Russia's unjustifiable war of aggression in Ukraine

[Bandon Langer]

No wonder zelensky told him to get fucked

Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum.bsky.social)

The @telegraphnews.bsky.social says it has the document Zelensky was asked to sign https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/02/17/revealed-trump-confidential-plan-ukraine-stranglehold/?s=09

bsky.app

 

[Swanforthelough]

Interesting that Rubio was co-sponsor of the Senate bill to stop the US leaving NATO.

remember Trump and Rubio at each others throats in 2016… Vance dishing Trump… One thing is they would sell their mother for 50 pieces of silver…

 

[catcha]

Financial times:

===================

Some more of the trick Trump was trying to do to Zelensky with signing up the papers:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1891524427960975591

 

[daftbrush]

Ukraine will not let irish peace keepers for a roll in the cease fire line between Ukraine and Russia
They are aware of the Irish peace keepers balls up in letting Hezbullah install rocket launching pads along the Lebonise border 200 meters from camp shampoo.

 

[catcha]

Ukraine will not let irish peace keepers for a roll in the cease fire line between Ukraine and Russia
They are aware of the Irish peace keepers balls up in letting Hezbullah install rocket launching pads along the Lebonise border 200 meters from camp shampoo.

I think that 12-40 lads and gals would not make much of a difference if dispatched to keep russians at bay

 

[BoggyRoad]

Is Poroshenko a Putin stooge?

Trump has to be. Can he make it any more obvious

 

[catcha]

Media: Trump's conditions for Ukraine's resources are "worse than reparations imposed on Germany". The Trump administration has proposed that Kiev give the US control over mineral resources, oil and gas, ports and other infrastructure. The Daily Telegraph writes about this, citing the draft agreement. According to the newspaper, the demands concern everything from ports to oil and gas.

Washington wants to take away half of Ukraine's current revenues from resource extraction and half of the cost of "all new resource extraction licenses issued to third parties". Such revenues are to be "taken over" to the US. "The principle is this: first pay us, and then feed your children," explained the newspaper's interlocutor close to the negotiations. The agreement also states that "for all future licenses, the US will have the right of first refusal for minerals suitable for export".

According to the newspaper, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky himself initially proposed the idea of transferring to the US a share in the extraction of Ukrainian rare earth metals. He, according to The Daily Telegraph, assumed that American companies would start operating in Ukraine, and this would discourage Russia from attacking.

"Zelensky probably did not expect to have to face conditions usually imposed on aggressor states defeated in war. They are worse than the financial sanctions imposed on Germany and Japan after their defeat in 1945," the newspaper writes. If the draft agreement is adopted, Trump's demands would constitute a larger share of Ukraine's GDP than the reparations imposed on Germany under the Treaty of Versailles, notes The Telegraph. Zelensky rejected Trump's agreement on natural resources."

source - Deutsche Welle

 

[Bennyton]

Thanks for the article. It is good to read Applebaum from time to time, she is wife of Sikorski after all

So when it comes to the shells. Rheinmettal alone increased 155mm ammo production from 70k/year pre war to the current 750k/year. This is Germany only. Poland upgraded their lines four-fold and is able to manufacture hundreds of thousands a year too (mostly 155 standard, I cannot find the exact numbers right now).
The "big boys" are Chechia and Bulgaria, both produce more than Pl in both 122 and 155 standard (Czechs are top notch, in my opinion higher standard than the Germans). PL, CZ, SLO, RO and BUL made consortium to coordinate R&D and manufacturing too.

You also need to add Nordics and France.

The issue is not with manufacturing capabilities but contracts for it. In PL lines are working on three shift pattern but mostly to produce for UA.

The issue would be more with rocketry, as it relies on the US systems mostly. NATO uses more rocket artillery than standard one. Also, there is no need for that much shells due to different quality. Ru must shot 20 shells to get the same result as 5 shots in NATO.

The issue was also the A-A ammo but I think this one is sorted too:

In the Nordics, Nammo is to increase production of 155 mm shells, 120 mm tank rounds and rocket motors for AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles
[...]
Europe’s decision to establish local production of Patriot PAC-2 GEM-T surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) at COMLOG (a joint venture between Raytheon and MBDA) is therefore a welcome one, with MBDA’s Bayern-Chemie set to produce the first PAC-2 rocket motors by the end of 2026, returning a capability that was lost in 1996.[27] Diehl is also working to expand its IRIS-T missile family footprint in Europe, and broke ground on a new facility at Nonnweiler at the end of October 2024, which is expected to be operational by the end of 2025

The full reliance on Americans is a myth. A myth I am hoping that will kick Trump in his arse when Europe will stop counting on American I dustry and simply start doing it here. We have technology (I risk saying even better than Yanks, after all they are actually buying stuff from us recent years) and the power to do it. All we need is clear funding and motivation (the latter provided by putin and Trump).

This is true enough, I feel like a lot of EU countries have stepped up, I'd like to see them get off US reliance long term tbh, maybe then we wouldn't need to listen to them so much.

 

[leesider]

This is true enough, I feel like a lot of EU countries have stepped up, I'd like to see them get off US reliance long term tbh, maybe then we wouldn't need to listen to them so much.

A lot of politics to get through to make that a reality, it's not so much that there is not the capability but can they actually work together and agree. Good article below on a nuclear deterrent for Europe comprised of the UK and France's nuclear arsenals, the capability is clearly there but how would it work in practice!

As the US retreats, Europe must look out for itself — so is Macron’s nuclear offer the answer?

Development of a joint UK-French nuclear umbrella, under the auspices of the European Nato allies and sidelining the US, could be politically explosive

www.irishexaminer.com

 

[jeepers]

I think that 12-40 lads and gals would not make much of a difference if dispatched to keep russians at bay

Personally, I'd love to see the Ranger Wing in a peace enforcement role. Orcs would not even know what happened.