That's cool, but it's still the absolute bare minimum. With real support for Ukraine and serious sanctions on russia the orcs would've collapsed years ago.
Some perspectives for you:
Since the start of the full scale invasion EU has still paid russia MUCH for imports than the value of all the aid that was provided to Ukraine, and all that money goes directly into bombing Ukraine. So you're helping the horde more than you're helping the country that's literally protecting you! Think about that for a second before patting yourself on the back.
North fucking Korea has provided more aid to russia than any country has to Ukraine. That's just embarrassing.
Cmon dude that's irrelevant. Yes the EU is the main contributor but let's be real here. That is nothing to do with trump and only somewhat related to Putin.
The EU is doing too little too late.
Militarisation should've come way sooner. Basically all foreign policy experts said this would happen sooner or later.
Also still wanting to keep their homes warm, but we are down to a third of the gas we used to buy, and that’s mainly Hungary and Slovakia. In one year, Russian LPG will become illegal to import and one year after that the pipelines will have to be shut down.
As a Slovakian, it's so sad that we went from one of the biggest Ukraine supporters (with the previous government and president) to being on the same level as Hungary.
It'll be interesting to see if the EU will keep the Russian LPG illegal in a year, I could see there being a cease fire in Ukraine within the next year which includes lifting of Russian sanctions.
Though the EU could technically just slap Russian LPG with Tarifs I guess.
No shot this peace proposition will pass without the lifting of European sanctions.
There won't be a ceasefire any time soon. Historically, they take years to negotiate. the Vietnam war ceasefire took a full 5 years of negotiations to reach an agreement directly between the parties.
And this is very different because Ukraine and russia isn't negotiating with each other, but a third party who's just receiving and sending out demand lists with no regard to the other side's stance.
These "negotiations" are less about ending the war, and more about trying to manage trump. If trump wasn't a thing, there would be no talk of ceasefires at all at this stage.
russia wants trump to not presure them and pressure Ukraine, and since he's a moron, he's doing exactly that, which then forces Ukraine to play along to mitigate the pressure he's placing on them. The US is nothing but an unreliable tool in this dynamic.
We're more likely to see a surprise collapse of one of the parties within the next year than we are seeing a negotiated ceasefire agreement.
I say this because russia historically has a tendency to collapse to revolution with such lightning speed that if you went back in time and asked people a week before any of their collapses, none would suspect anything was going on. The next time russia collapses, there will be no signs of it happening a week prior either.
russia being a dictatorship, no one will be saying a thing, until the final straw and it all comes crashign down immediately, because a collapse won't come from the bottom up, but by betrayal of Putin's closest. it's why purges are a constant theme.
Ukraine could see a collapse as well, but due to them being a democratic nation, the sign would show up earlier and increase over time, which allows the government to adjust course. We saw this with the anti corruption protests. Revolution would build from the bottom up until sustained presure brings down the government.
A military collapse of either side is incredibly unlikely anytime soon as long as drone production isn't stopped.
"I could see there being a cease fire in Ukraine within the next year which includes lifting of Russian sanctions." No, there won't be. Not only because no one will lift all the sanctions, but also because the Russians do not want a cease fire. They only want to throw a wrench into the western system of support for Ukraine.
That is the all-bark he's complaining about! There are so many things the EU could do to stop or slow Putin down - but they are always afraid of doing them! To this day, the world hasn't given Ukraine the weapons required to hit any of the important sites inside Russia. Ukraine had to develop those themselves. The EU wouldn't let Ukraine touch Russian oil/gas pipelines and production facilities for years. Etc...
Agree, it’s funny to see that some people were claiming we should send military personnel and warships to aid Taiwan if China invades one day there’s an invasion but they are against sending this same military troops to help a fellow European country under attack. lol. European priorities are messed up .
It is way to late for most of the things EU could have done besides just going to war.
This stupid US propaganda is as annoying as the russian one, the main problem of the EU was to let „allies“ dictate their defensive policies and lay back thinking everything is save.
But this is all long done and we have to work with what we have today.
Geo politics are like a big corporation but x10 in slowness, policies of today even fast and slow one will only show effectiveness in a year as fastest.
We can’t change that politics blindly trusted partners and laid back, this started already after WW2.
This US only helps never recieves bullshit tho, fuck off with it.
The US wanted to be the world police and fought with the soviets later russia about being the big guys in the world, west vs east.
They had enough benefits from that, a lot of money and infrastructure and trust, otherwise the US would never been the world superpower of today.
Especially the whole crisis was the US that sat down with Ukraine and russia to get rid of their nuclear capabilities. The US guaranteed them safety. The US got the benefits of this deal and the US didn’t uphold their agreed safety for the sovereignty of the Ukraine, because they perfectly phrased it so they can spin it to not needing to do it. Literally a scam, the only reason it wasn’t called that is because of US propaganda.
The problem with the EU is/was they just let this happen on their ground, which they just can’t change anymore.
It is also a fact they got extorted and backstabbed by their closest ally.
I agree but would also like to point out that kinetic war should always be an option of last resort. And, nuclear weapons are something to be feared and present a big problem here. Europe has many options still but, won't have those options forever.
Side note: it is interesting that young people don't want to join the military (or be conscripted) but here on Reddit everyone so easily throws around the idea of war (or say how easy it would be).
Russia will not use nuclear weapons unless its borders are crossed by an invasion force. It’s not going to nuke Germany for sending reinforcements to Ukraine.
This is false information. Ukraine, at times, has been within Russia borders for many months of this past year. Russia threatened the same then and continue to threaten us now, but guess what? Nothing.
could is not the same thing as would. Europeans do not want to occupy Russia, and Russians know that too. So all these fantasy theories are just that , theories
Yes, they have no intention to conquer Russia, but have held back an invasion that was supposed to last 3 days, nearly 3.75 years later. They are highly capable of defending themselves
Not really understanding your point - are you a Putin apologist?
That is not an invasion force. If Ukraine intended to take Moscow and Russia was on the ropes, I think the nukes would fly. Border skirmishes are irrelevant to that.
I don't think they would ever use nukes as likely more than half of them will explode in or above the silo and destroy russia more than any other nation.
Correct. My observation was that I see an overwhelming amount of aggressive talk on Reddit and talk about fighting Russia. At the same time, militaries of Europe receive record lows of new recruits, and for example there were protests in Berlin (last week I think) at the news of the gov't considering conscription.
My general message was that we should take more serious (even in Reddit rhetoric) how horrible war would be and nuclear weapons are, and be more considerate of non-mikitary options Europe still Hass while we have them.
One the main reasons for that is an unappealing salary. That and private enterprice offering much better salaries will sharply turn, should Europe find herself in armed conflict with Russia
It’s not like Russians are more willing to join the armed forces - it’s the gap between being dirt poor and paid somewhat ok by Putin that´s appealing
One the main reasons for that is an unappealing salary.
armies never offered salaries that were better in private sector, never. Not now, not in the past either, so its a moot point. German soldiers in 1960's were not earning great salaries either compared to their civilian sector, neither were Swedish soldiers in 1960's, neither were Norwegians or Danes or any other European soldiers of that time.
