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Post by ServerKing on Feb 28, 2022 13:10:42 GMT
I think it's a trap... "talks" might be Russia's way to capture their man, especially on territory of Belarus, part of their tag team. There might be "talks", whilst shelling takes place elsewhere in Ukraine. Remember that the Russians are feeling the pinch of losing financial support, even through travel, with assets seized and in the world of sport, they are as welcome as Kurt Zouma at an animal shelter right now. Mention of Thermobaric weapons and threats of "nuclear options" is not something done when you claim to seek peace. Russia has frequently taunted the West with frequent flights into NATO airspace, over France, Scotland in their Tupulev Bear bombers (these aging relics are from the 60s, IIRC), and have been escorted away. Such flights could become more frequent if other countries get sacked into the conflict. There is tension near Belarus and the Polish border, so everyone is on edge. Putin is cornered and desperate, some are quite prepared to go down fighting. News reports describe his regime as Kleptocratic, in that money is being stripped out of Russia and hidden away in offshore and international accounts, hence why real estate in central London and Camden (Highgate Village, Millionaires Row, etc) has come under scrutiny of late. We wait to see what happens next. I can't see it ending well...  It is very sad indeed. I don't see it happening during the talks rather if Ukraine is not compliant to Russia's demands. It would be very draconian to capture Ukrainian delegation but we can't predict anything at this stage. G7 countries, UK and EU all having meetings at various stages throughout the day... things have taken an odd twist, Abramovich from Chelsea is trying to broker a peace deal (I don't know if that's through his direct connections to Putin  ) 7 million people could be displaced, but EU say anyone arriving without documentation can enter for up to 3 years. UK under pressure to relax it's visa rules for incoming Ukrainians. More territory to the south of Ukraine may fall into Russian control, giving them a link to Crimea and the sea to bring in weapons etc. 🤔 |
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Post by southlondon413 on Feb 28, 2022 14:30:03 GMT
It is very sad indeed. I don't see it happening during the talks rather if Ukraine is not compliant to Russia's demands. It would be very draconian to capture Ukrainian delegation but we can't predict anything at this stage. G7 countries, UK and EU all having meetings at various stages throughout the day... things have taken an odd twist, Abramovich from Chelsea is trying to broker a peace deal (I don't know if that's through his direct connections to Putin ) 7 million people could be displaced, but EU say anyone arriving without documentation can enter for up to 3 years. UK under pressure to relax it's visa rules for incoming Ukrainians. More territory to the south of Ukraine may fall into Russian control, giving them a link to Crimea and the sea to bring in weapons etc. 🤔 I think the UK plan to allow existing Ukrainians with family here to come to the UK works for now, the latest government figure has this at approximately 100,000 eligible people which is a huge number considering the UK only took 16,000 in the Afghan crisis in August. It should be reviewed further down the line but the priority should be to let these people escape to safety in the EU and then focus on where they can be settled after. But it should be a request that the EU makes to the UK to settle more Ukrainians citizens. |
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Post by wirewiper on Feb 28, 2022 14:39:55 GMT
It is very sad indeed. I don't see it happening during the talks rather if Ukraine is not compliant to Russia's demands. It would be very draconian to capture Ukrainian delegation but we can't predict anything at this stage. G7 countries, UK and EU all having meetings at various stages throughout the day... things have taken an odd twist, Abramovich from Chelsea is trying to broker a peace deal (I don't know if that's through his direct connections to Putin  ) 7 million people could be displaced, but EU say anyone arriving without documentation can enter for up to 3 years. UK under pressure to relax it's visa rules for incoming Ukrainians. More territory to the south of Ukraine may fall into Russian control, giving them a link to Crimea and the sea to bring in weapons etc. 🤔 Don't be so sure about that. This is far from going Russia's way. Russia failed to take Kharkiv at the weekend due to the extraordinary resistance of the Ukranian people. Its economy is tanking due to sanctions and the collapse of the rouble as a world currency. Putin is facing increasing opposition from his own people, and his claim - that Ukraine is not a "real country" and its people crave a return to Russian rule - has been shown to be demonstrably false, even to Russians. The rest of the world is siding with Ukraine; even China - which Putin might have looked on as a reliable ally - has refused to show support for the invasion whilst not going as far as overtly to condemn it (they abstained instead). If the Russian military turns on him, he is done for. Word is that the EU is expecting an application from Ukraine to join, and are looking at how to fast-track the process. |
