That sounds about right, All in all I think that the NVA was a better kind of solider, they would have been first in and could have walked over the Bundeswehr and I think that the Soviets would have been amused by German on German fighting.
On the other side the NVA could be seen as a continuation of the Wehrmacht making them very hard to beat.

Or how did the joke go..? The Tech corps were known as: BTW5, Blind, Taub, Wasserdicht, aufzublasen auf 5atü.

This was very much a family affair ( for me ) during the Cold War, being in the ROC as part of the little discussed area
of the Civil Defence of Britain during the Cold War. Wasn't it Yes Prime Minister who when asking one of his colleagues
what springs to mind when he talks about Civil Defence and gets the reply, ''don't you mean fallout shelters ?''

It's just so 'typically british' to be stationed in the Pub when the balloon goes up.

Join the Royal Observer Corps video

Donbass republics ask Putin for military help
The newly-recognized Donetsk and Lugansk republics want Moscow to help them “repel the Ukrainian regime’s military aggression”

The newly recognised Donbass republics in Lugansk and Donetsk have formally asked Russia for military assistance in letters published on Wednesday.

In them, their leaders claim that Ukrainian “aggression” has only increased since Moscow recognized the regions as independent states, earlier this week.

https://www.rt.com/russia/550394-don...ry-help-putin/

In which way has EU contributed to the current climate? By buying gas from Russia? I would say they indirectly financed Putin's army, but I bet you didn't mean that...

As for NATO get used to this idea once and for all, every country which is a member now wanted to be a member and they all had their reasons for that, as we can see now.. If some of you consider Russia had to give its blessing, keep dreaming of your old world.
"Aggressive expansion"....you made me laugh.

Whelp! Looks like it has kicked off.
Reports of a full scale invasion with missiles fired and major explosions in Kiew, Charkov and Odessa.


...War is so boring.

Oh sweet summer child. In an ideal world where people sing Kumbaya you would be correct.
But in this world where Realpolitik dictates how things pan out, there is no nato expansion eastwards without addressing Russian interests. And this did not happen, the result is now an invasion of Ukraine.

Yes, it's full scale invasion now. Unbelievable. This is what cozying up for years to a lunatic brings us. Time to play tough with him. I feel so sorry and sad for the Ukrainian people who just want to live a normal life and are now pawns in this made-up conflict.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe...er-2022-02-24/

"To de-nazify Ukraine and prevent genocide". The asshole also referred to the UN Charta in his little speech.

Why didn’t the UN peacekeepers put their soldiers at the border? This is unbelievable, I was sure that this will never happen. It feels like the world has betrayed Ukraine. The current sanctions are laughable, one of the Western politicians said: here are the sanctions, no shopping in Milan. People in Russia are shocked. Waiting for them to act on this…

That's the day when Baltic countries are blessing the day they entered NATO. "Russian world" brings death, suffering and devastation everywhere in can reach.

How do you play tough with Russia, sanctions? I doubt very much even the toughest US sanctions will impress the Kremlin very much. Military action by Nato against Russia, we know how that will end.
Whatever happens in the next few weeks or months will change the political landscape of earth forever.
I can well imagine a world where the US is no longer the number one, but has to share global power with Russia and China.

Slammer, it is a reality already, you old man.

Have you read the news in the last 30 years or Pravda doesn't report it ?

Pray for Ukraine and her people They have done nothing to deserve this.

I hope we welcome refugees with open arms!

I am sure your comment will be ignored, according to the old politruks here they shouldn't have.....they insulted Russia!

See, in their old children's minds there is a clear cause and effect relation here. Putin style, hence it is clear his words are worshiped in some circles. Countries which wanted nothing to do with Russia politically, anymore, were supposed to sit quiet in their corners and never look for alternative security as to not wake up the monster.
Yes, I think I read them well. The victim is always guilty. The level of cynicism and lack of logic exposed here is astonishing.

Ukraine's military allows foreign volunteers to sign up and support them.

https://dmsu.gov.ua/en-home/services...operation.html

Maybe the people who are calling to 'get tough' on Russia could start there.

As awful as this is I think it is unlikely to escalate globally as I am sure China would not be stupid enough to get involved in any global conflict over something as stupid as Russia's obsession with Ukraine. Countries of significance only have things to lose by getting involved and supporting Russia in this.

Still, I have a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach and I really hope Putin regains his sanity before civilian casualties become large scale.

The following countries have zero chance to ever join the EU or the NATO


EU:


- Turkey: although a NATO member, Turkey has zero chance to join the EU for the obvious reasons.




EU or/and NATO:


- Ukraine: Ukraine will never become an EU member simply because the country is too poor (the EU doesn't want another Romania which despite its EU accession, remains a poor and corrupt country). Also Ukraine is too close to Russia and it's not in the interest of the EU and NATO to admit a country where half of the population is Russian-speaking. No country wants to help Ukraine economically except Russia. The Americans will never fight any war for Ukraine. Ukraine is not Kuwait...



- Georgia: Too far away from the EU and too close to Russia and Turkey.


- Armenia: Too far away from the EU and too close to Iran, Russia and Turkey.


- Azerbaijan: Too far away from the EU and too close to Iran and Russia.


- Moldova: Another poor country that will always remain in Russia's sphere of influence. Most Moldovans prefer to have closer relationship with Russia as they know that they will never become member of NATO or EU. My sister-in-law is from Ungheni, Moldova and although she is sympathetic to Romania (she speaks a language very similar to Romanian and also fluently Russian and Ukrainian) she prefer to have closer relations with Russia which buys most of the products that her family's business is producing. Even the cute pro European Maia Sandu knows that her country will never join the EU or NATO.






Clearly, most EU countries no longer want EU enlargement to East (eg. France, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, my country, probably also Germany and Italy ...). The government of my country has made it clear that it will always oppose any EU enlargement and it will also oppose Romania and Bulgaria from joining the Schengen area or the Eurozone.

One needs to be careful here. Unless you hold a Ukraine passport, you'd be classed a mercinary which may be illegal in your home country.

Russian people are not monsters… this comment was too much

I didn't mean Russian people. Are you serious? I meant Putin and his circle, do you think there's anyone here who doesn't feel sorry for both Russians who have no say in all of these and Ukrainians?

It is an expression, don't choose to interpret it differently than it was meant and make a case out of it. We have enough trolls as it is.