Russia invades Ukraine

[najaB]

You don’t survive and get to be the leader of Russia if you are mad.

And because someone was rational in the past they must be rational now, right?

 

[DarloRich]

As the sanctions on Abramovich place a great deal of restrictions on Chelsea FC, including no selling of tickets for matches or new transfer/loan deals, I foresee a great deal of back-pedalling by the government and exceptions being made. It is football and so everything must bow down before it.

More importantly, it appears that there are only a further seven oligarchs being sanctioned. The speed (or lack of it) at which the government is coming down on them has given them plenty of time to shift their assets. Imposing the sanctions bit by bit allows the government to send out a series of press release about how tough they are. (“If you are ready, Mr Oligarch.”) It should distract attention from other matters, such as questions about how tough they are being on Ukrainian refugees.

I agree entirely and go further: The inactivity regarding refugees is a choice. They are able to say to reasonable people that something is being done while winking at thier fans showing they are not letting them forigns into the country.

 

[brad465]

While Abramovich should have been sanctioned earlier, it does appear for now that they've come in time to stop his sale of the club:

Roman Abramovich: Chelsea sale halted by UK government sanctioning club owner

Roman Abramovich's attempt to sell Chelsea is halted as the oligarch is sanctioned by the UK government as part of its response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

www.bbc.co.uk

Roman Abramovich's attempt to sell Chelsea has been halted after the oligarch was sanctioned by the UK government as part of its response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian put the European champions up for sale after the threat of sanctions was raised in Parliament.
The freezing of Abramovich's assets, which include Chelsea, means the club cannot sell further match tickets.

The move is intended to stop Abramovich making money from Chelsea.

The government has issued a special licence that will allow fixtures to be fulfilled, staff to be paid and existing ticket-holders to attend matches.

Season-ticket holders can still attend games for which they have tickets but the club cannot now sell any more tickets.

Chelsea will also be unable to buy or sell players, or offer new contracts, while the sanctions are imposed on Abramovich. Chelsea's owned players who are on loan at other clubs will be able to continue to play for those clubs.

The London club's merchandise shop has also been shut.

The government is open to considering a further addition to the special licence which will allow the sale of the club.

A condition for that to happen would be that Abramovich - one of Russia's richest people who is believed to be close to Russian President Vladimir Putin - receives no funds.

He has previously said that proceeds of any sale would be donated to victims of war.

On Wednesday, there were 20 credible interested parties looking at a potential Chelsea takeover. Among them was British businessman Nick Candy.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries has said the government is "committed to protecting" the club.

"Football clubs are cultural assets and the bedrock of our communities," she tweeted.

"I know this brings some uncertainty, but the government will work with the league and clubs to keep football being played while ensuring sanctions hit those intended."

Dorries later told BBC Sport: "Abramovich has links to Putin, who is mounting a barbaric and evil attack against the people of Ukraine. We in this department stand with the people of Ukraine and I'm afraid sanctions have consequences. Abramovich's actions have consequences too."

Meanwhile, Chelsea's shirt sponsor, telecommunications company Three, has placed the deal under review.

There are also special dispensations that allow the club can continue running, but notably there are spending caps for travel and per match, so it'll be interesting to see if there's a difference in what's visible regarding these (i.e. the effect of cutbacks).

 

[Shrop]

Roman Abramovich's attempt to sell Chelsea has been halted after the oligarch was sanctioned by the UK government as part of its response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The government is open to considering a further addition to the special licence which will allow the sale of the club.

A condition for that to happen would be that Abramovich - one of Russia's richest people who is believed to be close to Russian President Vladimir Putin - receives no funds.

He has previously said that proceeds of any sale would be donated to victims of war.

This last sentence is key to this, ie that the proceeds of any sale would be donated to victims of war. There was some speculation that this was carefully worded and that people would assume this to mean the proceeds would go to the Ukrainian people. However, there are doubtless many, many Russian army casualties so how sure are we that this isn't a deliberately misleading way of trying to get the proceeds to help those casualties?

On the one hand, by definition it couldn't go to Russian army casualties because Putin has said that anyone calling it a war is liable to be jailed for up to 15 years (ie there is no war), but on the other hand he seems to play by several different sets of rules. One could even speculate that Abramovich ought to be jailed for using the term "war", but somehow I can't see Putin doing that ...

 

[Drogba11CFC]

So how long before the government goes after people who just support the club?

