I won't bother to correct you, again, about the process of marketing. You can wallow in your little pool of prejudice.

Putin is more than a nuclear threat to Europe. He is a nuclear threat far wider than that. I doubt he wants to tango in Paris, or surf in Newquay, but pushing on east until the former borders of the USSR are re-established seem perfectly possible.

Stopping him now is what stops the threat of escalation.

For the avoidance of doubt any comments in response to a previous post are directed to its ideas and not at any, or all, posters personally.

Attacks are from both sides.

Video footage from a village in the Donetsk under shelling attack, according to the people there from the Ukrainian side.

[Link]

'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen)

You are promoting escalation based upon conjecture. Some tune change from the guy who wanted Putin to have an 'out'.

To retake the Soviet Union he would have to fight Nato countries.

There is no realistic danger of that.

'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen)

The level of hatred between the Polish and Russian heritage Ukrainians means that I think the idea of a unification into the Ukraine again just isn't realistic.

I don't think that the story of the level of polarisation is being presented in the media.

Hopefully....if we haven't all been blown to hell and once an eventual peace deal is reached....the UN can get down between the dividing lines and ensure that shelling stops.

Edited by Stirlingsays (03 May 2022 11.05am)

'Who are you and how did you get in here? I'm a locksmith. And, I'm a locksmith.' (Leslie Nielsen)

Russian forces are losing ground near Kharkiv.

Further South Ukrainian forces are in danger of being cut off (see my super crude paint example - think you'll get the idea though)

This war is going too slowly for Putin & Russian losses are hurting (I've heard rumours Russian tanks are now being operated by 2 crew as opposed to the 3 - again this could be bollocks), a week ago I said Ukraine simply needs to not budge for Russia to lose, It's now likely the RU will be declaring a full scale war which will enable Putin to fully mobilise it's reserves & conscript as many people as it wants, I think it shows Ukrainian tactics are working.

The US has insisted they are going to fund & equip Ukraine until Ukraine wins the war.

This is probably why Germany are getting nervous & urging its people to stock up on food & water.

Attachment: Untitled.png (307.91Kb)

The mountains are calling & I must go.

What no one is saying here is that our assisting Ukraine prolongs the fighting, potentially causing more deaths, but at the same time keeps Putin busy while we get more prepared for what he might do next.
The West might not be having a great time, but it can out produce Russia for weapon. Clearly, this risks escalation but at the same time sends a message to Putin in a language he understands

Showing weakness is not an option here, but equally, the price we might pay for standing up to Putin might be more costly than letting him regain a bit of the USSR. The question is where he would stop or where we draw a line in the sand.
It would be foolish to let Putin think that he might get away with invading a NATO country, but putting him in a desperate situation might be equally unwise. He needs to have an out or at least a negotiable situation, because when all is said and done, there has to be a future for relations between Putin and the West or who ever ultimately replaces him.

Edited by Hrolf The Ganger (03 May 2022 11.26am)