Difference between revisions of "UK citizen army Preparing the prewar generation for conflict"

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<p>Recently, Ukraine's winter offensive seems to have come to a halt. More than ever, the outcome depends on political decisions made miles away from the centre of the conflict - in Washington and in Brussels. Gen Sanders' speech was intended to be a wake-up call for the nation. But without political support, the mindset of a country that does not feel like it is about to go to war is unlikely to change. To train and equip that larger army would inevitably require more money. The government says it wants to spend 2.5% of national income on defence - but has still not said when.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>Russia is keeping those fighter jets grounded for now and is attacking with cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as drones. Ukraine shoots most of these down with its air defense missiles. For Ukraine, the problem is it's running low on these missiles. If it runs out, then Russia could unleash its fighting planes. This Swedish Air Force handout image from March 2, 2022, shows Russian fighter jets violating Swedish airspace east of the Swedish Baltic Sea island of Gotland.</p><br /><br /><h2>When will the war in Ukraine end? One year on, we answer your questions about the conflict</h2><br /><br /><p>But, said Macmillan, “the first world war laid the groundwork that made the second possible”. The danger lay in a humiliating peace treaty imposed on defeated Germany. Meanwhile, Western powers have pledged coveted battle tanks to Ukraine, and there is much talk of a new Russian spring offensive.</p><br /><br /><ul><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>Ukraine shoots most of these down with its air defense missiles.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>Eastern European countries like Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania or Poland - once part of Moscow's orbit in Soviet times - are all now Nato members.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>Still, even this outcome where Ukraine remains a sovereign democracy and NATO is faced with an improved security situation could be "fraught with danger," the analysts warned.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>That scenario could embolden critics of the war; increase public discontent with continued funding for Ukraine; and pose a problem in terms of arms production and supplies for the West.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /></ul><br /><br /><p>“I would love to think the kinetic phase could end in 2023, but I suspect we could be looking at another three years with this scale of fighting,” Roberts said. And they said winning will depend on a Congress with the resolve to ensure continued support to Ukraine. But even then, the very concept of victory may be inaccurate, they warned.</p><br /><br /><h3>Costs of war</h3><br /><br /><p>Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has already led to a crisis—not only for Ukraine but also for the Kremlin. As Russian troops have advanced toward Kyiv, the European Union and the United States have responded with dramatic financial punishments that could deep-freeze the Russian economy and send inflation on an upward spiral. We’re still looking at a range of possibilities, including de-escalation and a great-power conflict. While the relief of a ceasefire would be welcome, it could have unwelcome consequences, too. As in the years after the initial invasion of Ukraine, a prolonged stalemate could just give space and capacity for Russia to re-strategise and reinvest in its military – which could ultimately lead to an even lengthier war. While [https://etextpad.com/ https://etextpad.com/] might appear positive for Ukraine, with Russia becoming a pariah state at a global level and withdrawing after a costly invasion, Ukraine would be "devastated" in the process, the strategists said.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>Either the Russian military’s transition to indiscriminate bombing of civilian targets succeeds in eroding Ukrainian resistance, or battlefield casualties and domestic economic woes succeed in defeating Russia’s will to fight. Neither outcome is likely in the coming weeks and months, meaning people around the world are left to watch the horrors of war unfold, and wait. Russia would retain its land corridor to Crimea, even if with some concessions to Ukraine. It would receive a guarantee that the water canals flowing southward to that peninsula from the city of Kherson, which would revert to Ukrainian control, would never again be blocked. Russia would not annex the “republics” it created in the Donbas in 2014 and would withdraw from some of the additional land it’s seized there.</p><br /><br /><h2>How — and when — Ukraine's war with Russia could end</h2><br /><br /><p>The old Cold War maxim of "MAD" - Mutually Assured Destruction - still applies. Eastern European countries like Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania or Poland - once part of Moscow's orbit in Soviet times - are all now Nato members. In fact, when the US and Britain watched in dismay as Russia built up a force capable of invading Ukraine, they swiftly pulled out their small number of military trainers and advisers.</p><br /><br /><ul><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>Ukraine is a democratic country aggressively pursuing European integration.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>They have also created a patchy land corridor connecting Crimea to Russia for the first time since that area was taken in 2014.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>When I combine that with an analysis of Russia’s operational ease, I think the most reasonable thing that we could be expecting right now is regime change in Kyiv.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>He noted that it's a "non-starter" for the West to send troops to fight alongside Ukrainians or to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine "because that leads to direct confrontation between NATO and Russian troops and accordingly risks World War III."</li><br /><br />  <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /></ul><br /><br /><p>The undersecretary of state for political affairs, Victoria Nuland, told the Senate in January the Biden administration still expects the $45 billion Ukraine aid package Congress passed in December to last through the end of this fiscal year. But the assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, Celeste Wallander, warned at the hearing that the current funding level “does not preclude” the administration from needing to request more assistance before the end of September. The recent arms donations — Kyiv still wants fighter aircraft and long-range tactical missiles — are predicated on the assumption they’ll force Moscow to end its invasion and begin negotiations because military costs are too high. That objective has coexisted with an expectation that Putin’s government will probably never stop fighting, as losing the war could spell the end to his political power.</p><br /><br />
