Putin says Ukraine's future in doubt as ceasefires collapse

Invading a foreign nation is an act of war. Sanctions are a warning to not start a war.

and likened the West's sanctions on Russia to “declaring war,”

What is it with these fragile ego lunatics? Sanctions are not declaring war, the biggest witch hunt in history were the actual witch hunts. It’s like kindergarten.

These sanctions that are being imposed, they are akin to declaring war,

Putin is getting scared.

He understands now that the world stands against him and his murder plans.

He didn't expect that and he also didn't expect that the Ukraine is standing against his Mob in a very tough way.

He knows that he is guiding Russia in a economical disaster and he also sees more and more Russians are standing against him.

If Putin and his murderer supporters continue this, it will be the end of Russia.

Putin’s position:

Ukraine doesn’t exist.

Because they’re my people…I mean ours, we have the right to murder as many of them as we like as we steal their lands.

Oh, and economic sanctions are an act of war and we have nuclear weapons to counter them, so you must keep buying our oil and gas or else.

In other words, feed the monster, keep it happy and pray that it doesn’t end up eating us anyway. What a bargain!

Waiting and hoping that there is someone within his inner circle that is willing to take out this deranged lunatic.....

Quite frankly and being rather blunt here. I am waiting with anticipation (and hoping) for news of the death of Putin. This mentally deranged lunatic is currently the biggest danger to our world and a world without him in it will already be a slightly better world.

I'll most likely get downvoted for wishing death on someone. But quite frankly, I don't care about publicly expressing my real feelings on this matter. He is the biggest threat to Russia, Ukraine and the world that my family lives in.

Russia cracks down on dissenting media, blocks Facebook

https://news.yahoo.com/russian-lawmakers-approve-prison-fake-133910809.html

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday intensified a crackdown on media outlets and individuals who fail to hew to the Kremlin line on Russia's war in Ukraine, blocking Facebook and Twitter and signing into law a bill that criminalizes the intentional spreading of what Moscow deems to be “fake” reports.

> The moves against the social media giants follow blocks imposed on the BBC, the U.S. government-funded Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle and Latvia-based website Meduza. The government's sweeping action against the foreign outlets that publish news in Russian seeks to establish even tighter controls over what information the domestic audience sees about the invasion of Ukraine.

Russians are being told what to think. They are also being blocked from anything that disagrees with Putin. Putin is calling it “fake” reports. Does “fake” news sound familiar anyone? Which US president coined the term for any factual information that proved he was lying to the American people?

With the Kremlin’s rhetoric growing fiercer 

Talk's cheap, Russia's actions are showing it's willing and so far it's able to destroy a country, killing off iall its people, so a sick madman can say 'see how strong I am' and his followers say 'the WEST/US/UK/NATO are worse, and it's all their fault. The rightists defend the butcher Putin. Global rightists are you still saying Pu tin is not a warmonger.

Russian people how are your respective bank accounts, what's your present and future looking like? or do you still think it's OK for Putin and oligarchs to take you nation's wealth and spend it on destroying your Slavic neighbors? Is this a genocide? as supporters of Putin's brand of fascism has your government informed you of your children's deaths and injuries in this shameful horror for Putin's vanity?

Biden and his team has simply said there's no WAY, and the rest are just excuses after excuses.

BTW, by your own logic, where does it end? When Russia has conquered Europe

Mr. Putin has made it abundantly clear that he will use nuclear weapons if any outside nation directly interferes with the invasion. Anyone who doubts he would make good on the threat is a fool. In his declaration of war on the morning of Feb. 24, Putin threatened any outside countries that might “hinder us, and create threats for our country” with “such consequences that you have never experienced in your history.” He added: “All necessary decisions in this regard have been made. I hope that I will be heard.” On Feb. 27 he put Russia's nuclear forces on a higher alert level citing western sanctions and "threatening statements" Russia changed their nuclear employment policy in 2020 to employ them in a conventional war.

“These sanctions that are being imposed, they are akin to declaring war,” Putin*

I actually agree. [they are not

You’re right Putin us full of it

Perhaps the Russian leadership actual wants sanctions to maintain their culture and protect their kids from cultural garbage from the West.

Not at all likely. But sure maybe that’s how the Kremlin will spin it. Anyway more coming. Russia’s economy will go the way of Iran and Syria but sure, survive. That’ll be “entirely on their conscience”.

Ukraine become neutral and stop fighting with Putin.

Otherwise Ukraine will not exist anymore

Ukraine will not only continue to exist, but it is becoming clearer as time goes on that don't want to be part of Russia. I am still waiting for someone to tell me why the will of the Ukrainian people doesn't matter.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Saturday that Ukrainian statehood is in jeopardy

As if it were ever guaranteed since their state were, invaded?

There is something childish about dictators and despots and their strategems:

"I'm not hitting you, I'm not hitting you." Why are you pushing me?".

NATO has said it has no plans to implement such a no fly zone, which would bar all unauthorized aircraft from flying over Ukraine. Western officials have said a main reason is a desire to not widen the war beyond Ukraine.

Strategically thinking, what is wrong with the above statement? I guess there has not been enough unprovoked and non-discriminate violence, death and chaos to intercede yet. This absolute madness.

Please consider that by NATO imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine you guarantee NATO and Russian jets will engage in combat. When that happens the violence happening in Ukraine now will pale in comparison to what happens if Russia goes to war with NATO. That kind of war implies tens of millions dead, hundreds of millions wounded and scores of cities incinerated.

Sh1mon M4sada

The minute a NATO aircraft engages a Russian one we have WW3 and nuclear war

You're making wildly absurd assumptions whilst in reality civilians lives are being blown apart. You're also making excuses for NOT doing.

I would modify it. The minute a NATO aircraft engages a Russian one we risk starting have WW3 and nuclear war.

Now is it worth the risk? A nuclear war would be very bad. So if you are risking all that, why not just send troops in to help Ukraine. Because the risks are exactly the same, but with a no fly zone, you are reducing your options.

FizzBit

So even the the US Congress acknowledges the neo-nazis in Ukraine.

Yeah. I think that is pretty well known. But they aren't part of the government.

Diplomacy, which was ignored by Biden and Zelenskyy is imperative. The war must end.

"If Russia stops fighting,

...there's no more war.

If Ukraine stops fighting,

...there's no more Ukraine."

Nickee

OCSE, not Putin, said that approx 14.000 Russian civilians were killed in Donbass by Ukrainian forces since 2014.

In a civil war started and perpetuated by Putin.

I am waiting with anticipation (and hoping) for news of the death of Putin

i think the whole world is hoping for this

Italy has ceased $150 million worth of oligarch assets.

Britain needs to hurry & do the same.

Then tell these oligarchs that all their assets will be returned, in exchange for them handing Putin over

You know a person is delusional when he start to complain that their opponent are resisting the invasion and blaming them for worsening the situation. And then call other countries of declaring war when they refuse to do business anymore with his country.

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/02/26/ukraine-and-myth-war

Some of the underlying factors that are directly related to the current conflict, as well as a sobering dose of reality regarding the use of bombs-

[ Since the fall of the Soviet Union, we have used NATO to surround Russia. Our military and that of our NATO Allies—tanks and nuclear missiles and fighter jets—have moved up against the Russian border in a provocative and destabilizing way. Despite assurances NATO would not expand to include former Soviet bloc countries, we have done just that. We weaponized the Ukraine, minimized diplomatic solutions such as the Minsk Protocol, played a role in the 2014 coup that ousted the government there and installed a pro-Western one. 