In general this myth that ''just increase salary and civilian people will want to be soldiers because of it'' is nonsense, that is not how things worked. Almost all capable armies have been based on at least somewhat compulsory military service, and NOT on ''good salary'' as its main way to get new recruits into the military system. Its a unpopular topic to discuss, but purely voluntary service based on money as its main motivator doesnt really work and always ends up in situation where army chronically lacks soldiers (unless you have 300 million people big country like USA)
My general message was that we should take more serious (even in Reddit rhetoric) how horrible war would be and nuclear weapons are, and be more considerate of non-mikitary options Europe still Hass while we have them
You propose talk or regulate Russians and hope they will be bored to death ?
kinetic war should always be an option of last resort
Generally, sure. But the kinetic war is here, whether europe likes it or not. And only has one real answer: shoot back. Or enable others to, respectively.
There is no sensible Discussion to be had with Putin, no Treaty worth the paper. Bullets, Bombs and Bandages.
Side note: it is interesting that young people don't want to join the military (or be conscripted) but here on Reddit everyone so easily throws around the idea of war (or say how easy it would be).
Putins war of agression has changed a lot over the last year and i think its signalling the end of "boots on the ground" invasions for good. Why put boots on the ground when someone in a base 100s of kilometers away can fly a drone and cripple supply lines for months? That's what Ukraine has been doing and once this war is over they will dominate that market given the expertise they developed with drones.
But lets get it straight. Most people throughout human history did not want to be conscripted for war. Its not something recent.
We already have conscription and you have to be a special kind of historically ignorant to think you'll be safe from war just because you're a civilian
They convene every weeks and nothing changes, I wonder what they talk about. One millions civilians without heating or electricity and no reaction. I can’t stand our lack of reaction. ShyShield now !
Exactly this. "Putin is Hitler" well we already know that.
"Trump is controlled by Putin" well it's not true and making those claims does nothing to help the situation. It actively harms the situation.
The US strategy appears to be to befriend Putin and try to negotiate an end to the war. And when Putin doesn't agree, they go back to threatening to support Ukraine and give them better weapons.
It's not the greatest strategy but it's not the worst either. It's better than slow-walking aid to Ukraine, not giving them enough to win and kicking the can down the road which was the strategy in place for the past 3 years.
Trump is just too cautious. He needs to pressure Russia much more than he does.
We are in a situation where our leaders in Europe have absolutely no strategy. Just meaningless soundbites.
The thing is politicians often use rhetoric to test how popular something is, and that's kind of normal as a first step.
If strong opposition against Putin -in words- is not received well enough, they might hesitate and look for what people will support.
So if you really want something done. Be really positive about this kind of rhetoric and make sure it is seen to be what the public, i.e. you want.
If only the media, controlled by oligarchs, are the only response and it looks negative, the politicians change their rhetoric and then the oligarchs win.
It's not even surprising that there's "no bite" when you look back to how we got here.
Back before this war and the whole Crimea stuff, all the way back in 2008 the USA under Bush, they tried to help Ukraine get into NATO.
Ukraine had the green light from the US to at least head towards NATO membership under Bush, but the US at the time wasn't able to convince Europe (specifically France and Germany) because of fears over Russian escalation. At the time, in 2008, the EU actually had a higher GDP than the US. So the US couldn't really just push the EU around as they do now.
Fast forward to now, Europe is still unwilling to send weapons to Ukraine that might "escalate" tensions with Russia. For example, just look at those Taurus missiles Ukraine had asked for many times over the past few years, and the excuse is always "escalation".
The EU will give Ukraine things for defense, but is unwilling to escalate to give Ukraine what it needs to win. Germany itself is way too timid over fears of escalation. From preventing Ukraine from joining NATO back in 2008 to being unwilling to allow Ukraine to use long-range Taurus missiles now, they simply won't make a move when there's any risk of escalation with Russia.
There are no gas chambers between the river and the sea. What are u talking about?
There is a huge difference between systematic extinction of an ethnic group and the certainly inexcusable but way less extreme acts of Israel. They are fighting a war with arguably too little regard for civilian casualties and they are maybe starving the civilian population.
As a German I can tell you: Auschwitz was something else
This. 3 years into the war, somehow EU still uses russian gas, has sanctions left to give, and is paralyzed by one stupid country forever and only recently had the idea to use russian assets.
Not even going to mention how they cower and do nothing against russian drones and their information war at all because somethingsomething russia has nukes.
At the first sign of aggression from Russia, EU shivered in fear and NATO basically is falling apart, and Russia didn't even attack them.
The baltics are so lucky Ukraine got attacked, if they had been attacked, NATO and EU would've thrown them under the bus immediately to "appease Russia" and "Not escalate".
The Ukrainian government itself was not really a beacon of democracy and local government. We can appreciate the sacrifice Ukranians made without aggrandizing it. They were victims of their neighbors.
There was no Russian government either. There was a communist party government. But for some reason, all the victims of the USSR are attributed to the Russians.
SSSR was a Russian entity, all of the systems of SSSR were inside Russia. Yes Russia did invest and provide local authority but SSSR was all decided managed in Moscow so it was a very distorted union that acted like an arm of a Russian authority over the entire region. it was not like EU where there is no single leading country.
Kremlin did ally with Hitler 1939-41 and did supply Germany with resources (including oil - literally fueling the Nazi war machine) all up until getting invaded in June, 1941. That's the other point not to be missed - it was Hitler who decided to put an end to that friendship. Stalin was happy with the status quo.
Yes, the Ukrainians really fought to stop the Nazis from openly killing millions of their Jews… And the 250,000 Ukrainians who directly joined the Nazi military forces. There is no history like revisionist history
1) A good percentage--not everyone, but a significant amount--joined because after the brutality of everything they'd been through with the Soviets, they figured the Nazis would be the lesser evil and hoped they would be less oppressive. It was the same situation in the Baltics.
2) A lot of countries had collaborators--even the US--so singling out Ukraine for it is pointless.
3) Ukrainians were major victims of the Nazis too.
Either you're being intentionally disingenuous by ignoring this and trying to present it otherwise, or you don't know the history of the region nearly as well as you think you do.
Yes, the US permitted the open murder of millions of its Jewish citizens and 250,000 direct collaborators joined the Nazi military. This is not counting local police and other collaborators. Because they thought the Nazis were the lesser evil. But the US was a Nazi victim too. /s
It is also an ineffective analogy to use against Russians, most especially because Soviets are not stupid enough to not know that they suffered the most casualties during WW2…
A lot of people don’t realise this: the “Putinist” and Russian propaganda relies heavily on bringing up the idea that Nazism (enemy of Soviets and Russia) isn’t* dead and is still attacking Russia. -> and it’s an extremely effective strategy because Russians (or Soviets) still consider themselves as proud victors against Nazism, and they still do take extreme pride in that victory. I.E. they view themselves the real victors of WW2 (think of all the land they acquired from it as well).
Therefore, the Russians don’t and never will view themselves as Nazis. Rather, they’ll view the “West” (destroying Russian culture with liberal or LGBT propaganda) or Ukraine (“Stepan Bandera people” who are oppressing Russians abroad because they are affiliated with the West) as Nazis from all their overload of state-influenced propaganda. Putin is exploiting their personal insecurities from the fall of communism and their fear of being influenced from outside/Western sources since the fall in order to establish and maintain his imperialistic oligarchal security state. And he does this by bringing back history of the glory years of the USSR. Even though today’s Russia is far more fascist as it is communist.
*edit
Yet the highest profile nazi collaborator, proponent of fascism and ethno nationalism is one of their greatest heroes, still celebrated today across the country, and whose flag is repeatedly on display.
I will be mass downvoted just for pointing out this fact, that's fine. Won't change reality tho. Sourcing your national identity from a guy who believed in nazism is deeply problematic and exactly the kind of stuff that invites Russian propaganda about needing to militarily denazify the country.
