Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-23 and Invasion

[Sheilbh]

From the BBC ticker:

Putin has now moved on to criticising the Ukrainian authorities.

He called the events of 2014 – which saw protesters topple Ukraine's pro-Russian president – a "coup".

Putin says, without providing evidence, that Ukraine was being controlled from the "outside".

He's accused them of force-assimilating Russian-speakers and now adds the line Shoigu etc made about Ukraine going nuclear (apparently with the support of Western powers). Says they're a "colony led by a puppet regime".

[Syt]

Watching a bit on RT, and he seems to be in rambling mode, and the posture/setup doesn't help.

[The Brain]

He looks syphilitic.

[Tamas]

Now we are on to the East European NATO members being anti-Russian and not pro-Russian like promised to Russia upon the end of the cold war.

[Syt]

He's also railing against NATO (promised not to expand East during German unification - which was promised at a time when the Warsaw Pact still existed and those countries joining NATO was unthinkable), that NATO said they're defensive and peaceful which he disagrees with, that Russia did all it was asked, but NATO broke its promises at all points and ignoring all of Russia's concerns.

[The Brain]

Even his rants suck.

[Sheilbh]

Incidentally the clip of the exchange with Naryshkin is incredible. You don't need Russian to see what's happening here:
https://twitter.com/Kira_Yarmysh/status/1495787829196206080?s=20&t=H52lJ269MlcH3vMJvoIHow

[Tamas]

This is turning into a NATO is the true enemy speech.

[Syt]

Running through how NATO missiles and assets threaten Russia and can reach many targets in the country. Well, and vice versa, I suppose? 

[Sheilbh]

Running through how NATO missiles and assets threaten Russia and can reach many targets in the country. Well, and vice versa, I suppose? 

Sshhh - we don't talk about Kaliningrad or the new rockets that they've been putting there

[Syt]

This is turning into a NATO is the true enemy speech.

What this section of his speech feels like:

[Syt]

Running through how NATO missiles and assets threaten Russia and can reach many targets in the country. Well, and vice versa, I suppose? 

Sshhh - we don't talk about Kaliningrad or the new rockets that they've been putting there

Those nuclear capable missiles are PURELY defensive. 

[Tamas]

  Yeah.

Although I must say the scope of his rambling is becoming frightening. Cold War is full back on, and that's the most optimistic outcome of this.

[The Larch]

Tweets from the FT Moscow correspondant:

I've had random Russians rant to me about Ukrainian history like this before, but they didn't control the world's largest nuclear arsenal

Imagine being Macron and sitting through this patiently for six hours while you politely urge Putin not to start a huge war

RT of somebody else: When it comes to assessing the impact of Covid on the world, leaving Vladimir Putin isolated in a bunker with a library of books about Ukraine is probably going to be one of the major ones.

[Syt]

Yeah.

Although I must say the scope of his rambling is becoming frightening. Cold War is full back on, and that's the most optimistic outcome of this.

Yeah. Guess it's time to fire up the armaments industry some more again, and introduce Iron Curtain 2.0.

I wonder, though, if there's sanctions put in place to cut the oligarchs off from their wealth and privileges in the West, would that destroy his power base?