Leo

Well-known member
the real reason behind the invasion

Eurovision: Russia can compete despite invasion of Ukraine

Tensions between the two countries have overshadowed previous editions of the song contest.
Russia were favourites to win the competition in 2016, until Ukrainian singer Jamala stole a last-minute victory with a song that depicted the deportation of Crimean Tatars by Josef Stalin in 1944 - a horrific chapter that the nation's parliament has described as tantamount to genocide.
The lyrics were widely interpreted as a criticism of Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. Jamala, who is herself a Crimean Tartar, appeared to confirm the link when she told the press: "The main message is to remember and to know this story. When we know, we prevent."
On the path to victory, her song picked up several important votes from former Soviet countries who traditionally vote for Russia. Eurovision expert John Kennedy O'Connor called the result "a pointed slap in Russia's face".
 

sus

Moderator
Pathetic showing from Russia so far

A declining empire in its last gasps of international relevance

Technologically outmatched, they're winning this by brute force alone. All this surgical nonsense is a joke they're already out of missiles.

US could take over Russia in a few weeks Desert Storm style

They might seize Ukraine but over all, they've revealed to the world their military is no longer a real threat
 

Simon silverdollarcircle

Well-known member
Pathetic showing from Russia so far

A declining empire in its last gasps of international relevance

Technologically outmatched, they're winning this by brute force alone. All this surgical nonsense is a joke they're already out of missiles.

US could take over Russia in a few weeks Desert Storm style

They might seize Ukraine but over all, they've revealed to the world their military is no longer a real threat
David Patreus was on the BBC last night saying much the same thing. He was like "they haven't even got many missiles! Pathetic! You should have seen how many missiles we rolled into Kuwait with back in the day, oh boy. These kids are amateurs"

He was loving it. Proper trash talk
 

craner

Beast of Burden
This was the most effective point Anna Politkovskaya made when she was writing about Putin's war in Chechnya. The Russian army was a disaster at that time, riven with alcoholism, disaffection and incompetence. Putin had to finish off the job by bombing the place into rubble. Obviously, that was a long time ago, but nobody really knows if it is any better now because all of the interventions Putin has made recently (i.e. Georgia, Syria, Eastern Ukraine, Crimea) have been achieved with strategic bombing, special forces, proxy militias and mercenaries. This is their first major military campaign since Chechnya. Lest we forget, Putin's Russia was the first classic on this subject and Politkovskaya was murdered for it.

The latest classic on this subject, Catherine Belton's Putin's People, makes a key point: the Orange Revolution was an existential crisis for Putin, he felt responsible for "losing" Ukraine and tried to resign over it. When he came back after this event, he was (European leaders are now admitting) a different animal. Almost everything he did after that worked very effectively: the strategy of limited incursions and the recognition of breakaway provinces; backing Assad and reasserting Russian influence in the Middle East; putting money into foreign propaganda services, like RT, as weapons of subversion; the troll farms and co-option of foreign journalists and politicians; etc. He exposed the feeble limits of power and will in the U.S, Europe and NATO and exacerbated and exploited political and cultural divisions in the West. He could have kept the West off-balance indefinitely by applying pressure on the edges of Ukraine; his tried and tested strategy would have continued (I think) to have paid dividends, stressing and ultimately cracking our alliances.

It's hard to comprehend what he has done or why he has done it. He has thrown away all of his gains in one day. He has set fire to everything he had carefully built since 2004. It's like he lost patience with his own strategy. I have a really strong instinct that it will destroy him and that full invasion is a fatal error. I don't think he will (politically) survive this war. There will be regime change in the Kremlin before Russian troops leave Ukraine.
 

version

Well-known member
Don't worry, everyone! Sean Penn's on the case!

Sean-Penn-on-the-Ground-in-Ukraine-Filming-Documentary-About-Russias-Invasion-768x545.jpg


 

luka

Well-known member
im like Peter Hitchens, i'm no way saying Kyev, wtf, when did that come in. it's staying Kiev in this household
 

luka

Well-known member
craner you know the opinion-territory very well. where do you think Gus is stealing his opinions from?
 
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