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Post by southlondon413 on Feb 28, 2022 15:01:49 GMT
G7 countries, UK and EU all having meetings at various stages throughout the day... things have taken an odd twist, Abramovich from Chelsea is trying to broker a peace deal (I don't know if that's through his direct connections to Putin ) 7 million people could be displaced, but EU say anyone arriving without documentation can enter for up to 3 years. UK under pressure to relax it's visa rules for incoming Ukrainians. More territory to the south of Ukraine may fall into Russian control, giving them a link to Crimea and the sea to bring in weapons etc. 🤔 Don't be so sure about that. This is far from going Russia's way. Russia failed to take Kharkiv at the weekend due to the extraordinary resistance of the Ukranian people. Its economy is tanking due to sanctions and the collapse of the rouble as a world currency. Putin is facing increasing opposition from his own people, and his claim - that Ukraine is not a "real country" and its people crave a return to Russian rule - has been shown to be demonstrably false, even to Russians. The rest of the world is siding with Ukraine; even China - which Putin might have looked on as a reliable ally - has refused to show support for the invasion whilst not going as far as overtly to condemn it (they abstained instead). If the Russian military turns on him, he is done for. Word is that the EU is expecting an application from Ukraine to join, and are looking at how to fast-track the process. If Ursula von der Leyen pushes ahead with the reported plan it will, imho, just fuel the fire for Putin. Whilst the EU is right to support Ukraine and assist tactically, like the UK is, I can’t help but feel this would just be like poking a bear in a cage. |
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Post by ServerKing on Feb 28, 2022 17:37:08 GMT
Don't be so sure about that. This is far from going Russia's way. Russia failed to take Kharkiv at the weekend due to the extraordinary resistance of the Ukranian people. Its economy is tanking due to sanctions and the collapse of the rouble as a world currency. Putin is facing increasing opposition from his own people, and his claim - that Ukraine is not a "real country" and its people crave a return to Russian rule - has been shown to be demonstrably false, even to Russians. The rest of the world is siding with Ukraine; even China - which Putin might have looked on as a reliable ally - has refused to show support for the invasion whilst not going as far as overtly to condemn it (they abstained instead). If the Russian military turns on him, he is done for. Word is that the EU is expecting an application from Ukraine to join, and are looking at how to fast-track the process. If Ursula von der Leyen pushes ahead with the reported plan it will, imho, just fuel the fire for Putin. Whilst the EU is right to support Ukraine and assist tactically, like the UK is, I can’t help but feel this would just be like poking a bear in a cage. The problem we have is the bear has broken the cage open and has escaped... there's a run on the banks after interest rates spiked to 20%, the rouble is worth less than 0.0009 dollars. Cluster bombs are now being used in the Eastern cities, and so far there's no ground assault yet from Russia. Even if the EU let Ukraine in, it won't deter Putin from his offensive. Putin is petrified of them joining NATO as he would get obliterated attacking a member state. At the moment Ukraine is a buffer zone between Russia and NATO. Russia is increasingly isolated, each bomb used is around £30k a pop, and they are running out of funds for the war effort. Putin is demanding that people don't take any more out of the banks. His generals may begin to distance themselves as the vice tightens, as sanctions and travel restrictions bite. Russia kicked out of World Cup qualification and competitions by UEFA. A lot of Russian citizens may turn on him soon. It may be like the final days of Gaddafi in terms of desperation. He is scared of COVID as well, judging by the social distancing table he sits at, with everyone else 30 metres away down the other end  |
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Post by richard on Mar 2, 2022 18:30:12 GMT
Breaking news in the last few minutes Roman Abramovich will be selling off Chelsea.
