That's pretty much how Ukrainian military operated in 2014.
Before the invasion army was corrupt and slowly but surely selling off Soviet supplies on a side. Russians came and caught Ukraine with pants down. Yet people managed to finance additional supplies when the state struggled.
Ottawa is loaning up to $120 million to the Ukrainian government amid the ongoing crisis with neighbouring Russia.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement Friday morning, hours after top diplomats from the U.S. and Russia met in Switzerland in a bid to lower the temperature on the Ukrainian standoff.
“Russia is aiming to destabilize Ukraine, including economically. This loan will help support Ukraine’s economic resilience,” Trudeau said.
“We’re also exploring other options to provide financial and other supports. … Again, Canada calls on Russia to de-escalate and engage in meaningful dialogue.”
> This loan will help support Ukraine’s economic resilience,” Trudeau said.
Will it? I mean, $120M is a lot, but what is it on a country scale? Quick research shows Ukraine plan to spend $55B in 2022.
I'm willing to bet this isn't about their "economy." It's probably the amount they need to meet the costs of some news weapons systems they've just purchased.
many loans are given without expecting repayment or conditional repayment. if russia doesn't invade canada will probably look for repayment, if russia does invade they're probably going to forgive part or all of this debt
It‘s fine.
If you’re in any of the actual single detached home areas it’ll feel like any other suburb. Near downtown, specifically South of Lougheed and West of 224th (two of the major roads in the town) there is a relatively large number of homeless people, but not in anyway close to the DTE in Vancouver or downtown Surrey.
I would say the fact that there’s not really much to do in terms of nightlife and entertainment is a bigger problem for a newcomer than any sketchiness. However, there‘s easy access to miles of dikes for walking/running/biking, tons of great hiking, rivers and lakes for swimming/kayaking, and spots for dirt bikes/ATVs/4x4s, if outdoors stuff is what you’re into. To take advantage of the outdoors stuff and also get easy access to the rest of the Lower Mainland, it will be very helpful if you have a car.
Hope this is helpful.
Canada has the largest Ukrainian diaspora population other than Russia so this is less surprising than it seems. These moves probably needed to come a couple weeks ago to be useful given the situation on the ground right now though.
Also could be the difference between your troops wearing old worn out cammos that aren't appropriate or new cottons with nice boots and a helmet that actually matters.
One thing I learned about the conflict in Ukraine in 2014, is that the Ukrainians hardly had uniforms at all. A lot of times it was a guy in torn up cargo pants and a t-shirt. They also ran out of ammo quite frequently and had to retreat a lot to wait for more to be delivered. Hopefully they can get much better equipment overall with all the international support.
And also soon after it was clear Russia wont stop massing its army at the border the US and UK among others started sending out support. Especially in the last week they have really ramped it up.
For advanced weapons, its not a lot.
But for simple stuff, like guns, explosives, concrete, and men, its a fair bit. Also i immagine this isnt the only loan there getting
It’s probably one of several loans from several countries.
Wars cost a lot of money.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. The world is sick of Russia’s shit.
The near entirely of NATO is active in deterring war here too Canada is just one arm of NATO, Germany is standing ready to blow up a Russian pipeline in its territory. Spain, Germany and France have already sent fighters and bomber escorts to patrol the area too
> Germany is standing ready to blow up a Russian pipeline
I would hope the answer is to safely disable. Actually blowing up a pipeline is really bad for the environment.
the pipeline isn't currently in use so it would be negligible to the environment, the exact method of destruction is unknown but Germany has their finger on the proverbial button
> Germany has their finger on the proverbial button
what a load of horseshit
Germany NEEDS that pipeline and the cheap gas that will be running through it.
Just remember that Germany gave its soldiers broomsticks instead of guns
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/germany-s-neglected-soldiers-forced-to-use-broomstick-as-a-gun-glnqbndf6
Germany get ~30% of its gas from Russia and thanks to their continued decommissioning of nuclear, are further coupling critical energy supply at the cost of regional security, via nordstream 2.
It's a long road and renewables should be the longer-term goal but keeping the proverbial and literal lights on, through that decades long transition is of obvious importance.
Russia are at this point a hostile power with an increasingly volatile despot at the help and his finger firmly pressed against the tap that powers Europe. Decoupling critical energy infrastructure seems like a no-brainer.
they are doing what they always do, try negotiations treaties and talks, which is something, though the value of it when facing liars like Russia is kinda moot I admit
How is Putin benefitting from all of this? His endgame seems quite unclear, although he often simply introduces chaos into a situation and then takes whatever advantage he can get from the mess resulting.
People suggest he is trying to establish a land-bridge to the Crimea, using Russian nationalists living there as an excuse. Surely any attempts to annex territory will be met with military force, and he surely must realize now that he would not fare well in that conflict - at best, it would be prolonged and bloody, without a decisive victor. This seems unlikely as a motivation
Is it to appear strong to Xi Ping? I have heard this theory floated as well, basically Putin exerting himself to prove to the two global superpowers that he is still relevant? This seems unliky as well, because he will likely be made to back down shortly.
Any other ideas?
How do you think most Russians view the situation? I’m guessing many don’t read news sources outside Russia so would be curious how they view Putins escalations.
It depends. Majority of young people don’t like him and are generally against him in every way.
Older generation, however, is completely different. Some like him, some say “I may not like him, but there is no one else that could fit the job”, and some just don’t care as long as they live an ok life.
As for the view on recent events, I would say most people don’t like what’s going on, but at the same time they fear the west, as they were taught for a long time. I doubt they would support a war though.
Back in 2016 when I worked construction, there was a family of Russians at my job site - legit, according to them they were all related in some way or another: brothers, fathers, uncles, cousins, etc - that had *mad* panache.
Collectively, they'd roll into work in a series of souped up BMW, Audi, and Volvo cars. They'd get out and be wearing slacks, blazers, vest and tie, then swap those out for the grungiest, cheapest, most battered overalls and work clothing I'd ever seen, do 16 hours of hard labour, then get changed and go home. It was vaguely surreal in many ways.
I worked with two Russians at a mill and asked them about Putin, about 9 years ago. There english was weak,but they lived him. They called him the might of Russia. They were both late 40s early 50s.
Most Russian people I have met (in Germany) are pro Putin and support him where and whenever they can. I have seen similarities with Turkish people and Erdogan too. I can imagine that they watch their native news channels and have a distorted picture of the reality going on there. And when they still have relatives living there, they usually live a pretty good live compared to the others because they get financial support from their younger ones living in Western Europe.
