Today it’s Ukraine, tomorrow it could be Sweden or Finland if they join NATO. So who here still thinks that you can put the Jack back in the box with half baked sanctions?
Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman has said that Moscow would have to respond if Sweden and Finland intended to join NATO.
Maria Zakharova held a press conference on Friday and reflected on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the intentions of Russia going forward.
Sweden have already indicated they have no intentions of joining NATO.
I’m not sure where you want this to lead Annie?
If sanctions don’t work, as you seem to imply … what action are you suggesting?
It’s already too late to put the jack back in the box …
Hi
You are incredibly polite Morty.
I have a lot to learn from you.
I feel sorry , in a good way, for Mr Morty.
He is definitely amazing, as is Lord Ruthio and others.
I know my place, I am content with it.
I can’t make up my mind whether Sweden is making the right decision here.
Ukraine didn’t join NATO and look what has happened.
On the other hand, Russia invading Ukraine is a different kettle of fish to Russia invading Sweden. Ukraine, of course, was once part of the USSR; Sweden has always been an independent country (at least in recent years).
I also wonder how Finland feels about not being a NATO member.
I don’t think NATO membership will amount to much of a guarantee of safety against Russia.
Had Ukraine been admitted years ago it might have forced Putin’s hand earlier rather than now.
I can understand him preferring to have a buffer between him and a NATO member, it makes sense from a national security point of view … but I don’t see how he can have one.
And the one major stumbling block is … everyone is reduced to vigorous threats with sanctions nothing more … because for once, unlike any ME country where air strikes would have been instigated ASAP by America and it’s Allies … this time the enemy is far more dangerous.
He has the nuclear deterrent in his mitt … and it’s certainly deterring us.
The last thing the world needs right now is a mad man.
This begs the question, is NATO membership any protection against Russian invasion?
If not, are we any safer than, say, Poland? Or how about Germany?
In other words, would Putin stop his advance at any particular point in Europe?
At what point would we, or France, resort to nuclear weapons, or would we just give up to protect enormous loss of live everywhere?
So many questions!
Why don’t we make a special section for all this worrying war talk?
Otherwise I can see it going the same way as the Covid talks did, when we had about 50 threads spread all over the place, all on exactly the same topic?
Yes because an attack on one is an attack on all. Without that trigger NATO has no power to put boots on the ground or launch an air attack. That is why their hands are tied and Putin knows this.
You mean like we did for the Brexit threads?
It’ll depend how long it all lasts I suppose.
Perhaps a TL3 will ask Azz.
Yes, that’s the one Morti - I meant Brexit, silly old wotsit aint I. 
Everytime anyone commented on Brexit, they started a new thread and it ended up dozens and dozens of threads all over the place, but about one subject.
We can move the threads to controversial if that will cheer you up Mups?
But that just raises another unappealing scenario …
If Putin was mad enough to threaten a NATO member and NATO was mad enough to respond in kind … it could get seriously out of hand and go beyond the point of no Return.
A Catch 22 … and Putin is clever enough to know no one will dare call his bluff.
Not a bad idea as long as it doesn’t also get hit by one of those time thingies.
Interesting. Estonia is a memeber of NATO. If, as is not unlikely, Russia takes a fancy to Estonia next, and an attack on that country is an attack on all other NATO countries.
I wonder how we and America would react if such a thing happened. I wonder how the EU would react.
Interestingly, the UK has just recently sent several additional army units to Estonia which, of course, we didn’t send to Ukraine.
I wonder how much safer that will make Estonia.
I don’t really know how it works but I do understand how people feel seeing this everywhere and here too. It’s just that I can’t stop thinking about it. I’m very upset about what has happened.
Sorry Annie, I don’t mean to spoil anything for others.
It is an extremely worrying and serious matter, but every minute of the day it is on the radio, and newspapers and TV, and I can see it will take over the forum too.
Sometimes being able to avoid it for an hour would be good. But if it is just me who feels like this, just ignore me, sorry. 
@Mups …nothing wrong with wanting to escape the grim world and it’s affairs Mups … we all come here for a natter about other things.
Yes it’s like a giant chess game. He knows he can move on Finland which used to be part of the Russian Empire but he cannot touch the Baltic states without triggering WWIII.
To answer any of them we need an insight into Putin’s mind … yeh, i know, probably a nasty place to go … but no one knows his full or future intentions.
China’s position on this could be interesting as it unfolds.
Personally I think/hope/believe … Putin will call a halt at the Ukraine, as he did with the Crimea. He’ll hunker down and consolidate his position and weather the sanctions.
I know Mups I feel the same but yet I am drawn to it like a magnet because I just cannot think happy thoughts right now. Waking up on what was a beautiful day my heart sunk when I realised what happened yesterday. I’ve moved it to controversial in the news with my recently acquired TL3 wotsit. Hope it doesn’t keep popping up in your feed 
