Russia's unjustifiable war of aggression in Ukraine

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French President Emmanuel Macron is inviting European leaders for a summit in Paris on Monday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Sunday.
The "main European countries" will meet Monday in the French capital to discuss European security, Barrot told France Inter. He insisted that such meetings are held frequently and that it should not be "dramatized."

Barrot didn't give details or say which leaders have been invited to the short-notice gathering.
It wasn't clear if the Paris meeting would involve all European Union leaders, or only a smaller group of countries, and if other European leaders would also be invited. Germany, Italy, Britain, Poland and Denmark appear to be invited.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer indicated late Saturday that he plans to attend the emergency summit, according to media reports. Starmer said Europe is at a "once-in-a-generation moment for our national security."

Polish Foreign Minister Rados?aw Sikorski talked about the planned Paris meeting at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, saying his country’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk will be heading to Paris. Sikorski said he expects the crisis meeting to discuss the challenges posed by United States President Donald Trump.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is scheduled to meet with Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, on Monday in Brussels.

Plans for the informal summit come after a week that saw Trump hold a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin about peace talks over the war in Ukraine, and an announcement of a face-to-face meeting proposed to take place in Saudi Arabia.

Trump officials are heading to Saudi Arabia in the coming days to start the talks. The EU hasn’t been invited to the negotiating table. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials aren’t aware of any talks and no delegation is traveling to Saudi Arabia.

"It's clear Europe must take on a greater role in NATO as we work with the United States to secure Ukraine's future and face down the threat we face from Russia," Starmer said, according to the media reports.

It took Trump to get Europe to start (and no more than that) to put its act together, three years after this war took hold. They also has three months notice since he won the election.
 
It took Trump to get Europe to start (and no more than that) to put its act together, three years after this war took hold. They also has three months notice since he won the election.
Yes, but this has never been in US interests. This may well re-centre European interests away from the US and while in the short term it may pay dividends amongst Trumpers, long term it could well hurt the US economy. I'm sure Pooh Bear will be standing by with interest.
 
Yes, but this has never been in US interests. This may well re-centre European interests away from the US and while in the short term it may pay dividends amongst Trumpers, long term it could well hurt the US economy. I'm sure Pooh Bear will be standing by with interest.
1) I haven't seem who Macron has lined up for tomorrow's meeting but he should have a small group of like-minded nations: no Germany, no Austria, no Hungary, no Ireland. Above all, no European Commission.
2) Don't be surprised if Trump views the carnage and decides Ukraineans should evacuate the debris and the US rebuild that former country. It has the finest soil on the planet and plenty of in-demand minerals.
 

Gift article from d'Atlantic. Anne Applebaum knows her onions but I really hope she's wrong about European ammo stocks.

@catcha how are Poland stocked? I'd imagine yourselves and the Fins would be leading the charge?
 

Gift article from d'Atlantic. Anne Applebaum knows her onions but I really hope she's wrong about European ammo stocks.

@catcha how are Poland stocked? I'd imagine yourselves and the Fins would be leading the charge?

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).
 

Gift article from d'Atlantic. Anne Applebaum knows her onions but I really hope she's wrong about European ammo stocks.

@catcha how are Poland stocked? I'd imagine yourselves and the Fins would be leading the charge?
Interesting that Rubio was co-sponsor of the Senate bill to stop the US leaving NATO.
 
Financial times:

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

 
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