Putin has stole so much money from his own country, i am sure he has those Rubles well protected. President Zelensky has now agreed to hold talks on the Belarus Border with Ukraine, he will send a delegation and not go himself for obvious reasons.

The Russian Invaders are starting to lose people, equipment and men, there supply lines are now stretched too far and are already in short supply of many things, when you expected to take the Airport in the first night by Special Forces, it seems like they had no plan B, a belief in there own power back firring, why do we see Putin on TV this morning praising his Special Forces, because he lost so many Special Forces in the first two nights, and now he needs to make a National TV address to appease the families of those crack troops that now lie dead.

I now feel a lot better as a military man to finally see the creation of "An International Brigade" a volunteer force made up of many Nationalities who will make there way to Poland then cross the border, i am personally aware of several of these guys who have already left.

Now many of our countries are sending Weapon Systems to Ukraine, Air To Air, Ground To Air Missile Systems, Anti Tank Weapon Systems and more. Every Weapon System My Government has ever sold to another Country has always been accompanied by Military Advisors, to train the buyers Armies in there use, without exception. These will likely be Special Forces in name only, if other ex military peeps here, will understand when i say guys from The Regiment will already be there and more on there way, met plenty of these guys in the past and no one would ever have them marked as Special Forces, as we are not talking about square jawed Crew cut haired men here, these blokes look like anyone in the street and that is a strength believe me, as they can move around and totally blend into the areas they need too.

I Stand With Ukraine.

Me too!

The look in those old men and woman's eyes Chasbo when they were making Molotov Cocktails outside there building in Kyiv, even with my own recent diagnosis, i hope i never forget that look of Defiance, not ever, Brave , Brave souls who's only concern is to make The Russian Federation Soldiers, fight for every inch of Kyiv knowing what the likely outcome will be. Ukraine will fall but it's people never will.

When they run out of Guns, they will use Knives, when they run out of Knives they will use there Bare Hands, making use of anything to defend there country.

Ukrainian People, You Are A True Inspiration to all of us.

This was needed much sooner, international troops to bolster the Ukrainian defense, but better late than never, even mercenaries, anyone willing to support ukraine militarily. 

I've been hoping that a ceasefire would eventuate while peace talks are on the table, but it seems the Russians are still pressing on towards the capital, Kviv.  I just read that a large convoy of Russian vehicles and troops is enroute to Kviv; hopefully the Ukraians have the long-range capability, missiles to stop it in its tracks and inflict heavy losses to the Russian military.  If Russia isn't willing to agree to a ceasefire while peace talks are on the table, then the convoy is fair game and should be targeted for destruction.

The war is not even 10 days old starkers, believe me from my own past experience, The International Brigade is moving much faster than any before it, it does take some time to organise a multi national force. Ex Soldiers like myself who have undertaken Private Military Contracts do not like to be called Mercs or Mercenaries, this conjures up bad images of ex soldiers from the 60s and 70s who would fight anywhere as long as they are paid well. Modern Private Military Contractors, are something else entirely these days, and can be controlled by Whitehall men in grey suits, or Large Companies who can offer these services in a way not recognised by what those men of the past called Mercs.

We can not put Official Military on the ground in Ukraine as escalation would be certain, PMCs can do a lot more than official troops so i am grateful for my mates who have already left, i am too old to be Activated but i have helped in my own way by making contact with old military mates and Helping Organisations who may assist with the Logistics (in the Private sector, so much has to be done) just to organise all the things needed to be affective.

So far Putin has avoided the use of serious Destructive Weapon Systems , but he is moving in with thermobaric weapons and Rockets, these can be catastrophic to Human life in an area, i have seen them and believe me no of us who have , wish to see them used again.

The Weapon Systems many of our countries are sending to Ukraine, are Defensive Systems, helping the Ukrainian Air Force to keep the ability to Fly there Jets and hence Controlling there own airspace, if the Russians controlled the air space things would be so different right now and the Ukrainians would already be defeated, those columns would already be in Kyiv. Sure they can be used Offensively to make attacks, the Ukrainian Military are holding the line against a superior force who's weapons they hold in reserve, are catastrophic, even though we all wish they Bomb the shite out of the column from a safe distance, this would not end well for the Ukrainian people as Putin has so many long range weapon systems both conventional and Nuclear, he could fire them from inside the Russian Federation and all but destroy ever major city if he chooses too. I know this can sound crazy to None Military, but War has to follow a rule set, we in the 1st world posses so many weapon systems that can destroy on mass from long range, but we still put men and woman in uniform on the ground to fight conventional war, the alternative leaves no winners , only degrees of losing, and when they world commits to a system of hoping we loose less than our enemies, we all suffer more and our planet can be laid waist for generations to come.

I Stand With The People Of Ukraine (just glad i am able to do my bit).

