chiefdave
Well-Known Member
That sounds familiar
USSR invades Ukraine. (6 Viewers)
- Thread starter Alan Dugdales Moustache
- Start date
Grendel
Well-Known Member
Which totally misses the point.
Grendel
Well-Known Member
Well other than its nonsense
"And it was just complete collapse in the early 1990s. I have a friend who was 14 when the Soviet Union fell. She was living in the provinces. Her family had a savings account for her to buy a car when she reached 18 – which would have been in 1995. But when she reached 18, because of hyperinflation it was just enough to buy a new pair of shoes.
Russians went from relatively benign, stable economic standards – when the price of things like Lada cars stayed the same – to everything going, virtually overnight. It was an enormous shock that Russia went through."
Gorbachov - unlike Andropov - believed he could retain Communist policies without the USSR and that Raegan and Thatcher would support him. It was total nonsense - it was the that he lost to Yeltsin - a pathetic drunk whose biggest claim to fame was wandering around the US in his underpants demanding a Pizza
Who among us etc
mmttww
Well-Known Member
and we're French and German by that logic. You wanna let Macron know he can grab the Channel Islands, Cornwall and a few other bits whenever he feels like it?
Grendel
Well-Known Member
Your constant digs at people that you are smarter shows an incredible insecurity which you really need to address. I don’t think much of the Eastern European sovereign countries found very much self determination when Stalin rolled the tanks in.
It’s funny because you in reality are unbelievably stupid on so many levels.
Sky_Blue_Dreamer
Well-Known Member
Says the man who constantly belittles people he believes are less intelligent than himself.
Grendel
Well-Known Member
It’s virtually every post. Who is he trying to convince?
Sky_Blue_Dreamer
Well-Known Member
Well hardly anyone here would be recognisable as a true Briton. Unless you're one of those that dress like a druid and go to Glastonbury or Stonehenge .
All of those places I mentioned have left significant cultural and genetic marks on this country.
Plus you haven't said whether you'd think the terms given by Russia would be acceptable if imposed on your own country.
Captain Dart
Well-Known Member
Huh, so what did the Vikings ever do for us.
Flying Fokker
Well-Known Member
Deep strikes in Russia last night. Whilst the Russian drones were hitting Ukraine. Plus Hungary info.
Grendel
Well-Known Member
Russia crying about the drone strikes on their bombers, while they purposefully target civilians with their drones (which is a war crime).
Captain Dart
Well-Known Member
Flying Fokker
Well-Known Member
chiefdave
Well-Known Member
Confirmed in the official report that it was known since 2018
Heathrow shutdown caused by problem found seven years ago
An investigation has been launched by the energy regulator into National Grid after finding issues at a substation were not fixed.
www.bbc.co.uk
eastwoodsdustman
Well-Known Member
Until the orange balloon speaks to him next time, yes, it probably has. Then it will be Zelensky is a bad man again for a week or two. Then repeat as required.
Exactly this.
Remember when he was going to end the war on day one. Good times.
Grendel
Well-Known Member
Who cares? The rest of the world call Putin the boogie man, talk tough and do nothing.
Sick Boy
Super Moderator
Some countries are more equal when it comes to dropping bombs on civilians though, apparently.
Captain Dart
Well-Known Member
Flying Fokker
Well-Known Member
Having read/heard views about us moving towards WW3, it’s not surprising that some Russian academics think the same.
Not for the faint hearted.
A view from the East.
Dmitry Trenin
By Dmitry Trenin, a research professor at the Higher School of Economics and a lead research fellow at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations. He is also a member of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC).
RIAC
Dmitry Trenin: World War III has already begun
© Getty Images / Getty Images
Many now speak of humanity’s drift towards World War III, imagining events similar to those of the 20th century. But war evolves. It will not begin with a June 1941 Barbarossa-style invasion or a Cuban Missile Crisis-style nuclear standoff. In fact, the new world war is already underway – it’s just that not everyone has recognized it yet.
For Russia, the pre-war period ended in 2014. For China, it was 2017. For Iran, 2023. Since then, war – in its modern, diffuse form – has intensified. This is not a new Cold War. Since 2022, the West’s campaign against Russia has grown more decisive. The risk of direct nuclear confrontation with NATO over the Ukraine conflict is rising. Donald Trump’s return to the White House created a temporary window in which such a clash could be avoided, but by mid-2025, hawks in the US and Western Europe had pushed us dangerously close again.
