Current Affairs Ukraine
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NilSatisOptimum
Player Valuation: £70m
This article sums up the entire Western response to Russia?!
www.bbc.co.uk
Russian gas giant Gazprom makes £39m profit in North Sea
The state-owned Russian energy firm earned £39m from its Dutch-UK gas field in 2022, accounts show.
www.bbc.co.uk
Is it just me shocked at how small that figure is?This article sums up the entire Western response to Russia?!
Russian gas giant Gazprom makes £39m profit in North Sea
The state-owned Russian energy firm earned £39m from its Dutch-UK gas field in 2022, accounts show.
tsubaki
Player Valuation: £90m
tax avoidance probably
NilSatisOptimum
Player Valuation: £70m
NilSatisOptimum
Player Valuation: £70m
German troops at the coal face...
www.politico.eu
Germany puts its troops in the line of fire if Putin attacks NATO
Berlin is moving with unaccustomed speed to station a new armored tank brigade in a Lithuanian area strategists see as being at risk of a Russian attack.
Spadge Vernacular
Player Valuation: £70m
The Pro-Kremlin, Far-Right Figure Vowing To Take Down Moldova's Government
Alexandr Kalinin, a pro-Kremlin Moldovan political figure, has cheered Russia's invasion of Ukraine and claims to have fought with Moscow's forces. For that, Chisinau stripped him of his citizenship. But he has said he will gather a force of thousands to depose President Maia Sandu's government.
www.rferl.org
Spadge Vernacular
Player Valuation: £70m
December 18, 2023
The Russia-Ukraine War is not only a struggle for Ukrainian independence against resurgent Russian imperialism. As Vladimir Putin himself frequently states, it is also a war to destroy the existing world order.
By now, it should be apparent to any objective observer that unless Putin’s invasion ends in defeat, Russian international aggression will not be limited to Ukraine. Since February 2022, the Kremlin dictator has placed the entire Russian economy on a war footing and begun actively preparing Russian society for a long war. He has created an anti-Western alliance of fellow autocrats, and routinely portrays his invasion as a fight against the collective West.
These actions underline Putin’s commitment to an ideological showdown with the Western world and make a mockery of suggestions that he can be bought off by territorial concessions at Ukraine’s expense. In reality, Putin firmly believes he is on an historic mission and will not stop until he is stopped.
Many in the West have yet to recognize the scale of the threat posed by Russia. Amid growing complaints of “Ukraine fatigue” in Western capitals and talk of a stalemate on the Ukrainian battlefield, it is vital to understand that military aid to Ukraine is not charity. Instead, every single delivery of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine is an investment in the future safety of the democratic world and a safeguard against the collapse of the international security system.
Putin makes no secret of the fact that he wants to bring the curtain down on the post-1991 world order and usher in a new era marked by insecurity and aggression. There are already growing indications that he is succeeding. The weak Western response to Russia’s Ukraine invasion no doubt encouraged Hamas to launch its unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel; the same can be said for Venezuela’s recent threats against neighboring Guyana. This trend toward greater international instability will continue to intensify until Russian impunity is challenged.
Countering the Russian threat is not easy and has already resulted in significant political and economic costs for populations throughout the democratic world. Nobody is more acutely aware of these costs than the Ukrainians, who have suffered unimaginable trauma and destruction since the start of the invasion in February 2022. If other European nations wish to avoid a similar fate in the coming years, they must back Ukraine now before it is too late.
At present, the Western response to Russia’s invasion lacks any sense of urgency. Strikingly, the debate over Ukraine’s NATO integration has not significantly evolved in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion, despite the complete transformation of the European security situation. Likewise, discussions over the delivery of weapons to Ukraine remain subject to endless hesitation and extended delays, even as the bloodiest battles witnessed in Europe since the days of Hitler and Stalin rage in eastern and southern Ukraine.
