Impressive that Sweden can develop a fighter that is competitive with those produced by the big boys. And it's not as though they seem to sell many to foreign customers either. Wonder how it works?
It works by being smart and not designing any of the major subsystems themselves. The engine is American and the radar is a development of the Blue Vixen from the Sea Harrier F/A-2. This radar can trace its lineage back to the AIRPASS from the EE Lightning via the Seaspray in the Lynx and Blue Fox in the original Sea Harrier. Gripen E/F is supposed to be getting a new British/Italian AESA radar from Selex that will probably never exist.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Did Putin determine the EU's all-or-nothing approach to the negotiations? If France had approached it differently, then we would all be in a different place now.
Of all the excuses for the Brexit clusterfuck, "the French made us do it" has to be one of the lamest.
There will be a lamer one along any minute/hour/day. Any scapegoat in a storm.
Surely "The Russians made us do it" is the mother of them all, it just comes from the losing side.
Pinch of salt, obviously, but the Americans have suggested that the numbers are not far off.
Only 4 drones seems exceptionally low, unless Russia aren't using much in the way of drones in order to lose them?
Which given that much of their equipment seems to be Soviet era hand-me-downs that seems entirely possible?
Interesting. Maybe drones are too much of a 21st century invention for the Russian military to have taken an interest in, as you say.
There's a darkly amusing twist of fate that while Putin seems to have launched this war because he regrets the fall of the Soviet Union . . . that while the Soviet Union fell 89-91 what we're witnessing today is possibly the final destruction of the Soviet military.
Putin's kleptocracy seems to have meant that the hardware that the Soviets recognised as being unable to keep pace with Reagan's Star Wars ambitions in the eighties is all that Russia still has today, and now its being smashed to pieces.
As others have said, if Russia don't have the facilities to create new replacement hardware (and the fact they're not even using new hardware indicates heavily that they don't) then they're going to be royally screwed soon.
Even if the Russians are taking more casualties and losses than the Ukrainians, the Russian military is four times the size of the Ukranian military so they will still likely take Kyiv in the end.
The longer term question is whether the Russian people will then have the stomach for maintaining the occupation with the guerrilla war from the Ukrainian resistance that follows
Its going to be very difficult for Russia to take Kyiv, indeed it already has been so far. Russia does not have unlimited resources, which is why it is logical that they may be trying to bring in experienced street fighters from Syria. Meanwhile the Ukrainian forces are getting new and better resources. The Iraqi republican guard was huge and it fell to much smaller forces. High morale, better kit, better intelligence, the Ukrainian army is holding its own, and the Russian forces are struggling to regroup. The battle is much more evenly matched than you think.
The Russians are literally going to pulverise the city with bombing and artillery shelling before they enter it.
In fact it has already started. Putin has no qualms about how many deaths he causes
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You live in an alternate universe ! The EU 27 have come together and are more united now . A section of leavers voted to try and weaken the EU and many were desperate to celebrate its collapse which Putin wanted .
Putin was undoubtedly in favour of Brexit, because the UK was a positive influence on the EU, and formed a bridge to the US. (It was a reason why I voted to Remain, even though I was very uncomfortable with the direction the EU was taking with its ever further integration.)
Likewise he would love to see the SNP dismember the UK.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You are in denial. Brexit was a major victory for Putin. Many of us said so at the time. It was one of the things (along with Trumpism in the US) that emboldened him. He thought it showed cracks in Western cohesion. His next ambition with respect to UK is it's breakup which is why he has invested so much in cultivating links with the SNP, just like he did with the Brexity end of the Conservative Party. One can argue over the rights and wrongs of Brexit, but to suggest that it wasn't in Putin's interest, or that he didn't do everything he could to encourage it is just dumb.
Nah breaking up the UK is actually in Russia's interests since it screws with things like the GIUK gap, the UK's nuclear defences etc
Brexit wasn't. Its NATO that stands up to Russia.
If anything a more united EU and Brexit go hand-in-hand since the UK in the EU was obstructionist, unhappy and unwilling for decades. Without the UK in there, the EU can be stronger and more united than it could be with us vetoing and objecting to everything.
The EU, USA, UK and Canada etc as allies in NATO can and easily are standing up to Russia post-Brexit. Brexit hasn't weakened any of that, if anything it makes it stronger by ending the divisions that already existed pre-Brexit.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Did Putin determine the EU's all-or-nothing approach to the negotiations? If France had approached it differently, then we would all be in a different place now.
Of all the excuses for the Brexit clusterfuck, "the French made us do it" has to be one of the lamest.
There will be a lamer one along any minute/hour/day. Any scapegoat in a storm.
Surely "The Russians made us do it" is the mother of them all, it just comes from the losing side.
I think you'll find that the Russians made youdo it.
Pinch of salt, obviously, but the Americans have suggested that the numbers are not far off.
Only 4 drones seems exceptionally low, unless Russia aren't using much in the way of drones in order to lose them?
Which given that much of their equipment seems to be Soviet era hand-me-downs that seems entirely possible?
Interesting. Maybe drones are too much of a 21st century invention for the Russian military to have taken an interest in, as you say.
There's a darkly amusing twist of fate that while Putin seems to have launched this war because he regrets the fall of the Soviet Union . . . that while the Soviet Union fell 89-91 what we're witnessing today is possibly the final destruction of the Soviet military.
Putin's kleptocracy seems to have meant that the hardware that the Soviets recognised as being unable to keep pace with Reagan's Star Wars ambitions in the eighties is all that Russia still has today, and now its being smashed to pieces.
As others have said, if Russia don't have the facilities to create new replacement hardware (and the fact they're not even using new hardware indicates heavily that they don't) then they're going to be royally screwed soon.
Even if the Russians are taking more casualties and losses than the Ukrainians, the Russian military is four times the size of the Ukranian military so they will still likely take Kyiv in the end.
The longer term question is whether the Russian people will then have the stomach for maintaining the occupation with the guerrilla war from the Ukrainian resistance that follows
You’re forgetting about the three million civilians in Kiev, many of whom are now armed to the teeth and willing to defend their city.
The Russian military is getting depleted quickly, whereas the Ukranian supply lines from Poland and Moldova are very much still open, with 17,000 NLAWs and Stingers crossing the border last week.
17,000 NLAWs?
That sounds a bit high, unless you mean other similar systems.
The nature of our society is that many people don't care about things that don't directly affect them. They don't really care about the news unless it is sport or entertainment. Ukraine still won't have resonated much. Nor has the arguments about forthcoming tax rises.
What slams them now is the exploding price of road and heating fuels, gas, food and soon everything. And then there is supposedly a whopping tax rise to fund the NHS getting worse before it gets better.
Piers Morgan is one of many "i'm dead influential me" commentators demanding airstrikes and no fly zones. I don't think most normals want that - they don't want Russian airstrikes on Dudley as retaliation, and they don't want the war to completely bugger their ability to drive their car, heat their house etc.
So in answer to the question as to what the Nigel thinks he will do next and his reaction against "Net Zero 2050" I think there is a sizeable audience. Anti-war, anti-price rises, anti-woke crap (which includes green crap).
Farage can sniff out opportunities. Even before the current war Net Zero was an unachievable, astonishingly expensive vainglorious nonsense. A form of net zero or at least big reductions in emissions can be implemented, still at great cost, but it would require a lot of nuclear power generation and pragmatism over fracking and exploitation of our fossil fuel resources in the transition.
If you are an apologist or admirer of Farage, you are an apologist or admirer of Putin, and you should hang your head in shame.
It is possible to admire people in some respects while disagreeing with them in others.
Really? Hitler was fond of dogs and was pretty good at oratory, but I don't think I would ever say I in any way admire him. Not saying Farage is in the same league as Hitler, but Putin is getting pretty close and Farage, like Corbyn and Salmond, is an apologist. All these three are scum of the earth so far as I am concerned. Nobody should admire anything about any of them until they show genuine contrition.
Yes.
I admire Mrs Thatcher greatly but she was wrong about some things (e.g. her views about German reunification and banning the IRA from the airwaves).
I think that Corbyn is wrong about virtually everything but he was right that, for instance, the country needs to build new houses.
On this site there are some people I agree with much more than others, but I've never found anybody, here or elsewhere, that I agree with on everything.
And I can agree even with out and out pyschos like Hitler or Putin on a (very) few things, even if I feel like delousing myself afterwards, and though the mere fact that they support something makes me examine much more closely whether I really should.
But opposing something just because somebody I deeply dislike supports it is silly. As is denying that such people can have a point.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Did Putin determine the EU's all-or-nothing approach to the negotiations? If France had approached it differently, then we would all be in a different place now.
Of all the excuses for the Brexit clusterfuck, "the French made us do it" has to be one of the lamest.
There will be a lamer one along any minute/hour/day. Any scapegoat in a storm.
Surely "The Russians made us do it" is the mother of them all, it just comes from the losing side.
I think you'll find that the Russians made youdo it.
Yes, and Prince Philip had Diana murdered and the Moon landings were filmed in a studio in Hollywood.
"Ian Blackford said the party must be “respectful of the responsibilities” it has following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, adding he remains committed to delivering on the independence mandate."
Yoons be like:
Indy ref II is over, I don't know why anyone even bothers discussing it. I shall now provide 243 posts to prove my point.
Nothing to do with the Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party being on 17%. Ahem.
The resilience of the SNP and Sturgeon in terms of voting intent is impressive. No doubt about it, given their actual performance in Govt.
Think that 17% is an underestimate though. SCUP generally outperforms expectations when it comes to actual votes in elections.
Pinch of salt, obviously, but the Americans have suggested that the numbers are not far off.
There are, AFAIK independent, assessments that have identified about half of the vehicle losses from aerial photography, which would corroborate those figures as not all such strikes would be identifiable.
Question is whether you can extrapolate from there to 11 000 Russian dead. If so that is about the same dead in a week that the USSR suffered* in a decade in Afghanistan, which partially brought down that country.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You are in denial. Brexit was a major victory for Putin. Many of us said so at the time. It was one of the things (along with Trumpism in the US) that emboldened him. He thought it showed cracks in Western cohesion. His next ambition with respect to UK is it's breakup which is why he has invested so much in cultivating links with the SNP, just like he did with the Brexity end of the Conservative Party. One can argue over the rights and wrongs of Brexit, but to suggest that it wasn't in Putin's interest, or that he didn't do everything he could to encourage it is just dumb.
Nah breaking up the UK is actually in Russia's interests since it screws with things like the GIUK gap, the UK's nuclear defences etc
Brexit wasn't. Its NATO that stands up to Russia.
If anything a more united EU and Brexit go hand-in-hand since the UK in the EU was obstructionist, unhappy and unwilling for decades. Without the UK in there, the EU can be stronger and more united than it could be with us vetoing and objecting to everything.
The EU, USA, UK and Canada etc as allies in NATO can and easily are standing up to Russia post-Brexit. Brexit hasn't weakened any of that, if anything it makes it stronger by ending the divisions that already existed pre-Brexit.
As I say, you are in denial. Own up to it, Brexit emboldened Putin. He loves you very much "Barty".
The nature of our society is that many people don't care about things that don't directly affect them. They don't really care about the news unless it is sport or entertainment. Ukraine still won't have resonated much. Nor has the arguments about forthcoming tax rises.
What slams them now is the exploding price of road and heating fuels, gas, food and soon everything. And then there is supposedly a whopping tax rise to fund the NHS getting worse before it gets better.
Piers Morgan is one of many "i'm dead influential me" commentators demanding airstrikes and no fly zones. I don't think most normals want that - they don't want Russian airstrikes on Dudley as retaliation, and they don't want the war to completely bugger their ability to drive their car, heat their house etc.
So in answer to the question as to what the Nigel thinks he will do next and his reaction against "Net Zero 2050" I think there is a sizeable audience. Anti-war, anti-price rises, anti-woke crap (which includes green crap).
Farage can sniff out opportunities. Even before the current war Net Zero was an unachievable, astonishingly expensive vainglorious nonsense. A form of net zero or at least big reductions in emissions can be implemented, still at great cost, but it would require a lot of nuclear power generation and pragmatism over fracking and exploitation of our fossil fuel resources in the transition.
Sorry - but anyone who thinks fracking within the UK solves anything just confirms how absolutely clueless they are.
It doesn't work for multiple reasons which can be confirmed by other posters on here who understand both the geology, technology and the marketplace.
Oh and Farage is an idiot, the best approach now is to do the exact opposite of Putin's stooge and reduce the demand for gas.
It seems to me, and I am not an expert by any means, but locally fracking would be possible in Lancashire at least but for the politics?
It might just be spin, but from what I've heard it would be economical and the measurements of the earth tremors that put a halt to the project would be comparable to a truck driving past a house nearby. Is that not true?
The politics of NIMBYism seems to be the thing that has put a real block to it, my personal preference would be to say "f**k the NIMBYs" but that's always my attitude, including in my own backdoor. However its not going to happen, so offshore hydrocarbon development probably remains the best alternative for the transition would be my best uneducated guess.
You Tory halfwits will not be happy till you have F***ed the water table for a few litres of gas. Typical short sighted greedy lying cheating Tories.