This war involves the world’s leading powers: the United States and its allies on one side, China and Russia on the other. It is global, not because of its scale, but because of the stakes: the future balance of power. The West sees the rise of China and the resurgence of Russia as existential threats. Its counteroffensive, economic and ideological, is meant to put a halt to that shift.
It is a war of survival for the West, not just geopolitically but ideologically. Western globalism – whether economic, political, or cultural – cannot tolerate alternative civilizational models. Post-national elites in the US and Western Europe are committed to preserving their dominance. A diversity of worldviews, civilizational autonomy, and national sovereignty are seen not as options, but as threats.
This explains the severity of the West’s response. When Joe Biden told Brazil’s President Lula that he wanted to “destroy” Russia, he revealed the truth behind euphemisms like “strategic defeat.” Western-backed Israel has shown how total this doctrine is – first in Gaza, then Lebanon, and finally Iran. In early June, a similar strategy was used in attacks on Russian airfields. Reports suggest US and British involvement in both cases. To Western planners, Russia, Iran, China and North Korea are part of a single axis. That belief shapes military planning.
Dmitry Trenin: Why the next world order will be armed with nukes
Read more Dmitry Trenin: Why the next world order will be armed with nukes
Compromise is no longer part of the game. What we’re seeing are not temporary crises but rolling conflicts. Eastern Europe and the Middle East are the two current flashpoints. A third has long been identified: East Asia, particularly Taiwan. Russia is directly engaged in Ukraine, holds stakes in the Middle East, and may become involved in the Pacific.
The war is no longer about occupation, but destabilization. The new strategy focuses on sowing internal disorder: economic sabotage, social unrest, and psychological attrition. The West’s plan for Russia is not defeat on the battlefield, but gradual internal collapse.
Its tactics are all-encompassing. Drone strikes target infrastructure and nuclear facilities. Political assassinations are no longer off-limits. Journalists, negotiators, scientists, and even their families are being hunted. Residential neighborhoods, schools, and hospitals are not collateral damage – they are targets. This is total war.
This is underpinned by dehumanization. Russians are portrayed not just as enemies but as subhuman. Western societies are manipulated to accept this. Information control, censorship, and historical revisionism are used to justify the war. Those who question the dominant narrative are labelled traitors.
Meanwhile, the West exploits the more open systems of its adversaries. After refusing to interfere in foreign politics for decades, Russia now finds itself on the defensive. But those days must end. As our enemies coordinate their attacks, we must disrupt their unity. The European Union is not a monolith. Hungary, Slovakia, and much of southern Europe are not eager for escalation. These internal fractures must be widened.
Western strength lies in unity among its elites and their ideological control over their populations. But this unity is not invulnerable. The Trump administration presents tactical opportunities. His return has already reduced US involvement in Ukraine. Yet Trumpism should not be romanticized. The American elite remains largely hostile to Russia. There will be no new détente.
Fyodor Lukyanov: The West mocked BRICS for years but now it’s paying attention
Read more Fyodor Lukyanov: The West mocked BRICS for years but now it’s paying attention
The war in Ukraine is becoming a war between Western Europe and Russia. British and French missiles already strike Russian targets. NATO intelligence is embedded in Ukrainian operations. EU countries are training Ukrainian forces and planning attacks together. Ukraine is just a tool. Brussels is preparing for a wider war.
What we must ask is: Is Western Europe preparing to defend or attack? Many of its leaders have lost their strategic judgment. But the hostility is real. The goal is no longer containment, but to “solve the Russian question” once and for all. Any illusion that business as usual will return must be discarded.
We are in for a long war. It will not end like in 1945, nor settle into Cold War coexistence. The decades ahead will be turbulent. Russia must fight for its rightful place in a new world order.
So, what must we do?
First of all, we must strengthen our home front. We need mobilization, but not the rigid models of the Soviet past. We need smart, adaptive mobilization across all sectors – economic, technological, and demographic. Russia’s political leadership is a strategic asset. It must remain steady and visionary.
We must promote internal unity, social justice, and patriotism. Every citizen must feel the stakes. We must align our fiscal, industrial, and technological policy with the realities of a long-term war. Fertility policy and migration control must reverse our demographic decline.
