Anyone else feel like this whole Ukraine thing is getting blown WAY out of proportion?
Who gives a crap if a frozen tundra backwoods goes back under Russian control? It's been part of Russia for like 1,000 years. They have nothing that can't be sourced elsewhere.
Except Ukraine is located in temperate climate zone and coast of Black Sea is even more to south. Also one of the largest countries of Europe with 40 Mio people living in it. Almost all - Europeans with Christian culture background. Also loss of Ukraine is a green light to any hostile regime on Earth to do what they want to their neighbors - think China and Taiwan as first example. If Ukraine will be lost, it will end of the world as we know it. And green light to worldwide turmoil. Semiconductor shortage in light of this will be kid's play. Welcome to WW3 for real.
When Ukraine was "absorbed" into the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union encouraged Russians to move there as an attractive place to live. This is why the east is filled with Russians. To Russia, the Ukraine is a prosperous an country, the 2nd largest in Eastern Europe, with strategic warm water ports which the Russian Navy could actually use.
It was even worse. In 1932 after bad winter and too positive reports of Soviet authorities grain yield in Ukraine was a third shorter than expected. Although under Stalin's rule no one insisted and yield - grain and other agriculture products - was taken in planned amount. This caused mass famine and deaths by starvation of at least 3.5 Mio people in Ukraine. At today we know this event under name
holodomor. In place of died out Ukrainians arrived Russian speaking people from Russian SFSR (nowadays Russia). This is one of main causes why in Ukraine at today eastern regions have so much Russian speaking people. It is also worth to mention that mixing natives with Russians in USSR was official politic in name or creation of so called "Soviet People" in real goal to do russification of other Soviet "republics". We in Baltic states experienced this same in great degree, when after WW2 plenty of these Russian speaking colonists was sent to work in factories built by Soviet authorities as offer which we couldn't refuse. And many others arrived after because we was "The West". These people are often a major headache and I have no doubt about which side they will take if Putin will decide to spit on NATO and international treaties and will move his minions to our direction.
You cannot support places like Tibet and not claim the same for Ukrainians. Their situations really aren't all that different.
Putin is old school ex-KGB and he loves poking the "west" in the eye. He has an ego, and he's dangerous. And this war will likely result in the next Potsdam Accords agreement of appeasement, which will only encourage China to take Taiwan.
I prefer to stay out of politics. But mark my words, if Europe and the USA are weak here, they will pay for it later.
Exactly. You cant put sanctions on few oligarchs and two banks if collective Russian hoodlum want to take belongings of collective West in dark alley. These people understand only direct answer in form of fist in their collective face. I specially use crime metaphor, because Putin and his surroundings came for similar places and many of them have deep history with organised crime in Russia. Even if western countries does not begin open war with Russia now, they must throw anything in arena that will hurt and destroy Russian forces, finances, pride and make their lifes miserable enough to revolt against criminals in their government. We must arm Ukraine to teeth, arrest all financial and physical assets of all Russian government, military and municipal officials in West, find and deport their relatives who live in western countries back to Russia without a right to return, cancel all projects with Russia, stop using their oil and gas, cut off Russia from SWIFT and other foreign financial resources and prevent Russia for messing with western media and Internet resources. Find all pro-Kremlin hackers and trolls who live in western countries and deal with them under wartime law (will help against ransomware propagation as well).
Western Europe will do nothing as usual seeing how Russia supplies 40% of their gas.
I hope that this will change in next days. Otherwise we in west indeed are stupid and deserve what will come.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram