50
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-60640460
Fifty Ukrainians have been granted visas under a scheme for refugees with family links to the UK, the Home Office has announced.
It is about 1% of the 5,535 people who have applied since the programme launched 48 hours earlier.
This is an absolute disgrace
This is an absolute disgrace
Indeed. It’s absolutely disgusting. But then again did you expect much more when he have such a despicable individual in charge of immigration?
Priti Patel? She comes across like a really nasty piece of work
If they are only processing 25 a day, that's a worry.
Not as worrying as the fact that it's taken so long to get any sort of scheme up and running, which is a national disgrace.
Interesting photo.
For those of you who aren't plane nerds, this is an Su34. It's US equivalent is perhaps an F15E. It's a really sophisticated airplane filled to brim with equipment to drop very complex smart weapons that are pin-point accurate. The bombs hanging under the wings of this airplane aren't smart weapons though, they're just regular "dumb" bombs - the sorts of things they dropped in say; Korea or WW2. The interesting things are (in no particular order) why are the RF-AF not using smart weapons? It may be that they don't have any, they used a shit metric tonne of them in Syria, they may have thought it wouldn't be a problem that they didn't have them ready for Ukraine. Dumb bombs are really really inaccurate - even when you use an airplane as good as the Su34. It makes the airplanes using them really vulnerable to ground fire - there are reports that this very airplane has already been shot down.
Inaccurate means bad news for anyone in the vicinity of a target. But slightly better news in that they might need more
bombs and perhaps more sorties to achieve the same aims.
My point is that whilst we may look the same, culturally we are worlds apart so trying to judge him against our values is not a productive use of our time. Problematic attitudes exist everywhere and whilst we in western societies are doing our best to be more liberal the same cannot be said throughout the world where many attitudes are culturally more conservative. The previously linked article from the Washington Post was actually quite good and explains it better than I can.
TL:DR whilst his opinions on certain matters are disgusting he should be viewed against his contemporaries rather than our own standards.
Some very crazy talk in this thread.
The UK is on its own in terms of European support, and our government are a bunch of chancers.. No one gives a Ross what boris says. The most important news is not for us any more, it's the EU response that carries weight.
Stop thinking you are so important.
To use ‘smart’ bombs you also need a target pod - noticeably absent on that photo. They’re having to resort to low-level runs which takes them into range of shoulder-mounted weapons. Expect a lot of those weapons will be heading to the Polish Ukraine border.
I was reading somewhere that Ukrainians are deliberately targeting fuel bowsers as well as flooding low-level areas close to the convoy to make it more muddy.
Looks like the Americans are going to be swapping some F-16s for Migs and Sukhoi with the Polish Air Force and supplying the old jets to Ukraine.
I said very early on this thread that I think Putin is ill, maybe terminally, so doesn't care. Hopefully those around him will come to their senses.
It seems the deal with the US regarding planes is a replacement of the current Polish stock with the new US models and the older ones ginen to Ukraine.
I'm frequently wrong.
Stop thinking you are so important
Tbf London is a prime destination for kleptocrat money laundering, we are incredibly influential, just not necessarily for the good
Somewhat true, but the UK is just a tool in the Russian war chest, a pawn in a bigger game, if you will.
perhaps more sorties to achieve the same aims
All that will happen is more will get shot down for no real gain. The Su34 is really expensive and hard to replace, using them for this this sort of shitty nonsense is desperate stuff. This soon into a proper war, and the Russian Air Force is reduced to this? Already?
TL:DR whilst his opinions on certain matters are disgusting he should be viewed against his contemporaries rather than our own standards.
Yeah I get that...I was just making the point that we should be careful what we wish for...the next guy may end up as bad, or worse, then the current incumbent
next guy may end up as bad
Almost certainly will be. There's been no opposition parties and no real democracy at all in Russia since...well, forever really. Where exactly is any form of representative democracy going to come from?
Some very crazy talk in this thread.
Stop thinking you are so important.
You're going to have to put this into context because I have no idea who you are addressing.
The reason for the two way jet swap is that the Ukrainians already know how to fly & maintain MiG 29s, and don’t need the conversion training they’d need for e.g. F-16s.
