In light of the recent atrocities and the apparent inability , or reluctance , of the UN to take meaningful action against Russia , there are growing calls for an international tribunal to try Putin for the crime of aggression. (Something the ICC cannot try him for without a Security Council referral , which Russia would obviously veto.)
Their aim is to try and recreate something like the Nuremberg Trials. Not sure if this is a starter or not , but there is a petition which has been launched to try and give it legs.
You can sign up here ; https://justice-for-ukraine.com/
3 Likes
I’ve signed it, but ultimately, unless you go to Moscow and seize Putin and his cronies (like what happened for the Nuremberg trial), all of this will remain very academic I’m afraid…
5 Likes
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the EU has sent nearly €20 Billion to Russia for fossil fuels.
That figure is staggering.
Clearly a huge issue in the actual money but also energy security etc.
1 Like
Yeah, that’s clearly an issue. I feel more and more that our ability (or not) to get rid of our dependency on fossil energy sources will determine our future. Until then, we’ll witness this kind of scenarios I’m afraid.
That’s also why the Gulf states are still quietly allowed to continue their ongoing massacre in Yemen btw.
4 Likes
And to purchase Premier League Clubs.
4 Likes
Yeah. To put it in some sort of relevant context, that’s more than 4 months worth of Russia’s entire military budget.
1 Like
The major effect, and the one that is difficult to calculate, would be on electricity prices. For virtually the entire European power market, combined cycle gas turbines set the actual market price, because of where they are in the merit/stack order. The European price of electricity is essentially defined by the number of CCGT plants needed to supply a particular peak in demand. That makes their market effect far greater than suggested by the percentage of power that they generate. Take gas out, and it is not difficult to envisage 400% price increases. That has a way of wearing down political will rather quickly.
2 Likes
I don’t see an end in sight to this. Medvedev saying that any peace deal will be interregnum. Also saying that Russia wanted to establish a link on the Eurasian land mass from Lisbon to Vladivostok.
For a while I thought the outcome would be something like Russia taking eastern parts of Ukraine, giving a continuous link to Crimea, and in order to get that “prize” they would go much deeper into Ukraine and wage war, kill people, ruin the country, and then retreat and retain enlarged territory, per above.
That would be absolutely horrific, but it is what I have thought would happen for a while. And the price they should pay is crippling sanctions and being cut off from the world, and before being allowed back in, reparations made to Ukraine, at the least (I am not hopeful for any Nuremberg type trials).
But now I am not so sure.
Do they really have plans for more? Do they really want a proper reckoning with the west? And if they do, is there any way to stop it going nuclear?
1 Like