This underwhelming response could have disastrous consequences that will be felt far beyond the borders of Ukraine. If a lack of Western resolve allows Putin to occupy and subjugate Ukraine, he will be greatly encouraged to go further. Crucially, he will also have both the additional resources and the momentum to do so.
Moldova and Kazakhstan would be likely initial targets and would be particularly vulnerable to Russian invasion. With NATO demoralized and discredited by the fall of Ukraine, an emboldened Russia may also decide to press home its advantage by threatening Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, or Poland. At that point, NATO leaders would be faced with the grave choice of either sending troops to fight Russia or accepting the demise of the Alliance.
All this can still be avoided by arming Ukraine adequately and advancing the country’s NATO integration. In the short term, Ukraine must be given the tools to defeat Russia’s invading army. Looking further ahead, the only way to achieve a lasting peace is by acknowledging Ukraine’s status as one of the cornerstones of European security.
The world is currently at an historic crossroads. Putin is leading a revisionist Russia in an escalating confrontation with the West that will define the future of international relations. This Russian threat can no longer be downplayed or denied. Instead, the choice facing Western leaders is simple: Support Ukraine today or fight Russia tomorrow.
Oleksandr Zavitnevych is a member of the Ukrainian Parliament with the Servant of the People party and Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament’s National Security, Defense, and Intelligence Committee.
www.atlanticcouncil.org
Support Ukraine today or fight Russia tomorrow
By Oleksandr ZavitnevychThe Russia-Ukraine War is not only a struggle for Ukrainian independence against resurgent Russian imperialism. As Vladimir Putin himself frequently states, it is also a war to destroy the existing world order.
By now, it should be apparent to any objective observer that unless Putin’s invasion ends in defeat, Russian international aggression will not be limited to Ukraine. Since February 2022, the Kremlin dictator has placed the entire Russian economy on a war footing and begun actively preparing Russian society for a long war. He has created an anti-Western alliance of fellow autocrats, and routinely portrays his invasion as a fight against the collective West.
These actions underline Putin’s commitment to an ideological showdown with the Western world and make a mockery of suggestions that he can be bought off by territorial concessions at Ukraine’s expense. In reality, Putin firmly believes he is on an historic mission and will not stop until he is stopped.
Many in the West have yet to recognize the scale of the threat posed by Russia. Amid growing complaints of “Ukraine fatigue” in Western capitals and talk of a stalemate on the Ukrainian battlefield, it is vital to understand that military aid to Ukraine is not charity. Instead, every single delivery of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine is an investment in the future safety of the democratic world and a safeguard against the collapse of the international security system.
Putin makes no secret of the fact that he wants to bring the curtain down on the post-1991 world order and usher in a new era marked by insecurity and aggression. There are already growing indications that he is succeeding. The weak Western response to Russia’s Ukraine invasion no doubt encouraged Hamas to launch its unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel; the same can be said for Venezuela’s recent threats against neighboring Guyana. This trend toward greater international instability will continue to intensify until Russian impunity is challenged.
Countering the Russian threat is not easy and has already resulted in significant political and economic costs for populations throughout the democratic world. Nobody is more acutely aware of these costs than the Ukrainians, who have suffered unimaginable trauma and destruction since the start of the invasion in February 2022. If other European nations wish to avoid a similar fate in the coming years, they must back Ukraine now before it is too late.
At present, the Western response to Russia’s invasion lacks any sense of urgency. Strikingly, the debate over Ukraine’s NATO integration has not significantly evolved in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion, despite the complete transformation of the European security situation. Likewise, discussions over the delivery of weapons to Ukraine remain subject to endless hesitation and extended delays, even as the bloodiest battles witnessed in Europe since the days of Hitler and Stalin rage in eastern and southern Ukraine.
This underwhelming response could have disastrous consequences that will be felt far beyond the borders of Ukraine. If a lack of Western resolve allows Putin to occupy and subjugate Ukraine, he will be greatly encouraged to go further. Crucially, he will also have both the additional resources and the momentum to do so.