Take a chill pill Malc.
F*** off, who are you to try and tell me what to post. Fracking is a disaster for the water table and only ignorant greedy crooked liars would want to do it for all the measly benefit it would provide.
For all his explosions and foul-mouthed abuse on here, I would not be at all surprised to find that Malc is a very pleasant person in real life.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
The UK keeps asking for co-ordination meetings to give the impression they are leading, but they are not. We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle .
The UK wants to run its multilateral dealings through NATO, but that organisation's firm decision is not to get involved in Ukraine. The EU is involved and could be more involved again, but the the UK doesn't want to deal with that organisation. So the UK's only dealings are bilateral and not very strategic.
I think the French have a point here.
The poisonous relations between France and UK is very regrettable. The two countries make ideal and complementary partners in so many ways. Shame the preening politicians get in the way.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Did Putin determine the EU's all-or-nothing approach to the negotiations? If France had approached it differently, then we would all be in a different place now.
Of all the excuses for the Brexit clusterfuck, "the French made us do it" has to be one of the lamest.
There will be a lamer one along any minute/hour/day. Any scapegoat in a storm.
Last week it was "all Germany's fault". Though as Brexit is so wonderful surely Germany (or France or Putin or whoever) should be getting credit rather than blame?
The nature of our society is that many people don't care about things that don't directly affect them. They don't really care about the news unless it is sport or entertainment. Ukraine still won't have resonated much. Nor has the arguments about forthcoming tax rises.
What slams them now is the exploding price of road and heating fuels, gas, food and soon everything. And then there is supposedly a whopping tax rise to fund the NHS getting worse before it gets better.
Piers Morgan is one of many "i'm dead influential me" commentators demanding airstrikes and no fly zones. I don't think most normals want that - they don't want Russian airstrikes on Dudley as retaliation, and they don't want the war to completely bugger their ability to drive their car, heat their house etc.
So in answer to the question as to what the Nigel thinks he will do next and his reaction against "Net Zero 2050" I think there is a sizeable audience. Anti-war, anti-price rises, anti-woke crap (which includes green crap).
Farage can sniff out opportunities. Even before the current war Net Zero was an unachievable, astonishingly expensive vainglorious nonsense. A form of net zero or at least big reductions in emissions can be implemented, still at great cost, but it would require a lot of nuclear power generation and pragmatism over fracking and exploitation of our fossil fuel resources in the transition.
If you are an apologist or admirer of Farage, you are an apologist or admirer of Putin, and you should hang your head in shame.
It is possible to admire people in some respects while disagreeing with them in others.
Really? Hitler was fond of dogs and was pretty good at oratory, but I don't think I would ever say I in any way admire him. Not saying Farage is in the same league as Hitler, but Putin is getting pretty close and Farage, like Corbyn and Salmond, is an apologist. All these three are scum of the earth so far as I am concerned. Nobody should admire anything about any of them until they show genuine contrition.
There is plenty to understand and learn from study of Hitler and Goebbels and their whole propaganda machine. Not admire - and that word wasn't used in relation to Farage either - but study.
The Nazi propaganda machine was devastatingly effective and both Hitler and Goebbels were experts of their day in this field. That isn't to like or admire how they used these skills, but you can't just dismiss them.
The only way we learn and evolve is to learn positive lessons from negative experiences wherever they range between a job rejection to WWII. Otherwise we can't do better next time.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
The UK keeps asking for co-ordination meetings to give the impression they are leading, but they are not. We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle .
The UK wants to run its multilateral dealings through NATO, but that organisation's firm decision is not to get involved in Ukraine. The EU is involved and could be more involved again, but the the UK doesn't want to deal with that organisation. So the UK's only dealings are bilateral and not very strategic.
I think the French have a point here.
'Nose', 'cutting' 'spite' and 'face' come to mind.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You are in denial. Brexit was a major victory for Putin. Many of us said so at the time. It was one of the things (along with Trumpism in the US) that emboldened him. He thought it showed cracks in Western cohesion. His next ambition with respect to UK is it's breakup which is why he has invested so much in cultivating links with the SNP, just like he did with the Brexity end of the Conservative Party. One can argue over the rights and wrongs of Brexit, but to suggest that it wasn't in Putin's interest, or that he didn't do everything he could to encourage it is just dumb.
Nah breaking up the UK is actually in Russia's interests since it screws with things like the GIUK gap, the UK's nuclear defences etc
Brexit wasn't. Its NATO that stands up to Russia.
If anything a more united EU and Brexit go hand-in-hand since the UK in the EU was obstructionist, unhappy and unwilling for decades. Without the UK in there, the EU can be stronger and more united than it could be with us vetoing and objecting to everything.
The EU, USA, UK and Canada etc as allies in NATO can and easily are standing up to Russia post-Brexit. Brexit hasn't weakened any of that, if anything it makes it stronger by ending the divisions that already existed pre-Brexit.
As I say, you are in denial. Own up to it, Brexit emboldened Putin. He loves you very much "Barty".
Putin benefits from the impression that he has vast power and influence and can swing Western elections at will, so to go around saying that "it was Putin wot done it" is to do his bidding.
Pinch of salt, obviously, but the Americans have suggested that the numbers are not far off.
There are, AFAIK independent, assessments that have identified about half of the vehicle losses from aerial photography, which would corroborate those figures as not all such strikes would be identifiable.
Question is whether you can extrapolate from there to 11 000 Russian dead. If so that is about the same dead in a week that the USSR suffered* in a decade in Afghanistan, which partially brought down that country.
* According to some estimates.
You can extrapolate some Russian casualties from vehicle losses. A T-80 tank has three crew. Say two are casualties (dead, or injured) for each one. Armoured vehicles will also have a couple of crew. Losses in and around vehicles, let alone individual combat, must be quite substantial.
(There are complicating factors, but it seems to be a good finger-in-the-air-not-my-backside way of seeing it.)
The nature of our society is that many people don't care about things that don't directly affect them. They don't really care about the news unless it is sport or entertainment. Ukraine still won't have resonated much. Nor has the arguments about forthcoming tax rises.
What slams them now is the exploding price of road and heating fuels, gas, food and soon everything. And then there is supposedly a whopping tax rise to fund the NHS getting worse before it gets better.
Piers Morgan is one of many "i'm dead influential me" commentators demanding airstrikes and no fly zones. I don't think most normals want that - they don't want Russian airstrikes on Dudley as retaliation, and they don't want the war to completely bugger their ability to drive their car, heat their house etc.
So in answer to the question as to what the Nigel thinks he will do next and his reaction against "Net Zero 2050" I think there is a sizeable audience. Anti-war, anti-price rises, anti-woke crap (which includes green crap).
Farage can sniff out opportunities. Even before the current war Net Zero was an unachievable, astonishingly expensive vainglorious nonsense. A form of net zero or at least big reductions in emissions can be implemented, still at great cost, but it would require a lot of nuclear power generation and pragmatism over fracking and exploitation of our fossil fuel resources in the transition.
Not opposed to fracking in principle, but it would need to be effective in the next year or two. Fit for 55 and other Net Zero initiatives will make Russian gas and oil moot in five years. It's next winter that's the problem. Also it should be obvious by now that renewables are cheaper and better for energy security than fossil fuels, as well as saving what's left of the planet after Putin has done his evil work.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You live in an alternate universe ! The EU 27 have come together and are more united now . A section of leavers voted to try and weaken the EU and many were desperate to celebrate its collapse which Putin wanted .
The main players in the EU fucked up their assessment of the Russian's intentions towards Ukraine. And if they were being honest, they'd admit they similarly fucked up their assessment of the chances of Brexit happening.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You live in an alternate universe ! The EU 27 have come together and are more united now . A section of leavers voted to try and weaken the EU and many were desperate to celebrate its collapse which Putin wanted .
Of course the EU are more united now, we aren't there anymore!
Only someone pig-ignorant of the past thirty years of history would have failed to understand that the reason the EU was so disunited in the past was because we were in there, objecting to their unity.
With the UK out of the way, the path is cleared for the EU to be more united than they ever could with us as a cancer objecting to everything they were trying to do.
We're stronger apart, working together as allies in NATO than we were ever fighting with each other inside the EU.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You are in denial. Brexit was a major victory for Putin. Many of us said so at the time. It was one of the things (along with Trumpism in the US) that emboldened him. He thought it showed cracks in Western cohesion. His next ambition with respect to UK is it's breakup which is why he has invested so much in cultivating links with the SNP, just like he did with the Brexity end of the Conservative Party. One can argue over the rights and wrongs of Brexit, but to suggest that it wasn't in Putin's interest, or that he didn't do everything he could to encourage it is just dumb.
Nah breaking up the UK is actually in Russia's interests since it screws with things like the GIUK gap, the UK's nuclear defences etc
Brexit wasn't. Its NATO that stands up to Russia.
If anything a more united EU and Brexit go hand-in-hand since the UK in the EU was obstructionist, unhappy and unwilling for decades. Without the UK in there, the EU can be stronger and more united than it could be with us vetoing and objecting to everything.
The EU, USA, UK and Canada etc as allies in NATO can and easily are standing up to Russia post-Brexit. Brexit hasn't weakened any of that, if anything it makes it stronger by ending the divisions that already existed pre-Brexit.
As I say, you are in denial. Own up to it, Brexit emboldened Putin. He loves you very much "Barty".
No. No, No.
What emboldens Putin is the never-ending futile wankery over Brexit on both sides. He loves people who should be friends arguing amongst each other.
I would not be surprised if Putin's agents had worked both sides of the debate - concentrating on the extremists on both sides. Just to keep us arguing amongst ourselves.
At the moment, Brexiteers are not the enemy. EU-loving Europhiles are no the enemy. We are not at war, but the enemy of both sides is clear: Putin.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You live in an alternate universe ! The EU 27 have come together and are more united now . A section of leavers voted to try and weaken the EU and many were desperate to celebrate its collapse which Putin wanted .
The EU was never going to collapse and nor should it, it just didn't suit the UK.
But its NATO not the EU that is leading the charge with Ukraine and so it should. If the EU nations do more through NATO then great, but the UK and USA are leading powers in NATO and always will be.
Anyone who wants European defence channelled through the EU instead of NATO is a Putinist stooge.
The EU and NATO can compliment each other . NATO isn’t getting involved in Ukraine and any weapons and aid sent to Ukraine are being done either unilaterally or under the EU banner .
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
WRT the Ukraine war and the case for Scottish independence, people should not be so dismissive. Two glaringly obvious conclusions are already clear and obvious:
1. Self-determination is sacrosanct. The heroic stand of the Ukrainian people and their government against being swallowed whole by the Russian empire is something we will celebrate long after this war is over.
Its a difficult swing from "how marvellous that Ukrainian people still choose their own government" to "however Scotland votes it remains British" as pushed by HY and others
2. Local oil and gas resources are precious. The 2014 pitch was built heavily on an oil and gas economy which later collapsed with the price of oil. We are about to see record prices and no sign of them collapsing later due to the complete remapping of supplies.
On paper the SNP are dead against fossil fuels. Watch that abruptly reverse when they realise that as the west snuggles up to Iran and Venezuela to replace Russia they can also snuggle up to Scotland.
So I don't see the slightly triumphantist "this knackers the SNP" position. It is the opposite. A clarion call for self-determination. A future where energy self-sufficiency and safe supplies are paramount. A huge hypocritical turnaround from today's position? Sure - but so what? The world is changing hugely and quickly...
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You live in an alternate universe ! The EU 27 have come together and are more united now . A section of leavers voted to try and weaken the EU and many were desperate to celebrate its collapse which Putin wanted .
The EU was never going to collapse and nor should it, it just didn't suit the UK.
But its NATO not the EU that is leading the charge with Ukraine and so it should. If the EU nations do more through NATO then great, but the UK and USA are leading powers in NATO and always will be.
Anyone who wants European defence channelled through the EU instead of NATO is a Putinist stooge.
The EU and NATO can compliment each other . NATO isn’t getting involved in Ukraine and any weapons and aid sent to Ukraine are being done either unilaterally or under the EU banner .
Bullshit.
NATO is getting involved in Ukraine and the idea that UK and US weapons and aid are being sent via the EU banner is just patent bullshit.
Only a Putinist stooge would be objecting to NATO.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You live in an alternate universe ! The EU 27 have come together and are more united now . A section of leavers voted to try and weaken the EU and many were desperate to celebrate its collapse which Putin wanted .
Of course the EU are more united now, we aren't there anymore!
Only someone pig-ignorant of the past thirty years of history would have failed to understand that the reason the EU was so disunited in the past was because we were in there, objecting to their unity.
With the UK out of the way, the path is cleared for the EU to be more united than they ever could with us as a cancer objecting to everything they were trying to do.
We're stronger apart, working together as allies in NATO than we were ever fighting with each other inside the EU.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You are in denial. Brexit was a major victory for Putin. Many of us said so at the time. It was one of the things (along with Trumpism in the US) that emboldened him. He thought it showed cracks in Western cohesion. His next ambition with respect to UK is it's breakup which is why he has invested so much in cultivating links with the SNP, just like he did with the Brexity end of the Conservative Party. One can argue over the rights and wrongs of Brexit, but to suggest that it wasn't in Putin's interest, or that he didn't do everything he could to encourage it is just dumb.
