Man, the Baltic states are just asking to be invaded. I seriously doubt it will happen, but if it does, I wouldn’t want to live there.
ShivaX
22833
True, but we’ve also seen that Russians don’t give a shit about their wounded and are often seen speeding away from them while leaving them in a snow bank. Not that they had medical supplies to treat them anyway from the looks of it.
Ukraine has NATO medical supplies and US training, which they seem to have taken to heart. I would presume some level of “leave no man behind” is ingrained from that and the fact that they’re defenders and likely even friends and neighbors in many cases. They can also send them to the EU for treatment as I understand it. Russia can send them to Moscow, but that would be bad optics, so I imagine they get field treatment, maybe a makeshift hospital is their HQ is close to one.
Put yourself in their shoes. They’ve been dreading a Russian invasion since the day after the fall of the Soviet Union, and especially since Russia flat-out stole Crimea. While Russia is busy getting people in Ukraine they are the safest they’ve been in year and years. Russia might have them next on the list but it can’t afford to pick that fight right now. Then they really would be launching WW3. If you are Estonia/Latvia/Lithuania then now is the time to poke the bear.
abrandt
22835
Not sure the current Russian military could manage to open a second front and successfully invade the Baltic countries even if they were on their own. But, they are in NATO so doing so would really just be Putin commiting suicide via nuclear war. I don’t think he’s actually mad in that Bond villain sort of way, so I don’t see any actual military threat to the Baltic states.
Strollen
22836
Don’t get me wrong, I admire their spunk and yes if you are going to poke the bear this time to do it.
As I said seriously I doubt an invasion is coming anytime soon. I probably also underestimate their urge to tell Putin to go fuck himself.
Edit: It is like Little Lativa is Liz Cheney, not only standing up to the bully in room but deliberately challenging him. While Scholz and Germany, are Kevin McCarthy/most GOP leaders who know what the bully is doing is wrong, but also fearful of his wrath, both behaviors are puzzling.
Well, they’re NATO countries. Russia isn’t going to invade them, because NATO would eat Russia’s lunch.
morlac
22838
Less poking the bear and more kicking the bully in the nuts when he’s finally knocked down. I’m sure there is a line of middleschoolers behind them who have gotten Russian wedgies for years just itching for their turn.
Estonia and Latvia are doing the only intelligent thing they can do. Imagine the alternative. Being NATO members with very considerable Russian minorities, and buddying up to Russia?
That’s really far more likely to get you land-snatched, while also making it easier for NATO to find a way around Article 5.
When they’re over there acting all Clint Eastwood, telling the bully to go fuck himself, it’s very hard for us to say “They’re B-list, they’re half-timers, practically Russian anyway, we don’t have to help those guys”.
I think it’s pretty clear that they’re doing the smart thing. If only the Germans were that savvy.
Dejin
22840
Ugh, definitely not what Ukraine needed.
Apparently General Gerasimov feels it’s the right time to bring back the Grooming Standard.
It’s pretty crazy it’s taken them this long to crack down on mobile phones though.
No doubt Yevgeny’s moo-stache hairs is in violations. Elvises.
The whole “war is the time of thee active and courageous” thing points to one of the main problems the Russians are having, maybe. They don’t seem to realize that 21st century war is about organization, discipline, training, and efficiency, more than anything else. Armies historically have been composed of fairly average folks, whose levels of courage and individual skill have been fairly, well, average, at best. It’s the structure and leadership of the army that does the heavy lifting. Armies are designed, or should be, to get maximum results out of minimum inputs.
ShivaX
22845
Shaving and making your bed have always been far more about discipline than anything else.
Of course the Russians don’t want to do it because discipline isn’t a priority. Also American special operators in Afghanistan got to wear full beards, so they’re basically the same thing if they have one.
Thrag
22847
For those that don’t want to shave the Tsar is instituting a beard tax.
KevinC
22849
US government noting some Ukrainian gains near Kreminna, and it sounds like the push for IFVs and tanks may be related to a Ukrainian counteroffensive there in the spring.
Dejin
22851
Likely follow-up consequences from the corruption case I posted upthread.
