You do know that there is a considerable body of opinion which takes the view that Chamberlin bought the UK the time it needed to build the RAF into a force capable of defending the UK. That may not have been his intention, but it could be true that had war started in 1938 the Luftwaffe may have destroyed the RAF leaving the the Royal navy as the only defence of Britain.
Now that's what you call "Bang for your Buck" !!! And judging from the mad rush from the building, they knew it was coming.
I strongly disagree. There is a lot of misleading information around, and its kind of sad that there is a sort of oneupmanship between donor states.
There are many ways to measure Aid. The US and UK like to point to military aid as this is the most glamourous. But financial and humanitarian aid is just as important - Ukraine could not survive without it. Even within military aid, how do you measure it? How do you value NATO training ik the UK, France etc? The US considers that the provision of intelligence to Ukraine counts towards its total, but they would probably do this anyway. If you provide old stinger missiles, do you value them at purchase price in 1972, or do you value them at replacement cost? Are former soviet supplies valued lower even though their impact is greater?
Further problems with measuring funding is when you measure it. Is it fair to measure contributions just after the UK make an announcement but before the EU do? Do you count committments, or aid actually delivered? Do you include loans and lend lease, or just unequivocal gifts?
Finally, and most importantly from the Western European point of view, do you count aid from EU institutions or just the direct contributions? It is clear from this article (with the above caveats) that if you add the EU money to the European states' contributions, it is comparable to the EU, albeit predominantly financial aid:
Remember that the UK Govt and press want to run a UK Good/EU Bad narrative through the aid to Ukraine, so if you believe that Germany isnt pulling its weight because most of its contributions are financial or indirectly through the EU, Im afraid youre falling for Brexit propaganda.
Finally, with all of that in mind, there are competing interests in the narrative about aid. Many European countries like France dont want to antagonise Russia further, so downplay their aid. There is also an incentive for Ukraine to play up the benefits of western weapons (to get more) while downplaying the overall aid received (to also get more). Thus, its easy to see how the narrative that Western European nations are doing nothing when in fact they are doing a lot and the EU has committed to a further 18bn for 2023 (which gets nowhere near the same amount of press as the US' 44bn).
As an aside, its strange that you include Vienna in the European capitals doing nothing. They, like Ireland, arent part of NATO, have a relatively small army and arent comparable to Germany, France, Italy, Spain etc.
The Dutch government recently announced a big support package for Ukraine.
This is pretty much what I'm thinking whenever there is talk of mobilisation or any mention of how many 100's of thousands of men they can draft. They've nothing but the remains of rotting Soviet surpluss to work with.
Kind of makes me wonder if Soviet Russia had sort of missed their best shot to invade Western Europe decades ago. A lot of the gear we're seeing are of 70's / 80's vintage. Little doubt they were stocking up for a possible World War against NATO nations, and my guess is a lot of the dumb munitions they've been lobbing at Ukrainian civilians were produced for that War that never seemed to happen.
Then you had Afghanistan bleed them in the 80s, they just about held together in the 90's and then all the way up to today with the military budget being crippled by corruption. Makes you wonder when / if they can get back into a position where they can arm and operate an army large enough to wage that kind of war. I don't believe they can lean on the efforts of 70's Soviet planners forever.
Nice drone drop-
No, it wasn't fatigue that was always in some EU countries, it was russian influence.
Most of Western Europe has given sweet fu67 all in all types of aid, but especially military.
America is by far the most generous but in terms of the American defense budget it is a tiny figure so even with fatigue in Washington, which is very unlikely, it will keep coming.
Fatigue was always in Rome, The Hague, Berlin, Vienna and Paris, a bit more makes no difference.
It is not going to set in in Washington, London, Warsaw, the Baltics and they are frankly the only friends that Ukraine can count on from start to finish.
More likely they will send more young Russian men off to die through conscription in a futile attempt to win an unwinnable war for Putin
And Ireland?
I quite like Clonan but your comment is fair, there’s a bang of hurler on the ditch about him these days. I don’t know why we should take his back of an envelope guesstimates of causalities more seriously than NATO’s
They clearly imply that the Ukrainians exaggerate number of Russian dead by claiming to kill dozens or hundreds almost every day, which is sometimes true and sometimes not.
There is another factor preventing mobilisation they have nothing to arm new soldiers with. As well they will be running out of a professional cadre of junior officers and NCO's to lead them..
This is not the US where they can activate the a reserve and a National Guard which is fully militarized. If the Russians cannot keep fairly modern weaponry maintained there hope of maintaining army reserve equipment is highly unlikely.
All they can mobilize is cannon fodder
Back in late August an FSB internal memo gave irrevocable losses at 55k if I remember right that is soldiers that were killed or would be er return to active service.
Historically killed to wounded was about 3-1. But wounded is defined as anything from a minor flesh would to a leg or arm shot off.
At best the irrevocable losses are 1-1 dead to seriously wounded. However we know that the Russian medical backup is pitiful.
