Rorman Nockwell

I think he's right in that I very much doubt Xi would tolerate Putin using nukes. That would be bad for every country, including China. China's language hasn't been as pro-Russian as I envisioned. Yes, they allowed Russian wheat imports, and yes their ambassador posted some anti-American bullshit, but (afaik) they haven't said anything in clear support of Russia, and they haven't condemned the West for assisting Ukraine. They're very much on the fence which isn't ideal but it could be worse.

Thanks. Honestly I don't think they will close it because I think most countries think that that would further antagonise Putin, but ... she asked me to share it, so

My friend in Kyiv wants people to sign this. It's important to her so I'm posting it here: https://www.openpetition.eu/petition/online/people-around-the-world-ask-nato-to-close-the-airspace-over-ukraine You can also help by donating, if you are able, to organisations such as the Red Cross who are running an appeal for displaced Ukrainians. If you Google the Red Cross in your country, you should find your local site. She is still in the same situation in the metro station - safe for now, but obviously wants go home and is very sad and scared about the condition of her country.

I agree It's a sign of desperation and if he deploys nukes he will get nuked into oblivion himself. It's almost as if he really thought his people only listen to his propaganda and don't consume any other media. Wrong (again).

Love this guy, though https://mobile.twitter.com/aliostad/status/1497519061554630658

I'm guessing this is old cos blonde? Anyways she hot

100% ... I've seen lots of "We are the same people. Why are we fighting them?" type comments. I don't know why he thought this would be popular but he was wrong

Yes, that's my impression - both from my time spent in Russia, and from what I've been told from friends. With that said, it's possible that my observations are somewhat skewed - I met all of my friends through working on international events in Russia, and all of them speak English, are well travelled, and are very liberally minded. So it's not necessarily an accurate cross-section of ordinary Russians BUT if you read all of the discussion on socials rn, it's clear that most Russians on the respective platforms are vehemently against this. And, as you say, even the upper class is objecting. I was actually really shocked that Alex Ovechkin (NHL player) criticised Putin; in the past he has even organised ice hockey matches with Putin in them, and they are friends. Other countries are now sending weapons and at the beginning they were not going to do that, so that is reassuring but also scary because no one knows what he's gonna do next.

Yeah I can't imagine how she feels. She and her sister both have their cats with them and they are very worried they will have to leave them if they need to evacuate the metro. They are their BABIES like imagine having your country invaded and bombed and having to leave your home and then you are also told to leave your beloved pet. So obviously very much hoping that they can safely stay where they are or better yet Putin is somehow stopped and everyone can go HOME

So far, so good. Mainly concerned for my Ukrainian friend who have been in a metro station bomb shelter with her family for the past couple of days. She checks in regularly because she knows everyone is worried. She's really pissed at Russia and NATO, understandably. This is why regimes like Putin's are so difficult to topple; people feel powerless and scared. You can't change something if you're not even allowed to TALK about it.

Friend in Novosibirsk's husband was taken away by the police and questioned for reposting pro-Ukrainian content on Facebook. They let him go, but she said everyone is scared because the government is starting to try to silence people Putin knows he fucked up and now he's up to old tricks

I think a combination of both. I think he underestimated how much Ukrainians would resist occupation. He definitely has the Soviet leader mindset in that he thinks people will just shut up and do what he says - and my impression is that this has largely been the case in the past. Among my Russian friends, they usually never want to talk about politics and they either shut down the discussion if someone asks, or they make a joke about Putin and then change the subject. People have disappeared or been killed for criticising him, so it's not surprising. But with this - this seems like the last straw for many Russians, and I have a feeling that he'd be surprised by the reaction from them. Maybe older Russians feel differently, but many of my friends are posting about this in support of Ukraine and are attending protests, etc. They're not staying quiet and I'm so proud of them, because that isn't without risk. Sorry to rant, I've just been thinking about this a lot.

How is it even possible to be pro Putin at this point? Even his own people hate this His own ministers probably hate this but I suppose they don't want to end up with Novichok on their teacups so they're not saying anything

Who's gonna tell her that that's nowhere NEAR the most unhinged pic we have of her

I mean it's not ideal but it's hardly the worst thing that's going on, is it

Good. I'm GLAD. https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2022-02-25/hacker-collective-anonymous-declares-cyber-war-against-russia/100861160 Disable allll the things pls

Hoping for a Ceausescu style ending for Putin, seriously His people overwhelmingly seem angry as fuck about this. It's just so sickening and I am still just really shellshocked despite being 13,000 kms away or something. I can't imagine how people in Ukraine feel. ETA my friend in Kyiv just put up pics of her and her sister in a bomb shelter cuddling their cats and I just crumbled. This is so horrible

Oh wow look at all the shining examples of democracy on Russia's side

I'm actually pretty surprised because usually my Russian friends don't talk about politics at all, but pretty much all of them have been posting about how angry and sad they are about this, and about how this is Putin's war, not theirs. Taking him down from within would be sweet, sweet justice

When I went there, we were all warned by our company not to make any negative remarks about Putin or the Russian govt, either in person or on our socials. You can get into big trouble so it is incredibly brave of Russians to go out and protest. They know very well there will be consequences and they're still doing it. Best wishes to all of them.

The UNSC is completely useless. When have they ever done anything other than call "emergency" meetings to dress down this or that country? "Oh yeah, you shouldn't have done that. Meeting adjourned"

I think it's still being decommissioned, so probably

It's not funny at ALL don't get me wrong but I'm just imagining Russian army generals 'n' shit being all, "I want that radioactive wasteland and I want it by NOON!" and this shit is so surreal and I cannot

Afaik Ukraine doesn't have enough of the stuff that the powerful countries care about, or that can't be obtained elsewhere (oil, gas, iron ore, etc) so they won't bother sending troops A few more meaningless sanctions and that'll be all, unless Putin decides to be even more unhinged and go for a NATO country

The sudden neck snapping I like it but it's not my favourite song of hers, although the lyrics are amazing (if not a little sad) I'm really keen for the album because my favourite songs of hers on each album are usually not the singles, with the exception of Hunger because it felt so relatable