2 minutes ago, BestB said:

can you tell me why Putin is any different to American leaders who are responsible for the deaths of thousands of kids? and can you also tell me exactly what the crime is for evacuating kids from the war zone? that is assuming it was his decision to begin with? In case you wondering, its a rhetorical question, i have no doubt reply would be again some deflection and double standards

I don't do deflection, I do facts however:

 

Today, 17 March 2023, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “the Court”) issued warrants of arrest for two individuals in the context of the situation in Ukraine: Mr Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Ms Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova.

Mr Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, born on 7 October 1952, President of the Russian Federation, is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation (under articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute).

https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-ukraine-icc-judges-issue-arrest-warrants-against-vladimir-vladimirovich-putin-and

The UN is an utterly useless organisation, but why should Russia avoid paying into this parasitic bureaucracy?

7 hours ago, Pique Dard said:

i wonder...

(1)Fall of the Berlin Wall November 9, 1989 on the promise of not expanding Nato

(2) Putin's famous Munich Speech 2007,

(3) the Ukainian war or conflict started in 2014.

those are facts. i'm against any war,  but disapprove of the use of "unprovoked"

Apart from the fact that this so-called promise has never been officially made, you forgot two important dates:

- June 12th, 1991, the Russian Federation declares its independence from the Soviet Union

- December 31st, 1991, dissolution of the Soviet Union.

 

So a promise not really made, to an entity which has been dissolved since (and that Russia left before, De facto triggering its dissolution).

9 hours ago, Hakuna Matata said:

Probably Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania.

 

We should not forget that the Soviet Union was one of the founding states of United Nations.

 

There is no United Nations without Russia.

But really there is no United Nations with Russia

On 4/1/2023 at 6:33 AM, cncltd1973 said:

I question your 1st point as a fact. there was no promise talked about or assured from nato to not expand, as affirmed by Gorbachev who signed the deal. the nato "promise" never happen, it is Putin's fabrication to gain sympathy for his invasion.

please,  take time to open and read the following links! .... 

 

1.   https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/russia-programs/2017-12-12/nato-expansion-what-gorbachev-heard-western-leaders-early

2. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/12/russias-belief-in-nato-betrayal-and-why-it-matters-today

3. https://books.openedition.org/ceup/2906?lang=en

4. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/09/us/politics/russia-ukraine-james-baker.html

 

...no more comments from me.

 

11 hours ago, Pique Dard said:

please,  take time to open and read the following links! .... 

 

1.   https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/russia-programs/2017-12-12/nato-expansion-what-gorbachev-heard-western-leaders-early

2. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/12/russias-belief-in-nato-betrayal-and-why-it-matters-today

3. https://books.openedition.org/ceup/2906?lang=en

4. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/09/us/politics/russia-ukraine-james-baker.html

 

...no more comments from me.

 

thanks for the links. here is a link that clarifies my point:

https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/forrel-nato.htm

 

especially this bit:

"Western leaders never pledged not to enlarge NATO. The Germans, Americans, British and French agreed in 1990 that there would be no deployment of non-German NATO forces on the territory of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR). The Soviets never raised the question of NATO enlargement other than how it might apply in the former GDR.

Russia Beyond the Headlines interviewed Mikhail Gorbachev in October 2014, "The topic of “NATO expansion” was not discussed at all, and it wasn’t brought up in those years. I say this with full responsibility. Not a single Eastern European country raised the issue, not even after the Warsaw Pact ceased to exist in 1991. Western leaders didn’t bring it up, either."

*end quote*

 

this matter quickly devolves into legalities. but even if the assurance of a nato non-expansion was an issue, the assurance would have been made to the soviets of the ussr, a state that no longer exists, and I expect it wouldn't automatically  apply to the new state government monopolized by Putin, as much as Putin wants it to. it would be up to his government to secure its own assurances. but I'm not a lawyer, just a casual observer. cheers