Russian Invasion of Ukraine | A War in Europe After Hours

[Sad Professor]

British nationals advised to leave Ukraine now!

British nationals in Ukraine should leave the country now - "while commercial means are available", the Foreign Office has said.

Earlier, President Joe Biden told US citizens to leave amid fears of a Russian invasion.

Russia has repeatedly denied any plans to invade Ukraine despite massing more than 100,000 troops near the border.

The announcement after Boris Johnson told world leaders, in a virtual call, he feared for the security of Europe.

During the talks, Mr Johnson called for allies to have a "heavy package of economic sanctions ready to go" should Russia make the "devastating and destructive decision" to invade Ukraine, Downing Street said.

The leaders agreed that if Russian President Vladimir Putin deescalated "there was another way forward" and they pledged to redouble diplomatic efforts in the coming days, Downing Street said.

Seems like it was just a matter of time given the build-up of troops on the border but it is deeply worrying

 

[Dylan]

British diplomacy going well.

 https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1492203576260759561

When you mobilise around two-thirds of an army the size of Russia's then that usually results in one thing despite all the diplomatic rhetoric.

There could be 50,000 lives lost in a push on Kyiv. The Chinese have an old saying that negotiating with Russia is like negotiating with a bear.

 

[David76]

 https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1492218169733394432

When you mobilise around two-thirds of an army the size of Russia's then that usually results in one thing despite all the diplomatic rhetoric.

Something definitely seems to be happening, you don't send that many troops to another country's border just as an exercise.

I sincerely hope that it doesn't come down to armed conflict. Hopefully, it's all rhetoric from Russia to get better reassurances from NATO and Ukraine to ease their military and political concerns.

If they do attack, I hope Ukraine give them such a bloody nose that they think twice about taking things further and come to an agreement where they back down and Putin doesn't lose face, or else he will never back down.

It was a number of years ago, so might not be still accurate but I read that the Russian army was large and initially well kitted out on the surface but years of sanctions have affected their economy and once their first wave of attacks ended (which would be fierce) they would struggle with a protracted down out conflict.

If they do go in and the above is still true they will go in hard, they will have to.

I hope it doesn't come to that.

 

[Dylan]

Boris Johnson tonight - Russia's plan for invading Ukraine is in motion and Russia is "planning the biggest war in Europe since 1945"

 

[Bandit]

Russian military vehicles have entered Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.

Honestly, did not think Putin would actually invade.

Unfortunately it looks like the west will have to stop him once and for all, hopefully a short sharp shock from the west will end it rather than an endless war

 

[Franco Pinion]

Russia has launched an invasion on Ukraine during the night.

• Russian forces have launched a major military assault on Ukraine, with reports of missile strikes and explosions in major cities
• Russian President Vladimir Putin warns that Moscow's response will be "instant" if anyone tries to take on Russia
• He urges Ukrainian soldiers in eastern Ukraine to lay down weapons and return to their homes
• Ukraine's foreign minister accuses Russia of starting a full-scale war, and urges the UN "to do everything possible" to stop it

Who can say now where all this will end, but it's no gamble to say it won't be anywhere good.

 

[Son Of Jack]

What happens next? War? Nuclear bombs?

 

[Deleted member 165]

So we once again have a major war breaking out and so I suppose we can expect this to snowball and affect the rest of the world in various ways. They already saying we in for a huge fuel price increase and as we know this affects all the prices of other goods.

So how do you see this affecting you?

The Russia-Ukraine War: Latest News

Full coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, from The Wall Street Journal

www.wsj.com

 

[Sad Professor]

The "NATO Weapons on the doorstep" narrative that Russia and Putin is pushing is a canard - they already are in multiple other places, so if the concern is having NATO weapons "on the doorstep" will they be invading Poland next week?

It's Empire building by an egomaniac, plain and simple.

The only reason that Ukraine wanted to join NATO was an attempt to protect themselves from Russia doing exactly that they've just done.

It's a bit chicken and egg but if the threat from annexation by Russia didn't exist, Ukraine wouldn't have been pushing so hard for NATO membership, in my opinion.

 

[Tom]

It's as much a canard as "Russia on the doorstep" that America was concerned about in 1962. So, while it won't serve as an bullet proof excuse for Russia's actions against the Ukraine, it's a legitimate concern and too simplistic to write off as a mere "canard". In fact, it's the only legit thing they've had to say on the matter.

As for Putin's expansionist desires, no argument from me on that. He's always been a threatening force in that regard, so none of this should come as an actual surprise really.

As to your last sentence, this is always the way when two states co-exist in an uneasy sphere and Ukrainian and Russian tensions go back a long, long, way. They've never had a particularly cosy relationship