War in Ukraine

The SMO was defined as a policing operation. That all changed when it became plainly evident that Ukraine was resolved to commit national suicide.

 

Let’s see. Russia started the war by invading Ukraine. So the question: if Russia stopped fighting and withdrew, would the war end?
Answers so far:
It has nothing to do with Russia, it’s about EU politicians!
No, you see centuries ago …,

 

Firm position: history did not begin 2/24/22

 

Oh, yes, to a degree. As with all things, there is a balance between how much the Alliance mitigates a country’s need to arm and the amount a country should arm to be of any use to the Alliance. In my opinion, most of our NATO allies have failed to be sufficiently armed to be of much use in the event of large-scale combat operations. Germany has been the biggest offender in terms of failing to meet potential. But to your point, the alternative is almost certainly worse. In the unlikely event that NATO dissolves, all of Europe will arm (yes, including nukes) to an unhealthy degree that will undermine their economic growth and ours by extension. Instead of a group of moderately armed power all linked and facing in one direction, you will have heavily armed powers facing at all of their neighbors. And I don’t give it long for all kinds of border disputes to reemerge then, starting with Germany’s (rightful) problem with the Oder-Neisse Line.

 

I think this is a case of not shifting with the times, specifically the post 1991 world. I think pre-1991 we were more than happy with them NOT spending money on the military (primarily Germany) and I think everyone just got stuck in that way of - outdated - thinking. Thus, I'm not so sure they're "using us" so much as just a captive of a mentality we encouraged for the better part of 50 years. IDK, just spitballing. . . Doesn't seem as black and white as "some" would have us believe.

 

Ukraine started the war by violating 1 of Russia's 3 red lines. On February 16, 2022 Ukraine started firing thousands of artillery rounds at Russian-speakers in eastern Ukraine, in violation of the Mínsk agreements Ukraine signed. The Biden administration knew this was going to happen. Earlier in the month Joe Biden had predicted Russia would invade on February 16. He knew. Ukraine would instigate a war. It's what the US wanted

 

We absolutely have to shift with the times. The 2% spending “goal” would have been more than sufficient in the first three decades after the end of the Cold War. Yet almost none of our allies met that goal, and we did not do much other than sulk in response. Now it looks like 4% needs to be mandated as a cost of continued membership until the current crisis is over (I would use that requirement as an excuse to throw Hungary out on its ass). And then we can all talk about going back to 2% but never again below it.

 

If Ukraine stops fighting the war ends. The war will only end on Russia's terms

 

FWIW, Spain is never going to spend enough. But they have that piece of land, so. . . they'll get away with it. LOL!

 

the world purchased russian energy because they were addicted to it and the global economy would crash without it. the same reason that their shadow fleet has not been sanctioned

meanwhile, they have invested billions in alternative sources including lng improt terminals to dramatically increase the amount of energy they import from the USA, at a great expense to Europe

Europe has suffered much higher energy prices as a result of the war, much more so than any other continent on the globe, and especially america. So when you talk about how much Europe has donated, include those billions in increased energy costs that drag their economies down while the USA economy has benefitted from the increased LNG demand to compensate for the lost russian gas.

what do you think america would do if their electric bill went up by 30% to support cutting off Russian gas?

doesn't fit the agenda but doesn't change the reality. and the spoike during the first year before they got the lng terminals set up was over 100%. Okay americu, going to double your electric bill this year, all good? I mean the europeans did it for Ukraine..

ot--madrid and spain rocking the renewables cost curves...



Three years on: How Russia's invasion reshaped energy prices across Europe | Euronews

During the pre-invasion period, the average residential end-user electricity price in EU capitals was 20.5 c€/kWh, rising to 26.5 c€/kWh in the post-invasion period - an increase of 29.5%.

During this period, Amsterdam saw the highest increase, with electricity prices rising by 76%, followed by Rome (74%) and Vilnius (64%).

Dr. Yousef Alshammari, President of the London College of Energy Economics, noted that natural gas accounts for 45% of Italy's electricity mix, while renewables contribute no more than 30%.

Among the capitals of Europe's top five economies, London (47%) recorded the second-largest increase after Rome. Paris (30%) was slightly above the EU average (29.5%), while Berlin (19%) experienced a more moderate rise.

 

Ok insider... what now as Trump pulls away support for Ukraine? You couldnt have been more wrong. It happened exactly as I outlined.

 

You keep posting this but ignore what CREA said the EU has done to get to this point:

“Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Europe has made significant progress in terms of energy independence. Imports of Russian oil and gas have decreased substantially, with gas imports dropping from 45% in 2021 to 18% in 2024. However, a quarter of Russia’s fossil fuel export revenues still come from Europe.”​

 

what happens to global economies if all russian energy is removed from the market in a short period?

 

just an absurd post. You present any resistance to yet another war as pro Russian. Ridiculous and non sequitur regarding a legitimate negotiation to end this war . Keep up this phony war hawk nonsense.

 

And they're typically lying about that too. Will always leave out the role the Muscovites played under Mongol rule or how they parlayed that into rule of the nation itself. Let's just say the story is a familiar one.

 

You consider it “legitimate” because you don’t understand the wider implications of allowing Russia to keep its ill-begotten gains, and as such have no problem forcing Ukraine to concede on every point if it means an end of open conflict (easy button for you). How we got to this point is pretty astounding since you are not alone in your beliefs.

 

For some strange reason, Europe decided that they wanted to keep their economy from collapsing, and their people from freezing to death in winter. They were heavily dependent on Russian fuels, and they have been reducing their dependence as much as they could the last three years. Europe produces very little of its own fossil fuels, and is heavily dependent on imports. Without European countries having functioning economies, they can send any aid to Ukraine. Europeans are certainly doing more than we are to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, but there is only so much they can do in a short period of time.

 

We were warned …