How would we respond if the Russians were garrisoned in massive numbers along the Canadian border? If the Chinese conducted live-fire war drills off the coast of California? In 1962 when the Soviets installed missiles in Cuba, our outrage was so severe we took the world to the brink of nuclear war.

America has bombed a sovereign country every day for the last 20 years, in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Yemen. Yet that is never part of the story we tell ourselves. ]

Ukraine has NOT asked for a NFZ over the whole of Ukraine, it has asked for NFZ in specific populated cities so Russian planes can't bomb and terrorize civilians. The NFZ being requested is to protect cities.

That makes no practical difference. The only way to enforce a no-fly zone is to be willing to shoot down violators. The minute a NATO aircraft engages a Russian one we have WW3 and nuclear war.

Read the following link. In 2020 Russia released a revised policy on use of nuclear weapons called "Basic Principles of State Policy of the Russian Federation on Nuclear Deterrence" Inside it states that Russia could use nuclear weapons in response to conventional attacks in “situations critical to the national security of the Russian Federation.”

https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2020-07/news/russia-releases-nuclear-deterrence-policy

Antiquesaving,

I humbly believe this breakdown originates from pledges and promises in 1990 from Governments to halt Eastern Enlargement of the European Union was ignored between 2004-2014.

Such an interpretation resonates with the academic debate about the EU’s motivation for its eastern enlargement. 

And most importantly accession for the old soviet states to NATO after membership of the EU.

One thing I learnt early in business that there is always two sides to dispute.

It is recognising this fact when mending fences in negotiating settlements.

I don't believe President Putin is a madman, although his behaviour suggest otherwise.

He is certainly utterly ruthless, and I suggest his response lacks compassion to any respect for life.

Richard Gallagher

Diplomacy, which was ignored by Biden and Zelenskyy is imperative. The war must end.

Actually, it was Putin who ignored diplomacy, not Biden or Zelensky. In fact, talks were lined up between Biden and Putin, just before Putin invaded.

Putin has not been acting in good faith and has not been available for diplomacy.

I guess you can call him the fool.

How ironic. We have people here using the freedom of the press, and the freedom of having an opinion, supporting a regime that prohibits any of this. It is looking like Russia will become the new Nth Korea.

Antiquesaving, as one human being to another, do you endorse Presidents Putin's tactics and invasion of Ukraine.

FizzBit

All they had to do was agree to Putin’s red lines, which were not unreasonable for any world power. Isn’t a little extra compromise better than war?

Whether they agreed to them or not, the war would still have gone ahead.

Those were, what is know as, pretexts for war. His other pretexts were saving Russian people in the Donbas region - these same Russian people there said they didn't want the invasion and stop blaming this imperialistic invasion on us. And finally the last pretext was he had to de-nazify the government. You know, the government headed by a Jew.

The BBC all but admits to disseminating fake news in its response to a new Russian law criminalizing the publication of demonstrable falsehoods.

Don’t be ridiculous. Mad Vlad announces long prison sentences for anyone disseminating what he calls ‘fake news’ - in other words anything that does not follow the official Newspeak - and you expect the BBC and other reputable media to do what, tow the official line and deliberately lie? Or continue telling it like it is and have their staff taken hostage and thrown in a Russian jail for simply doing their jobs?

Zelenskyy is a dangerous fool.

That's a pretty silly premise. His nation is being invaded by a foreign power, who are murdering the people in an attempt to overthrow the government. Yeah, hopefully he's as dangerous as a cornered badger, who will rip your throat out. That's exactly what the Ukrainians need right now.

NATO's goal was to goad Russia into a fight so they would be destroyed and lose control of the Caspian Sea region, which is potentially the most valuable land in the world with the massive stores of natural resources available.

And the above is #2

The three prongs of a misinformation campaign:

• Make up lies in defense to the accusations

• Attack the speaker of the accusations to discredit them

• Attack a third party who has also done the same wrong thing to divert attention.

Bolton also said that the Iraq war was a good thing

Are you implying that means Bolton’s credibility about Trump’s ignorance about Ukraine is questionable because he supported the Iraq war? That’s rich. Because, as I recall, you enthusiastically supported the Iraq war as well.so.. in terms of impeached credibility…

Anyway, Bolton also said Trump thought Finland was part of Russia, that he complained about all the sanctions his administration put on Russia, and did nothing to deter Putin from invading Ukraine.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/03/john-bolton-donald-trump-ukraine-finland-russia/amp

And we all heard each and every time Trump sided, praised and supported killer Putin “You think our country’s so innocent?”

Trump deterred Putin? ridiculous.

Look, the evidence is Putin has been biding his time consolidating from previous grabs, preparing this invasion for a long time, step by step, building billions in reserves to be sanctions-proof Nothing Trump or Biden could have done to convince Putin not to invade.

Time for folks on left and right to stop these potshots at Trump and Biden, respectively and focus on Putin He won’t stop at Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Saturday that Ukrainian statehood is in jeopardy

Putin is like a ra complaining when his victim fights back "I don't want to beat the out of you, I just want to ra** you. If you keep struggling, I won't be responsible for how badly I have to hurt you".

How exactly does that fit in with your "liberation" narrative, Vlad?

@FizzBit

I think you told us that a potential invasion of Ukraine was just cooked up by the MSM to spread fear. Now you seem to be telling us it was inevitable.

What changed?

All Russian people have to do is take ownership of their state's resources like Putin and his thugs have done.

Hard if not impossible to do.

Ukraine has only one problem: Putin.

Ukrainian officials told POLITICO at the time that several of their pilots had already arrived in Poland for the handoff, but the deal stalled out. Bulgaria and Slovakia also rejected the idea, and the Ukrainian pilots left empty-handed."

My guess, and this is all it is, is that there was some diplomatic communication from Russia threatening them, maybe threatening NATO as a whole, and they got cold feet. It would not be surprising to me. However, I will also wager that some of those Russian made aircraft find their way to Ukraine in the fullness of time. Doing it publicly like that was probably more than Russia could swallow without some sort of retaliation. But a pilot or two can cross the border from Ukraine to Poland or Romania in the dark of the night by car since those borders are friendly. A couple of those surplus Slovak or Polish MiGs can be made ready for those pilots to check out at their Czech or Polish home airfields. Then one night inside a hanger their Czech or Polish markings painted over with Ukrainian markings. The next night those pilots fly them home singly in the dark of the night so Russian satellites never see them outdoors in Poland or wherever with Ukrainian markings. They time their departures to happen when there are no unfriendly satellites overhead and fly out at low level to a Ukrainian airfield. Would the Russians be able to detect this? Onesy-twosy transfers are probably something NATO will do and never admit to for what I think are obvious reasons. Even better if the NATO countries put all those MiGs under shelters so nobody can count airplanes on the ground by satellite and thus realize some are gone.

Some of the underlying factors that are directly related to the current conflict, as well as a sobering dose of reality regarding the use of bombs-

So?

