Hey Euro Pals, what's up toward Ukraine and all that?

[JugeL]

As a person living in Finland, i've kinda come to realization that we all gonna die at some point because of few lunatics having some power fantasies

[newguy]

As a person living in Finland, i've kinda come to realization that we all gonna die at some point because of few lunatics having some power fantasies

Too bad the raging americans on this forum will mock you relentlessly whenever you blame their shitty country for causing what could be the start to ww3. Yet another proof this forum isn’t the shining beacon of progressive thought in skateboarding so many make it out to be

[newguy]

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Putin unhinged keeps defying pundits' predictions, who still seem certain that Russia won't push it further than Ukraine since that would mean confronting NATO.

[close]

Finland and Sweden have entered the chat:

https://thehill.com/policy/international/russia/595853-russia-threatens-military-and-political-consequences-if-finland

[close]

Scary. Seems like this was the plan all along. Basically WW2.(Finland joins Germany not because they are Nazis but because Russia is fucking wild) Russia's still pissed about it.

Finland was very much on the Nazi’s side mate, wtf?

[Mean salto]

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Putin unhinged keeps defying pundits' predictions, who still seem certain that Russia won't push it further than Ukraine since that would mean confronting NATO.

[close]

Finland and Sweden have entered the chat:

https://thehill.com/policy/international/russia/595853-russia-threatens-military-and-political-consequences-if-finland

[close]

Scary. Seems like this was the plan all along. Basically WW2.(Finland joins Germany not because they are Nazis but because Russia is fucking wild) Russia's still pissed about it.

[close]

Finland was very much on the Nazi’s side mate, wtf?

Yeah I said that? My point was they didn't join the Nazis because they hated Jews etc they did it to fight the Soviets and Russia is still pissed about it

[iKobrakai]

As a person living in Finland, i've kinda come to realization that we all gonna die at some point because of few lunatics having some power fantasies

I'm in Sweden. We're probably spending summer in woods with rifles, bro.

[newguy]

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Putin unhinged keeps defying pundits' predictions, who still seem certain that Russia won't push it further than Ukraine since that would mean confronting NATO.

[close]

Finland and Sweden have entered the chat:

https://thehill.com/policy/international/russia/595853-russia-threatens-military-and-political-consequences-if-finland

[close]

Scary. Seems like this was the plan all along. Basically WW2.(Finland joins Germany not because they are Nazis but because Russia is fucking wild) Russia's still pissed about it.

[close]

Finland was very much on the Nazi’s side mate, wtf?

[close]

Yeah I said that? My point was they didn't join the Nazis because they hated Jews etc they did it to fight the Soviets and Russia is still pissed about it

Huh, I didn’t know the russian government still had that grudge against finland. I don’t think Putin will do anything against Sweden or Finland, unlike Ukraine the US cares about these two and will raise hell if anything happens

[JugeL]

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As a person living in Finland, i've kinda come to realization that we all gonna die at some point because of few lunatics having some power fantasies

[close]

I'm in Sweden. We're probably spending summer in woods with rifles, bro.

Bro looking forward to it

Remember to bring some snus, nothing like being in woods with some Ettan los

[Banned from the room]

Abolish Nato

[halvadzic armin]

Russian pro-Putin trolls were working overtime in the last week, commenting our (Slovenia) national TV's news articles and accusing the USA with being the provocateur. As of today, their voices are drowned out completely, since it is obvious that Putin is the aggressor and that the alleged crimes against Russians in Ukraine are not base in reality.

I don't see this escalating into a full blown multi-nation conflict - I believe that Putin will be on the verge of taking over Ukraine and then be pushed back to a smaller part of the country, so that the NATO forces can proclaim a victory of sorts and Putin can gain some land (and it's resources) and population. Some treaties will then be signed, so that Putin can be seen as relevant for a few more years (and then die, hopefully).

My biggest fear is if the economic sanctions and overall trade fallout could trigger a recession.

hellow fellow slovenian !

[KoRnholio8]

pozdrav armine

[TheLurper]

I'm not signing on to this abolish NATO or even worse CorneliusCardew's complete nonsense as a reaction to Putin's aggression.

