Russia Closes Kerch Straight; Rams Ukrainian Navy Tugboat
128 replies, posted
Putin's approval rating sky-rocketed from below 50% to 83% after he took Crimea, so I totally disagree with the idea that the Russians aren't majorly into this sort of thing.
If the war breaks out, it'll most likely be an Ukrainian-Russian war, with no other countries joining in, if the war cabinet of Ukraine decides the declaration of war is in their interests, since afaik NATO isn't obligated to support Ukraine, even more so that the offensive would be then on Ukraine's side (also probably the fact that good old Trumpy will listen to his bald master and won't even move a finger).. Let's just hope nothing like this will escalate.
Bloody Russians...
Putin can also just outright fabricate stuff and get away wth it. I wouldn't be surprised if he came up with that number to make people think he's doing a good job.
The approval rating statistics I'm talking about were conducted independently by a western media organisation though, from what I remember. I wouldn't trust a Russian poll either.
NATO can never support Ukraine because we've developed a strange version of the painfully-learned European adage 'never fight Russia in winter'. Our survival is intimately tied to their gas supply and several European countries would collapse within a few days without the gas from Gazprom. One has to wonder who thought that was a good idea.
People honestly support him, because not a single media dares to say something bad about him (their license can be revoked). The state filters and controls all the information and shows Putin as a good guy. Even if they fuck up badly, they always find someone else to blame.
By media I am talking about TV, newspapers, magazines and huge and popular websites.
So if you see anything by MailRU, Yandex or Gazprom-Media, those are main propaganda machines owned by the state (also your data isn't safe if you use their services).
Russians have always liked "strong" leaders. Putin flexing the country's military muscle is a big positive in the average Russian's eyes.
Have they ever had anyone that was NOT some kind of a strongman leader?
I mean, Gorbachev kinda.
Ukraine signed an agreement called the Budapest Memorandum with the United States, Russia, and the UK. In this agreement were the following:
1. The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine, in accordance with the principles of the CSCE Final Act, to respect the Independence and Sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine.
2. The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, reaffirm their obligation to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine, and that none of their weapons will ever be used against Ukraine except in selfdefense or otherwise in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.
3. The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine, in accordance with the principles of the CSCE Final Act, to refrain from economic coercion designed to subordinate to their own interest the exercise by Ukraine of the rights inherent in its sovereignty and thus to secure advantages of any kind.
4. The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, reaffirm their commitment to seek immediate United Nations Security Council action to provide assistance to Ukraine, as a nonnuclear-weapon State Party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, if Ukraine should become a victim of an act of aggression or an object of a threat of aggression in which nuclear weapons are used.
5. The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, reaffirm, in the case of the Ukraine, their commitment not to use nuclear weapons against any non-nuclear-weapon State Party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, except in the case of an attack on themselves, their territories or dependent territories, their armed forces, or their allies, by such a state in association or alliance with a nuclear weapon state.
6. The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will consult in the event a situation arises which raises a question concerning these commitments.
Following this signing, Ukraine denuclearized and gave up all of their nuclear stockpile. This was under the agreement that none of the following powers would commit acts of aggression towards the independent state of Ukraine with either conventional or nuclear weaponry, and should the sovereignty of Ukraine be threatened, they will come to her aid. The annexation of Crimea was under direct violation of this agreement, and it is the reason Russia was disbanded from G8 (now G7) which formally took place sometime this year. Russia has backpedaled hard trying to play with the wording of the agreement that it is specifically only about the use of nuclear weaponry and not necessarily conventional use of force, but every reasonable nation that isn't named Russia knows that's a bunch of horseshit.
By and large, the United States has agreed to assist in defending Ukraine as a non-NATO ally due to this memorandum. And yet since 2014 has not shown the balls to actually uphold their side.
Provisional government in 1917 maybe?
Could probably add Yelchin to this list, I hear he wasn't much.
What's the general russian opinion of Gorbachev anyway?
Both Ukraine + Libya are lessons to countries with nukes/nuclear ambitions to never give up their nukes tbh
Russians consider him a traitor.
Russian MPs say Mikhail Gorbachev should be prosecuted for treas..
What's worse is that both are examples from the East and West divide. Ukraine is an example that you cannot trust Russia, Libya is an example that you cannot trust NATO. Hell, you can't even trust France, who is generally less gung-ho about NATO, but in the case of Libya was spearheading efforts.
ukraine is more of an example of how the US failed than russia considering the point of the agreement was to protect from russia
I hope there will be a NATO armed response to any non-insigniaded "militants" who may start creeping over the borders this time.
Ukraine is to Russia what Czechoslovakia was to Nazi Germany, an opportunity to test the resolve and responsiveness of their opponents. Ukraine, EU and NATO need to slam the door on Russia's foot in the most dramatic way possible.
I was thinking more along the lines of "we promise we won't attack you" but yeah we failed on both fronts; We attacked Libya and failed to defend Ukraine.
Any updates?
The EU and NATO called for calm, that's about all that's happened afaik. I imagine we'll hear more when dawn rolls around there.
The tanker is moved out of the way so ships can once again pass, the UN is meeting in 6 hours to write an angry letter (but not too angry because Russia is invited too). President of Ukraine might use it to declare state of emergency, which would be bad I think but I don't quite get why, something about it being equivalent to country officially being at war with Russia.
Also I never knew before, but that entire sea is shallow as fuck, with a max depth of 14 meters.
This is probably one of the only other examples, and it's easy to see why this type of governance effort has yet to resurface. The Provisional Government pushed remarkably liberal legislation, but unfortunately it was wholly ineffective, and I'd like to think this has had a lasting legacy.The final nail in the coffin was the handling of the Kornilov affair.
Anyways, hopefully this is just posturing. Still, even if it is, how many times can it just be posturing?
We should cut russia from world wide web.
See all their shit crash within few weeks.
That would be fun to watch, cunts don't contribute in any way besides shitting on everything else.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpdlGAweVu4
how the fuck do you get something like this? i find it a bit hard to believe the Russian military doesn't know what encryption is.
Trying to cut Russia culturally from the rest of the western world is the last thing you want. Economically, sure.
Well if (what seems like) everyone praises poutine in russia, may as well isolate them and let them be like NK.
When everything starts crashing and russian millionaires start losing money - that's when they will backpedal on half of their shit.
We do it with other rogue states, I don’t know why Russia should get to play on easy mode. Cut em off.