Ukraine

Also in the news today Ukraine has to ration it's energy supplies because the latest strikes took out so much infrastructure.

That's bad for the people of Ukraine of course, but apparently they were exporting electricity to the EU, but they've had to stop. I guess those 'worst case scenario' power cuts we've been warned to expect are now significantly more likely, given that the EU is already struggling, and with a 30% reduction in their supply, that probably means they won't be exporting to us.

If only governments all over the EU and UK hadn't buried their heads in the sand for literally decades when it came to energy security. Putin has a lot to answer for, but he and his likes would have been far less powerful if we didn't depend on dictators for our energy supplies.

 

Strong words Loofah but very apt!

 

Electricity now, is there anything that Ukraine didn't supply the rest of the world with.
It must have been the richest country in the world going by how we all depended on them.

I'm being slightly synical now as I just cant get my head around all the things one country supplied the whole world with.

 

Name a country that does not export electricity? The UK has been exporting more electricity than the Ukraine ever has.

France generates nearly 70% of their electricity from 56 nuclear reactors, making them the biggest exporter in Europe. Due to routine maintenance and repair work, 24 reactors have been offline since June, they are more likely to be a net importer than exporter now.

Analysis: France braces for uncertain winter as nuclear power shortage looms | Reuters

They are supposed to be reducing their reliance on nuclear to 50% by 2025, are they ready, or like other countries, set themselves unrealistic targets.

 

Ukraine as of this week.

 

I am looking forward to hearing what Sir Jeremy Fleming, the head of Britain's GCHQ intelligence agency will say in a speech later today. There will obviously be a certain amount of propaganda in the content (or at least a positive spin), but some interesting facts should come out.

 

Hasn't he already said his latest piece? Or are we expecting another?

He's in the BBC news this morning. In summary, he's saying that Ukraine is winning against an exhausted Russia, and that Russia is running out of ammo. No mention of Russia's nukes though, nor has there been mention so far of Putin's other nasty weapons. I believe they have chemical weapons, and we know that Russian's have a passion for poison.

 

Like; we should be more worried about the threat from China than Russia.

 

I hate to say I told people so, but about 20 years ago I had a conversation at work where I claimed that China was a growing threat, and that the rest of the world was supporting them in becoming a threat by sending them all our money without questioning their ethics. Everyone told me I was wrong. That without cheap Chinese goods lots of economies would suffer.

Yet here we are. China has built actual islands, on which it has built navy and air force bases, and it's navy is growing significantly faster than that of the US. Nowadays we know about their imperial ambition, and we know all about their illegal detention of people based solely on race, and their extremely hardline response to anyone that questions them. Yet we still give them all our money.

 

If a war in Ukraine can cause all the problems we have now just image what would happen if we were to have a proper falling out with China.
I dont think there would need to be any fighting as such.

Just lots of bandwagon jumping like there is now but multiplied by 200.

 

I don't think China is going to actively participate any time soon. They have enough problems as it is right now. I think they're quite content to stand at the side with their metaphorical note pads for now. China wants to invade Taiwan. Russia has done them a massive favour by invading it's smaller neighbour. It gives China a real world example of how the west responds to such events. They'll also be interested in how our weapons perform in the battlefield. They'll also be keen to scavenge any wreckage they can lay their hands on. I suspect this is the real reason everyone is being careful what they send to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Belarus has decided to amass troops on their border with Ukraine. They're alongside Russian troops that have also assembled in Belarus. They're saying it's a defensive response to threats from Ukraine, and not an invasion force. I wonder where we've heard that before. While it would be an escalation if a third country gets directly involved, I think it's unlikely to make much tangible difference. One has to ask, who are these Russian troops that have gone to Belarus. Russia is having a real problem finding enough combat ready troops for the east. And from what I can gather, Belarus can hardly form an effective army. Sure they've got the numbers, but most are reservists and very few have seen active service. Add to that the fact that Ukraine had already considered this possibility and have been regularly conducting drills for an invasion from Belarus. It feels like Putin has bitten off more than he can chew, so has pressured his best mate into backing him up. Lukashenko is stuck between a rock and a hard place. His own people despise him, and seem more ready to say so than their spineless Russian counterparts, but Putin props him up so he kind of has to play along.

 

This video impressed me. The Ukrainian soldiers are mental. They're charging at tanks in light armoured vehicles. There's a bit in the video where we get to see a Russian tank crew surrendering.

 

I like their white flag. Some one's washing has gone astray.