Even western media used to write about it until the war started, for obvious reasons.
eh, it is complex issue
Westerners tend to simplify things with
Nazi - bad
rest (including USSR) - good
while for us, Central/Eastern Europeans it's not that simple, many suffered more from russians.
so..
more Ukrainians died fighting Nazism in WW2 - sure, they were conscripted into soviet army, and probably used the same way as the Tuvans nowadays.
Because:
Stalin hated Ukrainians. Just few years earlier millions of Ukrainians starved because of man-made Holodomor. And Soviet Union did some changes which were trying to eradicate Ukrainian language.
So when they noticed that there's a chance for independence, they allied with the first one who was against USSR. That someone was Nazi Germany.
And UPA slaughtered at least 40k of Polish villagers during that time.
But as I said - it's very complex issue. Multiple bad decisions, years of tensions between countries.
Unfortunately, Ukraine, while being very old nation, lacks modern national heroes/independence fighters. Bandera is one of them. It's hard to use some commonwealth magnates for that. They'll have new ones in a couple of years.
I don't think he hated Ukrainians per se. Just like any other dictator, he was hypersensitive about anyone whom he deemed not to be 101% loyal. Ukrainians got starved, the bulk of Jewish intelligentsia got wiped out in the late 1930's, Chechens got deported to Kazakhstan, Latvians/Lithuanians/Estonians to Siberia, etc.
A larger percentage of Kazakhs than Ukrainians died in the famine, but they aren't trying to retcon it into a genocide. It's bad enough as it is, Stalin had information about the increasing hunger and didn't give a shit.
The one who was sent to a nazi camp where his brother died? I wouldn't say he was the highest profile collaborator. He didn't even receive his personal army as Vlasov did.
All part of the plan. The U.S descends into infighting while Eastern Europe is invaded by Russia and Taiwan is invaded by China. That will just be the start of things too.
Not surprised he went there. The comparison isn’t about vibes, it’s about behavior. Expansionist wars, ignoring treaties, betting that democracies won’t respond decisively. That pattern is exactly why people keep invoking the 1930s.
I don't get the obsession Taurus. Germans have only a few hundred of them. The won't make much difference if any at all.
Besides Ukraine is now capable of producing its own long range (cruise) missiles and drones. Which they can use without any restrictions. This capability should be supported instead.
People ran out of things to shit on us over, so by now they've resorted to a single, highly specialized weapon system. It has become so dumb that we've even got criticism over it from countries that have similar weapons themselves in higher quantity, and don't send them either.
I guarantee you that if Taurus would be delivered, there would be something new within minutes. Was exactly the case when the whole "Leopard coalition" turned out to be a big fat lie, people swiftly switched to Taurus.
still not okay by him to jump on this ridiculous bandwagon to hurt his political opposition and undermine his country without any real conviction to follow through on his bold claims.
What is a good usecase for a weapon that was designed to penetrate several meters of earth and bunker concrete, when there is no such bunker worth to bombard?
On the other hand, it is the only somewhat strategic weapon Germany has under full control. You don't just give these away.
Mais qui croit vraiment que la Russie va perdre en Ukraine ? C'est une fable, une illusion totale. Ce n'est même pas souhaitable qu'elle perde et que l'instabilité s'installe dans un pays qui a des armes nucléaires.
Italy’s foreign minister said it would be “premature” for his country to participate in a NATO program to buy US weapons for Ukraine in light of ongoing peace negotiations.
“If we reach an agreement and fighting ceases, weapons won’t be needed anymore,” Antonio Tajani, who’s also a deputy prime minister, told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday. “Other things such as security guarantees will be needed.”
The remarks are the clearest sign yet that Giorgia Meloni’s government has changed its strategy on Ukraine after running out of funds and weathering tensions within the ruling coalition. While the government insists that it will continue to support Kyiv, it is also the first in Europe to explicitly suggest that Ukraine should not be provided with additional weapons while a ceasefire is being negotiated.
After some hesitation, Rome signaled readiness in October to join NATO’s so-called PURL program, Bloomberg News reported at the time. The program, which was launched after Washington reduced weapons shipments to Ukraine over the summer, enables allies to buy US weapons for Ukraine.
Recent negotiations over peace in Ukraine have so far failed to accomplish anything meaningful. Tajani’s remarks stand in contrast to those of Europe’s main defense lobby, the Aerospace, Security and Defense Industries Association of Europe, which on Tuesday warned that the continent should continue ramping up its defense production despite the prospect of a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Ukraine has also said it will need an extra €1 billion ($1.2 billion) in PURL shipments in order to defend itself over the winter. About two-thirds of NATO’s allies are taking part in the program, the alliance’s Secretary-General Mark Rutte has said.
Bruno Kahl, Head of the German Federal Intelligence Service, stated this to DW in response to a question about possible Russian aggression in 2029-2030.
“This timeframe is based on very reliable data, but it also depends on specific developments. So if the military conflict in Ukraine calms down earlier, then, of course, all the resources, both material and technical, including weapons, and human resources, conscription, will be able to pose a threat to Europe much earlier. And then it may happen that the threat, the blackmail from Russia may happen even earlier than we expected,” Kahl stated.
If a peace or a ceasefire is established in Ukraine, they will continue to produce and stockpile an amount of weapons which would eventually allow them to start a new aggression.
That means that a long-lasting ceasefire will bring a full-fledged attack on the EU closer.
Practically, yes.
Or the outright talk from US politicians (not just the current admin, but previous one as well) that russia mustn't lose, or else nooks or something.
Even a Ukrainian victory would present challenges for American foreign policy, since it would “threaten the integrity of the Russian state and the Russian regime and create instability throughout Eurasia,” as one of the former U.S. officials put it to me. Ukraine’s desire to take back occupied Crimea has been a particular concern for Sullivan,.
“The reason they’ve been so hesitant about escalation is not exactly because they see Russian reprisal as a likely problem,” the former official said. “It’s not like they think, Oh, we’re going to give them atacms and then Russia is going to launch an attack against nato. It’s because they recognize that it’s not going anywhere—that they are fighting a war they can’t afford either to win or lose.”
“We have purposely been slow at training F-16 pilots” for Ukraine, says retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, a former supreme allied commander for Europe. “We didn’t want to do it quickly because that might actually affect the war. We in the West are morally and intellectually incapable of conceiving a defeated Russia and a defeated Putin. We could be training more, and we could be training faster.”
Kyiv's allies "fear" Russia's loss in the war against Ukraine because it would involve "unpredictable geopolitics," according to Zelensky. "I don't think it works that way. For Ukraine to win, we need to be given everything with which one can win," he said.
The Biden administration gave Ukraine just enough weapons to bleed, but not enough to win, out of fear of a nuclear war, former CIA operations chief for Europe and Eurasia Ralph Goff said in an interview with The Times.
After Russia seized Crimea in winter 2014, Goff said he tried to warn his superiors about what was coming next.
“I was trying to sound the alarm that the seeds of World War III were being planted in the Donbas, and we needed to do something about it. But there were other priorities,” he told the outlet.
Goff also revealed that he was slated to become head of covert CIA operations, but former President Donald Trump’s administration blocked the appointment — a move he suspects was linked to his stance on Ukraine. Goff has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine and, since retiring in October 2023, has made several visits there, The Times noted.
Goff believes the full-scale war that began in February 2022 could have been stopped early if the United States and its allies had provided Ukraine with the necessary weapons from the start.
Instead, he said, Washington chose a different strategy — supplying Ukraine with enough arms to keep fighting but not enough to defeat Putin’s military, fearing the Russian dictator would resort to nuclear weapons if pushed to the brink.
