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T R E 4 5 O N

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The lights are all blinking red.

Motown is Joe-Town!

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

Oh FFS you might as well trust a 6-year-old with a flamethrower.

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You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / War for Ukraine Day 761: Russia Continues Its Bombardment of Ukrainian Civilian Targets

War for Ukraine Day 761: Russia Continues Its Bombardment of Ukrainian Civilian Targets

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Screen shot of new artwork by NEIVANMADE. The background is black. In the bottom foreground are grey Ukrainian homes and apartment buildings being bombarded by red Russian missiles with the Special Military Operation "Z" symbol on them. Above the missiles, written in red is the word "Ruzzians". Below the buildings being attacked is the statement "Turns Homes Into Graves".

(Image by NEIVANMADE)

Russia continued its bombardment of Ukrainian civilian targets again today. And has been the case for the past several days, it is doing two separate sets of attacks a day.

Today’s second set of attacks came while EU representatives were in Kyiv for meetings with Ukrainian government and military officials.

Together with the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, met in Kyiv with a delegation of committee heads of the European Parliament.

I highly appreciate the efforts of the European Parliament and the European Union to support Ukraine in resisting russian aggression.

Grateful for the intentions to boost the amount of aid, it is of great importance for both our military and civilian people and infrastructure.

We briefed the European delegation about the current situation on the frontline.

High-quality training of Ukrainian soldiers within the framework of the EU mission gives its results on the battlefield.

Urged the EU to strengthen sanctions against those who try to bypass them, in particular, supplying spare parts for the russian defense industry.

More on these attacks after the jump.

Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.

Now it is extremely important to take care of those who need support; do not leave people alone with their difficulties – address by the President of Ukraine

25 March 2024 – 22:51

Dear Ukrainians!

A few summaries for this day.

First. I thank everyone who is working to eliminate the consequences of Russian strikes. Kyiv – ballistic missiles damaged houses and the building of the Academy of Arts today. All the injured have been provided with the necessary assistance. Thank God, there were no children at the academy. The debris clearance lasts all day. Odesa and Mykolaiv – after the attacks on power facilities, the situation is complicated, all the necessary services and repair crews were involved. In the afternoon, there was another strike on Odesa – people were injured. Kharkiv is still in a particularly challenging situation, but every day energy supply to the city is being gradually restored. I am grateful to everyone who works for the city, to everyone who cares about people and helps others. Now it is extremely important to take care of those who need support. And even if people feel uncomfortable asking others for support, please pay attention and support them yourself, do not leave people alone with their difficulties.

Second. Throughout the day, there were reports from the military, intelligence, and the Security Service of Ukraine. Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi, Chief of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine Budanov, Minister of Defense of Ukraine Umerov. We had thorough discussions on how to further reduce Russia’s terrorist potential. And we are carefully planning our actions. There was a report by Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service Lytvynenko on the current threats. There was also the usual weekly report by Head of the Security Service Maliuk on the results of the SSU over the past week and the planning of tasks for this week. Of course, today I congratulated General Maliuk and the entire staff of the Security Service of Ukraine on their professional day. All of us in our country should be grateful to the combat-ready Security Service of Ukraine, which is truly inflicting significant damage on the enemy and achieving the goals that Ukraine really needs, along with all other elements of the Defense and Security Forces. I am grateful to every SSU warrior, to everyone in the Security Service who works really effectively for the sake of Ukraine.

Third. Today, I took part in an iftar – a special dinner that takes place during the month of Ramadan. Together with representatives of the Ukrainian Muslim community, Muslim warriors, representatives of the diplomatic corps from the countries of the global Muslim community, and, of course, representatives of the Crimean Tatar people, we thanked everyone who cares about Ukraine and helps us. We honored our warriors. And with everyone who had the honor to share the iftar today, we wished a fair and just peace for Ukraine and for all nations who, just like us, cherish life.

And one more thing. Today, Putin was talking to himself again, and it was again broadcast on television. Again, he accuses Ukraine. A sick and cynical creature. Everyone is a terrorist to him, except for himself, although he has been fueled by terror for two decades already. He is the biggest opening for terror. He and his special services. And when he is gone, the demand for terror and violence will disappear with him, because it is his demand. No one else’s.

I thank everyone who protects people and values life! I thank everyone who stands with Ukraine!

Glory to Ukraine!

