Russia

[silkyman]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31669061

That's lucky for old Vlad, eh?

 

[D B Disco]

Putin must be devastated.

 

[spireite]

Fucking ridiculous. They are a truly dangerous state

 

[Veggie Legs]

Putin must be devastated.

It says he's assumed 'personal control' of the investigation, I'm sure that's because he's so upset about it...

 

[Ebeneezer Goode]

Was anyone watching BBC news just then? They were in Ukraine talking to Azov Battalion, but neglected to mention that they are full blown neo-Nazis with the black sun in their emblem.

The reporter asked one of them if he was prepared to die, he said yes, and go to Valhalla. There are loads of these Nazi paramilitary groups in Ukraine fighting the war that the Western media doesn't seem to want to talk about.

 

[Tilbury]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32308307
UK fighter jets escort Russian bombers close to our airspace and a few hours earlier 3 Russian ships sailed through the English channel.

 

[Ebeneezer Goode]

Happens all the time.

 

[Tilbury]

No less worrying.

 

[Ebeneezer Goode]

It's nothing. They do it to Norway and Sweden too no matter the political climate. It's just Putin waving his dick about and Russia pretending to still be a superpower.

 

[Stagat]

Gonna hold off commenting on Russia 'til I've heard what Reggie Yates comes back with.

 

[Tilbury]

Yeh it's not like they've invaded another country or anything recently.

 

[Ebeneezer Goode]

It's inconceivable that Russia would dare attack another nuclear power, much less one that's a prominent NATO member. This sort of thing happens all the time.

From 2008:

"RAF fighter jets have been launched at least 21 times to respond to Russian military planes in the last year, the armed forces minister has revealed. "

 

[SUTSS]

They're just flexing their muscles. It's been going on for years. It's just them saying 'don't get any ideas'.

 

[Gladders]

As above it happens all the time, and has done for years, nothing new, just another story for the papers to make money.

 

[Tilbury]

It may have happened often before but Russia is/has been going through a geopolitical shift in recent years. Maybe the Crimea was the culmination of it, maybe it's just the start. The unpredictability of them makes them dangerous (to me at least).

 

[SUTSS]

The Crimea certainly isn't the culmination of it, or even the start of it. Russia wants to expand and any weakness in their neighbours will be exploited. Ukraine will keep rumbling on like Georgia. I can't see them attacking a NATO country in the near future though unless they think we won't react. I'd say Kazakhstan have reason to be most worried. They have an elderly leader and when he dies there could be a power vacuum.

 

[TFF_REG]

Like SUTSS, I don't think the annexation of the Crimea will be the end of this. As Russia's border is pretty indefensible due to its sheer size their policy historically has been to surround themselves with buffer states and Putin may well be looking to do this again. He is clearly trying to foment discord across Europe by funding extreme parties on both the right, see the National Front in France and also Hungary, and on the far left, possibly Syriza in Greece (although I'm not too sure about that one). I reckon in Putin's eyes he is already at war with the West, in 2008 they invaded South Ossetia in Georgia and more recently Crimea. The Baltic states, with their sizable Russian minorities, must be feeling very nervous right now... I wouldn't be surprised if within a few years we see the same happening there with some excuse about "protecting Russian minorities" or something about creating a path to Kaliningrad.

 

[Alty]

Like SUTSS, I don't think the annexation of the Crimea will be the end of this. As Russia's border is pretty indefensible due to its sheer size their policy historically has been to surround themselves with buffer states and Putin may well be looking to do this again. He is clearly trying to foment discord across Europe by funding extreme parties on both the right, see the National Front in France and also Hungary, and on the far left, possibly Syriza in Greece (although I'm not too sure about that one). I reckon in Putin's eyes he is already at war with the West, in 2008 they invaded South Ossetia in Georgia and more recently Crimea. The Baltic states, with their sizable Russian minorities, must be feeling very nervous right now... I wouldn't be surprised if within a few years we see the same happening there with some excuse about "protecting Russian minorities" or something about creating a path to Kaliningrad.

The key difference is that the Baltic states are all full members of NATO. Even as cautious an American President as Obama couldn't let that go. We and the French would force the American hand, I suspect.

That said, if Putin is determined to continue with this expansionist foreign policy, he'd probably be wise to get on with it before the more proactive Clinton (or alternatively one of the many bonkers Republicans) takes office.

 

[SALTIRE]

The dafts c*** are banning Tom Hardy's new film Child 44, yet they let Leviathan through, great work!!

 

[Tilbury]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11702328/Russian-forces-practised-invasion-of-Norway-Finland-Denmark-and-Sweden.html
'Russian forces 'practised invasion of Norway, Finland, Denmark and Sweden'
During an exercise in March, Russian troops rehearsed how to invade four regional neighbours '

 

[Ebeneezer Goode]

Ambitious. Finland handed them their arse last time.

 

[spireite]

Ambitious. Finland handed them their arse last time.

They did indeed, but I think a repeat unlikely. The last time the Russians had few good officers and no winter gear but still made good gains. I wouldn't fancy taking a fight with Russia these days. Fuq dat

 

[nousername]

Completely anecdotal story here, but I was talking to a Swede from NATO in a hotel while I was on holiday last Christmas in Istanbul and they mentioned how there is a general rule they hold that one NATO soldier is equivalent to 10 Russian soldiers (or thereabouts) who are mostly badly equipped conscripts that spend their time in training getting the shit kicked out of them.

NATO is a superior fighting force to anything the Russian's offer, but it's our collective resolve and willingness (or lack of) to use that force that levels the playing field with them.

 

[Ebeneezer Goode]

 

[AFCB_Mark]

Quite the kerfuffle in the Black Sea yesterday. 3 Ukrainian boats wanting to pass by Crimea from Odessa to Mariupol, were intercepted and attacked by Russian boats. Gunfire was exchanged, aircraft scrambled, and a tanker parked across the Kerch strait blocking all sea traffic. Casualties vary depending on who you believe.

Russia says the Ukrainian boats illegally encroached on their waters. Ukraine say they had prior informed Russia of their movements, and that Russia's actions contravene a treaty that states the Kerch strait is shared water.

It sparked protests in Kiev with the Russian embassy attacked by demonstrators.

All eyes on Kiev and Moscow to de-escalate