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<p>However, Mr Orban's political director said this morning that Hungary was open to using the EU budget to allow further aid for Ukraine. "A frank and constructive dialogue is expected to improve relations between states," the Ukrainian president's office said on its official channel on the Telegram messaging app alongside a photo of Mr Szijjarto, Mr Kuleba and Mr Yermak. Mr Szijarto will be in the western Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba and presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak. Peter Szijjarto has arrived in Ukraine for talks with senior officials today. "The United States maintains by far the world's most powerful nuclear stockpile, but with the US out of the mix, the French and British, with their much smaller arsenals, would be Europe’s only nuclear deterrent," Mr OBrien says. He says Europe is rich enough to do so if it has the political will, pointing to a recent report from the Estonian Ministry of Defence suggesting that committing 0.25% of GDP annually towards Ukraine would provide "more than sufficient resources".</p><br /><br /><ul><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>Earlier today, a Russian official said air defences had thwarted a drone attack on the Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery in the city of Yaroslavl.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>That alone could offer some hope that a diminished Russia would be forced to withdraw or, alternatively, that Ukraine would be in a better position to win the war in the future.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>Persuading countries in regions such as Africa and the Middle East to deny Russia its imperial schemes will require a major shift in how the United States and its allies describe the stakes of the war and even in how they articulate their broader worldview, Hill argued.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>The presence of Russian troops so close to the Ukrainian capital is not sustainable.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>But his remark lives on as a challenge to all policymakers thinking about whether to engage diplomatically - and even militarily - in a potential conflict between two foreign countries.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /></ul><br /><br /><p>Ideally, the two sides do this based upon their relative probabilities of winning a hypothetical war. The suffering and destruction in Ukraine and the economic turmoil the war has produced in the West should be compelling enough reasons to end it. Ditto the devastation it continues to create in some of the world’s poorest countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Yemen. Along with devastating droughts and local conflicts, it has led to staggering increases in the price of basic foods (with both Ukrainian and Russian grains, to one degree or another, blocked from the market). More than 27 million people are already facing acute food shortages or outright starvation in those four nations alone, thanks at least in part to the conflict in Ukraine.</p><br /><br /><h2>About Sky News</h2><br /><br /><p>And, surprisingly, Russian and Ukrainian officials have met for talks on the border with Belarus. But, by agreeing to the talks, Putin seems to at least have accepted the possibility of a negotiated ceasefire. The Ukrainians do not have unlimited resources of course, especially artillery ammunition and long-range precision weapons.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>Russia was not present at the discussions, however, and&nbsp;U.S. national security spokesperson John Kirby stated ahead of the talks that the White House did not expect any "tangible deliverables." That scenario could embolden critics of the war; increase public discontent with continued funding for Ukraine; and pose a problem in terms of arms production and supplies for the West. The war between Russia and Ukraine entered a new phase this summer when Kyiv launched its much-anticipated counteroffensive, and there were hopes Ukraine would regain the upper hand.</p><br /><br /><h3>Why is the Russian air force not more involved in the war? I rarely see any news regarding Russian strikes from the air. — Matt</h3><br /><br /><p>I thought that he would take small slices of territory in eastern Ukraine. I had to update over the past week, as I heard his rhetoric, saw this large mobilization, and realized this was going to be a large invasion. Still, even this outcome where Ukraine remains a sovereign democracy and NATO is faced with an improved security situation could be "fraught with danger," the analysts warned. Analysts of course agree that an unequivocal withdrawal of Russian armed forces from Ukraine would be best possible outcome for the country in its dire situation. Such a situation is a tinderbox in Europe, Ian Bremmer, Eurasia Group's president, said in emailed comments Monday.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>We now know the Russian leader is willing to break long-standing international norms. This week, Mr Putin put his nuclear forces on a higher level of alert. Most analysts doubt this means their use is likely or imminent.