The brakes ( and steering )in those trucks often left a lot to be desired....maintenance and servicing was not their strong point.
Is that why the Russians are restoring statues of Lenin, flying the hammer and sickle, why it's leadership, political, militarily, nearly all have been Communist party members.
Russian politicians have been saying they're effectively at war with NATO since very near the beginning of this Ukraine invasion, if not at the beginning.
According to Wikipedia in its article on Declaration of War, it says that very few nations have formally declared war since the end of WW2
Since 1945, developments in international law such as the United Nations Charter, which prohibits both the threat and the use of force in international conflicts, have made declarations of war largely obsolete in international relations,[1] though such declarations may have relevance within the domestic law of the belligerents or of neutral nations. The UN Security Council, under powers granted in articles 24 and 25, and Chapter VII of the Charter, may authorize collective action to maintain or enforce international peace and security. Article 51 of the United Nations Charter also states that: "Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right to individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a state."[2]
Few nations have formally declared war upon another since then.[3][4] In addition to this, non-state or terrorist organizations may claim to or be described as "declaring war" when engaging in violent acts.[5] These declarations may have no legal standing in themselves, but they may still act as a call to arms for supporters of these organizations.
That would go a way to explaining why 'military intervention/operation' are the preferred terms to use. Would Putin need to officially declare war in order to get full mobilisation anyway? Could he not just repeat the line about being effectively at war with the West and sign full mobilisation into law?
Deal on Oil embargo reached.
Interesting, it may mean the Kremlin is gearing up the propaganda to formally announce war in order to solve their manpower issues. If so, taking bets it will be sold as a war against "the West" for Russia's survival.
Think its time NATO should consider demilitarizing Russia instead
That's factually incorrect. You do realise that Ukraine is already in possession of M777's. Explain where you believe these came from, please.
He likes the EU money alright (I did mention that) but the days of this may be numbered.
Your right wing paragons in Hungary are the ones who've been thumbing their nose at the fundamental EU rules for years + getting away with it scot free (so much for the Eurosceptic fantasy/nightmare of Germany/France bending said rules and hammering anyone else who does the same).
Germany (and a few others) were indeed dragging their heels on EU oil purchase phase out a few weeks back, but I think Orbán is the only road-block there now. If there's any EU leader a silly slur like "Putin's Pet" applies to, it is him (!), but I think he's mostly out for himself tbh like all such autocratic politicians.
Ultimately I would think a future where Russia take a serious beating in Ukraine (even more than they have already), they have to pull back the army, the Russian economy is ruined, maybe Putin's regime is ousted as a result of all that...is not a very hospitible world for the Putin-wannabe leaders like Orbán IMO. So he does what little he can to help out (perched inside the EU), while not risking too much. Birds of a feather and all that.
..
There's a lot of debate about what is actually going on in the Donbass. It seems the Russians are only making very slow and incremental progress, even if they are moving forward.
As for the audio recording, no reason to believe it's not real. The Ukrainians have released numerous such intercepted conversations since the war started and I'm not sure I've heard even one successfully debunked or exposed as a fake by the Russians or their supporters so far.
Except Victor Orban is currently vetoing the EUs plan to put an embargo on Russian fuel.
Interesting take on it. Could be right.
My thinking is that if Biden has stepped back from this it's because Putin has also agreed to step back on something.This comes after Putin spoke with Macron and Scholz.Putin is going to talk with Erdogan soon about the Black Sea blockade.
My guess is that Putin will allow the grain out if Biden keeps those missiles out and I think Ukraine can win without those missiles
The MLRS are a different system. Those are going I think.
It is disappointment but I think it is safer for the world. US were developing their weapons for a long time and have certain rules and regulations around them. I don't think Ukraine is ready for such systems to be used there. There must be certain checks in place. Imagine if it fell to wrong hands and escalate this war?
They can conquer the Donbas the same way they conquered Afghanistan, i.e. yes but not really. Even if Russia can take the Donbas, there remains the not insignificant matter of holding it, which would be expensive in terms of money and manpower. There's no way a protracted conflict, conventional or guerrilla, is any way conducive to political stability within Russia. It's just too much of a drain.
CNN and Fox say the deal for long-range rocket systems is off. Big disappointment there.
Victor loves the EU, they give him free money, and he certainly does keep the wrong refugees out of Hungary, perhaps he took a look east and decided the Balkans werent a model to emulate. Unlike the Germans, who opened the floodgates but we forgave Angela for unilaterally breaking the rules because the rules never really apply to Germany. Speaking of things that don't apply to Germany isnt it funny that they're on the same page as Putins pet European leader when its come to an oil ban but have endless excuses made for them? 🤔
Orban must be sh**ing himself now!
I think Russia has conceded that they Will not beat Ukraine in war ever. The donbass area is a bit different. This is an area they could conceivably win.
This is the entire focus of their war. They will never conquer Ukraine and rightly so. This region in The Donbass they could because there is some support for Russia on this region (rightly or wrongly)
Rumours of Putin being ill have been doing the rounds for the last while. Whether they're true or not, it doesn't make a whole lot of difference to the fact that Ukrainian cities are getting pulverised by a relentless wall of Russian artillery fire. If it's true that Putin's got 3 more years in him, it makes even less of a difference as three years is a hell of a lot of time to do a hell of a lot more damage. If it were more to the tune of him being unlikely to last the Summer, I'd be a lot more interested.
The danger isn't just from Ukraine forces now😁
Did I read correctly on Bloomberg [paywall] that Putin has 3 years to live according to his own security people even though his side kinks in the Kremlin keep saying he is not sick?
Would not really call him a man.
Those words you're looking for should have been "NSFW, this vid shows a man getting killed."
Morale doesn't come into it as much for the Ukrainian soldiers because the war for Ukraine is existential. They have to fight and persevere or else lose their country and way of life. That's a motivator.
I'm not sure how Russia are in the ascendancy. Their initial goal was to subjugate the entirety of Ukraine, but who controls more Ukrainian territory right now? It's certainly not Russia, and the gains they're making in the east of the country are slow, slow, slow. For all the talk about how much more the Russian army had than Ukraine, why isn't Kyiv currently a hosting a Russian victory parade?
Can Ukraine keep up against Russian advances.
I'm lost for words on this one
Well Dyr approves of Orbán, obviously doesn't like the EU very much or Germany so it's basically a kind of dumb football-team type approach to politics/events.
Orbán keeps the (wrong!) refugees well away from pure Hungary (no "great replacement" going on there thank the lord!)
He sticks it to "Brussels" and hates the EU (apart from the German money - he likes that very much).
He's for whatever right-wing nuts conceive of as "family values" (something something praying away the gays and such, driving them off with crucifxes and holy water or did I mix that up with vampires).
So Orbán's unfortunate affection for Vladimir Putin and Russia is just a peccadillo (-1) in the face of all that (+3)!
Advancing excruciatingly slowly while suffering heavy causalities does not put you in the ascendency.
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