Here we go again-Ukraine once again pt2

[Skybird]

China will react. You seem to imply that Ukraine, just because it is right, can take on the whole world. It can't.

Recht haben und Recht kriegen sind zweierlei.

Emotionally I am all with you, no objections. But rationally I know it better. Emotions are a bad calculator of consequences.

Thats not appeasement, but realism and - the lack of equivalent retaliation options for Ukraine. It has no nukes. It has no deterrane against a nuclear attack. There is no balance of power and MAD making sure no side takes the first step.

Give it nukes, and we talk again. As said often over the years, I am all for it. Give Ukraine back the quantity and quality of nukes it has given up back then, not more, not less.

Both the US and the Europeans would be against it, promised. Different motivations, but same decision.

[Jimbuna]

Peskov: "Truce" for May 9 is relevant, but only if Ukraine reciprocates

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has not withdrawn his proposal for a temporary ceasefire for May 9.

This was stated by press secretary Dmitry Peskov, Censor.NET reports with reference to the Russian media.

"It is clear that Putin's initiative to hold a temporary truce for the 'holidays' is relevant... The fire will be stopped. But if there is no reciprocity from Kyiv, and attempts to strike continue, there will be an immediate "response," Peskov said.

He also complained that the Ukrainian side has not yet made any public response to this initiative.

As reported, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin announced a so-called "truce" for May 8-10 in connection with the Victory Day celebrations in Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's proposal for a three-day truce on May 9 and insists on a 30-day ceasefire as soon as possible. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3550711

Pentagon temporarily suspended military aid to Ukraine without White House’s notification - Reuters

The office of Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order to stop flights with weapons to Ukraine shortly after the start of Donald Trump's second term.

This was reported by Reuters, Censor.NET informs.

As noted, the order came as a surprise even to the White House and key representatives of the US National Security Council.

Around 30 January, after Trump's meeting with Hegseth and advisers on Ukraine, the US military ordered three cargo airlines to suspend 11 flights carrying shells and other weapons. This caused panic among Ukrainian officials and partners in Poland. However, none of the officials could explain who gave the order and whether it meant a complete cessation of aid.

According to TRANSCOM, the verbal order came from the Minister of Defence. Flights resumed on 5 February, but the cancellation cost $2.2 million. The administration later explained the pause as "internal politics".

Hegseth's order was cancelled even before the White House officially announced on 4 March that it was revising its policy on aid to Ukraine. Reuters sources note that Hegseth himself may have misinterpreted discussions with Trump, who did not give a direct order to stop the supply.

Suspension of US aid
On the morning of March 4, it became known that US President Donald Trump had ordered the suspension of all US military aid to Ukraine in order to force Kyiv to demonstrate a "good faith commitment" to peace.

One U.S. official told CNN that the consequences of the suspension of U.S. military aid will be felt in some time. Perhaps a few days or weeks. However, as soon as the stockpiles of weapons and armaments begin to run out, the country will face serious consequences.

According to journalist Ostap Yarysh, the US decision to suspend assistance to Ukraine will primarily affect the supply of missiles to air defense and ammunition for HIMARS and artillery.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna emphasized that the US decision to temporarily suspend military aid to Ukraine means that Europe must help Ukraine more and faster than before to fill this gap.

The Economist article says that the US decision to suspend aid to Ukraine will lead to more casualties and destruction. The critical elements, the newspaper writes, are weapons, their repair, air defense missiles, the Starlink system, and, perhaps most importantly, intelligence sharing.

Chief National Security Advisor to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, Marius Česnulevičius, said that Washington's decision to suspend military aid to Ukraine was not a surprise. However, Europe is preparing a response.

Later, The Economist wrote that there is currently no official order from Donald Trump to suspend military aid to Ukraine. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3550695

[Jimbuna]

Foreign Ministry calls on countries around world not to participate in military parade in Moscow: Occupiers and war criminals will march there

During Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian soldiers committed hundreds of thousands of war crimes, including killing 620 people, wounding almost 2,000, and deporting at least 20,000 Ukrainian children.

This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to the press center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"Executions of civilians, mass graves, rape, looting, detention of civilian hostages, torture and execution of prisoners of war, use of indiscriminate weapons, strikes on densely populated residential areas, energy, and civilian infrastructure. The Russian army has committed and continues to commit atrocities in Ukraine, the scale of which Europe has not seen since the Second World War," the foreign ministry emphasizes.

As noted, it is this army that will march on Red Square in Moscow on May 9.

"These people are not liberators of Europe, they are occupiers and war criminals. To march side by side with them is to share responsibility for the blood of murdered Ukrainian children, civilian and military, not to honor the victory over Nazism. Russia is inviting foreign military personnel to participate in the May 9 parade in order to whitewash its war crimes and justify its aggression.

The participation of foreign military personnel in this event is unacceptable and will be regarded by Ukraine as an outrage on the memory of the victory over Nazism, the memory of millions of Ukrainian front-line soldiers who liberated our country and the whole of Europe from Nazism eight decades ago," the Foreign Ministry emphasizes.

Ukraine calls on all foreign countries to refrain from sending their military personnel to the May 9 parade in Moscow. This is especially true for countries that declare neutrality in relation to Russia's aggression against Ukraine or consistently take a neutral position in international relations.

"The participation of the military of such countries in the joint parade will directly violate such declared neutrality and look like support for the aggressor state.