“If we had armed the Ukrainians properly back then, they could have driven the Russians out. That didn’t happen. So now we’ve got this long, grinding war — a meat grinder — that we’re watching today,” Goff said.
He argued that President Biden and U.S. allies let Putin set the terms of the conflict, hesitating to deliver key equipment out of fear he might “go nuclear.”
“[They] allowed Vladimir Putin and his nuclear saber-rattling to fool them. So they gave the Ukrainians weapons, but never enough to win. They gave them just enough to bleed,” Goff said.
According to The Times, some British officials privately share this view, though none have voiced it publicly.
Goff also noted that the Russian dictator was “genuinely terrified of COVID” and argued that people so obsessed with their health “aren’t the types to play high-stakes nuclear poker.”
He speculated that Trump’s strategy might be to soften up negotiations and possibly flatter Putin in hopes of pulling him away from China. But, Goff added, Putin likely believes that as a former intelligence officer, he can manipulate Trump — a miscalculation that will backfire.
“Putin will ultimately overplay his hand with the administration and reveal where the real problem lies — and it’s in Moscow, not Kyiv,” Goff said.
He recounted what one Ukrainian official told him: If a deal isn’t reached soon, by the end of the summer the entire front line could become a 20- to 50-kilometer “death zone.”
“It’ll be impossible to move,” the official warned, “because there are so many drones in the air, robots on the ground, sensors, and mines.” Goff added, “It’s going to be an unbelievably lethal environment.”
Goff also said he’s trying to persuade American companies to invest in Ukraine and is working to connect Americans with Ukrainian technologies.
“I think one reason I’m going to Ukraine now is maybe because I feel some guilt that I couldn’t convince my leadership to prevent this,” Goff said.
These people are morons in decision making positions. Most of these scenarios are if Ukraine losses. If we help Ukraine win and even take back their territories then these scenarios will be worse for Russia.
We have gotten far in migration. In this period of governance, we have brought down the figures August 24, August 25 by 60% in comparison, but of course we still have this problem in the cityscape, and that is why the Federal Minister of the Interior is now also in the process of enabling and carrying out returns on a very large scale.
I mean Putin sure tried to copy him with his Ukraine Blitzkrieg.
It's the same playbook, using soft power to make allies submit to him (Austria -> Belarus), quickly annex easy targets (Poland -> Ukraine).
Next in line would be the long time annoyance (France -> Finland/Baltics).
Failed miserably ofc.
But that exactly what he was going for.
It's a good comparison.
Doesn't fit perfectly as things never do, but in the end that's the problem the world has to deal with, but worse since this one has nukes.
Putin needs to be killed by his own and the only way that happens is with a continuing collapse of the Russian economy and demographics.
All efforts must be made to continue his insane loses of manpower and equipment in Ukraine, more sanctions, more disinformation inside his inner circle, more paranoia, making him look more and more week until he gets the rope or a bullet. This is the only way this ends without world war 3.
His successor will want to blame everything on him, and do exactly what Syria is doing, reapproachment with the West, ease of sanctions, economic and military build up and repeat the same cycle. We just need to stop forgetting our history and expect this to happen and give nothing back at the next “Crimea Annexation” type event in 40 years from now.
Hitler was much more efficient with his invading than Putin. At the beginning they had enough bullets, weapons and whatnot were made well. Granted, he got cocky with Russia but if he had listened to his generals Moscow could have been his. Imagine if he got to the oilfields. Putin wishes he was Hitler. And that makes me feel a little gross.
Putin absolutely is another version of Hitler for the world to manage. I don’t wish death on many people, but Putin is at the top of my list. I want to see Putin dragged thru the streets.
German people cannot not defend Israel. Because anything opposite of that they say or do is going "back to old ways". It's like you have a dog in your house and you decided to cut his balls.
Damn, the German leadership regards Putin as the new Hitler? Then we have full hands on deck and the entire economic might of Germany to rely on to stop him right? Right?
Too bad that Rutte (NATO chief), is deep in the pocket and/or anus of Trump. Which means indirectly he doesn't have Europe's interests at heart. Another Putin faithful.
Remember he called Trump daddy.
Statements like this spark strong emotions, yet they underline a serious concern about patterns of behavior. When territorial expansion and disregard for international law go unanswered, it risks normalizing actions that destabilize Europe and undermine global security.
Nonsense, Putin is significantly less competent than Hitler.
Also, Vova much older than Adolf was during his war.
He is old, cognitively impaired, and desperate to leave his mark ( no one thinks this old fart will make it to 150; if the arch lich Zemin barely made it to 90, he has no chance ).
Putin’s aim is “a fundamental change to the borders in Europe, the restoration of the old Soviet Union within its borders,” the German chancellor warned.
Well at least they got this right, Vova told them at the Munich
2007 Security Conference, but they pretended not to hear him.
edit. Thinking about it, the comparison with Hitler is even more misplaced. Adolf was famous for his distrust of the Prussian military elite ( especially after 1941 ), while Vova swallows whole all the bullshit from his generals ( Kupyansk being conquered ).
The problem is they are rigging the global south against us, when they’re talking about a new world order they really mean it. They will bullshit their way to a makeshift moral high ground and their lackeys will pretend they believe it.
And just like Hitler he’s a delusional lunatic who thinks he has way more power than reality. He will lose without extra help…. Looking at you republicans.
Sieg heiling is not appropriate in world after 1945. But patriotism and comraderie does need slogans & catchphrases, so what is it going to be this time? Any German want to chime in? Thx 🙏
As long as EU politicians behave like "all bark, no bite" dogs, Putin and Trump still have the upper hand
The EU is now the main contributer of aid to Ukraine.
That's cool, but it's still the absolute bare minimum. With real support for Ukraine and serious sanctions on russia the orcs would've collapsed years ago.
Some perspectives for you:
Since the start of the full scale invasion EU has still paid russia MUCH for imports than the value of all the aid that was provided to Ukraine, and all that money goes directly into bombing Ukraine. So you're helping the horde more than you're helping the country that's literally protecting you! Think about that for a second before patting yourself on the back.
North fucking Korea has provided more aid to russia than any country has to Ukraine. That's just embarrassing.
Cmon dude that's irrelevant. Yes the EU is the main contributor but let's be real here. That is nothing to do with trump and only somewhat related to Putin.
The EU is doing too little too late.
Militarisation should've come way sooner. Basically all foreign policy experts said this would happen sooner or later.
I suggest you look into what the Nordics are doing. Not resting on laurels for sure.
Poland also
Also still buying gas from Russia.
Also still wanting to keep their homes warm, but we are down to a third of the gas we used to buy, and that’s mainly Hungary and Slovakia. In one year, Russian LPG will become illegal to import and one year after that the pipelines will have to be shut down.
Thank you. Hungary and Slovakia are the only laggards left.
Hungary and Slovakia are not "lagging", they are complicit.
As a Slovakian, it's so sad that we went from one of the biggest Ukraine supporters (with the previous government and president) to being on the same level as Hungary.
Don't worry, you'll have company soon.
Putin has bought the far right in czechia and is working on it elsewhere, reformuk is on the list too.
Then get on the streets. Putin is the modern day hitler that must be stopped.
It'll be interesting to see if the EU will keep the Russian LPG illegal in a year, I could see there being a cease fire in Ukraine within the next year which includes lifting of Russian sanctions.
Though the EU could technically just slap Russian LPG with Tarifs I guess.