2000+ russian cruise and ballistic missiles have been shot down since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

That’s a result of the titanic work of Ukrainian air defenders. Thousands of lives were saved by modern air defense systems provided by our partners.

However, Ukraine still needs more air defense systems to protect our people from russian terror. Because civilian infrastructure remains the primary target of russian strikes.

The EU:

The Baltics:

Text of tweet 3:

Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania have been supporting Ukraine at the time when their support is ‘absolutely vital’ Blinken tells foreign ministers.

“It’s a recognition — on the part of all three countries, as well as the U.S. — of what the stakes are when it comes to our support to Ukraine. Stakes that go beyond even Ukraine itself…”

And tweet 4:

Baltic Ministers tell Blinken that they value security, safety, prosperity “that we managed to through the decades, and also looking to the future so that it does not happen again – not in other countries that are fighting for their security and their freedom today, such as Ukraine, and Moldova looking for accession to EU, and Georgia that has been attacked in 2008”

Kyiv:

Russia launched this deadly Zircon hypersonic missile targeting Kyiv today. With its modernized capabilities, it covers Crimea to Kyiv in just 5-6 minutes, making interception extremely difficult. As Russia utilizes everything, is it time to reconsider ‘not provoking Putin by arming Ukraine’ stance?

The Kyiv Independent has the details:

A series of explosions rocked Kyiv on March 25 as Russia launched yet another missile attack on Ukraine’s capital.

Kyiv Independent correspondents in the capital heard at least four loud explosions just seconds after air raid sirens sounded at around 10: 30 a.m. local time and saw smoke rising from the left bank of the city.

Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said in a post on Telegram that debris from an intercepted missile had fallen in the city’s Pechersk district, damaging a non-residential building.

Debris fell on a building of the Kyiv State Academy of Decorative and Applied Arts, destroying the academy’s gym and concert hall, according to a Kyiv Independent reporter on the ground, citing the institution’s employees. The Culture Ministry confirmed the academy was struck, adding that an employee was wounded.

Debris from intercepted missiles damaged two houses in the Solomianskyi district and a house in the Darnytskyi district, where the attack also caused a fire in a non-residential building, according to the city authorities.

Debris was initially also reported in the Dniprovskyi district though this was later retracted.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed emergency services had been called to the Pecherskiy, Solomyanskyi, and Dniprovskyi districts of the capital.

As of 3:30 p.m. local time, the number of victims in Kyiv’s Pecherskiy district rose to 10, according to the State Emergency Service. The Kyiv City Military Administration clarified that out of the 10 victims, two people were wounded and hospitalized, and the remaining eight people had suffered from shock.

Klitschko said that two pregnant women and a 16-year-old girl were among the victims.

The rescue operation concluded at about 6:50 p.m. local time.

President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged Western allies to provide Ukraine with more air defense systems following the recent Russia’s missile strike against Kyiv.

A Russian ballistic missile attack on Odesa injured four people, the Southern Defense Forces reported on Telegram on March 25.

The air raid siren sounded in Odesa at around 5:20 p.m. local time. Explosions were heard minutes later.

Two buildings were destroyed, and windows in the surrounding buildings were shattered, according to the Southern Defense Forces.

Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper said that three women had been wounded, but their injuries were “not serious.”

Kiper also reported that due to previous attacks on the city’s power network, 300,000 people in Odesa are currently cut off from electricity.

Kharkiv:

 

Ukraine has stepped up its strikes on Russian energy infrastructure.

More fallout from the Crocus disco attack.

More from Reuters:

PARIS, March 24 (Reuters) – The French government is raising its terror alert warning to its highest level following the shootings on Moscow, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said on Sunday after a meeting with senior security and defence officials with President Emmanuel Macron.

Attal said in a post on X that the decision, which comes months before Paris hosts the Olympic Games, was taken “in light of the Islamic State’s claiming responsibility for the (Moscow) attack and the threats weighing on our country”.

France’s terror alert system has three levels, and the highest level is activated in the wake of an attack in France or abroad or when a threat of one is considered to be imminent.

It allows for exceptional security measures such as stepped-up patrols by armed forces in public places like train stations, airports and religious sites.

Moscow:

That’s enough for tonight.

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Open thread!

Reader Interactions

55Comments

  1. 1.