I'm not backing the over-left version that takes legitimate critiques of US/NATO diplomatic and military mistakes and turns them into excuses for Putin's invasion of a sovereign nation and creating 100K+ refugees overnight. Nor am I taking this far-right Tucker Carlson "Putin never called me racist" or this Steve Bannon "Putin is cool cause he hates gays [and other people I hate]" bullshit either. Fuck Putin and fuck his far-right oil economy/war machine. 

NATO has made mistakes, for example Bush Jr. (another man with Trump's "genius" IQ) made NATO offers that weren't smart and were quickly vetoed by Germany and France (here is the benefit of a coalition rather than a single nation making reckless decisions), but this and any other NATO mistakes do not create excuses for the tragedy of today brought upon by Putin who has argued Ukraine is not a real country (just a mistake of Lenin), made up some nonsense about neo-nazis (Azov got 2% of the popular vote in Ukraine... Golden Dawn in Greece easily received 7% and no one considers Greece a neo-nazi country, worrisome but not fucking neo-nazi), and other non-NATO related excuses for toppling a neighbor who had not built up troops on Russia's border.

Also, for those countries on the border (Latvia, Estonia, Poland, (or near-ish to the border like Czechia,) etc.), maybe they are right to fear Russia. Russia has some amazing people, some amazing cultural sites, and Moscow has my favorite skate scene, but let's not forget, it is a nation that has always relied on its military might for its power on the global stage, it regularly kills its own journalists, puts political opposition in prison or kills them on their territory and outside of their territory, clamps down on any protest/dissent intensely, and despite being extremely wealthy in terms of oil, gas, timber, etc. the people make very little, the new HIV cases is highest in Europe, the country DEcriminalized wife beating, has anti-gay laws, and so on. More than 60% of Polish people have wanted to join NATO since 1999 (more than 80% post Russia attacking Ukraine in 2014) and my friend's Latvian mom refused to ever speak Russian even though she was completely fluent, maybe there is a reason for this?

NATO isn't perfect and America has its own history of mistakes/atrocities but these aren't an excuse for Putin to invade a nation that was not threatening war against his nation, to create refugees, and significantly destabilize a world with more than enough problems. Putin didn't attack NATO/America (thankfully), he attacked a weak neighbor and created a crisis while China sat back and approved the whole thing (as long as Putin did it after the Olympics).

I've tried to stay out of this thread as I've only briefly lived in 2 different former-Soviet states (including Russia and I nearly went back for work a couple months ago) and currently live in Canada and the US, but the over-left non-nuanced exclamations of legit critiques (and even Putin's talking points) and the far-right's repeating of Putin's talking points and loving him and down playing this shit because he hates "woke" culture and is using the orthodox church to further his own power is not working for me.

[Mouth]

My 70 year old Ukrainian father in law was packing his bags in Italy for the front lines and the only thing that stopped him was a big blow out with my sister in law, in which she said if he goes, she goes.

Even my Russian mother-in-law law who thought Putin was a great man is now pro Ukraine  just like all the other Russians I know out here in Singapore.

[CorneliusCardew]

I'm not signing on to this abolish NATO or even worse CorneliusCardew's complete nonsense as a reaction to Putin's aggression.

I'm not backing the over-left version that takes legitimate critiques of US/NATO diplomatic and military mistakes and turns them into excuses for Putin's invasion of a sovereign nation and creating 100K+ refugees overnight. Nor am I taking this far-right Tucker Carlson "Putin never called me racist" or this Steve Bannon "Putin is cool cause he hates gays [and other people I hate]" bullshit either. Fuck Putin and fuck his far-right oil economy/war machine. 

NATO has made mistakes, for example Bush Jr. (another man with Trump's "genius" IQ) made NATO offers that weren't smart and were quickly vetoed by Germany and France (here is the benefit of a coalition rather than a single nation making reckless decisions), but this and any other NATO mistakes do not create excuses for the tragedy of today brought upon by Putin who has argued Ukraine is not a real country (just a mistake of Lenin), made up some nonsense about neo-nazis (Azov got 2% of the popular vote in Ukraine... Golden Dawn in Greece easily received 7% and no one considers Greece a neo-nazi country, worrisome but not fucking neo-nazi), and other non-NATO related excuses for toppling a neighbor who had not built up troops on Russia's border.

