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- - Is Ukraine about to have a war? (https://www.pprune.org/military-aviation/639666-ukraine-about-have-war.html)

Quote:

Originally Posted by fitliker (Post 11174838)

Alea iacta est ?

No one has yet crossed the Rubicon, have they?

All of this sounds like an EU problem. I’m sure Manu will be on the Ukraine/Russia border to blame the UK any day.

Politico:

U.K. Armed Forces Minister James Heappey confirms in an op-ed in today’s Sun that there are already Russian-military linked figures across the border in Ukraine: “We are becoming aware of a significant number of individuals that are assessed to be associated with Russian military advance force operations and currently located in Ukraine.”

Heappey writes in strong terms: “To be British is to go to the aid of others and defend those who cannot defend themselves. That’s why we went to the aid of Poland in 1939. That’s why we were one of the founding allies of NATO after the Second World War. NATO has become the world’s most successful defensive alliance and guaranteed peace in Europe for over 70 years.

“We are being tested again. But this time all those years of post-Cold War complacency are catching up on us. We should remember those words on that memorial in Washington because, wherever you live, freedom is not free.”

Australians told to leave Ukraine…

I hope some of you might have read Barbara Tuchmans "August 1914".

Quote:

All of this sounds like an EU problem. I’m sure Manu will be on the Ukraine/Russia border to blame the UK any day.

Assuming the premise of your comment is correct, just because we are not in the EU does not mean that we are immune from EU problems. Any Russian invasion of Ukraine will create a refugees crisis, and they will all be heading west. Sooner or later, it will be our 'problem'.

Quote:

All of this sounds like an EU problem

How so? Is Ukraine in the EU?

PS There's this outfit called NATO which you may want to Google. Its all the talk ATM.

Quote:

Originally Posted by minigundiplomat (Post 11174871)

All of this sounds like an EU problem. I’m sure Manu will be on the Ukraine/Russia border to blame the UK any day.

What a bizarre post. Makes zero sense unless it is a joke.
So is it?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buster15 (Post 11175047)

What a bizarre post. Makes zero sense unless it is a joke.
So is it?

This is BoJo. He just had a birthday party…

Ukraine's shopping list
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world...ore/ar-AAT82dG

Quote:

Here is a summary of the military equipment Kyiv has bought or been given or promised, and the requests still outstanding.

The UNITED STATES has provided over $2.5 billion in military aid since 2014, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, coastal patrol boats https://www.reuters.com/world/europe...sea-2021-11-20, Humvees, sniper rifles, reconnaissance drones, radar systems, night vision and radio equipment. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators https://www.reuters.com/world/us-sen...tin-2022-01-17 last week promised further supplies that could include Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, small arms and boats.

BRITAIN last week supplied a reported 2,000 short-range anti-tank https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-...sia-2022-01-17 missiles and sent British specialists to deliver training. It has also provided Saxon armoured vehicles.

BALTIC STATES https://www.reuters.com/article/balt...-idUSL1N2U127L Estonia is sending Javelin anti-armour missiles and Latvia and Lithuania are providing Stinger missiles.

TURKEY https://www.reuters.com/world/middle...gan-2021-12-03 has sold Ukraine several batches of Bayraktar TB2 drones that it deployed against Russian-backed separatists in the eastern Donbass region, infuriating Moscow.

The CZECH REPUBLIC https://www.reuters.com/article/czec...-idUSL1N2U11RH said last week it plans to donate a shipment of 152mm artillery ammunition.

GERMANY https://www.reuters.com/world/europe...ays-2022-01-22 is ruling out arms deliveries to Ukraine but is co-financing a $6 million field hospital and providing the necessary training.

UKRAINE'S WISHLIST of items it wants to buy or obtain includes:

- Helicopters, communications systems and light armoured vehicles from the United States

- NASAMS surface-to-air missile system from Norway

- Self-propelled DANA artillery system from Czech Republic, and shells for Soviet-made artillery with calibers of 120 mm and above

- Medium and short range air defence systems

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, editing by Mark Trevelyan, William Maclean)

Notable that with Canada's announcement today, all FVEY nations with an embassy in Kiev plan to evacuate diplomatic families. Nothing from NZ yet, though they only have consular representation in Ukraine. This suggests that there is still a very big gap between their intelligence assessment and that of some other European nations, particularly France, who still (publicly at least) see no evidence of an imminent invasion.

Regarding France, they are worried as well:

France’s foreign ministry on Monday advised French nationals to avoid non-essential travel to Ukraine as tensions soared over the Russian military buildup, prompting NATO allies to put forces on standby and send ships and fighter jets to bolster Europe's eastern defences.

A French foreign ministry statement “strongly recommended” that nationals “postpone any travel to Ukraine that is not essential or urgent".

Due to the Russian military buildup on the border with its neighbour, France cautioned its nationals to “avoid border areas in the north and the east of the country", the statement said.

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/2...ussia-escalate

So much for Russia flogging their Gas and Oil to China instead of the West, sales of Oil have dropped again as Russia loses out to Saudi as their main oil supplier.

https://uawire.org/china-reduces-imp...f-russian-oil#

Quote:

During the year, Russian oil companies sold 79.64 million tons of oil to Chinese customers, which is 4.5% less than a year earlier. The volume of supplies shrank to the levels of 2 years ago: in 2020, Russia exported 83.57 million tons to China, in 2019 - 77.7 million tons.

According to statistics, China has replaced Russian oil with imports of Middle Eastern grades.

The Irish threaten to throw their toys out of the pram
Apparently, the live fire/Naval exercises near Ireland planned for next month are getting Dublin upset and/or nervous.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/four-wa...urce-1.5751947
MOSCOW -- Political advisers from Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany will meet in Paris on Jan. 26 for a fresh round of talks on resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine, a source in the Russian delegation said on Monday.

The four-way talks will take place against the background of a broader standoff between Russia and the West, with tens of thousands of Russian troops positioned near Ukraine's borders.

Russia denies planning to invade Ukraine and says it is Kyiv that is preparing to attack Moscow-backed rebels in its breakaway eastern provinces.

Finland is ramping up readiness. A long tweet but from someone whos in the know.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lonewolf_50 (Post 11175244)

The Irish threaten to throw their toys out of the pram
Apparently, the live fire/Naval exercises near Ireland planned for next month are getting Dublin upset and/or nervous.

Could the Irish not put something like a fishing fleet in the area of the exercise to scupper it.

.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lonewolf_50 (Post 11175244)

The Irish threaten to throw their toys out of the pram
Apparently, the live fire/Naval exercises near Ireland planned for next month are getting Dublin upset and/or nervous.

I’m sure the EU will send a navy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by minigundiplomat (Post 11175296)

I’m sure the EU will send a navy.

Riiight. Anything meaningful to contribute?