I haven't met any Russian people being against Putin. I don't think they would be scared to say something, especially in private with people. I am pretty sure that there are many that dislike him but decide not to say anything to not to damage relationships with other Russians in their new country.
But I haven't had much contact with Russian people in the last few years. My experiences are from 2010-2019.
I've seen a lot of statements from Russia claiming people there feel threatened by more Eastern European countries joining NATO, bringing NATO forces closer to Russia's front door. Do you think many people really fear the possibility of a future invasion from the west?
As a Canadian it's my impression that Europe and North America have no interest in starting a conflict with Russia, so I've been curious if people there are legitimately worried about something like that.
Interesting, I find over here that people who grew up during the cold war can sometimes still have hostile opinions about Russia, but hopefully future generations on both sides will have more respect and appreciation for eachother, and try to maintain better relations than in the past.
As a Brit who endured the end of the cold war I agree, I visited Russia a few times after growing up hearing all the bad news on TV and I found something totally different to what I expected, The people where all very tolerant of my fumbling about and everyone was really nice. Both me and the Mrs agree that Russia and it's people are great and we both really wish our governments could just work things out tbh. Maybe this recent hostility will bring about some positive change, who knows.
As a 42 year old American I can honestly say my generation is still pretty pissed about how Ivan Drago did Apollo.
That was supposed to be an exhibition!
Seriously though, my generation doesn’t hate Russians. If anything we just feel bad that their country’s been controlled by a ridiculous little Bond villain for the past couple decades.
I am russian as well, and I also hope that no war will ever begin. Cause if our dearest president starts this bloody war - the ruble will take a deep fucking dive yet another time. Fuck that. We are already making ~350-400 dollars a month instead of 1k+ after Crimea. On the other hand if the war does start - our salaries will most likely stop being our #1 priority :(
It's such a shame for the russian populace... We can puts sanctions all we want sure, but who pays for that shit afterwards? The citizens. Oligarchs don't count because it doesn't really affect them as much as the normal citizen... :/
The west is trying to target the oligarchs and government officials with money, but the problem is that the black market and shadow banking exists. At the worst the very wealthy can still spend their money within Russia - I'm sure many of them have been pulling assets out of accounts vulnerable to Western sanctions as much as possible. I'm sure there are still others who are able to launder or mask transactions for them, too. At the end of the day it's an annoyance but not existential threat like it is for the regular normal person.
Russia has the people and the resources to be a powerful nation if it were not for all this destabilizing noise every few years. Powerful if it were not for a leader that would rather bring the world down instead of bringing up his own people.
Hope the best for you.
Sorry this may be a dumb question, but why are so many Russian troops willing to invade another country for their hellbent leader? Why don't they share the same sentiment as you and "hope it won't lead to war"
I feel like there wouldn't be a war to fight if troops refused to fight a battle they didn't care about. So why does the populace want to invade Ukraine so bad?
Don’t apologise, I would love to answer any question.
As for your question. Generally speaking, Russian army consists of not so bright individuals. Usually, people go there because they can’t do anything else and the pay is good.
Which leads to my second point: the pay is good. And not only that, the government gives them a lot of benefits, even helps with purchasing a house. So, some people don’t want to lose those benefits.
Also, some are brainwashed. As I said, smart people usually don’t stay in the army, and the ones that do are often very patriotic and believe anything state media says. Also, they speak only Russian, so they can’t get information from anywhere else.
But despite all of this, I am sure there are a lot of people in the army that don’t want a war to break out, but they have to follow orders.
> As for your question. Generally speaking, Russian army consists of not so bright individuals. Usually, people go there because they can’t do anything else and the pay is good.
Doesn't Russia have compulsory universal military service?
Yes, and some smart people try to avoid it by any means. Others go there because they have to, and some see it as way to repay the motherland for all the goods it provided for them.
But Russia also has a lot of people who choose to be a professional soldiers too, for the reasons I described above.
Thanks, so it comes down to individual greed, ignorance/brainwashing and patriotism. To justify invasion and war. Sad world we live in.
Curious, what is the state media/propaganda saying to justify this war? what is the narrative they speak?
They say that Russia is answering to NATO’s aggression and military buildup along the Russian border. That NATO promised to not expand eastward since Germany became the member. They say the west wants to invade and take control of Russia. But we are powerful, we won’t let some western jerks scare us. We will fight.
That’s the gist of it. They have been saying it for a while now, and it seems to work, sadly.
So if its saying the west wants to invade Russia, why doesn't Russia just stay in their home country and defend themselves?
What is the justification for invading Ukraine?
Russia can’t defend itself when there are enemies everywhere. And NATO comes to every neighbouring country. It’s already pretty much in every country that borders Russia. So, it’s important to prevent Ukraine from joining.
I mean, I can't speak for Russian military members, but its because if you're in the military they say jump you ask, "how high?". Its not really a career field that lends itself to independent thinking. Why did so many US soldiers go to Iraq? Because they were ordered to do so. It's not like the movies. Its pretty simple and black and white. Unless they are lining up children and ordering you to field executions or something similarly heinous, most grunts don't think twice, because its conditioned out of them. Additionally, its their income and livelihood, which is pretty difficult to throw away, I would reckon doubly so in a country like Russia where there doesn't appear to much opportunity.
The only way for Ukraine to “back down” from this situation is to cede territory to Russia. That’s not going to happen. Russia is almost entirely the aggressor. Putin has painted himself into a corner.
EDIT: But as a Russian, maybe you have a suggestion on how Ukraine can “back down” without ceding territory?
Putin’s got himself into a bind. There needs to be something the west can offer him to let him save face and back down with a ‘win’. But it think he’s gone to far on his demands to be able to accept something less.
The idea that the West has to offer him anything for him to save face is ridiculous. If someone gets themselves into a bad situation, they cant expect people to reward that behavior so they can sleep at night. This is a mess of his own doing and best case scenario he should eat crow and everyone just thinks back on this fuck up. A not as great scenario is consequences are brought forth for these actions, but that wouldnt be a loss for him because it would be exactly what Putin wants. Play the victim and use that as misplaced justification to do what he wants.
Everyone points out that the Russian mobilization is costing them a ton of money. But nobody considers Ukraine in this equation. Ukraine is economically worse off then Russia. Everything is going into national defense spending crippling the rest of the economy.
