Countdown to the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Sanctions coming from so many countries will definitely take its toll on Russia. Putin seems to have a one track mind at the moment, but once things start to drastically deteriorate within his own country from these sanctions from the many countries he is going to have to rethink a different strategy. When that happens we will have to wait and see.
 
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Ukraine should never have given up their nuclear weapons. This kind of thing doesn't happen to nuclear powers. And we signed an agreement to protect Ukraine in exchange for their non-proliferation agreement, which was called the Budapest Memorandum.

The Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances refers to three identical political agreements signed at the OSCE conference in Budapest, Hungary on 5 December 1994 to provide security assurances by its signatories relating to the accession of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The memorandum was originally signed by three nuclear powers: the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States. China and France gave somewhat weaker individual assurances in separate documents.​
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The memorandum included security assurances against threats or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.​

The only mechanism we have at our disposal it seems is to hurt Russia financially. We can put a block external transactions with their state owned banks and put heavy sanctions and embargoes on trade with Russia. We can bring their economy to its knees if we have the will to do so.
 

Liberty said:
Embittered man, Putin is. Nostalgically seeking the former glory days of the KGB/USSR.
This says it all as far as the economy of today's Russia:

View attachment 209837
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Texas, unfortunately, doesn't have tanks, nuclear weapons or its own army. (The Texas Rangers notwithstanding). Putin will cause quite a bit of trouble until the West gets its act together and figures out a way to stand up to him.
 
Pepper said:
I must take exception to the word unfortunately.
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Exception noted. I don't want an armed Texas either, just pointing out that economic comparisons can be misleading. It doesn't matter if you have a low GDP per capita if you have a bigger army than the country you are invading. (Although Ukraine is remarkably poor as well).
 
Irwin said:
Ukraine should never have given up their nuclear weapons. This kind of thing doesn't happen to nuclear powers. And we signed an agreement to protect Ukraine in exchange for their non-proliferation agreement, which was called the Budapest Memorandum.
​

The only mechanism we have at our disposal it seems is to hurt Russia financially. We can put a block external transactions with their state owned banks and put heavy sanctions and embargoes on trade with Russia. We can bring their economy to its knees if we have the will to do so.
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Except that agreements like the Budapest Memorandum go out the window when nation(s) involved violate the agreement. We use sanctions first to abide by our own rules of engagement and the Geneva Convention, but we have a green light if Russia commits a major violation (or we accuse them of it). Whether or not we Go remains to be seen. I imagine the Pentagon is weighing the costs (not in terms of dollars).
 
Irwin said:
The Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances refers to three identical political agreements signed at the OSCE conference in Budapest, Hungary on 5 December 1994 to provide security assurances by its signatories relating to the accession of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The memorandum was originally signed by three nuclear powers: the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States. China and France gave somewhat weaker individual assurances in separate documents.The memorandum included security assurances against threats or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum_on_Security_Assurances
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You make a good point. Not sure I have seen anything about this in the media, not sure why... It looks important.
 
More live updates on the Ukriane invasion

Key events​

From this ABC (Australia) website Russia-Ukraine war live updates: Gunfire heard near government quarter of Ukrainian capital as Russian forces close in - ABC News
 
Sunday
Russia's readiness to speak without any preconditions, ultimatums, and demands is already a victory for Ukraine.
"So I think that the fact that Russia is ready to speak without any preconditions, without any ultimatums, demands towards Ukraine, is already a victory for Ukraine," Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba said at a briefing, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
Kuleba noted that a few days ago, at the beginning of the war, Russia was not interested in any negotiations at all, but having suffered losses it realized that its plan was not being successful, the blitzkrieg failed, and Russia began to speak in ultimatums.
"As long as Russia continues to suffer, as long as the Russian army experience one defeat after the other, Russia's conditions and ultimatums abated. Now they give us a signal that they just want to talk," the minister said.
Following a conversation between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, it was agreed that the Ukrainian delegation would meet with Russia without any preconditions on Ukraine-Belarus border near the Prypyat River.

According to the press service of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Lukashenko took responsibility for the fact that "for the time of travel, negotiations, and return of the Ukrainian delegation, all aircraft, helicopters, and missiles stationed on Belarusian territory will remain on the ground
 
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
✔
❗❗❗The Ukrainian delegation arrived in the area of the Ukrainian-Belarusian border to participate in negotiations with representatives of the Russian Federation.

The delegation included David Arahamiya, Servant of the People faction, Oleksiy Reznikov, Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Mykhailo Podoliak, Adviser to the Head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Kostin, First Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Delegation to the Tripartite Contact Group, Rustem Umerov, MP, and Mykola Tochytsky.