No shot this peace proposition will pass without the lifting of European sanctions.
There won't be a ceasefire any time soon. Historically, they take years to negotiate. the Vietnam war ceasefire took a full 5 years of negotiations to reach an agreement directly between the parties.
And this is very different because Ukraine and russia isn't negotiating with each other, but a third party who's just receiving and sending out demand lists with no regard to the other side's stance.
These "negotiations" are less about ending the war, and more about trying to manage trump. If trump wasn't a thing, there would be no talk of ceasefires at all at this stage.
russia wants trump to not presure them and pressure Ukraine, and since he's a moron, he's doing exactly that, which then forces Ukraine to play along to mitigate the pressure he's placing on them. The US is nothing but an unreliable tool in this dynamic.
We're more likely to see a surprise collapse of one of the parties within the next year than we are seeing a negotiated ceasefire agreement.
I say this because russia historically has a tendency to collapse to revolution with such lightning speed that if you went back in time and asked people a week before any of their collapses, none would suspect anything was going on. The next time russia collapses, there will be no signs of it happening a week prior either.
russia being a dictatorship, no one will be saying a thing, until the final straw and it all comes crashign down immediately, because a collapse won't come from the bottom up, but by betrayal of Putin's closest. it's why purges are a constant theme.
Ukraine could see a collapse as well, but due to them being a democratic nation, the sign would show up earlier and increase over time, which allows the government to adjust course. We saw this with the anti corruption protests. Revolution would build from the bottom up until sustained presure brings down the government.
A military collapse of either side is incredibly unlikely anytime soon as long as drone production isn't stopped.
"I could see there being a cease fire in Ukraine within the next year which includes lifting of Russian sanctions." No, there won't be. Not only because no one will lift all the sanctions, but also because the Russians do not want a cease fire. They only want to throw a wrench into the western system of support for Ukraine.
If the govs of EU collapse their own societies by impoverishing them Putin wins. It's a balancing act that Democracies have to walk.
Still all bark and no bite...
Example:
Germany and Finland "No compromise! Victory for Ukraine"!
Also Germany: "We are too stretched for security guarantees for Ukraine:"
https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-too-stretched-provide-troops-ukraine-foreign-minister-johann-wadephul/
Also Finland:
We cannot offer any security guarantees for Ukraine
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/65590
That is the all-bark he's complaining about! There are so many things the EU could do to stop or slow Putin down - but they are always afraid of doing them! To this day, the world hasn't given Ukraine the weapons required to hit any of the important sites inside Russia. Ukraine had to develop those themselves. The EU wouldn't let Ukraine touch Russian oil/gas pipelines and production facilities for years. Etc...
Tbh the only thing that will stop Putler is EU troops on the ground. Not a single EU country is willing to do that.
Agree, it’s funny to see that some people were claiming we should send military personnel and warships to aid Taiwan if China invades one day there’s an invasion but they are against sending this same military troops to help a fellow European country under attack. lol. European priorities are messed up .
It is way to late for most of the things EU could have done besides just going to war.
This stupid US propaganda is as annoying as the russian one, the main problem of the EU was to let „allies“ dictate their defensive policies and lay back thinking everything is save.
But this is all long done and we have to work with what we have today.
Geo politics are like a big corporation but x10 in slowness, policies of today even fast and slow one will only show effectiveness in a year as fastest.
We can’t change that politics blindly trusted partners and laid back, this started already after WW2.
This US only helps never recieves bullshit tho, fuck off with it.
The US wanted to be the world police and fought with the soviets later russia about being the big guys in the world, west vs east.
They had enough benefits from that, a lot of money and infrastructure and trust, otherwise the US would never been the world superpower of today.
Especially the whole crisis was the US that sat down with Ukraine and russia to get rid of their nuclear capabilities. The US guaranteed them safety. The US got the benefits of this deal and the US didn’t uphold their agreed safety for the sovereignty of the Ukraine, because they perfectly phrased it so they can spin it to not needing to do it. Literally a scam, the only reason it wasn’t called that is because of US propaganda.
The problem with the EU is/was they just let this happen on their ground, which they just can’t change anymore.
It is also a fact they got extorted and backstabbed by their closest ally.
I agree but would also like to point out that kinetic war should always be an option of last resort. And, nuclear weapons are something to be feared and present a big problem here. Europe has many options still but, won't have those options forever.
Side note: it is interesting that young people don't want to join the military (or be conscripted) but here on Reddit everyone so easily throws around the idea of war (or say how easy it would be).
Russia will not use nuclear weapons unless its borders are crossed by an invasion force. It’s not going to nuke Germany for sending reinforcements to Ukraine.
This is false information. Ukraine, at times, has been within Russia borders for many months of this past year. Russia threatened the same then and continue to threaten us now, but guess what? Nothing.
That's because Ukraine isn't going to conquer Russia.
And what? Germany is?
No, but all of NATO, even minus the US, absolutely could.
We don't want nor need anything from this shit hole and it's people.
oh we want peace. and as long as shitfuckers like putin run the joint we will have this chaos.
could is not the same thing as would. Europeans do not want to occupy Russia, and Russians know that too. So all these fantasy theories are just that , theories
But they never will. You're just making fantasies up in your head.
Ukraine has no intention nor ability to conquer Russia.
Yes, they have no intention to conquer Russia, but have held back an invasion that was supposed to last 3 days, nearly 3.75 years later. They are highly capable of defending themselves
Not really understanding your point - are you a Putin apologist?
Im saying that Europe can give Ukraine military help without risking a nuclear holocaust. Not sure how you get from that to “Putin apologist”
You wrote:
Did you change your mind?
That is not an invasion force. If Ukraine intended to take Moscow and Russia was on the ropes, I think the nukes would fly. Border skirmishes are irrelevant to that.
Ukraine went to Kursk and no nuclear weapon has been used though.
I don't think they would ever use nukes as likely more than half of them will explode in or above the silo and destroy russia more than any other nation.
It only needs one
Being conscripted isn’t a choise
Correct. My observation was that I see an overwhelming amount of aggressive talk on Reddit and talk about fighting Russia. At the same time, militaries of Europe receive record lows of new recruits, and for example there were protests in Berlin (last week I think) at the news of the gov't considering conscription.
My general message was that we should take more serious (even in Reddit rhetoric) how horrible war would be and nuclear weapons are, and be more considerate of non-mikitary options Europe still Hass while we have them.
One the main reasons for that is an unappealing salary. That and private enterprice offering much better salaries will sharply turn, should Europe find herself in armed conflict with Russia
It’s not like Russians are more willing to join the armed forces - it’s the gap between being dirt poor and paid somewhat ok by Putin that´s appealing
armies never offered salaries that were better in private sector, never. Not now, not in the past either, so its a moot point. German soldiers in 1960's were not earning great salaries either compared to their civilian sector, neither were Swedish soldiers in 1960's, neither were Norwegians or Danes or any other European soldiers of that time.
In general this myth that ''just increase salary and civilian people will want to be soldiers because of it'' is nonsense, that is not how things worked. Almost all capable armies have been based on at least somewhat compulsory military service, and NOT on ''good salary'' as its main way to get new recruits into the military system. Its a unpopular topic to discuss, but purely voluntary service based on money as its main motivator doesnt really work and always ends up in situation where army chronically lacks soldiers (unless you have 300 million people big country like USA)
You propose talk or regulate Russians and hope they will be bored to death ?
Generally, sure. But the kinetic war is here, whether europe likes it or not. And only has one real answer: shoot back. Or enable others to, respectively.