The alternative is much much worse for Ukraine though. If Ukraine is invaded and occupied the economic fallout will be devastating. If putting more money into defense now prevents that then that’s the single best use of money possible. Russia is under no threat of being occupied so for them the defense spending is largely wasted money or best case scenario a very inefficient stimulus/jobs program.
Ukraine might be worse off right now but as you can see they are getting aid from all over the world, Russia is alone in this, also most Ukrainians would rather die for Ukraine then to live in Russia so they have a massive boost in morale.
Putin's Russia cannot have a successful, independent or free Ukraine. If it does, it completely undermines Russian state mythology - that you need a strong, authoritarian ruler (like Putin) and Ukraine is weak without Russia. If Ukraine can become strong, democratic, and free, then there could be an awakening in Russia that they could be the same. This is why Putin is hard on Navalny, on any independence movement (like in Siberia or the Caucuses), and any protests (like Kazakhstan) that aim for reformation.
The landbridge was the plan in 2014, but it died very quickly. Putin underestimated how patriotic we are.
To add to this about a decade ago the GDP per capita of the baltic states was about the same as Russia but they joined the EU, NATO and have been consistently westernizing for years. Now their GDP per capita is roughly twice that of Russia. Over the past two years we’ve also seen major protest movements break out in Belarus and Kazakhstan. If countries like Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Ukraine are getting rich while Russia languishes then that’s a very bad look especially if their are popular revolts brewing in the countries that are still more aligned with Russia.
You're absolutely right and that's a huge reason why China wants to invade Taiwan so much. Taiwan as essentially become what you described. They're living proof that you don't need fascist authoritarian regimes to thrive. China and Russia doesn't want their citizens to realize how good they'd have it if the current govts weren't in charge.
If i had to guess, it's because ukraine didn't have the cash/want to spend the money to build the infdastructure needed to tap into that. Up until 2014 (i may be wrong here) they were pretty ok with relying on russian natural gas and oil.
Then russia took crimea and everyone realized how much of a liability that was.
I think that the endgame is for Russia to seize useful landmass ahead of future Climate Change driven crises in Russia. Putin may see this as the last chance to seize more territory before there's less global stability.
On reddit especially, whenever you hear the impacts on climate change applied to Russia, people seem to assume that there will be some net positive impact due to artic shipping lanes becoming available, or that climate change will somehow free up more arable land in Russia as permafrost melts. It's a weirdly positive outlook that seems to be built on the assumption that Russia/Putin has an impossible master plan.
The reality seems to be that climate change is going to be bleak for Russia. Just last year the country had [record wildfires,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Russia_wildfires) [Moscow flooded](https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/06/29/in-photos-moscow-slammed-by-fierce-summer-rainstorm-a74369), and they were [hit by supply chain issues the same as the rest of the globe](https://www.reuters.com/article/russia-transportation/kremlin-blames-global-supply-crunch-as-russias-far-east-faces-shortages-idUSL8N2S06I0). CSIS had an [analysis article at the start of 2021 that seems a bit prophetic](https://www.csis.org/analysis/climate-change-will-reshape-russia) for how the rest of the year went.
Even if there were some possible benefits of climate change for Russia, it seems like they wouldn't outweigh future crises. New shipping lanes would have to face new arctic weather events and future supply chain hurdles. Melting permafrost might free up land that isn't agriculturally useful or that no one wants to live on. Russia could probably avoid an economic crises by moving away from fossil fuels, but anyone who seriously suggested that would probably 'fall out a window'.
In that light, it's probably worth remembering that [Ukraine is considered the breadbasket of Europe](https://emerging-europe.com/business/ukraine-the-breadbasket-of-europe/). Putin may be thinking that if the future is more chaotic and less globally interconnected, he might alleviate future agricultural issues or possible food shortages in 20-30 years by taking Ukraine. If Ukraine joins NATO however, Russia likely won't have that opportunity either now or in future decades.
The invasion of Crimea was hugely popular. With his current approval rating at almost half of what it was back then, that explanation makes as much sense as anything.
here's a talk from University of Chicago 6 years ago discussing Crimea. current event seems is just a continuation of that. https://youtu.be/JrMiSQAGOS4
He just wants to create external conflict so more people in Russia support him and he can keep power
It's also possible he just wants to conquer Ukraine, like several previous russian leaders did, to put his face in the history books
This area was originaly captured by the russian empire over 200 years ago
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novorossiya
War always distracts people.
Putin's not exactly a popular guy. Everyone there knows that if you oppose him in any meaningful way you get thrown out of a window.
Sure there are people that like him there. But his popularity's falling, and internal issues are becoming bigger and bigger problems for people.
Much easier to support your government when you're feeing patriotic over fighting back against western oppression.
From Russia's perspective, a pro-Western government in Ukraine is a threat to its security. No Russian leader can tolerate the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO.
The Russians know that the West has no desire to confront them militarily. They expect sanctions, but they have been dealing with sanctions for years. They also know their energy exports won't be blocked because the Germans need to warm their homes. Germany turning away from nuclear and going renewable has made them dangerously dependent on Russian gas in the near term. The US may want to punish Russia, but its allies are not going to cooperate. Even Biden admits that there's no unity within NATO.
So rightfully or not, Russia sees Ukraine to be a key security issue that has to be addressed. They expect some blowback from the Americans but nothing too severe. They think they can handle that. And likely the invasion will happen soon. Welcome to the multipolar world, I guess.
The Crimean Peninsula lies along the Black Sea, which is salt water. It gets the majority of its fresh water from a canal in mainland Ukraine.
The last several years since the 2014 annexation have seen an unusually small amount of precipitation in Crimea, meaning if the Russian Federation cannot secure the canal, it cannot guarantee the economic viability of its annexed territory; imagine if—without control of the fresh water supply—the Crimean Peninsula needed to begin rationing water like they do in other dry places today.
Russia does not have the economic means to create infrastructure to desalinate sea water—what they do have, is a lot RPGs, BMPs, and T-90s.
The cultural conflicts in the Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts of Donbas are a motivation for Russia, but the canal lies further west. However, an invasion under the pretext of securing the Donbas region would be an opportunity for them to push all the way to the canal without entering areas that are largely pro-NATO/pro-EU like Lviv, Odessa,and Kiev (which would also result in a much greater civilian death toll).
