I’m a hell of a lot more worried about China than I am of Russia.
Exactly, the french citizens did that on their own. Where was Degaul, hiding in England the whole time. The french military are the geniuses that built the maginot line, never expecting to see the nazis simply go around them.
I’m aware of what the germans did to their civilans during the occupation.
Thanks for the history lesson, but I’m convinced that our military may pay the price for the EU’s incompetence and NATO’s cowardice.
You are very welcome for the lesson, your comment made it plain that it was needed. Glad you got something from it, all but the spelling of General De Gaulle, apparently.
As a student of history you would know that the grunts on the ground, in and on the sea and in the air ALWAYS pay the price for the politicians/aristos/rich bastards’ decisions.
The nationality doesn’t matter. The thousands of grieving Russian Mums and even more thousands of Ukrainian Mums are witness to that.
The Guerilla war that will follow this adventure of the last of the pixie Tsars will lift the groundwater level by thousands of gallons of military and innocents’ blood.
Yeah, the Germans were well ahead of their time in long-distance bombers. The Japanese with their Führer took it upon themselves to invade the Soviet Union, even after ratifying the Hirohito-Stalin non-aggression pact. Meanwhile, the God-emperor Hitler steamrolled the island states of Europe using kamikaze tactics before committing harakiri in his bunker palace at the end of the war, but only after Berlin was reduced to rubble due to the nuclear weapons developed and dropped over the city by the British.
/s
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Russia are a permanent member of the UN security council, as are China. I think you can see why it would be difficult to use that body to bring Putin to heal.
Britain has already sent extra troops to Eastern Europe as a show of intent from Nato.
America is part of the NATO alliance, and so are obliged to help defend all other members. That’s what a military alliance is.
Your antipathy towards Biden seems more like an ideological than practical one to be honest.
You might want to bear in mind how palsy Trump has been with Putin for many years. He’s not alone of course, the west has been making grubby deals with this dictator long after there was little doubt that Russia had become a totalitarian state with him as sole dictator. Some out of expediency, but many like Trump were simply being greedy opportunists.
Well hopefully this catastrophe for Ukraine has left Putin’s position untenable to the rest of Europe and the wider western world.
He’s not going to take his ball home and sulk if he doesn’t get his way, and what he wants is to build the Soviet empire back up. He simply must be removed from power somehow, and Russia given free elections, if that’s possible. Though who knows how long this will take now. When the Soviet Union collapsed and Russia was all but bankrupt they were a lot more malleable.
My two cents.
Our PM was very effective when he used his legal authority to enact the Emergencies Act. A freeze on the accounts of those who monetarily supported the Freedumb Convoy definitely was not a nice or ineffective action/response (boy did the extreme right yell). The convoy crumbled. That is just 4 days of “economic sanctions” in a very limited measure.
NOW imagine a country of folks with no credit card 
or debit or the rich 
or their dick-tator 
.
So you hate NATO and the EU?
Your claims are unwarranted and unevidenced. Just more ranting.
They have responded NOT reacted.
Edited to add: conspiraturd alert…. Trump “strong” (they weren’t friends, he intimidated Putin) and his impeachment over the “Ukraine” thing was just a Demoncratic ploy. IN fact Bidens have paid the Ukrainian President. Putin is a “white hat” so relax, he is cleaning out the blood-drinking overlords…this is all really god’s plan. The Canadian Deputy PM (who kicks ass, is Ukraine heritage, hated by the Communists and Putin, and from Edmonton Alberta btw) is a Nazi.
Edited to add (again) … Leaky Tank (Sarnia ONT) not all the shit-heads are in Alberta 
What do you imagine will be China’s reaction to Putin recreating the old Soviet empire, as NATO stands by and does nothing?
Do you think they might be emboldened by inaction?
Do you think Japan’s decision to attack Malaya and Singapore or even the US Pacific fleet, had anything to do with The Nazis successes in weakening GB at the time?
Do you think GB and her allies’s failure to intervene in the Spanish civil war, giving Franco free hand, and allowing Hitler to use it a training war for the Luftwaffe, emboldened Hitler, or Mussollini?
Our inaction over Putin, even collusion with him, has led us inexorably here.
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You think the US should leave NATO? Or that they should renege on the alliance?
What do you imagine Putin would make of that, or China come to that.
