Russian lawmakers authorize Putin to use military force outside the country

[Labster]

First, let's see the very moment that Zelensky found out Ukraine was given candidate status to the European Union:



For quick updates, because I haven't been watching the war so closely:


-- Ukraine has lost and fully withdrawn from Sieverodonetsk, after inflicting a lot of damage along the way
-- I still feel like the offensive culminated there, because Russians had to invest so much of their forces to take one city.
-- Sieverodonetsk had the most political importance to Russia, being the last major city in the Donetsk province.
-- Ukraine still advancing on Kherson, which has more military and economic importance.
-- Kherson will "vote" to join Russia sometime in the next six months
-- Mostly the war is turning into a heavy artillery fight with trenches and high attrition. Lots of comparisons are being made to both of the World Wars.
-- Russia strikes shopping mall with a missile, 18 dead. War on Christmas has come early this year.
-- If Ukraine attempts to take Crimea, Russia will interpret it as a declaration of war. No, really, someone said that.
-- Turkey agrees to NATO accession for Sweden and Finland
-- Turkey asks for about 30 Kurdish "terrorists" to be deported back to Turkey from Sweden and Finland
-- Everyone gets what they want (except Kurdish self-rule)
-- The real prize here is Gotland, with its central position, turns the Baltic Sea into a NATO lake.
-- Syria recognizes the legitimacy and freedom of the new republics of Luhansk and Donetsk. I'd love to have a map or a globe with those countries printed on it, just as a collectable.
-- If there are shortages in gas, Britain is planning to shut off the gas pipelines to Europe. <Insert historical reference here>
-- You can recognize the Russians fighting for Ukraine by the variant Russian flag they wear. One blue stripe on a white field -- removing the blood red that needs to be removed from their country.