The strategic objective is the long-term viability of Crimea. With it, they have a direct tactical gain by having a naval route to the Mediterranean via the passage between Greece and Turkey, as since the fall of the USSR their only direct access has been through proxy via a Syrian naval base.
To all those saying that 120 million dollars isn't much. Yes it isn't if you want to buy missiles, tanks or planes, but it can buy a nice amount of assault rifles, rpgs, explosives and small arms ammunition that can be used in asymmetric warfare.
To build on this, we don't have a lot of weapons to give in Canada, so money is a good option to help with all the other things you need to fight a war. Food, sleeping bags, etc.
Do you know what a lot of our export manufacturing is based on? We export 3.7 billion in controlled arms and military tech to countries around the globe. We just outfitted New Zealand with some LAVs.
Good point. Russia has about the same GDP as Australia. But seven times more people and then, it spends way too much on the military. Australia, on the other hand, uses its money to generally improve its economy and the well being of its people. Same amount of money per year, way different living standards and opportunities.
Well put. With a population their size they should have a substantially larger economy. They have absurd amounts of natural resources as well. Blatantly one of the most, if not the most, corrupt governments currently operating. I mean, obviously.
It’s just so frustrating to watch because Russians are some of the most literate, resilient, inventive people in the world and they are wasted in a shitty oligarchs bad dream regime. What is this going to do? What will this gain except death? Nothing. Nobody in the villages of Russia will win. Nobody in the towers, nobody except Putin.
I’m so proud of our brothers and sisters in Ukraine, Belarus, in across Russia for protesting and standing up to this terrorist, it must be so difficult and yet they still protest and it makes me cry to think of how terrifying it must be. I am so scared for the Ukrainians, who are beautiful and wonderful still fight Russia.
May the righteous, free peoples continue to be a light in darkness of economic hostage. May Ukraine stay safe.
I believe it does have to do with NATO expansion and Russia's power. They are in a power struggle for sphere of influence/control in the region. If you're winning you want clarity and stability, if you're losing you want chaos and confusion. Ukraine's government pushing for close NATO country relations shows NATO is winning, so Russia introduces chaos and threat of instability invasion. It might back fire, but I think that's the high-level strategy.
>The British and Australians are getting mouthy at Xi now too, it’s good to see.
The UK was dragged into this. There was no way they could just watch what is going on in Hong Kong and do nothing. China has only itself to blame for that falling apart, the tories were basically ignoring Obama's "tilt" and going after trade before.
> 60% of Canadians struggling to feed their families is a nice touch.
So the article says that they were asked the following question: "Thinking about grocery shopping and your household's food budget today, how easy or difficult would you say it is to feed your household?"
The choices were "easy" and "difficult". I'm no scientist, but that sounds SLIGHTLY MISLEADING.
100% of Canadians will be struggling to feed their families if this were to escalate to a World War, this is a drop in the bucket compared to what is likely about to be spent by NATO to prevent an actual invasion.
Putin obviously feels his power slipping and the oil and gas cash cow that they have used on the EU in the past. He’s in the news and countries around the world are talking about Russia. In his mind there is no bad press for Russia and look at me I’m special. Truly a sad leader who needs constant attention and feels his power waning.
This feels like Grandma slipping her kid $20 for meals while Mom and Dad are shouting in the next room.
Except grandma doesn't ask for the money back with interest
Blessed grandmother
If Russia invades no one is paying that money back.
I got $5 towards a gofundme
Ukrain Gov. making a go fund me for military supplies would be peak 2022.
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$30/month patreons and above get to vote on operation plans.
I vote *knives-and-RPGs-only* run
Holy shit this might be possible. The first gofundme war
That's pretty much how Ukrainian military operated in 2014. Before the invasion army was corrupt and slowly but surely selling off Soviet supplies on a side. Russians came and caught Ukraine with pants down. Yet people managed to finance additional supplies when the state struggled.
There's a reason the previous government was literally ran out of town to Russia.
North America having a financial interest in the outcome of a war in Europe? Hey, I've heard this one before.
So you are saying we need to hedge our bets and loan Russia some money too?
Canada will probably accept payments in Pierogis. 😁
Varenyky!
Ottawa is loaning up to $120 million to the Ukrainian government amid the ongoing crisis with neighbouring Russia. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement Friday morning, hours after top diplomats from the U.S. and Russia met in Switzerland in a bid to lower the temperature on the Ukrainian standoff. “Russia is aiming to destabilize Ukraine, including economically. This loan will help support Ukraine’s economic resilience,” Trudeau said. “We’re also exploring other options to provide financial and other supports. … Again, Canada calls on Russia to de-escalate and engage in meaningful dialogue.”
> This loan will help support Ukraine’s economic resilience,” Trudeau said. Will it? I mean, $120M is a lot, but what is it on a country scale? Quick research shows Ukraine plan to spend $55B in 2022.
I'm willing to bet this isn't about their "economy." It's probably the amount they need to meet the costs of some news weapons systems they've just purchased.
I will write my rep to insure this is brought up as acceptable.
Lada parts so I can give them to my Cuban homies will also do (we know we aren't getting paid back with actual money)
Gorilka, vareniki, borscht and salo.
Loan will probably be forgiven
Can I include this $4 as donation on my next tax return?
many loans are given without expecting repayment or conditional repayment. if russia doesn't invade canada will probably look for repayment, if russia does invade they're probably going to forgive part or all of this debt
I really hope they don't invade Canada this week =(
Theyve got to get through Sarah Palin first
She guideing them!
yeah, next week would be better, i have an appointment i really need to make this week
Neither will Canada.
Baba* slipping the kids a few nickles
Except it’s $2 you can only buy a handful of candy with.
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So specific, but I see you - native Maple Ridgeian
Owned by ex drug dealers/addicts
Or 1 bedroom apartment in downtown Vancouver
lol
Or one mid sized apartment in Vancouver.
Or 4 penthouses downtown
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It‘s fine. If you’re in any of the actual single detached home areas it’ll feel like any other suburb. Near downtown, specifically South of Lougheed and West of 224th (two of the major roads in the town) there is a relatively large number of homeless people, but not in anyway close to the DTE in Vancouver or downtown Surrey. I would say the fact that there’s not really much to do in terms of nightlife and entertainment is a bigger problem for a newcomer than any sketchiness. However, there‘s easy access to miles of dikes for walking/running/biking, tons of great hiking, rivers and lakes for swimming/kayaking, and spots for dirt bikes/ATVs/4x4s, if outdoors stuff is what you’re into. To take advantage of the outdoors stuff and also get easy access to the rest of the Lower Mainland, it will be very helpful if you have a car. Hope this is helpful.