Secondly, we must consolidate our external alliances. Belarus is a strong ally in the west. North Korea has shown reliability in the east. But we lack a similar partner in the south. This gap must be addressed.
Dmitry Trenin: The West’s war on Russia will go beyond Ukraine
Read more Dmitry Trenin: The West’s war on Russia will go beyond Ukraine
The Israel-Iran war offers important lessons. Our adversaries coordinate tightly. We must do the same. Not by copying NATO, but by forging our own model of strategic cooperation.
We should also pursue tactical engagement with the Trump administration. If it allows us to weaken the US war effort in Europe, we should exploit it. But we must not confuse tactics with strategy. American foreign policy remains fundamentally adversarial.
Fellow European powers like Britain, France, and Germany must be made to understand they are vulnerable. Their capitals are not immune. The same message should reach Finland, Poland, and the Baltics. Provocations must be met swiftly and decisively.
If escalation is inevitable, we must consider pre-emptive action – firstly with conventional arms. And if necessary, we must be ready to use ‘special means’, including nuclear weapons, with full awareness of the consequences. Deterrence must be both passive and active.
Our mistake in Ukraine was waiting too long. Delay created the illusion of weakness. That must not be repeated. Victory means breaking the enemy’s plans, not occupying territory.
Finally, we must penetrate the West’s information shield. The battlefield now includes narratives, alliances, and public opinion. Russia must once again learn to engage in others’ domestic politics, not as an aggressor, but as a defender of truth.
The time for illusions is over. We are in a world war. The only path forward is through bold, strategic action.
Not for the faint hearted.
A view from the East.
Dmitry Trenin
By Dmitry Trenin, a research professor at the Higher School of Economics and a lead research fellow at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations. He is also a member of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC).
RIAC
Dmitry Trenin: World War III has already begun
© Getty Images / Getty Images
Many now speak of humanity’s drift towards World War III, imagining events similar to those of the 20th century. But war evolves. It will not begin with a June 1941 Barbarossa-style invasion or a Cuban Missile Crisis-style nuclear standoff. In fact, the new world war is already underway – it’s just that not everyone has recognized it yet.
For Russia, the pre-war period ended in 2014. For China, it was 2017. For Iran, 2023. Since then, war – in its modern, diffuse form – has intensified. This is not a new Cold War. Since 2022, the West’s campaign against Russia has grown more decisive. The risk of direct nuclear confrontation with NATO over the Ukraine conflict is rising. Donald Trump’s return to the White House created a temporary window in which such a clash could be avoided, but by mid-2025, hawks in the US and Western Europe had pushed us dangerously close again.
This war involves the world’s leading powers: the United States and its allies on one side, China and Russia on the other. It is global, not because of its scale, but because of the stakes: the future balance of power. The West sees the rise of China and the resurgence of Russia as existential threats. Its counteroffensive, economic and ideological, is meant to put a halt to that shift.
It is a war of survival for the West, not just geopolitically but ideologically. Western globalism – whether economic, political, or cultural – cannot tolerate alternative civilizational models. Post-national elites in the US and Western Europe are committed to preserving their dominance. A diversity of worldviews, civilizational autonomy, and national sovereignty are seen not as options, but as threats.
This explains the severity of the West’s response. When Joe Biden told Brazil’s President Lula that he wanted to “destroy” Russia, he revealed the truth behind euphemisms like “strategic defeat.” Western-backed Israel has shown how total this doctrine is – first in Gaza, then Lebanon, and finally Iran. In early June, a similar strategy was used in attacks on Russian airfields. Reports suggest US and British involvement in both cases. To Western planners, Russia, Iran, China and North Korea are part of a single axis. That belief shapes military planning.
Dmitry Trenin: Why the next world order will be armed with nukes
Read more Dmitry Trenin: Why the next world order will be armed with nukes
Compromise is no longer part of the game. What we’re seeing are not temporary crises but rolling conflicts. Eastern Europe and the Middle East are the two current flashpoints. A third has long been identified: East Asia, particularly Taiwan. Russia is directly engaged in Ukraine, holds stakes in the Middle East, and may become involved in the Pacific.
The war is no longer about occupation, but destabilization. The new strategy focuses on sowing internal disorder: economic sabotage, social unrest, and psychological attrition. The West’s plan for Russia is not defeat on the battlefield, but gradual internal collapse.
