Russia Invasion Spillover

As always Putin knows how to talk the talk, problem he has not clue about how to walk the walk.
 
I was incorrect.
The suspension of New START was delivered at Russia's state of the nation speech, so was probably planned well in advance of Biden's Ukraine visit.


Here is President Biden with the air raid sirens.



Here is President Putin giving his State of the Nation 2023 speech where Russia suspended participation in New START (around the 1 hour 50 minute time).


To read a computer translation into English (quality is ???), click on the gear/settings -> Subtitles/Closed Captioning -> Russian (Auto-Generated)
Click on gear/settings again -> Subtitles/Closed Captioning -> Auto-Translate-> Scroll down and select English.

Everything Putin says should then be typed out in English at the bottom of the video.


Later in the day, President Biden gave a speech in Poland.

Apparently Russia was accused of violating New START treaty well before Putin's announcement at State of the Nation address. So the "suspension" announcement by Putin is a bit of disingenuous theatre/blame-shifting. He was already not participating in the treaty way before he announced that he was "suspending" participation.

U.S. says Russia violating New START nuclear arms control treaty​

WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday accused Russia of violating the New START Treaty, the last major pillar of post-Cold War nuclear arms control between the two countries, saying Moscow was refusing to allow inspection activities on its territory.
The treaty came into force in 2011 and was extended in 2021 for five more years. It caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the United States and Russia can deploy, and the deployment of land- and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them.
The two countries, which during the Cold War were constrained by a tangle of arms control agreements, still account together for about 90% of the world's nuclear warheads.
https://www.reuters.com/world/russi...tion-under-nuclear-arms-treaty-us-2023-01-31/
 
There's always another foot to dig down in that septic pit.
 
How was it phrased?

Ah well. Let's all dance in hell I guess.
 
Oop. Moldova is up next as the degenerate West.

I'm glad you're still at that preference. It's a good one.
 
Oop. Moldova is up next as the degenerate West.
I'm glad you're still at that preference. It's a good one.

Russian guarantees are already worthless
This pretty much is pushing Moldova into NATO for protection, now might be the right moment
 
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I would say @Gorbles that the public in the UK is effectively exercising democratic control on a greater scale than could be done in Russia by not opposing the aid to Ukraine, either because it’s not significant to them or they already agree.

Nobody voted for aid to Ukraine, but they will vote in the next election and I think this provides a check on government action.
Taking it to the spillover thread @amadeus.

Our government unilaterally decided to send aid. Of course, I agree personally, but if they had made a choice that I disagree with, the reality is that I would simply have to deal with it. The only tool I have is a vote in the local and general elections - which only indirectly affects politics, and isn't responsive to any unilateral decision made by government in the first place. I have to wait for the next one to roll around. And that's cool, that's a form of democracy.

But the public is exercising no control when it comes to opposing or supporting the aid in Ukraine. The government has also been increasingly criminalising protests due to protests caused by other, less popular, decisions they've been making. Voting in the next election isn't a check on action now. People are barely going to remember that then. Why? Because otherwise they'd remember all the rubbish of the past year or three. And 2025 is far enough away that that simply won't happen. There'll be something else to talk about then, some other thing to make a spectacle out of.

Yes, the UK has a more free and fair democracy than Russia, by a whole bunch of definitions. But you're really bigging up something that I am telling you as a voting resident of the UK, is not that big when it comes to exercising any kind of control. Theoretically changing a future vote based on an aggregate of decisions made is not comparable to an individual decision made by the current government, and our ability to affect that.
 
I think you need to go into politics yourself if you want "exercise control" - a vote is really just a mandate of your political power.

Don't vote, get yourself elected :)
 
There is military aid and there is non military aid.

The UK public can make up its own minds about non military aid, and accordingly decide
to (a) contribute to Ukraine or (b) not contribute to Ukraine; on an individual basis.

Regarding miltary aid that decision can only be made by the government becuse it has the weaponry,
and the timescales resulting fron the military operation/invasion do not really permit formal public consultation.
 
Well they xant join unless they resolve their territorial problems.

They don't need to join. If the Moldavian Government asks for aid or security guarantees from the EU, US or UN, they'll get it. EU and NATO member state Romania will put troops on the ground in Moldovia, to protect the Government and population against Russian interference, if asked.
 
Regarding miltary aid that decision can only be made by the government becuse it has the weaponry,
and the timescales resulting fron the military operation/invasion do not really permit formal public consultation.

I mean here in the states assault rifles are legal whereby they sell magazines filled with the right kind of NATO rounds, private individuals have been buying that stuff up then shipping it at their own expense to Ukraine. The whole gun culture here also means some people are buying up kevlar vests, other related gear, and doing essentially the same thing.

Now I have no clue as to the legality of all of the above or whether or not INTERPOL would consider it international arms trafficking in violation of international law, but it goes on nevertheless. Kind of like all the volunteers who wanna fight or something.
 
There is military aid and there is non military aid.

The UK public can make up its own minds about non military aid, and accordingly decide
to (a) contribute to Ukraine or (b) not contribute to Ukraine; on an individual basis.

Regarding miltary aid that decision can only be made by the government becuse it has the weaponry,
and the timescales resulting fron the military operation/invasion do not really permit formal public consultation.

Considering the fact that Czech public managed to crowdfund and deliver a tank, 15 technicals and some armoured ambulances to Ukraine, I don't think that there is even a restriction on public providing military aid. The biggest issue lies in the immediate supply, there was no way Ukraine could get weapons in time had the governments not agreed to release the weapons from their stores.
 
I mean here in the states assault rifles are legal whereby they sell magazines filled with the right kind of NATO rounds, private individuals have been buying that stuff up then shipping it at their own expense to Ukraine. The whole gun culture here also means some people are buying up kevlar vests, other related gear, and doing essentially the same thing.

Now I have no clue as to the legality of all of the above or whether or not INTERPOL would consider it international arms trafficking in violation of international law, but it goes on nevertheless. Kind of like all the volunteers who wanna fight or something.
We probably have a 100 million of them to spare. Let's go gun lovers, show you support for Ukraine!
 
We probably have a 100 million of them to spare. Let's go gun lovers, show you support for Ukraine!

I dont think small arms arent that much of a problem for Ukraine, as Ukraine has been asking for advanced heavy equipment, munitions and drones
Though the demand for things like scopes, Nvgs and other weapon accessories are endless.
Along with usual need to replace new uniforms, shoes, socks etc which after a year of war and hard use are likely needing replacement.
 
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