Russia-Ukraine war and related tensions Megathread

[Yeahsayyeah]

Nice job, Putin.

https://twitter.com/EuropeElects/status/1498035056174149640

Obviously this must mean that even the Russian oriented parts of Ukraine are backing Zelensky.

Well, he was the "Eastern candidate" in his election, to begin with.

[Yeahsayyeah]

Russia is now being distanced by even some of its strongest allies in Latin America per NYT report from a few minutes back.

Lots more but limited in quoting ability.

(Click on link below for full article)

"Some of Putin’s staunchest allies in Latin America are distancing themselves from Russia.

Russia’s Latin American allies have distanced themselves from President Vladimir V. Putin’s war in Ukraine, underscoring how even his staunchest diplomatic supporters appear concerned about the consequences of the cataclysmic invasion of a neighbor.

The governments of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela have all blamed the United States and NATO for stoking tensions in Ukraine and disregarding Russia’s security interests. But none has yet voiced direct support for Russia’s incursion.

Cuba, Bolivia and Venezuela, in official statements, have called for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis. Bolivia’s former president, Evo Morales, who continues to play an important role in his country’s pro-Russian government, tweeted after the fighting began last Thursday, “War is never the solution.”

Similarly cautious diplomatic stances were taken by President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela and his Nicaraguan counterpart, Daniel Ortega, both of whom spoke to Mr. Putin by telephone in the days before the invasion.

....

President Jair Bolsonaro visited Moscow just days before the invasion, and said Brazil stood in “solidarity” with Russia, though he didn’t clarify what that meant.

But in a news conference on Sunday, Mr. Bolsonaro said Brazil must remain neutral in the conflict because of the potential economic fallout, including Brazil’s dependence on Russia for fertilizers.

..."





https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/03/01/world/ukraine-russia-war/some-of-putins-staunchest-allies-in-latin-america-are-distancing-themselves-from-russia

But “muh Latin American perspective”

Well, if I was considered  a rogue state by a major power near me, I wouldn't be propagandize "major powers invading smaller states is legitimate and good" talking points, too. ;-)

[Yeahsayyeah]

We could just start acting like the Patriarch of the “Russian” Orthodox Church is in Kyiv, not Moscow.

This would clearly be more consistent with the "Patriarch of all the Rus" title. ;-)

[Yeahsayyeah]

On the other hand, non-German people probably underestimate the hilariously bad state of the equipment, overburocratisation and ability of burning money for nothing of the German armed forces. So, at least for the domestic consumption of non-experts, so people like me, "we have nothing that is functioning and of value we can give Ukraine" isn't unbelievable.

[Yeahsayyeah]

Yes, this would not have happened if Trump was president. Ukraine would be totally abandoned by the US by now.

[Yeahsayyeah]

Swiss Germans are the German right wing on steroids. What do you expect?

[Yeahsayyeah]

German parliament passes a resolution in favour of supplying Ukraine with "heavy weapons". The focus of the resolution lies on replenishing Eastern European NATO armies with German arms if these countries are supplying Ukraine with heavy weapons of Soviet or Russian production, but the resolution also does not exclude direct exports of heavy weapons of German production to Ukraine.

Resolution was supported by SPD, CDU/CSU, Greens, and FDP.
AfD and Left opposed it.
586 voted in favour, 100 against, with seven abstentions.


https://twitter.com/business/status/1519603855838916614

Horseshoe theory in action!

AfD really likes Putin. Left likes Putin less, but is pacifist and hates America (insert whataboutism about Iraq war).

This is mirrored around the western world, really. The far right loves Putin and "strong men" leaders in general, while the far left hates the US/NATO.

The far right are really a bunch of fascists and I wouldn't expect anything better from them, but it really frustrates me how misguided many on the far left are. They should ing know better at this point. Even here in Denmark, our main far left party keeps insisting that NATO is bad, they just cannot admit that they have been wrong on this.

The most frustrating part is this "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" line of thought that is showing, there. That US imperialism is bad, but Russian imperialism is worse at the moment would be a totally reasonable position.

[Yeahsayyeah]

It's always a bit strange, when people this after every bit of what was left of their reputation has been destroyed.

[Yeahsayyeah]

And if you know the status of gay rights in Russia, then Ukraine can't really be worse.

[Yeahsayyeah]

The EU's rush to the East clearly has created some long lasting structural problems, where authoritarian regimes such as Hungary are allowed to be full blown members, while more democratic countries such as Ukraine are likely a long time away from being granted access.

I'm assuming this is likely a result of Deutsche financial interests in the early days after the collapse of the Soviet bloc?

Well, at the time of the admission in 1999, both Hungary and Poland where led by post-communist social democrats and there wasn't really a sense that they could switch to this kind of nationalist authoritarianism.

[Yeahsayyeah]

Bloomberg:  "UK Winter Is More Likely to Be Colder Than Normal"

There is a 25% chance the season will be cold, 60% chance of it being near average and 15% it will be mild, according to the Met Office’s three-month outlook. “The likelihood of a colder three-month period overall is slightly greater than normal,” according to the outlook.

Ok, there is a slightly higher chance that it could be colder than average than that it will be warmer than average, but the most likely scenario is that it will be about average. So the right headline would have bin "UK Winter most likely about average".

[Yeahsayyeah]

A good metaphorical opposite of "Blitzkrieg" in German could be "Schneckenkrieg" - "snail war". Hopefully, I will get royalties for coining this term, now. ;-)

[Yeahsayyeah]

The "human wave attacks" are obviously a tactic to save salaries. Now it all makes sense.

[Yeahsayyeah]

"wilderness" or "abandoned area" would probably be a better translation instead of "desert".

[Yeahsayyeah]

Ok, Phil citing the 3rd stanza of Becher's national anthem for the German Democratic Republic to stress the importance of the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine clearly wasn't on my bingo card. Well done!

[Yeahsayyeah]

Maybe he was Prigozhin himself.