Its tactics are all-encompassing. Drone strikes target infrastructure and nuclear facilities. Political assassinations are no longer off-limits. Journalists, negotiators, scientists, and even their families are being hunted. Residential neighborhoods, schools, and hospitals are not collateral damage – they are targets. This is total war.
This is underpinned by dehumanization. Russians are portrayed not just as enemies but as subhuman. Western societies are manipulated to accept this. Information control, censorship, and historical revisionism are used to justify the war. Those who question the dominant narrative are labelled traitors.
Meanwhile, the West exploits the more open systems of its adversaries. After refusing to interfere in foreign politics for decades, Russia now finds itself on the defensive. But those days must end. As our enemies coordinate their attacks, we must disrupt their unity. The European Union is not a monolith. Hungary, Slovakia, and much of southern Europe are not eager for escalation. These internal fractures must be widened.
Western strength lies in unity among its elites and their ideological control over their populations. But this unity is not invulnerable. The Trump administration presents tactical opportunities. His return has already reduced US involvement in Ukraine. Yet Trumpism should not be romanticized. The American elite remains largely hostile to Russia. There will be no new détente.
Fyodor Lukyanov: The West mocked BRICS for years but now it’s paying attention
Read more Fyodor Lukyanov: The West mocked BRICS for years but now it’s paying attention
The war in Ukraine is becoming a war between Western Europe and Russia. British and French missiles already strike Russian targets. NATO intelligence is embedded in Ukrainian operations. EU countries are training Ukrainian forces and planning attacks together. Ukraine is just a tool. Brussels is preparing for a wider war.
What we must ask is: Is Western Europe preparing to defend or attack? Many of its leaders have lost their strategic judgment. But the hostility is real. The goal is no longer containment, but to “solve the Russian question” once and for all. Any illusion that business as usual will return must be discarded.
We are in for a long war. It will not end like in 1945, nor settle into Cold War coexistence. The decades ahead will be turbulent. Russia must fight for its rightful place in a new world order.
So, what must we do?
First of all, we must strengthen our home front. We need mobilization, but not the rigid models of the Soviet past. We need smart, adaptive mobilization across all sectors – economic, technological, and demographic. Russia’s political leadership is a strategic asset. It must remain steady and visionary.
We must promote internal unity, social justice, and patriotism. Every citizen must feel the stakes. We must align our fiscal, industrial, and technological policy with the realities of a long-term war. Fertility policy and migration control must reverse our demographic decline.
Secondly, we must consolidate our external alliances. Belarus is a strong ally in the west. North Korea has shown reliability in the east. But we lack a similar partner in the south. This gap must be addressed.
Dmitry Trenin: The West’s war on Russia will go beyond Ukraine
Read more Dmitry Trenin: The West’s war on Russia will go beyond Ukraine
The Israel-Iran war offers important lessons. Our adversaries coordinate tightly. We must do the same. Not by copying NATO, but by forging our own model of strategic cooperation.
We should also pursue tactical engagement with the Trump administration. If it allows us to weaken the US war effort in Europe, we should exploit it. But we must not confuse tactics with strategy. American foreign policy remains fundamentally adversarial.
Fellow European powers like Britain, France, and Germany must be made to understand they are vulnerable. Their capitals are not immune. The same message should reach Finland, Poland, and the Baltics. Provocations must be met swiftly and decisively.
If escalation is inevitable, we must consider pre-emptive action – firstly with conventional arms. And if necessary, we must be ready to use ‘special means’, including nuclear weapons, with full awareness of the consequences. Deterrence must be both passive and active.
Our mistake in Ukraine was waiting too long. Delay created the illusion of weakness. That must not be repeated. Victory means breaking the enemy’s plans, not occupying territory.
Finally, we must penetrate the West’s information shield. The battlefield now includes narratives, alliances, and public opinion. Russia must once again learn to engage in others’ domestic politics, not as an aggressor, but as a defender of truth.
The time for illusions is over. We are in a world war. The only path forward is through bold, strategic action.
Last edited:
shmmeee
Well-Known Member
Flying Fokker
Well-Known Member
Didn’t take him long to realize the tide was turning.
I wonder where this will end?
Brighton Sky Blue
Well-Known Member
Nowhere does he write that perhaps his lunatic dictator overlord could just withdraw from Ukraine at any time.