wwkirk
Divine
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
I heard some talking head mention something I hadn't considered. Putin's still relatively young at 70 but isn't going to stay that way. Figure he's got at least 10 more years. If he wants to reconstruct the USSR or make the Russian Federation into a superpower what structure do you think he will create that realistically has a chance to survive his inevitable death? Who succeeds him?
Russians taking to the streets to protest? Eh? Really? Wait until they get mired down in Ukraine. He's not Stalin and this isn't 1945.
‘Russia is against war’: Thousands rally in rare show of dissent
‘Russia is against war’: Thousands rally in rare show of dissent
Hours after Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine, Russians across the country took to the streets to slam his actions.
Police officers detain demonstrators during an anti-war protest, after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised a 'military operation' in eastern Ukraine, in Saint Petersburg, Russia [Anton Vaganov/Reuters]
By Niko Vorobyov
Published On 24 Feb 202224 Feb 2022
View attachment upload_2022-2-25_6-23-17.webp
Note: All of the protesters interviewed for this article refused to give their names out of fear for their safety.
St Petersburg, Russia – “No to war!” chanted the crowd of mostly young Russians gathered on Nevsky Prospekt, the main street in St Petersburg, on Thursday night.
In the morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered what he called a “military operation” into Ukraine after months of tensions with Kyiv and its Western allies.
In a speech before the attacks began, Putin claimed he had been left with “no other option” but to invade Ukraine because “the war machine is moving and … coming close to our borders”, referring to NATO.
Russian forces attacked far beyond the conflict-ridden zones of eastern Ukraine, where Moscow-backed separatists run areas recently recognised by the Kremlin as independent, with air attacks hitting apartment blocks in Kharkiv and beyond.
By night, as Ukrainians fled to escape their country, thousands in Russia, where protests are tightly restricted, rallied in solidarity.
While East-West frictions grew over Russia’s military build-up at the Ukrainian border these past few months, dissent in the world’s largest nation was limited to a handful of one-person pickets.
Few here believed the standoff would actually lead to war.
But after Putin opened what has been described as one of Europe’s “darkest chapters” since the Second World War, dissent has sharply risen.
“I have no words, it’s just disgusting,” a young woman at the St Petersburg rally told Al Jazeera. “What is there to say? We feel powerlessness, anguish.”
‘No to war’ reads this protester’s mask [Niko Vorobyov/Al Jazeera]
She was among thousands of Russians across several cities who took to the streets to express their outrage; hundreds were arrested.
Earlier on Thursday, dozens of journalists, reporters and media figures, mainly from independent outlets as well as the BBC, signed a petition condemning Russia’s operation in Ukraine.
And more than a hundred municipal deputies from Moscow, St Petersburg, Samara, Ryazan and other cities signed an open letter to the citizens of Russia, urging them not to take part or stay silent.
“We, the deputies elected by the people, unreservedly condemn the attack of the Russian army on Ukraine,” the letter read. “This is an unparalleled atrocity for which there is and cannot be justification.”
In St Petersburg, protesters started gathering outside the historic Gostiny Dvor shopping arcade at about 7pm local time (16:00 GMT).
The atmosphere was tense, with a few people crying against the backdrop of a heavy police presence.
One woman held up a bouquet of balloons in the colours of the Ukrainian flag.
The crowds seemed to have little confidence their rare protests would change anything, but the rallies were cathartic for some.
“At least I’m not ashamed to be here,” one man said. “I was so ashamed this morning.”
“Hope? The only hope is us. While we are here there is still hope,” added a more optimistic attendee.
Riot police surrounded the crowds in St Petersburg and made several arrests [Niko Vorobyov/Al Jazeera]
When the rally started, police were already in position, with the OMON riot squad fully kitted out with body armour, helmets and batons, standing by buses brought to take demonstrators away.
But there was no effort to cordon off the area.
Instead, a policeman with a loudspeaker walked around, warning that this was an unauthorised demonstration and that anyone attending risked arrest and prosecution.
“Ukraine is not our enemy!” the crowd chanted and clapped.
“Russia is against war!”
In a surreal scene, loud jazz music from the shopping centre could occasionally be heard between the chants and shouts.
It was difficult to gauge the rally’s size, but there were at least several hundred people.
The crowd ebbed back and forth as teams of riot police periodically lunged forward and grabbed protesters, seemingly at random, dragging them into buses to be taken away.
Applause broke out as one of their own was led away, accompanied by shouts of “Shame!” and “One for all, and all for one!”
“My friend was snatched away for nothing, he was literally just standing there,” said one man. “At least it’s warmer on the bus,” he joked.
Despite the periodic arrests, the crowds grew larger as the evening went on.
At about 9pm (18:00 GMT), this reporter witnessed some people being carried away by their arms and legs. Although police were carrying batons, this reporter did not see them being used.
“Police with the people, don’t serve the monster!” someone shouted.
“I wonder what those cosmonauts are thinking,” one girl said to herself, referring to the riot squad’s helmets.
“Why aren’t you with us? If we go to war, it’s you who’ll have to fight and die,” a woman asked the riot officers.