    Freemark

    I have often thought about what we could do if we cut our bloated military budget 10% and invested it into this country and we spend less than 4% of our GDP on the military. Then I see Russia with an economy smaller than many of our states wasting billions of dollars so they can take out an art school. What could have been done to improve their country with that money. It’s so senseless.

  2. 2.

    YY_Sima Qian

    The Zircon is supposed a scramjet powered hypersonic cruise missile that is supposed to travel at Mach 9 speed at 28 km altitude, & thus pretty much impossible to intercept (certainly not w/ any of the SAMs in Ukrainian hands, which travel at much slower speeds). I wonder how they were brought down. Could have been malfunctions. Or the Russian weapons manufacturers once again dramatically overstated the capabilities of their ware.

  8. 8.

    Jay

    @YY_Sima Qian:

    This is the second and third Zircons fired at Ukraine, and were probably shot down. In the first strike, (Feb 7, 2024) the missile impacted and exploded, just leaving tiny bits of debris. In this strike, both of the warhead sections were recovered along with large chunks of debris and the engines.

    In ruZZian claims, the Kinzhal missiles are also hypersonic and impossible to shoot down, and yet, Ukraine regularly shoots most of them down. ruZZia claims a Mach 10 top speed for the Kinzhal.

    We still haven’t seen the ruZZian “tsunami nuclear torpedo”.

  9. 9.

    Bill Arnold

    @YY_Sima Qian:

    The Zircon is supposed a scramjet powered hypersonic cruise missile that is supposed to travel at Mach 9 speed at 28 km altitude, & thus pretty much impossible to intercept

    During approach, it has to slow down to shed the plasma bubble surrounding it at very high speeds, so that it can lock onto the (a?) target and guide itself into it. The scramjet wouldn’t operate at that lower (still high) speed. At the lower speed, a Patriot would (in principle) be able to intercept it.
    It is using inertial guidance while the scramjet is operation, though. (First phase is a boost-to-scramjet-speed phase – two stage missile.)

  11. 11.

    Poptartacus

    Wait you forgot to blame president Biden and the democrats. You’re slipping dude.

  12. 12.

    Jay

    @Bill Arnold:

    Ukrainian Air Defense units report that the supposed Mach 10 Kinhzal only travels at Mach 3.6

    ruZZian Wonderwaffen seems to not be so Wonderwaffen, or completely missing.

  13. 13.

    dr. luba

    I’ve been learning more about Ukrainian art recently, and posting paintings I’ve found and liked on FB feed.  Boichuk is a favorite, although little of his work survives.  The orcs killed him in 1937, and now have bombed the art school named after him.

    The russians have always found ways to destroy Ukrainian culture; allowing it to exist is to admit Ukraine exists.  The tsars banned publication in Ukrainian, forcing our authors to write in russian or not see print; they exiled Shevchenko and kept him from writing because he would not comply.

    The Soviets just killed the intelligentsia, over and over. First in the 30s, and again in the 60s.  And many more deaths in between.

  14. 14.

    MountainBoy

    I am shocked and embarrassed that most of our country seemingly no longer pays any attention to the daily atrocities committed in Ukraine.

    Thanks Adam for this important work that you do EACH DAY! I only wish that your posts could be broadcast to a wider audience.

  16. 16.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @Bill Arnold: It only needs to slow down to Mach 5 – 6 at the terminal phase, which should still have been very challenging for the Patriot missile system. Unlike ballistic/quasi-ballistic missiles that have to trade speed to make evasive maneuvers during the terminal phase to minimize interception, the Zircon remains under powered flight even as it makes maneuvers. On inertial guidance & used against large infrastructure targets, it does not even need to slow down.

    One possibility is that the inertial guidance on the Zircon is crap, & the missile has to slow down during the terminal phase to reorient itself, to have even a chance of hitting anything. Another possibility is that the claimed Mach 9 speed is the maximum achieved as it ends ballistic flight, but the speed during sustained powered cruise flight is actually much lower. A 3rd possibility is that the Zircon, despite being a cruise missile, is not maneuverable at all and fly a very predictable trajectory.