There is no sensible Discussion to be had with Putin, no Treaty worth the paper. Bullets, Bombs and Bandages.
Putins war of agression has changed a lot over the last year and i think its signalling the end of "boots on the ground" invasions for good. Why put boots on the ground when someone in a base 100s of kilometers away can fly a drone and cripple supply lines for months? That's what Ukraine has been doing and once this war is over they will dominate that market given the expertise they developed with drones.
But lets get it straight. Most people throughout human history did not want to be conscripted for war. Its not something recent.
We already have conscription and you have to be a special kind of historically ignorant to think you'll be safe from war just because you're a civilian
They convene every weeks and nothing changes, I wonder what they talk about. One millions civilians without heating or electricity and no reaction. I can’t stand our lack of reaction. ShyShield now !
Yeah, seems like Europe is full of people who think if we hit a threshold of "Putin is Hitler" and "Fuck Putin" comments he'll one day stop.
These people only listen when you have a gun pointed at them. Too bad our politicians think guns are "hecking unwholesome".
Exactly this. "Putin is Hitler" well we already know that.
"Trump is controlled by Putin" well it's not true and making those claims does nothing to help the situation. It actively harms the situation.
The US strategy appears to be to befriend Putin and try to negotiate an end to the war. And when Putin doesn't agree, they go back to threatening to support Ukraine and give them better weapons.
It's not the greatest strategy but it's not the worst either. It's better than slow-walking aid to Ukraine, not giving them enough to win and kicking the can down the road which was the strategy in place for the past 3 years.
Trump is just too cautious. He needs to pressure Russia much more than he does.
We are in a situation where our leaders in Europe have absolutely no strategy. Just meaningless soundbites.
The thing is politicians often use rhetoric to test how popular something is, and that's kind of normal as a first step.
If strong opposition against Putin -in words- is not received well enough, they might hesitate and look for what people will support.
So if you really want something done. Be really positive about this kind of rhetoric and make sure it is seen to be what the public, i.e. you want.
If only the media, controlled by oligarchs, are the only response and it looks negative, the politicians change their rhetoric and then the oligarchs win.
EU politicians are inherently spineless, giving a fuck about what EU politicians do and think is a waste of energy
It's not even surprising that there's "no bite" when you look back to how we got here.
Back before this war and the whole Crimea stuff, all the way back in 2008 the USA under Bush, they tried to help Ukraine get into NATO.
Ukraine had the green light from the US to at least head towards NATO membership under Bush, but the US at the time wasn't able to convince Europe (specifically France and Germany) because of fears over Russian escalation. At the time, in 2008, the EU actually had a higher GDP than the US. So the US couldn't really just push the EU around as they do now.
Fast forward to now, Europe is still unwilling to send weapons to Ukraine that might "escalate" tensions with Russia. For example, just look at those Taurus missiles Ukraine had asked for many times over the past few years, and the excuse is always "escalation".
The EU will give Ukraine things for defense, but is unwilling to escalate to give Ukraine what it needs to win. Germany itself is way too timid over fears of escalation. From preventing Ukraine from joining NATO back in 2008 to being unwilling to allow Ukraine to use long-range Taurus missiles now, they simply won't make a move when there's any risk of escalation with Russia.
Meanwhile, just came back from Israel supporting their genocide which is no different from what Hitler did.
There are no gas chambers between the river and the sea. What are u talking about? There is a huge difference between systematic extinction of an ethnic group and the certainly inexcusable but way less extreme acts of Israel. They are fighting a war with arguably too little regard for civilian casualties and they are maybe starving the civilian population. As a German I can tell you: Auschwitz was something else
This. 3 years into the war, somehow EU still uses russian gas, has sanctions left to give, and is paralyzed by one stupid country forever and only recently had the idea to use russian assets.
Not even going to mention how they cower and do nothing against russian drones and their information war at all because somethingsomething russia has nukes.
At the first sign of aggression from Russia, EU shivered in fear and NATO basically is falling apart, and Russia didn't even attack them.
The baltics are so lucky Ukraine got attacked, if they had been attacked, NATO and EU would've thrown them under the bus immediately to "appease Russia" and "Not escalate".
"More Ukrainians died fighting Nazism in WW2 than Americans, British, and French combined, - Yale Prof. Timothy Snyder" article worth reading.
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The Ukrainian government itself was not really a beacon of democracy and local government. We can appreciate the sacrifice Ukranians made without aggrandizing it. They were victims of their neighbors.
It’s hard to be a beacon of democracy with other governments influencing yours from all around
That's what I'm saying; they were victims of their neighbors.
There was no Ukrainian government during WWII
It never was a beacon of democracy, also not 10 years ago.
There was no Russian government either. There was a communist party government. But for some reason, all the victims of the USSR are attributed to the Russians.
I'm confused, who else would they be attributed to?
Because Russia was the leading state of the Soviet Union.
SSSR was a Russian entity, all of the systems of SSSR were inside Russia. Yes Russia did invest and provide local authority but SSSR was all decided managed in Moscow so it was a very distorted union that acted like an arm of a Russian authority over the entire region. it was not like EU where there is no single leading country.
I'm still disgusted by German President Steinmeier's words that Germany could supply weapons against Russia because of WW2 in this context.
By that logic, russians are the defenders of freedom lol.
Kremlin did ally with Hitler 1939-41 and did supply Germany with resources (including oil - literally fueling the Nazi war machine) all up until getting invaded in June, 1941. That's the other point not to be missed - it was Hitler who decided to put an end to that friendship. Stalin was happy with the status quo.
I know that lol. I am german.
Yes, the Ukrainians really fought to stop the Nazis from openly killing millions of their Jews… And the 250,000 Ukrainians who directly joined the Nazi military forces. There is no history like revisionist history
Being a Russian paid shill is the most pathetic job in the world
Let's talk a moment about how the soviet onion fought the nazis between 1939 and 1941... LMAO
And 400,000 Russians as well...
Remember that:
1) A good percentage--not everyone, but a significant amount--joined because after the brutality of everything they'd been through with the Soviets, they figured the Nazis would be the lesser evil and hoped they would be less oppressive. It was the same situation in the Baltics.
2) A lot of countries had collaborators--even the US--so singling out Ukraine for it is pointless.
3) Ukrainians were major victims of the Nazis too.
Either you're being intentionally disingenuous by ignoring this and trying to present it otherwise, or you don't know the history of the region nearly as well as you think you do.
ETA: 4. Conscription was also a thing.
Yes, the US permitted the open murder of millions of its Jewish citizens and 250,000 direct collaborators joined the Nazi military. This is not counting local police and other collaborators. Because they thought the Nazis were the lesser evil. But the US was a Nazi victim too. /s
Their resistance against the Soviets and the following starvation campaign is much more relevant here.
More Russians died fighting the Nazis than every other country combined… not exactly a compelling argument there.
It is also an ineffective analogy to use against Russians, most especially because Soviets are not stupid enough to not know that they suffered the most casualties during WW2…
A lot of people don’t realise this: the “Putinist” and Russian propaganda relies heavily on bringing up the idea that Nazism (enemy of Soviets and Russia) isn’t* dead and is still attacking Russia. -> and it’s an extremely effective strategy because Russians (or Soviets) still consider themselves as proud victors against Nazism, and they still do take extreme pride in that victory. I.E. they view themselves the real victors of WW2 (think of all the land they acquired from it as well).
