Ukraine.

[Mad as Fish]

He is using similar manipulation tactics to the ones my daughter uses- and he is a middle aged man.

I warned people that spouting nonsense about supposed Pakistani child rape gangs would come back to bite people and here is some of it.

Isn’t up to forum members to decide for themselves as to what is nonsense, rather than the mods?

 

[Declan]

You beat me to it. We are 3 years plus into a war and jets have played practically no part in it at all because they are obsolete. The defensive ve mossile has made them so. They ate no great loss at all.

5 years ago, in the Armenian versus Azeri war, anyone that was paying attention saw that drones were the new battlefield

 

[Wolf]

Ukraine plugs its Western-made weapons into ‘NATO Wi-Fi’​

The country has joined a system that links its F-16s, Mirage 2000s, and Patriot missile launchers to the bloc’s military infrastructure

Kiev has been allowed to join a NATO-standard coordination network which connects together Western-made military hardware, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Katerina Chernohorenko has announced. The system, in particular, is compatible with F-16s and Mirage 2000 fighter jets.
On Saturday, Chernohorenko revealed that Ukraine had signed a license agreement to begin using the Command and Control Center System Interface (CSI), a non-commercial digital platform employed by most NATO member states for air and missile coordination and improved interoperability.
The official pointed out that the system operates through NATO’s Link-16 data protocol – which she referred to as “military Wi-Fi.” She added that the protocol facilitates coordination between fighter jets such as US-made F-16s and French-made Mirage 2000s, as well as air defense systems like the Patriot, all of which have been supplied to Ukraine as military aid.
Ukraine received its first F-16s from its European backers last summer, although the process had been slower than expected due to logistics and pilot training issues. While some officials in Kiev initially hoped it would become a “game changer” on the battlefield, the military later acknowledged it could not rival the most advanced Russian jets.
READ MORE: UK to dramatically increase weapons production
In total, Kiev was promised more than 80 F-16s, many of which are expected to arrive in the years to come. Since the start of deliveries, at least three Ukrainian-operated F-16s have been confirmed destroyed.
As for the French-made Mirage 2000s, which are capable of carrying long-range Scalp/Storm Shadow missiles, Ukraine only received the first batch this winter, with the number of planes to be delivered estimated at six. Kiev has confirmed their deployment in combat, but reported no losses.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Ukrainian-operated F-16s will “burn” just like other Western-supplied equipment. Moscow has also consistently denounced Western military aid to Kiev, arguing it will only prolong the conflict without changing its outcome.

 

[Wolf]

The payback will be immense.

First drone attack reported in Siberia​

The raid targeted a military base not far from Lake Baikal, Governor Igor Kobzev has said

Several drones targeted a military installation in Irkutsk Region on Sunday in what authorities say is the first such attack in Siberia. Governor Igor Kobzev confirmed the strike and said the incident occurred near the settlement of Sredny, about 150 km from Lake Baikal and 70 km from the eponymous regional capital.
One drone also reportedly hit an abandoned building in the nearby village of Novomaltinsk, according to Kobzev.
The governor said the drones were launched from a small truck, though the exact number of UAVs involved remains unclear. Unverified footage on social media suggests at least three drones took part in the raid.
Kobzev added that the launch site had been “blocked” and that there was “no threat to the lives and health of civilians.” Emergency services and law enforcement were dispatched to the scene.
While Kobzev did not attribute blame, both Russian and Ukrainian media outlets have suggested that the attack was orchestrated by Kiev.
READ MORE: Collapses of two bridges in Russia were sabotage – investigators
Ukraine has ramped up drone strikes inside Russian territory in recent weeks, despite ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused Kiev of attempting to derail negotiations.
In response, Moscow has launched retaliatory strikes on Ukraine’s defense industry sites, as well as military assembly points and warehouses.
The Irkutsk attack coincided with reports of a similar drone strike in Russia’s northern Murmansk Region, though details remain scarce.
Ukraine has significantly escalated drone strikes into Russia in recent weeks, despite ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has suggested that Kiev is trying to derail the process.
In response to the raids, Russia has launched several retaliatory strikes targeting Ukraine’s defense industry facilities, as well as military assembly points and warehouses.
The Irkutsk attack also came as authorities in Russia’s northern Murmansk Region reported a similar drone raid, without providing further detail so far.

 

[Wolf]

Have you a source for that?

If true all peace talks are off, which is probably the reason for it.

Ukraine and its handlers have no interest in peace, too much money laundering to do.

 

[Wolf]

After the Uki Nazi terror attacks today I really hope Putin authorises a tactical nuclear strike of Kyiv.
It's time the boil was lanced.

 

[Declan]

The topic is ukraine

 

[SeekTheFairLand]

After the Uki Nazi terror attacks today I really hope Putin authorises a tactical nuclear strike of Kyiv.
It's time the boil was lanced.

You hope
You know he wont
He'll do fuck all
as per

 

[SeekTheFairLand]

and tomorrow the Duran will spin another hour out the capture of a two house hamlet in Buttsfucknowhereville in Luhansk

 

[Wolf]

Jesus they're quick....aren't they......

Ukraine conflict a NATO ‘proxy war’ - Trump envoy​

Keith Kellogg has echoed Moscow’s characterization of the hostilities

US Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg at the White House, Washington, DC. September 22, 2020. © Getty Images / Drew Angerer
Russian President Vladimir Putin is right in considering the Ukraine conflict a proxy war against Russia, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Keith Kellogg told Fox News in an interview on Sunday.
He said that while he believes the peace process will ultimately succeed, “escalatory issues” remain. Kellogg referred to comments by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who last month indicated that Berlin would be open to supplying Kiev with Taurus cruise missiles.
Kellogg addressed Russian President Vladimir Putin's perspective, saying “he considers this a proxy war by NATO. And frankly… in a way it is.”
“The escalatory issues are still there,” Kellogg said. “Chancellor Merz has said: well, I’m going to give the Ukrainians the Taurus missile system.”
The German cruise missiles have a range of roughly 300 miles (482 km), which can allow Ukrainian strikes to reach deep into Russian territory, Kellog said. He added that Putin has made it clear: if such weapons are supplied to Ukraine, Russia will regard the suppliers as a party to the conflict.

“He considers this a proxy war by NATO. And frankly… in a way it is.”

Russia can clearly see the other Western military support Ukraine is receiving, Kellogg added.

“Everybody has got to be willing to step back a bit,” and compromise, to get the peace process “to an end state,” the envoy said.
Last week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that Merz’s “provocative” statements “hinder peaceful efforts.” Moscow has stressed that any Ukrainian use of German Taurus missiles against Russian territory will be viewed as Berlin’s direct involvement in the Ukraine conflict, as the armaments’ use is impossible without the participation of Bundeswehr service members.
Last year, after Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden allowed the use of US ATACMS ballistic missiles in long-range strikes on Russian territory, Moscow retaliated by revamping its strategic doctrine and lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons. Russia now considers any strike by a non-nuclear state backed up by a nuclear one as a joint attack.

Both Kellogg and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio have previously characterized the conflict as a proxy war.
“Frankly, it’s a proxy war between nuclear powers – the United States, helping Ukraine, and Russia,” Rubio said in March, noting that the current White House administration is eager to see it end.
Moscow has long designated the Ukraine conflict as a Western proxy war against Russia and repeatedly condemned arms supplies to Kiev as counterproductive to the peace process.

 

[Haven]

and tomorrow the Duran will spin another hour out the capture of a two house hamlet in Buttsfucknowhereville in Luhansk

And of course the cost in Russian men and machines will be astronomical as usual.

 

[willows68]

After the Uki Nazi terror attacks today I really hope Putin authorises a tactical nuclear strike of Kyiv.
It's time the boil was lanced.

Let's hope cooler heads prevail.

 

[Wolf]

Let's hope cooler heads prevail.

Cooler heads will keep the money laundering proxy war going on indefinitely.
It needs to be brought to a conclusion one way or another.