  17. 17.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @Jay: Not too surprising for an SRBM that only has a burn out speed of Mach 5.9 (that’s the value for the Iskander ground launched SRBM), & the missile slows down during the terminal phase due to the denser air & evasive maneuvers. Not sure why the air launched Kinzhal would have a much higher claimed speed. I think the Russians just added the Mach 2.83 top speed of the MiG-31K launch platform and the Mach 5.9 burn out speed of the Iskander, padded the numbers some more, to arrive at the “Mach 10 top speed”. However, it is quite unlikely whether the MiG-31K is still able to achieve its designed top speed while carrying the huge Kinzhal missile. Furthermore, the missile is still fighting both gravity & air resistance during its ballistic boost phase post-air launch, so the two numbers shouldn’t be added. Typical Russian marketing of its weapons, however.

    Still unclear why Ukrainian Patriots would be more successful interdicting Kinzhal than Iskanders, though.

  18. 18.

    Jay

    @YY_Sima Qian:

    Patriots are much more effective on paper against Kinzhals than Iskanders, for 4 basic reasons.

    Launch to target times, Iskanders are used occasionally against front line targets and cities, rarely entering Patriot ranges.
    way more Kinzhal’s fired than Iskanders, probably because HIMARS and Stormshadows make forward deployment now very dangerous.
    early use of Iskanders before Ukraine had Patriot Batteries and experience with them.
    Iskanders used against Ukraine have decoys onboard.

  19. 19.

    Chris

    @Freemark:

    As a memorable line in one of my college textbooks put it, “while the United States had a military industrial complex that weighed in on and distorted foreign policy decisions, the Soviet Union virtually was a military-industrial complex.”

    Pissing away your resources on arms that are supposed to make you safe while your country crumbles underneath your feet is a human tale as old of time, but some people just have an Olympic level talent for it, and there’s no better place to look for them than in the Kremlin.

  24. 24.

    wjca

    @Chris: Pissing away your resources on arms that are supposed to make you safe while your country crumbles underneath your feet is a human tale as old of time, but some people just have an Olympic level talent for it, and there’s no better place to look for them than in the Kremlin.

    But if you’re going to do that, you ought to at least get some quality (maybe not high quality, but at least adequate quality) military equipment out of it.  Yet, judging from what we’ve seen the last couple of years, Russia’s military equipment has a common characteristic: they seriously underperform.  (Add to that military personnel who do not impress, and ….)

    If Ukraine wasn’t being starved for equipment and ammunition, the only thing preventing total victory would be the threat of Russia’s nukes.  Always assuming they are more reliable than the rest of their stuff, of course.

  26. 26.

    wjca

    @Jay:

    Wonder where Bondarev will settle.  Returning to Russia after delivering the opinions in the article not being a viable survival strategy.

  27. 27.

    Jay

    @wjca:

    Boris Bondarev and his family are in Switzerland with protection from the Federal Police, and will probably not leave

    He get’s some editorial/comment gigs.

    He had one a couple of days ago in a Dutch Media outlet, where he pointed out that we are just cutting our own throats by not aiding Ukraine, and NATO Nations don’t have to have an Article 5 to deploy to Ukraine. Every NATO Nation can individually  decide on their own on the basis of National Security.

    Like with other actions, all it takes is one, and the rest will follow.

  29. 29.

    Jay

    @Manyakitty:

    Both France and Britain have troops on the ground in Ukraine, helping train and program the SCALP/Stormshadow missiles.

    France is making the “right” noises, followed by Poland.

    So far the idea is to replace rear echelon troops, freeing up manpower for Ukraine.

  30. 30.

    Roberto el oso

    @Manyakitty: Like Jay says, it will be the Poles, the French, and maybe the Czechs. The Baltics and the Finns will stay where they are, for obvious reasons, but will otherwise be supportive.

  31. 31.

    sab

    @Roberto el oso: As Fiona Hill has said before, we have already been in WWIII for ten years. We need to acknowledge that, but so many Rs are on Putin’s payroll that our national security has somehow become a partisan issue.

    ETA Ukrainians are fighting their war, but it is also our war being fought by them not us. We need to help them fight our war.

  33. 33.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Jay: My bet would be the Poles.  They have as much to lose as the Baltics, and have prepared much, much better (bigger country, more resources).  I remember a high-ranking Polish official saying that if Ukraine looked to be losing, Poland would be *forced* to join the fight.

    I doubt they’d allow RU to win and consolidate their gains before attacking further.

  35. 35.

    Jay

    @Chetan Murthy:

    If a NATO Nation sends combat forces to Ukraine, yeah, the Poles.

