It will take years for NATO to get established in Sweden and Finland. Till then IMO Finland and especially Sweden are capable enough to fend of an attack by Russia
Well, experienced militants should know this. There is no such thing as NATO forces, but member states dedicating their military units to a common cause. But hey, if one likes to think about NATO having its own independent agenda and getting somehow mysteriously funded in order to dominate over small and vulnerable Russia- be my guest.
Yanukovich's fall - automatically meant a revival of Ukraine to join NATO - so Putin went in to take the Crimea and backed the "self-proclamation" of Donbass and Luhansk. I still fail to see a connection with the EU. Yanukovich's fall came due to his Putin friendly political stance and the extreme corruption in Ukraine. If the EU refusal added to this protest I wouldn't out-rule that - but as being the cause?
Hereby I must say I have no clue what this little guy hiding in the bunker has taken for the truth. Let it be.
I still don't know who brought up this 3 days, 6 days - I do not recall Putin or the Kremlin having stated such. Wasn't it rather NATO and the USA who predicted that?
It wasn't 30 US Marines that did that, but a couple of hundred Kurd's and Iraqi militia were also involved, and the expert direction of Air Force combat controllers and others calling in air and indirect-fire support, waves of F-22 fighters, F-15E strike fighters, AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, AC-130 gunships, B-52 bombers, MQ-9 Reaper drones, and heavy Marine artillery relentlessly punished the enemy force.
It is a typical US victory - via, mass air-and ground support. But are they in the Baltic States in required numbers?
All this is meaningless in regards to getting into a war - if there is no political will and support by the population. Assume that the other NATO members would help Germany in regards to defending German territory - then what is to stop the Bundeswehr from going in on their own to fight for Ukraine? This would not be a declaration of war by NATO - simply Germany stating to Putin - we are coming in to defend freedom and democracy in Ukraine. So why is it not happening?
Indeed, why. I will try now my best shot, OK?
You know, the world works differently these days. I would agree with you if we would live in the medieval age. Lets assume, there is one village, 20 serfs, giving the landlord 20 golden pieces per year. The landlord is protecting them in return. If the landlord wants to get 4o golden pieces per year, he has to conquer another village, protected by another landlord. So these two landlords will battle and whoever wins, gets extra 20 pieces of gold per year. Agreed?
Meanwhile, the industrial revolution happened. Now the main profit comes from factory, which is provided with equipment and a skilled workforce. It is much more challenging due to logistics and tech challenges, but the income is 100 golden pieces per year, and if one can increase production by building more facilities, hiring more workforce etc, income would be increased to 200 per year. Notice, no need to rob neighboring landlords in order to become richer. It might be even better to cooperate with them because they have a meaningful amount of buyers (share of the market) where one could sell the products from the factory. So instead of killing each other for some extra gold one can make fruitful cooperation for the benefit of both. Perhaps resources needed for production are worth military trouble, but... killing the neighbor means the loss of connections, probable loss of market share, and nobody wants to make business with you anymore - because of some unknown and peculiar reason.
Let's move to the digital age. Agriculture is giving a living for 5% of the population, automatisation in the industry increases the profit and reduces the need for a skilled workforce probably to the same level. Most of the trade is done via the internet, thus no matter actually where one lives and where one goes. Important is what kind of added value is he going to produce and how to deliver it. Some geniuses might be able to generate billion gold pieces per year per capita like this. He can move freely and is not bounded to any territory. Resources needed are access to electricity supplies and communication lines. For example, Amazon does not own any of the items sold with help of the system, only mediation software, and still is one of the most riches companies in the world. The only matter is, which landlord is he going to pay his taxes to. This gold-collar probably decides to pay his taxes to the man who gives him the best conditions for his life and work. Yes, it is possible to force him to pay another landlord by capturing the guy, imprisoning his children, torturing him, and ruining his house. Is the guy motivated to produce billions under such circumstances? Most likely not.
Now tell me again, why Germany should conquer Ukraine, Russia, or whatever country? Does it really need more land to produce more agricultural products to live better? No, because they can engineer a lot of cars and sell them to China, and for eating he buys needed products from Ukraine, Indonesia, and Uruguay. Can Germany do it in Russia or in China? Yes, through buying land and hiring locals. Why should Germany take more responsibility by repairing the damage made during the contest, the building supporting infra (roads, electricity...), paying for the social security system, guaranteeing education, and so forth.
Indeed, if one has some thrilling ideas of owning human souls and living like a god-like creature, being remembered over the centuries, honored like a tsar or supreme leader, perhaps then its makes sense. From another angle, all those potential added-value guys from Ukraine are spread over the world, benefitting now these economies instead of Russki Mir. Believe me, those countries thank Russia and will fight hard to keep them. So again, where is the win?
