OT/ Russia. War not going well.

[Dubbag]

Third day and Russian incursion into Ukraine appears not to be going well.

With 190,000 heavily armed professional soldiers, with recent battle experience against an inexperienced young conscription armed force?

Could Russian soldiers be complacent? Would have expected the armoured coloumns to have arrived in Kiev by now. Supply lines maybe their issue but going through Chernobyl seemed a more direct route but something is not quite right with this advance. Logistically something looks a miss...

[animallittle3]

Absorbing enormous losses apparently , every inch of progress comes at a huge human cost .

Putin's underestimated the Ukrainians .

[Dubbag]

Absorbing enormous losses apparently , every inch of progress comes at a huge human cost .

Putin's underestimated the Ukrainians .

He may also have overestimateed his army's fighting force against the enemy (in his eyes) but many Russians would not consider Ukrainians as an enemy ..

The apparatchiks who rule in Russia may have made a gigantic mistake here...

[Dubbag]

ALSO THIS.......
Poland has refused to play a World Cup play-off match against Russia next month because of the Ukraine invasion, according to the Polish FA.

The association's president, Cezary Kulesza, said on Twitter: "In light of the escalation of the Russian Federation's aggression against Ukraine, the Polish national team is not going to play a match against Russian Republic."

Kulesza said the Polish FA was in talks with its Swedish and Czech counterparts regarding play-off games set for March to fill a slot for the World Cup.

This is growing legs all on its own......

[kettering_baggie]

I don’t hear much coming from FIFA or UEFA, who should by now have expelled Russia and Russian clubs from all competitions, sadly, those two organisations are run by lily livered tw@ts.

[Leicesterbaggie]

If Sweden and the Czech Republic follow Poland's lead then surely Russia will have to be expelled from the World Cup, which they should be anyway. I would also throw Russian clubs out of all European competitions immediately. I don't think the general population realise how effective banning Russia from all sporting competitions would be. Probably more effective than many of the sanctions already imposed on them. You only have to look at their attitude to drugs to see what importance they put on winning.

[baggieal]

If Sweden and the Czech Republic follow Poland's lead then surely Russia will have to be expelled from the World Cup, which they should be anyway. I would also throw Russian clubs out of all European competitions immediately. I don't think the general population realise how effective banning Russia from all sporting competitions would be. Probably more effective than many of the sanctions already imposed on them. You only have to look at their attitude to drugs to see what importance they put on winning.

Second that! Ban every Russian team from every sporting event. Switch off SWIFT. Deport every Russian National that has no citizenship in the country where they reside!

Take Putin's frozen assets to buy ammo for Ukraine!

[Dubbag]

Germany sending military equipment......from Sky....

Germany's big U-turn on sending weapons

In a significant U-turn, Germany has decided to supply Ukraine with 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 shoulder-launch Stinger surface-to-air missiles as the country combats a Russian invasion, writes our defence and security editor Deborah Haynes.

Berlin had until now resisted requests to give lethal aid to the Ukrainian armed forces, offering 5,000 military helmets instead – a move that was dismissed by the mayor of Kyiv as "a joke".

Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, appeared to want to ensure his country's change of heart was noticed, taking to Twitter to write: "The Russian invasion of Ukraine marks a turning point. It is our duty to do our best to support Ukraine in defending itself against Putin's invading army."

Germany has a long-standing policy of not exporting weapons to war zones in the wake of its defeat in the Second World War.

It also means that countries with German-made weapons must receive approval from Berlin if they want to export them anywhere.

This policy had been used to stop certain states from sending weapons to Ukraine. But that stance too has changed.

The German government said it has approved the delivery of 400 rocket-propelled grenades from the Netherlands and a request by Estonia to pass on old GDR howitzers to the Ukrainian military.

[Dubbag]

RTE over here now reporting the Russian central bank to be sanctioned now......

The European Commission President has said that Brussels would propose to freeze the assets of the Russian central bank, in a major escalation of sanctions against Moscow following the invasion of Ukraine.

Ursula von der Leyen also said the EU would remove "certain" Russian banks from the SWIFT payment system, in response to a key demand of Kyiv to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin.

These new measures will "cripple Putin's ability to finance his war machine," Ms Von der Leyen said.

She was speaking after a videoconference with the leaders of the United States, Germany, France, Italy and Canada, intended to coordinate the West's response to the invasion.

[Dubbag]

Ukrainian admits trying to sink his Russian boss's £5m yacht - reports

A Ukrainian man who allegedly tried to sink his Russian boss's multimillion pound yacht has said he has no regrets and would do it again.

The 55-year-old was reportedly arrested in Majorca after trying to partially submerge the £5m Lady Anastasia at Pord Adriano on the island.

Local media said the yacht belongs to Alexander Mijeev who is the chief executive of a military weapons company.

Majorca Daily Bulletin said the man turned himself in and told Civil Guard officers: "My boss is a criminal who sells weapons that kill the Ukrainian people."

The Ukrainian is reported to have opened a large valve in the engine room and a second in a compartment where the crew live.

He said he told his Ukrainian colleagues to abandon ship and that he would take the blame.

The man was released and has not been charged.

Looks like a green light......