The War in Ukraine

I'd never bothered to google it, and always just assumed Crimea was some sort of BLEAK MOUNTAIN PASSAGE on the Ukraine/Russian border (shame on me I KNOW).

The gag of it being a very pleasant looking SEASIDE ISLAND

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Crimea.jpg


I'd quite like TO GO :basil:
 
Well this looks like it’s going to go TITS UP in the next few days. Lukashenko saying Belarus could hold nuclear weapons if needed isn’t exactly HELPFUL either.
 
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaAAaaaA said:
Crimea is pretty much the size of WALES and/or BELGIUM! Who knew!

You learn so much when you bother to GOOGLE don't you :D
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this website is GREAT for things like this
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I have no idea how this is going to go, especially with Boris giving thinly veiled quotes hinting at WORLD WAR 3 this morning.

Bizarre that Macron seems to be the only person Putin will talk to, or at least how it's getting reported in the UK. Surely he has to win the French election again for the sake of diplomacy in Europe :D
Russia clearly having no interest in engaging with Boris or FIZZ WITH LIZ whatsoever.

Where we are currently, apparently. Macron seems to have delayed things and an urgent summit will be held -

Long so in spoilers, from The Guardian -
Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron have agreed to try to secure a ceasefire in the Donbas, in eastern Ukraine, and to put together an urgent summit at the highest level on the future of Ukraine, the Élysée Palace said in a statement.

The two leaders spoke on the phone for 105 minutes, and the outcome, broadly confirmed by the Kremlin, suggests Russia might be willing to step back from the brink of a full invasion of Ukraine to allow renewed diplomatic discussions.

The French foreign minister, Jean Yves Le Drian, will meet with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in the coming days to work on a possible summit at the highest level with Russia, Ukraine and allies.

The Kremlin suggested the meeting would be held in the Normandy format, meaning the participants will be Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany.

It is too early to say if Macron has pulled off a last-minute diplomatic coup, or if he has the full support for his initiative from Washington and London. So far, most of his moves have been coordinated with the White House.

It was also decided that a meeting of the trilateral contact group would be held “in the next few hours” in order to “obtain a commitment from all the stakeholders” to ceasefire on the line of contact.

The purpose of the leaders’ summit if the conditions are met, would be to define a new order of peace and security in Europe,” the French presidency said.

The Kremlin said Putin had expressed serious concern over the sharp deterioration of the situation on the line of contact in the Donbas.

The statement added:

Taking into account the acuteness of the current state of affairs, the presidents considered it expedient to intensify the search for solutions through diplomatic means through the foreign ministries and political advisers to the leaders of the countries participating in the Normandy format. These contacts are designed to help restore the ceasefire and ensure progress in resolving the conflict around Donbas.
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The Kremlin insisted Putin was not withdrawing any of his wider demands saying Putin “reiterated the need for the United States and Nato to take Russian demands for security guarantees seriously and respond to them concretely and to the point”.

The statement added that the escalation in the Donbas was blamed by Putin on the provocations of the Ukrainian security forces, and he complained of the supplying by the Nato countries of Ukraine of modern weapons and ammunition, “which is pushing Kiev towards a military solution to the so-called Donbas problem”.
 
I am trying to keep an open (AND POSITIVE) mindset in regards to how this is getting reported in the UK press, I'm very aware Boris is be keen to paint himself as a Winston Churchill: the sequel especially after the past few months.
 

U.S. intel shows Russian military officials given order to proceed with invasion of Ukraine​

"As of this moment, I'm convinced he's made the decision. We have reason to believe that," President Joe Biden said Friday, citing U.S. intelligence.
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www.nbcnews.com

Biden agrees ‘in principle’ to meet Putin if Russia does not invade Ukraine

The final decision hinges on the outcome of talks between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com
 
Johnson and Truss are trying to make it look like they've prevented/are preventing World War 3 when actually, everything they've done has been a fart in a hurricane. The UK are nothing in these matters now and the reception Truss was afforded proved that - the fact that she embarrassed herself was just a little bonus for us all.
 
