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I don't have a problem with supporting them for now. But if it gets to be a 5, 10, 15 year occupation, do we want to be feeding weapons to extend the fighting? Eventually there won't be anything left of the country, or it will more closely resemble Iraq and Afghanistan.

However long it is necessary - and I don't lose sleep over an outcome that is solely the moral responsibility of the occupiers - the latter can always withdraw if they feel that total annihilation is against their ethics. Based on their current course of action, I have some doubts about their sense of ethics holding them back.

Also keep in mind - this is a people who survived the Mongols, Stalin and the Nazis.

AoD
 
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UK satellite firm refuses Russian ultimatum on upcoming launch

From link.

A Russian ultimatum was met with swift dismissal as the war in Ukraine extends to outer space.

OneWeb, a London-based satellite startup striving for global internet connectivity and a key competitor to Elon Musk's StarLink satellite internet constellation, has rejected Russian demands to sever ties with the UK government on Thursday.

The company was set to launch a batch of 36 internet satellites Friday as part of its plan for a 648-satellite constellation. But Roscosmos, Russia's space agency, appeared set to roadblock the effort on Wednesday.

A Russian-built Soyuz rocket operated by France's Arianespace SA was meant to deliver the satellites into low Earth orbit, launching from Russia-owned Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. OneWeb and Russia inked a multi-year deal for satellite launches, with the company launching its satellites exclusively on Russia's Soyuz rocket.

But Dmitry Rogozin, Director General of Roscosmos and a former Deputy Prime Minister with a flair for inflammatory rhetoric, is refusing to go ahead with what should be a routine launch in response to UK sanctions on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.

The agency demanded that the UK government sell all stakes in OneWeb and that the company guarantee the satellites will not be used for military purposes, according to an ultimatum spelled out on Twitter from Roscosmos' offical account. Roscosmos stressed the demands are "due to the UK's hostile stance towards Russia" on Wednesday. The deadline for requests to be met was set at 9:30 pm Moscow time Thursday, Rogozin said in an interview with Russia 24.

"The Board of OneWeb has voted to suspend all launches from Baikonur," the UK firm said in a statement Thursday.

OneWeb already has 428 satellites in orbit, with its last launch of satellites just last month. The company is working to attract customers and pay back investors after the UK government and India's Bharti Global saved it from bankruptcy in 2020.

Rogozin has tweeted flamboyant statements in the past in response to Western sanctions -- namely in 2014 after the Russian annexation of Crimea. "After analyzing the sanctions against our space industry, I suggest to the USA to bring their astronauts to the International Space Station using a trampoline," Rogozin said at the time on Twitter following US sanctions against Russia's space sector.

Despite Rogozin's flamboyant tweets and interviews, the United States and Russia have historically cooperated in space. While tensions on Earth have led to threats of premature exit, Rogozin has promised Russia will remain NASA's partner at the International Space Station at least until the station is eventually retired.

British lawmakers on Wednesday showed no sign of bending to Roscomos and submitting to demands before OpenWeb responded. "There's no negotiation on OneWeb: the UK Government is not selling its share," tweeted Kwasi Kwerteng, UK Business and Energy Secretary on Wednesday. "We are in touch with other shareholders to discuss next steps..."

Kazakhstan takes distance from Russia’s Ukraine war

From link.

Kazakhstan, one of Russia’s closest allies, has denied a request for its troops to join the offensive in Ukraine and will not recognise the so-called republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. Instead, an aeroplane carrying humanitarian assistance will leave Kazakhstan for Ukraine on 3 March.

A former Soviet republic, Kazakhstan has close relations with its northern neighbour Russia. Both countries are members of the Eurasian economy and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), under which Russia sent its army to deal with the January unrest in Kazakhstan.

However, Kazakhstan said it does not recognise the Russia-created breakaway republics upheld by Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, as a pretext for its aggression in Ukraine.

The surprising development from a traditional ally of Russia has the support of the United States.

“We welcome Kazakhstan’s announcement that they will not recognise the LPR and DPR,” the US National Security Council said in a statement. “We also welcome Kazakhstan’s refusal to send its forces to join Putin’s war in Ukraine.”