Moldova and Kazakhstan would be likely initial targets and would be particularly vulnerable to Russian invasion. With NATO demoralized and discredited by the fall of Ukraine, an emboldened Russia may also decide to press home its advantage by threatening Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, or Poland. At that point, NATO leaders would be faced with the grave choice of either sending troops to fight Russia or accepting the demise of the Alliance.
All this can still be avoided by arming Ukraine adequately and advancing the country’s NATO integration. In the short term, Ukraine must be given the tools to defeat Russia’s invading army. Looking further ahead, the only way to achieve a lasting peace is by acknowledging Ukraine’s status as one of the cornerstones of European security.
The world is currently at an historic crossroads. Putin is leading a revisionist Russia in an escalating confrontation with the West that will define the future of international relations. This Russian threat can no longer be downplayed or denied. Instead, the choice facing Western leaders is simple: Support Ukraine today or fight Russia tomorrow.
Oleksandr Zavitnevych is a member of the Ukrainian Parliament with the Servant of the People party and Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament’s National Security, Defense, and Intelligence Committee.
Support Ukraine today or fight Russia tomorrow
The threat posed by Vladimir Putin's revisionist agenda can no longer be downplayed or denied. Instead, the choice facing Western leaders is simple: Support Ukraine today or fight Russia tomorrow, writes Oleksandr Zavitnevych.
www.atlanticcouncil.org
Drico
Player Valuation: £70m
So, we don't have to worry about Putin invading the West if the Americans and the rest of NATO live up to the NATO charter: an attack on one is an attack on all.
You see, this is where I feel many of the hawks want it both ways. They want to expand NATO - in self-defence, the say - to ensure protection for all members, while at the same time telling us some of their members are in danger of attack and, therefore, we must keep funding the Ukrainians. Both of these things cannot be true if NATO does what it's supposed to do: defend any of its members under attack. That means nuclear war, in effect.
I don't see any danger whatsoever of Putin invading a NATO country. Unless Trump wins. Then, NATO could very well be shown up for what it is threatening to become: a paper tiger that gives a pretense of American hegemony. If Trump gets in, and Putin attacks, it's game over for American leadership. Forever.
Of course, Europe shouldn't be waiting for all this to happen. We need an EU army. We cannot depend on Trump. Funneling weapons to Ukraine now will be pointless if the Americans decide to elect their dictator. So, in that sense, I'm not sure the author's argument stands up. If Biden wins, Putin will not be attacking a NATO country unless he fancies a nuclear war (or unless the Americans lose their nerve and accept they are no longer the top dog in world affairs - very unlikely). If Trump wins, the Ukrainians are finished anyway and Putin can pick off who he likes. So, it's more about the Americans not losing their minds a second time and going full fascist.
As for Moldova and Kazahkstan - with all due respect, these are not our wars. If NATO wants to protect them, let them in. As they won't, I think we should spare the crocodile tears.
davek
Player Valuation: £150m
Ukraine military seeks extra 500,000 soldiers - President Zelensky
Ukraine's leader admits mobilisation is a sensitive and costly issue as the war with Russia nears two-year mark.
www.bbc.co.uk
FFS, there'll be a stampede for the border.
Ukraine military seeks extra 500,000 soldiers - President Zelensky
Ukraine's leader admits mobilisation is a sensitive and costly issue as the war with Russia nears two-year mark.
FFS, there'll be a stampede fro the border.
Where are they getting an extra 50,000 from never mind half a million.
Zelensky has lost it, the 'kin clown.
Time for a cool head like Zuluzhny.
Have you seen how much his wife spends at Waitroze?
Might want to reconsider your choice of candidate.
davek
Player Valuation: £150m
Zuluzhny's? Is she as bad as Zelensky's wife picking up jewellery in Paris?
Jewellery in Paris, what a monster.
Putin's gymnast is being clad in blood diamonds but let's just ignore that.
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