As I've mentioned before, my family is from Lithuania and suffered through multiple invasions of the country during WWII. Eventually they decided to flee to Germany before the Russians could move back in. They were in Germany when the war ended.
I'm watching what's happening in Ukraine and I can't help but wonder what's going to happen to the refugees. My heart goes out to them; I feel a strong connection to what's happening there.
They're leaving everything behind, and they probably think (or at least hope) that they'll be back eventually, as so many LIthuanians did when they fled the country in 1944. Who knows what fate has in store for them, or for the ones who stay behind....
The pic's a very good representation of the EU's solidarity. They couldn't even get all the lights the same color in the top 1/2 or the bottom 1/2.
I'm sorry to say that IMO there will be no unified response to Russia's aggression, some will do tough sanctions, some not-so-tough sanctions, many will do nothing. So Putin gets away with it.
Wonder what country he'll invade next? I'd guess it will be one of the Baltic States, since he's got to believe NATO is unable to respond even if it's one of their own members being invaded.
Posts: 1534 | Location: Colorado | Registered: 20 April 2005
Originally posted by Dan: The pic's a very good representation of the EU's solidarity. They couldn't even get all the lights the same color in the top 1/2 or the bottom 1/2.
I'm sorry to say that IMO there will be no unified response to Russia's aggression, some will do tough sanctions, some not-so-tough sanctions, many will do nothing. So Putin gets away with it.
Wonder what country he'll invade next? I'd guess it will be one of the Baltic States, since he's got to believe NATO is unable to respond even if it's one of their own members being invaded.
If Trump were President, the U.S. wouldn’t respond, and the rest of NATO would have difficulty. Biden would not refuse to follow the NATO charter, and Putin knows it.
Putin may be waiting for Trump to be re-elected in 2024 in order to take the Baltic states.
Germany immediately sending anti-tank weapons, stinger anti-aircraft missiles, and armored vehicles to Ukraine. Where in Ukraine, one wonders. Any aircraft approaching Kyiv is likely to be shot down.
I'm still pushing for the 82nd to occupy Lviv as a corridor for supplies and as a way of preserving the Ukrainian state if Kyiv falls. With a request from Ukraine, of course.
Posts: 12759 | Location: Williamsburg, VA | Registered: 19 July 2005
The United States and its allies announced Saturday an agreement to take aim at Russia through SWIFT, a service that facilitates global transactions among thousands of financial institutions.
"We commit to ensuring that selected Russian banks are removed from the SWIFT messaging system. This will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and harm their ability to operate globally," the leaders of the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, said in a joint statement.
SpaceX’s internet service Starlink is available in Ukraine and more terminals are being sent to the country, according to the company’s CEO Elon Musk.
The conflict-hit nation has seen internet disruptions with Russian troops advancing and missiles hitting key infrastructure. Monitoring group NetBlocks said Thursday that disruptions had been tracked across much of Ukraine including capital city Kyiv.
On Saturday, Musk was asked by a Ukrainian government official if he would provide more of his company’s Starlink stations to the country.
“While you try to colonize Mars — Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space — Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and to address sane Russians to stand,” Mykhailo Fedorov, the vice prime minister of Ukraine and minister of digital transformation, said.
Musk responded late Saturday via Twitter saying: “Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route.”
I suspect if it were the Taiwanese making this sort of request when the CCP invades Taiwan, Elon would likely ignore it because he has a Tesla plant in mainland China.
The Russians are apparently not too good at logistics. Many reports of abandoned equipment, tanks out of gas and so on. Also that once the head of the Russian tank column passes by, Ukrainian forces swarm the transports and APCs behind them. I've seen photos of 1/10 mile long blown up Russian convoys.
Posts: 12759 | Location: Williamsburg, VA | Registered: 19 July 2005
Way to go, Vlad. You have crafted a resurgent Wehrmacht. This certainly does little for Ukraine in its current agony, but to those who have been forecasting how Russia is changing the world order in its favor, I'm not seeing how a massive increase in German military spending, which seems to amount to a major rearmament, makes the world safer for Russian adventurism.
Posts: 12759 | Location: Williamsburg, VA | Registered: 19 July 2005