By 10pm (19:00 GMT), the crowd thinned amid repeated pressure from police, although a large group crossed an underpass and reassembled on the other side of the street.
“Putin is a killer! Putin is the shame of Russia!” they shouted. “Ukraine! Ukraine!”
“How long this war will go on is a lottery,” one protester grumbled. “No one can predict what this man will do next.”
A poster depicts Putin as Hitler with the word Anschluss, referring to the annexation of Austria into Germany before World War II [Niko Vorobyov/Al Jazeera]
Source: Al Jazeera
Russians taking to the streets to protest? Eh? Really? Wait until they get mired down in Ukraine. He's not Stalin and this isn't 1945.
‘Russia is against war’: Thousands rally in rare show of dissent
‘Russia is against war’: Thousands rally in rare show of dissent
Hours after Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine, Russians across the country took to the streets to slam his actions.
Police officers detain demonstrators during an anti-war protest, after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised a 'military operation' in eastern Ukraine, in Saint Petersburg, Russia [Anton Vaganov/Reuters]
By Niko Vorobyov
Published On 24 Feb 202224 Feb 2022
View attachment upload_2022-2-25_6-23-17.webp
Note: All of the protesters interviewed for this article refused to give their names out of fear for their safety.
St Petersburg, Russia – “No to war!” chanted the crowd of mostly young Russians gathered on Nevsky Prospekt, the main street in St Petersburg, on Thursday night.
In the morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered what he called a “military operation” into Ukraine after months of tensions with Kyiv and its Western allies.
In a speech before the attacks began, Putin claimed he had been left with “no other option” but to invade Ukraine because “the war machine is moving and … coming close to our borders”, referring to NATO.
Russian forces attacked far beyond the conflict-ridden zones of eastern Ukraine, where Moscow-backed separatists run areas recently recognised by the Kremlin as independent, with air attacks hitting apartment blocks in Kharkiv and beyond.
By night, as Ukrainians fled to escape their country, thousands in Russia, where protests are tightly restricted, rallied in solidarity.
While East-West frictions grew over Russia’s military build-up at the Ukrainian border these past few months, dissent in the world’s largest nation was limited to a handful of one-person pickets.
Few here believed the standoff would actually lead to war.
But after Putin opened what has been described as one of Europe’s “darkest chapters” since the Second World War, dissent has sharply risen.
“I have no words, it’s just disgusting,” a young woman at the St Petersburg rally told Al Jazeera. “What is there to say? We feel powerlessness, anguish.”
She was among thousands of Russians across several cities who took to the streets to express their outrage; hundreds were arrested.
Earlier on Thursday, dozens of journalists, reporters and media figures, mainly from independent outlets as well as the BBC, signed a petition condemning Russia’s operation in Ukraine.
And more than a hundred municipal deputies from Moscow, St Petersburg, Samara, Ryazan and other cities signed an open letter to the citizens of Russia, urging them not to take part or stay silent.
“We, the deputies elected by the people, unreservedly condemn the attack of the Russian army on Ukraine,” the letter read. “This is an unparalleled atrocity for which there is and cannot be justification.”
In St Petersburg, protesters started gathering outside the historic Gostiny Dvor shopping arcade at about 7pm local time (16:00 GMT).
The atmosphere was tense, with a few people crying against the backdrop of a heavy police presence.
One woman held up a bouquet of balloons in the colours of the Ukrainian flag.
The crowds seemed to have little confidence their rare protests would change anything, but the rallies were cathartic for some.
“At least I’m not ashamed to be here,” one man said. “I was so ashamed this morning.”
“Hope? The only hope is us. While we are here there is still hope,” added a more optimistic attendee.
When the rally started, police were already in position, with the OMON riot squad fully kitted out with body armour, helmets and batons, standing by buses brought to take demonstrators away.
But there was no effort to cordon off the area.
Instead, a policeman with a loudspeaker walked around, warning that this was an unauthorised demonstration and that anyone attending risked arrest and prosecution.
“Ukraine is not our enemy!” the crowd chanted and clapped.
“Russia is against war!”
In a surreal scene, loud jazz music from the shopping centre could occasionally be heard between the chants and shouts.
It was difficult to gauge the rally’s size, but there were at least several hundred people.
The crowd ebbed back and forth as teams of riot police periodically lunged forward and grabbed protesters, seemingly at random, dragging them into buses to be taken away.
Applause broke out as one of their own was led away, accompanied by shouts of “Shame!” and “One for all, and all for one!”
“My friend was snatched away for nothing, he was literally just standing there,” said one man. “At least it’s warmer on the bus,” he joked.
Despite the periodic arrests, the crowds grew larger as the evening went on.
At about 9pm (18:00 GMT), this reporter witnessed some people being carried away by their arms and legs. Although police were carrying batons, this reporter did not see them being used.
“Police with the people, don’t serve the monster!” someone shouted.
“I wonder what those cosmonauts are thinking,” one girl said to herself, referring to the riot squad’s helmets.
“Why aren’t you with us? If we go to war, it’s you who’ll have to fight and die,” a woman asked the riot officers.
By 10pm (19:00 GMT), the crowd thinned amid repeated pressure from police, although a large group crossed an underpass and reassembled on the other side of the street.