 

[Wolf]

‘Brussels hijacked our future’ – Orban​

The bloc does not need militarization, but rather peace talks between Moscow and Kiev to succeed, the Hungarian prime minister has said

FILE PHOTO: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. © Global Look Press / Attila Volgyi
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has unveiled a proposal to increase the power of EU members and limit the authority of its bureaucracy. Calling it a “patriotic plan” for the bloc, he said in a series of weekend social media posts that it will revive the “European dream.”
The EU elites in Brussels have exploited every crisis to amass more power, Orban claimed in a post on X. This course has so far only translated into less sovereignty for member states and “failed policies,” according to the prime minister. “Brussels hijacked our future” by disrupting public safety through migration and eroding prosperity with “green dogmas,” he stated in another post.
“Europe can’t afford this any longer, it’s time to take back control,” he said.
The PM’s plan is based on what he calls four pillars: a path toward peace on the continent and defusing tensions with Russia, removing Brussels’ “centralized control” over finances, “bringing back free speech” and strengthening Europe’s Christian identity, and tightening control over immigration.

“We want peace, we don’t need a new Eastern front,” Orban said, commenting on his plan and stating that the bloc should not accept Ukraine as a member. “We don’t want our money poured into someone else’s war,” he added.
A military buildup and defense increase actively promoted by some EU nations could easily lock the bloc in an “arms race” with Russia, Orban warned. Such a development would “devour… taxpayers’ money,” he said. Instead of pouring more resources into the military, the bloc needs to contribute to the peace process between Moscow and Kiev, the prime minister maintained, praising US President Donald Trump’s efforts in this regard.
The EU needs to start “arms limitation talks with the Russians as soon as possible. Otherwise, all our money will be swallowed by the arms industry instead of being spent on peaceful… goals,” Orban argued.
European nations once united to create the “safest and the most advanced continent” in the world but this dream was “stolen,” the prime minister charged, calling on EU nations not to allow Brussels to use the Ukraine conflict “as an excuse to take more of our money.”

 

[willows68]

Cooler heads will keep the money laundering proxy war going on indefinitely.
It needs to be brought to a conclusion one way or another.

Yeah but not with nukes. Why do their runways still work. Their powerstations. Hit infrastructure.
Hit the Taurus installations. End it.

 

[Declan]

Two f those types of bomber fly at about 550 miles an hour and are flying ducks.

i wonder if there are any planes being used by either side???

 

[Wolf]

So what? Drones and missiles is where it's at these days.
Russia's reply will be swift and comprehensive.

Ukraine says it destroyed more than 40 military planes in drone attack in Russia

The drones hit airfields more than 2,500 miles from Ukraine.

www.thejournal.ie

 

[clarke-connolly]

The Russian response will be interesting.

 

[willows68]

The Russian response will be interesting.

It will show who Putin truly is beholden to...

 

[clarke-connolly]

It will show who Putin truly is beholden to...

If the Russians don't hit back with something big = = It won't be a good look for Putin !

 

[Mad as Fish]

After the Uki Nazi terror attacks today I really hope Putin authorises a tactical nuclear strike of Kyiv.
It's time the boil was lanced.

No such thing as a limited nuclear strike unfortunately, let loose with one and they’ll all go off.

 

[Mad as Fish]

Two f those types of bomber fly at about 550 miles an hour and are flying ducks.

i wonder if there are any planes being used by either side???

Just the question I’ve been asking.

 

[Declan]

And if we are to believe a rubbish story that this took 18 months to plan, then a peace ceasefire was never real and you can not trust the ukes, as we know

 

[Mad as Fish]

And if we are to believe a rubbish story that this took 18 months to plan, then a peace ceasefire was never real and you can not trust the ukes, as we know

Just as both sides were edging towards peace talks - boom!

 

[Declan]

Reports now of bombing raids on Ukraine. If true, then Putin has decided it is a war and not an operation

 

[Fishalt]

Reports now of bombing raids on Ukraine. If true, then Putin has decided it is a war and not an operation

 

[Fishalt]

Just as both sides were edging towards peace talks - boom!

