Posted on 01/19/2022 8:46:31 AM PST by mac_truck
Whether or not Vladimir Putin moves his troops into Ukraine, he has once again confronted Europe with a most painful reality: while being too weak to defend itself, it can no longer rely on the United States to come to its rescue.
We are facing a reality in which Russia, despite its economy only having the size of Italy's, can bully and intimidate a continent thanks to its energy reserves and its readiness to project vast military power.
Sure, any Russian invasion of Ukraine would cost Russia a fortune and likely degrade into a grinding war of attrition. Invasion is unlikely to be president Putin's preferred option. Yet, this game of brinkmanship has another part of the equation. If Russia invades Ukraine, the costs for Europe will be equally devastating.
It will force gas-addicted European countries to find expensive alternatives and to severe billions in infrastructure, from pipelines, over pumping stations, to dedicated storages.
Russia also remains a key export destination and a supplier of other resources than oil and gas. Think of titanium. While the Kremlin has long prepared a gradual decoupling from Europe, the opposite remains unthinkable for most Europeans.
While a sizeable part of the Russian population would support an intervention in the eastern part of Ukraine, citizens in many European countries will find it hard to accept soldiers to die for what they consider a strange, peripheral country: Ukraine.
Countless times, I have heard very senior European business leaders sympathise with the leadership of Putin, to the point that one got the impression that they were more attracted to Russian strong leadership than Western liberalism.
(Excerpt) Read more at euobserver.com ...
Why should we?
I don’t agree with the ‘grinding war of attrition’ part. I guess it depends on how big of a bite from Ukraine they take.
Russia has possessed Ukraine a lot in the past. Was one of Stalin’s most horrific launching pads for genocide. The weak, tyrannical EU and the woke Globalist American Empire against Russia on their home turf. Putin would like the odds.
Russia could take remaining key strategic assets with relatively little difficulty
so,... while certainly Putin does not have to do it (per the article), he very well may.
imho
we will see, time will tell
“it can no longer rely on the United States to come to its rescue
Why should we?”
Because the big man needs his cut!
Actually, western Europe defeated itself through its own treasonous political class.
Why would Russia want to get into a shooting war when they can gain political influence in another way?
Western Europe is fated to be conquered in any event; better for them it be by the Russians than the Muslims.
Would Putin be satisfied with a larger part of Ukraine, or will he stop only when he forces the whole country into a revived version of the USSR (perhaps along with Belarus)?
Good for Putin. He’s doing what’s best for his country and is beating back the globalists.
Europe defeated itself.
He wanted the leaders to meet AND get to work on agreements......they kicked the can......Putin moves a few military vehicles around to show he means business.....Now they want to talk!
Meanwhile, the French are flailing around trying to bamboozle the Germans into paying billions more for French weaponry, while their hands are tied by traditional French loathing of les anglo-saxons and the pro-Russian, anti-NATO stance of Le Pen and Zemmour.
What is likely to happen is that the US will make a bunch of bilateral committmeents to Eastern European and Scandinavian states like Poland and Finland as NATO drifts into irrelevancy. The German slide into neutrality could be slowed by exposure of Putin's financial connection to German politicians and by stiff actions against German trade by the US, but with the clownshow unelected junta currently in charge of the US, nothing substantial will be done.
Unfortunately, most of the world looks to us to defend them from aggressive neighbors.
Fortunately, no Tranny, Homo, Pederast, Muslim, Environazi or Woke RIGHTS will be suppressed, and they all will go to the front of the line for their heat and energy allotment.
The rest of you Europeans can Freeze.
“Western Europe is fated to be conquered in any event; better for them it be by the Russians than the Muslims.”
Agreed.
You make a very good point.
Europe surrendered decades ago!!!
I agree...the eastern regions which have already seceded from Ukraine could be folded into Russia without much difficulty, and my guess is this action would prompt additional eastern regions into secession.
The big question then would be whether or not a move by Russia into eastern Ukraine would push Western Ukraine to secede from Kiev, effectively splitting the country into three parts.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.