Yeah, I get all of that. But what is the point of bringing that up in this context, other than to distract our attention from the fact that Putin is bombing civilians and literally threatening to obliterate the Ukrainian nation state right now?

Putin says Ukraine's future in doubt as ceasefires collapse:

Now Putin declares, “These sanctions that are being imposed, they are akin to declaring war.”

That could well be one of the main reasons why he wants Ukraine to have a new regime in full collaboration with Russia..

Isn’t a little extra compromise better than war?

putin didn’t think so. Stop trying to blame everything and anyone else. putin started this invasion, his soldiers are illegally occupying and killing civilians.

There is no excuse.

Antiquesaving

Now a question for you.

What did the west expect was going to happen as it kept pushing closer and closer to Russia's borders?

Nothing.

Putin hates NATO, but he certainly isn't threatened by it. He hates it because it represents Europe and that the USSR fell apart. He hates that old USSR countries are Europe leaning rather than Russia leaning. But this is mere pride on Putin's part6.

Surely, Ukraine had reason to feel threatened when Putin expanded his alliance to include Belarus, encircling Ukraine, and from which Putin is leading an attack.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, we have used NATO to surround Russia. Our military and that of our NATO Allies—tanks and nuclear missiles and fighter jets—have moved up against the Russian border in a provocative and destabilizing way.

Russian propaganda written to sound like it was made by NATO or the US. A disgusting lie is what it is. No Nuclear missiles are anywhere near the Russian border. Any tanks or fighters have only recently moved there thanks to Putin's actions against Ukraine.

The only provocative and destabilizing going on is from a fearful Russia who is scared of free elections, freedom of the press, freedom to change leaders when they want to. Democracy scares the hell out of Autocrats and Despots because it makes them accountable to the people. Sometimes Democracy will elect the wrong leader. They usually get voted out at the next election. If Putin were ever to be held to account by the Russian people he would be executed for his crimes. If he were ever held to account by Ukraine he wouldn't even make it to trial.

A sad commentary of deceit and lies is all Moscow can come up with to battle the allure of democracy and a free society that draws ever nearer to its borders. Free nations have free will to join whatever international organizations they want. it is only through Autocratic control that nations can be kept from the way. Democracy is the way. Freedom of choice is the way. Putin's way is war.

Over 55% of Mariupol & Chernihiv citizens are Russians. Russia came to their rescue, not to kill them

Mad Vlad doesn't care who he kills.

Humanitarian passages where agreed upon through negotiations. Not one citizen or foreigner were allowed to leave Mariupol.

And the ceasefire to allow people to use the humanitarian passages lasted for less than 30 minutes, before the Russian shelling resumed. As you say, no one was allowed to leave. Because of the shelling by the Russians.

FizzBit

2020hindsights

Yeah. I think that is pretty well known. But they aren't part of the government.

Not so fast

In November 2021, one of Ukraine’s most prominent ultra-nationalist militiamen, Dmytro Yarosh, announced that he had been appointed as an advisor to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

An advisor. Not elected. Not at all part of government.

Notice a pattern here? The "free wold" is saying the U.S. needs to put boots on the ground. Not the EU countries - which promised Ukraine protection when Ukraine gave up their nuclear arsenal to Russia. They don't have to heed the call, sacrifice the lives of their people or have to answer why they didn't spend enough on their military.

That's what the Wester media wishes for. Russians are happy with Putin, don't worry.

Perhaps. Let's see how they feel about him as Russia becomes more and more isolated from the international community. At any rate, I think it's fair to say that the Ukrainians are not happy with Putin, and that matters a lot more.

I just read the news, that Visa and Mastercard finished their buisness in Russia.

Inside Russia, you can not pay anymore with Visa or Mastercard.

Outside Russia, you can not pay anymore with Visa or Mastercard issued in Russia.

It is getting more worse for Russia day by day.

It is very nice to see how the world stands against this insane mass murderer.

Wobot

Be prepared for more fake news https://www.reuters.com/article/ukraine-crisis-usa-nuclear-energy/u-s-official-no-evidence-russians-attacked-nuclear-reactors-in-ukraine-msnbc-idUKW1N2U401C

I don't think anyone is claiming that they attacked the nuclear reactor, but instead hit a close by building and firefighters had a hard time putting it out because the area was being attacked.

No Leader in the right state of mind will start a war and cause death destruction, ONLY SICK and EVIL minded leaders do that.

Sh1mon M4sada

*The minute a NATO aircraft engages a Russian one we risk starting have WW3 and nuclear war.*

Why is Ukraine any different to Syria. Civilian lives are civilian lives?? Turkey vs Russia.

The US was already in the war in Syria when Russia arrived. Assad asked Russia to assist. The US forces didn't fight the Russian forces.

russia may be technically winning on the ground but in fact russia is losing big time at an insane rate!!

Putin wanted to protect unite russia, he has done the opposite & also getting russians KILLED

Wants to stop NATO, he has now rallied Europe & will make NATO stronger!

Wanted to make russia great again...EPIC FAIL, he has shown just how WEAK russia REALLY is, its military clearly has many operational issues, they clearly SUCK at what they do!

He has & will wreak absolute HAVOC on the russian economy, the oligarchs will NOT be happy with putin, I sure he told them he would have HIS GUY in Kiev installed in a couple days...AINT happening!

putin is now TOAST! He will have to go for russia to try to beg forgiveness for this insanity. putin is now guaranteed to go down in history as a nasty loser when viewed BOTH inside & outside of russia, he was always nasty but he has now solidified that big time.

Again an epic fail for russia all round!!!

Putin has already lost. Even if he succeeds in overthrowing Ukranian government, he cannot go back to being civil with the entire world.

bass4funk

To Trump’s credit it made sure to start arming stinger in javelin missiles to the Ukrainians

That was congress, not Trump. And he tried to blackmail Zelinsky with it to get dirt on Biden and got impeached. Or maybe you forgot.

I would argue that in fact it is Russia's future is in doubt, especially Putin's!!!

Just looking at the comments here, it was clear that the alternative media types were very sure Russia wouldn’t invade. It was a confidence which saw them saw sneer at those easily led by by the MSM. I’d say the majority outside of that watching and reading the dreaded MSM saw an invasion as possible or even probable.

Kind of like when the former president claimed trade wars are easy to win, something no respectable economist ever said. The fact that he followed it up by losing all three of the trade wars he started was clear evidence that these people don't actually understand how the world works. Their reductionist thinking makes them think that extremely complex problems can be solved with simple answers. Their sureness that Russia wouldn't invade is just another example of their reductionist thinking being proven wrong, once again showing they lack the requisite intelligence to understand how to operate in this complex world.

In the time of Stalin, the people couldn't unite due to an impossibility of communicating secretively enough to overthrow him.

I wonder if the advent of the internet will make things different with this dictator.

Russian parents are thanking Putin deep in their hearts for saving their kids from this toxic western culture.

Yeah, sure they are.

You forgot ‘No more international sports’. The kids will be overjoyed with that one.

How ironic. We have people here using the freedom of the press, and the freedom of having an opinion, supporting a regime that prohibits any of this. It is looking like Russia will become the new Nth Korea.

Some people here are either horribly mis-informed, merely contrarians, or actively in favor of the Russian invasion.

OK, I admit, myself and 99% of the folks out there both amateur and pro, did not think Russia would invade.

