Member Info for big-blue

That link was supposed to be to a map, scroll down for a map, the shaded area is the Donbas area.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.swp-berlin.org%2F10.18449%2F2019RP05%2F&psig=AOvVaw3BPXnr7SmCn5egzfi10rV3&ust=1645086871338000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAgQjRxqFwoTCMiGwabog_YCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAP

I chunk, but only about 1/16 the land mass. But Russia is also interested in the bit underneath to create a land bridge to Crimea.

Next, we need announcement from US that pre flight tests are to be removed. That will also signal other nations to follow. It is the testing which is still too much of an issue. The sooner it ends the sooner the rebuilding of confidence starts.

Oh dear. Somebody in the Pentagon rather overdid the counter propaganda. The weather alone was a guarantee there wouldn't have been an 'invasion'. At worst there would have been some incursions into the Russian ethnic enclaves. That is where there focus of discussion will move and where we are likely to see 'protection forces' of unassigned troops.

But, did Putin poke the west just a little too hard? Talk already of moving forces back into Romania, Poland and others on a permanent basis. Putin may even have messed up so the chess game isn't a draw, what he does in the next 24hrs might lose him the game.

so two moves left on the chess board and the west has just come out of check leaving a discovered check against Russia.

One gambit Putin has got wrong which is why winding the threat of conflict was so risky is that the old threat from the east is back. The nato response may well be to rebuild defenses and extend into places like Finland. Military resources have been significantly depleted on the nato side since the cold war so they may well be rebuilt in short order. And that will include arms sales and training and making armies compatible.

So two.moves left

lol! That's a bridge! A land bridge is a corridor of land, especially one that can't be blown up.

Ed, I think Russia does want to extend into Donbas, and Lugansk, as they are ethnic Russian. Also it creates a land bridge to Crimea. The troubles since 2014 have been around the ethnic enclaves trying to break off from Ukraine. Crimea was more transparent because of the Cossacks and, after Top Gear finished filming there, the Russians were able to walk in unopposed. The same will happen with the other Russian enclaves. Given the populations speak 90% Russian and consider themselves Russian, Ukraine could have got a nice little earner working with Russia on these old Warsaw Pact boundaries.

https://www.globsec.org/news/the-two-most-plausible-scenarios-are-de-escalation-and-invasion-of-eastern-ukraine/

This is probably the best explanation of what the Russians have been working towards and what the eventual outcome will be. The question is whether it was going to happen with a military campaign or 'soft hats'.

https://inews.co.uk/news/world/vladimir-putin-accuses-ukraine-of-genocide-and-mass-violation-of-human-rights-1462146?ITO=newsnow

And here the propaganda continues preparing for Russian security' forces of some description being deployed on Donbas region. Had to go the long way round to get here but this is the end game for the new map of Ukraine. If Ukraine objects and refuses then the Russians go into the enclave heavy [breach of agreement].

Well, in raprachmont, as the Russians have pulled back some bogged down units, Germany could recall those 5000 helmets. Both sides pulling back from the brink.

1970
November 19 – The six European Economic Community nation prime ministers meet in Munich to begin the new program of European Political Cooperation (EPC), a unified foreign policy for a future European Union.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm nothing planned about the soviet EU was there

It took me a while to figure that out!

The most notable moment of 1970 was, January 1 - Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. So is that an oman? The beginning of time

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970

Market sector has stalled again. Bots gone quite. Need another 5% across board to restore recovery to IAG results day.

"Maxar Technologies, a commercial satellite imagery company that has been monitoring the Russian build-up, reported increased Russian military activity in Belarus, Crimea and western Russia, including the arrival of helicopters, ground-attack aircraft and fighter-bomber jets at forward locations."

Now then, are we getting a little closer to some truth here. What favours a 'commercial' company? A demand for its products. How to create a demand for your product's? Yeah. So, here we have a commercial company playing up some of its satellite images to sell and generate revenue. And better still, get the US and UK to reference the images as proof. So we now know these are not US spy photos, or UK photos, they are from a commercial company that sells images. And given I had a look at the location as stated on the images earlier and found them to be nowhere near the Ukrainian border, just what level of credibility can be given to these images? It serves the politics of the US and Nato to point to them as evidence, but this is what I would call a very weak source.

Ed, I believe BBC3 was brought back on air after Auntie was given the nod and wink of the invasion so it could give 24/7 coverage without piszing off a load of regular viewers interrupting their woke programming.

Tomorrow Ed!

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20220211IPR23114/meps-call-for-a-ban-on-golden-passports-and-eu-rules-for-golden-visas

Anybody bought one these EU passports? Corrupt little muckers. Tip to toe.

"Liberum said there is pressure on politicians to look like they have a handle on virus cases; hence why an easing of travel curbs has taken a pause recently."

Time for politicians to turn off the TV, turn off the news feeds and apply policy relative to the real world!!

Errr.... my mistake, I zoomed the map out a bit further.... that isn't the Ukraine border, it is the Belarus border! What the hell is that article going on about. That military car park must be 500km away from the Ukraine border!!!! Is that photo from the Pentagon? Is this the standard of propaganda coming out of the US? Jeeezzz......

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-ukraine-satellite-images-b2015354.html

Lookin up Yelnya on the map, very badly positioned vehicle park. There is barely one paved road to the Ukraine border some 40 odd km away. That would be a very odd place to start your invasion.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Yelnya,+Smolensk+Oblast,+Russia,+216330/@54.3241681,32.3294277,110608m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x46cc2e2580365913:0x22de89400bfef8be!8m2!3d54.5772791!4d33.1846309

New chess move
https://www.intellinews.com/updated-russia-starts-to-withdraw-some-troops-from-ukraine-border-as-duma-votes-to-recognise-breakaway-donbas-republics-235033/

Check, nato move next.

3 moves left?