In the news

Also in case anyone hasn't heard this theory, as I like it:

One of Putin's aims with all of this is to create space for his other actions. Previously people were talking about sanctions, asset freezes, etc. in relation to various Russian cyber attacks assassinations on foreign soil etc.

Now all of those punitive actions are threatened punishments for invasion. Which means they'll be off the table for all of their other nefarious actions. That's given him more leeway while demonstrating that Russia is a global power.

But the West will ramp up the punitive actions now. More sanctions, even of gas and oil, even though the West will struggle without his gas. (We can buy some from Australia!) Also more Nato troops stationed close to Russia. I'm not sure how that hurts him. But hopefully there's a way?

Does Putin have any limits? Is he just a balls to the wall thug? He jailed a 16 year old boy the other day for plotting to bomb the FSB HQ in Minecraft. He must have set himself some major goals before he retires. He changed the law so he can carry on til 2036, by which time he'll be 83. Maybe he wants much more than Ukraine. Maybe Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova...anywhere with pro-Western leanings is in his sights. If he keeps his troops in Belarus he can blockade all the Baltic states. He wants them pretty badly. He could use all his hybrid warfare tricks to degrade and destabilise them and take Nato right to the brink of war.

eta: there's a fascinating article in the WSJ about Putin's endgame https://www.wsj.com/articles/putins-endgame-unravel-the-post-cold-war-agreements-that-humiliated-russia-11645482412#refreshed?mod=hp_lead_pos2 It quotes Rodric Braithwaite, who was British ambassador to Moscow when the Soviet Union collapsed:

“Putin is in a position—not to compare like with like—that Mrs. Thatcher was in 1989, 1990, when she was losing her political instincts,” he said. “The best guess is that he’s lost the instincts he had of knowing where to stop.”

It does feel like a non-sequitur though. First it was all about NATO expansion, and how Finland and Ukraine had to swear not to join it. Now he’s suddenly going all out on a humanitarian peace keeping mission instead.

It is depressing. Technically, as (almost?) no other countries recognise the two 'breakaway republics' (I expect Belarus et al. soon will), Russia has now invaded Ukraine, again. Judging from this ...

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/21/putin-angry-spectacle-amounts-to-declaration-war-ukraine

... Putin has probably lost part of his mind, like many other current 'heads of state' around the world. I assume that all the reporting here is accurate, of course, but from this, it looks like an absurd spectacle.

All good pr for the torys war, covid, what party???

That's partly for his domestic audience. He's also been saying there's been genocide of Russian speakers.

https://skibinsky.com/no-russian/
This was written 4 years ago and very relevant.

He wrote a follow up in 2018 but I haven't been able to read it yet because his site is down. Hopefully from genuine traffic rather than ddos
http://skibinsky.com/no-russian-2/

Dem sanctions - take that, 3 Russians!

Especially compared to the EU ones. Well, the proposed EU ones that have yet to go to vote, but you know what I mean.

Says more about Tory party HQ funding (and that of some individuals therein) than 100 articles could muster, doesn't it?

Is there a version of Putin's long speech with a good translation?

More BBC News talent leaves for the podverse.

issuing a correction on a previous post of mine - I'm now pro-thermonuclear war

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catford is kinda safe! Wonder what will that do to my LTV.

I definitely have more russian looking spam emails today. Gmail is the next front to open up!

Do you know where Catford is on that map?

think it's under the wee red pin. RIP user amey's laminate

Might want to check how far you are from Faslane.

https://youtu.be/MrHoMSRZOS4

mfw I check how far I am from faslane

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Here are a couple of things you can do:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOvkWZ4-cf8

Dover survives? Life is unfair

Needs to aim left a bit to get the Isle of Wight

Is that the highest concentration of golf clubs that could be destroyed in one hit?

Prevailing winds and fallout should fuck them up too.