Just looking at the comments here, it was clear that the alternative media types were very sure Russia wouldn’t invade. It was a confidence which saw them saw sneer at those easily led by by the MSM. I’d say the majority outside of that watching and reading the dreaded MSM saw an invasion as possible or even probable.

Nowhere near 99%.

So Jimizo,

If Biden & Co knew, why didn’t they stop it?

What should or could they have done? I’m no fan of Biden by the way.

Lets hope there will be more opportunities in the future. I have a feeling the more secure putin is in his position the more he will feel like being nice. Those who are asking for no-fly-zones are delaying that.

As for M&S sanctions. I have lived in Japan without M&S for years. I miss many things; jaffa-cakes, salad-cream, golden-syrup, marmite, a decent beer in the winter, sausages and yes I miss a shop-bought christmas-pudding from M&S. I am sure the normal russian people will quickly learn to do without and prada bags are made to last so the second hand prada market will make a whole new set of oligarchs. In fact I am sure some of the original ones made millions from over-priced-fashion-brands last time.

Having said that the last time I was in England I did go to M&S and purchase a large quantity of under-pants because Japanese clothes never fit me and I can put up with most stuff but I do like to be comfortable.

Lastly some on here seem to think sanctions are not war-mongering but in reality sanctions are part of the war machinery. They are put in place to prevent leaders of the world pushing a button. Sactions have worked to prevent many a conflict escalating but they do not hurt the people in power and in this instance because putin has gone a bit do-lally the sanctions are not going to work and are just harming ordianry people and the whole world economy. The reality of sanctions especially long-term ones is people starving to death and if that is not an act of violence against a country then what is?

It headline should read Putin's Future in Doubt. It was this sentence that worries me most. “But thank God, we haven’t got (war with the West) there yet.” Especially the word "yet", as if he's preparing for his next move when things in Ukraine don't go his way. He knows his neck is on the line and it is hard to know what he'll do.

Putin declares, “These sanctions that are being imposed, they are akin to declaring war.”

That could well be one of the main reasons why he wants Ukraine to have a new regime in full collaboration with Russia..

UChosePoorlyToday  01:32 pm JST

I asked you to answer honestly and instead you tried wiggling your way out of an answer?

Let me remind you:

I said a new government pro Russia or pro China.

Please don't insult my intelligence with:

Maybe, maybe not. I think that a variety of responses would be appropriate based on how truly popular the revolution was, who they were kicking out of power, and whether the means of transition was more peaceful or more violent. Nuance matters.

The USA would not tolerate a pro Russian or Pro China government directly on their land border.

Antiquesaving, to answer your question many European Government leaders and politicians took President Putin at his word.

President Putin stated on more than 50 occasions that the threat of invasion was a figment of the west imagination.

NATO has never represented a threat to the either the Russian Government or people.

NATO in the 21st century is barely a document/treaty

Trade and energy policy adopted by EU/UK is evidence of the trust and change of approach after the end of the Soviet Union to Russian Government.

No western country anticipated behaviour witnessed yesterday of Ukrainian refugees cruelly coming under the bombardment of Russian heavy artillery when promised a ceasefire.

One other point. Those 30 US Army soldiers held their fire for 15 minutes trying to make contact with the local Russian commander to tell them they were attacking Americans by mistake. After 15 minutes with no answer the Army forces opened fire. That had to be the longest 15 minutes imaginable with artillery and mortar rounds hitting their facility.

This not justify Putin, but please don't speak like Russia was the only country that invaded another country in the last years (Iraq? Siria?).

The above is number three of the a proper disinformation campaign:

The three prongs of a misinformation campaign:

• Make up lies in defense to the accusations

• Attack the speaker of the accusations to discredit them

• Attack a third party who has also done the same wrong thing to divert attention.

You know a person is delusional when he start to complain that their opponent are resisting the invasion and blaming them for worsening the situation. And then call other countries of declaring war when they refuse to do business anymore with his country.

Seriously. Also, I would like to ask some of these victim blamers if they wouldn't resist if it were their own country being invaded by foreign forces.

You forgot ‘No more international sports’. The kids will be overjoyed with that one.

No worries Bob. They’ll be able to compete in their own competitions using roids to their heart’s content.

Snowymountain, what do you mean?

Pathetic. Just take this guy out now.

Yes, you’re right, but how?

I know many think I am somehow a supporter of Putin because I point out stuff they don't like.

Well fine, but I find it interesting that when the people that stormed Capitol Hill carrying Confederate flags this was seen as the symbol of racists, etc .. and I agree 100% and the western media made a big deal about that fact.

But when at these rallies in support of Ukraine we have people with a red and black flag.

It's the flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, known as UPA.

Look them up they are a fun group that practiced ethnic cleansing.

But what I found more interesting than these type being at these rallies was how news outlets like CBC, BBC, etc .. bent over backwards to downplay this fact, how they even tried to "Justify" these people and this symbol of hate and ethnic cleansing being accepted.

This is just one more reason I am saying there is a major hypocritical double standard at this point.

I have no idea if this is Russian propaganda. But so many are leaning on US, UK, Western corporate news, there’s really no difference. 

https://greekcitytimes.com/2022/03/01/greek-in-mariupol-fascist-ukrainian/?amp

However, back in 2018 in the US Congress (as mentioned in the article) 

In 2018, a provision in an appropriations bill passed by the U.S. Congress blocked military aid to Azov on the grounds of its white supremacist ideology; in 2015, a similar ban on aid to the group was overturned by the Congress.

So even the the US Congress acknowledges the neo-nazis in Ukraine.

Alex

Well NATO kept poking the bear ….

Nope. NATO aren't doing anything except sanctions in this war.

@FizzBit

I don’t trust the ‘corporate MSM’. I watched and read the news from various outlets which gave different opinions on what was going on at the Ukrainian border, and what Putin was likely to do. I read everything from nothing to moving into the disputed areas to a full scale invasion.

The trust seemed to come from the alternative media types who were incredibly confident that this was all cooked up by the MSM and nothing was going to happen.

That level of trust is very concerning.

What sources led you to believe this? Have you lost faith in these sources in the way you lost trust in the MSM? It would lead me to be very skeptical of these sources.

Can I ask again what you expected the US and the MSM to do to stop this invasion? As I posted earlier, I’m no fan of Biden. I’m just asking a practical question.

I’d also like to see these sources. I want to see what they got wrong.

I’ll be fully open here. I tend to read and watch the BBC, The Times, The Independent, The Spectator, The Washington Post and recently I’ve been checking out the local rag where I live.

"Sanctions are akin to war...", sez Putin, LOL! No more than invading another country and calling it a "Spetzoperatsiya". Putin's pronouncement is rich coming after the Kremlin canceled even the word "war" and draconian prison sentences are now threatened if anyone criticizes or protesting Putin's patriotic campaign to drive "Nazis" out of Ukraine. Too bad Russians have forgotten how to make revolutions when a second one is long overdue.

bass4funk

NATO has never represented a threat to the either the Russian Government or people.

I agree, but Putin doesn’t see it that way.

Putin does see it that way. He wasn't threatened. But it wounded his pride.