We call on all foreign states and international organizations to honor the victims of World War II and the collective victory over Nazism, which does not justify Russian aggression and atrocities against Ukrainians," the Foreign Ministry summarizes.

As reported, earlier Zelenskyy said that Ukraine could not guarantee other countries security at the parade in Moscow.

Afterward, Prime Minister Fico was outraged by President Zelenskyy's statement about foreign leaders visiting Moscow for the parade and accused him of disrespecting Russia. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3550708

[Catfish]

^ or in other words, partake on your own risk. Good.

re Pentagon and Hegseth's suspension of US aid to Ukraine.. hurried ahead obedience? I guess Trump's entourage knew exactly what they were doing.

[Jimbuna]

[Jimbuna]

[Reece]

[snafu1964]

I was there the night the wall came down in my Chieftain Mk 11 with Stillbrew kit fitted, 3 months later i left the Army with an injury that has plagued me all my life since. Been on the strongest painkillers since 1995 and Morphine since 2004 self administered and as i look at the world my generation helped create and the next generation of politicians totally ********P and now having great grandchildren myself i fear the worst for them because war is coming. The good old USA is now led by the worst president in there history, a moral coward who ducked Vietnam is an uninformed bigot, racist, ignorant of his own and world history and to cap it all is thick. A man who cannot pronounce Nuclear correctly a man who thinks of Hitler oops sorry Putin as a pussy cat a man who thinks his own constitution is a thing of LOVE ??. We in Europe are finally getting our act in order with spending on defence and the modernisation and re equipping of our military going in the right direction. Poland and Germany will be the leaders in this but i fear for NATO but more than that i fear for Ukraine ,those brave men and women who have stood the line and at such a cost , but by f**K they have showed what we have always thought of Russia as a nation of criminals and bullies who think mass will defeat technology, well guess what VLAD we are coming and we will do what needs doing in helping Ukraine, most people will not know that that country had per capita the biggest losses in WWII in there population over 1 in 4 being killed by both sides of the socialist far right and left. I for one will not despair i think our youth will fight with the right motivation and leadership ,Russia has been bled white by a very brave nation but its now time for Europe to step up not NATO because we do not need America they have regressed 100 years into there isolationist past and they have the president they deserve, sorry for the rant but it needed saying ....ATB...SNAFU

[Jimbuna]

[Jimbuna]

US wants direct talks between Ukraine and Russia. Moscow demands "too much", - Vance

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said that direct peace talks between Ukraine and Russia are needed now, although the Russians are demanding "too much."

He said this during a speech at the Munich Leaders Conference in Washington, Censor.NET reports.

"It is probably impossible to mediate in this matter without at least some direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine," he said.

According to him, Washington is ready to participate in such a process.

In addition, he noted, the United States believes that Russia is demanding "too much" in peace talks to end the war against Ukraine, but he cannot say that the Russians are not interested in reaching a peace agreement.

"We believe that the Russians are asking for too much. There is a big gap between the positions of Ukrainians and Russians," the US Vice President added.

That is why the US now wants Russia and Ukraine to hold direct talks with each other. This, says Vance, should be the next step in achieving peace.

"The step that we want to take right now is that we would like both Russians and Ukrainians to agree on some basic principles for a conversation [...] It is very important for Russians and Ukrainians to start talking to each other... The United States is trying to focus on a long-term settlement in Ukraine, to move away from the idea of a truce, because Russia does not like it," the US Vice President summarized. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3550936

Mertz: Europe cannot replace US support for Ukraine. Their continued involvement is necessary

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz emphasized that Europe is not able to completely replace the United States' military and political support for Ukraine.

He said this after a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, Censor.NET reports citing Ukrinform.

Merz emphasized that the United States' participation is necessary to achieve peace and conclude an agreement providing Ukraine with security guarantees. He added that European countries, including Germany, France, the UK and other EU members, are ready to contribute, but without America, it will not be enough.

"We are convinced that the war cannot be ended without the continued political and military involvement of the United States. Europeans will not be able to fully replace it," the Prime Minister said.

Merz said he plans to convey this message to the Donald Trump administration, urging the United States to maintain its responsibility within NATO and support for Ukraine. He also emphasized the importance of the U.S. "nuclear umbrella" for European security, while calling for a discussion of its possible expansion with the participation of France and the United Kingdom in the "3+3" format. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3550933

Ukraine should be given necessary weapons, but it should be done quietly, - Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron said that it is necessary to maintain "strategic uncertainty" and not to say out loud how much and what kind of weapons a country provides to Ukraine.

He said this at a joint briefing with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Paris,Ukrinform reports, Censor.NET reports.

"I want our country to act in close coordination with all allies who support Ukraine - so that we do it as long as necessary, transparently among ourselves and with Ukrainians. That we meet their needs, but talk about it as little as possible. Because this ambiguity is a protection for the Ukrainians themselves," the French leader said.

He also praised Merz's position of not speaking out loud about a possible authorization to supply Ukraine with Taurus missiles.

"It is up to the Chancellor to make decisions for his country - consciously and sovereignly. But I support his desire to restore strategic uncertainty in this context, because it would be pointless to announce categories of weapons, delivery dates and models at press conferences every time," Macron said.

As a reminder, on May 7, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made his first foreign visit in this position: he arrived in France. Source: https://censor.net/en/n3550932

[Reece]

[Jimbuna]

[Jimbuna]