Defending a Nato ally is not "going in too strong".
Biden is clearly showing that the Nato alliance actually means something.
Yeah, plenty other dictator states that F1 will go running to.
Unfortunately true!
We can console ourselves that it's not a real sport anyway. 😉
Ukraine isn't part of NATO though.
The NATO alliance is the US, its cold war politics, showing the soviets who's boss. As I have said strategically Europe doesn't give a **** about the Ukraine like the US do. And they don't give a **** about Ukraine enough, to engage the Russians.
He said that Biden was going in "too strong" by the installation of 7,000 more US troops in Germany - potentially "starting WW3".
I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him. With how poorly it has gone for Russia so far he could just be buying time to resupply and regroup for another push.
He's also Xi's bitch so you could be right he may be pandering to China too
Agree Zelenskiy appears to be a solid and defiant leader. His communication in the last few days whilst giving a very serious and clear message brought with it an air of calm and strength. And knowing, as he made them statements, he is enemy number one.
The Ukrainians need him now more than ever. Putin obviously sees him as a huge threat as he keeps the Ukrainians defiant and wants to get his hands on him.
The new Irish communist party
Countries are free to join NATO, look at those who have joined since 1997 and see if you can spot the pattern. What's happening today? Exactly the reason they joined, Soviet expansionism, it's real and very alive. And no I didn't make a typo there.
A tank of slurry dumped in the driveway would be no harm. Surely authorities could turn a blind eye....
I'd be surprised if they allowed the West to do as they please since that will be a Nato country quite quickly. It'll be demilitarisation and a puppet government.
I fear food is going to get very expensive.
The IFA link from that thread is a good one and worth reading in full, but in essence:
Russia and Ukraine are an integral part of the global agricultural and food commodity trade.
Conflict realised this morning is deeply regrettable and, coupled with introduction of strong retaliatory economic sanctions, both directly and indirectly, could seriously affect agri-food trade; cost of production (in particular energy; fertiliser), and ultimately global food availability & price.
From an Irish perspective, the key concern/threat is further input commodity price rises on top of already elevated levels, which are depressing on-farm margins to unsustainable levels across a number of farm systems.
The Baltic states were very eager to join NATO, for the exact reasons that have played out over the past few days and weeks
Kiev has been used by English-speakers for a long time and is a much more natural fit into English. Personally I prefer it.
We don't insist foreigners must say Baile Átha Cliath.
Ukrainian citizen trying to block Russian military vehicles
The vicar of Christ on Earth has just walked into the Russian Embassy to express his disapproval of the conflict.
What happens if Russia start invading Baltic countries and Poland? Are NATO going to still sit on their arse and do nothing because Russia has Nukes? If Russia sends Nukes to Europe to destroy it, then their own country will not exist on a map of the world with the retaliation the US/NATO will inflict on them. Putin isn't going to launch Nukes to destroy Europe, his own fate and country will be sealed if so and he knows it.
Let's hope your right.
Nonsense is people thinking this is going to be like WW11. Very different and far more dangerous situation when two nuclear superpowers clash.
Which is precisely why it won't happen.
Putin won't want to go down in history as the man that wiped Russia off the map.
I wonder what sort of formations Ukraine has and where - and what's actually in Kiev. They say they're engaged in fighting everywhere but it's hard to know who's lost what and what Ukraine even has intact in terms of hardware or defensive capability more generally.
There seems to have been quite a lot of Russian vehicles destroyed so far, it does appear that they're genuinely behind where they expected to be. Some pretty grisly videos online of dead Russian's/destroyed tanks and equipment as well.
What is Putin's actual end-game. Is the aim just a show of strength to show he's not joking around, force Ukraine to the table and get guarantees that it will not join NATO. I wonder what'll happen East Ukraine.
You skipped over the aspect of NATO membership. Ukraine was not part of NATO. The Baltic nations and Poland are. Both the US and Europe are bound by treaty to respond militarily to such an invasion.
They weren't bound /obliged to do anything over Ukraine.
Not by choice..they're in hospital after ingesting a bad batch of Putler Smegma
If he uses nuclear weapons it will be more than russia he wipes off the map. There could be no need for maps.
Unless they had a time machine handy they didn't know about Putin going nuts in 2022.
Yes it was a (very) bad idea, especially with benefit of hindsight (can see now the Crimea annexation effort is analagous to Hitler's testing of the waters with things that did not appear so unreasonable pre WW2, but people are always comparing current events to WW2 for some reason...).
Way you are painting those decisions (that Germany/Merkel caused Putin to do this or green lit this war somehow?) is a bit disgusting + unfair IMO.
Putin isn't going to launch Nukes to destroy Europe, his own fate and country will be sealed if so and he knows it.
But what if he's actually lost his mind?
The problem is Putin himself, if he believes HIS fate is sealed, he will try and take the whole world with him. Not the most stable man on the planet at this time I'd say. Did you see how he was behaving with the Dima?
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