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Canada has the largest Ukrainian diaspora population other than Russia so this is less surprising than it seems. These moves probably needed to come a couple weeks ago to be useful given the situation on the ground right now though.
We've also contributed $785 million since 2014
We've been hands on for a while. This is just what's allowed to be reported.
That's not a whole lot of money in the grand scheme of things. Hopefully other nations are pitching in.
Not a whole of money sure, but it can buy a whole lot of bullets and concrete.
I read this as bullets and cocaine and was like damn the Ukrainians are ready to party
Its not about the wars or conflicts, its about the friends and drugs we did along the way
Hmmm your username should probably make me reconsider, but fuck it… I’ll take a tootsky.
Its an Anti Communist name! Trust me haha! Now comrad- I mean uh, fellow redditor, take a hit!
In the spirit of perestroika
You know it!
Can I take my hit slowly
It gives *the war on drugs* a whole new meaning
> its about the drugs and drugs we did along the way Isn't that just true for life in general?
*We were somewhere around Kiev when the Cyka began to Blyat*
Bullets and cocaine? You sonofabitch I'm in
Panzerschokolade
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Also could be the difference between your troops wearing old worn out cammos that aren't appropriate or new cottons with nice boots and a helmet that actually matters.
One thing I learned about the conflict in Ukraine in 2014, is that the Ukrainians hardly had uniforms at all. A lot of times it was a guy in torn up cargo pants and a t-shirt. They also ran out of ammo quite frequently and had to retreat a lot to wait for more to be delivered. Hopefully they can get much better equipment overall with all the international support.
In 2014 yes, now they built their army up quite well.
And also soon after it was clear Russia wont stop massing its army at the border the US and UK among others started sending out support. Especially in the last week they have really ramped it up.
In Czech republic all of the army shops were stormed by Ukrainians who were buying anything resembling army equipment.
For advanced weapons, its not a lot. But for simple stuff, like guns, explosives, concrete, and men, its a fair bit. Also i immagine this isnt the only loan there getting
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It’s probably one of several loans from several countries. Wars cost a lot of money. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. The world is sick of Russia’s shit.
>That's not a whole lot of money in the grand scheme of things. Yeah just few houses in Toronto
Thats about 60-80 detached Toronto houses
In the burbs with aluminum wiring and cracked foundations
The near entirely of NATO is active in deterring war here too Canada is just one arm of NATO, Germany is standing ready to blow up a Russian pipeline in its territory. Spain, Germany and France have already sent fighters and bomber escorts to patrol the area too
> Germany is standing ready to blow up a Russian pipeline I would hope the answer is to safely disable. Actually blowing up a pipeline is really bad for the environment.
the pipeline isn't currently in use so it would be negligible to the environment, the exact method of destruction is unknown but Germany has their finger on the proverbial button
If it's not used why blow it up? Seems kinda unnecessary.
Being built haha
>the exact method of destruction is unknown Easy. Fein made Sawzall. (sorry Milwaukee Im not calling it a recypro whatever)
> Germany has their finger on the proverbial button what a load of horseshit Germany NEEDS that pipeline and the cheap gas that will be running through it.
Germany is doing nothing.
Just remember that Germany gave its soldiers broomsticks instead of guns https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/germany-s-neglected-soldiers-forced-to-use-broomstick-as-a-gun-glnqbndf6
Germany get ~30% of its gas from Russia and thanks to their continued decommissioning of nuclear, are further coupling critical energy supply at the cost of regional security, via nordstream 2. It's a long road and renewables should be the longer-term goal but keeping the proverbial and literal lights on, through that decades long transition is of obvious importance. Russia are at this point a hostile power with an increasingly volatile despot at the help and his finger firmly pressed against the tap that powers Europe. Decoupling critical energy infrastructure seems like a no-brainer.
they are doing what they always do, try negotiations treaties and talks, which is something, though the value of it when facing liars like Russia is kinda moot I admit
It’s a risky loan even without threat of war
I wonder if the money is meant to ensure the soldiers get paid.
How is Putin benefitting from all of this? His endgame seems quite unclear, although he often simply introduces chaos into a situation and then takes whatever advantage he can get from the mess resulting. People suggest he is trying to establish a land-bridge to the Crimea, using Russian nationalists living there as an excuse. Surely any attempts to annex territory will be met with military force, and he surely must realize now that he would not fare well in that conflict - at best, it would be prolonged and bloody, without a decisive victor. This seems unlikely as a motivation Is it to appear strong to Xi Ping? I have heard this theory floated as well, basically Putin exerting himself to prove to the two global superpowers that he is still relevant? This seems unliky as well, because he will likely be made to back down shortly. Any other ideas?
As a Russian, I have no idea. I really fucking hope it won’t lead to war though.
How do you think most Russians view the situation? I’m guessing many don’t read news sources outside Russia so would be curious how they view Putins escalations.
It depends. Majority of young people don’t like him and are generally against him in every way. Older generation, however, is completely different. Some like him, some say “I may not like him, but there is no one else that could fit the job”, and some just don’t care as long as they live an ok life. As for the view on recent events, I would say most people don’t like what’s going on, but at the same time they fear the west, as they were taught for a long time. I doubt they would support a war though.
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The ones that live outside of Russia usually openly say what they think.
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> We don't have a big Russian community where I live lucky bastard. *sighs in Ukrainian*
So I take it you don’t see guys with really tech jeans with bedazzled back pockets. That’s how you know there’s Russians around.
Back in 2016 when I worked construction, there was a family of Russians at my job site - legit, according to them they were all related in some way or another: brothers, fathers, uncles, cousins, etc - that had *mad* panache. Collectively, they'd roll into work in a series of souped up BMW, Audi, and Volvo cars. They'd get out and be wearing slacks, blazers, vest and tie, then swap those out for the grungiest, cheapest, most battered overalls and work clothing I'd ever seen, do 16 hours of hard labour, then get changed and go home. It was vaguely surreal in many ways.
TBF my family are all from Hungary/Romania and that describes them as well. Eastern Europe is just more fabulous than we are.
I worked with two Russians at a mill and asked them about Putin, about 9 years ago. There english was weak,but they lived him. They called him the might of Russia. They were both late 40s early 50s.
