tgw

another thought I had was why missiles aren't used to deliver supplies to Mariupol. a tomahawk transports 450 Kg of payload. or bombs. with parachutes. could be launched from super high altitude and use guidance technology to precisely fall where needed - I don't know if Ukraines got the planes though.

well, yes, they are mercenaries (all of them) in English language by the meaning of the word, i.e. hired soldiers, but mercenary is also a legal status defined by the UN, as well as by other countries which may or may not have the same definition as the UN, which means that some members of Wagner wouldn't be considered mercenaries if they are Russian or if their place of residence is Russia.

your debate is ridiculous, as the definition of who is a mercenary is clear: Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflict (1977), article 47 Article 47 of Additional Protocol I provides a definition of a mercenary. "A mercenary is any person who: Is specially recruited locally or abroad in order to fight in an armed conflict; Does, in fact, take a direct part in hostilities; Is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a Party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar ranks and functions in the armed forces of that Party; Is neither a national of a Party to the conflict nor a resident of territory controlled by a Party to the conflict; Is not a member of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict; and Has not been sent by a State which is not a Party to the conflict on official duty as a member of its armed forces. These requirements are cumulative, which means that they must all be applicable for an individual to be categorized as a mercenary." https://www.ohchr.org/en/node/3383/international-standards

‘Hide the girls’: How Russian soldiers rape and torture Ukrainians https://kyivindependent.com/national/hide-the-girls-how-russian-soldiers-rape-and-torture-ukrainians/

I hope Ukrainians undertake major construction work to fortify key areas.

border disputes can't be a reason unless they are very major disputes, because almost every country has border disputes.

yes, my point is Putin doesn't have anything to attack with ???? but I quoted the wrong post 555

erm ... attack with what ?

I like this post. You demonstrated the link between Putin's war in Ukraine and why Putin has been using covert media, fake news and manipulative covert advertising to influence right wingers.

Asovstal is the last remaining pocket - why are they still bombing outside of the steel plant ?

has been doing for years.

I will assist Mac Mickmanus a bit and say "the right to do something" is irrelevant here. It's about strategic interests in a cold war logic, there is a logical argument to be made to argue why Russia indeed would have a strategic security interest to do that. And I say that argument is made by Russia and its supporters in bad faith, because "buffer states" and the distance to Moscow has become more and more irrelevant in the past years. I don't see how NATO in Ukraine is more threatening than NATO in Poland. The difference in flight time to Moscow of a ballistic nuclear missile must be around 3 minutes.

but Russia demonstrated that they could and would do something like that. so it forces Finland to join NATO.

so what ? you mean that gives them the right to attack Finland ? if anything, it's a good reason for Finland to join NATO and build up its military.

well, it wasn't threatening to invade Ukraine either ! it even said it wouldn't !

Technically, NATO can remain at peace while one or several of its members conduct a "special peacekeeping operation" on the ground and the sky of Ukraine. BUT the problem is not that. The problem is to determine where it the operation should stop. Stopping at the pre-invasion controlled territories of Ukraine would amount to de-facto recognize the separatists and the Crimea landgrab. Going beyond that would be to give Russian people a reason to call for war. So Ukraine will have to do this alone to win back its territories. That's what Putin bets on. That calculation of his is correct. Where he grossly miscalculated, is that he didn't give Ukraine and the rest of the "free world" an acceptable concession he would be able to sell at home as a win. That's where I guess he has some kind of mental condition that prevented him from anticipating this. So we have a situation: - where Putin is with his back to the wall (i.e. increasingly desperate and dangerous). - Russia's word and assurances, signatures in international treaties is worthless - Ukraine can't accept any scenario Putin could sell as a win

Putin and likeminded successors.

my opinion is that the best chances of avoiding or at least postponing WW3 for a long time is to stop Putin right now. Giving him Donbass would be a win for Putin. Not only would this encourage Putin and his successors to pursue that kind of tactics (hello Transnistria, the rest of Georgia, Kasakstan, etc. ) but other countries will take note of the West's weakness and act accordingly (hello China in Taiwan, hello North Korea ...). So Putin needs to be stopped now, he must not get Donbass, not pass go, not collect 200$. Only the go to jail card is for him. And although I'm scared f*ckless, I increasingly think that the West should risk it.

64th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade The 64th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade (Military Unit Number 51460) is a motorized infantry brigade of the Russian Ground Forces. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/64th_Guards_Motor_Rifle_Brigade Vlad's message to Russian troops : rape, murder civilians, pillage and get rewarded !

I live in Pattaya too. Price doesn't increase when I log in. it does increase too

maybe the roubles stopped pouring in because of the sanctions ...

I replied to that kind of argument earlier:

Mykolaiv Oblast governor reports shootout between Russian troops, Russia's proxies in neighboring region. According to Vitaliy Kim, shooting between the Russian military and forces of the Russian-occupied territories in Donbas took place in the Russian-occupied city of Nova Kakhovka, Kherson Oblast, on April 16. https://kyivindependent.com/ good news. if they start shooting each other among themselves, it will be less work and spare many lives of Ukrainian soldiers.

https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-putin-news-04-17-22/h_c2789afaa290f5311aee5f14371ab176 Putin believes he’s winning the war, Austrian chancellor says “I think he is now in his own war logic. He thinks the war is necessary for security guarantees for the Russian Federation. He doesn’t trust the international community. He blames the Ukrainians for genocide in the Donbas region. So, um, well, he is now in his world, but I think he knows what is going on now in Ukraine," Nehammer said. so that confirms that Putin has some kind of a mental condition. "not batting off a full wicket" would some British friends say.

I am really in no position to recommend anything. But I remember this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ilovaisk https://www.newsweek.com/2014/11/14/battle-ilovaisk-details-massacre-inside-rebel-held-eastern-ukraine-282003.html https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49426724 also known as the "massacre of Ilovaisk" Russians can be 100% trusted to not respect any agreements.