We all know that the usual war hawks and lobbyists don't want peace.

 

[Haven]

The Russian response will be interesting.

Humiliation does bring out interesting responses.

It really does look like the Russians could have lost up to a third of their strategic bombers. Since they use these for their air launched cruise missiles, thats a huge blow. The remaining bombers will have to carry out more flights to maintain the same sortie rate, increasing wear and maintanence, or fly less.

They were already flying much longer from these eastern airfields, due to the threat of drones launched from Ukraine, adding up even more hours on the airframes.

They may even have lost 1, maybe 2, A-50s. Thats a real setback if true.

No security or air defense at these airfields, signalling just how degraded this has become.

Photos seem to indicate the drones and containers were all prepared inside Russia. Massive Russian intelligence failure, reminds me of the ISIS Moscow concert attack but way worse.

Massive US intelligence failure too, when you think about it....it appears Trump wasn't told and CIA etc seems to have entirely missed it.

 

[Mad as Fish]

We all know that the usual war hawks and lobbyists don't want peace.

It’s right out of 1984, there must be continuous conflict to justify authoritarianism at home. Plus the money of course.

 

[Fishalt]

Humiliation does bring out interesting responses.

It really does look like the Russians could have lost up to a third of their strategic bombers. Since they use these for their air launched cruise missiles, thats a huge blow. The remaining bombers will have to carry out more flights to maintain the same sortie rate, increasing wear and maintanence, or fly less.

They were already flying much longer from these eastern airfields, due to the threat of drones launched from Ukraine, adding up even more hours on the airframes.

They may even have lost 1, maybe 2, A-50s. Thats a real setback if true.

No security or air defense at these airfields, signalling just how degraded this has become.

Photos seem to indicate the drones and containers were all prepared inside Russia. Massive Russian intelligence failure, reminds me of the ISIS Moscow concert attack but way worse.

Massive US intelligence failure too, when you think about it....it appears Trump wasn't told and CIA etc seems to have entirely missed it.

I can virtually guarantee you that within 48 hours we'll hearing about how Russia bombed major Ukrainian targets with bombers that no longer exist.

 

[Haven]

I can virtually guarantee you that within 48 hours we'll hearing about how Russia bombed major Ukrainian targets with bombers that no longer exist.

Clearly Russia has bombers left. And I'd fully expect them to make a big sortie soon to show they can do it.

But they are not going to be able to sustain the same number of air-launched missile strikes as before.

 

[Mad as Fish]

C c

You beat me to it. We are 3 years plus into a war and jets have played practically no part in it at all because they are obsolete. The defensive ve mossile has made them so. They ate no great loss at all.

5 years ago, in the Armenian versus Azeri war, anyone that was paying attention saw that drones were the new battlefield

indeed, what has happened to all those fighters promised to Ukraine in the early days? The last heard of them was that it was going to take longer than expected to convert the pilots from Soviet to Western planes. Silence since then.

Some game changer they turned out to be.

 

[Myles O'Reilly]

From Russia With Love = = Macron's Man Love ! !

Whatever went on on that Airplane there sure was too much testosterone floating around.

 

[Wolf]

I can virtually guarantee you that within 48 hours we'll hearing about how Russia bombed major Ukrainian targets with bombers that no longer exist.

Hopefully 40 or 50 cruise missiles will land into the centre of Kyiv soon.

