Summary

European officials are preparing a multibillion-dollar defense package to bolster regional security and support Ukraine, announced by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at the Munich Security Conference.

The package, potentially valued up to 700 billion euros, will fund military training, arms deliveries, and security guarantees amid concerns over Russian aggression and diminishing U.S. contributions to NATO.

The move follows calls for Europe to boost its own defense spending while U.S.-Russian talks, which exclude Ukraine and Europe, on ending the Ukraine conflict continue.

  • @[email protected]
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    233 days ago

    Where was this three years ago? Europe wants to make sure every last Ukrainian man is thrown into the meat grinder.

    • @[email protected]
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      313 days ago

      Our leaders have been too complacent, for what I think is a simple reason: It’s easier to depend on the Americans so your own national budget doesn’t take a hit and cause you to lose the next election.

      Now that we’ve seen that the US is an unreliable ally and (rightfully) wants to reduce its’ own military aid spending, they’re hopefully seeing the bigger picture.

      • @[email protected]
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        93 days ago

        But why did Europe wait for America to bail before suddenly pulling a trillion dollars out of their pocket?

        If Ukraine was supposed to win Europe should have thought about ponying up that cash a bit sooner.

        • @[email protected]
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          133 days ago

          Because as soon as you propose spending billions of dollars on defending another country, people will generally say “but I don’t wanna pay more taxes or lose out on any comforts”, which causes you to lose your position of power in case of a democracy. It all comes down to selfishness in the end.

    • @[email protected]
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      2 days ago

      Why did they wait? Because if all this support started on day 1, a lot of folks would have feared nuclear retaliation and there is no way back from that.

      The Russo-Ukrainian conflict is too complex to use your oversimplified perspective, and thus only useful to throw oil on the fire. There are serious nuclear threats, Putin’s unpredictable actions, it also involves many (very different) countries standing up against tyranny. The bureaucracy may be slow in its responses, but efforts are being made to ensure careful moves that prevent escalation. Labeling European leadership as bloodthirsty is misleading in my eyes; they are actively working to protect democracy.

      Why would you think European leadership aiming for more dead Ukrainians? Why would they still provide financial and humanitarian support? And increase it now?