Also, for those countries on the border (Latvia, Estonia, Poland, (or near-ish to the border like Czechia,) etc.), maybe they are right to fear Russia. Russia has some amazing people, some amazing cultural sites, and Moscow has my favorite skate scene, but let's not forget, it is a nation that has always relied on its military might for its power on the global stage, it regularly kills its own journalists, puts political opposition in prison or kills them on their territory and outside of their territory, clamps down on any protest/dissent intensely, and despite being extremely wealthy in terms of oil, gas, timber, etc. the people make very little, the new HIV cases is highest in Europe, the country DEcriminalized wife beating, has anti-gay laws, and so on. More than 60% of Polish people have wanted to join NATO since 1999 (more than 80% post Russia attacking Ukraine in 2014) and my friend's Latvian mom refused to ever speak Russian even though she was completely fluent, maybe there is a reason for this?

NATO isn't perfect and America has its own history of mistakes/atrocities but these aren't an excuse for Putin to invade a nation that was not threatening war against his nation, to create refugees, and significantly destabilize a world with more than enough problems. Putin didn't attack NATO/America (thankfully), he attacked a weak neighbor and created a crisis while China sat back and approved the whole thing (as long as Putin did it after the Olympics).

I've tried to stay out of this thread as I've only briefly lived in 2 different former-Soviet states (including Russia and I nearly went back for work a couple months ago) and currently live in Canada and the US, but the over-left non-nuanced exclamations of legit critiques (and even Putin's talking points) and the far-right's repeating of Putin's talking points and loving him and down playing this shit because he hates "woke" culture and is using the orthodox church to further his own power is not working for me.

You refer to my nonsense but this forum has deleted it can you quote it and bring it back somehow

I remember I recommended that people should check out a certain Twitter account but I don't recall advocating any nonsense perhaps you can refresh my memory

[OldieButFrenchie]

I'm not signing on to this abolish NATO or even worse CorneliusCardew's complete nonsense as a reaction to Putin's aggression.

I'm not backing the over-left version that takes legitimate critiques of US/NATO diplomatic and military mistakes and turns them into excuses for Putin's invasion of a sovereign nation and creating 100K+ refugees overnight. Nor am I taking this far-right Tucker Carlson "Putin never called me racist" or this Steve Bannon "Putin is cool cause he hates gays [and other people I hate]" bullshit either. Fuck Putin and fuck his far-right oil economy/war machine. 

NATO has made mistakes, for example Bush Jr. (another man with Trump's "genius" IQ) made NATO offers that weren't smart and were quickly vetoed by Germany and France (here is the benefit of a coalition rather than a single nation making reckless decisions), but this and any other NATO mistakes do not create excuses for the tragedy of today brought upon by Putin who has argued Ukraine is not a real country (just a mistake of Lenin), made up some nonsense about neo-nazis (Azov got 2% of the popular vote in Ukraine... Golden Dawn in Greece easily received 7% and no one considers Greece a neo-nazi country, worrisome but not fucking neo-nazi), and other non-NATO related excuses for toppling a neighbor who had not built up troops on Russia's border.

Also, for those countries on the border (Latvia, Estonia, Poland, (or near-ish to the border like Czechia,) etc.), maybe they are right to fear Russia. Russia has some amazing people, some amazing cultural sites, and Moscow has my favorite skate scene, but let's not forget, it is a nation that has always relied on its military might for its power on the global stage, it regularly kills its own journalists, puts political opposition in prison or kills them on their territory and outside of their territory, clamps down on any protest/dissent intensely, and despite being extremely wealthy in terms of oil, gas, timber, etc. the people make very little, the new HIV cases is highest in Europe, the country DEcriminalized wife beating, has anti-gay laws, and so on. More than 60% of Polish people have wanted to join NATO since 1999 (more than 80% post Russia attacking Ukraine in 2014) and my friend's Latvian mom refused to ever speak Russian even though she was completely fluent, maybe there is a reason for this?

