Current Affairs Ukraine

[Spadge Vernacular]

 

[Spadge Vernacular]

 

[Yarrgh]

Shuraev fancying his chances to be the Kazakh Zelensky?

 

[PeregrineT]

Shuraev fancying his chances to be the Kazakh Zelensky?

I think at this point everyone fancies themselves against Russia. Russia doesnt have the sense to pull out of Ukraine, and so that means they dont have the munitions and manpower to do anything to anyone else, no matter how much they were provoked.

Everyone now sees the emperor has no clothes, it makes everyone a bit braver.

 

[Yarrgh]

I think at this point everyone fancies themselves against Russia. Russia doesnt have the sense to pull out of Ukraine, and so that means they dont have the munitions and manpower to do anything to anyone else, no matter how much they were provoked.

Everyone now sees the emperor has no clothes, it makes everyone a bit braver.

We'll see. I really have no idea how this will pan out.

 

[Zatara]

Off topic: the blonde at 19 seconds is absolutely stunning.

 

[Martin Alvito]

Off topic: the blonde at 19 seconds is absolutely stunning.

I have learned the hard way not to mess with the ones displaying that set of facial expressions.

 

[PhilM]

I think at this point everyone fancies themselves against Russia. Russia doesnt have the sense to pull out of Ukraine, and so that means they dont have the munitions and manpower to do anything to anyone else, no matter how much they were provoked.

Everyone now sees the emperor has no clothes, it makes everyone a bit braver.

I mentioned this a few months ago.

While it's not the primary reason for remaining in Ukraine by any stretch of the imagination, maintaining its sphere of influence will be on the Kremlin's mind.

There's dissent at home; we've already seen Azerbaijan and Armenia upping the rhetoric; Finland and Sweden are moving towards NATO.

If Kazakhstan were to step away with its huge adjoining border and being a significant influence in the region, Russia would feel even more isolated.

There's also the military hardware question because many of these states have been key exports for RU, but it's been far from a stellar performance.

The more I think about it, the more I feel that the end for Putin is coming. While it may not be as quick as we like, his influence is slowly but surely being eroded.

He may feel he can imprison or kill everyone who speaks up against him (see the sentence above), however eventually it'll grow out of control.

 

[PhilM]

 

[Runub]

That’ll be broke then lol

 

[tsubaki]

I think at this point everyone fancies themselves against Russia. Russia doesnt have the sense to pull out of Ukraine, and so that means they dont have the munitions and manpower to do anything to anyone else, no matter how much they were provoked.

Everyone now sees the emperor has no clothes, it makes everyone a bit braver.

I disagree slightly - the issue with them (Kazakhstan) is precisely that they've historically have had good relations with Moscow (indeed they are partners in the SCO and CSTO) and are yet getting this abuse.

There is very little evidence that the Kazakh government want to walk away, realign with NATO, challenge Russia or do anything else other than keep the status quo going. In fact the only possible offence they could have given is to set a precedent of removing a long-term dictator (Nazarbayev) relatively peacefully.

 

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[Spadge Vernacular]

The Air Force wants to send its Reaper drones to Ukraine. The Pentagon’s not so sure.

Internal wrangling has stalled a plan to transfer older weaponry that the service has wanted to ditch.

www.politico.com

 

[PhilM]

The Air Force wants to send its Reaper drones to Ukraine. The Pentagon’s not so sure.

Internal wrangling has stalled a plan to transfer older weaponry that the service has wanted to ditch.

www.politico.com

Two points keys at work here, which the article to some extent addresses:

The Air Force made the pitch to send its older Reaper drones to Ukraine about a month after Russia invaded in late February. But concerns over the transfer of sensitive technology, and the fact that some would almost certainly be shot down, has led to a months-long stalemate, according to four people familiar with the issue.

The other is the potential for these weapons to be used against Russian territory, which will worry US officials.

 

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