Comments by "Ash Roskell" (@ashroskell) on "Russia Just Got Annihilated in Vuhledar" video.
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@mrkiplingreallywasanexceed8311 : When I saw the length of your comment I thought, “Oh oh, hear we go,” but I was pleasantly disabused. I listen to that interview with David Owen, agreed with almost everything he said, but was angered by his (as you put it), “pusillanimity,” regarding the question of Crimea and the ultimate settlement with Moscow. It struck me as not just patrician, patronising and out of touch - with one eye on doing business with the same old Russian faces after the war and maintaining the status quo - but also quite divorced from the reality on the ground.
It reminded me of the same surprise Zelensky gave the Americans when he said, “I don’t need a ride, I need ammunition,” and refused to be evacuated. Many in the west still don’t see what Ukraine sees as clear as a bell. Once Russia is out of Ukraine, they will never cease their terror bombings in the way they’re doing now, unless they are physically beaten into submission, or their administration collapses. It is easy to assume, from the moral absenteeism of the Russian population, and the country’s history, in which two collapses of government in the last century lead to equally corrupt governments taking over, that if Putin is replaced, it will be by just another oligarch. Yet, I demur on this question, because of the absolute vacuum of intelligent or capable men left in Putin’s orbit. When Stalin died, the people left alive to replace him never questioned Communism as a system, but all were not really fit to run a country, which showed. Had Stalin been killed in a revolution, the people left standing would not have had the intellect or wherewithal to withstand a concerted onslaught. And this will be the first time in Russia 1000 year history where we may see the possibility of a concerted revolution and people of genuine imagination and ability rise up from outside Putin’s bubble to take power . . . possibly?
But, either way, the politicians of the west have shown that they are slowly coming to understand that Ukraine is not putting Crimea up for debate, any more than Kiev. And they will not cease hostilities with Russia until their homeland is made safe from hostile attacks, rather than being forced to live like Palestinians in the West Bank, constantly wondering when and where the next missile strikes are coming.
Yes, a deal will have to be made in the end. But ANY deal simply cannot involve surrendering an inch of soil to Putin or Zelensky will get thrown out at the next election, replaced by someone willing to fight, and place the west back in the same quandaries anyway. I put it in my comment that if he was talking about Cornwall or Wales, we would all be naturally and rightly appalled and enraged by his sickeningly myopic, “Daddy knows best,” attitude. I site Cornwall and Wales, because both have made noises about independence and devolution in the past, but equally, both would rather see their land nuked than fall into the hands of a Stalinist dictatorship, and we do not need to question whether they would stand with Westminster, should such a question (implausible as it is) arise.
It was such a shame, because I could not fault him on everything else he said. Indeed I found myself nodding to the suggestion of selling top of the line jets to Poland, so they can donate their jets to Ukraine. After all, Poland spends a whopping 5% of GDP on its military and the contracts mean prosperity for British workers and companies. And that makes for a blunt answer to those who complain about their taxes being wasted on Ukraine.
But it also served as a reminder as to why Lord Owen never saw his own party achieve power when he was an MP, and why so much of his political career was so disastrous. He really does see it all through the old boy establishment lens. And that lens cracked back in the 80’s. By now, it is completely shattered. I just hope they keep him out of any diplomacy involving settlements? ✌️🇺🇦
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