10 days in to this hellish madness of death and misery for the poor people of Ukraine, where the hell are the UN peace-keeping forces ?? There should be thousands of them on the ground by now keeping the two sides apart, organising corridors of safety for the vulnerables, joined by Red Cross and Medecins sans Frontieres personnel giving humanitarian aid and ensuring food-and-water supplies are getting through. This is truly shocking how the Ukrainian people are left to their own devices against the vicious Russian troops who have absolutely zero rights even being in this sovereign democratic country - Putin will burn in hell for this, forget about an appearance in The Hague, the Russian people will revolt soon hopefully and despatch the sadistic monster.

Russia is self-sufficient in food and energy. The Russians won’t starve and they can survive the Western sanctions. This war is going to last for a very long time.

Pathetic. Just take this guy out now.

How ironic. We have people here using the freedom of the press, and the freedom of having an opinion, supporting a regime that prohibits any of this

All supporters of Putin and his murderer Mob, who are living outside of Russia, should be kicked out of the country where they are living and send directly to Russia.

And then I promise you and you can see how fast they will change their minds according Putin and his mass murderer Mob.

These sanctions that are being imposed, they are akin to declaring war,

Before dismissing that statement with the wave of a hand, consider that before the US embargoed oil sales to Japan, the US was Japan's largest source of oil. Losing that supply was what pushed Japan to attack the US.

This is just one more reason I am saying there is a major hypocritical double standard at this point.

the smell of hypocrits are everywhere, on both sides of the equation. IMHO, the stink is alot worse on how Ukraine is treated by western leaders.

have a read of this...if this is the kind of support Ukraine is getting, I don't hold out hope for the western democratic sphere.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/05/white-house-deal-fighter-jets-ukraine-00014424

...excuses after excuses, like they have never heard of EP Aviation, or Academi. Worse...

"Ukrainian officials told POLITICO at the time that several of their pilots had already arrived in Poland for the handoff, but the deal stalled out. Bulgaria and Slovakia also rejected the idea, and the Ukrainian pilots left empty-handed."

See "Don't Look Up"! Or the answer is blowin' in the wind, innit?

Not really.

The bigger question is why does it bother so many now? The USA with and without its Allies have done the same in recent years and no one cares, or should I say few in the West cared.

Two reasons, neither of which have anything to do with race.

First, Russia declared this war knowing full well that it could escalate into a direct war between superpowers. The US (and I’m not defending US wars at all here, just describing a difference) has only been willing to start wars (Iraq, Afghanistan, etc) where doing so wouldn’t risk WW3. This has been their approach since the Korean War when Truman decided to refrain from expanding the war to China for that reason.

In other words, Putin’s invasion is way more reckless to humanity as a whole than any American invasion, bad as they were, has ever been.

Second, the US hasn’t invaded a country for the purpose of taking over its territory since the 19th century. When it invaded Iraq its purpose was to get rid of Saddam and a few other things, but it never intended to erase Iraq as a country from the map. Putin is actually trying to take Ukrainian territory, and maybe all of Ukraine, and make it part of Russia.

Now you might ask what difference that makes, war is war and its awful regardlesss, right? But it is huge. Since 1945 our whole system of securing peace has been predicated on states not taking territory by force from each other and its been hugely effective with only a few small exceptions. No major power has done it. By invading Ukraine in order to turn it, or parts of it, into Russia, Putin is trying to take us back to a pre 1945 world order. That was a horrific system and we should all be fighting tooth and nail against it.

I find comments like This:

It headline should read Putin's Future in Doubt

And other similar things like " the Russian people will turn on him and other silly staments including believing the stuff about Russian troops crying deserting, etc...

Has the world or more likely the west suddenly gotten collective amnesia?

These are the people that lived under dictators like Stalin for decades, these are the people that thought in Stalingrad and Leningrad to the tune of 1.1 million soldiers and 1.5 million soldiers and civilians dead respectively (soviet side only).

The western powers wanted to push East, in the same way they have done several times in the past.

Were they hoping that this time doing it slowly and through the back door, Russia wasn't going to notice or say anything?

Every new headline in this devastating brutal war, reaches a new low.

There was never a ceasefire.

Just another round of ruthless horror and terror on families, to leverage capitulation under skin and bone of women and children.

I am beginning to lose my faith.

And now the bias is out!

Catching out people being biased or hypocritical in their opinion on a subject is, I’m sure, emotionally satisfying but its also kind of a pointless activity if you actually want to take the subject at hand seriously.

I have no horse in the Ukraine/Russia race - I didn’t really have an opinion in favor of either side in their conflict until Putin’s invasion forced me to form one. In my previous post I gave you two objective reasons why we should be extremely concerned about what Putin is trying to do in Ukraine. If you or others were to address those and similar concerns rather than just sniping about bias or hypocrisy you’d probably find your arguments more persuasive on the rest of us. But I believe the reason I don’t hear any convincing rebuttals to these extremely important concerns is that there aren’t any. This is just an insanely reckless an immoral war Putin has foisted not just on Ukraine but onto all of us. It needs to be taken seriously.

itsonlyrocknrollToday  01:38 pm JST

Yes I will agree and I accept that Putin is nuts and a liar.

Now didn't the west make several promises NATO would not expand East and did again and again?

So it seems clear both sides say one thing then do as they please.

Now the west will say " no written agreement was ever made that NATO wouldn't expand" yes true but then one could counter Putin never made any written agreement he wouldn't invade.

See how that crap works!

This has been a game of brinkmanship of how far can we push East until we hit a wall and sadly Ukraine is the one on that wall.

Antiquesaving

So it seems clear both sides say one thing then do as they please.

Now the west will say " no written agreement was ever made that NATO wouldn't expand" yes true

You really should stop bringing up red herrings like NATO into your argument. We know that NATO wounded Putin's pride. We also know that NATO didn't threaten Russia.

Putin uses it as an excuse and a pretext, but why are you parroring Putin?

but then one could counter Putin never made any written agreement he wouldn't invade.

See how that crap works!

Do you see how irrelevant what you are saying is? Putin lies. We all know he lies, and the US called it.

So what? It doesn't justify his invasion.

The only reason that NATO hasn't been disbanded and that former USSR countries have joined is the threat posed by Putin. And changing circumstances are ample justification for not breaking up NATO.

There is only One certainty in this conflict, that is Putin is a dead man walking

Putin is the reincarnation of evils, the likes of Hitler, of Stalin. Xi is another in the making in China who is watching and learning Putin's tactics for his moves against Taiwan and maybe, the rest of East Asia and Southeast Asia afterward. Previous World Wars were started by these demons.

The USA would not tolerate a pro Russian or Pro China government directly on their land border.

The USA would not get a choice. But to be honest, it is not like Canada or Mexico is about to be lured by Russian Autocracy and being sanctioned by the world, or Chinese Despot with one party rule. They have nothing "better" to offer and democracy is well ingrained into both.

Worst case scenario is the US bribes them to stay aligned as they are. Not needed though.

For an argument it is very weak indeed. The US was surprised when Philippines turned pro China but even that leader changed his mind as China really was a bad friend and the USA a much better one to have. A good example for all.

I enjoyed to watch Better than us series at Netflix, a Russian production, gave me the impression that if it was possible to make such a type of video that showed so many aspects of a daily life there they were aligned, leveraged with the world, but, unfortunately we are watching what a single crazy man can do, a bad man, with nuclear weapons at hand jeopardizing all the world, now is Ukraine, which country will be the next one to suffer this type of evil intervention causing destruction and death? Actions must be taken immediately to stop the development of a Third World War. Peace must be proactively pursued by all, everyone, each organization, each country.