The French army fought on against overwhelming odds, facing annihilation, to allow the BEF time to avoid destruction or capture at Dunkirk, which might have pretty much ended the war right there.
As for de Gaulle, he had many faults, but cowardice wasn’t one of them.
Tremendously off base stereotypes about France aside…
“In the phone call initiated by Putin on Thursday, the Russian leader reiterated his determination to obtain the neutralisation and disarmament of Ukraine, whether diplomatically or by arms, the official said.”
Since Russia has blown by the “diplomatically” option and are attempting to get the job done by overt warfare, shows of military force by those who have an interest in Ukraine’s security are appropriate, I think.
I believe the decision about troops from interested nations being thrown into the fray is now down to whether the Kremlin decides to start swinging at Ukraine with both fists. Should that come to pass, this one, and potentially another from the Chinese, could leave a mark.
No, we just need to get the other members of NATO to pay what they pledged to do, the US has been footing the bill for way too long.I have no problem arming Ukraine and Taiwan so they have what they need to defend themselves.
Now it appears that the Russians are shelling a Ukrainian nuclear power plant. How dumb is that?
Shelling the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, no less, then shooting at the firefighters who try to put out fires in the reactors.
Russia is pressing the hell out of their luck now.
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NATO has not been perfect - absolutely no group is. AND there has been “revamping” BUT the “debts” and “footing the bill” are hyperbole. It’s a tiered system. Think of USA having the Gold Membership (and pay for it, but also the most say)…they are a world-power, Canada isn’t (silver is all that is affordable).
OK… for all its “faults” - NATO has not had to invade a member country to keep them “in”. Warsaw Pact had done it twice. EU didn’t invade England 🏴 when they wanted “out”.
I believe the only sanction that will actually work is a complete embargo on all Russian gas and oil exports.
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Always blaming someone else. And who was in power when the first signs occurred, the Chechen–Russian conflict?
The EU is not incompetent- NATO is not displaying “cowardice” and how fucking far back in history so we go with “whattaboutism”???
EU is a contract agreement countries enter into when they meet the EU standards. They can also leave (takes forever, eh Sheldon 
)
NATO is there as a group body for NATO members BUT Nations can and do act independently or can back each other outside of NATO
The Ukraine is in independent nation. It is NOT beholden to Russia and has resisted successfully puppet governments (Belarus wasn’t successful in this endeavour). Current event is INVASION of a separate sovereign nation.
History is messy. Messy I tell you!!! Not irrelevant- it just provides some insight to “how we got here” BUT here we are and it is unchartered territory
Nuclear NATO - Nuclear Russia
Humankind has not tested the limits of this type of confrontation. I would not want to be the decision makers in response to Putin. AND there are much smarter, wiser, strategic minds, real intelligence (behind the scenes)… etc.
Edited to add: “rule of law”. Putin has broken agreements and made laws Willy-Nilly to suit his personal agendas. Religious Nationalism
A Russia/China axis is being generated, courtesy of the U.S. and NATO.
We have certainly seen a Euro/Asia axis before, with a subsequent conflict that significantly tested warfare and policy limits amidst the backdrop of real nuclear capabilities.
How did that turn out?
Evidence?
When I looked into this angle it is not that cut and dry.
They have no written trade agreements- they hardly share “values” (surface of control the only thing in common).
At the very, pre-invade part China’s media was very pro-Putin. Now they are completely neutral in their media and they haven’t voted to back Russia once.
They are part of the BRICS, two of which voted against Russia. India and China are neutral (holding back votes).
China has pinned the blame for the Ukraine invasion on the U.S. meddling and NATO expansion. If they are against the U.S. and NATO in this circumstance, who might they be with, or eventually with?
The aims of the two countries are the same - to reduce the power of NATO and the U.S.
China hasn’t condemned Russia’s actions despite the fact that sovereignty and territorial integrity are cornerstones of it’s foreign policy.
Russia’s aggression has galvanized Britain, Japan, and the U.S. - exactly the countries that have been seeking to contain China.
A statement issued by Vladimir and Xi Jinping shortly before the attacks announced that Russia and China share a no-limits partnership.
I admit I could be wrong in thinking that this will produce a closer Russia and China alliance and that China will continue to remain selectively aloof. I’m willing to play the long game that this won’t be the case, though, especially if it comes to a wider war in Europe.