Russian invasion of Ukraine

That's some really interesting input, thanks for posting that.

Does this apply to Russians abroad as well? Guess it could get their family / relatives in a stick if they would be too opinionated?

Smithfield Market, as @andyp says. Ms_com used to work there and went back for a staff reunion after it closed. She got hammered and wandered round the galleries for the last time. I don't think the Docklands site is being affected.

I'd planned to go in the last week or maybe the Saturday overnight opening, but in the end I had to work and then I was too tired to go at night. Bit sad I didn't go say goodbye.

The exchanges I have had with ex-pat russians here in Finland most of them more or less just block it out like Brickman commented. They aren't really pro or against, but over compensate by living 100% like there was nothing at all happening. It leads to some very weird behaviour and I hope it is just a stage. I don't think I can deal much longer with them demanding favors and special treatment because they are russian and everybody is just so racist. I understand we need to treat them as humans, but surely they need to take some responsibility at some point.

The Barents Observer is an online newspaper staffed by a community of exiled Russians just across the border between Russia and Norway. They've been going since 2015.
During the recent influx of young Russian men fleeing the draft, they went to the border post and tried to interview the men crossing the border. Off record they had a few of them admitting that Russia was governed badly, but none of them were remotely interested in going on record. They then, as a kicker, asked everyone they spoke to whether Crimea was Russian or Ukrainian. According to Barents Observer, they did not meet a single draft dodger who agreed that Crimea belonged to Ukraine.
These kids are not heroes, they're just lying low and working remotely until daddy back in Moscow can figure out who they need to bribe.

https://twitter.com/RealSubtitles/status/1603466868148559872

https://twitter.com/shashj/status/1604096315994116097

So just like that our guests of 6 months move on. The mother will stay in London to live with her husband the daughter has decided to return to Ukraine.

It’s been a largely positive experience scattered with moments of helplessness and frustration. In honesty I’m not sure how I feel it’s a strange sensation.
Despite giving it our best there is an underlying feeling of failure punctuated by uncertainty for them. There is guilt of the relief to have our house back to ourselves, balanced by the knowledge that we took them in at a time that’s not exactly been stress free for us.

Hopefully we’ll get that Hollywood finale one day, when we visit them somewhere and they are in a better place.

Good on you for taking them in!

There’s hundreds of Ukr refugees in the hotels around where I work. I see lots out walking around with children and strollers. Many are settling in as immigrants.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/12/16/russia-cyber-offensive-cyberattack-war-ukraine-putin/

Well done!

Supposed Ukrainian version of how the Moskva was hit (and it didn't involve the west)
https://eurasiantimes.com/sinking-the-russian-pride-ukraine-says-no-role-of-p-8-poseidon/

Organised looting of cultural artifacts
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/18/ukraine-museums-scythian-gold-russian-looters-putin

https://www.ft.com/content/fe5fe0ed-e5d4-474e-bb5a-10c9657285d2

Catchy tune celebrating the Sarma (Satan) missiles. Deep in the bowels of the internets I found a blurry version with subtitles, and the lyrics were all about letting the missiles rain over NATO countries.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB8oGY2_gVM

Pro russian people say "don't mix politics and culture"

The culture:

The Russian government is releasing so little information about mussing/wounded soldiers (and there are so many of them) that scammers of all kinds are targeting the relatives.

Some lovely propaganda https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/status/1604540346700300288

Wait until she sees the tank carrying three dozen stolen washing machines - truly a beautiful family moment

Lol, shouldn't propaganda make your side look good? Seems like the first war the dad was in didn't go that well and your factories can't pay wages.
Also the story he told his daughter is the plot of Fury.

What do you mean? It's a happy story!
It does make their side look good - dad comes back unharmed with a new phone!

On a more serious note you're right - of course it can be a fake. But I keep remembering the video where parents of a dead soldier got Lada and they drive it to a cemetery which aired on national tv... Everything is possible.

I don't think it's fake, fits well with their other amateurish efforts.

Look, that report about how vets struggle to adjust back to civilian life, maybe we could workshop that into something?

Zelensky popped over to Bakhmut this morning to hand out medals. Their OPSEC is 👍

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