Nah breaking up the UK is actually in Russia's interests since it screws with things like the GIUK gap, the UK's nuclear defences etc
Brexit wasn't. Its NATO that stands up to Russia.
If anything a more united EU and Brexit go hand-in-hand since the UK in the EU was obstructionist, unhappy and unwilling for decades. Without the UK in there, the EU can be stronger and more united than it could be with us vetoing and objecting to everything.
The EU, USA, UK and Canada etc as allies in NATO can and easily are standing up to Russia post-Brexit. Brexit hasn't weakened any of that, if anything it makes it stronger by ending the divisions that already existed pre-Brexit.
As I say, you are in denial. Own up to it, Brexit emboldened Putin. He loves you very much "Barty".
No. No, No.
What emboldens Putin is the never-ending futile wankery over Brexit on both sides. He loves people who should be friends arguing amongst each other.
I would not be surprised if Putin's agents had worked both sides of the debate - concentrating on the extremists on both sides. Just to keep us arguing amongst ourselves.
At the moment, Brexiteers are not the enemy. EU-loving Europhiles are no the enemy. We are not at war, but the enemy of both sides is clear: Putin.
So can we give it a rest, please?
Is there some kind of exemption for people who can think about more than one thing at once?
And what's with the asymmetry, "Brexiteers are not the enemy. EU-loving Europhiles are no the enemy." what about the much, much larger group of people who didn't think much of the EU but could see that leaving it was the self-destructive act of a bunch of utter wankers?
What emboldens Putin is the never-ending futile wankery over Brexit on both sides. He loves people who should be friends arguing amongst each other.
Why 'should' we be friends? I'd never be friends with or even cordial to a leaver.
Why not? I know, and sometimes drink with, people who are Leavers or even Conservatives. Sometimes even both! So long as we stick to sport or the various beers on offer we're usually fine!
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You live in an alternate universe ! The EU 27 have come together and are more united now . A section of leavers voted to try and weaken the EU and many were desperate to celebrate its collapse which Putin wanted .
Of course the EU are more united now, we aren't there anymore!
Only someone pig-ignorant of the past thirty years of history would have failed to understand that the reason the EU was so disunited in the past was because we were in there, objecting to their unity.
With the UK out of the way, the path is cleared for the EU to be more united than they ever could with us as a cancer objecting to everything they were trying to do.
We're stronger apart, working together as allies in NATO than we were ever fighting with each other inside the EU.
So much for countries queueing up to leave!
Only an idiot thought countries would be queueing up to leave.
The UK was semi-detached for decades, other nations were not. The EU didn't suit the UK, it does suit other nations, good luck to them. 👍
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You are in denial. Brexit was a major victory for Putin. Many of us said so at the time. It was one of the things (along with Trumpism in the US) that emboldened him. He thought it showed cracks in Western cohesion. His next ambition with respect to UK is it's breakup which is why he has invested so much in cultivating links with the SNP, just like he did with the Brexity end of the Conservative Party. One can argue over the rights and wrongs of Brexit, but to suggest that it wasn't in Putin's interest, or that he didn't do everything he could to encourage it is just dumb.
Nah breaking up the UK is actually in Russia's interests since it screws with things like the GIUK gap, the UK's nuclear defences etc
Brexit wasn't. Its NATO that stands up to Russia.
If anything a more united EU and Brexit go hand-in-hand since the UK in the EU was obstructionist, unhappy and unwilling for decades. Without the UK in there, the EU can be stronger and more united than it could be with us vetoing and objecting to everything.
The EU, USA, UK and Canada etc as allies in NATO can and easily are standing up to Russia post-Brexit. Brexit hasn't weakened any of that, if anything it makes it stronger by ending the divisions that already existed pre-Brexit.
As I say, you are in denial. Own up to it, Brexit emboldened Putin. He loves you very much "Barty".
No. No, No.
What emboldens Putin is the never-ending futile wankery over Brexit on both sides. He loves people who should be friends arguing amongst each other.
I would not be surprised if Putin's agents had worked both sides of the debate - concentrating on the extremists on both sides. Just to keep us arguing amongst ourselves.
At the moment, Brexiteers are not the enemy. EU-loving Europhiles are no the enemy. We are not at war, but the enemy of both sides is clear: Putin.
So can we give it a rest, please?
Is there some kind of exemption for people who can think about more than one thing at once?
And what's with the asymmetry, "Brexiteers are not the enemy. EU-loving Europhiles are no the enemy." what about the much, much larger group of people who didn't think much of the EU but could see that leaving it was the self-destructive act of a bunch of utter wankers?
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You are in denial. Brexit was a major victory for Putin. Many of us said so at the time. It was one of the things (along with Trumpism in the US) that emboldened him. He thought it showed cracks in Western cohesion. His next ambition with respect to UK is it's breakup which is why he has invested so much in cultivating links with the SNP, just like he did with the Brexity end of the Conservative Party. One can argue over the rights and wrongs of Brexit, but to suggest that it wasn't in Putin's interest, or that he didn't do everything he could to encourage it is just dumb.
Nah breaking up the UK is actually in Russia's interests since it screws with things like the GIUK gap, the UK's nuclear defences etc
Brexit wasn't. Its NATO that stands up to Russia.
If anything a more united EU and Brexit go hand-in-hand since the UK in the EU was obstructionist, unhappy and unwilling for decades. Without the UK in there, the EU can be stronger and more united than it could be with us vetoing and objecting to everything.
The EU, USA, UK and Canada etc as allies in NATO can and easily are standing up to Russia post-Brexit. Brexit hasn't weakened any of that, if anything it makes it stronger by ending the divisions that already existed pre-Brexit.
Brexit weakened the UK and ScotIndy would do so further. Hence Putin likes them both.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You live in an alternate universe ! The EU 27 have come together and are more united now . A section of leavers voted to try and weaken the EU and many were desperate to celebrate its collapse which Putin wanted .
Of course the EU are more united now, we aren't there anymore!
Only someone pig-ignorant of the past thirty years of history would have failed to understand that the reason the EU was so disunited in the past was because we were in there, objecting to their unity.
With the UK out of the way, the path is cleared for the EU to be more united than they ever could with us as a cancer objecting to everything they were trying to do.
We're stronger apart, working together as allies in NATO than we were ever fighting with each other inside the EU.
You do know that 'Yes Minister' was a work of fiction, don't you? Just checking.
What emboldens Putin is the never-ending futile wankery over Brexit on both sides. He loves people who should be friends arguing amongst each other.
Why 'should' we be friends? I'd never be friends with or even cordial to a leaver.
That's madness. If you aren't going to be cordial with anyone who you disagree with about one thing that will leave very few people to be friendly with.
I bet I can find points of principled disagreement with every single poster on here. I bet I can also find points of principled agreement. Being able to disagree cordially is one reason why living in the west is better than living in Russia or China. In fact, I'll go further: being able to disagree cordially is vital if we are to prevail.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You live in an alternate universe ! The EU 27 have come together and are more united now . A section of leavers voted to try and weaken the EU and many were desperate to celebrate its collapse which Putin wanted .
The EU was never going to collapse and nor should it, it just didn't suit the UK.
But its NATO not the EU that is leading the charge with Ukraine and so it should. If the EU nations do more through NATO then great, but the UK and USA are leading powers in NATO and always will be.
Anyone who wants European defence channelled through the EU instead of NATO is a Putinist stooge.
The EU and NATO can compliment each other . NATO isn’t getting involved in Ukraine and any weapons and aid sent to Ukraine are being done either unilaterally or under the EU banner .
Bullshit.
NATO is getting involved in Ukraine and the idea that UK and US weapons and aid are being sent via the EU banner is just patent bullshit.
Only a Putinist stooge would be objecting to NATO.
Putin himself objects to Ukraine joining Nato or the EU.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You are in denial. Brexit was a major victory for Putin. Many of us said so at the time. It was one of the things (along with Trumpism in the US) that emboldened him. He thought it showed cracks in Western cohesion. His next ambition with respect to UK is it's breakup which is why he has invested so much in cultivating links with the SNP, just like he did with the Brexity end of the Conservative Party. One can argue over the rights and wrongs of Brexit, but to suggest that it wasn't in Putin's interest, or that he didn't do everything he could to encourage it is just dumb.
Nah breaking up the UK is actually in Russia's interests since it screws with things like the GIUK gap, the UK's nuclear defences etc
Brexit wasn't. Its NATO that stands up to Russia.
If anything a more united EU and Brexit go hand-in-hand since the UK in the EU was obstructionist, unhappy and unwilling for decades. Without the UK in there, the EU can be stronger and more united than it could be with us vetoing and objecting to everything.
The EU, USA, UK and Canada etc as allies in NATO can and easily are standing up to Russia post-Brexit. Brexit hasn't weakened any of that, if anything it makes it stronger by ending the divisions that already existed pre-Brexit.
As I say, you are in denial. Own up to it, Brexit emboldened Putin. He loves you very much "Barty".
No. No, No.
What emboldens Putin is the never-ending futile wankery over Brexit on both sides. He loves people who should be friends arguing amongst each other.
I would not be surprised if Putin's agents had worked both sides of the debate - concentrating on the extremists on both sides. Just to keep us arguing amongst ourselves.
At the moment, Brexiteers are not the enemy. EU-loving Europhiles are no the enemy. We are not at war, but the enemy of both sides is clear: Putin.
So can we give it a rest, please?
Is there some kind of exemption for people who can think about more than one thing at once?
And what's with the asymmetry, "Brexiteers are not the enemy. EU-loving Europhiles are no the enemy." what about the much, much larger group of people who didn't think much of the EU but could see that leaving it was the self-destructive act of a bunch of utter wankers?
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You live in an alternate universe ! The EU 27 have come together and are more united now . A section of leavers voted to try and weaken the EU and many were desperate to celebrate its collapse which Putin wanted .
Of course the EU are more united now, we aren't there anymore!
Only someone pig-ignorant of the past thirty years of history would have failed to understand that the reason the EU was so disunited in the past was because we were in there, objecting to their unity.
With the UK out of the way, the path is cleared for the EU to be more united than they ever could with us as a cancer objecting to everything they were trying to do.
We're stronger apart, working together as allies in NATO than we were ever fighting with each other inside the EU.
You do know that 'Yes Minister' was a work of fiction, don't you? Just checking.
Impressive that Sweden can develop a fighter that is competitive with those produced by the big boys. And it's not as though they seem to sell many to foreign customers either. Wonder how it works?
It works by being smart and not designing any of the major subsystems themselves. The engine is American and the radar is a development of the Blue Vixen from the Sea Harrier F/A-2. This radar can trace its lineage back to the AIRPASS from the EE Lightning via the Seaspray in the Lynx and Blue Fox in the original Sea Harrier. Gripen E/F is supposed to be getting a new British/Italian AESA radar from Selex that will probably never exist.
Pinch of salt, obviously, but the Americans have suggested that the numbers are not far off.
Only 4 drones seems exceptionally low, unless Russia aren't using much in the way of drones in order to lose them?
Which given that much of their equipment seems to be Soviet era hand-me-downs that seems entirely possible?
Interesting. Maybe drones are too much of a 21st century invention for the Russian military to have taken an interest in, as you say.
There's a darkly amusing twist of fate that while Putin seems to have launched this war because he regrets the fall of the Soviet Union . . . that while the Soviet Union fell 89-91 what we're witnessing today is possibly the final destruction of the Soviet military.
Putin's kleptocracy seems to have meant that the hardware that the Soviets recognised as being unable to keep pace with Reagan's Star Wars ambitions in the eighties is all that Russia still has today, and now its being smashed to pieces.
As others have said, if Russia don't have the facilities to create new replacement hardware (and the fact they're not even using new hardware indicates heavily that they don't) then they're going to be royally screwed soon.
Even if the Russians are taking more casualties and losses than the Ukrainians, the Russian military is four times the size of the Ukranian military so they will still likely take Kyiv in the end.
The longer term question is whether the Russian people will then have the stomach for maintaining the occupation with the guerrilla war from the Ukrainian resistance that follows
You’re forgetting about the three million civilians in Kiev, many of whom are now armed to the teeth and willing to defend their city.
The Russian military is getting depleted quickly, whereas the Ukranian supply lines from Poland and Moldova are very much still open, with 17,000 NLAWs and Stingers crossing the border last week.
17,000 NLAWs?
That sounds a bit high, unless you mean other similar systems.
I think fewer than 25k NLAWs were manufactured.
I think they might just be opening their order books again....
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You live in an alternate universe ! The EU 27 have come together and are more united now . A section of leavers voted to try and weaken the EU and many were desperate to celebrate its collapse which Putin wanted .
Of course the EU are more united now, we aren't there anymore!
Only someone pig-ignorant of the past thirty years of history would have failed to understand that the reason the EU was so disunited in the past was because we were in there, objecting to their unity.