Since the invasion Putin's popularity has actually risen among the millions of Russian "deplorables" who wouldn't know the truth of Putin's aggression if it bit them on their butt because the mendacity and manipulation of America's Fox & Friends have nothing on the near total control of information in the frightening embrace of the Kremlin Bear, not that the facts would make much difference to folks who believe what they want to believe and too afraid to face the truth.

"the Russian people will revolt soon hopefully"

That's what the Wester media wishes for. Russians are happy with Putin, don't worry.

I’m sure Beria thought so too. I mean, whoever heard of a Russian revolution, they never do that, right Vic?

in the frightening embrace of the Kremlin Bear, not that the facts would make much difference to folks who believe what they want to believe and too afraid to face the truth.

What does that even mean?

See "Don't Look Up"! Or the answer is blowin' in the wind, innit?

Yeah, I get all of that. But what is the point of bringing that up in this context, other than to distract our attention from the fact that Putin is bombing civilians and literally threatening to obliterate the Ukrainian nation state right now?

The bigger question is why does it bother so many now? The USA with and without its Allies have done the same in recent years and no one cares, or should I say few in the West cared.

Is it the fact blonde haired blue eyes are dying this time?

When I last pointed this out one of our I lost your regular commentators here pointed out that the USA has never invaded a European country but Russia (or more likely the USSR) had many times.

I guess he didn't realise by pointing that out he made my point even more clear, as long as western countries blow the crap out of non white places, most are fine with it.

Look at the closed doors policies of most western countries towards Syrians but the wide open policies to Ukrainians.

I know, you know Putin is nuts but at the same time the West is as hypocritical as ever, they knew Putin is nuts and they pushed until they got what they wanted.

In history of Europe Russia tended to remain on the Eastside of the invisible East-West divide, it has nearly always been the West that tries to push East inevitably leading to conflict.

Why haven't Europeans learned this yet, is history something they just have amnesia about?

Well NATO kept poking the bear ….

Since the end of WW2, the Soviet Union and Russia have invaded about 14 European countries. My family In the Baltic States lived under Soviet rule and the men were forced to serve in the Soviet navy. Those states are now independent but will Putin retake them. Hard to answer at this moment. How far will Putin go?

And now the bias is out!

This obsession with "invading European countries" is very prominent as you defended the USA by stating it hasn't invaded any European countries.

I on the other hand have no connection to Russia or Ukrainian, 90% of my family was already in North America from France since the 1600s and as a clear outside observer all I have seen is western European countries carving out their territories over the centuries, and once that done regularly trying to push East inevitably leading to conflict with Russia.

This is a regular cycle and the usual method is to use long simmering ethnic tensions and stoking the ethnic divisions

It is a never-ending circle in Europe always one ethnic group feeling they have been mistreated or historically maligned by another ethnic group and they want revenge and then a few decades later the process starts all over again often the reverse and so on and so on.

Your point about your family is just another example of these ethnic problems being regularly brought up.

That is why the Red and Black flag of UPA is still around and accepted at Ukrainian rallies (which is funny seeing UPA hated Poles and Latvians and wanted to take part of their lands) but I guess the overwhelming hatered of one ethnic group makes for strange bedfellows of the opposition.

The US was already in the war in Syria when Russia arrived. Assad asked Russia to assist. The US forces didn't fight the Russian forces.

Actually the did once, on the night of February 7, 2018. There were 30 US Army troops and at least one USAF Forward Air Controller guarding a critical gas facility in a Kurdish held region on the eastern side of the Euphrates River near Deir ez-Zor. and just to the east of a deconfliction line designed to prevent US and Russian forces from coming into conflict. A battalion of some 500 Russians (Wagner mercenaries) and Syrian Army regulars armed with tanks and artillery opened fire with artillery and mortars. US Army forces opened fire with Javelins and heavy machine guns. The USAF had been watching the situation develop through drones and had called in a Marine strike force to reinforce them before the attack began. When the Russian and Syrian force did attack the USAF dropped the hammer on them with F-15Es, F-22s, B-52s and AC-130s in coordination with US Army Apaches and surface to surface rockets from Marine Corps HIMARS. The air attack lasted three full hours. The Marine reinforcements had to stand back due to the sheer volume of explosions and shrapnel from the air assault. It was too dangerous to try to enter the gas facility. When the dust settled about 300 of the 500 Wagner bubbas and their Syrian regular comrades were dead with no US or Kurdish killed or even injured.

Recent development, the Poles and US are indeed discussing how to send Polish MiG-29s to the Ukrainian Air Force.

Only three countries in Europe have nuclear weapons. Russia, France, and the UK. Russian nuclear weapons number more than 5,000, with 1,458 nuclear missiles ready to fir the moment the nuke button is pressed. How could Russia feel threatened by any country?

Only one country in the Americas has amy nuclear weapons, and the biggest army so why does it feel treated by a tiny island it has had a strangle hold and embargo for over 60 years now.

Oh let's not forget Iraq in more recent times.

All the NATO should get involved, all the no fly zone, etc...

Just makes me think of an old song by Country Joe And The Fish: The “Fish” Cheer / I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die Rag

Lyrics include:

And it's one, two, three,

What are we fighting for ?

Don't ask me, I don't give a damn,

Next stop is Vietnam;

And it's five, six, seven,

Open up the pearly gates,

Well there ain't no time to wonder why,

Whoopee! we're all gonna die.

Well, come on mothers throughout the land,

Pack your boys off to Vietnam.

Come on fathers, don't hesitate,

Send 'em off before it's too late.

Be the first one on your block

To have your boy come home in a box.

Just change Vietnam to a country of your choice.

KariHaruka

Waiting and hoping that there is someone within his inner circle that is willing to take out this deranged lunatic.....

Quite frankly and being rather blunt here. I am waiting with anticipation (and hoping) for news of the death of Putin. This mentally deranged lunatic is currently the biggest danger to our world and a world without him in it will already be a slightly better world.

And then what happens? Who comes next? How do we know that they won't be worse than Putin? What happens when you have a power vacuum in a country that has nuclear weapons?

Time for a full on import ban on Russian energy.

The minute a NATO aircraft engages a Russian one we have WW3 and nuclear war

You're making wildly absurd assumptions whilst in reality civilians lives are being blown apart. You're also making excuses for NOT doing.

IF the objective is to deny airspace, it could be a combination of more air defense systems, operated by Ukraine, or more fighter planes flown by Ukraine, or planes flown by contractors. If there's a will, there's a way. Biden and his team has simply said there's no WAY, and the rest are just excuses after excuses.

BTW, by your own logic, where does it end? When Russia has conquered Europe?

If Biden & Co knew, why didn’t they stop it?

When Trump was running for president the first time, A NFZ in Syria was mentioned getting Russians and its "useful I...s' plus others in the global extreme right to claim a NFZ would start WW3, never of course mentioning their idol Putin would be doing the same thing, or perhaps was hoping for the same thing. Now the alt rightists are saying similar things, Russian backed and other far right media have been able to push their propaganda on the angry and poorly educated everywhere. And even with all that's going on these days they still protect Putin, claiming he's just a victim of the western media and imperialism, as if Putin's media and brand of imperialism is better.

