| Belarusian Polish border going a bit crazy. on 13:57 - Nov 8 with 1302 views | Enigma_Blue |
Is it not 'Beruze' then? |  | |  |
| Belarusian Polish border going a bit crazy. on 21:34 - Nov 8 with 1056 views | blueconscience |
I am surprised that no one here has kicked up a fuss about them pushing them back with pepper spray etc!! I can only imagine the reaction on here if we did that to the immigrants from France. |  |
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| Belarusian Polish border going a bit crazy. on 21:47 - Nov 8 with 1025 views | Nthsuffolkblue |
It's not so long ago that the Soviet block as they were built walls to keep their citizens in rather than encouraging them to cross into Western Europe.
How times change. |  |
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| Belarusian Polish border going a bit crazy. on 22:31 - Nov 8 with 988 views | ClareBlue |
Unfortunately it is not just the Polish Border. I was in Lithuania a couple of weeks ago and they are having the same issues. They are on the verge of declaring a state of emergency.
The main problem is that Lithuania have a sizable ethnic Russian population and if the borders are closed Putin might see it as his duty to 'protect' ethnic Russians, as per what he has done in Ukraine.
The Lithuanians are taking it seriously enough to have mobilised their reserve defence forces. Of course if they are directly attacked then NATO has a duty to protect their sovereign integrity as they are a member.
I have travelled extensively in Poland and Lithuania and Ukraine over the last few years and the feeling this year is different. There is now a genuine belief that Putin is ready to move.
Lithuanians think it might be a war by proxy, but they certainly think Bellarussia is acting under Russian instruction. To be fair, it doesn't help that they do not give full sovereign status to ethnic Russians and treat they pretty bad, so Putin might have a point some where.
We have citizens of an EU Country that do not have full EU rights - don't hear the Commission saying much on that one very often.
But we are nearer to war than Western Europe thinks and imposing more sanctions on Bellarussia as per EU announcement today, will not work but create more tension. Bellasrussia is completely dependent on Russia for it's economy.
The EU is playing a very dangerous game. This is a Country that will ground a commercial airline, assassinate its enemies, including journalists, and persecute its own people. Sanctions from the EU mean nothing to it. They do not play by the same rules as the EU think every Country should. Also the EU is not (despite what they like to think) a military block but sort of make military threats.
Poland is already increasingly alienated from the EU core values. I spent a week traveling by train in September and went across the Polish Lithuanian border and a feeling of being abandoned by the EU isn't just posturing politicians, there is a deep feeling of being abandoned and misunderstood outside the young population and urban areas. | | | |
| Belarusian Polish border going a bit crazy. on 08:41 - Nov 9 with 869 views | EdwardStone |
| Belarusian Polish border going a bit crazy. on 22:31 - Nov 8 by ClareBlue |
Unfortunately it is not just the Polish Border. I was in Lithuania a couple of weeks ago and they are having the same issues. They are on the verge of declaring a state of emergency.
The main problem is that Lithuania have a sizable ethnic Russian population and if the borders are closed Putin might see it as his duty to 'protect' ethnic Russians, as per what he has done in Ukraine.
The Lithuanians are taking it seriously enough to have mobilised their reserve defence forces. Of course if they are directly attacked then NATO has a duty to protect their sovereign integrity as they are a member.
I have travelled extensively in Poland and Lithuania and Ukraine over the last few years and the feeling this year is different. There is now a genuine belief that Putin is ready to move.
Lithuanians think it might be a war by proxy, but they certainly think Bellarussia is acting under Russian instruction. To be fair, it doesn't help that they do not give full sovereign status to ethnic Russians and treat they pretty bad, so Putin might have a point some where.
We have citizens of an EU Country that do not have full EU rights - don't hear the Commission saying much on that one very often.
But we are nearer to war than Western Europe thinks and imposing more sanctions on Bellarussia as per EU announcement today, will not work but create more tension. Bellasrussia is completely dependent on Russia for it's economy.
The EU is playing a very dangerous game. This is a Country that will ground a commercial airline, assassinate its enemies, including journalists, and persecute its own people. Sanctions from the EU mean nothing to it. They do not play by the same rules as the EU think every Country should. Also the EU is not (despite what they like to think) a military block but sort of make military threats.
