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| Europe | ||
| Ukraine conflict — EU round-up: Putin's war prompts dramatic German U-turn | ||
| 2022-02-28 | ||
| [BBC] Germany has just witnessed a truly historic day. Chancellor Olaf Scholz only came to power in December, but within 24 hours he has transformed modern Germany's foreign policy. During an emergency parliamentary session on Ukraine on Sunday, Chancellor Scholz announced an additional $113bn (£84bn) for the German army. There was an audible ripple of shock in parliament. Some MPs clapped, some booed, others looked stunned. Undeterred, Mr Scholz went on to announce drastic measures that would have been unthinkable a week ago, including a constitutional commitment to Nato's military spending target of 2% of GDP - and he confirmed that Germany would be sending weapons direct to Ukraine. Within a few days Vladimir Putin has managed to do what Nato allies have spent years trying to achieve: a massive increase of military spending in Germany. This is arguably one of the biggest shifts ever seen in Germany's post-war foreign policy. Old political certainties about peacekeeping are being ditched in Germany. Left-wing politicians and many voters are unhappy with higher spending on weapons. But since the invasion there has been a dawning realisation here that, if successful in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin may not stop there. So the political mainstream accepts that Germany needs to spend more on its military: to defend Nato allies, but also to defend itself. Suddenly Ukraine feels very near to Berlin. Ukraine invasion: EU shuts airspace to Russian planes EU clamps down on oligarchs and Kremlin's media machine: Bloc shuts down airspace to Russian aircraft including private jets, bans RT and Sputnik and hits Belarus with new sanctions Brothers in arms: Estonians, Latvians, Poles and Georgians travel to border crossings to join Ukrainians in the fight against Putin's army, writes NICK PISA on the Poland-Ukraine border EU announces all member countries will take in Ukrainian refugees for up to three years without needing to apply for asylum - as queues stretch back EIGHT MILES at Ukraine-Poland border and total number of refugees hits 368,000
Finland and Sweden have brushed off warnings from neighbouring Russia that their possible joining of NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... would trigger "serious military-political consequences" from Moscow for the two countries. A statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry Friday voiced concern about what it described as efforts by the United States and some of its allies to "drag" Finland and Sweden into NATO and warned that Moscow would be forced to take retaliatory measures if they join the alliance.
[The Drive]
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| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #21 All Pooty had to do was hold his water for another 10 years and at the rate the EU's military capabilities were atrophying, he could have had the whole shooting match for the asking. |
| Posted by: Mercutio 2022-02-28 16:09 |
| #20 More trouble in the Workers Paradise... |
| Posted by: Mercutio 2022-02-28 16:07 |
| #19 The worm turns.... |
| Posted by: Mercutio 2022-02-28 15:06 |
| #18 Russia has apparently given up trying to rush in and reduce civilian casualties. This is one of many reports about the Russians just bombarding civilian areas around Ukraine now. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2022-02-28 12:36 |
| #17 ^ Interoperability and standardization of weaponry making transfers and support that much more capable |
| Posted by: Frank G 2022-02-28 11:57 |
| #16 /\ Some might say actual "membership" is NO LONGER necessary. Designated stockpiles of anti-tank rockets, drones, and intelligence is necessary. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2022-02-28 11:53 |
| #15 NATO was on the ropes. Putin is making it strong again. I agree. And this act pretty much guaranteed that Sweden will join NATO. Possibly Finland as well. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2022-02-28 11:50 |
| #14 Show this to Putin (Warning: Disturbing pictures). |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2022-02-28 10:56 |
| #13 What's the exchange rate between, Dollar, Pound and Ruble? -A pound of rubles is worth a dollar. |
| Posted by: Matt 2022-02-28 10:56 |
| #12 Since the MiG 29s rely on ground control radar for air to air intercepts - which no longer exists - this is effectively supplying more targets to the Russians and eliminating valuable trained pilots. Not a shrewd move |
| Posted by: Slenter Panda4300 2022-02-28 09:44 |
| #11 As you can imagine I'm not exactly a fan of the current Red-Green government (with a bit of free democratic balance). But it was the green foreign minister, who held her own against this lying sack of shit Lavrov and who struck a sober tone. And Scholz did finally see the light, too. Yes, this is a histotical watershed for Germany. NATO was on the ropes. Putin is making it strong again. I wonder how the powers that be in Moscow see this fact. I wish Germany good luck with the calculus homework from this semester they've decided to start doing. Final exam started in Kiev five hours ago. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2022-02-28 09:09 |
| #10 Putin's biggest danger is from allies who don't want him to take them down as well. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2022-02-28 09:02 |
| #9 /\ I wonder how the powers that be in Moscow see this fact. Posted by European Conservative They (RU powers) are of course in public denial. Behind the curtain however, I am sure they are searching for an off-ramp. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2022-02-28 08:59 |
| #8 Taking notice how many NATO countries are now sending weapons. Instead of allowing the sinews of the rope to unwind, it appears Putin has caused them to tighten. Insti had an unverified rumor that the FFL is allowing Ukrainians 'home leave'. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2022-02-28 08:43 |
| #7 @tw As you can imagine I'm not exactly a fan of the current Red-Green government (with a bit of free democratic balance). But it was the green foreign minister, who held her own against this lying sack of shit Lavrov and who struck a sober tone. And Scholz did finally see the light, too. Yes, this is a histotical watershed for Germany. NATO was on the ropes. Putin is making it strong again. I wonder how the powers that be in Moscow see this fact. |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2022-02-28 08:31 |
| #6 The Five Ruble Army... |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2022-02-28 08:22 |
| #5 They do the best they can with what they’re able to find, European Conservative. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2022-02-28 07:45 |
| #4 Hope the Saint Petersburg troll factory pays overtime. |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2022-02-28 06:19 |
| #3 That's just the EU's finest chipping in because without Zelensky who'll sell out Ukraine to Brussels? |
| Posted by: Cthulhu of Ryleh 2022-02-28 05:56 |
| #2 IDIOT |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2022-02-28 05:54 |
| #1 The Waffen SS has thousands of fanboys in the Azov Battalion. Maybe the Germans can ship them some surplus Totenkopf gear to go with their rape and murder manuals |
| Posted by: Ulailing Thavimp9377 2022-02-28 02:52 |