A new trial forum for political discussions. Largely unmoderated, so whilst discussing politics is fine, personal abuse isn't. So please keep it civil.
As with other forums the posts to do not reflect the view of the FLYER team.
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User avatar
By kanga
#1910773
OCB wrote:
>..
>
> Me thinks Putin was (rightly) worried that some Western plane-swatters were
> nearby, and relishing the chance of taking out low/slow targets flying in a
> straight line over a pre-determined path :lol:

Or possibly, even, dissident Russian ones ? :?
johnm, OCB liked this
User avatar
By eltonioni
#1910840
OCB wrote:
> I was avidly keeping up to date on a couple of well trusted Twitter feeds
> on what was going on during the parade, when one said the fly-past had been
> “cancelled due to weather”

Weather or not they had enough serviceable aircraft and alive crew?


> Me thinks Putin was (rightly) worried that some Western plane-swatters were
> nearby, and relishing the chance of taking out low/slow targets flying in a
> straight line over a pre-determined path :lol:

Fancy having screwed it up so badly that you can't guarantee safe flight over your capital.


The upside for them is that for the first time Western media was broadcasting and commentating on their annual power trip although it would have been amusing if there had been much commenting that those rockets were plywood fakes and the shouty troops were actually ballet troupes in stage costumes.
By riverrock
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1910876
Various comments going round of assets which were in the rehearsal but didn't make it to the parade - probably because they broke down on the way there.
User avatar
By OCB
#1910928
Dear Mods - I’m thinking to start a thread called “armchair generals”….which would be (at least meant to be) non-political, and focus on what’s happening in Ukraine at a military level.

We probably have several hundred years of actual military experience on this forum, all the way up to @Kanga level + thousands of hours/years of those who’ve dedicated time to learning military history.

Yes/no/gaunbileyerheid?
User avatar
By kanga
#1911031
OCB wrote:
> ..actual military experience on
> this forum, all the way up to @Kanga level ..

far more nerdery than 'experience' :oops: ; it's clear that several other Forumites have been further, more frequently, and longer "into harm's way" than I have. :salut:
User avatar
By Miscellaneous
#1911179
Well, it'll be no surprise Finland has announced the desire to join NATO. That should rattle Putin. I wonder if he will follow through on his threats and what action that will entail?
User avatar
By kanga
#1911195
Miscellaneous wrote:
> Well, it'll be no surprise Finland has announced the desire to join NATO.
> That should rattle Putin. ..

Putin is, of course, from St Petersburg, as is much of his inner circle, many fellow alumni of the KGB Academy there (then, of course, called Leningrad).

<history nerd :oops: >

Since the time of the Tsars, the Grand Duchy of Finland, even when nominally acknowledging the Tsars' sovereignty, was regarded with wary suspicion in St P, which is very close to the traditional historic Finnish border. The end of WW2 settlement by which Soviet forces left most Finnish territory which they had occupied as the nominally independent Finns lost their Wehrmacht backing in '44, included the USSR (and the RSFSR within it) grabbing a chunk of historically Finnish border territory from which ethnic Finns were expelled, notably the City of Vyborg on the St Petersburg-Helsinki railway and highway; this pushed the international border significantly further away from St P, and is a continuing source of Russian self-reassurance and Finnish resentment. There are many prominent Vyborgers in Finnish public and political life, including the former President (and Nobel Laureate) Martti Ahtisaari

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vyborg

</>

Putin may well claim that Finland joining NATO is part of a 'revanchist' Finnish Nationalist ('Nazi') plot to regain territory. There may be some hotheaded Finnish nationalists (possibly 'useful idiots' provoked by Russian trolling) who will give him ammunition, and an excuse to take 'pre-emptive, defensive' action befor any formal NATO accession. Estonia (whose language is cognate to Finnish, with mutual intelligibility; probably closer than are Russian and Ukrainian to each other) has frequently been a target for major and clearly coordinated cyber-attacks; it would be unsurprising if Finland now was.
User avatar
By Miscellaneous
#1911199
kanga wrote:There may be some hotheaded Finnish
> nationalists (possibly 'useful idiots' provoked by Russian trolling) who will give
> him ammunition, and an excuse to take 'pre-emptive, defensive' action befor any
> formal NATO accession.

And that may just be what is behind BJ's visit and subsequent agreement. :wink:
Rjk983 liked this
User avatar
By kanga
#1911203
Miscellaneous wrote:
> kanga wrote:There may be some hotheaded Finnish
> > nationalists (possibly 'useful idiots' provoked by Russian trolling) who will
> give
> > him ammunition, and an excuse to take 'pre-emptive, defensive' action befor any
> > formal NATO accession.
>
> And that may just be what is behind BJ's visit and subsequent agreement. :wink:

Indeed, as with Sweden. Of course, this is a logical public follow-on to the bilateral but often discreet bilateral military and security arrangements, agreements and exchanges both countries have had with several NATO countries, including UK, for decades; as Soviet/Russian governments have been well aware. However, there are now publicly expressed security pledges from HMG.

Both countries have, of course, bought UK military hardware, including aircraft, in the past.
By johnm
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1911227
I confess to being slightly puzzled by all this. Norway has a border with Russia, albeit a fairly short and Northerly one, and so does Finland but Sweden doesn't.
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