Therefore, the Russians don’t and never will view themselves as Nazis. Rather, they’ll view the “West” (destroying Russian culture with liberal or LGBT propaganda) or Ukraine (“Stepan Bandera people” who are oppressing Russians abroad because they are affiliated with the West) as Nazis from all their overload of state-influenced propaganda. Putin is exploiting their personal insecurities from the fall of communism and their fear of being influenced from outside/Western sources since the fall in order to establish and maintain his imperialistic oligarchal security state. And he does this by bringing back history of the glory years of the USSR. Even though today’s Russia is far more fascist as it is communist. *edit
Russians co-started WW2 as Nazi allies...
The soviets did - which includes the ukranians - of whom there very not few in the government.
I understand the attempt. But it's really not possible to keep ukranians and russians apart during WW2. This argumentation doesn't work.
And a lot dies afterwards resisting against soviet oppression. Till mid 50s afaik.
Anything by Timothy Snyder is worth reading. This guy has been spot-on almost all the time.
I'd also recommend his essay On Tyranny. Now more relevant than ever.
Yet the highest profile nazi collaborator, proponent of fascism and ethno nationalism is one of their greatest heroes, still celebrated today across the country, and whose flag is repeatedly on display.
I will be mass downvoted just for pointing out this fact, that's fine. Won't change reality tho. Sourcing your national identity from a guy who believed in nazism is deeply problematic and exactly the kind of stuff that invites Russian propaganda about needing to militarily denazify the country.
Even western media used to write about it until the war started, for obvious reasons.
eh, it is complex issue
Westerners tend to simplify things with
Nazi - bad
rest (including USSR) - good
while for us, Central/Eastern Europeans it's not that simple, many suffered more from russians.
so..
more Ukrainians died fighting Nazism in WW2 - sure, they were conscripted into soviet army, and probably used the same way as the Tuvans nowadays.
Because:
Stalin hated Ukrainians. Just few years earlier millions of Ukrainians starved because of man-made Holodomor. And Soviet Union did some changes which were trying to eradicate Ukrainian language.
So when they noticed that there's a chance for independence, they allied with the first one who was against USSR. That someone was Nazi Germany.
And UPA slaughtered at least 40k of Polish villagers during that time.
But as I said - it's very complex issue. Multiple bad decisions, years of tensions between countries.
Unfortunately, Ukraine, while being very old nation, lacks modern national heroes/independence fighters. Bandera is one of them. It's hard to use some commonwealth magnates for that. They'll have new ones in a couple of years.
> Stalin hated Ukrainians.
I don't think he hated Ukrainians per se. Just like any other dictator, he was hypersensitive about anyone whom he deemed not to be 101% loyal. Ukrainians got starved, the bulk of Jewish intelligentsia got wiped out in the late 1930's, Chechens got deported to Kazakhstan, Latvians/Lithuanians/Estonians to Siberia, etc.
A larger percentage of Kazakhs than Ukrainians died in the famine, but they aren't trying to retcon it into a genocide. It's bad enough as it is, Stalin had information about the increasing hunger and didn't give a shit.
Stalin was *exporting* grain while millions were dying of hunger.
Yes. I wrote that I think he knew and didn't care didn't I? But it was not targeted against Ukrainians based on ethnicity.
The one who was sent to a nazi camp where his brother died? I wouldn't say he was the highest profile collaborator. He didn't even receive his personal army as Vlasov did.
Shushkevich too has at least one street named after him, along with a bunch of other assorted Nazis
"high profile" has a definition. If you Google "Ukrainian nazi collaborator" is the top results Bandera or Vlasov?
And we have a Hitler sympathiser running America at the moment. Dangerous times for everyone.
Worse, you have an entire party that is sympathetic to fascism. That's really bad in a two party system.
All part of the plan. The U.S descends into infighting while Eastern Europe is invaded by Russia and Taiwan is invaded by China. That will just be the start of things too.
Russians found common cause with southern confederates.
At least now we know who is going to be Fascist Italy to Russia's Nazi Germany.
Mango Mussolini doing his part
And Merz is Trump bootlicker
Well yeah. A lot of people realised this years ago.
Time to pay attention!
Impressive, very nice
Now let's see what you'll do about it
Nothing. This dude doesnt mind fascism as Long he and his buffys can stay rich and in power
Not surprised he went there. The comparison isn’t about vibes, it’s about behavior. Expansionist wars, ignoring treaties, betting that democracies won’t respond decisively. That pattern is exactly why people keep invoking the 1930s.
Great, now send this fucking Taurus he wanted to send over a year ago.
He said it almost exactly a year ago criticizing the previous chancellor for his reluctance to send Taurus.
I don't get the obsession Taurus. Germans have only a few hundred of them. The won't make much difference if any at all.
Besides Ukraine is now capable of producing its own long range (cruise) missiles and drones. Which they can use without any restrictions. This capability should be supported instead.
People ran out of things to shit on us over, so by now they've resorted to a single, highly specialized weapon system. It has become so dumb that we've even got criticism over it from countries that have similar weapons themselves in higher quantity, and don't send them either.
I guarantee you that if Taurus would be delivered, there would be something new within minutes. Was exactly the case when the whole "Leopard coalition" turned out to be a big fat lie, people swiftly switched to Taurus.
Well, blame Merz for promising to send them.
He said that at a point where the "where Taurus?!?!" circlejerk had been in full force for over a year already.
He by no means even remotely started this.
still not okay by him to jump on this ridiculous bandwagon to hurt his political opposition and undermine his country without any real conviction to follow through on his bold claims.
Taurus are for destroying the Crimean bridge and other bunker structures. Ukraine still doesn't have weapons capable of these!
It's actually what euros did we funded the local missile production in Ukraine.
What is a good usecase for a weapon that was designed to penetrate several meters of earth and bunker concrete, when there is no such bunker worth to bombard?
On the other hand, it is the only somewhat strategic weapon Germany has under full control. You don't just give these away.
Do you fail to remember how much this sub glazed him for promising to send Taurus in the election campaign?
Idk what is this supposed to mean too, what is the "just"? What cause is worthy enough?
It’s also a good weapon to destroy large buildings like the Crimean bridge
If we already know this why aren’t we sending everything we have to Ukraine to stop them there.All our European leaders are a bunch of cowards
Because to EU, russia stuck bleeding in Ukraine - but not outright losing - is the optimal state of things. Less risk of "escalation", y'know.
For one, here's a Belgian PM talking about how russia losing would be highly undesirable because they have nukes
https://www.lalibre.be/belgique/politique-belge/2025/12/02/bart-de-wever-dans-la-crise-politique-autour-du-budget-le-roi-ma-aide-5KDD7VZ5YBFRPBDS3GMGGTOOME/
Or, translated
Then, Italy pulled out of PURL "to avoid disrupting peace process"
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-03/italy-slams-brakes-on-nato-program-to-buy-us-weapons-for-ukraine
Or those two quotes
https://militarnyi.com/en/news/german-intelligence-if-ukraine-falls-russia-could-start-a-war-with-nato-before-2030/
https://www.eurointegration.com.ua/eng/interview/2025/05/12/7211399/
Or the outright talk from US politicians (not just the current admin, but previous one as well) that russia mustn't lose, or else nooks or something.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/10/16/trial-by-combat
Plus General Breedlove:
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/did-u-s-caution-cost-ukraine-a-flying-ace-pilot-war-against-russia-f-16s-c4f205c7
And from Zelenskyy
https://kyivindependent.com/zelensky-our-partners-fear-that-russia-will-lose-this-war/
And, of course:
https://english.nv.ua/nation/ex-cia-official-says-u-s-gave-ukraine-just-enough-weapons-to-bleed-not-enough-to-defeat-russia-50511186.html
These people are morons in decision making positions. Most of these scenarios are if Ukraine losses. If we help Ukraine win and even take back their territories then these scenarios will be worse for Russia.