    Logistics, rear area security, maintenance, France, Czechia, Canada, Britain, then maybe Poland. Too many Poles just “wanna have a talk” with the ruZZians.

    Germany will be as usual, last, if ever.

  36. 36.

    Roberto el oso

    @Jay: Although the Germans perhaps deserve a very high degree of side-eye for dithering for so long, absolutely no one * in Europe (west or east) will exactly be thrilled to see German uniforms outside of Germany. There’s still plenty they can do without troop commitment.

    [*] – this could just be me, speaking as a Polish-American, but I suspect I’m not the only one. In the not-so-distant past, during the attempts to strong-arm the Greeks into taking economic austerity measures, it didn’t take long for memories of German aggression to erupt into the conversation.

  37. 37.

    Jay

    @Roberto el oso:

    One opinion I read, was that the current German Government, along with some members of the Biden Administration, don’t want either ruZZia or Ukraine to win.

    What they want is a Korean style stalemate, a ceasefire, possibly a peace treaty, with Western Ukraine entering into NATO, the same way West Germany did.

    In theory, this preserves Putin’s (now limited aims), prevents ruZZian escalation, ( yeh,………..no), while preserving a rump, democratic Ukraine, at minimal cost, (other than to Ukraine).

    The only real difference between Taurus missiles, and the Stormshadows/SCALP’s that Ukraine is already using, is their slightly longer range and “bunker buster” abilities. Both Britain and France have said that their guys on the ground can do the targeting, no German’s needed.

    While Germany has/is the largest supplier of arms and aid to Ukraine, they have lagged way behind everybody else in regards to ruZZia’s empty “red line” threats, and where other nations have sent “bleeding edge” weapons, Germany has not.

  38. 38.

    bjacques

    @Jay: To be fair to the Blob, Kim Jong-Il and his family never troubled South Korea or the West again.

    Meanwhile, ISIS are apparently pissed off that Putin refuses to fully credit them for the Crocus outrage and are threatening to do another one.

  39. 39.

    Jay

    @Roberto el oso:

    it didn’t take long for memories of German aggression to erupt into the conversation.

    The German Military, like many other NATO Militaries, is a tiny shadow of what it once was. Most of it’s hardware, sits in storage.

    While the US was amongst the “first in the fight”,

    Right now, while the rest of NATO don’t give a rat’s ass how Ukraine uses their weapons, in hitting back at ruZZia, only the US, Germany and Apartheid Clyde “geofence” weapons use in Ukraine, so, you gotta look at “the Company you Keep”.

  40. 40.

    Jay

    @bjacques:

    ICBMS, Nuclear missiles, regular artillery strikes, a couple attempts to whack South Korean leadership with commando raids, submarine attacks on the South Korean Navy, tunnels under the DMZ, killing US Soldiers in and along the DMZ, Supernotes, drug smuggling, arms and technology smuggling,

    funny definition of “never troubling”,……..

    And then, the “perfect letter”,………

  41. 41.

    Jay

    @bjacques:

    ;Meanwhile, ISIS are apparently pissed off that Putin refuses to fully credit them for the Crocus outrage and are threatening to do another one.

    ISIS-K was going to do/is going to do another one anyway, they have a serious “hard on” for ruZZia.

  42. 42.

    piratedan

    breaking news, the Key Bridge (in Baltimore) has collapsed after one of its main supports was struck by a tanker ship.

  45. 45.

    Rusty

    The video of the collapse is insane.  It also shows what a cesspool Twitter has become.  I have been avoiding it, but went since there was a chance they would have the latest news or video.  True for the video, but in the first couple of posts you had someone refunding the video of the Crimean Bridge being blown up by Ukraine and saying there was an explosion on the Baltimore Bridge, and another post how Israel canceled their delegations visit just before so it must have been them that caused the crash.  No wonder I have been avoiding Elon’s dump.

  47. 47.

    Jay

    I really don’t know, how the hell a ship, hits a bridge abutment, outside of flood conditions.

    Years ago, when I had disposable income, I had a sail boat.

    So, during the fireworks festival, I headed off from Eagle Harbour, across English Bay, to pick up T, (we were dating) and a couple of her friends at the Grandville Island Public Dock to head off to an anchor point off Kit’s Beach to watch the fireworks.

    As I entered the entrance to False Creek, I dropped the sails, fired up the old Volvo “thumper”.

