Russian invasion of Ukraine

[Zen Archer (Raconteur)]

20 minutes ago, Sergeant Wilson said:

You me and @Jacksgrandawill keep the home fires burning.

[Shandon Par]

Sign me up! 

[LongTimeLurker]

14 minutes ago, Jacksgranda said:

Not at the current cost of heating oil I won't be...

Meanwhile there's enough shale gas under Lancashire and to a lesser extent Scotland's central belt to easily eliminate the need for the UK to import LNG for a few decades, but we've got to keep Greta & Co happy so we pay extra to have the fracking done in Texas instead...

[renton]

2 hours ago, steve55 said:

UK only has 100,000 troops.

Draft would be 18-55 BTW...

The UK won't draft the population again. That's what Trident is for, and the British Army only has an established strength of 82,000 - due to drop to 75,000 through the next defence review period.

The new incoming Chief of the General Staff was simply preparing for a fight with Whitehall over a bigger budget, largely to stop that drop in personnel, and maybe save more of his tanks.

The RAF was in the press banging the drum for more ASW patrol aircraft the other day as well.

[steve55]

So much for Democracy...

 

 

[welshbairn]

7 minutes ago, steve55 said:

So much for Democracy...

 

 

Don't you know there's a war on? They're a pro Russia party in a country that Russia is bombing, and came 4th in the 2019 election with 12.7% of the vote.

[dirty dingus]

4 hours ago, welshbairn said:

Don't you know there's a war on? They're a pro Russia party in a country that Russia is bombing, and came 4th in the 2019 election with 12.7% of the vote.

Maybe they should do what Putin does to opposition. Poison them, throw them in jail or fall foul to happy accidents like falling out windows.

On a UK draft they'd have to build city sized jails for all the folk who tell them to stick it up their arses. I wouldn't be fighting for the British state. Let all those who have fucked over the public to garner huge wealth fight to defend it.

[LongTimeLurker]

11 hours ago, welshbairn said:

Don't you know there's a war on? They're a pro Russia party in a country that Russia is bombing, and came 4th in the 2019 election with 12.7% of the vote.

Several of their elected officials have actively collaborated with the Russian occupation forces since the war started.

 

[welshbairn]

Quote

Kyva was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election, receiving a few thousand votes under the banner of the Socialist Party of Ukraine. However, he would later make a political u-turn and get elected as a member of the pro-Russian Opposition Platform — For Life list in the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election. Kyva went on to host his own show on the Zik TV channel, said to be controlled by oligarch and leader of co-chairman of the Opposition Platform Viktor Medvedchuk.[4]

On 24 February 2022 Russia launched a full scale invasion of Ukraine.[6] On the same day Kyva expressed support for the invasion, claiming "the Ukrainian people need liberation" and that "Ukrainians, Belarusians, Russians are one people."[7] Furthermore he stated that Ukraine was "enslaved and brought to its knees by the West, imbued with Nazism, and has no future."[7] He blamed the war on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and urged him to resign.[8]

Prior to the invasion, Kyva had left for Spain.[7] On 3 March 2022, Kyva was expelled from the party and faction of Opposition Platform — For Life.[8] On 6 March 2022, Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova announced that Kiva was being charged with high treason, as well as infringing on Ukraine's territorial integrity, taking part in Russian war propaganda, and illegal weapons possession.[9]

On 15 March 2022, the Verkhovna Rada deprived Kyva of his mandate as a People's Deputy.[1]

On 17 April 2022, he called on the Kremlin to launch a nuclear strike on Ukraine from his Telegram account, stating “Zelensky, his entourage and Western curators, are most afraid of a Russian preemptive strike, weapons of mass destruction. This is what can put an end to today's confrontation, not only with the Ukrainian authorities, but with the entire West.”[10][11] [12]

On 18 April 2022, it was reported that Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigations had opened a case of treason against Kyva for involvement in an illegal arrangement with a general of the Russian Armed Forces.[13]

On 21 April 2022, in an open letter to Russian president Vladimir Putin, Kyva applied for Russian citizenship and political asylum.[14]

Based on the analysis of videos published on his Telegram account, Ukrainian investigation platform Bihus.Info [uk] concluded (on 20 June 2022) that Kyva had settled in the cottage town of Agalarov Estate, near the village Pokrovskoye in Moscow Oblast.[15]

 

[ICTChris]

If this is the same guy I'm thinking of, he was also a regional boss for the Right Sector before his Damascene conversion to being pro-Russian.

[Detournement]

https://grahamefuller.com/some-hard-thoughts-about-post-ukraine/

An informative blog from an ex CIA officer who was up to no good for decades Graham Fuller. He was CIA chief in Kabul when the Afghan Civil War that has never really ended kicked off in the 70s. He was involved in Iran - Contra. He spent years importing Wahhabism into Islamic areas of Russia and China which resulted in terror campaigns. Turkey accused him of being involved in the attempted coup against Erdogan a few years ago. And very suspiciously his daughter is married to the uncle of the Boston Bomber Tsarnev Brothers.

 

 

Quote

 

Contrary to optimistic declarations, NATO may  in fact ultimately emerge weakened. Western Europeans will think long and hard about the wisdom and deep costs of provoking deeper long term confrontations with Russia or other “competitors”of the US.

Europe will sooner or later return to the purchase of inexpensive Russian energy. Russia lies on the doorstep and a natural economic relationship with Russia will possess overwhelming logic in the end. 