 

[DarloRich]

Not a good headline: https://www.understandingwar.org/ba...cal-or-radiological-false-flag-attack-pretext

WARNING UPDATE: RUSSIA MAY CONDUCT A CHEMICAL OR RADIOLOGICAL FALSE-FLAG ATTACK AS A PRETEXT FOR GREATER AGGRESSION AGAINST UKRAINE​

The Kremlin has set informational conditions to blame Ukraine for a Russian-conducted or Russian-fabricated chemical or radiological false-flag attack against civilians as a pretext for further Russian escalation. The Kremlin is likely still evaluating this course of action but is building out the necessary conditions to justify broader violence against civilians. That risk must be addressed. The United States and NATO must “pre-bunk” such Kremlin efforts, destroy in advance Moscow’s efforts to create informational cover for escalation, and deter Russia’s potential use of a chemical or radiological weapon.

Recent Russian state media narratives have built upon a long-running Kremlin information operation to falsely claim that Ukraine, the United States, and NATO are plotting a chemical or radiological attack on Russia or Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory. Russia may conduct or fabricate such an attack and blame Ukraine and NATO to justify additional aggression against Ukraine.

So how long before the government goes after people who just support the club?

Shall we be realistic? Take off your biased fan hat (& god knows we all as fans have one for our clubs!) and look at the owner, his history and his connections. It is right he is sanctioned and his assets, including Chelsea football club, frozen in my mind.

 

[yorkie]

Russian tanks ambushed by Ukrainian forces

Drone footage appears to show Russian tanks under attack on the outskirts of Kyiv.

www.bbc.co.uk

Ukraine war: Column of Russian tanks ambushed by Ukrainian forces​

Ukraine war: Column of Russian tanks ambushed by Ukrainian forces

A video has emerged which appears to show a column of Russian tanks being ambushed on the outskirts of Kyiv.
The drone footage shows a large convoy of tanks under attack by Ukrainian forces in Brovary.

Hopefully all the tanks were destroyed or incapacitated.

If this keeps happening Putin is not going to be very popular!

 

[AlterEgo]

So how long before the government goes after people who just support the club?

Did you personally pay Putin a massive bribe? If you didn't I reckon you'll be okay, although your football club won't.

 

[birchesgreen]

So how long before the government goes after people who just support the club?

I doubt you'll be sanctioned by the government. Do you have a super yacht?

 

[brad465]

I doubt you'll be sanctioned by the government. Do you have a super yacht?

Super Yachts are mainly in the Med. In London it appears to be houses/flats.

 

[AlterEgo]

Super Yachts are mainly in the Med. In London it appears to be houses/flats.

A few aircraft too. And many aircraft in the Isle of Man, outside our jurisdiction, unfortunately.

 

[Drogba11CFC]

I doubt you'll be sanctioned by the government. Do you have a super yacht?

Call me paranoid, but I find it odd that I suddenly can't make online payments the same day that this happens.

 

[DarloRich]

Call me paranoid, but I find it odd that I suddenly can't make online payments the same day that this happens.

OK: you are paranoid - it isn't a conspiracy against Chelsea fans.

 

[AlterEgo]

Call me paranoid, but I find it odd that I suddenly can't make online payments the same day that this happens.

That is Putin level paranoia right there.

 

[brad465]

A few aircraft too. And many aircraft in the Isle of Man, outside our jurisdiction, unfortunately.

I suspect many tax havens around the world are loaded with dirty money assets, and not just from Russian oligarchs.

 

[Bluejays]

The Ukrainians seem to be hitting them very hard. Unbelievable lack of value for life on the Russian side, both for their own soldiers and Ukrainians.

Hopefully the Ukrainians have a few teams inside Russia. It's surely about time things started going bang in the Russian motherland.

 

[yorkie]

The Ukrainians seem to be hitting them very hard. Unbelievable lack of value for life on the Russian side, both for their own soldiers and Ukrainians.

Hopefully the Ukrainians have a few teams inside Russia. It's surely about time things started going bang in the Russian motherland.

I don't think that would be helpful at all.

Nor would it be needed; providing the Russian losses continue to mount, which I hope and expect they will do.

 

[AlterEgo]

I suspect many tax havens around the world are loaded with dirty money assets, and not just from Russian oligarchs.

You should see the new marina in Limassol.

 

[TheEdge]

Hopefully the Ukrainians have a few teams inside Russia. It's surely about time things started going bang in the Russian motherland.

On day 2 the Ukrainians managed to drop a handful of short range ballistic missiles on an airbase within Russia but that seems to have been the full extent of that kind of action. Destroying Russian men and material in Ukraine is probably more important that mostly symbolic strikes inside Russia.

 

[Spamcan81]

The Ukrainians seem to be hitting them very hard. Unbelievable lack of value for life on the Russian side, both for their own soldiers and Ukrainians.

Hopefully the Ukrainians have a few teams inside Russia. It's surely about time things started going bang in the Russian motherland.

That seems to be the Russian way of waging war over the years.