Pretty sad state of affairs
When a german compares someone to Hitler you know he is right
Fuck putin
Not just a German. But a German who says that foreigners ruin the image of cities.
I guess some of them do...
did he really say that?
Yes. (german article)
Automatic translation, with some fixes:
Yeah and it’s Not his only racist Point he put out. His Party and him wont do shit against fascists.
And came back from Brazil saying how "dirty" the place is.
Merz an his Party protect fascists and destroy democracy in Germany. Don’t be fooled by him.
I thought European countries would not want Russia taking over Ukraine?
But no one does anything significant.
Have we forgotten the past so quickly.
Putin as Hitler 2.0 feels less like Analysis and more like Europe’s worst Déjà vu Speedrun.
I mean Putin sure tried to copy him with his Ukraine Blitzkrieg.
It's the same playbook, using soft power to make allies submit to him (Austria -> Belarus), quickly annex easy targets (Poland -> Ukraine).
Next in line would be the long time annoyance (France -> Finland/Baltics).
Failed miserably ofc.
But that exactly what he was going for.
It's a good comparison.
Doesn't fit perfectly as things never do, but in the end that's the problem the world has to deal with, but worse since this one has nukes.
And as we all know, Hitler was defeated with comparisons and angry letters. Remember D-Day, when the US flooded Omaha beach with letters?
If you expect a war with Hitler tomorrow, prepare for the fight today. War footing
I went to the second world war museum today in Poland and the parallels are shocking. It's like we're in the 1930's.
America's pulling a Neville Chamberlain too (appeasement policy), the terminology is even the same, it's just crazy.
I mean, if you know that, you figure there would be enough effort to have Ukraine win.
I despise the half commitment to beating Russia.
Nice move. Germany has a moral duty to erase Nazi.
He won’t. He’s a war monger. He thinks in his little mind that is a sign of strength.
And all the bots and useful idiots will go on about how this is "dangerous rhetoric" that "isn't helpful."
If someone's happy to defend Putin, then they would happily have defended Hitler too.
They have been saying this for years. And should have begun saying it over a decade ago. It is what you do that matters.
Problem is this Hitler has got his Mussolini in the White House.
Putin needs to be killed by his own and the only way that happens is with a continuing collapse of the Russian economy and demographics.
All efforts must be made to continue his insane loses of manpower and equipment in Ukraine, more sanctions, more disinformation inside his inner circle, more paranoia, making him look more and more week until he gets the rope or a bullet. This is the only way this ends without world war 3.
His successor will want to blame everything on him, and do exactly what Syria is doing, reapproachment with the West, ease of sanctions, economic and military build up and repeat the same cycle. We just need to stop forgetting our history and expect this to happen and give nothing back at the next “Crimea Annexation” type event in 40 years from now.
Wait until he discovers Netanyahu
Funny isn't it, how they completely ignore an actual genocide happening
Don’t we all?
So, what you gonna do about it? When you come to this conclusion you need to either kill him or foster the conditions for others to do it!
Hitler was much more efficient with his invading than Putin. At the beginning they had enough bullets, weapons and whatnot were made well. Granted, he got cocky with Russia but if he had listened to his generals Moscow could have been his. Imagine if he got to the oilfields. Putin wishes he was Hitler. And that makes me feel a little gross.
It's an apt comparison. The EU needs leaders that aren't scared of their own shadows.
Germany conveniently projecting.
And we're just going to wait around and do nothing 😒
Now the question is, what are you going to do about it?
Joint nuclear programme with France and Poland?
Putin absolutely is another version of Hitler for the world to manage. I don’t wish death on many people, but Putin is at the top of my list. I want to see Putin dragged thru the streets.
I think Hitler was more ideological, and a better demagogue. Imagine if Hitler had had nukes from the beginning 🙀
Then do something you old fool
Merz is right
Imagine saying this and defending Israel at the same time
German people cannot not defend Israel. Because anything opposite of that they say or do is going "back to old ways". It's like you have a dog in your house and you decided to cut his balls.
one is a threat to an entire continent, the other is a far off problem that wont ever really be a problem to said continent
For once, he is not wrong.
I am glad the politicians realize this now. Now they have to realize that trump is the enemy as well.
What a ridiculous comparison. Hitler kept going because he kept winning. Putin cant even take a shithole country like ukraine
What is he waiting for to go to the front and join the resistance?
THEN DO SOMETHING ALREADY TO STOP HIM
Give the Russians 48h to withdraw, then go into Ukraine and hunt down every single one of them. The cowardice of the EU is infuriating.
Damn, the German leadership regards Putin as the new Hitler? Then we have full hands on deck and the entire economic might of Germany to rely on to stop him right? Right?
He’s right.
Too bad that Rutte (NATO chief), is deep in the pocket and/or anus of Trump. Which means indirectly he doesn't have Europe's interests at heart. Another Putin faithful. Remember he called Trump daddy.
Where Taurus?
But he's fine with Netanyahu 😆
But not bibi
No shit, Sherlock
Statements like this spark strong emotions, yet they underline a serious concern about patterns of behavior. When territorial expansion and disregard for international law go unanswered, it risks normalizing actions that destabilize Europe and undermine global security.
Was the lesson of Novgorod, Smolensk, Rostov finally learned?
Putin is the vassal of Beijing and will never stop to threaten Europe. Xi will use Russia as war dog and Putin will provide the meat for the grinder.
Nonsense, Putin is significantly less competent than Hitler.
Also, Vova much older than Adolf was during his war.
He is old, cognitively impaired, and desperate to leave his mark ( no one thinks this old fart will make it to 150; if the arch lich Zemin barely made it to 90, he has no chance ).
Well at least they got this right, Vova told them at the Munich 2007 Security Conference, but they pretended not to hear him.
edit. Thinking about it, the comparison with Hitler is even more misplaced. Adolf was famous for his distrust of the Prussian military elite ( especially after 1941 ), while Vova swallows whole all the bullshit from his generals ( Kupyansk being conquered ).
Well, Hitler did stop (a bullet with his head)
are there non governmental groups trying to work finding ideas about neutralizing russia aggressive capabilities ?
Add trump to that list and you’re right.
Huh.
The problem is they are rigging the global south against us, when they’re talking about a new world order they really mean it. They will bullshit their way to a makeshift moral high ground and their lackeys will pretend they believe it.
And he has been stuck in Ukraine for 3-4 years in the same spot.
not sharing the truth of Son is what causes it
Somebody woke up…
And just like Hitler he’s a delusional lunatic who thinks he has way more power than reality. He will lose without extra help…. Looking at you republicans.
Hardly. Putin cannot takeover ukraine
Then how, Herr Merz, do you propose to stop him? With harsh words?
Look at who's talking the guy who got family ties to Nazis
Good to finally see it. Now send troops on the ground :D
Hitler conquered most of europe in a year or little more. So, no Putin is very much not like Hitler.
He wont stop but he can conquer ukraine...
Is there any conqueror in history that stopped because they were satisfied with what they took?
All the examples I know kept at it until they were defeated and/or died.
Sieg heiling is not appropriate in world after 1945. But patriotism and comraderie does need slogans & catchphrases, so what is it going to be this time? Any German want to chime in? Thx 🙏
Then stop him or shut up.
Nowadays u guys compare hitler to anyone...