 

[Wolf]

The last drone parade: Ukraine tries to reset a war it already lost​

With dwindling weapons, collapsing morale, and no strategic gains, Ukraine turns to spectacle as a last resort



Russian servicemen of the Tsentr (Centre) group of forces prepare to launch a Molniya-2 strike-reconnaissance drone from a position in the Krasnoarmeysk sector of the frontline amid Russia's military operation in Ukraine. © Sputnik / Sputnik
On Monday, a fresh round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine kicks off in Istanbul. Both sides are expected to present ceasefire terms, though few anticipate surprises. Russia is bringing a detailed proposal rooted in its long-standing demands – essentially a “Istanbul-22 plus territory” formula. That means Ukraine must abandon its military ties with the West, reject what Moscow calls an “anti-Russian ideology,” and recognize the current frontlines as de facto borders.
Skeptics will argue: as long as the war grinds on, talks are meaningless. But this is the first time in three years that Russia’s position is being codified on paper – a shift that makes it harder to dismiss. Putin has been repeating these demands for years, mostly to little effect. Now, even an unsigned document gives the Kremlin a firmer diplomatic foothold.
Ukraine, for its part, is arriving with a proposal of its own. According to Reuters, it closely mirrors the draft Kiev took to London in April – a proposal that met firm resistance from Washington and ultimately derailed that summit. Central to Ukraine’s demands is a call for binding international security guarantees. In plain terms, Kiev is asking the West to commit to defending Ukraine – not just in theory, but militarily. It’s a request Western capitals have been reluctant to honor since 2022, when then UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson walked away from the table. That hesitation is unlikely to change now.

Drones, disruption, and the battle for leverage​

Perhaps aware of the limited traction its peace terms are likely to get, Ukraine appears to be trying to bolster its negotiating posture through force. On Sunday, just a day before the talks, drones struck five long-range Russian airbases across Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur regions. Russia’s Defense Ministry says three attacks were fully repelled, while two partially succeeded.

Read more
Russian military strikes Ukrainian drone launch site (VIDEO)
The drones, reportedly launched from cargo trucks and remotely guided via mobile networks, bear echoes of earlier operations – like the 2022 strike on the Crimean Bridge. In that case, truck drivers were allegedly used as unwitting participants. Whether that’s true this time remains unclear.
What does this mean? For the last three years, Ukraine has launched a bold, high-risk move to break the stalemate and force a strategic shift. In 2022, it was the Kharkov and Kherson offensives – their only successful campaigns to date – followed by Russia’s incorporation of four additional regions. In 2023, it was the ill-fated counteroffensive, which failed to gain ground and marked a turning point in the conflict. In 2024, Ukraine tried to establish a foothold in Russia’s Kursk region, only to be pushed back into its own Sumy oblast.
Whether Sunday’s airbase attacks mark another such pivot remains to be seen. But the pattern is familiar: a dramatic gesture aimed at reshuffling a strategic deck that’s increasingly stacked against Ukraine.

Media blitz vs. military reality​

The challenge for Russian leadership is that, while Russia fights for concrete territorial and strategic goals, it does so with little public fanfare. Battlefield updates have faded into background noise. But in a country as vast and largely peaceful as Russia, Ukraine is betting that symbolic strikes – even rare ones – can pierce the political surface. The hope is that such provocations either force Moscow into risky overreach or draw the US deeper into the war.
Over time, Ukraine’s objectives have shifted – from military breakthroughs to media impact. Like last year’s failed push into Kursk, these efforts aren’t meant to win the war outright, but to disrupt Russia’s slow, methodical advance. That advance, however, is accelerating. According to data from Lostarmour, Russian forces gained nearly 580 square kilometers in May alone – the second-highest monthly figure since 2022.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian defenses are crumbling. Drone strikes on Moscow have disrupted civilian air traffic but have done little to halt Russia’s daily barrage – attacks Ukraine’s depleted air defenses increasingly struggle to repel. In October 2024, Russia launched around 2,000 ‘Geran’-type drones in one month. Today, it’s sending hundreds per day.

Manpower, morale, and the limits of spectacle​

The Ukrainian army is in steep decline. Troops are retreating slowly, but desertions are surging. In 2024 alone, nearly 90,000 criminal cases were opened for desertion or unauthorized leave. In the first three months of 2025, that number is already over 45,000 – around 15,000 a month.
Weapons are also in short supply. US aid is winding down, and Europe lacks the capacity to make up the gap. But the bigger crisis is manpower: many Ukrainian units are operating at just 40–50% strength – some even less.
These structural issues, more than any drone strike or headline-grabbing attack, are what shape the real context for the Istanbul talks. Tactical stunts may buy media attention, but they don’t reverse battlefield trends. Sunday’s attack was likely a one-off – not just because Russia will tighten base security and jam mobile signals, but because such operations require years to plan and a deep human network that’s unlikely to survive exposure.