The key issue of the talks is an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of troops from Ukraine.
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Feb 28 at 08:27
 
😢

By Adam Smith

I saw this little girl in Kyiv. It was a few weeks ago, I think. Possibly longer. But I remember her.

So distinctive. Her eyes and her hair as bright as her hopes and dreams for the future. A future that would never come; and one denied to her by Russia’s so-called war to “free” Ukraine.

Perhaps if you live in Kyiv you’ve seen her too?

Close your eyes and just think for a moment. Chances are you will have walked past or glanced upon other children and ordinary people who are now the lost lights of Ukraine.

This little girl’s name was Polina and she attended 4th grade at School No. 24 in Kyiv. To me she’s now the equivalent of “the girl in the red coat” – a 1993 movie reference that many will immediately understand.

According to Kyiv’s local authority, Polina and her parents were shot dead on Feb. 26 by a Russian sabotage and reconnaissance group on a street in the north-west of the capital. She was with her family when their car came under fire.

Polina’s brother and sister were taken to hospital.

Sadly, many people who ought to have seen Polina have not.

That includes every Russian citizen who doesn’t hear the truth; every Russian police officer; every member of Vladimir Putin’s inner circle; and every Russian soldier fighting on the streets of Ukraine to supposedly “liberate” the country. From what? From whom?

Videos (admittedly unverified) have been circulating of captured and confused Russian soldiers on their cell phones talking to their commanders saying “we didn’t find any neo-nazis” and that they just want to go home. Understandable. Does Polina look like a neo-nazi to you?

Some of those Russian troops are supposedly becoming increasingly disoriented by this barbaric war, because – truth be told – they don’t know why they’re fighting it. And this is one reason among many that things are going Ukraine’s way and why Russian President Vladimir Putin is reported to be fuming in his lair.

The Kyiv authorities should project images of Kyiv’s lost children into the night sky across the city.

Let their eyes gaze down on the columns of Russian war machines and confront every attacking soldier with the cowardice and inhumanity of the cause they serve.

Let these soldiers question what they’re fighting for and in whose name. Let it slow them and further disorientate them.

In Polina’s name – Glory to Ukraine7C2D06D3-993C-4D56-BD08-B46998ABD100.jpeg
Adam Smith Kyiv Post
 
Apologies, I posted this in the Sweden/Finland thread..should have gone here


Putin's 'propagandist-in-chief' has threatened the West with nuclear destruction just hours after the Russian leader put his deterrent forces on 'alert'.

Speaking on nation-wide TV amid a frenzy of anti-Western rhetoric, TV anchor Dmitry Kiselyov told viewers: 'Our submarines can shoot more than 500 nuclear warheads.

'This would guarantee destruction of the USA, and all other NATO countries.

In accordance with the principle "Why do we need the world, if Russia isn't there?"

'Russia's nuclear arms are delivered by the world's fastest strategic bombers.

'That's without even mentioning Russian Strategic Missile Forces. The Russian nuclear potential is the strongest in the world.

'Today our Russian Nuclear Triad is on the high alert. Putin did warn [the West]. Do not try to scare Russia.'

Watch that terrifying Video here...

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...chief-threatens-West-nuclear-destruction.html
 
JimBob1952 said:
Texas, unfortunately, doesn't have tanks, nuclear weapons or its own army. (The Texas Rangers notwithstanding). Putin will cause quite a bit of trouble until the West gets its act together and figures out a way to stand up to him.
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You got to be careful how you deal with a crazy man with his finger on the nuke. All that's left of Russia is a big gas station and nukes. Just think though, if he wants to use them on Ukraine he'll blow himself out of the world. By the way, Texas has lots of "ammo"...lol.
 
Here is a current video news report from Asia, guest is Polish diplomat/official. My take way: It remains very unpredictable...even the nuclear threat. This guy thinks Putin read to many old books during the pandemic, and is a little "nuts" now.

 
The Ukrainian delegation has demanded at its talks with Russia in Belarus that Russia withdraw all its troops from Ukraine, including from Crimea and certain districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Oleksiy Arestovych, a freelance adviser to the head of the Ukrainian President's Office, announced this on the Current Time TV channel, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
"Our conditions are clear. We can't say specifically now, but this is a ceasefire and the withdrawal of all Russian troops. We are talking about Donbas and Crimea. All troops should leave Ukraine! We will bury everyone anyway, so it's better to leave voluntarily," he said
 
Huge explosions tonight rocked Kyiv, just hours after dozens were killed in Russian cluster bomb attacks in the eastern city of Kharkiv.

Dramatic video filmed in the Ukrainian capital showed the moment that the night sky lit up with an enormous fire ball that reportedly stemmed from a military radar communication center.

The new explosion took place hours after the Kremlin warned civilians to leave the city via a 'safe route' to the south-west, amid fears that the city was about to come under further heavy attack.