NATO isn't perfect and America has its own history of mistakes/atrocities but these aren't an excuse for Putin to invade a nation that was not threatening war against his nation, to create refugees, and significantly destabilize a world with more than enough problems. Putin didn't attack NATO/America (thankfully), he attacked a weak neighbor and created a crisis while China sat back and approved the whole thing (as long as Putin did it after the Olympics).

I've tried to stay out of this thread as I've only briefly lived in 2 different former-Soviet states (including Russia and I nearly went back for work a couple months ago) and currently live in Canada and the US, but the over-left non-nuanced exclamations of legit critiques (and even Putin's talking points) and the far-right's repeating of Putin's talking points and loving him and down playing this shit because he hates "woke" culture and is using the orthodox church to further his own power is not working for me.

IMO relying on a skate forum to make up your mind about an actual war is honestly sad....but I feel this was an interesting and balanced take. btw if you have actually lived in 2 former soviet states, you are more qualified to have an opinion than 99% of people!

[Sativa Lung]

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Putin unhinged keeps defying pundits' predictions, who still seem certain that Russia won't push it further than Ukraine since that would mean confronting NATO.

[close]

Finland and Sweden have entered the chat:

https://thehill.com/policy/international/russia/595853-russia-threatens-military-and-political-consequences-if-finland

[close]

Scary. Seems like this was the plan all along. Basically WW2.(Finland joins Germany not because they are Nazis but because Russia is fucking wild) Russia's still pissed about it.

[close]

Finland was very much on the Nazi’s side mate, wtf?

That's what he said.

Finland was essentially forced into allying with them because of Russia. The winter war nearly destroyed them and no one else was willing/able to help. It wasn't an ideological choice, it was purely military and realistically probably the only choice they had at the time if they wanted to remain independent. After the continuation war ceasefire they eagerly attacked the Nazis and expelled them from the country. They never signed the tripartite pact (as the Baltics/hungary/Romania did) and it's difficult to even classify them because their role in WW2 was almost entirely defensive. It's arguably more accurate to say they were co-belligerents against Russia than true allies.

[artskool]

I'd love to hear from Ukranian and Russian skaters.

I know a few Russians but don't want to email them asking questions about anything political.

I wonder if Putin is more worried about his hold on power at home than we realize, and figured a good old fashioned war is usually a great way to unite a country. Seems like a real miscalculation.

[IUTSM]

I'd love to hear from Ukranian and Russian skaters.

I know a few Russians but don't want to email them asking questions about anything political.

I wonder if Putin is more worried about his hold on power at home than we realize, and figured a good old fashioned war is usually a great way to unite a country. Seems like a real miscalculation.

that was kinda the reason I started this thread. hoping to get some insight

[frontfootimpossible]

As a North American living in the nordics, people here are pretty nervous. Russia seems to have been the bogeyman for Sweden for decades if not centuries. Russia just publicly threatend "serious military-political consequences" if Finland or Sweden join NATO, so it makes sense especially since Sweden have ±60k people in the military.

The days of the US providing real support (weapons, infantry, technology) are probably more or less over, no one has appetite for Cold War 2.0, less so WW3 and Rome is burning so to speak. However there is always money to be made from war and the 1% love to make money.

[KoRnholio8]

I used to attribute all of seeming unnecessary wars to the power of the (US) war industry, but now as I get older, I do think these wars are being waged to economically weaken countries/regions and as a simple display/reminder of power. Peaceful times are a lot more profitable for everyone, war is a mechanism of financial pressure/destabilization.

It can be argued that Russia does not at all care about Ukraine's role as a Nato/Russia buffer zone, but it's huge potential to disrupt Russia's dominance as the Europe's energy monopoly.

[iKobrakai]

The twats in Russian department of "defence" are warning civilians for new "high precision" attacks. Fucking hell... This night a lot of people will die.
 

[Jonny7.5Alive]

The twats in Russian department of "defence" are warning civilians for new "high precision" attacks. Fucking hell... This night a lot of people will die.

