I know (from past posts) you don't like all these Ukrainian refugees mooching off you (as the EUs key taxpayer!) .
However do you want Ukraine supported or not?
It's going to cost money to help either way (paying for weapons, and/or paying to support refugees that the Russian military drive out of the country).
Anyway, you don't pay all this tax personally Strumms and Ireland is really a pretty minor contributor to the EU budget that was a recipient of funds for many decades (not that that matters really, I think such arguments are pretty reductive and stupid most of the time). Afaik Irish govt. has also insisted that our EU contributions to Ukraine cannot be spent on "lethal aid" in any case.
I am happy to see the EU supporting Ukraine (refugee support, financial aid, and paying for weapons) + am sure there's more of us than there are of you with the every Euro is a prisoner attitude.
A rising of the people may come with some deaths, but they have to grow a pair at this stage. They have become complicit in everything going on in Russia.
Russia is such a vast area that a couple of hundred thousand deaths would be a tiny amount particularly if they come from far flung regions .As in most of these wars it's the poor that are sent in as cannon fodder not the better connected from the big cities . We all know if a lot of these soldiers came from places like Moscow some internal unrest would be more likely .
They've had two violent revolutions in the last hundred years or so, right? One was by the army against Gorbachev for being too liberal. That failed and led to regime change in the opposite direction. [I'm open to correction with this?] The other was by the Communists, which succeeded and led to the formation of the USSR. Which was not really ideal. So they don't have a great track record when it comes to violent revolutions having the effects they want. Besides, most of them do drink the kool aid, so they wouldn't even have popular support.
Many Nato countries are already starting to replenish there materials. Bar the more technical artillery systems and the newer MBT's most of the equipment being supplied to Ukraine were going into storage or in storage like the Bradley's.
The Challengers being supplied by the British were about to start an upgrade to change the Cannon on them rifled to smoothbore. Many of the other MBT's they are getting are ex Soviet tanks that are upgraded. Most ammunition has a use by date a d would be replaced anyway.
If Military budgets in these countries are risen by 5-10% they will cover the materials used. In the US they will just redirect production away from systems not being used ( Navy and Air force) to land force weapons.
Far too many are dying for that to be true. Where did the Soviet Afghan soldiers come from. It’s acknowledged that those deaths made a difference.
It’s a bit like that money joke.
Soon, these tens of thousands of deaths are going to start being meaningful.
Zelensky was elected on an anti corruption platform and was considered to be doing a poor job at delivering what he promised, which is why he had terrible ratings before the war broke out. A lot of these corrupt people being weeded out have obviously thrived for years including under Zelensky's government, let's not pretend otherwise.
As a war leader he's been brilliant, but rosy eyed revisionism shouldn't portray him as a brilliant peacetime leader before that.
Still, it's good to see action being taken now
As if to prove your point I find it amazing how many of those questioned in the 1420 YouTube channel give the reply of " I'm apolitical" or " I'm not into politics so I don't think about it". It's real head in the sand fingers in the ears stuff. While their "army" is raping and pillaging their neighbouring country. If they're not brainwashed, then they are cowards.
Over-egging the pudding there mate.
Industrial and economic capacity in the West and NATO is far far superior to Russia.
Russia has to go to the begging pool for economic powerhouses such as Iran and North Korea!
I think the general population in Russia is pretty powerless. The best bet is if the elites turn on him. Therefore the best strategy is to give the elites good reason to. However I understand that this group largely owe their power and money to Putin, depend on him, and are not immune to being harmed by him.
The oligarchs can't do much against the GRU and internal security, who are the ones really running the show over there. People are falling out of windows at the rate of knots and there's a reason for that
Nah, the best bet is to help the entire Russian population understand just how much Putin and the Oligarchs have stolen from them and arm them if necessary.
Of course, if they already know this information, and aren't revolting, they're either cowards, believe they're somehow benefitting from the current regime (i.e. in a position where the bribes are lucrative) or the sort who admire other criminals' success while dreaming about replicating it themselves.
We've seen mass protests in China and Iran.... In Russia.... Nothing.
It can't be from fear, Iranian protesters are treated far worse than a fine (for the most part). I'd say Russian's just believe the tripe they are fed. Even as time goes by ans it becomes more obvious to the population, they are too far down the rabbit hole.
When it's all done a dusted and there's an end to the war, wait till ya hear the excuses, we didn't know, we didn't elect him, we were afraid, not for ourselves, for our family and some other aul ballox.
I think it is more about large scale social and psychological manipulation. It's easy to form judgments from here, but our experience of life is a lot different, so it is impossible to form reliable judgments.
True, but they can't do much. If you're an average Russian, you certainly can't openly protest it, up to 15 years in a Russian prison is not a joke. It's difficult to even talk about, kids have reported teachers, people in restaurants have been reported and arrested. There's no opposition to rally to, they've all either been imprisoned and murdered.
Autocrats and dictators need internal security and the military on their side and they can effectively control a country pretty much indefinitely, Maduro is still in power after his (continued) economic destruction of the country, Assad is still in power after turning his country into ash, the Burmese military junta are still in power, the Kim dynasty has been in power for three generations, even that idiot Lukashenko is still in power. I'd argue Putin is in a more powerful situation than any of them.
