Ukraine-Russia crisis

[dallysingh101]

 

[Ranjeet01]

Spoke to a Polish acquaintance of mine who is from the area in Poland quite close to the Ukrainian border.

He hates the Ukrainians.

This was quite eye opener for me as I thought these groups were buddies. 

The media and the politic elites present one view but the reality with the hoi poloi shows another. 

Slavic animosity

[Premi5]

8 minutes ago, Ranjeet01 said:

Spoke to a Polish acquaintance of mine who is from the area in Poland quite close to the Ukrainian border.

He hates the Ukrainians.

 

Why ?

[Ranjeet01]

37 minutes ago, Premi5 said:

Why ?

I do not know

[Ranjeet01]

https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/the-paradoxes-polish-ukrainian-relations

During WW2, there was a genocide of Poles by Ukrainians 

But there are issues going back centuries 

[dallysingh101]

 

[proactive]

On 5/19/2022 at 10:52 AM, Ranjeet01 said:

https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/the-paradoxes-polish-ukrainian-relations

During WW2, there was a genocide of Poles by Ukrainians 

But there are issues going back centuries 

Watch the film Taras Bulba 

A very entertaining way to get the low down on Polish-Ukrainian relations. 

[dallysingh101]

See folks, money and resources are what really count:

 

Zelensky slams EU 'bickering' as the bloc agrees watered down ban on oil imports from Russia but will continue to pay Putin billions of euros for gas

• Zelensky urged EU leaders to put aside 'quarrels' which he said encourage Putin 
• He spoke during hours-long debate Monday on banning Russian oil imports 
• Entreaty failed, as bloc was only able to agree a 70 per cent ban on Russian oil 
• Comes just four weeks after Ursula von der Leyen spoke of a complete embargo 

 

 

Volodymyr Zelensky has slammed the EU for a lack of unity as the bloc failed to agree a promised ban on Russian oil imports.

The Ukrainian president urged leaders to put aside 'all the quarrels inside Europe, all internal arguments, that are only encouraging Russia' as they wrangled over ending the continent's dependence on Russian fossil fuels Monday.

But his entreaty failed, as the 27-nation bloc only managed to agree a ban on 70 per cent of Russia's oil in the face of opposition from Hungary.

And the EU will continue to pay Putin tens of billions of euros per year for gas - a key source of income for Russia - after it was exempted from sanctions earlier this year.

 

The partial oil embargo marks a significant climbdown for the EU since Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed a complete ban four weeks ago.

Viktor Orban, Hungary's hardline leader who shares good ties with Moscow, had been bitterly opposed - saying cutting his country off from Russian oil would be like dropping a 'nuclear bomb' on its economy.

In the event, leaders agreed to a ban on Russian oil being brought in by sea - which Council President Charles Michel said on Monday would mean cutting off 70 per cent of supplies.

Taken together with unilateral action from Germany and Poland to shut off pipeline oil, it will mean an effective ban of 90 per cent by the end of the year, he added.

The ban will deprive Russia's economy of hundreds of billions of dollars in trade, along with billions more in coal exports which have already been banned.

It forms part of a sixth package of sanction on Russia which will be published later this week, including cutting off another of its banks from the Swift payment system, as well as restrictions on more state media and asset freezes for individuals. 

But an exemption will mean that Hungary continues to receive oil through its branch of the Druzhba pipeline - which also supplies Slovakia and the Czech Republic - in a trade thought to be worth tens of billions of dollars annually.

Von Der Leyen said the exemption will be 'temporary' while Hungary seeks ways to replace Russian oil supplies, but did not give a firm end date. 

The EU will also continue to buy Russian natural gas upon which economies such as Germany are heavily dependent.

EU leaders had been pressured to act on Russian fossil fuel imports under heavy pressure from Zelensky, who accused them of financing Putin's war on his country.

Speaking to leaders on Monday via a 10-minute video message, he said sanctions must 'be agreed on, it needs to be effective, including (on) oil,' so that Moscow 'feels the price for what it is doing against Ukraine' and the rest of Europe. 

Only then, Zelenskyy said, will Russia be forced to 'start seeking peace.'

 

 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10870427/Ukraine-war-Zelensky-says-EU-quarrels-encouraging-Russia.html

[proudkaur21]

How long will this war continue? It seems like people have stopped reporting on it too , only occasional news here and there. Have no idea who is winning or what is the status.

[dallysingh101]

4 hours ago, proudkaur21 said:

How long will this war continue? It seems like people have stopped reporting on it too , only occasional news here and there. Have no idea who is winning or what is the status.

Even if this war was to end shortly, the long term fallout from this is probably going to last generations. It's going to redefine Europe, and Russia's moves to counter balance their future without a vulnerable co-dependency on pro-NATO states may change things elsewhere too. Unless Europe manages to place a puppet in Putin's place after he's gone. 

And you're right, there is no telling which way this war is really going. The UK is only reporting it as a shambles for the Russians (mainly), but we don't know what the reality is. If Russia gets a solid hold of the port cities they are contesting that'll probably change global economics, but knowing the west, they'll be there long term covertly trying to derail and sabotage it all.      

The most important thing I've learnt from all this is just how big a player Russia is in the oil game (never knew before) and just how much the rest of Europe depends on crops produced in eastern Europe.