"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (111 Viewers)
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MiTasol
Major
Russian missile hits Oreo production facility in Ukraine
Russia struck a United States–owned Mondelez factory in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Trostianets on February 21, damaging a civilian food production facility that manufactures the well-known Oreo cookies and other American snack products for the Ukrainian market, according todefence-blog.com
I hope Trump likes oreo's because that might make him do something useful for Ukraine and the rest of the world.
MiTasol
Major
The EU and NATO both need a reject mechanism to get rid of pro Putin countries like Hungary, Slovakia and the USA.
Admiral Beez
Major
Disagree. Hungarians and Slovaks are good people, and will come around politically. Let's see what happens in Hungary's presidential elections this April. Kicking them out will only push these countries, including the USA towards further radicalization.
MiTasol
Major
The American people are great too but the country, like the other two, is not run by the people but by autocrats. A dose of "we are going to kick you out of this boys club" would make all three sit down and think and MAYBE listen to their citizens. Not much hope I think.
GrauGeist
Generalfeldmarschall zur Luftschiff Abteilung
Currently, the U.S. has allocated 400 billion for Ukraine for fiscal year 2026.
Tell me, how much does Hungary and Slovakia plan on Ukraine aid allocation for FY2026?
Just because people don't like the current pres. doesn't mean that aid to Ukraine has been cut off.
Tell me, how much does Hungary and Slovakia plan on Ukraine aid allocation for FY2026?
Just because people don't like the current pres. doesn't mean that aid to Ukraine has been cut off.
MiTasol
Major
No but charging other nations an extra 10% on all purchases that are destined for Ukraine, the cutting off of intelligence and the other items that are being curtailed are all very significant aid to Putin, regardless of who is President. Just like the previous Pres refusing to supply goods to Ukraine or supplying goods with onerous restrictions on their use was also significant aid to Putin. It is clear however that US aid to Russia has clearly increased despite Congress writing a sanctions package that has almost unanimous support from both sides of Congress which they refuse to pass.
buffnut453
Captain
In the link below, the graph showing funding over time from the Kiel Institute strongly indicates that US funding has been cut off:
Ukraine Support Tracker - A Database of Military, Financial and Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine
The Ukraine Support Tracker lists and quantifies military, financial and humanitarian aid promised by governments to Ukraine.
It took 8 months for the last US funding bill to be approved (Aug 2023 to Apr 2024). I can't help wondering how long it will take to push a new bill through.
Sometimes it's six of one and half a dozen of the other. The current US administration has just done a deal with India for oil
which included India cutting oil imports from Russia, effectively a big sanction. India has to now been buying in a full 38%
of Russian oil exports. That's a big hole in Russian sales.
which included India cutting oil imports from Russia, effectively a big sanction. India has to now been buying in a full 38%
of Russian oil exports. That's a big hole in Russian sales.
buffnut453
Captain
I applaud that agreement. Hopefully it will be watertight (oil-tight?) so it really hurts Russia. I wish Europe would do more to intercept the ghost fleet.
However, the elimination in aid to Ukraine can't be glibly ignored. Europe has largely plugged the gap but, given the recent retaking of ground by Ukrainian forces, we can only wonder what more might have been achieved if the US had continued full-throated support for the victim in this war.
Admiral Beez
Major
Canadian here. It's not about liking the current pres, and I hope that's not the simple, uniformed take of most Americans. Our PM said it best at Davos, "The 80-year period when the United States embraced the mantle of global leadership … is over. While this is a tragedy, it is also the new reality.'' No one outside of the US expects things to return to how they were after Jan 2029.
Anyway, the worst POTUS for Ukraine by far was Obama, who in the early 2010s did nothing to bolster the new anti-Russia, Western-aligned movement in Ukraine that led to the Feb 2014 Maidan Revolution, nor to contest the now imminent Russian invasion of Crimea. It's a far cry from POTUS40. Reagan might well have expedited the Maidan movement and then dropped a USMC group onto Crimea to conduct joint exercises with the AFU. It's too bad Reagan's successors were so often distracted with turning over sand in the Middle East in the pursuit of foreign oil and the favour of domestic SIGs.
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From Paul Krugman's news letter this morning:
"For the first three years of the war, the United States was the most important of these friends. Indeed, Ukraine wouldn't have been able to resist Russia without U.S. aid.
Unfortunately, top Biden officials were too cautious. They didn't want Putin to win, but they clearly lost their nerve at the prospect of outright Russian defeat. So they slow-walked aid and kept putting restrictions on the use of U.S. weapons. Without those restrictions, Ukraine would have been able to hammer Russian rear areas, and this war might well have ended in its first year.
As it was, Ukraine was able to hang on but not triumph. And now we have a U.S. president who clearly wants to see a Russian victory. He's unwilling or unable to openly throw America's weight behind Putin, but he has effectively cut off all U.S. aid to Ukraine. That's not hyperbole."
He cites this link, see especially Figure 1:
I argued in an earlier post that NATO and especially the US dropped the ball just prior to, and in the early stages of the invasion. It seems Krugman agrees. Biden's administration was weak. FYI, Krugman is a Nobel prize winning economist.
Jim
"For the first three years of the war, the United States was the most important of these friends. Indeed, Ukraine wouldn't have been able to resist Russia without U.S. aid.
Unfortunately, top Biden officials were too cautious. They didn't want Putin to win, but they clearly lost their nerve at the prospect of outright Russian defeat. So they slow-walked aid and kept putting restrictions on the use of U.S. weapons. Without those restrictions, Ukraine would have been able to hammer Russian rear areas, and this war might well have ended in its first year.
As it was, Ukraine was able to hang on but not triumph. And now we have a U.S. president who clearly wants to see a Russian victory. He's unwilling or unable to openly throw America's weight behind Putin, but he has effectively cut off all U.S. aid to Ukraine. That's not hyperbole."
He cites this link, see especially Figure 1:
I argued in an earlier post that NATO and especially the US dropped the ball just prior to, and in the early stages of the invasion. It seems Krugman agrees. Biden's administration was weak. FYI, Krugman is a Nobel prize winning economist.
Jim
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Admiral Beez
Major
Indeed. Imagine the AFU of Spring 2023 if it had the weaponry of the AFU of Spring 2026.
Admiral Beez
Major
I think he's confusing arms transactions (sale or barter) with aid. When you offer to provide arms to Ukraine in exchange for rights to Ukraine's mineral resources, that's called Repayment in Kind or barter, not aid.
Same as FDR's Destroyers for Bases Agreement with Churchill, which transferred 50 U.S. Navy destroyers to British and Commonwealth fleets in exchange for 99-year leases for American military bases on British territories. That's not aid, that's a transaction.
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SaparotRob
Unter Gemeine Geschwader Murmeltier XIII
Don't blame me. I voted for Kodos.
Ukrainian forces destroy Russian helicopters at forward airfield
Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed two Russian military helicopters — a Ka-52 attack helicopter and a Mi-8 multirole helicopter — during a drone strike on the Pugachevka airfield in Russia’s Oryol region on the evening of February 20, 2026, according to
Inside Kyiv’s volunteer drone-hunting squads
Meet the civilians who study and work 9-to-5 jobs — then help shoot down Russian drones.
www.politico.eu
EU countries furious at Hungary over plan to block Russia sanctions and Ukraine loan
EU’s top diplomats “really upset and frustrated” over Budapest’s stonewalling.
www.politico.eu
Orbán doubles down on Ukraine loan veto over Druzhba pipeline crisis
Hungary refuses to sign off on the crucial loan until Kyiv resumes Russian oil flows.
www.politico.eu