I've stated my position on this before: we should re-patriate every Russian living in the West. Send those defending the regime back to be fed into the meat-grinder by it; the oligarchs and their pampered sons and daughters back to experience life without all the trappings of the western world and those who oppose Putin and his oligarchs? Send them home trained, funded and equipped for insurrection.
@timmyntc
Tell us how long will it take Russia to replace the ,3000 + tanks ,6000 APCs,5000 other vehicles,293 planes ,284 helicopters ,2000 + artillery pieces , cruise missiles ,130,000+ (lowest estimate)dead soldiers and hundreds of thousands injured and incapacitated.
A century ???
Every weapon sent from Russia to Ukraine has to be replaced
Generations of corruption whilst part of Russia was never going to be eliminated in a few short years, especially when like Russia, it was corrupt at the top. Sure Zelensky was elected on an anti-corruption platform, and from day one he had a tough job, corruption was so deeply embedded that had Putin succeeded in taking over, many government and business heads would have kept their jobs. But not anymore, Zelenski is the most powerful man in Ukraine now, and he is fulfilling his election promises. And Good Luck to him!! Slava Ukraini.
Thats why US,Germany and Norway have ramped up their production of Artillery shells, javelin missiles,and tank ammunition.
U.S. defense officials said last year Ukrainians expended roughly 3,000 rounds a day, while a Pentagon fact sheet issued this week said the U.S. government has already sent over 1 million 155mm rounds to the country.
Prior to the war in Ukraine, the U.S. could build about 14,400 155mm artillery shells a month. But as Ukrainian forces burn through the ammunition for howitzers sent to the country, the U.S. is hoping to ramp up production to roughly 90,000 shells a month, according to a New York Times report this week.
We can produce 240,000 rounds of tank ammunition (120 mm) per year, which is more than the entire world needs,” CEO of German defence industry giant Rheinmetall Armin Papperger told Reuters in an interview.
The Rheinmetall capacity of production 155 mm artillery ammunition can be ramped up to 450,000 to 500,000 per year, said Papperger.
In May and again in September 2022, the Javelin Joint Venture was awarded production contracts for Javelin rounds and support. More than 3,100 of the missiles procured will go toward replacing systems sent to Ukraine.
To meet this new demand, Lockheed Martin is increasing the missile production rate beyond the current 2,100 per year to nearly 4,000 per year.
To increase production to nearly 4,000 per year, Lockheed Martin is ramping up production on its already-active manufacturing line and with Javelin’s supply chain partners
The management of Norwegian defence industry company Nammo has approved an investment of NOK 260 million (about EUR 24 million) in machinery and production equipment to increase 155 mm artillery shell production. The purchase of machinery is necessary both to modernize existing artillery production lines as well as improve capacity, the company said.
Don’t they have the worlds largest number of tanks with 14,000?
Not any more, even if they ever had.
In storage yes,not operational
Surely Ukraine must have the largest number of tanks now - sure weren't posters on here saying that Ukraine captured more Russian tanks than they had lost?
This is from November last year,so i guess its alot higher now
According to the Dutch warfare research group Oryx, Russia has lost 1,450 tanks since the war began, nearly 900 of which have been damaged or destroyed. The rest were abandoned by the Russians, and many of those ultimately have since been captured by the Ukrainians.
The Ukrainians have suffered large-scale equipment losses as well — some 320 tanks destroyed as of Oct. 19. But what that means is that the Ukrainians may have actually gained tanks in this war — the captured Russian versions amounting to more than the number of their own losses.
And yet is this is to be believed, why is it they need <100 western MBTs before they can mount the fabled spring offensive?
Perhaps they have lost more tanks than we are led to believe
Or simply put in Western tanks are superior in every aspect
Not anymore no ,
Strumms, ( at the risk of going off topic)you are getting hung up on the cost of the war and how it affects taxpayers ( Irish ones, I presume?? anyway.. ) Well enjoy the present level of Irish Taxpayers input, because if Roderick O' Gormans vision /plans work out, it will be regarded as a honeymoon period. He is saying that Ireland will in future have to accept people fleeing not only war torn country's, but fleeing climate change ravaged Country's too, as the criteria for asylum applicants will be broadened to include people fleeing climate change.
Ireland will have to provide asylum for victims of climate change, says ...
https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/ireland-will-have-to-provide-asylum-for-victims-of...
No doubt they've lost more since that article was written both on the field and to mechanical failures etc.
A lot of the MBTs the Ukrainians already had, and what they'd captured to date are inferior to the better T80s and T90s the Russians are using and when encountering them 1v1, the Ukrainians are having to back off, call in backup and attempt to take them on with superior numbers i.e. 3v1 fights. The vastly superior Abrams, Leopards or Challengers wouldn't need to wait, they'd just destroy the T80/T90 in front of them and move on to the next.
No its because they lack ammunition for old soviet equipment,allthough they have captured some ammo depots from the russians.
And the western tanks have better survivability and first hit probability then russian tanks,thats why they need them.
You can believe whatever you want,something thats not new with you
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