 

[Bluejays]

On day 2 the Ukrainians managed to drop a handful of short range ballistic missiles on an airbase within Russia but that seems to have been the full extent of that kind of action. Destroying Russian men and material in Ukraine is probably more important that mostly symbolic strikes inside Russia.

Agree that it's more important to hit the Russians in Ukraine. Although there may well be an opportunity for a relatively small amount of people to cause absolute carnage inside Russia. If a few bridges, motorways and railways start developing smouldering holes, maybe the Russian population may be forced to confront what their president is doing in their name

 

[najaB]

If a few bridges, motorways and railways start developing smouldering holes, maybe the Russian population may be forced to confront what their president is doing in their name

The downside is that such action would play into the "Nazis and terrorists" narrative that Putin has been flooding the domestic media with.

 

[Bluejays]

That seems to be the Russian way of waging war over the years.

Very true. The approach in Syria and Ukraine appears very similar

 

[Spamcan81]

Very true. The approach in Syria and Ukraine appears very similar

In WW2 it wasn't uncommon for Russian generals to clear German minefields by marching battalions through them. Seems losses were unimportant.

 

[LOL The Irony]

In WW2 it wasn't uncommon for Russian generals to clear German minefields by marching battalions through them. Seems losses were unimportant.

That explains why Soviet losses were almost 5 times that of Nazi losses during Barbarossa. And the Russians still haven't learnt anything.

 

[Bluejays]

In WW2 it wasn't uncommon for Russian generals to clear German minefields by marching battalions through them. Seems losses were unimportant.

That's beyond barbaric

That explains why Soviet losses were almost 5 times that of Nazi losses during Barbarossa. And the Russians still haven't learnt anything.

In a way they don't have anything to learn. If they're happy to lose ridiculous amounts of men, why would they change. Their method is sick, but it works for them.

 

[brad465]

When the Daily Mail in effect join in the campaign to bring in more refugees, you know something's up:

Tomorrow's Papers Today - UK Front Pages - Latest Newspaper Headlines

All of UK's Tomorrow's Front Pages ✅ Updated Daily between 7PM - 11pm ✅ The Mail, Express, Times, Guardian and many more Proudly supporting #buyapaper

www.tomorrowspapers.co.uk

 

[Cloud Strife]

The Ukrainians seem to be hitting them very hard.

I've read one account that Kyiv is now fortified to the point where there's absolutely no way that the Russians are getting in. People are armed to the teeth with Molotov cocktails and other weapons, and it's now painfully obvious that the Russian forces are facing literal hell on earth if they try and come in.

The Russian strategy appears to be that they want to slowly encircle the city, and then bombard it in the same way as they're doing to Mariupol. But how many losses can the Russians take? If they try the Mariupol tactic with Kyiv, then they're just going to open themselves up to countless attacks from the rear with Western-supplied hardware. In a way, laying siege to Kyiv will actually force them to commit huge amounts of resources to a siege where they will be sitting ducks.

IMO, we in the West also need to hit them with further sanctions. Putting a stop to truck traffic across the EU-Russia/Belarusian border would be a nice start...

 

[dakta]

Russian tanks ambushed by Ukrainian forces

Drone footage appears to show Russian tanks under attack on the outskirts of Kyiv.

www.bbc.co.uk

Hopefully all the tanks were destroyed or incapacitated.

If this keeps happening Putin is not going to be very popular!

Ukrainian ambush destroys Russian tanks and ‘kills top commander Colonel Andrei Zakharov’​

Ukrainian ambush destroys Russian tanks and ‘kills top commander Colonel Andrei Zakharov’

The colonel ‘was liquidated’ in the ambush – Ukraine’s ministry of defence claimed

uk.yahoo.com

Claims are that they got a Colonel too....

 

[MattRat]

I've read one account that Kyiv is now fortified to the point where there's absolutely no way that the Russians are getting in. People are armed to the teeth with Molotov cocktails and other weapons, and it's now painfully obvious that the Russian forces are facing literal hell on earth if they try and come in.

The Russian strategy appears to be that they want to slowly encircle the city, and then bombard it in the same way as they're doing to Mariupol. But how many losses can the Russians take? If they try the Mariupol tactic with Kyiv, then they're just going to open themselves up to countless attacks from the rear with Western-supplied hardware. In a way, laying siege to Kyiv will actually force them to commit huge amounts of resources to a siege where they will be sitting ducks.

IMO, we in the West also need to hit them with further sanctions. Putting a stop to truck traffic across the EU-Russia/Belarusian border would be a nice start...

Well, they could just turn the city to rubble. It's a horrible thing the think about, but I wouldn't put it past the Russians, with them thinking 'if we can't have it, no one can'.