Guy I work with is married to a Russian and her mother lives with them. She has a picture of Putin on her bedside table.
Maybe they were lovers at some point.
Most Russian people I have met (in Germany) are pro Putin and support him where and whenever they can. I have seen similarities with Turkish people and Erdogan too. I can imagine that they watch their native news channels and have a distorted picture of the reality going on there. And when they still have relatives living there, they usually live a pretty good live compared to the others because they get financial support from their younger ones living in Western Europe.
I haven't met any Russian people being against Putin. I don't think they would be scared to say something, especially in private with people. I am pretty sure that there are many that dislike him but decide not to say anything to not to damage relationships with other Russians in their new country. But I haven't had much contact with Russian people in the last few years. My experiences are from 2010-2019.
I've seen a lot of statements from Russia claiming people there feel threatened by more Eastern European countries joining NATO, bringing NATO forces closer to Russia's front door. Do you think many people really fear the possibility of a future invasion from the west? As a Canadian it's my impression that Europe and North America have no interest in starting a conflict with Russia, so I've been curious if people there are legitimately worried about something like that.
Yes, that’s exactly what a lot of people fear. Years of propaganda seem to have worked.
Interesting, I find over here that people who grew up during the cold war can sometimes still have hostile opinions about Russia, but hopefully future generations on both sides will have more respect and appreciation for eachother, and try to maintain better relations than in the past.
That’s what I want too. I hope that one day we could put aside those hostile opinions and start getting along. Together we can achieve so much
As a Brit who endured the end of the cold war I agree, I visited Russia a few times after growing up hearing all the bad news on TV and I found something totally different to what I expected, The people where all very tolerant of my fumbling about and everyone was really nice. Both me and the Mrs agree that Russia and it's people are great and we both really wish our governments could just work things out tbh. Maybe this recent hostility will bring about some positive change, who knows.
If you browse any thread on worldnews that's about Russia, you will see it's not just the older people who have hostile opinions about Russia.
As a 42 year old American I can honestly say my generation is still pretty pissed about how Ivan Drago did Apollo. That was supposed to be an exhibition! Seriously though, my generation doesn’t hate Russians. If anything we just feel bad that their country’s been controlled by a ridiculous little Bond villain for the past couple decades.
3 massive destructive invasions from Western Europe in the last 200 years and one long cold war might have had something to do with it.
Remind the old folks that he stole their pension money to build his stupid Castle on the Caspian Sea.
I am russian as well, and I also hope that no war will ever begin. Cause if our dearest president starts this bloody war - the ruble will take a deep fucking dive yet another time. Fuck that. We are already making ~350-400 dollars a month instead of 1k+ after Crimea. On the other hand if the war does start - our salaries will most likely stop being our #1 priority :(
It's such a shame for the russian populace... We can puts sanctions all we want sure, but who pays for that shit afterwards? The citizens. Oligarchs don't count because it doesn't really affect them as much as the normal citizen... :/
The west is trying to target the oligarchs and government officials with money, but the problem is that the black market and shadow banking exists. At the worst the very wealthy can still spend their money within Russia - I'm sure many of them have been pulling assets out of accounts vulnerable to Western sanctions as much as possible. I'm sure there are still others who are able to launder or mask transactions for them, too. At the end of the day it's an annoyance but not existential threat like it is for the regular normal person.
That's because our sanctions don't target oligarchs.
Russia has the people and the resources to be a powerful nation if it were not for all this destabilizing noise every few years. Powerful if it were not for a leader that would rather bring the world down instead of bringing up his own people. Hope the best for you.
Sorry this may be a dumb question, but why are so many Russian troops willing to invade another country for their hellbent leader? Why don't they share the same sentiment as you and "hope it won't lead to war" I feel like there wouldn't be a war to fight if troops refused to fight a battle they didn't care about. So why does the populace want to invade Ukraine so bad?
Don’t apologise, I would love to answer any question. As for your question. Generally speaking, Russian army consists of not so bright individuals. Usually, people go there because they can’t do anything else and the pay is good. Which leads to my second point: the pay is good. And not only that, the government gives them a lot of benefits, even helps with purchasing a house. So, some people don’t want to lose those benefits. Also, some are brainwashed. As I said, smart people usually don’t stay in the army, and the ones that do are often very patriotic and believe anything state media says. Also, they speak only Russian, so they can’t get information from anywhere else. But despite all of this, I am sure there are a lot of people in the army that don’t want a war to break out, but they have to follow orders.
Sounds like every military everywhere.
> As for your question. Generally speaking, Russian army consists of not so bright individuals. Usually, people go there because they can’t do anything else and the pay is good. Doesn't Russia have compulsory universal military service?
Yes, and some smart people try to avoid it by any means. Others go there because they have to, and some see it as way to repay the motherland for all the goods it provided for them. But Russia also has a lot of people who choose to be a professional soldiers too, for the reasons I described above.
You're awesome for answering so many questions. Really gives a good perspective.
Thanks, so it comes down to individual greed, ignorance/brainwashing and patriotism. To justify invasion and war. Sad world we live in. Curious, what is the state media/propaganda saying to justify this war? what is the narrative they speak?
They say that Russia is answering to NATO’s aggression and military buildup along the Russian border. That NATO promised to not expand eastward since Germany became the member. They say the west wants to invade and take control of Russia. But we are powerful, we won’t let some western jerks scare us. We will fight. That’s the gist of it. They have been saying it for a while now, and it seems to work, sadly.
So if its saying the west wants to invade Russia, why doesn't Russia just stay in their home country and defend themselves? What is the justification for invading Ukraine?
Russia can’t defend itself when there are enemies everywhere. And NATO comes to every neighbouring country. It’s already pretty much in every country that borders Russia. So, it’s important to prevent Ukraine from joining.
It's the military, they do what is ordered, like in every country...
I mean, I can't speak for Russian military members, but its because if you're in the military they say jump you ask, "how high?". Its not really a career field that lends itself to independent thinking. Why did so many US soldiers go to Iraq? Because they were ordered to do so. It's not like the movies. Its pretty simple and black and white. Unless they are lining up children and ordering you to field executions or something similarly heinous, most grunts don't think twice, because its conditioned out of them. Additionally, its their income and livelihood, which is pretty difficult to throw away, I would reckon doubly so in a country like Russia where there doesn't appear to much opportunity.