What I find most interesting about nearly all the comments is the attempt to make Russia the Soviet Union as if it was only Russia and only Russians that did everything evil.

Let's not forget that it was the Soviet "Union" which included many other Soviet republics including the "Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic"

Let's not forget during the Soviet famine not only did 3 to 4 million Ukrainians die so did 2 to 3 million Russians and 1 to 1.5 Kazakhs and who was in charge, a Russian?

No in Ukraine the one running the operation was a Ukrainian of Jewish background ( this is important because it is used by UPA/OUN as part of their reasoning to help the Nazis), the other 2aim players were Joseph Stalin and Lavrentiy Beria both from Georgia or as it was known then "Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic".

It is funny how all these other former members of the Soviet Union somehow washed their hand of all the bad things dumping it all on Russia, in the case of the Ukraine it not only washed it's had of the Soviet times but also of it Nazi collaboration past.

itsonlyrocknrollToday  12:51 pm JST

Antiquesaving, as one human being to another, do you endorse Presidents Putin's tactics and invasion of Ukraine

No and I have said this many times.

Now a question for you.

What did the west expect was going to happen as it kept pushing closer and closer to Russia's borders?

Don't give me the tired old B., About a Nation's right to choose, western Europe and America have intervened thousands of times when they didn't like the direction a country they saw as within their hemisphere of influence tried going a different direction.

President Putin stated on more than 50 occasions that the threat of invasion was a figment of the west imagination.

For the blind he fooled everyone.

NATO has never represented a threat to the either the Russian Government or people.

I agree, but Putin doesn’t see it that way.

Putin is bombing hospitals, schools, apartment blocks, power plants. He means to totally destroy the country but the Ukrainians will never bend to his will. He will have to kill them all.

Sadly and Probably that is true.

Including Trump,

Putin didn’t even think tried to invade Ukraine during his Presidency. Now back to current events.

since Putin was planning

Planning and executing those plans are two entirely different things. Now he has invaded and Zulenskyy is begging this guy and NATO to do something. Forget about Trump. If you want to debate let’s do it according to current events and not past hypotheticals or “what’s or if’s”

Antiquesaving

I financially consulted a little known project named MAXCAP. 2014

A number of papers rang alarm bells in Russian media circles to the intention of this policy.

The ‘Old’ and the ‘New’ Europeans: Analyses of Public Opinion on EU Enlargement in Review 

http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/kfgeu/maxcap/system/files/maxcap_wp_02.pdf

Putin like all dictators uses his nation's myths, as another tool to manipulate his citizens. Recall Russian royals and even Russian state church have owned and traded serfs, Putin must still see Russian people as just his serfs, his personal slaves to be used, traded and fight wars for him, because he's too cowardly to fight himself, he'd rather spend his time in one of his palaces. I wonder how many people living in Russia today would be willing to give up their Russian citizenship and move to New York, Los Angeles, Dubai, Cyprus instead like so many oligarchs have. All Russian people have to do is take ownership of their state's resources like Putin and his thugs have done. Milton Friedman fans is that a good way to make money, is that what individual freedom is? Or are you going to say the videos of apartment buildings being bombed and pictures of dead children are just the media trying to make your hero look like the monster that he is and has long been?

On the Ukrainian no fly zone:

Giving Ukrainian a fish and they will eat for a day

'teach a Ukrainian to fish and give them the proper tools to fish and they will eat forever.

The minute a NATO aircraft engages a Russian one we risk starting have WW3 and nuclear war.

Why is Ukraine any different to Syria. Civilian lives are civilian lives?? Turkey vs Russia.

https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/how-do-no-fly-zones-work-and-will-they-be-effective-in-syria-34182

Heck, you don't even have to declare one, just designate a specific zone, then pour resources into it so Russian planes are denied access.

When Trump was running for president the first time, A NFZ in Syria was mentioned getting Russians and its "useful I...s' plus others in the global extreme right to claim a NFZ would start WW3,

Did it?

never of course mentioning their idol Putin would be doing the same thing, or perhaps was hoping for the same thing.

Did he (Putin) invade at the time?

Now the alt rightists are saying similar things, Russian backed and other far right media have been able to push their propaganda on the angry and poorly educated everywhere.

Ok, so how do these alleged allegations mean anything in the conversation? You don’t have to be poor or uneducated, you can rich and a billionaire and still be a scumbag.

And even with all that's going on these days they still protect Putin, claiming he's just a victim of the western media and imperialism, as if Putin's media and brand of imperialism is better.

Well, that’s why Sputnik, RT are all no more. Cutting down on all the propaganda and for the life of me I never understood why they were even allowed in the US.

Can I ask again

I answered that question.

Anyway, I don’t recall ever reading anything concrete that Putin would not invade, just that it seemed unlikely. So that’s all on me.

2020hindsights

Yeah. I think that is pretty well known. But they aren't part of the government.

Not so fast

In November 2021, one of Ukraine’s most prominent ultra-nationalist militiamen, Dmytro Yarosh, announced that he had been appointed as an advisor to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Yarosh is an avowed follower of the Nazi collaborator Bandera who led Right Sector from 2013 to 2015, vowing to lead the “de-Russification” of Ukraine.

Peter14

Russian propaganda written to sound like it was made by NATO or the US. A disgusting lie is what it is.

What exactly is a lie in the quote you are referring to?

I write down again for you convenience.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, we have used NATO to surround Russia. Our military and that of our NATO Allies—tanks and nuclear missiles and fighter jets—have moved up against the Russian border in a provocative and destabilizing way

Report in, Putin has shifted his strategy. Heavy artillery, guided bombs are pounding cities instead of the previous specific military targets. Ukraine will resemble Syria by the time this mad reckless dictator is done. The west must intervene NOW. Putin already considers sanctions to be a declaration of war. Biden has got to wake up from his nanny nap.

At the rate he is going, he will destroy Ukraine and Poland within 3 months, and he will be circling a Europe without an exit plan.

This comparison of relative media coverage of four military conflicts around the world illustrates the importance of not paying any attention to the globalist media narrative.

We are living in dangerous times. All around the world, intense military actions are taking place. Last week alone, Russia launched a huge military invasion of Ukraine; Saudi Arabia carried out dozens of strikes on Yemen; Israel launched a wave of deadly missile attacks against Syria; and the United States restarted its bombing campaign in Somalia.

These four deadly incidents happened concurrently. Yet judging by media coverage, it is highly unlikely that many will even be aware of the final three. A MintPress News study of five leading Western media outlets found that overwhelming attention was paid to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while the others were barely mentioned, if at all.

In total, in the week between Monday, February 21 and Sunday, February 27, Fox News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and MSNBC ran almost 1,300 separate stories on the Ukraine invasion, two stories on the Syria attack, one on Somalia, and none at all on the Saudi-led war on Yemen.

Just as most people who believe they are educated are, in fact, maleducated, most people who believe they are well-informed because they read a newspaper or watch the television news are, in fact, malinformed.

The BBC all but admits to disseminating fake news in its response to a new Russian law criminalizing the publication of demonstrable falsehoods.

