Summary

Germany warns that Russia is rearming faster than expected, replacing war losses and stockpiling tanks, missiles, and drones.

Putin has redirected Russia’s economy to fuel its military, aided by supplies from Iran and North Korea.

While there’s no clear evidence of plans to attack NATO, Russia is creating the conditions for it.

On the Ukraine front, Russian forces are advancing in south Donetsk, nearing strategic town Pokrovsk, a key supply hub and coal mining center.

Analysts suggest Putin aims to seize land before potential peace talks.

  • TimeSquirrel
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    631 month ago

    All depends on if NATO as a whole isn’t just a bluff. Are the UK, Germany and France, the three remaining major economies after the US leaves, actually going to go to war with Russia over Lithuania (no offense at all toward Lithuanians), for example? That’s what he’s testing, and that’s why he wants the US out.

    • Flying Squid
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      221 month ago

      NATO is required to come to the defence of any member nation if it is attacked.

        • @[email protected]
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          1 month ago

          Yes.

          I’m not sure if people know the history of trilateral defense agreements.

          Iirc it was the French and English who put their war on hold to fight the Spanish specifically because of a weird defense pact.

          • @RedditRefugee69
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            81 month ago

            Do you mind if I borrow your crystal ball? You seem unusually certain of things most leading experts would call “very likely.”

        • @[email protected]
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          51 month ago

          NATO was specifically created to counter a Russian invasion, so it would be kinda weird if it didn’t do the exact thing it was built for.

        • @[email protected]
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          1 month ago

          I don’t think it would matter because if Lithuania is invaded, Estonia, Latvia, Poland and Finland are joining the fight and that’s already a huge war in Europe. Sweden seems ready to defend and if Sweden goes it’s pretty safe to assume Denmark and Norway are going as well.

          Then, if Denmark is fighting, the Netherlands are probably going to help and if the Netherlands are at war so it’s Belgium, you see the pattern. So while I don’t think Spain would want to defend Lithuania, they would defend France.

        • @[email protected]
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          21 month ago

          No they won’t. They’ll yell and saber rattle. Won’t do anything till it reflects them as history has shown.

    • @[email protected]
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      1 month ago

      NATO could crumble and Germany and France would still come to Lithuania’s aid, they’re an EU member. With NATO gone UK might technically not be on the hook any more but they’d still get into the fray, despite their faults and their insistence that they’re not they’re still Europeans.

      The actually difficult part would be stopping Poland from bee-lining for Moscow, nukes be damned. They don’t spend 4.7% of GDP because they plan on sitting back.

      • @[email protected]
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        21 month ago

        That’s a lot of faith to have in treaties. Historically Nations tear up treaties of the drop of a hat. They’re only as valuable as the vested interest of those involved.

            • @[email protected]
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              21 month ago

              Nations, towns, families, your left hand agreeing with the right, all just treaties, got you. Maybe go a bit easier on the reductionism.

                • @[email protected]
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                  21 month ago

                  We have common elections, we have a common citizenship, we have a common identity, in many areas it’s even common to identify as European over the nation state. That is, regional identity first, then European, then whatever nation state the region ended up in.

                  All just a treaty.

                  • @[email protected]
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                    11 month ago

                    None of which has been tested. It’s very easy to claim all that in times of peacetime. When it comes time to go fight for someone else is when the real rubber hits the pavement.