Russia giving up any semblance of not being a rogue/failed state.
This level of sanctions have never been applied before and yes others have worked around them, predominantly through Russia and China. It needs a few weeks more at least. I agree on the food problem but there are very tentative signs that Russia just cannot keep this up for very long at all and will have to head down a negotiation route before very long. If it's with a few weeks or a month then these sanctions will be deemed a success.
Plans that will take years to implement, whilst ordinary people like you or I are blown and burnt to bits? Sometimes action has to be taken.
Disappointed to hear Eamon Ryan making the point that the current crisis is a good reason to hurry on investing in the renewable industry. Yes, he may be right but it's in bad taste to exploit a war like this to further a known political agenda.
It may be realistic, a retired US general estimated, 7 days ago, that they had 10 days supplies left
Putin may be a step closer to getting a slap
No, you've got me wrong. I suppose I am "alright jack" in that I think I could maybe weather such a policy change here, but I can't speak for others (edit: + don't presume to). Just get sick of some (well @Danzy in particular) shíting on and on here every day about how the Germans + their govt. are somehow responsible for what is going on now in Ukraine and they must just stop buying Russian energy yesterday, no matter the costs to them or problems caused.
I suspect regardless of Russia's brutality in Ukraine, yellow vest would donned and straight up to the Dáil if Mickey Martin tried to up-end Ireland's energy supply immediately in way he is insisting Germany do now.
edit: Germany needs a plan for how to do this, and they will likely need help to cushion impact, so it can't happen yesterday or today unfortunately.
The German way has always been to keep lines of dialogue open. Their continued use of resources may be providing some funds to Russia but they are not remotely responsible for Putin and his greater Russia vision.
Yep but the lawyers were interfering with the prisons work... apparently 😉
This could also explain why the US is warning of the use of Chemical weapons by the RuSSians after all desperate times, desperate illegal measures...
The immediate gas solution will be upping stores for winter and moving to more LNG. That itself will take a couple of years. Trying to identify other sources of oil may not be as difficult.
I don't think he will fire off nukes as it will be the end of him he and Russia will be done. IMO, it's a loud and scary bluff. Apart some alleged drone visits they have been very careful not to provoke the West/NATO. Their military performance to date in Ukraine suggests they would be completely routed against a far better equipped foe.
I don't agree on Ryan. I think we should be moving faster in that area anyway and if Ukraine's misfortunes are the catalyst IMO it's one that we still should take.
It's Putins fault but the Germans enabled him. Not really suprising, given their long standing inability to spot a **** dictator 😂
What always worries me about Russia, and most authoritarian states is how everyone in power seems to be willing to just go along with whatever the narrative is. I mean, how can a judge sit there and preside over something so ridiculous. There are endless officials in those systems who are willing to just toe the line for the sake of compliance or to avoid hassle. They’ve all obviously grown up in, been educated and built careers in a system that teaches and rewards you for not to put your head above the parapet, not to question and not to rock the boat.
It takes more than just Putin to produce that level of buy in and it’s something that’s been going on in Russia for a very, very long time.
It’s not a strength, it’s an extreme weakness and will always end up in extreme situations like this occurring and recurring.
If you look back on recent history, even just to say 2012, there was an optimism about Russia becoming a ‘normal’ country that we could just work with as a neighbour. That’s why gas contracts happened. It’s why you’d some degree of integration and interaction and growing levels of trust and then, just when things are building and normalising - bang. We’re back to paranoid state and military aggression.
It’s very easy to blame people for being optimists about Russia by plugging it into their economies, but I think ultimately this war in Ukraine will only serve to have seen Russia once again shoot itself in both feet and destroy its reputation for decades.
Couple of points of interest, aviation-wise.
A USAF EP-3 is hugging the Moldovan border..it's curious why they do not fly along the Moldovan/Ukranian border
Plus, in a rare occurance, both Rivet Joint aircraft are now operating, along identical flightpath, over Poland. Again, both Kaliningrad and Belarus getting special attention.
We've been hearing the same thing from pretty much the same people for a lot longer than three days.
Usual pinch of salt but promising if true
Eamon Ryan is a Grade A twit.
There is a very interesting book about the beginnings of Nazi Germany written by a man training to be a barrister called Sebastian Haffner. The book is "Defying Hitler" and is a great read. He saw the changes to legal system from the early 30's, the book finishes before the war as he fled to the UK. They basically retired old judges who were against them, installed party supporters, bullied those who were against the changes. In a relatively short period of time they had a fully compliant legal system where the law was whatever the party says it is. I would imagine it is something similar with Putin's Russia.
it's curious why they do not fly along the Moldovan/Ukranian border
Probably due to Transnistria having Russian "peacekeeping" troops
It's a good example of how little we know is actually happening. Judging from the looting the Russians in some places have been out of food for a few weeks. What of the convoy north of Kyiv? Not hearing a whole lot but it's been stalled for what, 2 weeks? One would assume the Ukrainians are harassing it here and there and targeting the back of it. There's 10s of thousands of troops and thousands of pieces of equipment that have all been sitting idle for a long time and we've heard nothing from nor about them.
You should check the location of Uzhhorod airport ..... All they need is 200 meters of runway extension 😁
I'm no fan of Trump. But I guess he was correct when he called out the present problems of Germany being dependent on the Russians for energy back in 2018.
With Belarus looking like joining, the Ukrainians need to try and figure out their entry crossings and have a couple of drones waiting. They need a 'hot welcome' into Ukraine.
They are responsible for funding it. They promised Ukraine 2700 Strela MANPADS and only delivered 500, several weeks later. Germany is and has been doing the absolute barest minimum they think they can get away with to assist. They are the wealthiest nation in the EU and are a light year away from doing the most to assist Ukraine. Gazprom have been funding and enabling the German anti nuclear movement, which Merkel put the final coup-de-grace on with her gobsmackingly stupid nuclear decommissioning, not to mention Nordstream 2 as a reward for the annexation Crimea.
The US has all but been shouting and pleading with them to stop relentlessly climbing into Putins bed and they ignored them and the wider EU's concerns.
Don't try singing their praises to me, thanks.
Helicopter transponder up over Ukraine.
That would be because there would be Russian forces directly below them in Transnistria. That lot should be expunged while the Russians are otherwise occupied elsewhere. Donbass Mk II.
Absolutely right. Somehow the Germans seem to do the bear minimum but come out looking like 'leaders'. They talk a good game, but that's about it.
...and?
They have had a general Ostpolitik strategy of trying to integrate the Russians through trade since the 60's. This may or may not have been the best strategy over that time, but it is certainly time to change it now. We have the "leaders" in the US and UK to thank for the catastrophic invasion of Iraq looking for non existent WMDs. That provided a lot of whataboutery ammunition for Putin supporters.
Speaking of looting:
Yes, the Germans (Iran's largest trading partners in the west) seem to have a habit of trying to "integrate through trade" - i.e. trade with rogue nations under the guise of trying to integrate and reform them, but really it's just a way to enrich Germany. So it didn't work with Russia and after 40 years of "death to..." with Iran, they're repeating the same 'mistake'.
No argument from me about the Iraq war.
Moldowa doesn't belong to NATO
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