Russia has invaded Ukraine

[Carth]

It becomes an ever escalating series of 'counter responses' after the first mention of nukes.

Russia goes on alert, other countries respond with the same, Russia ups the anti, other countries respond in the same way . . . suddenly there's lots of twitchy finger on fire buttons . . . and somewhere in the world there's a mad bugger that's smiling and has a glint in his oriental eyes

Originally Posted by Carth

It becomes an ever escalating series of 'counter responses' after the first mention of nukes.

Russia goes on alert, other countries respond with the same, Russia ups the anti, other countries respond in the same way . . . suddenly there's lots of twitchy finger on fire buttons . . . and somewhere in the world there's a mad bugger that's smiling and has a glint in his oriental eyes

The world has changed a lot since the 60s/70s/80s - economies are much more interconnected (which is why the economic sanctions against Russia will be effective).

Nobody in China is going to start anything, as they depend on selling us stuff to keep their economy going.

[Carth]

Stop destroying my fantasy with fact, it's not fair

[denphone]

A chilling piece in the FT about Putin.

https://www.ft.com/content/c039db89-...f-b41a511496f1

[Jaymoss]

Originally Posted by denphone

A chilling piece in the FT about Putin.

https://www.ft.com/content/c039db89-...f-b41a511496f1

Love this bit "Putin left the KGB and quickly rose up the ranks as a trusted aide to Russia’s two most important democratic leaders" Democratic my arse

It seems that Putin expected Ukraine to surrender quickly and the West's response to be soft and disunited. Instead, Ukraine is giving Russia a lot more problems, costing Russia a lot more and the West has been more united than it has for a long, long time. The sanctions seem to be worse than he thought we could deliver and Germany is going to boost it's armed forces and spend 2% of GDP. NATO is about to get much stronger.

He's backed himself into a corner here. If he fails to get a quick victory he thought he would then surely his position with the Kremlin is in danger and the nuclear threat comes from panic.

He can order it, didn’t mean it will happen…

BREAKING: DEFCON Warning System changes their alert status rising from 4 to 3, meaning state of Air Force readiness is increased above normal.

[RichardCoulter]

Originally Posted by Mick

BREAKING: DEFCON Warning System changes their alert status rising from 4 to 3, meaning state of Air Force readiness is increased above normal.

Oh bugger, Putins actions are obviously being taken seriously then.

[Jaymoss]

Putin has put his nuke guys on high alert. Scary times

https://www.theguardian.com/world/li...ft-system-live

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-europe-60542877

Anxiety kicking in a little I have to admit

[RichardCoulter]

YouTube have pulled RT from their service. Unconfirmed reports that the EU have banned it too.

https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/rus...5xRh7kjDaPA0QJ

The European Union for the first time will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons, in a show of support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Sunday.

The EU also will extend to Belarus its sanctions on Russia, ban the entry of Russian planes into EU airspace and ban from the 27-country bloc Russian state-owned media outlets Russia Today and Sputnik, as well as their subsidiaries.

Ms. von der Leyen said the EU's decision to finance arms purchases was “a watershed moment.” The EU traces its roots to post-World War II peace efforts and began as an economic alliance.

In closing its airspace, the EU banned not only commercial airliners but any plane owned, registered or controlled by Russians, Ms. von der Leyen said.

“Our airspace will be closed to every Russian plane -- and that includes the private jets of oligarchs,” Ms. von der Leyen said.

In announcing sanctions on Belarus, Ms. Von der Leyen said that its leader, Aleksander Lukashenko, “is complicit in this vicious attack against Ukraine” and so would face bans on exports of products including mineral fuels, tobacco, wood, cement, iron and steel. Export restrictions already imposed on Russia will also be extended to Belarus, she said.

Originally Posted by RichardCoulter

If a nuclear bomb were to be dropped on the Ukraine, are any other countries likely to retaliate by dropping one on Russia?

Unknown, but unless he picks somewhere his troops are not, his generals a not likely to be very happy.
Every country around him will almost certainly start to prepare for war, as hes obvously not to be trusted to leave them alone.
Also, lets not forget Russia has a large border with China, who are not likely to be too happy to see an unhinged neighbour using nukes.

EU ban all Russian Jets, including private jets belonging to oligarchs from entering, taking off, flying over and landing anywhere within the EU. They have also banned Russia Today, Sputnik from broadcasting in their territories.

[Carth]

Originally Posted by Carth

It becomes an ever escalating series of 'counter responses' after the first mention of nukes.

Russia goes on alert, other countries respond with the same, Russia ups the anti, other countries respond in the same way . . . suddenly there's lots of twitchy finger on fire buttons . . . and somewhere in the world there's a mad bugger that's smiling and has a glint in his oriental eyes

Originally Posted by Mick

BREAKING: DEFCON Warning System changes their alert status rising from 4 to 3, meaning state of Air Force readiness is increased above normal.

Told ya