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Post by southlondon413 on Mar 2, 2022 19:14:16 GMT
Breaking news in the last few minutes Roman Abramovich will be selling off Chelsea. Rumour is he is also trying to offload a bunch of UK property as well. It goes without saying that Abramovich, along with other UK based Russian billionaires are scared. The sky is falling for them and it’s only a matter of time before BJ bows to pressure from the public, who want to see asset freezing on the billionaires, and speeds up the process to a few days. |
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Post by SILENCED on Mar 3, 2022 12:55:41 GMT
Our Mayor fails me yet again declaring London is well prepared for nuclear war!
Have we had :-
1 - Any advice for citizens.
2 - Places declared for citizens to go.
3 --What is there in place to stop a barrage of nuclear weapon affecting London.
The guys is a loon!
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Post by WH241 on Mar 3, 2022 13:02:42 GMT
Our Mayor fails me yet again declaring London is well prepared for nuclear war! Have we had :- 1 - Any advice for citizens. 2 - Places declared for citizens to go. 3 --What is there in place to stop a barrage of nuclear weapon affecting London. The guys is a loon! After the fuss over face masks with covid I dread to think how the the UK would react nuclear war! Let alone the anti this and anti that lot! |
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Post by M1104 on Mar 3, 2022 13:35:50 GMT
Our Mayor fails me yet again declaring London is well prepared for nuclear war! Have we had :- 1 - Any advice for citizens. Watch Only Fools and Horses series 1, episode 6: The Russians are Coming. lol Seriously London's not prepared for the regular extremities of winter let alone events leading into a nuclear winter. |
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Post by SILENCED on Mar 3, 2022 14:59:34 GMT
Our Mayor fails me yet again declaring London is well prepared for nuclear war! Have we had :- 1 - Any advice for citizens. 2 - Places declared for citizens to go. 3 --What is there in place to stop a barrage of nuclear weapon affecting London. The guys is a loon! After the fuss over face masks with covid I dread to think how the the UK would react nuclear war! Let alone the anti this and anti that lot! We wouldn't react, we would be dead. Traffic, housing and global warming sorted! |
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Post by vjaska on Mar 4, 2022 0:41:11 GMT
Probably won't affect anyone on here but Russian vodka has been pulled from our shelves along with Co-Op & Morrisons making the same decision.
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Post by southlondon413 on Mar 4, 2022 6:48:39 GMT
Probably won't affect anyone on here but Russian vodka has been pulled from our shelves along with Co-Op & Morrisons making the same decision. No doubt to be sold at the HQ staff shops at cost just to get ride of it. |
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Post by ronnie on Mar 4, 2022 9:23:14 GMT
Not a great question to ask (and I know controversial) but how long before it pops over to (ordinary) Russians not being seen in a positive light / not being allowed for say rent? No one gives a d*** about oligarchs anyway
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Post by southlondon413 on Mar 4, 2022 9:38:10 GMT
Not a great question to ask (and I know controversial) but how long before it pops over to (ordinary) Russians not being seen in a positive light / not being allowed for say rent? No one gives a d*** about oligarchs anyway You only have to look at how various Middle Eastern nationals were treated after 9/11 to see how this is gonna go. With the rise of Twitter and Facebook since then it will be too easy to target Russian backed or owned businesses and individuals. Just two days ago there was a Twitter campaign against Holland&Barrett because a Russian business man owns a shareholding through his investment firm. It will spread slowly to ordinary Russians and it’s unfortunate, they didn’t ask for this and I’m sure many didn’t want it. I don’t see Russians as the problem but their leaders and many will find it hard to distinguish between the two. |
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) 7 million people could be displaced, but EU say anyone arriving without documentation can enter for up to 3 years. UK under pressure to relax it's visa rules for incoming Ukrainians. 
) 7 million people could be displaced, but EU say anyone arriving without documentation can enter for up to 3 years. UK under pressure to relax it's visa rules for incoming Ukrainians. 
