Funnily enough, even though military service is mandatory for men in Russia (as it was in U.S.S.R. as well), 2 highest-ranking men in Russian military — the minister of defense, Sergey Shoygu & Putin (as acting president is also a Supreme Commander of the Russian Army) haven’t served.
Russian invasion of Ukraine | Fewer tweets, more discussion
- Thread starter Wednesday at Stoke
- Start date
Yes, it is the US who sent 200K troops near the border of Ukraine.
Can you show that evidence, please?
Russia has a GDP half that of the UK and spends about the same amount of £ total on the military as the UK. They are still trying to compete with the US by spending 25%+ of their governmental spending on the military while millions live in dire poverty, and yet they still spend 10x less than the US.
China, sure. Russia isn't even playing the same sport as those 2.
God forbid a country mobilizes troops within their own borders unlike the US, who has a long history of sending troops thousands of millions overseas to start actual invasions, and has hundreds of military bases all around the world.
That's because Gorbachev was an absolute muppet
I mean, that's how WW1 started.
Good points. I include Russia because they're still a superpower in my opinion, with its immense land size and oil resources and all, but I'd agree that they're not on the level of the US or China.
I think there were a few more factors to the start of WWI, but what are you trying to imply here?
They're trying to be, which I'll be honest, I just don't understand. I'm sure in an ideal world the US would much rather not have to see Russia as a threat so it could focus its energy on holding off China's inevitable dominance for as long as possible.
The Soviet Union lost the cold war, it should be done and over. They could have used their oil and gas money in recent decades to make the lives of their citizens substantially better and have built out other sections of the economy for the inevitable downshift in oil and gas demand that is going to happen. Instead, they're seemingly looking at a very scary future where GDP per capita has already fallen circa 35% over the past decade and it's only a matter of time before the population realise they've spent their golden goose on trying to counteract a threat that is only there because they're attempting to counteract it in the 1st place.
Yeah that makes it okay. Because US has done it in the past.
You know you can be against both Russian and American Imperialism right? You don't have to choose a side.
Insane whataboutery.
This is fecking absurd. Saying that the US is the aggressor here is as stupid as saying that Russia was the aggressor in the Iraq war. It makes no sense at all.
Neither does the parallelism that both sides are as bad as each other, or whatever the feck insane posts I've read in this thread during the day.
In this conflict, there is only one aggressor, called Russia, and it is to be blamed for approximately 100% of it. There are no two sides here, there are no multiple factors to be blamed, etc etc.
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It is the same as in the Iraq war where all the blame was in the US. Here, all the blame is in Russia who are going to invade a country with which they have deals that they won't invade it. All to appease a brutal dictator.
They have a GDP that is lower than Italy's, for God sake. They are nowhere near the level of China, let alone the US.
You are arguing with an actual communist. Dont expect to get anywhere.
It was largely tongue in cheek, but I was implying that mobilization isn't necessarily a defensive, non-threatening move. Russia putting 150k troops on the border with Ukraine can both be perfectly within their rights, and a threatening move that leads to a less stable political situation and increases the risk of war.
This was the hope when Putin took over from Yeltsin after the corrupt, wild west 90s. A lot of western leaders at the time rather naively thought of Putin as a "tough administrator" willing to make the hard decisions to purge domestic corruption and bring Russia closer to democratic and pluralistic European standard. What they didn't realize is that Putin would simply use his power to megalomaniacally formalize the nonsense of the 90s into state sponsored corruption to meet his venal, neo-imperialist interests; which is precisely what one might have predicted when gifting control of a nation to a KGB officer.
Had he been the guy western leaders hoped and expected, he could set in motion a series of technocratic reforms that used Russia's vast energy resources to gradually divest and diversify away from oil and gas, and towards other sources of revenue; much as some of the Gulf states are doing. Instead, we are where we are today because the guy who replaced Yeltsin turned out to be an organized crime figure masquerading as a statesman.
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This is honestly a dumb and unproductive comment, and I say that as someone who sometimes makes dumb and unproductive comments.
What
Some people are so down the anti-America rabbit hole they have genuinely lost it.
You've got the Russian Army surrounding Ukraine and US is the aggressor
Whilst their GDP is not world beating, I can understand why some would perceive them as a 'superpower' - they have the world's largest nuclear arms stockpile, a permanent seat on the UN security council and one of the largest standing armies. Then again, Britain has a permanent seat on the council and we haven't been a superpower since the Empire.
Seems so, you are right. There is not much point in talking with them.
You're a borderline commie too
"He will ratchet up the pressure until he gets his concessions".
Interesting bit here starting at roughly 37:10. Mind you, it's from 2 weeks ago but it's interesting nevertheless.
Interesting bit here starting at roughly 37:10. Mind you, it's from 2 weeks ago but it's interesting nevertheless.
They also have a shit economy.
UN is a completely useless organisation where nothing is ever done. And true, they have a nuclear arsenal to destroy the world, but Israel has the capabilities to unleash apocalypse in world too. No one is using nuclear weapons in any case.
Russia has no means on projecting strengths outside of countries it borders and it has a shit economy. They are not a super-power and haven't been for a very long time.
You're a borderline commie too
Communist as in Marxist-Leninist? Not even close. I guess some other groups of socialists also have some claim to the term communist, though.
Though I'm not a Maoist either.
It was a data driven comment.
Blocking Airspace
I think Russia needs to just join NATO and get it over with. Then we will have everlasting peace.
I think this would have happened if someone like Yeltsin succeeded him. Instead, Russia got a dictator who dreams about recreation of the Soviet Union.
They wouldn't qualify given that there are minimum anti-corruption standards required for entry.
I quite like the quasi political commentary here from @Raoul and @The Firestarter as I'm not good at politics. Keep it up lads, don't let yourself get bogged down in the daily redcafe mail comments section!
For me the daily briefings and counterbriefings from Biden/Putin etc are just .... stirring the pot? It is what it is. I don't get why they have to provide an antagonistic commentary. Especially when they are dressing it up as "intelligence" or "provocation"
If Biden were to shut his trap and send over some MQ-9's or SI21 instead...
For me the daily briefings and counterbriefings from Biden/Putin etc are just .... stirring the pot? It is what it is. I don't get why they have to provide an antagonistic commentary. Especially when they are dressing it up as "intelligence" or "provocation"
If Biden were to shut his trap and send over some MQ-9's or SI21 instead...
They did try to once in the 1950's... NATO rejected them
Source,.?
Isn't it spelt y'all, as in you all? Are you really from Florida?
Y’all.
Fair enough.
If the soviet union were to join the Nato who was Nato supposed to proctect against back then?
In one of the least surprising announcements of the day...
https://www.rt.com/russia/550038-military-drills-ukraine-border/
Russia today has said that the military exersise with Belarus has been extended
Can't help but think all the stars are aligning around 23rd Feb .. which is defence of the fatherland day in Russia
https://www.rt.com/russia/550038-military-drills-ukraine-border/
Russia today has said that the military exersise with Belarus has been extended
Can't help but think all the stars are aligning around 23rd Feb .. which is defence of the fatherland day in Russia
Call me pessimistic, I reckon they're getting underway tonight. The earlier tweet about the NOTAM over the black sea from midnight onwards is ominous as feck.
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