There's only two seriously military powers in Europe, France and the UK. Everyone else in Europe just gave up on defense once the Cold War was over. There was a think tank a few years ago that said the UK Army would be no match for Russia were conflict ever to take place. It's only one think tank but it's quite easy to see this being the case.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-50567271

The problem is that Europe has just relied too heavily on the US for too long. This is actually a very European problem, terrible energy policy, coupled with zero defense has really exposed Europe's soft underbelly.

I feel for the people of Ukraine, they have been overpromised and used as a pawn between the West and Russia. It's a very sad situation, Putin can do as he likes and there's not very much that can be done to stop him.

Fighting is one thing, holding on to the gains is something else. This is why ultimately I believe Vladimir Putin won't try and take the whole of the Ukraine.

And what alone gives the right to the US and NATO to mingle in other countries' political affairs (does Ukraine/Maidan ring a bell? Yugoslavia? Serbia? Iraq? Libya? South America? Afghanistan? and so on...).

This is also a valid point "it's OK when we do it". Remember the Cuban missile crisis? Imagine if Russian troops were stationed in Mexico?

This is why Ukraine have been treated badly, and this comes down to the unnecessary need of both the EU and NATO to continuously expand.

Serbia? Hard to shake your roots?

Yawn.

or 'responsibility to protect' - as long as 'we' are 'responsible' it is ok, but god forbid Russians apply the same doctrine!

Never mind "Russian troops were stationed in Mexico", they are stationed in Ukraine which is much too close to NATO and will provoke a reaction.

The mental model "because A did something we should not criticize B for doing something else" is best used up to 6th grade, after that we tend to grow up and we are better able to differentiate between right and wrong on an individual basis. Time to grow up mikedragos! show us you can

Shortly after the cold war ended a Russian general was asked in an interview where the first halt of the Red Army would have been.
His answer: "Antwerp"
The only difference to an invasion today would be that the Red Army would have to go through Poland, again. But the result would be pretty much the same.
And if they were to invade, it would be best on a Friday afternoon, then they could invade until Monday before getting any resistance, EU armies go home for the weekend and at least in Germany the Bundeswehr doesn´t get paid overtime and weekend work has to be approved in advance.

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Back in Bavaria, god´s own belly button.

You are clumsily referring to the Seven Days to the River Rhine, a plan which was deemed unrealistic at the time by the Warsaw Pact and western analysts have long ago proclaimed it unrealistic.

I can literally picture the guy. Swollen, red eyes. Pribably lost his brother in Afghanistan. Consumed East German sausage and lukewarm beer for way to long. But still good for a tough story.

"Western" analysts only claimed it to be unrealistic, the Red Army begged to differ.
Good job we never found out.
But, at the time, the Bundeswehr was a conscription army and at best seen as targets and to see if they could delay the Soviets while trying to die bravely.

Based on some social media and intelligence reports, I believe Ukraine has started to close out eastern fixed positions and is moving forces west. The danger the front line Ukranians face would be from the Russian forces enveloping them from the north and south.

The Red Army was also conscription based. In fact, even today roughly 1/3 of the Russian army is conscripts

Given the USSR would have had a starting line that ran from Lübeck to Suhl that's quite believable. On the other hand the BRD had a decent defense force back then (as opposed to the joke it's become today) not to mention the thousands of US troops stationed in West Germany throughout the Cold War. Back then Europe was far more prepared to deal with the threat, as opposed to today where we're not.

I'm sorry, are we still at the Russia bad everyone else good stage of debate? I fully stand with Ukraine and feel for the people that live there in the current situation and I think what Russia is doing is appalling behaviour, but I don't accept that NATO/EU are blameless in contributing to the current climate.

Already a month old, but good perspectives from Tom Nichols (professor Naval War College) and Mark Hertling (former commander US army in Europe) on the RU/UA problem. Deep State Radio podcast.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4M4...urce=copy-link

I remember reading (I think "Der Spiegel") that the doctrine of the day called for the Bundeswehr to try and keep the Soviets occupied long enough for the Americans and the British to form a front on the Rhine, (not the French army by the way, they would have pulled back long ago)
Soviet non nuclear doctrine called for a modified Schleiffen plan as the Dutch and Belgian forces were seen as the weakest link.
Thing is if the Soviet Blitzkrieg would have gone on longer than a week and their objectives met, the allied nukes would have come out and would have been deployed in a line from Kiel to Munich.
Post WW2 Germany was always seen as a buffer by the allies and they would not have hesitated for a moment to laminate half of Germany if they were in any danger of defeat.

I fully agree with you here, aggressive Nato (US) policy of expansion has brought us to this point where we are today.

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Back in Bavaria, god´s own belly button.

Google Traffic and corresponding social media reports indicate several multiple km "columns" of vehicles headed toward strategic Ukraine areas. (You really can see them on Google Traffic)

Also very recent reports of large power and TV outages in Donetsk.

Two US Air Force drones are flying Ukraine air space at the moment. This is something I haven't seen since this whole thing started.

All of the people and equipment that Russia has moved even closer to Ukraine in the past days cannot stay there indefinitely. They need to be rotated back into Russia or moved forward as there are no support facilities for them.

There is no information Ive come across witch indicates the situation has any chance of improving. Ill be pleasantly surprised if the night passes quietly.

My dad served in the East German army in the late 60s. He keeps telling the story that they were told they had 48 hours to live in the event of a major war between East and West. He was not infantry, but technical battalion in Air Force.

Might be smart. At least one could argue this opens space for Putin to claim some victory and save face - if he wanted a way out of this mess. I know, Chamberlain and all, but UA is not going to hold this space anyway.