There's Europe, and there's Russia. the Baltic states, and Ukraine are Europeans, and think of themselves that way. Belorussia seems more like Russia to me, but that may not be accurate.
Also, I know it's been debunked, but if Kyiv is encircled, those men are sitting ducks when the air raids from the Ukranians start. It's a bad time in history to try and perform a siege. This does remind me of The Alamo, though. I feel that's where it's headed. Instead of Crockett, Travis and Bowie, we'll have Klitschko, Klitschko, and Selensky.
I know this take won’t be popular here but Biden (or Blinken) have done great statecraft work here. They mapped out the Putin situation publicly for a month with specific intel. They worked extensively to rally NATO/EU to be ready with heavy sanctions. the fallout from this isn’t clear yet with regards to Ukraine, but the EU will be a significantly different and more powerful force over the next few years because of this work. Already Germany has pledged dramatic military spending increases. Biden will get **** because Putin invaded, but the work he has done with NATO and EU is rather impressive. A little over a week ago Fox News was convinced that Biden was wagging the dog and making this up for political cover.
I’m happy the Ukrainians support Michael Jackson and aren’t woke suckers who believe every hbo special as real.
Putin isn’t surprised by anything. He’s had simulations and think tanks running for years on this invasion. Putin is no fool. That’s one thing his lapdog Trump got right.
Yeah, I totally misspoke earlier. The old Soviet Bloc has old stuff, and they have the ability to make new parts. The NATO countries also have newer F15? US fighters, and this may be the first battlefield test of the F35.
Here's something a fellow gun owner feels the need to add to your comment. Many here are posting or reading the discussion about Russia's invasion of Ukraine because of a genuine interest in a very serious international crisis that is literally a threat to the democracies of Europe and beyond. Yet @tinman sees it as simply another avenue for his constant stream of "jokes" that few are likely to find amusing, in my humble opinion. Why he posts down here is a mystery to me. Besides making up insults out of thin air, for whatever bizarre reason that's percolating in his mind, about the members who like to post in D&D (some of whom post in the GARM more than he does), he sees D&D as another outlet for displaying his obsession with billionaires, the "lifestyles of the rich and famous," and certain aspects of popular culture. It's pretty freaking weird.
It's amazing how many ways people try to use this invasion to score political points on topics hardly relevant or of interest. Beyond guns, we've had to touch on energy policy, wokeness, mask/vaccine mandates, virtue signaling, and other silly things like celebrities singing "imagine" - all after just 4 days of the war. It's just depressing.
