UA doctor ordered staff to CASTRATE RU soldiers - later says NO WE WONT

[xoggoth]

What Paddy said in 1st sentence. Easy to take a balanced view when you are not involved but imagine what it's like when you are. Must be hard not to be consumed by hatred and do some awful things in these situations. Of course such things should be banned by international law but prosecutions should take full account of what the perpetrators have gone through.

[vetran]

Are you for real? Only one side is deliberately shelling civilian buildings including hospitals. The Ukrainians only 'crime' appears to be killing vastly more Russian troops than anyone expected, including Putin. I think you need to educate yourself on what a war crime is.

Sadly when you put human beings into conflict some people won't respect the rules on both sides. We remember the Germans and Japanese because they organised their war crimes but the Allied troops in a few cases were guilty of war crimes. Sadly in bad situations bad people misbehave.

Russia as you say are organising the abuse, the Ukrainian doctor may be doing this out of hate.

We of course are not entirely innocent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied...;s%20mausoleum.

and in Afghanistan

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-592381...%20no%20threat.

and Iraq

https://www.ecchr.eu/en/case/war-cri...orces-in-iraq/

[ladymuck]

I can totally imagine it being said in anger/frustration. Much like a person saying "I'm going to kill that little tulip who kicked a football through my window". They don't expect to be taken literally but in the heat of the moment, taken out of context, or just heard by a person with an axe to grind and it all gets blown out of proportion.

[NotAllThere]

OwlHoot What are you trying to actual achieve by this constant stream of drivel? Persuade people that you're right and they're wrong? Or just wind up the people you think are wrong?

Or is it so that TwoWolves will fall in love with you and agree to meet?

[DealorNoDeal]

OwlHoot is probably wondering why Ukrainians civilians aren't surrendering to Russian soldiers

I suspect he ain't too bothered what happens to them, so long as they don't come here!

[Whorty]

Are you for real? Only one side is deliberately shelling civilian buildings including hospitals. The Ukrainians only 'crime' appears to be killing vastly more Russian troops than anyone expected, including Putin. I think you need to educate yourself on what a war crime is.

He was being sarcastic

[OwlHoot]

I can't tell whether OH supports the invasion, or not, but he does appear to believe that Putin was justified to some extent. I'm just not sure how big the "some" actually is.

I don't support the invasion or believe that Putin was morally justified. But I do think he was to some extent practically justified, due to recent US plotting in Ukraine for years, and Ukraine's misguided acceptance of this (which they had every right to do, and maybe couldn't realistically avoid - I really don't know).

When Machiavelli wrote his book The Prince, his advice to rulers on statecraft, he expressly said in the preface words to the effect "Most of this advice is not moral, or just. It is not what you _should_ do, to be virtuous, but what you _must_ do for your state to prosper or even survive."

One can't always judge state morality by the same criteria as personal morality, as some round here seem to believe or so desperately want to. It doesn't work like that.

[d000hg]

I do think he [Putin] was to some extent practically justified

I think that's all we need to know.

[DealorNoDeal]

But I do think he was to some extent practically justified, due to recent US plotting in Ukraine for years, and Ukraine's misguided acceptance of this (which they had every right to do, and maybe couldn't realistically avoid - I really don't know).

The trouble with someone like Putin is, if they decide they're going to do something, they'll always find a way of justifying it. If necessary, they'll even make stuff up.

Without getting inside his head, we'll never really know his actual motivation for invading Ukraine, because we can't take anything he says at face value.

[NotAllThere]

Ok, the topic has converged on the main Ukraine thread, so I'll close it now.