In the past, Kazakhstan has refused to recognise the annexation of Crimea and the so-called republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Georgian territories occupied by Russian troops following the August 2008 war between Russia and Georgia.

On Tuesday (1 March), the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, speaking at a ruling party congress, said his country’s position “should proceed from the critical need to ensure the security sovereignty and territorial integrity of our state”.

“As the country that hosted the OSCE summit in 2010, we insist on the principle of the indivisibility of Eurasian security. […] The principle of indivisibility and common security stipulates mutual understanding based on mutual trust. Unfortunately, this has not happened. The Minsk agreements remained only on paper, which led to the military operations on the territory of Ukraine”, Tokayev said.

The Kazakh president called for a negotiated solution.

“There is no other way. A bad peace is better than a good war. Without peace, there will be no development. Kazakhstan, for its part, is ready to provide all possible assistance, including intermediary services, if, of course, they are required”, Tokayev said.

On many occasions, Kazakhstan has made available its capital for negotiations, the best-known example being the “Astana Process”, which provides humanitarian relief in the Syria conflict.

At the congress, delegates voted to change the name of the ruling party from “Nur Otan” (Light of the Fatherland) to “Amanat” (Legacy). Reportedly, the change underscores the ongoing trend of taking distance from former president Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has fallen from grace after the January unrest.

Tokayev was in Moscow on 10 February, where he thanked his Russian counterpart for helping end violent unrest in the Central Asian nation last month, which both leaders blamed on international “bandits” and “terrorists”.

Kazakhstan has organised humanitarian assistance to Ukraine from the population, and the first aeroplane will bring such aid to the war-torn country on Thursday.

Was wondering about internet access in Ukraine AND in Russia, if the Russians are trying to restrict access. If the people could still get internet via satellite, they could still get unrestricted information and news.
 
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Tell the Russians that they're going west for some military exercises.

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From link.
 
Even Chernobyl was not as bad as people think. Very few were actually killed by the disaster, as bad as it was. There was some elevated disease risk and birth defects, but those are more a consequence of Soviet neglect in mitigating those harms. Europe was never at any real risk, and the HBO miniseries spread a lot of disinformation about how bad Chernobyl could have become. In reality, nuclear power is the safest source of power so far developed, in terms of deaths/unit energy produced.
Not quite, but it's much better than fossil fuels to be sure.
 
I don't have a problem with supporting them for now. But if it gets to be a 5, 10, 15 year occupation, do we want to be feeding weapons to extend the fighting? Eventually there won't be anything left of the country, or it will more closely resemble Iraq and Afghanistan.

Putin can't afford a one year occupation. I wouldn't worry about 5, 10, 15 years.

It's really simple. The Ukranians have to hold out enough for the economic war being waged by the West to bite.
 
30 minute video on the “why” of the Ukraine invasion. I found it very interesting.

But as Jodie Foster wanted to ask Aliens in the movie Contact; ”How did you survive this technological adolescence without destroying yourself?

 
Since Urban Toronto main focus is buildings, lets look at the destruction on buildings (and occupants) by the war (or the ‘special military operation’ as (Ras)Putin calls it).

Photos That Show Just How Much Ukraine Has Changed In The Last Few Days Of Russian Invasion, Airstrikes, And Destruction

From link.

As the Russian invasion in Ukraine continues, photos show the true extent of the devastation wrought in the country, from missiles destroying apartment buildings to historic properties burning.​


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UK satellite firm refuses Russian ultimatum on upcoming launch

From link.



Kazakhstan takes distance from Russia’s Ukraine war

From link.

Kazakhstan, one of Russia’s closest allies, has denied a request for its troops to join the offensive in Ukraine and will not recognise the so-called republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. Instead, an aeroplane carrying humanitarian assistance will leave Kazakhstan for Ukraine on 3 March.



Was wondering about internet access in Ukraine AND in Russia, if the Russians are trying to restrict access. If the people could still get internet via satellite, they could still get unrestricted information and news.
Kazakhstan knows that if Ukraine falls they’ll be next.
 

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