With respect to air power, the US and Israel are very close for many reasons. Pilots train together. Israeli technology. Real time use of aircraft in live situations. Israel shares its modifications.
1 The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will. 2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart. 3 To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. 4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin. 5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty. 6 The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death. 7 The violence of the wicked will sweep them away, because they refuse to do what is just. 8 The way of the guilty is crooked, but the conduct of the pure is upright. -Proverbs 21:1-8
. Zelensky was considered to be inexperienced as a leader. But he has shown more guts that Most leaders in the history of the world. Let me give you insight. Zelensky is Jewish and the grandson of a man who fought the Nazis. His grandfather’s 3 siblings died in the holocaust. Jews who grow up with that legacy hear all about it; all of the details. I have heard many stories like this from many people in my life. My family didn’t lose anyone on the Holocaust. But, I knew many people of that generation and their children. Zelensky recognizes that even if he leaves, he can’t hide. They will come for him. Wherever he is. And he understands in any event the necessity to stand up to strong men by Hitler. He is a great man and deserves the undying respect Of the entire world.
And a lot of their upgrades are battle tested against enemy aircraft. They are upgrading their iron dome defense system. Even sent us the second missile battery in January 2021. We have benefitted from their R and D. and use in actual combat conditions. In January 2021, Israel shipped its second Iron Dome missile battery to the U.S. Perhaps this upgraded version will also be sold and shipped to other nations' defense departments, too. Israel Upgrades Iron Dome Rocket Defense System
I want to follow up post 1846 with a religious perspective. It is not a coincidence that Putin is referring to de-nazification of a country that has a Jewish head of state. I think world wide, it is Israel and Ukraine. That Ukraine elected a Jew who is in office shows G-d’s hand in exposing the lie for what it is. In the Jewish world, we are approaching the time of Purim. The Purim story is the Book of Esther. It is a time of miracles for Jews. Hamman, who was the number 2 person in the kingdom, receives permission To kill all Jews. But, his plans unravel and, with the king’s permission, the Jews arise and defeat Hamman’s nation-state army. Hamman is destroyed and the Jewish leader, Mordechai is elevated. We see G-d’s hand concealed in the events, but it becomes clear afterward. May G-d Perform the same miracles He performed for Mordechai for Zelensky and the people of Ukraine. And may Putin-Hamman meet the same fate.
I would say they take defense seriously and "have skin in the game". Unlike most of the Western European countries the Baltic States actually exceed the 2% of GDP NATO standard for defense spending. Lithuania and Estonia also have military conscription (Latvia does not). Those countries also hold military exercises to ensure readiness. Total Defense: How the Baltic States Are Integrating Citizenry Into Their National Security Strategies They also have Patriot missile batteries and have requested additional missiles. U.S. deploys advanced anti-aircraft missiles in Baltics for first time Lithuania wants more NATO anti-aircraft missiles to deter Russia Baltic states push US on Patriot missile defense deployment
my Jewish side comes from that kiet corner that has alternately been Ukraine, Germany and Poland. No one in my family, as far as I know, has ever gone back and seen who we lost. But I guarantee the number is greater than zero. and in that part of the world it wasn’t concentration camps, it was “take them outside and shoot them” territory. Thankfully my family came over in the late 1880s I think, may have been a Russian pogram involved. So Zelensky is my people I guess. All the more reason to root for them.
During WW2, Ukraine cooperated with the Nazis. Now it has elected a Jew who has stood up as a great leader and is wildly supported there. The people there represent the best among us now. My mother’s side was Russian Jews. My ex’s grandmother was a Ukrainian Jew.
Sure you did…but better than the alternative and about what one could expect for an authoritarian regime.
Interesting. Would not have thought that being that it is where it is. Just did some googling. Fascinating. Thanks.
The Jewish lineage in my family hails from roughly the same region. Northern Moldova, Ukraine, Russia. They also got out in the late 1800s
Thanks. Presumably this would be the MiG-29s a couple of the former-Soviet states still have in their inventory. Most of the rest of Europe only has US or Western European planes, which wouldn’t be of much use to Ukraine unless they came with “instructor pilots” (which in war time essentially just means foreign pilots flying in the combatant’s Air Force).
I've been thinking about this a lot the last few days. I believe U.S. Dept of Defense stated 2/3's of Russia's military was positioned on the Ukrainian border. If Ukrainians had some decent jets, they could just carpet bomb a large part of the Russian military which surrounds Kiev at this moment. They need to move quick. I'm no military expert, but I don't think the EU would do this unless there was a decent chance of success. Have to move quickly though.
