Ukraine

[Hotrodder]

Pardon me for not knowing Cyprus. I have never lived there and never followed the news there. On the other hand I have lived in the UK for decades and follow the news closely. I have heard the term Plague Island used many times by many people with regard to Boris the Incompetent's clumsy handling of the Covid crisis.
If you want to pontificate about Cyprus on a thread about Ukraine and Russia's ambitions, knock yourself out.

[Pathca]

The same could be said about all the references to the UK on the thread as well,they are just as irrelevant as Cyprus
BTW the term ‘Plague Island’ isn’t really in common usage in the UK apart from some on social media

[Blaze]

Plus one Thank you J It’s becoming increasingly tiresome to see the insults hurled at the UK ,even in topics that bear little or no relevance

+ 2. And yet again reducing a serious topic about Ukraine to banalities.

[tagh]

+3

[Bayleaf]

Wasn't sure where to post this, but it is very relevant to the current situation.

https://bylinetimes.com/2022/03/02/trum ... FWBdlki4wc

Many of us saw this back then, many are still in denial. But it was all part of the master plan. (If it hadn't been for Covid, this invasion of Ukraine may have started earlier?) It cannot be denied, certain UK Politicians have been involved - mostly the ones now in charge. They are dragging their heels to "help" - because, ultimately, they answer to Putin. That's all the more frightening IMO.

[Blaze]

The article is interesting, but I find it hard to believe that Russia had any influence on the UK leaving the EU. Yes, it would certainly be in Russia's interests for the EU to break up, but given its aggressive activities in Ukraine, European countries are now more likely to stick together. As for UK politicians "dragging their heels to help", what should they be doing ? Sending in the army is not the answer !
Putin has always wanted to expand Russian influence and where better than in former Soviet countries.

In any case, the 2020 Trump military paper determined that Russia’s domestic future will “likely be marked by economic decline and dwindling populations”, which “will only make Russia more dangerous”.

Until the invasion of Ukraine, Russia was far from economic decline and dwindling populations ! America's interest is America and Trump's "America First" slogan means just that. Naturally any paper commissioned by the Trump administration is going to have some sort of bias - Trump has never been a fan of the EU with regard to trade and trading standards. He was delighted to see the UK leaving the EU because it represented an opportunity for US trade.

[Pathca]

I think that what happened quite a few years ago now has little relevance to the terrible humanitarian situation happening currently in the Ukraine

[Bayleaf]

It has everything to do with it. But those in denial don't want to see it - even though it gets more obvious everyday. That's why Tories keep finding excuses to block Ukranian refugees getting in to the UK to stay with their relatives - they don't want to upset Putin.

[Pathca]

That’s a conspiracy theory too far for me I’m afraid
And don’t accuse me of being in denial I live and work in the UK and get my knowledge from lived experience,not social media

[Blaze]

One possible solution would be for the oligarchs to unite but according to this article in the Financial Times, the government's influence is too strong even for them ....
https://www.ft.com/content/5cd2c951-6b2 ... 31f7a71b58

As Russia’s tanks rolled into Ukraine last week, Vladimir Putin gathered the country’s top businessmen in the Kremlin’s ornate Hall of the Order of St Catherine to discuss their response to the economic shocks that would follow ..........

The meeting showed how far Russia — and Putin himself — had come since his first meeting with the oligarchs a few months after he took office in 2000.

Then, the fledgling leader offered a deal to the wealthy businessmen: keep the gains they had made from privatising Russian state assets after the Soviet Union’s collapse in return for pledging fealty and staying out of politics.