World News Random, Random

[ti-amie]

[JazzNU]

Protestors? Sound more like extremists or terrorists.

[ponchi101]

Again, in writing, I should be more careful. Vlad would not invade Ukraine, he would annex it. It would be radically different from invading Afghanistan, as it is one country with the same language and, I guess, a very similar culture.

I think here you're mistaken. Similar it might be, but any invasion is likely to be anything but a walk in the park. Not very much love for Russia as a country left in Ukraine. Irish also speak mostly English, but do we say they're all the same?

I did not say SAME, I said SIMILAR. And the cultures in the UK are indeed similar, with their regional quirks.
How difficult was for Russia to annex Crimea? On a scale from 1 to 10, a 2? Why should the Eastern portion of Ukraine be different?

[Suliso]

A lot of things have changed since 2014. At that time Putin took everyone by surprise, no chance of that anymore. People see what has happened to Donetsk and Crimea under Russian rule.

Maybe Putin decides to invade anyway, but if not then I think the major factor in his thinking will have been the following:

- far more modern weapons in Ukraine than 8 years ago and a unified public opinion. They still couldn't stop the Russian army entirely, but loses would be high and potential for a protracted civil war as well.
- relatively uniform response from the West (sanction threats, weapons etc.)
- public opinion in Russia is not calling for a major war either (ok, this one maybe he doesn't care about)

[ti-amie]

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[ti-amie]

Photos of Storm Eunice hitting the British Isles


Storm Eunice produces strong winds and large waves in Porthleven, Cornwall, Britain on Feb. 18. (Tom Nicholson/Reuters)


The white-domed roof of the O2 arena is seen damaged by wind, as a red weather warning was issued with Storm Eunice in London on Feb. 18. (Stefan Rousseau/PA/AP)


A photographer kneels on the beach as waves crash over Newhaven harbor wall in southern England on Feb. 18. (Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images)

Video of a pilot struggling to land his plane at the link.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/20 ... torm-wind/

[ti-amie]

Then there's this one.

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[ti-amie]

[mmmm8]

Again, in writing, I should be more careful. Vlad would not invade Ukraine, he would annex it. It would be radically different from invading Afghanistan, as it is one country with the same language and, I guess, a very similar culture.

I think here you're mistaken. Similar it might be, but any invasion is likely to be anything but a walk in the park. Not very much love for Russia as a country left in Ukraine. Irish also speak mostly English, but do we say they're all the same?

I did not say SAME, I said SIMILAR. And the cultures in the UK are indeed similar, with their regional quirks.
How difficult was for Russia to annex Crimea? On a scale from 1 to 10, a 2? Why should the Eastern portion of Ukraine be different?

A bit late on this, but agree completely with Suliso. Invading Eastern and Western Ukraine are whole different ballgames.

Crimea and the currently separatist parts of Eastern Ukraine have huge ties to Russia, speak Russian, like(d) Russia. Russia also had years of buildup propaganda, offering not only messaging but, more importantly, Russian passports to a lot of the population there. None of this is the case with Western Ukraine. Kiev is mostly Russian-speaking, but the city is richer than the country, is very independently minded and has a prideful history (it's where Russia started and they still think we Russians usurped and appropriated their culture). I just don't see this going down "easy" at all.