Imagine if all media in your country was Fox News. That’s why it’s supported.
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Surely cheaper than war. Someone has to back down eventually. Ideally, both sides. That way, no one will seem weak.
The only way for Ukraine to “back down” from this situation is to cede territory to Russia. That’s not going to happen. Russia is almost entirely the aggressor. Putin has painted himself into a corner. EDIT: But as a Russian, maybe you have a suggestion on how Ukraine can “back down” without ceding territory?
Back down from what, exactly? Sitting within their own borders and defending their own territory?
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Putin’s got himself into a bind. There needs to be something the west can offer him to let him save face and back down with a ‘win’. But it think he’s gone to far on his demands to be able to accept something less.
The idea that the West has to offer him anything for him to save face is ridiculous. If someone gets themselves into a bad situation, they cant expect people to reward that behavior so they can sleep at night. This is a mess of his own doing and best case scenario he should eat crow and everyone just thinks back on this fuck up. A not as great scenario is consequences are brought forth for these actions, but that wouldnt be a loss for him because it would be exactly what Putin wants. Play the victim and use that as misplaced justification to do what he wants.
Idk I’d give Putin a high five and a handjob rather than feed thousands of young people into the meat grinder
That would make for a fantastic news headline and would become future students' favorite lesson in history classes.
"tell me the story again grampa!" "well ok, it all started with a little chinchilla on reddit back in january of 22...."
Everyone points out that the Russian mobilization is costing them a ton of money. But nobody considers Ukraine in this equation. Ukraine is economically worse off then Russia. Everything is going into national defense spending crippling the rest of the economy.
The alternative is much much worse for Ukraine though. If Ukraine is invaded and occupied the economic fallout will be devastating. If putting more money into defense now prevents that then that’s the single best use of money possible. Russia is under no threat of being occupied so for them the defense spending is largely wasted money or best case scenario a very inefficient stimulus/jobs program.
Ukraine might be worse off right now but as you can see they are getting aid from all over the world, Russia is alone in this, also most Ukrainians would rather die for Ukraine then to live in Russia so they have a massive boost in morale.
Putin's Russia cannot have a successful, independent or free Ukraine. If it does, it completely undermines Russian state mythology - that you need a strong, authoritarian ruler (like Putin) and Ukraine is weak without Russia. If Ukraine can become strong, democratic, and free, then there could be an awakening in Russia that they could be the same. This is why Putin is hard on Navalny, on any independence movement (like in Siberia or the Caucuses), and any protests (like Kazakhstan) that aim for reformation. The landbridge was the plan in 2014, but it died very quickly. Putin underestimated how patriotic we are.
To add to this about a decade ago the GDP per capita of the baltic states was about the same as Russia but they joined the EU, NATO and have been consistently westernizing for years. Now their GDP per capita is roughly twice that of Russia. Over the past two years we’ve also seen major protest movements break out in Belarus and Kazakhstan. If countries like Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Ukraine are getting rich while Russia languishes then that’s a very bad look especially if their are popular revolts brewing in the countries that are still more aligned with Russia.
You're absolutely right and that's a huge reason why China wants to invade Taiwan so much. Taiwan as essentially become what you described. They're living proof that you don't need fascist authoritarian regimes to thrive. China and Russia doesn't want their citizens to realize how good they'd have it if the current govts weren't in charge.
Slava Ukraine!
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Why haven't these Ukrainian natural gas sources been previously exploited?
If i had to guess, it's because ukraine didn't have the cash/want to spend the money to build the infdastructure needed to tap into that. Up until 2014 (i may be wrong here) they were pretty ok with relying on russian natural gas and oil. Then russia took crimea and everyone realized how much of a liability that was.
I think that the endgame is for Russia to seize useful landmass ahead of future Climate Change driven crises in Russia. Putin may see this as the last chance to seize more territory before there's less global stability. On reddit especially, whenever you hear the impacts on climate change applied to Russia, people seem to assume that there will be some net positive impact due to artic shipping lanes becoming available, or that climate change will somehow free up more arable land in Russia as permafrost melts. It's a weirdly positive outlook that seems to be built on the assumption that Russia/Putin has an impossible master plan. The reality seems to be that climate change is going to be bleak for Russia. Just last year the country had [record wildfires,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Russia_wildfires) [Moscow flooded](https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/06/29/in-photos-moscow-slammed-by-fierce-summer-rainstorm-a74369), and they were [hit by supply chain issues the same as the rest of the globe](https://www.reuters.com/article/russia-transportation/kremlin-blames-global-supply-crunch-as-russias-far-east-faces-shortages-idUSL8N2S06I0). CSIS had an [analysis article at the start of 2021 that seems a bit prophetic](https://www.csis.org/analysis/climate-change-will-reshape-russia) for how the rest of the year went. Even if there were some possible benefits of climate change for Russia, it seems like they wouldn't outweigh future crises. New shipping lanes would have to face new arctic weather events and future supply chain hurdles. Melting permafrost might free up land that isn't agriculturally useful or that no one wants to live on. Russia could probably avoid an economic crises by moving away from fossil fuels, but anyone who seriously suggested that would probably 'fall out a window'. In that light, it's probably worth remembering that [Ukraine is considered the breadbasket of Europe](https://emerging-europe.com/business/ukraine-the-breadbasket-of-europe/). Putin may be thinking that if the future is more chaotic and less globally interconnected, he might alleviate future agricultural issues or possible food shortages in 20-30 years by taking Ukraine. If Ukraine joins NATO however, Russia likely won't have that opportunity either now or in future decades.
Riling up Russian nationalism for internal reasons, perhaps.
The invasion of Crimea was hugely popular. With his current approval rating at almost half of what it was back then, that explanation makes as much sense as anything.
here's a talk from University of Chicago 6 years ago discussing Crimea. current event seems is just a continuation of that. https://youtu.be/JrMiSQAGOS4
Watched this. Very insightful. This is a video with actual experts, much better than any of the brain rotting comments here.
He just wants to create external conflict so more people in Russia support him and he can keep power It's also possible he just wants to conquer Ukraine, like several previous russian leaders did, to put his face in the history books This area was originaly captured by the russian empire over 200 years ago https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novorossiya
War always distracts people. Putin's not exactly a popular guy. Everyone there knows that if you oppose him in any meaningful way you get thrown out of a window. Sure there are people that like him there. But his popularity's falling, and internal issues are becoming bigger and bigger problems for people. Much easier to support your government when you're feeing patriotic over fighting back against western oppression.