With the UK out of the way, the path is cleared for the EU to be more united than they ever could with us as a cancer objecting to everything they were trying to do.
We're stronger apart, working together as allies in NATO than we were ever fighting with each other inside the EU.
So much for countries queueing up to leave!
Only an idiot thought countries would be queueing up to leave.
The UK was semi-detached for decades, other nations were not. The EU didn't suit the UK, it does suit other nations, good luck to them. 👍
One decade at most, and the number of 'better in''s is growing by the day.
What emboldens Putin is the never-ending futile wankery over Brexit on both sides. He loves people who should be friends arguing amongst each other.
I would not be surprised if Putin's agents had worked both sides of the debate - concentrating on the extremists on both sides. Just to keep us arguing amongst ourselves.
At the moment, Brexiteers are not the enemy. EU-loving Europhiles are no the enemy. We are not at war, but the enemy of both sides is clear: Putin.
So can we give it a rest, please?
Working both sides is exactly what they do. A lot of people think Russian disinformation is primarily about pushing an agenda, that's not really correct it's more about sowing discord and causing confusion. The Russians, and I dare say the Chinese too, get involved in stoking the flames on almost any contentious issue anywhere in the West. It would be much easier to deal with if there was an obvious Russian angle to rebut, but they are wilier than that.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You are in denial. Brexit was a major victory for Putin. Many of us said so at the time. It was one of the things (along with Trumpism in the US) that emboldened him. He thought it showed cracks in Western cohesion. His next ambition with respect to UK is it's breakup which is why he has invested so much in cultivating links with the SNP, just like he did with the Brexity end of the Conservative Party. One can argue over the rights and wrongs of Brexit, but to suggest that it wasn't in Putin's interest, or that he didn't do everything he could to encourage it is just dumb.
Nah breaking up the UK is actually in Russia's interests since it screws with things like the GIUK gap, the UK's nuclear defences etc
Brexit wasn't. Its NATO that stands up to Russia.
If anything a more united EU and Brexit go hand-in-hand since the UK in the EU was obstructionist, unhappy and unwilling for decades. Without the UK in there, the EU can be stronger and more united than it could be with us vetoing and objecting to everything.
The EU, USA, UK and Canada etc as allies in NATO can and easily are standing up to Russia post-Brexit. Brexit hasn't weakened any of that, if anything it makes it stronger by ending the divisions that already existed pre-Brexit.
As I say, you are in denial. Own up to it, Brexit emboldened Putin. He loves you very much "Barty".
No. No, No.
What emboldens Putin is the never-ending futile wankery over Brexit on both sides. He loves people who should be friends arguing amongst each other.
I would not be surprised if Putin's agents had worked both sides of the debate - concentrating on the extremists on both sides. Just to keep us arguing amongst ourselves.
At the moment, Brexiteers are not the enemy. EU-loving Europhiles are no the enemy. We are not at war, but the enemy of both sides is clear: Putin.
So can we give it a rest, please?
I'm sorry if I had any part in that. The point about UK manufacturing is about underinvestment in key sectors. Brexit hasn't, and won't help, but it's a done deal, and the issues are similar whether in or out of Europe.
WRT the Ukraine war and the case for Scottish independence, people should not be so dismissive. Two glaringly obvious conclusions are already clear and obvious:
1. Self-determination is sacrosanct. The heroic stand of the Ukrainian people and their government against being swallowed whole by the Russian empire is something we will celebrate long after this war is over.
Its a difficult swing from "how marvellous that Ukrainian people still choose their own government" to "however Scotland votes it remains British" as pushed by HY and others
2. Local oil and gas resources are precious. The 2014 pitch was built heavily on an oil and gas economy which later collapsed with the price of oil. We are about to see record prices and no sign of them collapsing later due to the complete remapping of supplies.
On paper the SNP are dead against fossil fuels. Watch that abruptly reverse when they realise that as the west snuggles up to Iran and Venezuela to replace Russia they can also snuggle up to Scotland.
So I don't see the slightly triumphantist "this knackers the SNP" position. It is the opposite. A clarion call for self-determination. A future where energy self-sufficiency and safe supplies are paramount. A huge hypocritical turnaround from today's position? Sure - but so what? The world is changing hugely and quickly...
Thoughtful post, but completely wrong in its conclusions. I don't think many people will be equating the devastation in Ukraine with Scotland. I think they will be seeing that hanging together is better than hanging apart.
You may be right about an SNP volte face on their policy of scrapping Scotland's oil and gas sector. But, in order to do that, they would have to junk their increasingly embarrassing partnership with the Greens. That would entirely upend Sturgeon's political strategy.
I don't see the Ukrainian crisis leading to a swing to Yes. But then, who truly knows in these unpredictable times?
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You are in denial. Brexit was a major victory for Putin. Many of us said so at the time. It was one of the things (along with Trumpism in the US) that emboldened him. He thought it showed cracks in Western cohesion. His next ambition with respect to UK is it's breakup which is why he has invested so much in cultivating links with the SNP, just like he did with the Brexity end of the Conservative Party. One can argue over the rights and wrongs of Brexit, but to suggest that it wasn't in Putin's interest, or that he didn't do everything he could to encourage it is just dumb.
Nah breaking up the UK is actually in Russia's interests since it screws with things like the GIUK gap, the UK's nuclear defences etc
Brexit wasn't. Its NATO that stands up to Russia.
If anything a more united EU and Brexit go hand-in-hand since the UK in the EU was obstructionist, unhappy and unwilling for decades. Without the UK in there, the EU can be stronger and more united than it could be with us vetoing and objecting to everything.
The EU, USA, UK and Canada etc as allies in NATO can and easily are standing up to Russia post-Brexit. Brexit hasn't weakened any of that, if anything it makes it stronger by ending the divisions that already existed pre-Brexit.
Brexit weakened the UK and ScotIndy would do so further. Hence Putin likes them both.
Yes he does, and it is one reason I have campaigned against both.
The nature of our society is that many people don't care about things that don't directly affect them. They don't really care about the news unless it is sport or entertainment. Ukraine still won't have resonated much. Nor has the arguments about forthcoming tax rises.
What slams them now is the exploding price of road and heating fuels, gas, food and soon everything. And then there is supposedly a whopping tax rise to fund the NHS getting worse before it gets better.
Piers Morgan is one of many "i'm dead influential me" commentators demanding airstrikes and no fly zones. I don't think most normals want that - they don't want Russian airstrikes on Dudley as retaliation, and they don't want the war to completely bugger their ability to drive their car, heat their house etc.
So in answer to the question as to what the Nigel thinks he will do next and his reaction against "Net Zero 2050" I think there is a sizeable audience. Anti-war, anti-price rises, anti-woke crap (which includes green crap).
Farage can sniff out opportunities. Even before the current war Net Zero was an unachievable, astonishingly expensive vainglorious nonsense. A form of net zero or at least big reductions in emissions can be implemented, still at great cost, but it would require a lot of nuclear power generation and pragmatism over fracking and exploitation of our fossil fuel resources in the transition.
Sorry - but anyone who thinks fracking within the UK solves anything just confirms how absolutely clueless they are.
It doesn't work for multiple reasons which can be confirmed by other posters on here who understand both the geology, technology and the marketplace.
Oh and Farage is an idiot, the best approach now is to do the exact opposite of Putin's stooge and reduce the demand for gas.
It seems to me, and I am not an expert by any means, but locally fracking would be possible in Lancashire at least but for the politics?
It might just be spin, but from what I've heard it would be economical and the measurements of the earth tremors that put a halt to the project would be comparable to a truck driving past a house nearby. Is that not true?
The politics of NIMBYism seems to be the thing that has put a real block to it, my personal preference would be to say "f**k the NIMBYs" but that's always my attitude, including in my own backdoor. However its not going to happen, so offshore hydrocarbon development probably remains the best alternative for the transition would be my best uneducated guess.
You Tory halfwits will not be happy till you have F***ed the water table for a few litres of gas. Typical short sighted greedy lying cheating Tories.
Take a chill pill Malc.
F*** off, who are you to try and tell me what to post. Fracking is a disaster for the water table and only ignorant greedy crooked liars would want to do it for all the measly benefit it would provide.
Good morning Malcolm!
At least he was proposing fracking in his own backyard (Lancashire). We could always propose moving it to Scotland ...
Pinch of salt, obviously, but the Americans have suggested that the numbers are not far off.
Only 4 drones seems exceptionally low, unless Russia aren't using much in the way of drones in order to lose them?
Which given that much of their equipment seems to be Soviet era hand-me-downs that seems entirely possible?
Interesting. Maybe drones are too much of a 21st century invention for the Russian military to have taken an interest in, as you say.
There's a darkly amusing twist of fate that while Putin seems to have launched this war because he regrets the fall of the Soviet Union . . . that while the Soviet Union fell 89-91 what we're witnessing today is possibly the final destruction of the Soviet military.
Putin's kleptocracy seems to have meant that the hardware that the Soviets recognised as being unable to keep pace with Reagan's Star Wars ambitions in the eighties is all that Russia still has today, and now its being smashed to pieces.
As others have said, if Russia don't have the facilities to create new replacement hardware (and the fact they're not even using new hardware indicates heavily that they don't) then they're going to be royally screwed soon.
Even if the Russians are taking more casualties and losses than the Ukrainians, the Russian military is four times the size of the Ukranian military so they will still likely take Kyiv in the end.
The longer term question is whether the Russian people will then have the stomach for maintaining the occupation with the guerrilla war from the Ukrainian resistance that follows
You’re forgetting about the three million civilians in Kiev, many of whom are now armed to the teeth and willing to defend their city.
The Russian military is getting depleted quickly, whereas the Ukranian supply lines from Poland and Moldova are very much still open, with 17,000 NLAWs and Stingers crossing the border last week.
17,000 NLAWs?
That sounds a bit high, unless you mean other similar systems.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You live in an alternate universe ! The EU 27 have come together and are more united now . A section of leavers voted to try and weaken the EU and many were desperate to celebrate its collapse which Putin wanted .
Of course the EU are more united now, we aren't there anymore!
Only someone pig-ignorant of the past thirty years of history would have failed to understand that the reason the EU was so disunited in the past was because we were in there, objecting to their unity.
With the UK out of the way, the path is cleared for the EU to be more united than they ever could with us as a cancer objecting to everything they were trying to do.
We're stronger apart, working together as allies in NATO than we were ever fighting with each other inside the EU.
You do know that 'Yes Minister' was a work of fiction, don't you? Just checking.
A work of fiction based on truth.
EU loving Europhiles love to pretend that Brexit created divisions, instead of recognising it was resolving them. The reality is that the divisions you bemoan were there for decades, Brexit simply was the result of those divisions and not the start of them.
Without the UK the EU is more united than it ever could be with the UK. If you wanted a divided Europe, you'd have backed Remain.
@IranIntl_En #BREAKING Unnamed Iranian officials have told IRGC-affiliated Tasnim that Russia’s demands at #ViennaTalks are not constructive, and Moscow’s "interference" was aimed at securing its own interests.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You are in denial. Brexit was a major victory for Putin. Many of us said so at the time. It was one of the things (along with Trumpism in the US) that emboldened him. He thought it showed cracks in Western cohesion. His next ambition with respect to UK is it's breakup which is why he has invested so much in cultivating links with the SNP, just like he did with the Brexity end of the Conservative Party. One can argue over the rights and wrongs of Brexit, but to suggest that it wasn't in Putin's interest, or that he didn't do everything he could to encourage it is just dumb.
Nah breaking up the UK is actually in Russia's interests since it screws with things like the GIUK gap, the UK's nuclear defences etc
Brexit wasn't. Its NATO that stands up to Russia.
If anything a more united EU and Brexit go hand-in-hand since the UK in the EU was obstructionist, unhappy and unwilling for decades. Without the UK in there, the EU can be stronger and more united than it could be with us vetoing and objecting to everything.
The EU, USA, UK and Canada etc as allies in NATO can and easily are standing up to Russia post-Brexit. Brexit hasn't weakened any of that, if anything it makes it stronger by ending the divisions that already existed pre-Brexit.
Brexit weakened the UK and ScotIndy would do so further. Hence Putin likes them both.
Two things can be true, can't they:
1. Putin/Russia really had no influence on Brexit, either directly or indirectly, and has bigger fish to fry. The same would apply, but even less so, in the event of Scot Ref 2.
2. Putin is delighted that the UK has left the EU. He would also be pleased if the UK broke up, although in geo-political terms he wouldn't see it as that big a deal.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You live in an alternate universe ! The EU 27 have come together and are more united now . A section of leavers voted to try and weaken the EU and many were desperate to celebrate its collapse which Putin wanted .
Of course the EU are more united now, we aren't there anymore!
Only someone pig-ignorant of the past thirty years of history would have failed to understand that the reason the EU was so disunited in the past was because we were in there, objecting to their unity.
With the UK out of the way, the path is cleared for the EU to be more united than they ever could with us as a cancer objecting to everything they were trying to do.
We're stronger apart, working together as allies in NATO than we were ever fighting with each other inside the EU.
So much for countries queueing up to leave!