“Putin is a killer! Putin is the shame of Russia!” they shouted. “Ukraine! Ukraine!”
“How long this war will go on is a lottery,” one protester grumbled. “No one can predict what this man will do next.”
Source: Al Jazeera
Dejan Corovic
As above, so bellow
He's just an old guy who lives in the past.
Russia could had quite happily became a true democracy that integrated itself into the economy of the rest of the world. That would work wanders for prosperity of Russian people. Would world than surround Russia with planes and nukes? Hell no. I remember few years back when even Russia membership in NATO was openly discussed. But mobsters like Putin want their turf closed just for themselves and his pick of oligarchs.
If Putin was truly democratically elected ( without fixing elections ) he wouldn't need to fear outside world etc.
michael59
Celestial
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
Ahhh. I bet Putin can't even play the piano with his **** either. He's just jealous.
Who is Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky?
Volodymyr Zelensky playing piano with dick for five minutes
Who is Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky?
Volodymyr Zelensky playing piano with dick for five minutes
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
Dejan Corovic
As above, so bellow
Rick Hunter
Celestial
Ok, so Russia didn't learn their lesson with Afghanistan and now they want to take over a more modern country that still has alot of their military hardware? I'm sure Russia will have little trouble invading them and installing a pro-Moscow government. That's the easy part. The hard part is maintaining bona fide control over it. If a majority of the people don't want them there, then Russia is going to be continuously pouring troops and resources into it just to maintain presence. And of course, the CIA and other players are going to be doing plenty of mischief behind the scenes. The Russian troops on the ground are going to figure this out just like ours did in the last years of Vietnam, they aren't going to risk life and limb for Putin's vanity conquest.
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
I only watched a minute or so. What were you expecting at the end, bongos with his balls ?
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
Are largely conscripts too, to continue to Vietnam analogy - plus this lacks the racial component. I don't know how they would pull a Katyn forest and get away with it today. Much too visible.
I doubt the combination of sanctions and protest at home will do much immediately. My guess is that the traditional Russian forces will withdraw sooner than later and leave the suppression to the 'Russian loyalists' they install with covert help from special forces. The only way Putin will be affected is if those who support him see their financial future or retention of privileges/power compromised. Everything has a tipping point. Considering the way he publicly rebuked Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin that's got to be a mighty short list.
michael59
Celestial
Kchoo
At Peace.
nivek
As Above So Below
How Ukraine's defiant forces are holding back Putin with $5m missile drones from Turkey, UK's 2,000 next-gen tank-destroying rockets and Javelins from the US (as well as ammunition for 1950s artillery from the Czechs!)
Troops are desperately trying to repel Putin's military onslaught, with the national guard taking up defensive positions across Kyiv and residents urged to make Molotov cocktails in a battle for control of the capital. Yesterday Ukrainian soldiers used shoulder launched guided missiles to take out Russian tanks and helicopters, after being sent thousands of 'self-defence' weapons by a number of countries in the West. The UK has shipped 2,000 of the next generation light anti-tank (NLAW) weapons to Ukraine, while the US last month sent a plane loaded with 300 Javelin missiles worth some $50million to Kyiv. Other countries, including Turkey, the Czech Republic and Estonia have also followed suit, but nations including Hungary, Germany and Belgium ruled out supplying weapons to counter Putin. From cutting edge drones to artillery that was first designed in the 1950s, MailOnline looks at what military aid has been sent to help Ukraine, and which Western nation it has come from.
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Troops are desperately trying to repel Putin's military onslaught, with the national guard taking up defensive positions across Kyiv and residents urged to make Molotov cocktails in a battle for control of the capital. Yesterday Ukrainian soldiers used shoulder launched guided missiles to take out Russian tanks and helicopters, after being sent thousands of 'self-defence' weapons by a number of countries in the West. The UK has shipped 2,000 of the next generation light anti-tank (NLAW) weapons to Ukraine, while the US last month sent a plane loaded with 300 Javelin missiles worth some $50million to Kyiv. Other countries, including Turkey, the Czech Republic and Estonia have also followed suit, but nations including Hungary, Germany and Belgium ruled out supplying weapons to counter Putin. From cutting edge drones to artillery that was first designed in the 1950s, MailOnline looks at what military aid has been sent to help Ukraine, and which Western nation it has come from.
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AlienView
Noble
Donald Trump praises ‘pretty smart’ Vladimir Putin for Russia’s Ukraine invasion
“I mean, he’s taking over a country for $2 worth of sanctions. I’d say that’s pretty smart.”
That was former President Donald Trump referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Hours before the assault on Ukraine began, video footage of Trump praising Putin, taken during a fundraiser at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, went viral. A tweet of the 31-second video drew almost 555,000 views and was shared a couple thousand times by Thursday morning — even as world leaders were widely condemning Russia’s attack on Ukraine."
Donald Trump praises 'pretty smart' Vladimir Putin for Russia's Ukraine invasion
NEW: Donald Trump AGAIN repeatedly praised Vladimir Putin from a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser tonight — attended by....
WELCOME TO THE "NEW WORLD ORDER" ?!?!?!
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