBo5wg&s=19

This could end up decimating the younger generation of Russians

[Patrick Thistle]

Not sure how they got out

https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1581027552889475072?t=rURntLsQojbKzEzTtugiZQ&s=19

[ursus arctos]

They could well have been with the Wagner forces in Francophone Africa and just walked into a military base or embassy

[Patrick Thistle]

Ah that's a point.

Reading up on this Wagner group. All the emphasis on Ukraine's neo-Nazi problem and it looks like Russia has got 'em too.

[Satchmo Distel]

The Wagner group's activities in Africa seem to have included many human rights abuses that the French and others might want to investigate. Useful link:

https://www.axios.com/2022/10/13/fra...disinformation

However, I'd be concerned that these two asylum claimants may also have engaged in crimes for which they might be seeking some form of immunity by turning into informers.

[Patrick Thistle]

That's generally how this sort of thing works.

[Patrick Thistle]

Belgorod is in Russia near the Ukraine border

https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1581408741785993216?t=23eysvcDpSTxOLqbB7Q5TA&s=19