Wikipedia reckons the Bulgarians and Slovaks might have some too.
You’re going to have to put this into context because I have no idea who you are addressing.
The UK government thinking anyone gives a shit about what the UK government has to offer. It's nothing.
We made ourselves a very small fish in a big pond with brexit.
All the sanctions I hear about are from Europe and the US, are the rest of the world doing similar? If not I’d assume Russia will just increase trading elsewhere and this will carry on for a very Long time.
Probably mssively over simplified everything.
US and EU (especially EU to Russia) are massive, rich markets (I think the EU is the richest market in the owrld IIRC). Someone calculated that for Brexit, all the trade deals we'll get with other counties won't even add up to what we've lost with the EU. Russia won't even get a sniff of half of those. Basically they're going to have to do trade with China and maybe India etc. and would likely get completely screwed over in terms of a deal.
So TL;DR - if they can find new markets, will still be a huge hit to their economy for many many years.
All that will happen is more will get shot down for no real gain. The Su34 is really expensive and hard to replace, using them for this this sort of shitty nonsense is desperate stuff. This soon into a proper war, and the Russian Air Force is reduced to this? Already?
I can't decide is Russia are just really inept at logistics and just can't get the smart bombs to the aircraft or whether the reality is they are skint and there's actually only half a dozen advanced munitions in Russia and they don't want to use them. I can understand the ground forces being limited if they can't get stuff to the frontline, but obviously the aircraft are flying out of Russia airstrips. The other worrying possibility is they just don't GAF and why waste the fancy stuff when they can just chuck the old unaccurate stuff on buildings/civilians etc. but you're right on that one - doesn't take too may downed Sukois to make that look like a bad decision.
Biden has laid the groundwork well convincing Germany to sanction Nordstream 2 and helping the Ukrainian military with Intel, Putin must realise this, but what can he do to counter it?
https://twitter.com/NatashaBertrand/status/1499716981242617859?t=_a9DmQ0-woPAqWBrOzOKSQ&s=19
Not saying this means Ukrainins will win, their effectiveness will be wearing too, but still
https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1500489642638024709?t=rTuVA-77qJQlWUpNUEt6CQ&s=19
UK gov is a ****ing joke.
When's the revolution?
... including a portal Ukranians can access in near real time..
Is it TikTok?
May 2024. Our chance of a revolution comes around every 4 years. Unlike some poor people.
Not saying this means Ukrainins will win, their effectiveness will be wearing too, but still
Oh god more of that please. Especially if it's those little shits shelling the Ukrainian families trying to escape
UK gov is a **** joke.
When’s the revolution?
NATO will end up going in.. Its not a matter of if.. Its a matter of when..
The fact that civilians are now targets in this war means that it amounts to nothing more than ethnic cleansing. Europe will end up being the driving force behind some sort of response. Meanwhile the UK and USA will drag their heels and maybe apply some more sanctions.
Is it TikTok?
Snapchat. Shhh..the Russians still think it's been discontinued
Is it just me that looks at that video of the artillery destruction and thinks that is really good agricultural soil and some poor bugger will struggle to plough that ground for years to come. One thing is for sure, they won't be planting it this season!
Is it just me that looks at that video of the artillery destruction and thinks that is really good agricultural soil and some poor bugger will struggle to plough that ground for years to come. One thing is for sure, they won’t be planting it this season!
Probably just you.. I tend to notice the dead children's bodies in the street. 🙁
NATO will end up going in.. Its not a matter of if.. Its a matter of when..
I think it's still too early to say for sure, but there does seem to be a kind of inevitability about the whole thing, hey? The fact is that we are already involved, with sanctions and supplying arms. At some point we may even try to set up some kind of humaitarian corridor, or there's a border skirmish when the Russian forces reach further into western Ukraine, or Vlad's just plain crazy enough to launch a full blown attack on the rest of Europe using Ukraine as a staging ground (apparently it does have excellent stratgic value for this) and then we're sucked in. Oh man.
Is it just me that looks at that video of the artillery destruction and thinks that is really good agricultural soil and some poor bugger will struggle to plough that ground for years to come. One thing is for sure, they won’t be planting it this season!