Only an idiot thought countries would be queueing up to leave.
The UK was semi-detached for decades, other nations were not. The EU didn't suit the UK, it does suit other nations, good luck to them. 👍
One decade at most, and the number of 'better in''s is growing by the day.
At most?
The referendum was 2016, do you believe that the UK was semi-detached from 2006 onwards?
The divisions that led ultimately to Brexit date back to Maastricht at least. The moment we opted out of the Euro and they went ahead with it, we were inevitably semi-detached from then on and it was only getting worse not better.
Brexit didn't cause a wound in European divisions, it cauterised it.
Impressive that Sweden can develop a fighter that is competitive with those produced by the big boys. And it's not as though they seem to sell many to foreign customers either. Wonder how it works?
It works by being smart and not designing any of the major subsystems themselves. The engine is American and the radar is a development of the Blue Vixen from the Sea Harrier F/A-2. This radar can trace its lineage back to the AIRPASS from the EE Lightning via the Seaspray in the Lynx and Blue Fox in the original Sea Harrier. Gripen E/F is supposed to be getting a new British/Italian AESA radar from Selex that will probably never exist.
Note various members of US Congress tried to stop the export of US parts, over what happened in Armenia.
Mrs J nearly went to work for the company who makes them (her masters was on an arcane bit of radar tech), although I don't think they were making UAVs then. She didn't want to work in Istanbul, so she came over to the UK instead.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You are in denial. Brexit was a major victory for Putin. Many of us said so at the time. It was one of the things (along with Trumpism in the US) that emboldened him. He thought it showed cracks in Western cohesion. His next ambition with respect to UK is it's breakup which is why he has invested so much in cultivating links with the SNP, just like he did with the Brexity end of the Conservative Party. One can argue over the rights and wrongs of Brexit, but to suggest that it wasn't in Putin's interest, or that he didn't do everything he could to encourage it is just dumb.
Nah breaking up the UK is actually in Russia's interests since it screws with things like the GIUK gap, the UK's nuclear defences etc
Brexit wasn't. Its NATO that stands up to Russia.
If anything a more united EU and Brexit go hand-in-hand since the UK in the EU was obstructionist, unhappy and unwilling for decades. Without the UK in there, the EU can be stronger and more united than it could be with us vetoing and objecting to everything.
The EU, USA, UK and Canada etc as allies in NATO can and easily are standing up to Russia post-Brexit. Brexit hasn't weakened any of that, if anything it makes it stronger by ending the divisions that already existed pre-Brexit.
Brexit weakened the UK and ScotIndy would do so further. Hence Putin likes them both.
Two things can be true, can't they:
1. Putin/Russia really had no influence on Brexit, either directly or indirectly, and has bigger fish to fry. The same would apply, but even less so, in the event of Scot Ref 2.
2. Putin is delighted that the UK has left the EU. He would also be pleased if the UK broke up, although in geo-political terms he wouldn't see it as that big a deal.
Indeed.
Also true is: if "Putin wants it" is your strongest argument, you ain't gonna win.
I think it was certainly Putin's hope that Brexit would create a more divided West less able to respond to his aggression, but the reality has been that the West has been able to rally around despite it.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You are in denial. Brexit was a major victory for Putin. Many of us said so at the time. It was one of the things (along with Trumpism in the US) that emboldened him. He thought it showed cracks in Western cohesion. His next ambition with respect to UK is it's breakup which is why he has invested so much in cultivating links with the SNP, just like he did with the Brexity end of the Conservative Party. One can argue over the rights and wrongs of Brexit, but to suggest that it wasn't in Putin's interest, or that he didn't do everything he could to encourage it is just dumb.
Nah breaking up the UK is actually in Russia's interests since it screws with things like the GIUK gap, the UK's nuclear defences etc
Brexit wasn't. Its NATO that stands up to Russia.
If anything a more united EU and Brexit go hand-in-hand since the UK in the EU was obstructionist, unhappy and unwilling for decades. Without the UK in there, the EU can be stronger and more united than it could be with us vetoing and objecting to everything.
The EU, USA, UK and Canada etc as allies in NATO can and easily are standing up to Russia post-Brexit. Brexit hasn't weakened any of that, if anything it makes it stronger by ending the divisions that already existed pre-Brexit.
Brexit weakened the UK and ScotIndy would do so further. Hence Putin likes them both.
It is possible for two things to be true at once: for Brexit to be in the interests of the UK or for Sindy to be interests of Scotland AND for either/both of them to be in the interests of Russia. It's even possible for three things to be true: that Brexit is in the interests of the UK, the EU and Russia. Personally, I don't see that Brexit is in the interests of Russia, though I can see why Putin thought it would be. It doesn't appear that Britain is operating less effectively with allies in continental Europe less well from outside the EU than it was within. It certainly appears that the EU is finding internal agreement at least as easy without the UK in it. My view on Sindy is that if that is what the Scots want then that is what the answer must be. I do worry about the GIUK gap - but if Scotland is to secede then a practical way of maintaining UK/Scottish control of the GIUK gap must be found. It will be harder with an independent Scotland but by no means impossible.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You are in denial. Brexit was a major victory for Putin. Many of us said so at the time. It was one of the things (along with Trumpism in the US) that emboldened him. He thought it showed cracks in Western cohesion. His next ambition with respect to UK is it's breakup which is why he has invested so much in cultivating links with the SNP, just like he did with the Brexity end of the Conservative Party. One can argue over the rights and wrongs of Brexit, but to suggest that it wasn't in Putin's interest, or that he didn't do everything he could to encourage it is just dumb.
Nah breaking up the UK is actually in Russia's interests since it screws with things like the GIUK gap, the UK's nuclear defences etc
Brexit wasn't. Its NATO that stands up to Russia.
If anything a more united EU and Brexit go hand-in-hand since the UK in the EU was obstructionist, unhappy and unwilling for decades. Without the UK in there, the EU can be stronger and more united than it could be with us vetoing and objecting to everything.
The EU, USA, UK and Canada etc as allies in NATO can and easily are standing up to Russia post-Brexit. Brexit hasn't weakened any of that, if anything it makes it stronger by ending the divisions that already existed pre-Brexit.
Brexit weakened the UK and ScotIndy would do so further. Hence Putin likes them both.
I do not agree about Brexit but I do believe we need to draw closer to the EU as they should with us in our mutual interest
WRT the Ukraine war and the case for Scottish independence, people should not be so dismissive. Two glaringly obvious conclusions are already clear and obvious:
1. Self-determination is sacrosanct. The heroic stand of the Ukrainian people and their government against being swallowed whole by the Russian empire is something we will celebrate long after this war is over.
Its a difficult swing from "how marvellous that Ukrainian people still choose their own government" to "however Scotland votes it remains British" as pushed by HY and others
2. Local oil and gas resources are precious. The 2014 pitch was built heavily on an oil and gas economy which later collapsed with the price of oil. We are about to see record prices and no sign of them collapsing later due to the complete remapping of supplies.
On paper the SNP are dead against fossil fuels. Watch that abruptly reverse when they realise that as the west snuggles up to Iran and Venezuela to replace Russia they can also snuggle up to Scotland.
So I don't see the slightly triumphantist "this knackers the SNP" position. It is the opposite. A clarion call for self-determination. A future where energy self-sufficiency and safe supplies are paramount. A huge hypocritical turnaround from today's position? Sure - but so what? The world is changing hugely and quickly...
Thoughtful post, but completely wrong in its conclusions. I don't think many people will be equating the devastation in Ukraine with Scotland. I think they will be seeing that hanging together is better than hanging apart.
You may be right about an SNP volte face on their policy of scrapping Scotland's oil and gas sector. But, in order to do that, they would have to junk their increasingly embarrassing partnership with the Greens. That would entirely upend Sturgeon's political strategy.
I don't see the Ukrainian crisis leading to a swing to Yes. But then, who truly knows in these unpredictable times?
As a hang togetherer I personally agree with your premise there. But the existing union is increasingly unfit for purpose and needs reform. The status quo is unattractive. And we're about to see a big pro self-determination push...
True, but what a weekend it has been. My youngest Nephew's birthday so my kids and my brother's kids out both days. Throwing stones and collecting interesting stones at Pennan on the Saturday, then all out for lunch and a long walk on the empty sandy beach at St Fergus. Both days gloriously sunny and warm in the sun.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You are in denial. Brexit was a major victory for Putin. Many of us said so at the time. It was one of the things (along with Trumpism in the US) that emboldened him. He thought it showed cracks in Western cohesion. His next ambition with respect to UK is it's breakup which is why he has invested so much in cultivating links with the SNP, just like he did with the Brexity end of the Conservative Party. One can argue over the rights and wrongs of Brexit, but to suggest that it wasn't in Putin's interest, or that he didn't do everything he could to encourage it is just dumb.
Nah breaking up the UK is actually in Russia's interests since it screws with things like the GIUK gap, the UK's nuclear defences etc
Brexit wasn't. Its NATO that stands up to Russia.
If anything a more united EU and Brexit go hand-in-hand since the UK in the EU was obstructionist, unhappy and unwilling for decades. Without the UK in there, the EU can be stronger and more united than it could be with us vetoing and objecting to everything.
The EU, USA, UK and Canada etc as allies in NATO can and easily are standing up to Russia post-Brexit. Brexit hasn't weakened any of that, if anything it makes it stronger by ending the divisions that already existed pre-Brexit.
Brexit weakened the UK and ScotIndy would do so further. Hence Putin likes them both.
Two things can be true, can't they:
1. Putin/Russia really had no influence on Brexit, either directly or indirectly, and has bigger fish to fry. The same would apply, but even less so, in the event of Scot Ref 2.
2. Putin is delighted that the UK has left the EU. He would also be pleased if the UK broke up, although in geo-political terms he wouldn't see it as that big a deal.
I don't think Putin is that bothered that the UK has left the EU. Longer term, its certainly against Putin's interests that Brexit has happened, the UK remaining was in Russia's interests.
However breaking up the UK would be in Russia's interests. It screws with the GIUK gap, it screws with the nuclear deterrent. It has major geo-political implications.
Having said that, I still think Scottish independence would be a good idea, despite it being in Russia's interests. We should do what's in our own interests, not simply oppose Russia's, and Scotland (like the UK with Europe) would be better as a neighbour of England than an unhappy tenant of the UK.
Scottish independence, like Brexit, would end the divisions that have plagued Scottish politics for decades and both allow and force grown up Scottish politics that aren't possible right now.
WRT the Ukraine war and the case for Scottish independence, people should not be so dismissive. Two glaringly obvious conclusions are already clear and obvious:
1. Self-determination is sacrosanct. The heroic stand of the Ukrainian people and their government against being swallowed whole by the Russian empire is something we will celebrate long after this war is over.
Its a difficult swing from "how marvellous that Ukrainian people still choose their own government" to "however Scotland votes it remains British" as pushed by HY and others
2. Local oil and gas resources are precious. The 2014 pitch was built heavily on an oil and gas economy which later collapsed with the price of oil. We are about to see record prices and no sign of them collapsing later due to the complete remapping of supplies.
On paper the SNP are dead against fossil fuels. Watch that abruptly reverse when they realise that as the west snuggles up to Iran and Venezuela to replace Russia they can also snuggle up to Scotland.
So I don't see the slightly triumphantist "this knackers the SNP" position. It is the opposite. A clarion call for self-determination. A future where energy self-sufficiency and safe supplies are paramount. A huge hypocritical turnaround from today's position? Sure - but so what? The world is changing hugely and quickly...
Thoughtful post, but completely wrong in its conclusions. I don't think many people will be equating the devastation in Ukraine with Scotland. I think they will be seeing that hanging together is better than hanging apart.
You may be right about an SNP volte face on their policy of scrapping Scotland's oil and gas sector. But, in order to do that, they would have to junk their increasingly embarrassing partnership with the Greens. That would entirely upend Sturgeon's political strategy.
I don't see the Ukrainian crisis leading to a swing to Yes. But then, who truly knows in these unpredictable times?
As a hang togetherer I personally agree with your premise there. But the existing union is increasingly unfit for purpose and needs reform. The status quo is unattractive. And we're about to see a big pro self-determination push...
There is one big change from recent events with regard to Scottish independence. SFAICS the SNP position re defence has been 'Stay in NATO, but very hostile and NIMBYish over nuclear weapons even though we know they exist'.
I'm not sure that is going to work as a strategy any more.
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You live in an alternate universe ! The EU 27 have come together and are more united now . A section of leavers voted to try and weaken the EU and many were desperate to celebrate its collapse which Putin wanted .
Of course the EU are more united now, we aren't there anymore!
Only someone pig-ignorant of the past thirty years of history would have failed to understand that the reason the EU was so disunited in the past was because we were in there, objecting to their unity.
With the UK out of the way, the path is cleared for the EU to be more united than they ever could with us as a cancer objecting to everything they were trying to do.
We're stronger apart, working together as allies in NATO than we were ever fighting with each other inside the EU.
So much for countries queueing up to leave!
Only an idiot thought countries would be queueing up to leave.