Europe already perceives the US as a declining power with an erratic and hypocritical foreign policy “vision” premised upon the  desperate need to preserve “American leadership” in the world. America’s willingness to go to war to this end is increasingly dangerous to others.

Washington has also made it clear that Europe must sign on to an “ideological” struggle against China as well in some kind  of protean struggle of “democracy against authoritarianism”. Yet, if anything this is a classic struggle for power across the globe. And Europe can even less afford to blunder into confrontation with China–a “threat” perceived primarily by Washington yet unconvincing to many European states and much of the world..

China’s Belt and Road initiative is perhaps the most ambitious economic and geopolitical project in world history. It is already linking China with Europe by rail and sea. European exclusion from the Belt and Road project will cost it dearly. Note that the Belt and Road runs right through Russia. It is impossible for Europe to close its doors to Russia while maintaining access to this Eurasian mega project. Thus a Europe that perceives the US already in decline has a little incentive to join the bandwagon against China. The end of the Ukraine war will bring serious reconsideration in Europe about the benefits of propping up Washington’s desperate bid to maintain its global hegemony.

Europe will undergo increasing identity crisis in determining its future global role. Western Europeans will tire of subservience to the 75 year American domination of European foreign policy. Right now NATO is  European foreign policy  and Europe remains inexplicably timid in asserting  any independent voice.How long will that prevail?

We now see how massive US sanctions against Russia, including confiscation of Russian funds in western banks, is causing most of the world to reconsider the wisdom of banking entirely on the US dollar into the future. Diversification of international economic instruments is already in the cards and willl only act to weaken Washington’s once dominant economic position and its unilateral weaponisation of the dollar.

 

 

[Guest]

Regarding that quoted section; while I think the thesis may prove accurate for the rest of western Europe, I think UK will differ. British ethnocentrism is extremely strong and possibly a majority of Brits will never stop viewing Americans as their kin. 

[welshbairn]

3 hours ago, ICTChris said:

If this is the same guy I'm thinking of, he was also a regional boss for the Right Sector before his Damascene conversion to being pro-Russian.

Interesting wee piece on him here with insights into academic corruption in Ukraine.

[Newbornbairn]

Russia has just pushed Europe into the open door of sustainable energy production. Whilst cheap gas was around, politicians could drag their feet but now even the most backward climate change sceptic will enthusiastically embrace green options. 

[Shadow Play]

33 minutes ago, Newbornbairn said:

Russia has just pushed Europe into the open door of sustainable energy production. Whilst cheap gas was around, politicians could drag their feet but now even the most backward climate change sceptic will enthusiastically embrace green options. 

Good point well made.  Unfortunately the options just now for heating our homes aren’t great.  Air source pumps are nowhere near as good as gas boilers and are not much cheaper to run due to the cost of electricity.  Cheap electricity is the answer but getting the infrastructure in place to theoretically achieve that will be extremely expensive.  All the investment made to reach that point will need to be paid back, most likely by years of higher electricity prices.

[Bairnardo]

Good point well made.  Unfortunately the options just now for heating our homes aren’t great.  Air source pumps are nowhere near as good as gas boilers and are not much cheaper to run due to the cost of electricity.  Cheap electricity is the answer but getting the infrastructure in place to theoretically achieve that will be extremely expensive.  All the investment made to reach that point will need to be paid back, most likely by years of higher electricity prices.

Maybe more folk would look into generating their own electricity if the feed in tariff weren't absolute shite.

Community level wind, solar and battery storage should be a big part of the answer.

[strichener]

15 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:

Maybe more folk would look into generating their own electricity if the feed in tariff weren't absolute shite.

Community level wind, solar and battery storage should be a big part of the answer.

If you are generating your own electricity then why do you need feed-in tarrifs?

When the government were initially offering people 43.3p per kWh, eventually prices were going to catch up.

Feed-in tarrifs or the replacement SEG are part of the problem rather than a solution.

 

Edited June 21, 2022 by strichener

[Bairnardo]

If you are generating your own electricity then why do you need feed-in tarrifs?
When the government were initially offering people 43.3p per kWh, eventually prices were going to catch up.
Feed-in tarrifs or the replacement SEG are part of the problem rather than a solution.
 

Because you are always going to spill any excess into the grid.

We need to incentivise energy diversity and small scale household or community level projects should be a part of that.

Battery storage helps with the wastage, but solar panels themselves with no storage are a cheaper option that most folk could stretch to if the payoff period was better, which it would be if you weren't paying neat 40p/kW import and gettong about 4p export.

[Zetterlund]

1 hour ago, Shadow Play said:

Good point well made.  Unfortunately the options just now for heating our homes aren’t great.  Air source pumps are nowhere near as good as gas boilers and are not much cheaper to run due to the cost of electricity.  Cheap electricity is the answer but getting the infrastructure in place to theoretically achieve that will be extremely expensive.  All the investment made to reach that point will need to be paid back, most likely by years of higher electricity prices.

For modern houses heat pumps are every bit as good as gas boilers, although that doesn't help the majority of people right now. We're on the right track with the gas boiler ban for new builds from 2025, but heat pumps remain very expensive and the only reason they're an option for many people at all just now is because the government throws money at them to fit one.

[welshbairn]

14 minutes ago, Zetterlund said:

For modern houses heat pumps are every bit as good as gas boilers, although that doesn't help the majority of people right now. We're on the right track with the gas boiler ban for new builds from 2025, but heat pumps remain very expensive and the only reason they're an option for many people at all just now is because the government throws money at them to fit one.

I don't get how sucking in cold air helps to make electric heating more efficient tbh. I know, I should google it...