“This legislation appears to criminalise the process of independent journalism. It leaves us no other option than to temporarily suspend the work of all BBC News journalists and their support staff within the Russian Federation while we assess the full implications of this unwelcome development.

“Our BBC News service in Russian will continue to operate from outside Russia.

“The safety of our staff is paramount and we are not prepared to expose them to the risk of criminal prosecution simply for doing their jobs.”

If it had been up to me NATO, UN including WHO, the BBC with its soft powers? would have all been defunded years ago. The lesson we never learnt from WW1 and WW2 was that if you allow groups of nations to band together when one gets into a fight you end up with a bigger fight. Too late now and sadly NATO is now even more of a threat to world peace.

Another lesson we have obviously not learnt is that after WW1 the Germans were punished economically to such an extent they ended up wanting a dictatorship. That is very likely to happen in russia if we are not careful. The end of WW2 had US money flow into Europe to prevent this. Although that did not include the UK which the US shafted as they always do. The UK paid back an eventual loan in 2007 and a few months later the US put the world into banking collapse. Although it would have been much easier to deal with if the BBC had not stoked the fire against its own government.

The reality is we all interpret history through are own experiences and what is happening at the moment can not be controlled by us. What I do know is as and when this war is over millions of people will need to rebuild there lives. The shorter the war the less long-term damage and people on both sides to work towards ending this conflict sooner rather than later. As I see it both putin and zelensky are both pushing for a long-drawn-out war and so both should be removed from power at the earliest possible opportunity.

On the propaganda front I am hearing that zelensky is no longer in the ukraine. One said Esotonia (unlikely) the other poland. I think he left before his famous phone-message outside because I felt that messages was a pre-record. If he is in poland that is good because plenty of elites are travlling their so he can sign all the paperwork they require before they spend tax-payer money. I wonder if zelensky will keep his word. I have a feeling when all is finished he wont.

That is only correct because Putin was planning his war

And the Biden administration had more than enough time to slap Russia with sanctions and they didn’t. Trump offered and to push Europe to get off foreign oil and Russian natural gas, Merkel blew Trump off To Trump’s credit it made sure to start arming stinger in javelin missiles to the Ukrainians and after Biden came to office nothing happened.

massive wars don't happen overnight.

Right! So what’s this administration’s excuse? Zulenskyy is calling Biden out a few times now. So we know who he’s teed off at.

Planning and executing those plans are two entirely different things. Now he has invaded and Zulenskyy is begging this guy and NATO to do something. Forget about Trump. If you want to debate let’s do it according to current events and not past hypotheticals or “what’s or if’s”

They are not if's

Oh, yes there is.

You introduced the topic when you said "For the blind, he fooled everyone." That includes Trump.

Well, no. If he did they wouldn’t have gotten the javelin launchers. Nice try though.

I know that a different view is no longer welcome here, but if I may ask just one question!!

The news says: "By nighttime Russian forces had intensified their shelling of Mariupol, while dropping powerful bombs on residential areas of Chernihiv, a city north of Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said".

Intensified shelling of Mariupol, while dropping powerful bombs on residential areas of Chernihiv must cause thousands of deaths, where are they????

Over 55% of Mariupol & Chernihiv citizens are Russians. Russia came to their rescue, not to kill them, while they are being kept hostages & human shields by Ukrainian army & the Phalanges (Ukr extremists), including 6 thousand foreign students, mainly Chinese, Indians & Vietnamese. Humanitarian passages where agreed upon through negotiations. Not one citizen or foreigner were allowed to leave Mariupol.

OCSE, not Putin, said that approx 14.000 Russian civilians were killed in Donbass by Ukrainian forces since 2014.

Were was the EU? The UN?

OCSE, not Putin, confirmed that Ukraine government prohibited Russian language in Donbass. Prohibited access to school, banks, government aids and to have a job.

Where was the UE? The UN?

This not justify Putin, but please don't speak like Russia was the only country that invaded another country in the last years (Iraq? Siria?).

Oh, and don't forget that NATO and US used Phosphorous bombs in Baghdad and Belgrade. And no one did nothing.

Don't be hypocritical.

BTW, by your own logic, where does it end? When Russia has conquered Europe?

I would add, and all nations in the Middle East, where he'd be aided by his war/gas partner the Ayatollah. Putin, like another fascist before him, wants his version of final solution, and not surprisingly his global right followers cheer him on.

I’d say the majority outside of that watching and reading the dreaded MSM saw an invasion as possible or even probable.

Well

its your prerogative to trust the corporate MSM on such serious matters. I won’t after the WMD Iraq lies. The fact that the US and the corporate MSM decided to let us all know and then do jack sqwat to stop it, IMO shows that you all have been fooled again.

All they had to do was agree to Putin’s red lines, which were not unreasonable for any world power. Isn’t a little extra compromise better than war?

Alas, as I referred to in my first post, the US wanted Putin to do something like this. Why, because they’re psychopaths.

@itsonlyrocknroll

Yes, there are two sides to this and in the Donbas region,the buildings are full of battle scars from attacks that originated from Ukraine.

@Desert Tortoise

Ukraine has NOT asked for a NFZ over the whole of Ukraine, it has asked for NFZ in specific populated cities so Russian planes can't bomb and terrorize civilians. The NFZ being requested is to protect cities.

Putin has shifted his strategy to that used in Syria, bomb everything, and in Syria he came to help a friend.....

Zelenskyy is a dangerous fool. Calling-up all males between 18-60, akin to a suicide mission. The Russians will level the place and kill off the population. No matter how supposed noble the sentiment to 'defend the nation' it is a fool's errand and a doomed enterprise.

The Ukraine is a pawn of the US.  The invasion of Ukraine is illegal. It may qualify as a war crime. It may even be stupid and self-defeating on Putin’s part. But the one thing it isn’t is “unprovoked.” Biden’s team of war hawks has spent the last year (and most of the Obama years) berating, antagonizing and provoking Russia into doing what it just did, the inevitable occurred.

Sanctions are not one sided. Ukraine is an important agricultural producer - as things are progressing, no harvest this year. Russia supplies important materials and resources, especially for all the gizmos that keep he global economy humming.

Diplomacy, which was ignored by Biden and Zelenskyy is imperative. The war must end.

The global economy will become a train-wreck if the madness continues. WW3 another possibility. And nuclear apocalypse looms on the edge of the horizon if the idiocy isn't capped soon.

So Jimizo,

If Biden & Co knew, why didn’t they stop it?

I think you told us that a potential invasion of Ukraine was just cooked up by the MSM to spread fear. Now you seem to be telling us it was inevitable.

OK, I admit, myself and 99% of the folks out there both amateur and pro, did not think Russia would invade. It’s very obvious Biden & Co. knew.

America's Fox & Friends have nothing on the near total control of information

A lot more than most in the media since they do have corespondents on the ground

in the frightening embrace of the Kremlin Bear, not that the facts would make much difference to folks who believe what they want to believe and too afraid to face the truth.

What does that even mean?

I remember in jr high home room these two guys sitting next to me kept on instigating a fight between me and another kid sitting in front of me saying “ oh I don’t think you could kick his butt” then the other would say the opposite to the kid sitting in front of me. The kid sitting in front of me fell for for it. Both just wanted to see a fight and could care less about who got hurt. Biden and NATO were their names.