The Russians are coming...

[Old Cruser]

There seems to be unrest all around the Globe. It's quite concerning really.

[Sorastro]

I suppose from a cynical point of view war and pestilence does keep the worlds population near an acceptable level.

[Sorastro]

So it really looks like Putin is spoiling for a fight. He has lost significant ground, and is planning referendums in these regions to get them to become part of Russia. Everyone knows the ballots will be rigged unless a U.N. peace keeping force can bring in vote checkers to make sure the voting is fair and above board, although Putin {if he loses} will claim Western interference has rigged the result so you can't win.

The only thing I can see is if these 300,000 reservists he's planning to call up either don't go or refuse to go, even he can't afford to upset his army, so my hope is that the Russian people see sense and refuse to fight.

[Sorastro]

The only thing I can see is if these 300,000 reservists he's planning to call up either don't go or refuse to go, even he can't afford to upset his army, so my hope is that the Russian people see sense and refuse to fight.

It looks as though these lads are either being arrested, for refusing to go, or are heading for the hills while they can, it seems that the truth has been slowly seeping into Russia over Ukraine.
Putin is struggling, his {mainly} conscripts, that were first sent, didn't want to fight in the first place so their need to be triumphant is not as ingrained in them as it is a Ukrainian fighter.
Putin's firepower, although vast, is no match for the up to date sophisticated equipment being supplied to Ukraine by the West, you only have to look at the ground that Ukraine has retaken in such a small space of time to realise that Putin is being totally "outgunned". His threat of using nuclear missiles is {hopefully} just that, even he must know that launching these missiles will do massive damage and cause an horrendous loss of life, so he must weigh that up against most Western countries would retaliate and there won't be much left of Russia after that.

[Old Cruser]

I watched Putin talking yesterday. The people in that room seemed unhappy and not impressed.

[Sorastro]

Germany's reluctance to send Ukraine their Leopard tanks stems from the fact that people and Countries have long memories of WW2 and they don't want to appear to be kicking off again especially when it involves Russia.

One way out of this impasse would be for us to send our Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine and buy to use Leopards from the Germans that way everyone's "happy"

[Old Cruser]

Germany's reluctance to send Ukraine their Leopard tanks stems from the fact that people and Countries have long memories of WW2 and they don't want to appear to be kicking off again especially when it involves Russia.

One way out of this impasse would be for us to send our Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine and buy to use Leopards from the Germans that way everyone's "happy"

Looking like things are moving now on the tanks front - I've a very uneasy feeling about this -------

[Sorastro]

It seems as if we have the tank situation sorted but now America and the rest are dithering over planes.

[smithy266]

and we have only just heard about Putin's chat with Bojo months ago.....

[Old Cruser]

Not to mention American shooting China's balloon down - I'm waiting to hear if it really was A WEATHER BALLOON (hopefully we will get the truth???

[Sorastro]

So it would appear the tables are turning. The leader of Wagner is taking all his troops to march on Moscow. It's in the early stages but Putin has wet himself already and left the Kremlin {for parts unknown}. Everyone knows that Wagner is mainly made up of Russian convicts that have nothing to lose and have every right to despise Putin's Russia so it's do or die for them, also Putin knows Wagners troops are better fighters than his regular army so letting them get within Moscows walls will spell the death knell for Putins power.

Even though this is a coup for the Ukranians the leader of Wagner has done himself {and his men} no favours, instead of fighting one enemy he has now ended up with two to deal with one at the front and one behind him he basically has nowhere to go only forwards.

[Sorastro]

Well! only 24 hours later and there's been a total reverse.

It would appear that the Wagner leader has either been bought off or he came to his senses, either way Wagner troops have been ordered back to Ukraine {minus their leader} and their leader Prigozhin is now in exile with all charges of mutiny dropped, possibly he could be in Belarus.

There was a glimmer of hope yesterday and it's now been quashed.
All I can say is Putin doesn't forget and he doesn't forgive either, remember Litvinenko!!   

[Sorastro]

Rumours that the head of the Wagner group was on that downed plane yesterday, if true I'm surprised he lasted that long.

I just feel sorry for the nine other souls that perished with him {collateral damage apparently}

[Fly]

I don't get why Putin didn't just wipe him after the 'incident'. He had reason.
Why this now tragic 'accident'?

[Old Cruser]

I don't get why Putin didn't just wipe him after the 'incident'. He had reason.
Why this now tragic 'accident'?

He'll need to pretend it was an accident