But assuming it is 1-1 dead to critically wounded the death tolls mid august was nearing 30k. With winter and the Ukrainian advances would have significantly added to that. I be putting the Russian losses at 60k+dead and another 60k serious wounded. However that 120k+figure dead and seriously wounded could be split at a higher death ratio.
So when did Clonan come up with this figure of 30K Russian dead? Last March/April?
Anytime I hear Tom Clonan in recent years, he reminds me of David McWilliams - just another hack spinning an angle and trying to make a few bob. Usually better at looking back in hindsight and say we should have done this, that or the other.
was there a temp ceasefire during the Christmas period in the 1st or/and 2nd world wars? I wonder will Russia cal, for a ceasefire in respect of the Russian Orthodox Christian celebration on Jan 5th and 6th?
Dramatic hyperbole.
Nope, tents and MREs is about it.
Israel is turning even more into apartheid South Africa than it already is. They are essentialy finished as a liberal western democracy with the new religious zealots appointed to all things security and able to ignore the constitution. Genocide of the Palestinians is on the cards. They have basically just implimented a policy where the Palestinians own nothing and it all belongs to Israel.
This is why they are swinging behind Russia, as they will just cheer them on and high five at every attrocity and mass extinction of Palestinians. Unfortunately the republicans in the US will support this as it was all part of Trumps MAGA world view and they know that supporting Israel will get them a lot of votes.
I'm begining to think the only solution for the US is one along the lines of the Pakistan and India split. All democrats move west of the Rockies and the repugnants west of the rockies all move East.
I wouldn't like to be Biden at the moment in having to think about US policy towards the new Israel and having my hands tied by the real politik in the US at the moment. History will look back on Trump as a sort of pin pulled from a grenade of history, a moron who meddled in things he had not the slightest clue about, gifting the zionists a green light to do what they have been champing at the bit to do for a generation.
Israel is protecting the large Jewish pop in Russia some are connected to families of those who have moved to Israel already.
I think a chief rabbi advised many to leave fearing nazi like treatment ahead.
They are supplying weapons to Poland for Ukraine and Intel on drones, it seems they, Israel are not but companies can AFAIK
On mobilisation I think it will be announced after celebrations finish on the 6th Jan
It will be an anti western save the motherland lies and Kremlin BS
If only the people could awake from there trance like subjugation and realise its just a land grab going horribly wrong.
No ,and likely won't any time soon
Have Israel supplied any weapons to Ukraine thus far?
There's definitely one more mobilisation in Putin. I think the thing stopping him doing a massive 500k mobilisation is the cost involved and the drain to the economy losing 500k working age men. I can see another 300k mobilisation.
This is the one thing that boils my piss about the Israelis, since the end of the second world war they've been bleating that 'we must never forget' and 'never again' but then when there's a literal genocidal war being waged in Europe they're suddenly 'what was that we must remember' and 'nothing to see here'
As some other poster mentioned about the Germans, they're incredible self serving / hypocrites / me-feiners
One of the first things the new Israeli government is doing is speaking to Russia, priorities and all that.
It's certainly not the gist of it. You claimed even the BBC says the figures Ukraine give are wildly exaggerated.
The article actually states... Caution is needed wrt the figures.
Other media will add a tagline: although these figures cannot be verified etc...
Unless the BBC know the correct number, they cannot state Ukraine figures are wildly exaggerated, as you claimed.
Lol,Dora the explorer gif.
An unfortunate side effect ,
This is why since the first invasion 9 years ago the orc's post artillery systems,tanks and ammo dumps in high population centers,well knowing that the Ukrainans wouldn't take the risk to civilians to target them ,this time around they are doing the maximum damage with little collateral damage,
But I'm sure there's plenty of people around here who would be quick enough to blame Zelensky for any civilians killed
It’s an awful shame they have to destroy their own country to eliminate the Orcs.
Tom Clonan, the military analyst mentioned a figure of 30k Russian dead.
It's hard to see a 100k dead Russian soldiers. Injured would be at multiples of that. Not buying it is different to not wanting it to be so.
It is military aid that will end the war, not talk of "solidarity".
Most of Europe, especially heavy hitter countries like France,Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Austria, rich countries with excellent military resources have given sweet fu67 all in terms of military aid or any aid.
Germany was shamed in to giving more but for the size of its economy its been recalcitrant. The poles have given 55% of the German figure even though their economy is only one sixth of Germany, as is the German figure is larger due to future commitments, whether they will materialize, who knows, the Polacks have been delivering already.
Without America, Britain, Poland and the little Baltic countries, Czech's, Slovaks the Ukraine would not be where they are now in terms of advancement. They would be fighting like hell and still out classing the chaotic Russian horde but much further West than now.
There is a marked reluctance in much of Western Europe to support Ukraine against Russia, and it's stark across humanitarian, financial and especially military aid. For most of Western Europe the cheque book is largely closed for Kyiv.
For example France have given 470million, the Dutch 240million in military aid. Pittances from 2 countries with exceptional armies and very large arms industries. France is often top 3 globally.
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