Russian invasion of Ukraine | Fewer tweets, more discussion

The BBC reports:

"A shipment of 1,500 Strela anti-aircraft missiles and 100 MG3 machine guns have arrived in Ukraine from Germany, the German Press Agency cited Ukrainian government officials as saying.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Wednesday that further supplies of the Strela missiles were Ukraine-bound following delays in deliveries.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has seen Germany reverse its historical policy of not sending weapons to conflict zones.

"We are one of the biggest weapons suppliers in this situation, it doesn't make us proud but it's what we must do to help Ukraine," Reuters quoted Ms Baerbock as saying.

The Strela missiles had been in the inventories of the former Communist East German army."
 
The BBC reports:

"A shipment of 1,500 Strela anti-aircraft missiles and 100 MG3 machine guns have arrived in Ukraine from Germany, the German Press Agency cited Ukrainian government officials as saying.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Wednesday that further supplies of the Strela missiles were Ukraine-bound following delays in deliveries.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has seen Germany reverse its historical policy of not sending weapons to conflict zones.

"We are one of the biggest weapons suppliers in this situation, it doesn't make us proud but it's what we must do to help Ukraine," Reuters quoted Ms Baerbock as saying.

The Strela missiles had been in the inventories of the former Communist East German army."
Irony that they’re going to be sent back to the invading Russians with love
 
The BBC reports:

"Two private jets owned by a sanctioned Russian oligarch have been seized by the British government.

The jets belonging to billionaire oil tycoon Eugene Shvidler had been under investigation at Farnborough and Biggin Hill airports for three weeks.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said "Putin's friends" should not "enjoy luxuries" while innocent people die in Ukraine.

Shvidler was sanctioned over his business ties with Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich.

His net worth has been estimated at £1.2bn, the government says, while the seized jets are believed to be worth up to $60m (£45m).
 
First attacks to Lviv city centre. Guess those are the missiles spotted leaving the Black Sea an hour ago.

 
The Ukrainian refuges housed in the luxury resort near where I live have cleaned the beach of rubbish making the local government look like idiots that they could do it themselves.

Not sure why I'm writing this except maybe to say how great those guys from across the border are and how shit our politicians are.
 
A second set of attacks on Lviv in the last thirty minutes.

We have a friend who returned only yesterday with her toddler son, because being alone in Poland had taken its toll and Lviv appeared safe. Gonna be another huge of refugees should Russia make those in Lviv feel unsafe.

Glad our in-laws got their visas yesterday.
 


Russia is going to lose its mind over this, but they previously claimed that Biden stole the election so they really don't have any room to get mad.

That being said, it doesn't really help things.
 
Last edited:
As I thought, Putin has moved beyond the pale for NATO and the West. I don't think sanctions will be lifted for as long as he remains in power, be it weeks, months or years.
 
A second set of attacks on Lviv in the last thirty minutes.

We have a friend who returned only yesterday with her toddler son, because being alone in Poland had taken its toll and Lviv appeared safe. Gonna be another huge of refugees should Russia make those in Lviv feel unsafe.

Glad our in-laws got their visas yesterday.
“We only want to keep people in Donbas safe…”

[bombs civilians in a city 900+ miles away]
 
As I thought, Putin has moved beyond the pale for NATO and the West. I don't think sanctions will be lifted for as long as he remains in power, be it weeks, months or years.

I don't think they will be lifted either since the purpose of using sanctions has changed. Pre-invasion, they were used as a carrot and stick approach to modulating Putin's behavior. Post-invasion, they are being used to destabilize and destroy Putin's power until he is removed. Therefore, Putin attempting to withdraw from Ukraine wouldn't alleviate the sanctions.
 
I don't think they will be lifted either since the purpose of using sanctions has changed. Pre-invasion, they were used as a carrot and stick approach to modulating Putin's behavior. Post-invasion, they are being used to destabilize and destroy Putin's power until he is removed. Therefore, Putin attempting to withdraw from Ukraine wouldn't alleviate the sanctions.


What if Putin said he would take his troops out of Ukraine only if the sanctions were lifted. Do you think the West would agree to this?
 
If that includes Crimea then sure.
And they tidy up all their mess. Gonna need a lot of dustpans and brushes.

Similarly, how much would you need to be paid to go onto the TV and sell all your credibility to push this disinfo? It’s genuinely beyond the pale.

 


Russia is going to lose its mind over this, but they previously claimed that Biden stole the election so they really don't have any room to get mad.

That being said, it doesn't really help things.

The Ukrainian reaction is tepid too.

 
The Ukrainian reaction is tepid too.



Understandable from the Ukranian POV. It's just empty tough talk from Biden aimed at a domestic audience who fall for such things.

No change of policy to be seen.
 
Russians may very well use chemical weapons. They used them in Syria and the West did nada. NATO will not get involved. The risk of escalation to nuclear is too big
I read somewhere the western response could be against russian affiliated assets in other countries so it wasn't a direct NATO - Russia thing. Eg Wagner group getting wiped out by a cruise missile or two.