So it begins, as i  previously informed the forum regarding the International Brigade or now it has begun to be called The Foreign Legion, has begun to mobilise, a figure of 16,000, which will be inflated by officials and is more likely to be around 10,000 men and woman have come forward to fight the Russian Federation. Paying each Soldier around £1500 per day depending on Rank and Experience. Only Ex Soldiers with 5 plus years are asked to sign up. As an old hand at this kind of thing with 5 Combat Tours under my belt, i have done my part by helping with logistics to send some very good people to help out the people of Ukraine, this will be an ongoing thing until the Russian Federation leave and go home or Ukraine can not fight any longer.

The men in grey suits at Whitehall are always involved in this type of OP, but right now they are laying out the red carpet for Private Military Contractors, oh boy is this a switch from normal.

I Stand With The People Of Ukraine For As Long As Needed.

The way to win this...the term win meaning keeping Ukraine free is through domestic Russian political opposition to Putin. That is almost impossible due to lack of media (tvs) in small villages, and total state control. 

Yes, I have had many of the same thoughts. Then I look at the attitudes that many of us in the USA have about various minorities, colors, ethnicities, religions, and sexual preferences, and the vision is even bleaker because both democracies and dictatorships do not seem to represent all people just the people in power.

So what can we do? My wife and I vote; we are active in our communities and live the best life we can. Yes, it is difficult, but I can remember the Cuban missle crisis the atom bomb threats, and somehow we get through them. Will we always? No one knows, but we can hope, stay involved, and pray if religious.

I rest my case.

The International Brigade has and is being flooded with volunteers, the numbers are growing daily, now we are at an crucial step. The Russian Federation calling a UN Meeting concerning Chemical Weapons is just "Getting In There First" developing a cover story to actively start the use of such barbaric weapons themselves. RF never realised the determination of the Ukrainian people, the war is not going how they thought it would with all original objectives already failed, now they have almost encircled the key Cities and will offer 2 chances, Come to Terms (RF Terms)or we destroy your cities. Ukraine will not accept RF Terms, so RF will resort to Terrible weapons to try and dominate the people, I witnessed The Siege Of Sarajevo and hoped i would never see this in Europe again in my own lifetime. The Russian Federation will unleash more than just Artillery and Rockets, much much worst, and the western and NATO countries who have so far stayed out of direct conflict, will have no choices left but to act, anyone who thinks this will  stay in Ukraine is wrong.

Belarus is more than eager to act as the puppet Government they are, and come into the war on the RF side, we now have Syrian Military Videos showing Assad's men ready to join in the fighting, it's called the domino effect, other countries will have no choice but to take sides, this is how things develop in War, i wish i understood things much less than i do, at least then i could think, this will not involve us.

That saying is never more suited to now.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

I am a Good Man and will NOT Do Nothing.

I Stand With Ukraine, and will help in my own way for as long as Necessary.

The only saving grace here is how badly Russia has run this war and how staunchly Ukraine has resisted. Had Russia succeeded the way they intended the west would have lost big time. But they didn't, Russia logistical planning has been a joke and the Russian airforce power doesn't really seem to exist the way it was described. It is like the whole campaign was theatrics on Russias part that largely relied on scaring Ukraine into retreat. Now that Ukraine has called Putins bluff and forced him to actually fight a war Putin seems to be resorting to war crimes and fighting dirty. He pretty much got beat, but won't concede so now he is just going to destroy as much of Ukraine as he can and even seems to be playing with the idea of chemical weapons. Really? A nation like russia really needs chemical weapons to fight a country like Ukraine. I would have never guessed. I feel like the Russian army was advertised as 9 foot giants but turned out to be just 5 foot men at this rate.

Don't let Russia scare you. Ukraine has shown that we should fight tyranny as the bullies aren't always as tough as they think they are.

This war has gone on far too long and Russia [Pootin] is the one who believes that most, which is why he and his generals are resorting to dirty tactics to beat the Ukrainians into submission.  God forbid they resort to chemical weapons to so-say end this never-should-have-started-war a lot sooner.  That would be a travesty against the brave Ukrainians the world could never ever ignore.  I sure as hell it don't happen, but Pootin is as mad as a hatter and as unpredictable as they come.

I see today that volunteers from the Middle East are pledging military assistance to Russia, which is not a good thing, nor is it necessary, given Russia's military might..  The problem with it is that this damned conflict will escalate and draw other nations more directly into it.

Sadly, Pootin will be the architect of WWIII.... unless somebody takes him out first.

Russia might be able to slant reality at home but the 'soldiers on the ground' know what's going on...and clearly their heart really isn't in it.  They are being told to kill their relatives....a bit like any Civil War.

If only the bombers and missile men didn't have their hearts in it and weren't targeting residential buildings, schools and hospitals, etc.... the refugees trying to evacuate Russian encircled cities that are under constant bombardment.

The Russians aren't the only ones slanting reality at home regarding this damned war.  I read today that China is doing the same damned thing there with its tightly controlled state media.  It is all so heavily censored in favour of Russia and the Chinese public has no idea as to what really is happening in Ukraine. The Chinese public is being force-fed fake news that there is no Russian invasion, no bombing, nobody being killed, just harmless military manouvres.

How odd. Turns out what our parents told us about the USSR/Russia and Red China was spot on. Amazing how smart they became as I grew older. 

