• LuckyPierre@lemm.ee
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    3 months ago

    Elsewhere on Lemmy today;

    Germany warns Russia may be preparing attack on NATO

    Both of these cannot be true.

    • Valmond@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      The idea is that after some kind of cease fire, russia will churn out stuff for 3-4-5 years (so mebbe 1.000 tanks?) and then not go full frontal against NATO but say take a bite out of Lithuania, just to see what the response will be.

      Like they have been doing since forever (Chechnya, Moldavia, Georgia, Ukraine and so on).

      • mechoman444@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Correct. The issue with Ukraine though is they fought back and didn’t give any land to Russia. Now Putin needs to save face and how many people put through the meat grinder to do that is irrelevant.

    • TThor@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      They can be true. They might be low on current stockpile, but what is building up is production capacity. Preparing to attack doesn’t mean immediately attacking, what most have concern is that once Russia’s war against Ukraine cools down, Russia will spend the next 4-10 years building up towards potentially attacking NATO nations.

      Yes, years down the line doesn’t sound as alarming to the layman, but it is critical for that eventuality to be recognized and prepared for, nations and industry move slowly, and they need to prepare to fight another long drawn out war.

    • tauren@lemm.ee
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      3 months ago

      Both things can be true because Germany is talking about risks in the upcoming 5 to 10 years, while this issue is relevant today.

    • Triasha@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      They absolutely can.

      Russia has thousands of men willing to fight in horrendous conditions.

      A few thousand soldiers that are very well equipped might lose to 10x as many badly equipped enemies.

      I think they would lose, but they might not think so.

          • barryamelton@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            It’s about search engine squatting, if you now search “Russia meatgrinder” you get that, instead of articles about losing the war.

          • iAvicenna@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            I mean it is so ridiculous on so many levels but also the gifts themselves are so absurd. If some of their high up elites just skipped a single dinner, they could probably buy something that is worth 10x more. The ruling class became so addicted to their money that they can’t even sacrifice a minute fraction of it for proper propaganda lol.

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Russia has thousands of men willing to fight in horrendous conditions.

        They’ve got hundreds of thousands of conscripts who are largely dug in along an enormous front, along the four eastern most seized Oblasts in Ukraine.

        Any attack they would make into a NATO state would be an artillery bombardment intended to deny Ukrainians resupply, not a ground invasion to secure territory. Particularly not when they have poor control over their own borders and a nasty instance of counter-insurgence popping up in and around their major cities.

    • Nalivai@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      If you know anything about current Russian government, you’d know that one necessarily follows the other. The more desperate Russia gets, the less reserves they have, the more bold and aggressive they’re getting. There is a combination of factors leading into it, both psychological and material.

    • schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de
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      3 months ago

      Everything written about this conflict (by anyone) is propaganda. The enemy is a powerful and maximally oppressive force we all need to fear, but is also so weak it’s losing equipment fast and its final defeat is only a matter of time.

      • 9488fcea02a9@sh.itjust.works
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        3 months ago

        I was told that russia was bankrupt and the war would be over in 3 months. And then when that wagner guy revolted, it was the final nail in the coffin

        Yet here we are and the war is still on.

    • PumpkinSkink@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      We have to keep in mind that Europe needs to justify austerity for the citizens and rearmament for their militaries. I have no evidence of this, but I think it’s an entierly sensible read that the warning from Germany is an overstatement with that intent in mind.

      • boonhet@lemm.ee
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        3 months ago

        I guess you need to pretend there’s a threat NOW in order to divert funds towards defense now.

        If the threat is in more like 10 years, why don’t we start investing next year instead? etc.

    • Robbity@lemm.ee
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      3 months ago

      Have you never worked in an organization?

      You can have as many preparation meetings as you want and still be on your ass when the day of judgement comes.

    • unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz
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      3 months ago

      Russia wouldn’t exactly not try, but they have a very 19th century realpolitik take everything and exploit the fuck out of it approach. I would have said that’s silly. now, not so sure it isn’t working

    • Aux@feddit.uk
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      3 months ago

      They can flood the Baltics with drones and cause plenty of chaos and destruction.

    • wtckt@lemm.ee
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      3 months ago

      Taking over a Baltic state is feasible. NATO might react by sending helmets and prayers.

      • seeigel@feddit.org
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        3 months ago

        Artikel 42 EU treaty. All members of the EU have to fight with their full capacity. This will escalate quickly.

        There are already EU troops in the Baltics, just to remind the Russans of it.

          • barsoap@lemm.ee
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            3 months ago

            “obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power”. Which is far above what being in NATO requires states to do. Which just btw also covers Greenland. Only ones off the hook are Ireland and Austria due to being neutral, the treaty still covers them though.

            • torrentialgrain@lemm.ee
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              3 months ago

              If a state decides that what’s in their power is sending 5000 helmets, then nobody will be able to force them to do more. Misinformed internet people think Article 42 is an automatic collective war switch, it is most certainly not and doubly so in the case of Greenland, lmao.

    • febra@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Russia can’t even take over Ukraine, let alone half of NATO to even make it into Germany. I personally think this is just fearmongering on the side of our elected officials so the military industrial complex can make a few more bucks with money from the state.

    • jaxxed@lemmy.ml
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      3 months ago

      Russia is still ramping up military production on a wartime economy, to be used after the Ukrainians stop fighting back. Also their production focuses on their modern options for land and air. I don’t know what their naval production is doing.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago
      • We’re on the verge of total victory

      • The enemy is prepared to launch its biggest attack yet

      Is the same war time propaganda we’ve been served up for decades. Iraq/Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Kosovo, Vietnam, Korea…

      The news coverage is totally divorced from what is happening on the ground. There’s even a term for it.

      Credibility Gap

    • Sektor@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      One of the traits of fascism by Umberto Eco, enemy is in the same time weak and strong.

      • 3xBork@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Right, so in your version of this world, who is the fascist? Germany?

        • Sektor@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          Fascists are the ones that do or promote fascist things. Germany is not one of those countries.

    • Angry_Autist (he/him)@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      This your first round in front of the firehose of lies?

      Best guess: Russia is a paper bear that need to keep growling before the bookworms eat it