Ukraine

I think we can, and we do.

 

The stalled Russian convoy we keep hearing about, is it stalled or part of the plan?
I get the feeling that the Russians dont want to pound Kyiv to pieces and they are hoping Ukraine will surrender after showing what they can do to other cities.

Meanwhile Putin wants things to return to normal, apparently.
Sounds like sanctions are starting to bite.

 

I hope they are, he deserves all he gets, but I do feel sorry for the ordinary Russian people having to live under his thumb and enduring the effects of the sanctions, none of it is their fault .

If he wants that he'd better take his troops home and put right the destruction he's caused in Ukraine ...

 

Putins plan was probably to effect an early surrender. He wants Ukraine under Russian control and therefore the least damage possible would look best to the outside world and to the Russian public.
How he ever thinks he'll control the Ukrainians is a puzzle. Their young were born in freedom and I can't see them ever accepting Putins regime. He'd have to lock most of them up or murder them

 

Let’s hope so

 

I don't think he'd have any qualms about murdering them, he's actually getting his army to murder thousands of people at the moment.

Many Russians are trying to get out of the country apparently, and going into Finland to get away from Putin's authority. They seem frightened and have had enough.
I think it's going to get worse myself.
Maybe one of his own countryfolk will turn on him.

 

I was thinking things were looking a bit ominous, in other parts, this morning.

I was getting the impression all this Ukraine trouble has been sparked off by Putin not wanting them to join NATO, and he feared they would eventually be accepted.

This morning they are saying that looming on the horizon is the fact that Finland might be considering joining NATO.

Now I'm all for people/ countries being able to do as they want to, but I'm getting the impression that there are countries that think yeah, lets join NATO, and then we will be safe from Russian intervention by virtue of the fact if we get invaded it will start WW3.

Ukraine keep asking for NATO to make it a "no fly zone", understandable I suppose, but I still think they would be on a hiding to nothing.
An agreement will have to come at some point or Russia will flatten the whole country.

 

I'm no military strategist - but even I can see that a long, thin convoy with muddy fields either side is not the most brilliant of ideas.

Ukraine's soldiers just need to blow up the front vehicles and they have stalled the whole column - the vehicles can't drive over the muddy fields.

What about fuel getting to the front of the convoy - having packed in vehicles is not good for either access or escape.

 

I dont think the Russian army are brilliant, but I dont think they are totally stupid either.

 

We see vehicles, but there will be lots of troops with them, without air power not much is going to stop that lot.

 

Air forces dont seem to be involved much in this conflict, in fact we get very little info on the military side of what is happening.
My personal thoughts were that the Ukrainian airforce was pretty much neutralised in the initial onslaught in day one, it would be the sensible thing to do.

They were saying this morning that they cant understand why the Russians didn't hit communications harder from the start, that is what has made President Zelensky the hero that he is.

 

I see that more western shops are closing their doors in Russia and the US are looking at banning Russian oil imports - but then, they are the largest producer of oil in the world - so they can easily backfill.

Putin banning media - what a knob - he clearly doesn't live in the 'modern' world.

 

I see Shell is continuing to buy Russian oil because "they are getting it at a discount price".
As a user of Shell petrol, I will no longer be buying my fuel from them. And neither should anyone else of conscience.