Poland is already increasingly alienated from the EU core values. I spent a week traveling by train in September and went across the Polish Lithuanian border and a feeling of being abandoned by the EU isn't just posturing politicians, there is a deep feeling of being abandoned and misunderstood outside the young population and urban areas. |
Very thought-provoking post, thank you for your insight
I have often looked at the map of the Baltic States and wondered if Putin would be brave enough to do a land-grab in Lithuania and create a corridor to Kaliningrad, all under the pretext of "saving" fellow Russian citizens
Quite whether they wish to be saved is a whole other issue |  | | |
| Belarusian Polish border going a bit crazy. on 09:26 - Nov 9 with 827 views | ChiefXL |
| Belarusian Polish border going a bit crazy. on 08:41 - Nov 9 by EdwardStone |
Very thought-provoking post, thank you for your insight
I have often looked at the map of the Baltic States and wondered if Putin would be brave enough to do a land-grab in Lithuania and create a corridor to Kaliningrad, all under the pretext of "saving" fellow Russian citizens
Quite whether they wish to be saved is a whole other issue |
It's not just the Baltic states - see also Georgia |  | | |
| Belarusian Polish border going a bit crazy. on 09:29 - Nov 9 with 812 views | noggin |
| Belarusian Polish border going a bit crazy. on 09:26 - Nov 9 by ChiefXL |
It's not just the Baltic states - see also Georgia |
I reckon South Carolina and Alabama would put a stop that. |  |
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| Belarusian Polish border going a bit crazy. on 09:38 - Nov 9 with 793 views | giant_stow |
Pretty sure there was a story last week re Russia massing 90,000 of its army on the border with Ukraine. |  |
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| Belarusian Polish border going a bit crazy. on 09:38 - Nov 9 with 794 views | Clapham_Junction |
| Belarusian Polish border going a bit crazy. on 22:31 - Nov 8 by ClareBlue |
Unfortunately it is not just the Polish Border. I was in Lithuania a couple of weeks ago and they are having the same issues. They are on the verge of declaring a state of emergency.
The main problem is that Lithuania have a sizable ethnic Russian population and if the borders are closed Putin might see it as his duty to 'protect' ethnic Russians, as per what he has done in Ukraine.
The Lithuanians are taking it seriously enough to have mobilised their reserve defence forces. Of course if they are directly attacked then NATO has a duty to protect their sovereign integrity as they are a member.
I have travelled extensively in Poland and Lithuania and Ukraine over the last few years and the feeling this year is different. There is now a genuine belief that Putin is ready to move.
Lithuanians think it might be a war by proxy, but they certainly think Bellarussia is acting under Russian instruction. To be fair, it doesn't help that they do not give full sovereign status to ethnic Russians and treat they pretty bad, so Putin might have a point some where.
We have citizens of an EU Country that do not have full EU rights - don't hear the Commission saying much on that one very often.
But we are nearer to war than Western Europe thinks and imposing more sanctions on Bellarussia as per EU announcement today, will not work but create more tension. Bellasrussia is completely dependent on Russia for it's economy.
The EU is playing a very dangerous game. This is a Country that will ground a commercial airline, assassinate its enemies, including journalists, and persecute its own people. Sanctions from the EU mean nothing to it. They do not play by the same rules as the EU think every Country should. Also the EU is not (despite what they like to think) a military block but sort of make military threats.
Poland is already increasingly alienated from the EU core values. I spent a week traveling by train in September and went across the Polish Lithuanian border and a feeling of being abandoned by the EU isn't just posturing politicians, there is a deep feeling of being abandoned and misunderstood outside the young population and urban areas. |
"To be fair, it doesn't help that they do not give full sovereign status to ethnic Russians and treat they pretty bad, so Putin might have a point some where."
Are you not confusing Lithuania with the other Baltic states? Lithuania granted citizenship to the vast majority of ethnic Russians after the breakup of the USSR — it was Latvia and Estonia that did not. |  | | |
| Belarusian Polish border going a bit crazy. on 21:40 - Nov 9 with 594 views | ClareBlue |
| Belarusian Polish border going a bit crazy. on 09:38 - Nov 9 by Clapham_Junction |
"To be fair, it doesn't help that they do not give full sovereign status to ethnic Russians and treat they pretty bad, so Putin might have a point some where."
Are you not confusing Lithuania with the other Baltic states? Lithuania granted citizenship to the vast majority of ethnic Russians after the breakup of the USSR — it was Latvia and Estonia that did not. |
It's interesting you say that. Most ethnic Russians speak Russian. Access to positions in the public sector and civil service have a stringent language test that they fail. They are marginlised to an extent they turn to Moscow.
They are about 5 perc of pop whilst it is 25 perc in the other Baltic states. Most of the ethnic Russians are Belarussian.
That might be where the proxy war starts. I haven't been in Riga so don't know how they are feeling at this stage but I know ordinary Lithuania people are well aware of what agression to their state looks like. | | | |
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