The UK was semi-detached for decades, other nations were not. The EU didn't suit the UK, it does suit other nations, good luck to them. 👍
One decade at most, and the number of 'better in''s is growing by the day.
At most?
The referendum was 2016, do you believe that the UK was semi-detached from 2006 onwards?
The divisions that led ultimately to Brexit date back to Maastricht at least. The moment we opted out of the Euro and they went ahead with it, we were inevitably semi-detached from then on and it was only getting worse not better.
Brexit didn't cause a wound in European divisions, it cauterised it.
There are countries now within the EU that don't use the Euro.
The nature of our society is that many people don't care about things that don't directly affect them. They don't really care about the news unless it is sport or entertainment. Ukraine still won't have resonated much. Nor has the arguments about forthcoming tax rises.
What slams them now is the exploding price of road and heating fuels, gas, food and soon everything. And then there is supposedly a whopping tax rise to fund the NHS getting worse before it gets better.
Piers Morgan is one of many "i'm dead influential me" commentators demanding airstrikes and no fly zones. I don't think most normals want that - they don't want Russian airstrikes on Dudley as retaliation, and they don't want the war to completely bugger their ability to drive their car, heat their house etc.
So in answer to the question as to what the Nigel thinks he will do next and his reaction against "Net Zero 2050" I think there is a sizeable audience. Anti-war, anti-price rises, anti-woke crap (which includes green crap).
Farage can sniff out opportunities. Even before the current war Net Zero was an unachievable, astonishingly expensive vainglorious nonsense. A form of net zero or at least big reductions in emissions can be implemented, still at great cost, but it would require a lot of nuclear power generation and pragmatism over fracking and exploitation of our fossil fuel resources in the transition.
If you are an apologist or admirer of Farage, you are an apologist or admirer of Putin, and you should hang your head in shame.
Good God! I said the opportunist Farage had sniffed out a potentially popular cause due to our unrealistic energy policies. Where did I support him? My Remainer centrist politics are nowhere near Farrage. I'm a bit pissed off by your response TBH.
Apologies for my misreading of your post. It looked as though it was in admiration.
Thanks, seeing the name Farage in print has a strong negative reaction in most decent people so it was understandable.
What emboldens Putin is the never-ending futile wankery over Brexit on both sides. He loves people who should be friends arguing amongst each other.
Why 'should' we be friends? I'd never be friends with or even cordial to a leaver.
Why not? I know, and sometimes drink with, people who are Leavers or even Conservatives. Sometimes even both! So long as we stick to sport or the various beers on offer we're usually fine!
Yeah. I'll chat with anyone, pretty much, and most people aren't as consistently political all the time as some of us. An old friend varies between Con, UKIP and once BNP, and certainly voted Leave. But he also contributed substantially (financially and with hard work on the doorstep) to my election campaigns, because he's a friend much more than he's a right-winger.
The purpose of politics is to make life better. If you refuse to talk to people you reduce your chance of influencing them, and undermine the objective, as well as making your own life narrower.
The situation in Tallinn is reflecting the darkening mood in Ukraine. We are preparing to take up to 18,000 refugees in Tallinn and about the same in the rest of the country. There are appeals for blood and medical donations, food, warm clothes and more besides. The reality of the war is getting closer. Hundreds of Estonians are opening their homes to the refugees and schools are being established for the Ukrainian kids. Estonia is only 1.3 million, but the whole country is trying to help.
Stories of impossible heroism in Ukraine, and hospitals here are preparing to take some of the wounded.
I really hope it is not true that the UK has only issued 50 visas for Ukrainian refugees,
Even more troops are on their way here, and it looks as though a full NATO brigade will be based here pretty soon.
It feels like this may be set to be a long confrontation, which is very bad news indeed.
Russia has published its official list of countries that are "unfriendly":
Australia, UK, EU countries, Iceland, Canada, Liechtenstein, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, San Marino, Singapore, USA, Taiwan, Ukraine, Montenegro, Switzerland, Japan
The UK has no prospect of rejoining the EU, certainly not in any timeframe that will help Ukraine. The more useful question is how the UK can make a difference now it's outside the EU. I think the UK can make an attractive offer to the EU on security (for concessions on other things - why not?). But it does imply the EU will lead those initiatives, while the UK supports.
I don't think this government is in the mind space for such an arrangement.
Ruble just spiked to 137/$ in early trading this morning.
They’ll be as good as Zimbabwe dollars soon.
Bloody hell. The Rouble has lost getting on for half its value in a fortnight. That's pretty much unprecedented for a major currency in my lifetime, I think. What impact does that have on Russia's ability to wage war? Presumably Russia still has lots of foreign currency reserves, so I guess the answer is not much yet...?
The nature of our society is that many people don't care about things that don't directly affect them. They don't really care about the news unless it is sport or entertainment. Ukraine still won't have resonated much. Nor has the arguments about forthcoming tax rises.
What slams them now is the exploding price of road and heating fuels, gas, food and soon everything. And then there is supposedly a whopping tax rise to fund the NHS getting worse before it gets better.
Piers Morgan is one of many "i'm dead influential me" commentators demanding airstrikes and no fly zones. I don't think most normals want that - they don't want Russian airstrikes on Dudley as retaliation, and they don't want the war to completely bugger their ability to drive their car, heat their house etc.
So in answer to the question as to what the Nigel thinks he will do next and his reaction against "Net Zero 2050" I think there is a sizeable audience. Anti-war, anti-price rises, anti-woke crap (which includes green crap).
Farage can sniff out opportunities. Even before the current war Net Zero was an unachievable, astonishingly expensive vainglorious nonsense. A form of net zero or at least big reductions in emissions can be implemented, still at great cost, but it would require a lot of nuclear power generation and pragmatism over fracking and exploitation of our fossil fuel resources in the transition.
Not opposed to fracking in principle, but it would need to be effective in the next year or two. Fit for 55 and other Net Zero initiatives will make Russian gas and oil moot in five years. It's next winter that's the problem. Also it should be obvious by now that renewables are cheaper and better for energy security than fossil fuels, as well as saving what's left of the planet after Putin has done his evil work.
Fair points. I wish, I really wish that renewables will be cheaper than fossil fuels and can basically replace them in that time frame. I fear, really fear that they won't be and can't.
WRT the Ukraine war and the case for Scottish independence, people should not be so dismissive. Two glaringly obvious conclusions are already clear and obvious:
1. Self-determination is sacrosanct. The heroic stand of the Ukrainian people and their government against being swallowed whole by the Russian empire is something we will celebrate long after this war is over.
Its a difficult swing from "how marvellous that Ukrainian people still choose their own government" to "however Scotland votes it remains British" as pushed by HY and others
2. Local oil and gas resources are precious. The 2014 pitch was built heavily on an oil and gas economy which later collapsed with the price of oil. We are about to see record prices and no sign of them collapsing later due to the complete remapping of supplies.
On paper the SNP are dead against fossil fuels. Watch that abruptly reverse when they realise that as the west snuggles up to Iran and Venezuela to replace Russia they can also snuggle up to Scotland.
So I don't see the slightly triumphantist "this knackers the SNP" position. It is the opposite. A clarion call for self-determination. A future where energy self-sufficiency and safe supplies are paramount. A huge hypocritical turnaround from today's position? Sure - but so what? The world is changing hugely and quickly...
Thoughtful post, but completely wrong in its conclusions. I don't think many people will be equating the devastation in Ukraine with Scotland. I think they will be seeing that hanging together is better than hanging apart.
You may be right about an SNP volte face on their policy of scrapping Scotland's oil and gas sector. But, in order to do that, they would have to junk their increasingly embarrassing partnership with the Greens. That would entirely upend Sturgeon's political strategy.
I don't see the Ukrainian crisis leading to a swing to Yes. But then, who truly knows in these unpredictable times?
As a hang togetherer I personally agree with your premise there. But the existing union is increasingly unfit for purpose and needs reform. The status quo is unattractive. And we're about to see a big pro self-determination push...
There is one big change from recent events with regard to Scottish independence. SFAICS the SNP position re defence has been 'Stay in NATO, but very hostile and NIMBYish over nuclear weapons even though we know they exist'.
I'm not sure that is going to work as a strategy any more.
Some of their MPs like Stewart Mcdonald are extremely pro NATO now, as much so as Labour centrists.
Personally, I think there should be room for reasoned criticism of NATO and its objectives even if you have to accept that Putin is the aggressor in this conflict.
I think it was certainly Putin's hope that Brexit would create a more divided West less able to respond to his aggression, but the reality has been that the West has been able to rally around despite it.
That may well be true, but for folk like @BartholomewRoberts to claim that Putin did not want it, or try to influence it is just naive in the extreme.
Wheat prices jumped by the daily limit for the sixth straight session in Chicago, rising 7pc to $12.94 a bushel. That builds on a massive surge of 41pc last week and puts prices at their highest since 2008.
Russia has published its official list of countries that are "unfriendly":
Australia, UK, EU countries, Iceland, Canada, Liechtenstein, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, San Marino, Singapore, USA, Taiwan, Ukraine, Montenegro, Switzerland, Japan
I think, that's everyone we are about except Turkey, India, and China?
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You live in an alternate universe ! The EU 27 have come together and are more united now . A section of leavers voted to try and weaken the EU and many were desperate to celebrate its collapse which Putin wanted .
Of course the EU are more united now, we aren't there anymore!
Only someone pig-ignorant of the past thirty years of history would have failed to understand that the reason the EU was so disunited in the past was because we were in there, objecting to their unity.
With the UK out of the way, the path is cleared for the EU to be more united than they ever could with us as a cancer objecting to everything they were trying to do.
We're stronger apart, working together as allies in NATO than we were ever fighting with each other inside the EU.
So much for countries queueing up to leave!
Only an idiot thought countries would be queueing up to leave.
The UK was semi-detached for decades, other nations were not. The EU didn't suit the UK, it does suit other nations, good luck to them. 👍
One decade at most, and the number of 'better in''s is growing by the day.
At most?
The referendum was 2016, do you believe that the UK was semi-detached from 2006 onwards?
The divisions that led ultimately to Brexit date back to Maastricht at least. The moment we opted out of the Euro and they went ahead with it, we were inevitably semi-detached from then on and it was only getting worse not better.
Brexit didn't cause a wound in European divisions, it cauterised it.
There are countries now within the EU that don't use the Euro.
Sssh! Don't complicate his religious belief with facts that don't fit the narrative!
Ruble just spiked to 137/$ in early trading this morning.
They’ll be as good as Zimbabwe dollars soon.
Bloody hell. The Rouble has lost getting on for half its value in a fortnight. That's pretty much unprecedented for a major currency in my lifetime, I think. What impact does that have on Russia's ability to wage war? Presumably Russia still has lots of foreign currency reserves, so I guess the answer is not much yet...?
And even that is off the back of a big devaluation after 2014:
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You live in an alternate universe ! The EU 27 have come together and are more united now . A section of leavers voted to try and weaken the EU and many were desperate to celebrate its collapse which Putin wanted .
Of course the EU are more united now, we aren't there anymore!
Only someone pig-ignorant of the past thirty years of history would have failed to understand that the reason the EU was so disunited in the past was because we were in there, objecting to their unity.
With the UK out of the way, the path is cleared for the EU to be more united than they ever could with us as a cancer objecting to everything they were trying to do.
We're stronger apart, working together as allies in NATO than we were ever fighting with each other inside the EU.
So much for countries queueing up to leave!
Only an idiot thought countries would be queueing up to leave.
The UK was semi-detached for decades, other nations were not. The EU didn't suit the UK, it does suit other nations, good luck to them. 👍
One decade at most, and the number of 'better in''s is growing by the day.
At most?
The referendum was 2016, do you believe that the UK was semi-detached from 2006 onwards?
The divisions that led ultimately to Brexit date back to Maastricht at least. The moment we opted out of the Euro and they went ahead with it, we were inevitably semi-detached from then on and it was only getting worse not better.
Brexit didn't cause a wound in European divisions, it cauterised it.
There are countries now within the EU that don't use the Euro.
Yes and every single one of them is either a minor country, semi-detached and/or committed to ultimately joining.
The UK as a major country being semi-detached was a major problem, for both the EU and the UK. Cameron attempted to renegotiate British membership to fix that, but Merkel rejected reforms and so he failed.
The nature of our society is that many people don't care about things that don't directly affect them. They don't really care about the news unless it is sport or entertainment. Ukraine still won't have resonated much. Nor has the arguments about forthcoming tax rises.
What slams them now is the exploding price of road and heating fuels, gas, food and soon everything. And then there is supposedly a whopping tax rise to fund the NHS getting worse before it gets better.
Piers Morgan is one of many "i'm dead influential me" commentators demanding airstrikes and no fly zones. I don't think most normals want that - they don't want Russian airstrikes on Dudley as retaliation, and they don't want the war to completely bugger their ability to drive their car, heat their house etc.
So in answer to the question as to what the Nigel thinks he will do next and his reaction against "Net Zero 2050" I think there is a sizeable audience. Anti-war, anti-price rises, anti-woke crap (which includes green crap).