Russia used similar tactics in Syrian cities while fighting alongside Basahar al-Assad before its forces heavily bombed them.

Russian armour was working to surround Kyiv with tank manoeuvering to cut it off from the west, after attacks by advanced forces failed to penetrate the outskirts.

Colonel General Alexander Syrsky said early today, Monday that Kyiv had survived another night while inflicting 'heavy losses' on Russian attackers.

Earlier, Russia had appeared to use banned cluster munitions to indiscriminately shell civilian areas in Ukraine's east that had stood up to Vladimir Putin's invasion in what would constitute a war crime.

Kharkiv, which has witnessed some of the heaviest fighting of the war so far, was hit by rockets fired from Russian positions on Monday - with video showing a shopping centre in the Serpnia area blanketed by explosions. A military source told MailOnline that the videos showed 'cluster' munitions had been used.

'The BM-21 Grad is a multiple launch rocket system used for 'area denial', dropping cluster bombs on a concentrated area,' the expert said. 'It's mainly used on enemy troops before an offensive. Used against civilians, it's not only a war crime, but has only one purpose – to spread terror and alarm among the civilian population.'

Graphic images and video revealed streets littered with the bodies of dead and badly wounded civilians, with other images showing showing spent BM-21 Grad rocket cartridges laying in the streets and having fallen through apartment roofs.


This was a school....


54759769-10559373-image-a-31_1646062130213.jpg

See the graphic pictures and videos here...

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...zens-killed-Russian-CLUSTER-BOMBS-attack.html
 
It looks like more and more nations are siding with Ukraine. Putin is rapidly becoming an "outcast" to the rest of the world. Even Switzerland...which has a long history of "neutrality"...is supporting Ukraine. Now, the Ukraine government is offering 5 million Rubles to Russian soldiers who lay down their arms. That seemingly large sum of money is only about $50K, since the Ruble has fallen in value to less than a penny.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/how-the-world-punished-russia-for-invading-ukraine-192732724.html

If things keep going this way, the Russian people are going to start feeling the effects, and hopefully rebel. On the flip side, this Russian Lunatic may go completely Nuts and press his Nuclear Button....hopefully the Russian government has protocols in place that would prevent one person from doing so.
 
Belarusian troops have joined in the invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv claimed today, as a 40-mile Russian convoy bared down on the capital amid warnings that Putin will now use 'medieval tactics' to try and force a bloody victory after being handed a series of embarrassing defeats in the opening days of the war.

Vitaliy Kyrylov, a spokesman for Ukraine's North Territorial Defense Forces, said that Minsk's men had entered the city of Chernihiv, north-east Ukraine, on Tuesday morning. Dictator Alexander Lukashenko acknowledged sending 'rapid deployment groups' to the border 'to stop any military action against Belarus', without acknowledging that his men had joined the attack.

It came as a convoy of hundreds of Russian tanks, artillery pieces and trucks was pictured snaking its way towards Kyiv, leading to fears that its mission will be to surround the city, besiege it, and bomb it into submission as Russian forces did in Syria while fighting alongside Bashar al-Assad's forces.



Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine's ambassador to the UK, said Russian forces may also try to spark a food crisis by cutting off supplies to major cities as pictures showed some store shelves already running empty in the capital. He said the military may have to step in to ensure everyone has access to food.

54796279-10563693-image-a-78_1646129357941.jpg


54796657-10564035-image-a-6_1646129971982.jpg


NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg today said Putin had 'shattered peace in Europe' with an invasion 'enabled by Belarus' while vowing to support Kyiv and defend 'every inch' of allied territory should the Russian strongman's sights wander outside Ukraine's borders.

But, speaking during a visit to the Lask airbase in NATO member Poland, Mr Stoltenberg repeated that the alliance is 'defensive' and that no troops will be sent to assist Ukraine. 'NATO is not going to be part of the conflict,' he said.

Russia already appeared to be employing siege tactics elsewhere in Ukraine today as the city of Mariupol, in the south, came under 'constant shelling' by Russian forces using artillery, Grad rockets, and fighter jets targeting civilians areas such as schools and homes which had left many dead, including women and children.

Power to the city, which is in danger of being surrounded by Russian forces, has been cut - region head Pavlo Kyrylenko said Tuesday - but it remains under Ukrainian control.

54790553-10563693-image-a-42_1646125177482.jpg

There are fears the purpose of the convoy (pictured) is to surround Kyiv, besiege it and bomb it into submission - mirroring tactics Russia used in Syria while fighting alongside the forces of Basahar al-Assad

More pics and Videos here... https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...nds-Kyiv-Russia-resorts-medieval-tactics.html
 

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