What do they mean by high precision attacks?

[Jean-Ralphio Zaperstein]

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The twats in Russian department of "defence" are warning civilians for new "high precision" attacks. Fucking hell... This night a lot of people will die.

[close]

What do they mean by high precision attacks?

"The Russian Defense Ministry warned on Tuesday that it planned to conduct strikes against facilities belonging to Ukraine’s security service and a special operations unit in Kyiv, aiming “to prevent information attacks against Russia,” and urged people in the surrounding areas to leave." from nytimes if you don't think it's too biased

[fredgallSOTY]

if anybody has any good links to donate + resources let me know, especially if there is anyway to help black + brown people in ukraine who can't leave currently

[Alan]

if anybody has any good links to donate + resources let me know, especially if there is anyway to help black + brown people in ukraine who can't leave currently

https://linktr.ee/ksvarnon

[fredgallSOTY]

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if anybody has any good links to donate + resources let me know, especially if there is anyway to help black + brown people in ukraine who can't leave currently

[close]

https://linktr.ee/ksvarnon

appreciated

[iKobrakai]

All bad news.

[Sativa Lung]

I used to attribute all of seeming unnecessary wars to the power of the (US) war industry, but now as I get older, I do think these wars are being waged to economically weaken countries/regions and as a simple display/reminder of power. Peaceful times are a lot more profitable for everyone, war is a mechanism of financial pressure/destabilization.

It can be argued that Russia does not at all care about Ukraine's role as a Nato/Russia buffer zone, but it's huge potential to disrupt Russia's dominance as the Europe's energy monopoly.

This is what dictators do. Putin is dying (he's old and I would not be at all surprised if he has terminal cancer or something) and its his last, baby dicked attempt to be seen as "strong". The dude has always, always been a KGB kook to the core and sees (actual) democracy as a threat to his legacy. The dipshit thinks he's going to be remembered like Ataturk when in reality he's going to be remembered more like Saddam.

I honestly hope this ends in full on Russian revolt Ala 1919. It's not crazy to suggest that he's just as out of touch with the average person as Nicky Romanov was. Hopefully they give him the Mussolini treatment if they get their hands on him.

[Dr Hass]

Hey - I’m Ukrainian and this is all pretty fucked. I live elsewhere but my family is all over the country, north, west. I have many friends in the east. I don’t really have anything to say and I’m not going to try to persuade anyone specifically, but it’s all just very horrific. A war where millions of ‘normal’ people are thrown into horror and disarray because of one guy’s hard-on for the Soviet Union. Fucking awful. Everyone I know is fighting hard, trying to do their best.

[TheLurper]

What a fucking nightmare.

I bought an AirBnB in Ukraine for roughly 20 bucks. The dude was super appreciative, which bummed me out. He was super happy about getting such a small amount.  :'(

A former teacher of mine is freaking out over her family who lives in Ukraine. (She was pro Putin... I don't think she is anymore.)

And, I am worried about all my friends in Moscow, St. Petes, and Rostov na Donu as well. This hasn't made life better for them. One of them has being going to protests. I'm worried that he's going to get arrested. Others are trying to get out. And, one did get out but she is super sad that she had to leave her family behind. Also, an acquaintance of mine is explicitly denouncing the war. It seems like he must have no intention of returning to Russia.

The NYTimes has had a few good podcasts about this whole nightmare. Russia had certainly prepared itself for sanctions (but maybe not sanctions this extreme). It makes sense that Putin thinks Russia will emerge stronger and can take his country to the brink... I'm not so sure it'll play out the way he wants, but I get his rationale.

I also feel bad that Zelenskyy keeps asking for a no-fly zone, but I'm also firmly against this as soon as NATO shoots down a Russian plane, everyone in the world is completely fucked.

[EdLawndale]

What a fucking nightmare.

I bought an AirBnB in Ukraine for roughly 20 bucks. The dude was super appreciative, which bummed me out. He was super happy about getting such a small amount.  :'(

Kinda confused sorry. You are donating money through AirBnB?