Farage can sniff out opportunities. Even before the current war Net Zero was an unachievable, astonishingly expensive vainglorious nonsense. A form of net zero or at least big reductions in emissions can be implemented, still at great cost, but it would require a lot of nuclear power generation and pragmatism over fracking and exploitation of our fossil fuel resources in the transition.
If you are an apologist or admirer of Farage, you are an apologist or admirer of Putin, and you should hang your head in shame.
It is possible to admire people in some respects while disagreeing with them in others.
Really? Hitler was fond of dogs and was pretty good at oratory, but I don't think I would ever say I in any way admire him. Not saying Farage is in the same league as Hitler, but Putin is getting pretty close and Farage, like Corbyn and Salmond, is an apologist. All these three are scum of the earth so far as I am concerned. Nobody should admire anything about any of them until they show genuine contrition.
Yet none are anywhere near as scummy as you Gammon Boy. Jog on loser.
Ruble just spiked to 137/$ in early trading this morning.
They’ll be as good as Zimbabwe dollars soon.
Putin has made all his people billionaires!
I don't think that's right? The average Russian presumably has as many Roubles as he had two weeks ago. But his Roubles are worth only 60% of what they were back then.
Russia has published its official list of countries that are "unfriendly":
Australia, UK, EU countries, Iceland, Canada, Liechtenstein, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, San Marino, Singapore, USA, Taiwan, Ukraine, Montenegro, Switzerland, Japan
Wouldn't it be easier for them to list their very short list of friendly countries: Belarus, Syria, North Korea, erm, hmmm. We'll put China down as a maybe?
Wheat prices jumped by the daily limit for the sixth straight session in Chicago, rising 7pc to $12.94 a bushel. That builds on a massive surge of 41pc last week and puts prices at their highest since 2008.
WRT the Ukraine war and the case for Scottish independence, people should not be so dismissive. Two glaringly obvious conclusions are already clear and obvious:
1. Self-determination is sacrosanct. The heroic stand of the Ukrainian people and their government against being swallowed whole by the Russian empire is something we will celebrate long after this war is over.
Its a difficult swing from "how marvellous that Ukrainian people still choose their own government" to "however Scotland votes it remains British" as pushed by HY and others
2. Local oil and gas resources are precious. The 2014 pitch was built heavily on an oil and gas economy which later collapsed with the price of oil. We are about to see record prices and no sign of them collapsing later due to the complete remapping of supplies.
On paper the SNP are dead against fossil fuels. Watch that abruptly reverse when they realise that as the west snuggles up to Iran and Venezuela to replace Russia they can also snuggle up to Scotland.
So I don't see the slightly triumphantist "this knackers the SNP" position. It is the opposite. A clarion call for self-determination. A future where energy self-sufficiency and safe supplies are paramount. A huge hypocritical turnaround from today's position? Sure - but so what? The world is changing hugely and quickly...
Thoughtful post, but completely wrong in its conclusions. I don't think many people will be equating the devastation in Ukraine with Scotland. I think they will be seeing that hanging together is better than hanging apart.
You may be right about an SNP volte face on their policy of scrapping Scotland's oil and gas sector. But, in order to do that, they would have to junk their increasingly embarrassing partnership with the Greens. That would entirely upend Sturgeon's political strategy.
I don't see the Ukrainian crisis leading to a swing to Yes. But then, who truly knows in these unpredictable times?
As a hang togetherer I personally agree with your premise there. But the existing union is increasingly unfit for purpose and needs reform. The status quo is unattractive. And we're about to see a big pro self-determination push...
Mebbes, but the Holyrood parliament already has considerable powers. We could go full "home-rule" but presumably that would mean an end to Barnett and fiscal transfers northwards.
My basic contention is that Scots are extremely unlikely to knowingly vote to make themselves poorer. This puts the Yes campaign in a difficult position. They can only win by knowingly misleading the population.
BTW - a strange time for Blackford to double-down on chucking out Trident.
Ruble just spiked to 137/$ in early trading this morning.
They’ll be as good as Zimbabwe dollars soon.
Bloody hell. The Rouble has lost getting on for half its value in a fortnight. That's pretty much unprecedented for a major currency in my lifetime, I think. What impact does that have on Russia's ability to wage war? Presumably Russia still has lots of foreign currency reserves, so I guess the answer is not much yet...?
Interesting question. They’re pretty much self-sufficient in food and fuel, and they do have some foreign reserves but a lot are frozen by various sanctions.
The difficult bit is getting components required for keeping machinery serviceable in the face of the sanctions. Already we see Boeing and Airbus refusing to sell them spare parts for planes, so they will quickly have to start cannibalising them to keep others running. They probably can’t make cars on their own, because of all the electronics now required in them, and O&G exploration requires kit that’s not made locally and expertise they don’t have either.
On top of that, there’s the hit to the lifestyle of the average Russian, many of whom have grown up with quite Western lifestyles which are now threatened. No iPhones left for sale in Moscow, and jewelers are out of gold.
Russia has published its official list of countries that are "unfriendly":
Australia, UK, EU countries, Iceland, Canada, Liechtenstein, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, San Marino, Singapore, USA, Taiwan, Ukraine, Montenegro, Switzerland, Japan
Not Ukraine? If they invade a country that isn't on their naughty list, what will they do to those that are?
Russia has published its official list of countries that are "unfriendly":
Australia, UK, EU countries, Iceland, Canada, Liechtenstein, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, San Marino, Singapore, USA, Taiwan, Ukraine, Montenegro, Switzerland, Japan
I think, that's everyone we are about except Turkey, India, and China?
China might be offended that they seem to be calling Taiwan a country.
The nature of our society is that many people don't care about things that don't directly affect them. They don't really care about the news unless it is sport or entertainment. Ukraine still won't have resonated much. Nor has the arguments about forthcoming tax rises.
What slams them now is the exploding price of road and heating fuels, gas, food and soon everything. And then there is supposedly a whopping tax rise to fund the NHS getting worse before it gets better.
Piers Morgan is one of many "i'm dead influential me" commentators demanding airstrikes and no fly zones. I don't think most normals want that - they don't want Russian airstrikes on Dudley as retaliation, and they don't want the war to completely bugger their ability to drive their car, heat their house etc.
So in answer to the question as to what the Nigel thinks he will do next and his reaction against "Net Zero 2050" I think there is a sizeable audience. Anti-war, anti-price rises, anti-woke crap (which includes green crap).
Farage can sniff out opportunities. Even before the current war Net Zero was an unachievable, astonishingly expensive vainglorious nonsense. A form of net zero or at least big reductions in emissions can be implemented, still at great cost, but it would require a lot of nuclear power generation and pragmatism over fracking and exploitation of our fossil fuel resources in the transition.
Sorry - but anyone who thinks fracking within the UK solves anything just confirms how absolutely clueless they are.
It doesn't work for multiple reasons which can be confirmed by other posters on here who understand both the geology, technology and the marketplace.
Oh and Farage is an idiot, the best approach now is to do the exact opposite of Putin's stooge and reduce the demand for gas.
It seems to me, and I am not an expert by any means, but locally fracking would be possible in Lancashire at least but for the politics?
It might just be spin, but from what I've heard it would be economical and the measurements of the earth tremors that put a halt to the project would be comparable to a truck driving past a house nearby. Is that not true?
The politics of NIMBYism seems to be the thing that has put a real block to it, my personal preference would be to say "f**k the NIMBYs" but that's always my attitude, including in my own backdoor. However its not going to happen, so offshore hydrocarbon development probably remains the best alternative for the transition would be my best uneducated guess.
You Tory halfwits will not be happy till you have F***ed the water table for a few litres of gas. Typical short sighted greedy lying cheating Tories.
Take a chill pill Malc.
F*** off, who are you to try and tell me what to post. Fracking is a disaster for the water table and only ignorant greedy crooked liars would want to do it for all the measly benefit it would provide.
Articulate as ever from PB's preeminent intellect and obnoxious tosser.
Ruble just spiked to 137/$ in early trading this morning.
They’ll be as good as Zimbabwe dollars soon.
Bloody hell. The Rouble has lost getting on for half its value in a fortnight. That's pretty much unprecedented for a major currency in my lifetime, I think. What impact does that have on Russia's ability to wage war? Presumably Russia still has lots of foreign currency reserves, so I guess the answer is not much yet...?
Lots of its reserves are inaccessible to it because blocked
French official on EU defence: "We are missing the strategic discussions with the UK. We can't do it with Germany. It's our biggest crisis ever and we really miss the UK angle."
Exactly . Not sure why some Leavers refuse to accept that Putin wanted Brexit and was hoping it would lead to a domino effect so whether they like it or not those are the facts .
Perhaps the realization that their vote could have helped Putin is a bit too much for them to bear at this time !
Because its Remainer BS.
Putin is against NATO. The EU if anything was increasingly a threat to NATO, hence why people like Macron were calling NATO 'braindead'.
The biggest strategic mistake that Putin has made is reuniting and reinvigorating NATO, not reinvigorating the EU.
You live in an alternate universe ! The EU 27 have come together and are more united now . A section of leavers voted to try and weaken the EU and many were desperate to celebrate its collapse which Putin wanted .
Of course the EU are more united now, we aren't there anymore!
Only someone pig-ignorant of the past thirty years of history would have failed to understand that the reason the EU was so disunited in the past was because we were in there, objecting to their unity.
With the UK out of the way, the path is cleared for the EU to be more united than they ever could with us as a cancer objecting to everything they were trying to do.
We're stronger apart, working together as allies in NATO than we were ever fighting with each other inside the EU.
So much for countries queueing up to leave!
Only an idiot thought countries would be queueing up to leave.
The UK was semi-detached for decades, other nations were not. The EU didn't suit the UK, it does suit other nations, good luck to them. 👍
The nature of our society is that many people don't care about things that don't directly affect them. They don't really care about the news unless it is sport or entertainment. Ukraine still won't have resonated much. Nor has the arguments about forthcoming tax rises.
What slams them now is the exploding price of road and heating fuels, gas, food and soon everything. And then there is supposedly a whopping tax rise to fund the NHS getting worse before it gets better.
Piers Morgan is one of many "i'm dead influential me" commentators demanding airstrikes and no fly zones. I don't think most normals want that - they don't want Russian airstrikes on Dudley as retaliation, and they don't want the war to completely bugger their ability to drive their car, heat their house etc.
So in answer to the question as to what the Nigel thinks he will do next and his reaction against "Net Zero 2050" I think there is a sizeable audience. Anti-war, anti-price rises, anti-woke crap (which includes green crap).
Farage can sniff out opportunities. Even before the current war Net Zero was an unachievable, astonishingly expensive vainglorious nonsense. A form of net zero or at least big reductions in emissions can be implemented, still at great cost, but it would require a lot of nuclear power generation and pragmatism over fracking and exploitation of our fossil fuel resources in the transition.
Not opposed to fracking in principle, but it would need to be effective in the next year or two. Fit for 55 and other Net Zero initiatives will make Russian gas and oil moot in five years. It's next winter that's the problem. Also it should be obvious by now that renewables are cheaper and better for energy security than fossil fuels, as well as saving what's left of the planet after Putin has done his evil work.
Fair points. I wish, I really wish that renewables will be cheaper than fossil fuels and can basically replace them in that time frame. I fear, really fear that they won't be and can't.
I think recently as two years ago when gas prices were at the lowest, renewables might not seem to be competitive with fossil fuels and therefore it was primarily driven by environmental, or if you will, political reasons. Now fossil fuels have gone crazy prices while renewables have continued their trajectory of increasing affordability. Renewables are a slam dunk now.
"Ian Blackford said the party must be “respectful of the responsibilities” it has following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, adding he remains committed to delivering on the independence mandate."
They must have been sweating that covid panic was dying on its feet, been desperate to find another fake excuse.
Regardless of whether the SNP win or lose a referendum - once it occurs the SNP in it's current form will be dead.
And that is a risk the SNP can't take so as you well know they will continue to aim for a referendum tomorrow (always tomorrow) because it's always a day away.
Did you read my post, I explicitly stated they woudl always have an excuse to not have it. Seems you always reply to me without reading or perhaps understanding what was posted.
I seem to remember some years ago, Apple force downloaded a very mediocre U2 song into everyone’s iTunes account.
Could apple and google look at doing something similar now? Russian language news and video of what is really happening in Ukraine to every phone in the country? (Save the Huawei muppets).
They’d need to get their staff out the country first obvs…
Ruble just spiked to 137/$ in early trading this morning.
They’ll be as good as Zimbabwe dollars soon.
Putin has made all his people billionaires!
I don't think that's right? The average Russian presumably has as many Roubles as he had two weeks ago. But his Roubles are worth only 60% of what they were back then.
As Harold Putin said: this does not affect the rouble in your pocket.
Roubles are spent in Russia. The devaluation will mean imports are more expensive but to what extent that impacts daily life is hard to assess, especially as a lot of imports will have been hit by sanctions.
The nature of our society is that many people don't care about things that don't directly affect them. They don't really care about the news unless it is sport or entertainment. Ukraine still won't have resonated much. Nor has the arguments about forthcoming tax rises.