A final note​

Near the end of World War II, Germany pinned its hopes on the V-2 rocket – a weapon launched by the hundreds, against which no defense was possible. It was powerful, terrifying, and militarily useless. The term “wonder weapon” it inspired now carries only irony.
Something similar may be said of Ukraine’s recent raids. Their leadership has become adept at orchestrating dramatic military theater. But bold visuals aside, these attacks are unlikely to change the war’s trajectory – or Kiev’s negotiating hand.

 

[SeekTheFairLand]

Nothing ever happens
Russia is dutifully attending peace talks with its international partners in Istanbul.
The Russian evidently did not have a pre-prepared list of high value 'spectacular' targets with which to respond to in such an event, or they would have done something by now.

 

[Haven]

FFS. This must be repeating on a vast scale there right now.


View: https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/1l1ecj2/russian_policeman_now_stop_every_truck_in_the/

 

[Wolf]

Western Europe has lost the plot – but still plays with fire​

Macron speaks, Merz contradicts, and the EU drifts into irrelevance
By Timofey Bordachev, Program Director of the Valdai Club

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, left, walks with French President Emmanuel Macron. © Ludovic Marin / Pool via AP
Modern Western Europe is quickly becoming a real-world demonstration of Hegel’s famous dictum – that history repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce. In the past, the missteps of its leaders could be seen as awkward but forgivable moments against the backdrop of a still-coherent West. Today, farce is becoming the default operating mode for the region’s political elite.
Whether the antics come from small states like Estonia or from former heavyweights like Germany, France, and Britain, the effect is the same: Europe, or more precisely the European Union and its close NATO-aligned partners in the West, is no longer behaving like a serious geopolitical actor. What was once merely weakness has become a lifestyle – a self-parodying style of politics defined by empty declarations, theatrical gestures, and media spectacle.
The reasons are not difficult to identify. Western Europe has lost its strategic compass. What we’re witnessing now, unfolding near Russia’s borders, is a crisis of direction with no clear destination. Recent developments, in fact, would have seemed unimaginable even a few years ago.
In the space of just a few weeks, the leaders of the EU’s most prominent countries issued ultimatums to Russia – with no thought as to what they might do if Moscow ignored them. Unsurprisingly, the efforts of the four most vocal backers of Ukraine – Britain, Germany, France, and Poland – collapsed into rhetorical theater with no follow-through.
Estonia, never one to miss a moment for posturing, saw a group of its sailors attempt to seize a foreign ship en route to St. Petersburg. The move, swiftly rebuffed by the Russian military, triggered a political scandal back in Tallinn – though perhaps not the kind they’d hoped for.