The first thing I have to say is that I am against Russia in this war which Russia started against Ukraine. I am for Ukraine and their desire to be with the West. Having said all that the next thing I am going to say is to put things in a historical perspective.

I was going to talk about fire bombing Tokyo and Dresden. I was going to mention bombing Hanoi back into the stone age but I'll use Iraq because I think it is the most recent example to prove my points.

What's going on in Ukraine reminds me of how in 2003 a leader in the West made up a bunch of bullshit about another country in order to justify invading that country. The invaders were from The United States and the country being invaded was Iraq. Looking back, and I know there are differences, but was the Iraq war of 2003 that much different from what's going on now? Both wars based on LIES. Both wars in order to increase the power of the invaders, their influence.

The Iraq war was a good example of Imperialism. What is a simple definition of imperialism? Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other territories and peoples. That is basically what is going on in The Ukraine right now but someone else is doing it and we don't like it!

To me the biggest difference is in proximity. Where the war in Iraq was fought in an area of the world where there aren't any white people the war in Ukraine is right next to about 450 million white people. Many of those people have direct ties to people in The United States and Europe itself through ancestry etc etc. so I can understand why people in the West are more sympathetic towards Ukraine but that doesn't make it different from what went on in Iraq or Vietnam for that matter. It's just that now it's happening to people like us. We don't like that at all.

I look at all the refugees fleeing Ukraine and my heart goes out to them but my heart went out to the Iraqi refugees as well and all the other refugees that stemmed from how the United States destabilized the whole Middle East. I saw a figure of about 9 million Iraqis alone. I remember how many European countries didn't want to take in Arab refugees even though those same countries supported and took part in destabilizing that region of the world. Now however other Countries in Europe are welcoming the Ukrainian refugees with open arms.

ALL REFUGEES ARE VICTIMS REGARDLESS OF WHAT COLOR OR RELIGION THEY ARE!!!

ALL IMPERIALIST POWER GRABS ARE WRONG NO MATTER WHO DOES THEM!!!

Hopefully the world will survive the current shit show.

My wish is that we will all learn from this but I know we won't. As long as there are evil power hungry men in this world there will be more Iraq wars and Ukraine wars.

Oh yes I believe George Bush and Dick Cheney are just as evil as Vladimir Putin in their own ways. Make no mistake about that.

I'll probably get slammed for this but I truly believe everything I said because it's the truth.

Truth. 

I do not think the saving grace here is RFs inability to run the war how they thought it would be, in fact i think the opposite. RF will now resort to  Terrible weapons to try to level the playing field, i have seen this before.

What we will see now is a long drawn out affair(remember  Sarajevo). Ukraine will not give up so RF will become crueler and it will become a war of Attrition, this is the worst kind of war as it is measured by Body Counts "We Kill More Of them opposed to how many of us they kill", Attrition is that simple, but in Ukraine's case, it will not be a series of small-scale actions, it will be Ukraine's brave fighters Smashed to dust along with there Cities. The Russian Federation will not dare to try to take the Cities by force of numbers as it will be them who loose so many men in that kind of human meat grinder as the Ukrainian Army and Volunteers are very well Dug In and are defending there cities, places were they live, were there homes and families live.

RF are now blaming there own Spy Chiefs for the Armies lack of hitting it's goals, more officials will follow and become Under House arrest, this will only serve to make Putin more paranoid and fuel his "Win At All Cost" ethos.

Putin and staying in power will be crucial to the greater outcome, Putin has gone Rogue, so we do not need an unstable guy with Nuclear Capabilities at the top of RF when the NATO powers get dragged into this. It would be far better with a RF leader who will not break the rules of war or resort to a win by any means method of doing things in the top job. Putin's future is bleak, people around him will already know this and be maneuvering around him, but for now and considering how poorly RF Armies are doing, more atrocities will happen. It must be crossing the minds of RF security Council senior members, that at some point they may be called War Criminals and at a later date be sent to Jail for the rest of there lives if they continue to support Putin, this will have a desired effect of focusing there minds and actions. There best chance is to isolate Putin, remove him from office and then Blame him 100% for all wrong doings in Ukraine, then tell the rest of the world "We Will Deal With Him"  Until that happens, we will see more and more terrible things even in the best case scenario. Illegal Weapon Systems will be used, the NATO powers will join the fray at some point as they will have no more choices left.

The Russian Federations Armies are not all they are cracked up to be and until the Putin leadership is changed, we still risk escalation sooner than we think.

To bad Putin did not learn from our mistakes as there are parallel's. We thought we would be greeted as liberators just as Putin thought. We thought there would be some sort of domino effect where surrounding nations would overthrow their governments in favor of western democracies. I am sure Putin felt the same way with his soviet agenda. It never seems to work that way in practice and only creates a mess.

However, the one thing the US did not do is break any rules of engagement. The actual war was a clean fight. We never blew up children's hospitals or schools when things got rough. Putin is a great deal more evil then Bush was as he is targeting civilians and aiming at mass destruction of the country.