What slams them now is the exploding price of road and heating fuels, gas, food and soon everything. And then there is supposedly a whopping tax rise to fund the NHS getting worse before it gets better.
Piers Morgan is one of many "i'm dead influential me" commentators demanding airstrikes and no fly zones. I don't think most normals want that - they don't want Russian airstrikes on Dudley as retaliation, and they don't want the war to completely bugger their ability to drive their car, heat their house etc.
So in answer to the question as to what the Nigel thinks he will do next and his reaction against "Net Zero 2050" I think there is a sizeable audience. Anti-war, anti-price rises, anti-woke crap (which includes green crap).
Farage can sniff out opportunities. Even before the current war Net Zero was an unachievable, astonishingly expensive vainglorious nonsense. A form of net zero or at least big reductions in emissions can be implemented, still at great cost, but it would require a lot of nuclear power generation and pragmatism over fracking and exploitation of our fossil fuel resources in the transition.
Sorry - but anyone who thinks fracking within the UK solves anything just confirms how absolutely clueless they are.
It doesn't work for multiple reasons which can be confirmed by other posters on here who understand both the geology, technology and the marketplace.
Oh and Farage is an idiot, the best approach now is to do the exact opposite of Putin's stooge and reduce the demand for gas.
It seems to me, and I am not an expert by any means, but locally fracking would be possible in Lancashire at least but for the politics?
It might just be spin, but from what I've heard it would be economical and the measurements of the earth tremors that put a halt to the project would be comparable to a truck driving past a house nearby. Is that not true?
The politics of NIMBYism seems to be the thing that has put a real block to it, my personal preference would be to say "f**k the NIMBYs" but that's always my attitude, including in my own backdoor. However its not going to happen, so offshore hydrocarbon development probably remains the best alternative for the transition would be my best uneducated guess.
You Tory halfwits will not be happy till you have F***ed the water table for a few litres of gas. Typical short sighted greedy lying cheating Tories.
Take a chill pill Malc.
F*** off, who are you to try and tell me what to post. Fracking is a disaster for the water table and only ignorant greedy crooked liars would want to do it for all the measly benefit it would provide.
Articulate as ever from PB's preeminent intellect and obnoxious tosser.
Comments
In fact it has already started. Putin has no qualms about how many deaths he causes
Likewise he would love to see the SNP dismember the UK.
Brexit wasn't. Its NATO that stands up to Russia.
If anything a more united EU and Brexit go hand-in-hand since the UK in the EU was obstructionist, unhappy and unwilling for decades. Without the UK in there, the EU can be stronger and more united than it could be with us vetoing and objecting to everything.
The EU, USA, UK and Canada etc as allies in NATO can and easily are standing up to Russia post-Brexit. Brexit hasn't weakened any of that, if anything it makes it stronger by ending the divisions that already existed pre-Brexit.
That sounds a bit high, unless you mean other similar systems.
I think fewer than 25k NLAWs were manufactured.
I admire Mrs Thatcher greatly but she was wrong about some things (e.g. her views about German reunification and banning the IRA from the airwaves).
I think that Corbyn is wrong about virtually everything but he was right that, for instance, the country needs to build new houses.
On this site there are some people I agree with much more than others, but I've never found anybody, here or elsewhere, that I agree with on everything.
And I can agree even with out and out pyschos like Hitler or Putin on a (very) few things, even if I feel like delousing myself afterwards, and though the mere fact that they support something makes me examine much more closely whether I really should.
But opposing something just because somebody I deeply dislike supports it is silly. As is denying that such people can have a point.
Think that 17% is an underestimate though. SCUP generally outperforms expectations when it comes to actual votes in elections.
Question is whether you can extrapolate from there to 11 000 Russian dead. If so that is about the same dead in a week that the USSR suffered* in a decade in Afghanistan, which partially brought down that country.
* According to some estimates.
The Nazi propaganda machine was devastatingly effective and both Hitler and Goebbels were experts of their day in this field. That isn't to like or admire how they used these skills, but you can't just dismiss them.
The only way we learn and evolve is to learn positive lessons from negative experiences wherever they range between a job rejection to WWII. Otherwise we can't do better next time.
(There are complicating factors, but it seems to be a good finger-in-the-air-not-my-backside way of seeing it.)
The EU weakened the EU.
Only someone pig-ignorant of the past thirty years of history would have failed to understand that the reason the EU was so disunited in the past was because we were in there, objecting to their unity.
Heck, even back in Yes, Minister's days they had Sir Humphrey joking about that: https://youtu.be/ZVYqB0uTKlE?t=109
With the UK out of the way, the path is cleared for the EU to be more united than they ever could with us as a cancer objecting to everything they were trying to do.
We're stronger apart, working together as allies in NATO than we were ever fighting with each other inside the EU.
What emboldens Putin is the never-ending futile wankery over Brexit on both sides. He loves people who should be friends arguing amongst each other.
I would not be surprised if Putin's agents had worked both sides of the debate - concentrating on the extremists on both sides. Just to keep us arguing amongst ourselves.
At the moment, Brexiteers are not the enemy. EU-loving Europhiles are no the enemy. We are not at war, but the enemy of both sides is clear: Putin.
So can we give it a rest, please?
1. Self-determination is sacrosanct. The heroic stand of the Ukrainian people and their government against being swallowed whole by the Russian empire is something we will celebrate long after this war is over.
Its a difficult swing from "how marvellous that Ukrainian people still choose their own government" to "however Scotland votes it remains British" as pushed by HY and others
2. Local oil and gas resources are precious. The 2014 pitch was built heavily on an oil and gas economy which later collapsed with the price of oil. We are about to see record prices and no sign of them collapsing later due to the complete remapping of supplies.
On paper the SNP are dead against fossil fuels. Watch that abruptly reverse when they realise that as the west snuggles up to Iran and Venezuela to replace Russia they can also snuggle up to Scotland.
So I don't see the slightly triumphantist "this knackers the SNP" position. It is the opposite. A clarion call for self-determination. A future where energy self-sufficiency and safe supplies are paramount. A huge hypocritical turnaround from today's position? Sure - but so what? The world is changing hugely and quickly...
NATO is getting involved in Ukraine and the idea that UK and US weapons and aid are being sent via the EU banner is just patent bullshit.
Only a Putinist stooge would be objecting to NATO.
And what's with the asymmetry, "Brexiteers are not the enemy. EU-loving Europhiles are no the enemy." what about the much, much larger group of people who didn't think much of the EU but could see that leaving it was the self-destructive act of a bunch of utter wankers?
So long as we stick to sport or the various beers on offer we're usually fine!
The UK was semi-detached for decades, other nations were not. The EU didn't suit the UK, it does suit other nations, good luck to them. 👍
I bet I can find points of principled disagreement with every single poster on here. I bet I can also find points of principled agreement.
Being able to disagree cordially is one reason why living in the west is better than living in Russia or China. In fact, I'll go further: being able to disagree cordially is vital if we are to prevail.
Today, and every Monday, at 5pm, we will release our latest poll.
Will that lead have increased or decreased?
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Implies Labour is still ahead even if only by 1-3%.
I'm guessing we might still see one or two Tory leads between now and May, most likely with opinium.
https://hetq.am/en/article/134966
Note various members of US Congress tried to stop the export of US parts, over what happened in Armenia.
The point about UK manufacturing is about underinvestment in key sectors. Brexit hasn't, and won't help, but it's a done deal, and the issues are similar whether in or out of Europe.
You may be right about an SNP volte face on their policy of scrapping Scotland's oil and gas sector. But, in order to do that, they would have to junk their increasingly embarrassing partnership with the Greens. That would entirely upend Sturgeon's political strategy.
I don't see the Ukrainian crisis leading to a swing to Yes. But then, who truly knows in these unpredictable times?
At least he was proposing fracking in his own backyard (Lancashire). We could always propose moving it to Scotland ...
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/arming-ukraine-17000-anti-tank-weapons-in-6-days-and-a-clandestine-cybercorps/
EU loving Europhiles love to pretend that Brexit created divisions, instead of recognising it was resolving them. The reality is that the divisions you bemoan were there for decades, Brexit simply was the result of those divisions and not the start of them.
Without the UK the EU is more united than it ever could be with the UK. If you wanted a divided Europe, you'd have backed Remain.
They’ll be as good as Zimbabwe dollars soon.
#BREAKING Unnamed Iranian officials have told IRGC-affiliated Tasnim that Russia’s demands at #ViennaTalks are not constructive, and Moscow’s "interference" was aimed at securing its own interests.
https://twitter.com/IranIntl_En/status/1500786136381366275
1. Putin/Russia really had no influence on Brexit, either directly or indirectly, and has bigger fish to fry. The same would apply, but even less so, in the event of Scot Ref 2.
2. Putin is delighted that the UK has left the EU. He would also be pleased if the UK broke up, although in geo-political terms he wouldn't see it as that big a deal.
I would not read much into it though I still expect a labour lead but it has reduced marginally in recent polls
The referendum was 2016, do you believe that the UK was semi-detached from 2006 onwards?
The divisions that led ultimately to Brexit date back to Maastricht at least. The moment we opted out of the Euro and they went ahead with it, we were inevitably semi-detached from then on and it was only getting worse not better.
Brexit didn't cause a wound in European divisions, it cauterised it.
To my benefit.
Also true is: if "Putin wants it" is your strongest argument, you ain't gonna win.
It's even possible for three things to be true: that Brexit is in the interests of the UK, the EU and Russia.
Personally, I don't see that Brexit is in the interests of Russia, though I can see why Putin thought it would be. It doesn't appear that Britain is operating less effectively with allies in continental Europe less well from outside the EU than it was within. It certainly appears that the EU is finding internal agreement at least as easy without the UK in it.
My view on Sindy is that if that is what the Scots want then that is what the answer must be. I do worry about the GIUK gap - but if Scotland is to secede then a practical way of maintaining UK/Scottish control of the GIUK gap must be found. It will be harder with an independent Scotland but by no means impossible.
However breaking up the UK would be in Russia's interests. It screws with the GIUK gap, it screws with the nuclear deterrent. It has major geo-political implications.
Having said that, I still think Scottish independence would be a good idea, despite it being in Russia's interests. We should do what's in our own interests, not simply oppose Russia's, and Scotland (like the UK with Europe) would be better as a neighbour of England than an unhappy tenant of the UK.
Scottish independence, like Brexit, would end the divisions that have plagued Scottish politics for decades and both allow and force grown up Scottish politics that aren't possible right now.
I'm not sure that is going to work as a strategy any more.
He replied with a letter to the editor, sarcastically signing it off: "Alexander Lebedev, Democrat, KGB (Putin's Trojan Horse)"
Unearthed by @NewsUKArchives, sent to me/@HarryYorke1 https://twitter.com/Gabriel_Pogrund/status/1500790270136393729/photo/1
The purpose of politics is to make life better. If you refuse to talk to people you reduce your chance of influencing them, and undermine the objective, as well as making your own life narrower.
Stories of impossible heroism in Ukraine, and hospitals here are preparing to take some of the wounded.
I really hope it is not true that the UK has only issued 50 visas for Ukrainian refugees,
Even more troops are on their way here, and it looks as though a full NATO brigade will be based here pretty soon.
It feels like this may be set to be a long confrontation, which is very bad news indeed.
Australia, UK, EU countries, Iceland, Canada, Liechtenstein, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, San Marino, Singapore, USA, Taiwan, Ukraine, Montenegro, Switzerland, Japan
I don't think this government is in the mind space for such an arrangement.
What impact does that have on Russia's ability to wage war? Presumably Russia still has lots of foreign currency reserves, so I guess the answer is not much yet...?
Personally, I think there should be room for reasoned criticism of NATO and its objectives even if you have to accept that Putin is the aggressor in this conflict.
Telegraph business blog
The UK as a major country being semi-detached was a major problem, for both the EU and the UK. Cameron attempted to renegotiate British membership to fix that, but Merkel rejected reforms and so he failed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushel
My basic contention is that Scots are extremely unlikely to knowingly vote to make themselves poorer. This puts the Yes campaign in a difficult position. They can only win by knowingly misleading the population.
BTW - a strange time for Blackford to double-down on chucking out Trident.
https://twitter.com/DanielJHannan/status/1500739819525316611
The difficult bit is getting components required for keeping machinery serviceable in the face of the sanctions. Already we see Boeing and Airbus refusing to sell them spare parts for planes, so they will quickly have to start cannibalising them to keep others running. They probably can’t make cars on their own, because of all the electronics now required in them, and O&G exploration requires kit that’s not made locally and expertise they don’t have either.
On top of that, there’s the hit to the lifestyle of the average Russian, many of whom have grown up with quite Western lifestyles which are now threatened. No iPhones left for sale in Moscow, and jewelers are out of gold.
Could apple and google look at doing something similar now? Russian language news and video of what is really happening in Ukraine to every phone in the country? (Save the Huawei muppets).
They’d need to get their staff out the country first obvs…
Roubles are spent in Russia. The devaluation will mean imports are more expensive but to what extent that impacts daily life is hard to assess, especially as a lot of imports will have been hit by sanctions.