And therein is another huge issue, the wheat harvest won’t be planted this year and that will have a huge impact with Ukraine out of the picture.
I keep being reminded of a SF novel I read years ago called The Moon Goddess and the Son by Donald Kingsbury, which looked into the Russian psyche and how to change the mindset of their leaders. It also included a Muslim MIT grad who designed UAVs which smashed Russian forces - Selçuk Bayraktar.
But the UK and the US are a vital part of NATO. As far as I'm aware the EU don"t have a united military force yet? I stand to be corrected on this. I agree that a tipping point will be reached soon, and I'm confident that our country will be at the forefront.
NATO will end up going in.. Its not a matter of if.. Its a matter of when.
What would change that makes them go in? If not after everything that has happened so far then what?
I sadly think that even if Putin uses chemical or nuclear weapons in Ukraine, NATO will remain on the sidelines. Putin appears so unhinged that the chance of him using Nuclear Weapons against NATO are not zero and NATO will not risk a Nuclear war.
I hope that if he does decide to use nuclear weapons they are as poor as the rest of his military (and don't leave the silo), or his orders are ignored.
Is it just me that looks at that video of the artillery destruction and thinks that is really good agricultural soil and some poor bugger will struggle to plough that ground for years to come. One thing is for sure, they won’t be planting it this season!
French farmers are still ploughing up about 900 tons of unexploded ordinance every year- from WW1, well over a 100 years ago now.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_harvest
NATO will end up going in.. Its not a matter of if.. Its a matter of when..
If Putin thinks he'll lose he can use any number of his 6,700 nukes. No one wins then.
UK gov is a **** joke.
When’s the revolution?
Putin out and his stooge Boris at the same time. Needs an uprising in both countries.
I wish I hadn’t watch the BBC news at ten.
I don’t feel able to comment on the sight of families fleeing and dying.
But I will say one thing… they are saying 1.5 million refugees have left Ukraine already… and we’ve accepted just 50?
50 ?!?
We actually filmed a bit about this when I used to work in TV- it was in Belgium, not France, but as we drove past the farms every field had a colection of shells at the roadside, waiting to be collected at the end of each week. This was in the mid 2000s, unbelievable.
wish I hadn’t watch the BBC news at ten.
I don’t feel able to comment on the sight of families fleeing and dying.
But I will say one thing… they are saying 1.5 million refugees have left Ukraine already… and we’ve accepted just 50?
Yep news at 10 had me crying, some shocking sights that really got to me. And then I lost it angrily when I saw Johnson's 6 point plan. More lies, all they can do is lie. The refugee response is just appalling
"using Ukraine as a staging ground (apparently it does have excellent stratgic value for this) and then we’re sucked in. Oh man"
South West? In the general direction of Serbia?
I can’t decide is Russia are just really inept at logistics and just can’t get the smart bombs to the aircraft or whether the reality is they are skint and there’s actually only half a dozen advanced munitions in Russia and they don’t want to use them. I can understand the ground forces being limited if they can’t get stuff to the frontline, but obviously the aircraft are flying out of Russia airstrips. The other worrying possibility is they just don’t GAF and why waste the fancy stuff when they can just chuck the old unaccurate stuff on buildings/civilians etc. but you’re right on that one – doesn’t take too may downed Sukois to make that look like a bad decision.
My best guess is they are saving the decent weapons/bombs for when we(NATO) get involved
The Su34 is really expensive and hard to replace, using them for this this sort of shitty nonsense is desperate stuff. This soon into a proper war, and the Russian Air Force is reduced to this? Already?
Yes, going beyond just this specific thing, Russian strategy and tactics just don't add up. They have a large air force that is formidable on paper, but they just don't seem to be using it. As someone on Twitter pointed out yesterday, they are only flying a few dozen sorties per day, but lost 5 aircraft yesterday. That points to a loss rate of 5% to 10%, which is unsustainable.
Same goes for the "convoy", which hasn't moved in days. One (serious) theory was that it was intended as a trap to tempt NATO into bombing it so that Putin has a foreign attack on Russia to rally the Russian people around. Crazy theory, but it's pretty clear that things are not going the way Russia planned and they seem to have a lot of equipment just sitting around not being used effectively.
