Lol
This is good news
I'm hoping for a general.
Not ISIS but the Free Syrian Army was seen as the most moderate I think
Then ISIS swept through Southern Syria and Northern Iraq. Scary times, the speed at which they expanded and acquired territory. Suddenly everyone's attention was focused on stopping them.
Because of course he is
I remember mentioning to a few US relatives that the US coastguard patrols in the middle east and they wouldn't believe me because that's not the US coast.
Didn't the US initially think consider ISIS an ally against the Syrian government?
Anyway the point is no one should depend on the attention span of the US public.
And yet they still the US operate in Syria
That is all funding so not just military and it also includes committed funding, the skeptic might say that's not going to happen, maybe some of it won't but it is promised. Its war, UKR is going to struggle, especially against a foe that sees its people as canon fodder. What we see so far is Russia doing worse, its economy is small and its typical allies are sitting on the fence. The longer this goes on the more pressure is going onto Russia to declare victory and go home.
That's another impact of the conflict, expect to see the Russians lose their status as the second largest exporter of arms in the near future. If you told people two years ago that Iranian drones would be a key pillar of a future Russian campaign, I doubt they would believe you.
You mean the like current instability Russia is inflicting on the EU and half the world!
What Europe does more than the US is deal with the carnage, like how we ended up helping Syrians long after the US had forgotten why ISIS drove Humvees.
They won't be selling many s-400s from now on... this once again demonstrates that Russian weaponry is vastly inferior to Western Weaponry. No way would an American or British building of this stature get hit in a missile strike. I think it also shows The Ukrainans don't have to occupy Crimea to retake it, chip away bit by bit and make it untenable for the Russians to stay there long term.
They intercepted the missile with their fleet HQ!
Strike on HQ, that's good, if only for symbolic value
Is that all aid or just military?
For sure EU has done plenty but it may need to do considerably more if US aid fades away (which it may not do)
Continental stability, that's why the EU exists.
After the USSR dissolved Russia took on an unregulated wild west version of capitalism which would never have been entertained in the welfare states of post WWII reconstruction Europe. Putin filled the void of leadership under crony capitalism and kept the national project together under the banner of restoring Russian imperial greatness.
Half the Russia's shrinking population live in the western most 8th, the European end. In a post Putin collapse of Russia it's inevitable that a social reconstruction be led to secure our eastern border.
Ireland does not have any weapons to give to Ukraine. However, Ireland is strong in many other aspects and can give other goods that are needed and can be produced in Ireland, like medicines or electronics.
Crimea, very spicy today
The EU has done more for UKR than the USA. You need to look at all the aide, not just from individual countries or EU institutions, but by the group as a whole. The EU has done more than all other countries combined.
https://www.ifw-kiel.de/publications/news/ukraine-support-tracker-europe-clearly-overtakes-us-with-total-commitments-now-twice-as-large/
These things take time to take effect. They want theatre, not actual blowback from their base who would be made realise they use government services. It won't last long enough to matter for the Ukraine.
Only days after Ukraine destroyed a communication center command post in Crimea also. The bridge must be sweating!
That attitude, as a policy at governmental level, would be a disaster in terms of trying to achieve global stability, social and economic.
Anything as a measure of GDP will skew against Ireland. Our GDP is massively inflated due to how economy is structured.
This
Another boom in Crimea
Why should anyone from outside help Russia? Fcuk them they can stew in their own mess.
Yeah, the European market would seem to be one of very low stock and long waiting lists. Tellingly the Poles which seem to be aiming for rapid rearmament seems to be partnering with Korean and US defense firms.
If you want a smaller scale example look at the Danes and their howitzers. The ordered CAESAR artillery pieces from the French. The delivery was quite slow and then the Danes faced considerable lobbying to donate equipment to Ukraine. The gave the equipment to Ukraine. They then opted to replace them with Israeli made guns as they could be delivered very quickly.
In terms of ex-Soviet stock, Cyprus would be an obvious candidate . Unfortunately Erdogan's Turkey makes it a non starter. Which also impacts the Greeks enthusiasm to donate gear. From what I gather there are attempts to send some like for like replacements, to get around for instance the Swiss vetoes on armour.
The Ukrainians have to be careful with their criticism, as you mentioned, the optics can be bad.
What both the EU and the USAs next question is who manages a collapsed and shattered Russia after Putin?
I can see from the USA perspective that they'd be thinking "hey Europe, that's your backyard, deal with it".
The EU perspective is there isn't the domestic political will within the EU to provide for a Marshall Plan type rehabilitation of Russia, although from a resources perspective that reconstruction would quickly pay for itself.
There's definitely an argument to be made for that yes, even though a now-banned poster always claimed that was "Russian propaganda". But it often seems the US in particular favours a long war that greatly weakens Russia and stops it stirring sh*t elsewhere, over a total defeat of Putin that could to very unpredictable consequences.
In a way, I understand that from a US perspective. But it means more and prolonged suffering for Ukraine.
I've always said I think the only hope for a truly positive end to the war is regime change from within Russia. But where that will come from is also unclear.
That to me seems very plausible
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