In Paris, President Emmanuel Macron continues to rely on dramatic pronouncements to remain in the spotlight. In Berlin, newly appointed Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared that Ukrainian forces were permitted to strike Russian cities with Western missiles – only to be contradicted hours later by his own finance minister. As for the long-touted “peacekeeper deployment plan” pushed by Paris and London, European media finally admitted what had been obvious for months: the plan is dead, lacking support from Washington.
Some of this, admittedly, stems from a media environment that has grown dangerously overheated. Western news outlets now thrive on alarmism, churning out a steady stream of war talk and pushing politicians to match the rhetoric. Since the launch of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, media across the Atlantic and in Brussels have played the role of propagandist, not watchdog.
But the problem runs deeper than headlines. Europe’s political class has drifted into a world of abstraction, where politics has become an intellectual game – untethered from real capabilities or consequences. In some cases, the farce is provincial, as with Estonia’s attempted maritime stunt. In others, it is cloaked in academic posturing, such as the wordy performances Macron delivers with the help of philosophically literate aides.
In all cases, one truth emerges: the European Union and its near partners are no longer serious actors in world affairs. They are still loud, still self-important, but no longer decisive. Their actions do not shift the global balance. The only real questions now are how long this detachment from reality can persist, and what the next stage of decline will look like.
This is not a matter of personalities or party lines. Whether globalist liberals or national conservatives take charge in Europe, the result is increasingly similar. Right-wing governments that replace the establishment often prove just as erratic and symbolic in their behavior.
What makes this transformation even more surreal is that Europe still has the ability to turn its politics into a spectacle. Many of its politicians – or at least their speechwriters – are highly educated. Macron’s speeches, rich in historical and philosophical references, are products of minds trained at the best institutions. Once, such intelligence was used to shape policy and outplay rivals like Russia. Now, it produces only clever phrasing for empty statements
Macron, of course, helped set the tone when he declared NATO “brain dead” back in 2019 – a remark that was amusing at the time. But after the laughter faded, Western Europe began churning out similarly dramatic slogans, each more detached than the last. The British followed suit. Now the Germans are joining the script.
More troubling than the words, though, is the lack of accountability for them. European leaders say much and do little – and when they do act, it is often misguided. Worse, they seem genuinely unaware of how their provocations are perceived outside their own echo chamber. What looks absurd in Moscow, Beijing, or even some quarters of Washington, is seen in Brussels or Berlin as noble posturing. These leaders are living in a different dimension, but the rest of us still have to engage with their declarations, however disconnected from reality.
And while it is tempting to dismiss this as just another European drama, the risks are real. Britain and France still possess nuclear capabilities. The EU’s economy, while faltering, retains global influence. Even the smallest states – like Estonia – can trigger crises that draw in larger powers. The Baltic naval stunt may have been primitive theater, but under the wrong conditions, even small acts of political play-acting can spiral into genuine danger.
No one seriously believes the United States is prepared to defend its European satellites at the cost of war with Russia. But given the destructive power of both Russian and American arsenals, even the faintest chance of escalation must be treated seriously – even if Western Europe itself has lost the ability to understand the consequences of its actions.
Ironically, Poland – once one of the most loudly anti-Russian voices in Europe – now appears almost restrained compared to the behavior of France, Germany, or Britain. In recent years, Warsaw has moved toward a more conservative, if still adversarial, stance – offering a rare glimpse of something resembling balance.
In the last century, Western Europe unleashed two of the most devastating wars in human history. Today, it plays at war once again – but with less awareness, less responsibility, and far less capacity. The danger lies not in its strength, but in its delusions. This is not Liechtenstein brandishing a sabre. These are nations with real armies, real missiles, and an increasingly fragile grasp on reality.
If there is to be stability in Europe’s future, it must start with accepting the truth of the present. The continent is no longer the center of world politics. The logical next step is to strip Western Europe of the destructive capabilities it no longer knows how to wield. Demilitarization is not humiliation. It is realism – and the only way to bring Europe’s role back in line with its actual relevance.

 

[willows68]

Nothing ever happens
Russia is dutifully attending peace talks with its international partners in Istanbul.
The Russian evidently did not have a pre-prepared list of high value 'spectacular' targets with which to respond to in such an event, or they would have done something by now.

And that is our answer. Oy vey.

 

[Fishalt]

I feel like nobody is talking about the main issue here, and that's the reason why the bombers were vulnerable in the first place. The reason being that Russia signed a treaty with the US signed in 2010. Under that agreement, strategic bombers must be kept in open air bases and be visible, at least at some depots. These happen to be some of the depots that were attacked by the drone swarm. Russia was given a guarantee that the US and its friends and allies would never take advantage of this arrangement and use the data gained thereby to attack these bases.

So while the attacks are a loss for Russia, they're also another loss for the US' reputation. Predictably, the usual spooks and warhawks and spooks on the US side are going to whine about Russia breaking the treat first or something akin to that, but the fact remains that NATO doubtless gave the intel to AFU.