The UK must be so low down the list in terms of influence right now. It's kinda sad and embarrassing. I'm not sure if Macron has any relevant input compared to Johnson and surely the German chancellor is way too new.

The only relevant leaders are Putin, Biden and Zelenskyy.
 
I tend to not read the news these days as none of it exactly improves my day so I have no real idea what’s going on here apart from Eurovision being ruined. I might have a skippy through this thread to keep ABREAST
 
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaAAaaaA said:
I'd never bothered to google it, and always just assumed Crimea was some sort of BLEAK MOUNTAIN PASSAGE on the Ukraine/Russian border (shame on me I KNOW).
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:D Same here actually. I assumed it was sort of LUMPY AND GREY. The sound of the name doesn't help: it sounds sort of disease-y. It actually looks very lovely and - whatever next? - they have SEAGULLS. Certainly nicer than Malta, although as we know, even Canvey Island and Thamesmead are nicer than Malta. You can see why someone might want to risk disqualification from an extremely important contest for spending a nice weekend there eating Taco Bell OR WHATEVER IT IS THEY HAVE IN CRIMEA
 
Ag said:
The UK must be so low down the list in terms of influence right now. It's kinda sad and embarrassing. I'm not sure if Macron has any relevant input compared to Johnson and surely the German chancellor is way too new.

The only relevant leaders are Putin, Biden and Zelenskyy.
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It’s a hard one to read - part of me suspects Putin may be leading Macron in a merry dance here, but if he does manage to bring about a ceasefire more power to him. It is interesting just how much more unequivocal the US and the UK are in contrast (that an invasion is probably going to happen). They may have intelligence, which they would share via Five Eyes, that other states aren’t privy too.

Agree that ultimately it comes down to US, Russia and Ukraine. Everybody else is just a bit player.
 
Alias #23 said:
:D Same here actually. I assumed it was sort of LUMPY AND GREY. The sound of the name doesn't help: it sounds sort of disease-y. It actually looks very lovely and - whatever next? - they have SEAGULLS. Certainly nicer than Malta, although as we know, even Canvey Island and Thamesmead are nicer than Malta. You can see why someone might want to risk disqualification from an extremely important contest for spending a nice weekend there eating Taco Bell OR WHATEVER IT IS THEY HAVE IN CRIMEA
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SO PLEASED you’ve joined moopy oh mysterious newcomer :disco:
 
It is obvious that neither the Ukrainians nor Russians knew how to take care (and to market) the Crimea so the best solution to this whole mess is to give it back to its original owners; namely the Greeks. 🇬🇷
 
RaspberrySwirl said:
It is obvious that neither the Ukrainians nor Russians knew how to take care (and to market) the Crimea so the best solution to this whole mess is to give it back to its original owners; namely the Greeks. 🇬🇷
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That depends on who it is intended to serve though. Crimea has always been a Soviet holiday destination. Maybe they’ve never needed to market it outside that region.
 
Ag said:
The UK must be so low down the list in terms of influence right now. It's kinda sad and embarrassing. I'm not sure if Macron has any relevant input compared to Johnson and surely the German chancellor is way too new.

The only relevant leaders are Putin, Biden and Zelenskyy.
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France and Germany have a fair degree of relevance - they were the ones who mediated the Minsk Accords to try and settle the War in Donbass.
 
Beverley said:
That depends on who it is intended to serve though. Crimea has always been a Soviet holiday destination. Maybe they’ve never needed to market it outside that region.
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Of course not, same for other holiday resorts like Sochi which most people in the West hadn’t heard about before the Olympics.
 
Putin is announcing Russia will recognise the breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent states.

So if they request military assistance, the Russian troops may start flooding in.
 
At least an invasion to Kyiv via Belarus is looking a little less likely than it was a few days ago.
 
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