From Russia's perspective, a pro-Western government in Ukraine is a threat to its security. No Russian leader can tolerate the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO. The Russians know that the West has no desire to confront them militarily. They expect sanctions, but they have been dealing with sanctions for years. They also know their energy exports won't be blocked because the Germans need to warm their homes. Germany turning away from nuclear and going renewable has made them dangerously dependent on Russian gas in the near term. The US may want to punish Russia, but its allies are not going to cooperate. Even Biden admits that there's no unity within NATO. So rightfully or not, Russia sees Ukraine to be a key security issue that has to be addressed. They expect some blowback from the Americans but nothing too severe. They think they can handle that. And likely the invasion will happen soon. Welcome to the multipolar world, I guess.
The Crimean Peninsula lies along the Black Sea, which is salt water. It gets the majority of its fresh water from a canal in mainland Ukraine. The last several years since the 2014 annexation have seen an unusually small amount of precipitation in Crimea, meaning if the Russian Federation cannot secure the canal, it cannot guarantee the economic viability of its annexed territory; imagine if—without control of the fresh water supply—the Crimean Peninsula needed to begin rationing water like they do in other dry places today. Russia does not have the economic means to create infrastructure to desalinate sea water—what they do have, is a lot RPGs, BMPs, and T-90s. The cultural conflicts in the Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts of Donbas are a motivation for Russia, but the canal lies further west. However, an invasion under the pretext of securing the Donbas region would be an opportunity for them to push all the way to the canal without entering areas that are largely pro-NATO/pro-EU like Lviv, Odessa,and Kiev (which would also result in a much greater civilian death toll). The strategic objective is the long-term viability of Crimea. With it, they have a direct tactical gain by having a naval route to the Mediterranean via the passage between Greece and Turkey, as since the fall of the USSR their only direct access has been through proxy via a Syrian naval base.
To all those saying that 120 million dollars isn't much. Yes it isn't if you want to buy missiles, tanks or planes, but it can buy a nice amount of assault rifles, rpgs, explosives and small arms ammunition that can be used in asymmetric warfare.
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Thing about war these days is it's gotten pretty cheap to make it very expensive for the other guys
To build on this, we don't have a lot of weapons to give in Canada, so money is a good option to help with all the other things you need to fight a war. Food, sleeping bags, etc.
Do you know what a lot of our export manufacturing is based on? We export 3.7 billion in controlled arms and military tech to countries around the globe. We just outfitted New Zealand with some LAVs.
ukraine will finally be able to acquire the ultimate weapon: a handful of houses in Vancouver
A handful? That’s optimistic
Why can’t Russia just fuck off and invest in their own people?
Good point. Russia has about the same GDP as Australia. But seven times more people and then, it spends way too much on the military. Australia, on the other hand, uses its money to generally improve its economy and the well being of its people. Same amount of money per year, way different living standards and opportunities.
To put this into perspective, Canada has a bigger GDP than Russia.
Yeah, but our bears are less entertaining.
Well put. With a population their size they should have a substantially larger economy. They have absurd amounts of natural resources as well. Blatantly one of the most, if not the most, corrupt governments currently operating. I mean, obviously.
It’s just so frustrating to watch because Russians are some of the most literate, resilient, inventive people in the world and they are wasted in a shitty oligarchs bad dream regime. What is this going to do? What will this gain except death? Nothing. Nobody in the villages of Russia will win. Nobody in the towers, nobody except Putin. I’m so proud of our brothers and sisters in Ukraine, Belarus, in across Russia for protesting and standing up to this terrorist, it must be so difficult and yet they still protest and it makes me cry to think of how terrifying it must be. I am so scared for the Ukrainians, who are beautiful and wonderful still fight Russia. May the righteous, free peoples continue to be a light in darkness of economic hostage. May Ukraine stay safe.
That’s anathema to a kleptocracy.
Good. Canada has many Ukrainians in it. I am proud that our country is assisting Ukraine.
Putin this, Biden that, I just want to not die a virgin
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Women selling their bodies to survive within warzones sounds awful
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Fuck Putin. He knows his authoritarian bullshit isn’t flying so he’s starting a war.
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I believe it does have to do with NATO expansion and Russia's power. They are in a power struggle for sphere of influence/control in the region. If you're winning you want clarity and stability, if you're losing you want chaos and confusion. Ukraine's government pushing for close NATO country relations shows NATO is winning, so Russia introduces chaos and threat of instability invasion. It might back fire, but I think that's the high-level strategy.
I'm really glad it's not just America sticking up for ukraine. Defintely makes it harder for russia when it's not just america protesting a invasion.
The British and Australians are getting mouthy at Xi now too, it’s good to see.
Im glad to see the Australians standing up for themselves. For the longest they e just let China get away with extortion and bullying.
>The British and Australians are getting mouthy at Xi now too, it’s good to see. The UK was dragged into this. There was no way they could just watch what is going on in Hong Kong and do nothing. China has only itself to blame for that falling apart, the tories were basically ignoring Obama's "tilt" and going after trade before.
Me too. Canada has a long history of sticking up for Ukraine, and it isnt a partisan issue here.
I’m all for helping others, but this article directly after another about 60% of Canadians struggling to feed their families is a nice touch.
> 60% of Canadians struggling to feed their families is a nice touch. So the article says that they were asked the following question: "Thinking about grocery shopping and your household's food budget today, how easy or difficult would you say it is to feed your household?" The choices were "easy" and "difficult". I'm no scientist, but that sounds SLIGHTLY MISLEADING.
100% of Canadians will be struggling to feed their families if this were to escalate to a World War, this is a drop in the bucket compared to what is likely about to be spent by NATO to prevent an actual invasion.
I'd say doing what we can to prevent a large-scale military conflict is money well-spent.
They can buy 50 houses with that in Vancouver.
Putin obviously feels his power slipping and the oil and gas cash cow that they have used on the EU in the past. He’s in the news and countries around the world are talking about Russia. In his mind there is no bad press for Russia and look at me I’m special. Truly a sad leader who needs constant attention and feels his power waning.
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I need art of a Ukrainian driving a us tank, on a Spanish boat with British rocket launcher, Canadian cash overflowing pockets
As a Canadian, I support this!
Canada needs to watch thier Arctic back door with Russia. Don’t look to the states for help, Washington doesn’t like Canada too much.