    As I approached the dock, I realized that I had no throttle control, it was stuck on high, and could not shut the diesel off.

    I made two passes, turning in a tight space, to let T know what was happening. Other boats were crowding most of the dock, loading up for the same event but I found a 60 foot gap where they could jump on if they wanted as I scrubbed the boat along the dock.

    They did.

    Ran out to Kit’s, killed the diesel with a pair of vice grips cutting off the entire fuel supply. The entire cabin was filled with diesel fumes.

    The mechanical high pressure line had burst, filling the engine compartment with spraying diesel fuel to the point that the engine had kept running at high throttle.

    Patched the line with silicon tape, rubber tape, electrical tape, Gorilla tape and three bags of zip ties.

    Drank Merlot, ate wonderful brownies, watched fireworks while utterly reeking of diesel fuel.

    The patch lasted long enough to get her friends back to the dock, T and I did a 2am sail back to harbour under spinnaker, drove her, with all the windows down, back to my place, where it took two showers, (and 4 laundry cycles) to get all the diesel out.

    And I was a beginner.

    How does someone with “professional certs”, ram a tanker into a bridge, in one of the most easily navigated harbours on the eastern seaboard?

  48. 48.

    YY_Sima Qian

    I am quite bemused by the talk of expanding the overt presence of NATO troops in Ukraine. We suddenly  go from one extreme of risk averse due to fear of nuclear escalation w/ Russia, to the other extreme of throwing caution to the wind? NATO troops in large numbers, even in supporting roles in the rear, can & will be targeted by Russian strikes, but become unintended casualties. Then NATO needs to consider retaliating & risk escalating direct military confrontation w/ Russia (something I very much doubt there is consensus in NATO for), or risk giving Putin a propaganda win. Sure, individual countries in NATO may decide that is a risk worth taking, but other NATO countries may & will resent being drawing into a conventional war w/ Russia in the Ukrainian meat grinder w/o out their intending to do so.

    The critics issues currently facing Ukraine are the manpower shortage and the munitions famine. The former can only be solved by more Ukrainian mobilization, the latter requires NATO/West cutting through the resistance to funding & resolve deficiencies in the industrial capacity for weapons manufacture. Significantly expanding presence of NATO troops in Ukraine addresses neither, while significantly raising the risk of direct military confrontation between nuclear powers. I don’t see popular support for such measures in most NATO countries, either.

    Are such troops intended to be a tripwire? Is NATO truly prepared to join the conflict if Putin thinks the tripwire is a bluff, & chooses to call it?

  50. 50.

    YY_Sima Qian

    & the Port of Baltimore will be closed for a while, too, no? That will wreak havoc on global logistics & supply chains.

  51. 51.

    Jay

    @YY_Sima Qian:

    It’s not NATO.

    France and Britain already have troops in Ukraine. (SCALP and Stormshadow training and target guidance)

    the CIA and probably NSA also have “boots on the ground”.

    All it takes is for one supporter of Ukraine to decide that the Defense of Ukraine is a National Security Matter, enough to put “Troops on the Ground”.

    The fact that several nations Defense Ministries are just even talking about it, demonstrates how frustrated some NATO members are with the two “Grannies” who don’t want to get their flannels in a knot, the US and Germany.

  52. 52.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @Jay: That goes back to other NATO countries will decide the risk is not worth taking & will resent being put in position of potentially getting swept into a direct military confrontation w/ Russia. That sort of acrimony could break the alliance. Frankly, I am skeptical that there is strong popular support in France for such a course of action.

  53. 53.

    Jay

    @YY_Sima Qian:

    US, Vietnam.

    Iraq, WW Me Too

    France, a bunch of times,

    Falklands,

    Every NATO Member has the option of independent action.

    What ever other nations decide to do in support, (Poland “just want’s to talk” to the ruZZians),

    is up to them.

    The Grannies, clutching their flannels, don’t get to decide.

    As the Grannies are opting out, because it won’t really effect them in the short term, other nations, who will be effected in the short term, are considering options.

    When the cowards run away, the brave have to make a choice.

  55. 55.

    YY_Sima Qian

    @Another Scott: Sometimes I wonder if Scholz publicly prevaricating on high profile weapons such as the Taurus is to partly divert domestic attention from the significant aid that Germany is delivering.

Comments are closed.