Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa arrived in Ukraine and are headed to Kiev, the Polish PM’s office announced on Tuesday.
This is nuts! Several Prime Ministers going into a volatile war zone.
If they are killed by accident or on purpose by either side, this is a huge trigger for escalation.
May trigger NATO involvement.
This is reckless.
So I guess both sides will have to be reeeeeeeeeeal careful.
Agreed this is irresponsible. Either they’re hoping that due to their presence the Russian army will voluntarily refrain from shelling the city for the duration of the state visit, or they’re supremely confident they’re out of range of any shots fired in anger. We already know Russia possesses the capability to launch missiles pretty much anywhere in the city they choose, so the latter can’t be the case.
Maybe the leaders of these three countries are intentionally placing themselves in harms way to buy the city more time. Perhaps Russia would refrain from hammering the city if they know it will likely result in escalation on the part of NATO. I mean they’re not doing particularly well just against the Ukrainians, why risk bringing the wrath of a first rate military power?.
Ballsy, though.
I think that’s exactly what their goal is - to force the a temporary ceasefire, whether the Russians want it or not. It’s a brave diplomatic gamble. My hat’s off to them.
It also calls out Russia’s BS claims about only trying to hit military targets and avoiding civilian targets. If, god forbid, the delegation were to be fired upon, it would certainly invite questions about how this is a military target.
I agree that it’s a crazy, dangerous move but, with Putin running the show, I don’t think that there’s anything that isn’t crazy and dangerous in this war. Putin could see this as a provocation, or not; and he could see Canada and the US having a military exercise in the arctic (which is happening IRL right now) as a provocation, or not.
I think that we have to do things like this in order to stake out the west’s positions.
Is there some indication that the Ukrainians have interest in killing the prime ministers of Poland, Slovenia, and Czechia while they are guests in the country?
Na, this is an awesome/badass move. Makes Russia more hesitant to shell the city while they’re there - and if they won’t stop, well, their deaths would make Russia look worse. And a big morale boost to Ukraine. Frankly, Biden should head over there too.
No, However, I can see a Tom Clancy-esque novel in which the Ukrainians plan/execute a false flag operation to do it.
Yes! Risky af but worth it
It’s not as risky as you might think.
The Russian attempts to advance towards Kyiv are completely stalled far outside the city, and are not likely to resume anytime in the next week or so, according to the ISW.
They have shelled a couple of places on the outskirts of the city, miles from the centre, but there has been no heavy bombardment, only isolated incidents with a few apartment blocks hit.
They are highly unlikely to shell the city centre because the most important historic buildings in the Orthodox religion and Russian culture are there. Even Putin couldn’t get away with damaging them.
What if we were to send Trump to Mariople? You know, to foster peace and stuff. All in favor?
Meanwhile, manly man Sean Penn made Taco Belled on it:
@Darren_Garrison, what does “made Taco Belled on it” mean?
No…that would be totally insane. Even sending the VP into that situation wouldn’t be worth the risk.
I agree that it’s a ballsy move, but I think all the parties involved have a more immediate and direct connection to what’s going on in Ukraine (they are right there after all, and see the threat more personally and directly) than the US does, even though it’s been the US pushing for aid to Ukraine for the longest.
I would love it just for the position it puts the GOP in. How do they address such a brave move? Would their heads explode en masse?
Now, that’s a risk that I’m willing to take!
Tell him Putin wants him to build a golf course there. The one with the best bunkers in the world. Would be a real blast.
He made a run for the border.
I think we have to assume that the route they will be taking to Kyiv is relatively safe. I doubt they are going to be bombed since that doesn’t benefit either side, however, what happens if they are captured by an elite Russian spy team and held for ransom? I think all bets are off since Putin would be negotiating from a position of strength, and that’s not a good thing for the West. And no, sending Biden or Harris to Kyiv isn’t a good idea and wouldn’t accomplish anything. The US is already showing it’s support for everyone to see.