It’s possible that was part of any deal he and Putin made, but on the whole, easier to believe Putin had him killed.
"US to supply Kyiv with depleted uranium shells" Hurray for our heroes! Radio activatstic! Take that evil Russkies!
That's a worring escallation that can be twisted as justification for ramping up from the other side.
It's not an escalation, let alone worrying. We've already sent them several months ago. And I don't think the Russians can ramp up really.
Not so sure. The US loves a good proxy war. Keeps the military industry ticking over nicely and always great to have a real live arena for testing out your new weapons in a real scenario. Nobody is talking peace. Just an ever increasing quantity of worse and more horrible weapons, bloodshed and death. By the way, did you see that cheeky ruskies have been trying to recruit Cubans to go and fight in that Ukraine war? Well nobody, but nobody, steps over the line when it comes to Cuban sovereignty and independence. Russia has been a valuable ally in these difficult post-pandemic times. Cuban tourism still isn't back to where it was pre-pandemic. Russia has helped with tourist flights and oil shipments. Nonetheless, the Cuban government has effectively slapped them down, citing the country's "firm and clear historical position against mercenarism” and said that it was “not part of the war in Ukraine.” The country "is acting and it will firmly act against those who within the national territory participate in any form of human trafficking for mercenarism or recruitment purposes so that Cuban citizens may raise weapons against any country." https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/05/world/europe/cuba-russia-war-human-trafficking.html
Well no one gives a **** about Cuba so that can be placed to one side. Russia and Putin could cease the unnecessary killing and suffering of millions of innocent people by simply withdrawing from Ukrainian territory, there’s no ifs or buts about it…. It’s utterly shameful to defend this, I do t understand how any rational person could look at this situation and fall on the side of bloodshed must occur.
Russian made recruitment advert challenges people to imagine real estate in conquered Ukrainian territory. https://www.yahoo.com/news/russian-soldiers-dream-conquering-ukrainian-032433973.html But please, tell me more about how Russia started the war because something something NATO.
‘Deeply embarrassing’ the verdict of Justin Trudeau, as the Canadian Parliament gives a standing ovation to a 98 year-old Ukranian veteran who served in a volunteer Waffen SS division during WW2. FFS doesn’t cover it. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66919862
Talk about feeding the internet trolls. That was like putting on a flipping state banquet for them. Absolute numpties in Canada.
Interesting development in Slovakia (see below from The Speccy). Which way will Polish voters jump in a fortnight? The staunchly pro-Russian Robert Fico is back in power for a third time in Slovakia. Fico’s Smer party clinched at least 23 per cent of the vote – enough to lead a coalition government. His victory comes five years after Fico was forced to resign following mass protests over the murder of a journalist investigation corruption in his government. Fico has not been shy during campaigning about his views on Russia and Ukraine. His most striking pledge was to immediately end military support for Kyiv, promising to ‘not send a single round’ of ammunition to Ukraine if voted into power; now that he is, Ukraine’s allies are concerned about whether he will follow through – and what other trouble he may cause. Until now, Slovakia has loyally followed the lead of its fellow Nato and EU members, supplying weapons to Ukraine, taking in Ukrainian refugees and beginning the process of weaning itself of Russian gas. So just why, in a population for whom Soviet rule and all its hardships is still within living memory for many, did Fico’s pro-Kremlin message resonate so strongly? In his campaign for re-election, Fico was able to tap into a widely-held view that has been flowing through Slovakia’s population since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Before February 2022, the country was almost 100 per cent reliant on Russian gas and oil, both for domestic and industrial purposes. Although the country has managed to reduce its dependence on Russian energy by at least a third, it appears to have done so grudgingly, with many Slovaks resentful of the subsequent higher domestic energy costs and the potential impact on industry as a result. They blame Ukraine for this disruption. The countries of central Europe, located between western Europe and Russia have, for a long time, found themselves in a tug of war between the two. The current war in Ukraine is over this very issue. But while the conflict has catalysed a hardening of sentiments towards Russia in Slovakia’s Baltic neighbours, such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Bratislava, it appears, is slipping in the other direction. Driving the divide between the hawkish Baltic states and central eastern European ones such as Slovakia, and indeed Hungary, is where they think Russia might target next. In a survey of Slovaks conducted earlier this year by GlobSec, 69 per cent said they believed helping Ukraine would bring them into Russia’s firing line. Discord in both the EU and Nato on Ukraine, but also wider-reaching policies such as the climate and net zero, have left many Slovakians with little faith that, if Slovakia was dragged into the war, either alliance would come riding to their rescue Fico’s victory in the early hours of last night would not have been possible without the insidious influence of pro-Kremlin disinformation that has been floating around the country for some time. Last week, European Commission vice president Věra Jourová called the Slovak elections ‘a test case’ for how vulnerable European elections could be to the ‘multimillion-euro weapon of mass manipulation’. Russian rhetoric, that Ukraine is run by Neo-nazis and that Washington, and not Moscow, is the primary aggressor, has been widely shared in Slovakia. Fico himself has directly propagated this damaging rhetoric. On the campaign trail in August, he told supporters that ‘the war in Ukraine didn’t start a year ago, it started in 2014, when Ukrainian Nazis and fascists started murdering Russian citizens in the Donbas and Luhansk’. Singing the praises of the Soviet Union, he said Russia ‘liberated us. We need to show some respect. We need to tell the whole world, freedom came from the East, war always comes from the West.’ Disinformation campaigns targeting ‘liberal’ views on sexuality and gender equality have also been widely circulated in Slovakia, particularly on social media. Designed to alienate Slovaks against the West and its views, this tactic seems to have worked – according to the GlobSec survey, 78 per cent of Slovaks view Russia as a fellow traditional Slavic nation with many shared cultural values. Support for membership of both Nato and the EU – which rose steadily between 2018 and 2020 – has started to slip this year. Just 58 per cent of Slovaks want to stay in the alliance; support for remaining in the EU is also waning. Meanwhile, many Slovaks are not sympathetic to Kyiv: just 40 per cent believe that Russia is responsible for starting the war in Ukraine. Fico tapped into this view with his campaign rhetoric. So will the decision of such a small country, with just 5.5 million people and arguably little influence on the European stage, to vote in a pro-Kremlin leader affect Ukraine? Slovakia has few weapons left to give at the moment anyway, so Fico’s pledge to stop completely will supposedly make little material difference – that is if he even chooses to follow through with it. But as a Nato and EU member, Slovakia under Fico’s leadership can cause trouble. Bratislava could make resolutions and support packages for Ukraine much more difficult if it decides to block votes and object to policies. In two weeks’ time Poland also heads to the polls; should the pro-Moscow faction win power there too, there is a reasonable chance that, together with Hungary, Slovakia and Poland could form a resistant bloc within the alliances. What is clear is that Fico’s victory in Slovakia shows the enduring nature of Russia’s sphere of influence and the fragility of Western democratic values in central Europe. That after the country’s history under Soviet rule, and subsequent turmoil of the 90s and early 2000s, Moscow is still able to exert a pull over politicians and the population more broadly is as remarkable as it is concerning. Should this trend spread elsewhere, it is not only the West’s support for Ukraine that could be undermined. Fico’s victory in Slovakia should serve as a wake-up call not to take central Europe’s affinity with the West for granted.
Can’t really blame them for looking at what’s coming in the American Presidential shitshow election next year and hedging back towards Putin.
Nice how the World always fits in with the Spectator’s editorial view, y’know collapsing NATO and EU, everyone turning against liberal social values etc. Undoubtedly it’s not great for the West to have a pro Russian Slovakian Party win its election, but it’s not even clear if it can form a Government. Even if it does, it won’t find coalition partners who can indulge its more extreme rhetoric. Slovakia just isn’t key in all of this and, quietly, diplomacy will take its course. Its difficult position will be noted, but its future is with its Western partners.
I think you're being a little unfair there, Comrade. I don't read it that way at all. It isn't an opinion piece - it's just reporting the platform of views that appealed to the voters of Slovakia and whichever way you look at it the people that voted for this chap (whose name I can't remember) would appear not to care much for the west's way of doing things. But, as @UEA suggests, maybe they're just being sensible and hedging their bets
But enough to get this bloke in to the job. Thank God some nutcase with such a small share of the total vote could never get elected here
Lols aside, he’s not in the job yet. He has to make a coalition. The Libs are only 5% behind and probably more likely to be able to get coalition partners.
Probably just one of the anti 15 min city conspiraloons blown up in a rage from being barred from going down a small residential street to cut out some traffic.
The complete annihilation of Oxford would be a small price to pay to ensure the smouldering embers of the UK are no longer governed by its University’s graduates.
For me the worrying part is that it shows Russian meddling is working, yet we're extremely quiet about it. So many absolutely ridiculous ideas and concepts are gaining traction these days and it's having an effect on how people vote. I'm not saying it caused Brexit, but it caused Brexit.
Russian TV journalist, who made an on-air protest last March, in suspected poisoning in France. There may be nothing wrong with Vlad’s memory after all. https://news.sky.com/story/marina-o...-falls-ill-after-suspected-poisoning-12983727
It seems that this was only the warm-up act for the main event, but does anyone know how it's going over in Ukraine? Have the good guys won yet?
It would be good if everyone said ‘we’ve been a bit daft haven’t we? Let’s have a pint and all go home.’
May have been better if they all negotiated a year and a half ago, or any point in between. You should have seen the stick I was getting for suggesting that, at the time. Oh no. You did see it, didn't you. How many people asked me how war could have been avoided, and now my ridiculous suggestions seem, possibly, to be the only positive option for Ukraine. Only countless lives have been lost in the mean time. How did people really think this was going toend up? My betting is that people on here will ignore what they previously said, and then accuse me of being a hateful, mindless MAGA loon. I can take that. It is reality that counts.
It was a flippant comment in respect of Lloyds. Only one side really needs to go home and until that happens continued war is inevitable. That’s not me wanting war, that’s simply the reality. You can then support Ukraine or the aggressor. Your choice. What is the negotiation you want the West to force on Ukraine? What territory should it give up? What restrictions on its ability to exercise that commodity you most love, sovereignty? What would that look to the UK? Which bit would you give up for a peace that would likely not be worth the paper it was written on?
I'm not going to accuse you of being a hateful, mindless MAGA loon. In this instance you're being a spineless, sycophantic Putin lover. On second thoughts the two things are like peas in a pod.
Absurd. What has this got to do with me? I am only observing the hundreds of millions killed and billion and billions in infrastructure destroyed, and the effect economically on the rest of the world, that could have been avoided. Now we've gone through that, they are most likely going to have to undergo negotiations anyway. If brave souls like yourself hadn't been keen for unsustainable promises to bolster Ukraine, in order to use its people's lives to unseat Putin, we could have got where we are going without the death and destruction. In my opinion.