</p><br /><br /><p>It's promising to deploy British forces to eastern European members of the Nato military alliance if Russian troops cross Ukraine's borders. Britain - like other western powers - is coming to Ukraine's aid. It's threatening economic sanctions against Russia if it invades. It's providing Ukraine with anti-tank weapons and armoured vehicles. For [https://bagge-albrechtsen.mdwrite.net/ukraine-russia-war-latest-hungary-signals-major-shift-in-ukraine-funding-stance-russia-claims-it-has-taken-control-of-kharkiv-village-1706865736 https://bagge-albrechtsen.mdwrite.net/ukraine-russia-war-latest-hungary-signals-major-shift-in-ukraine-funding-stance-russia-claims-it-has-taken-control-of-kharkiv-village-1706865736] than six months, Guardian correspondents in Ukraine have delivered powerful, independent reporting.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>If the US abandons the military alliance, it will fall to European countries to ensure a Ukrainian victory, Mr OBrien says. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv was already an active NATO partner, sending a handful of troops to Afghanistan during the alliance’s mission in the country. "Revenge" could take the form of cyber attacks - something the National Cyber Security Centre has already warned about. Often hard to attribute, these could target banks, businesses, individuals and even critical national infrastructure.</p><br /><br /><ul><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>The Western countries have gone from training the Ukrainians on specific systems to training larger units on how to carry out coordinated attacks.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been highly critical of the EU's financial and military aid for Ukraine and has maintained close ties with Russia.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>Yet one could argue that Putin is more interested in gathering the lands of the Russian empire.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>But why would he (and it will certainly be a male) do that if Russia controls large swathes of Ukrainian land?</li><br /><br />  <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /></ul><br /><br /><p>When I combine that with an analysis of Russia’s operational ease, I think the most reasonable thing that we could be expecting right now is regime change in Kyiv. I’ll tell you how my expectations of this conflict have evolved. I’m very much on record for saying that I thought Putin would invade.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>Ukraine will probably try to exploit the success it has had in re-establishing its control over the western Black Sea and its vital trade corridor to the Bosphorus. The US defence aid package is held hostage by what President Biden rightly labelled "petty politics" in Washington. And the future of the EU's economic aid is seemingly dependent on Hungary's incongruous stance. Meanwhile, Indian thinktank Observer Research Foundation's Russia expert, Nandan Unnikrishnan, said India was unlikely to sign "any major military deal" with Russia because it would cross a red line with the US.</p><br /><br /><ul><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>According to this approach, wars will end when the problem that caused the war is resolved by fighting on the battlefield.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>“And there was a proxy war overlaid onto it,” Morris told Al Jazeera, referring to the US support for Iraq in furtherance of its own interests in the Middle East.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>We have been doing this for 200 years, in times of crisis and peace.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /></ul><br /><br /><p>I have a good, safe life and follow events there from the comfort of my New York apartment. The lives of millions of people who live in or fled the war zone have been shattered. In addition, nearly 13 million Ukrainians (including nearly two-thirds of all its children) are either displaced in their own country or refugees in various parts of Europe, mainly Poland. Millions of lives, in other words, have been turned inside out, while a return to anything resembling normalcy now seems beyond reach. One reason that countries such as Germany have been reluctant to send heavier weapons to the Ukrainians is that Berlin does not want to give Putin any pretext for escalation.</p><br /><br /><ul><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>That, he said, is “because the Ukrainians know” that it is in Western interests “to not let them collapse”.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>It would be wrong to say that the front lines in Ukraine are stalemated, but both sides are capable of fighting each other to a standstill as they each try to take strategic initiatives.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>The drama over the border in Russia has hardened the view in Kyiv that Mr Putin's time as Russia's president is coming to an end.</li><br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br />  <br /><br /> <li>Is the Kremlin trying to prepare Russian public opinion for failure?</li><br /><br />  <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /></ul><br /><br /><p>Also in the mix is a pledge from France to ship AMX-10 RC light, wheeled tanks. And long, exhaustive fighting carries its own risks, according to Benjamin Jensen, a war gaming expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. That’s because the longer conflicts last, the more they exhaust finite resources and, hence, the parties are more willing to gamble.</p>

Revision as of 10:42, 3 February 2024

However, Mr Orban's political director said this morning that Hungary was open to using the EU budget to allow further aid for Ukraine. "A frank and constructive dialogue is expected to improve relations between states," the Ukrainian president's office said on its official channel on the Telegram messaging app alongside a photo of Mr Szijjarto, Mr Kuleba and Mr Yermak. Mr Szijarto will be in the western Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba and presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak. Peter Szijjarto has arrived in Ukraine for talks with senior officials today. "The United States maintains by far the world's most powerful nuclear stockpile, but with the US out of the mix, the French and British, with their much smaller arsenals, would be Europe’s only nuclear deterrent," Mr OBrien says. He says Europe is rich enough to do so if it has the political will, pointing to a recent report from the Estonian Ministry of Defence suggesting that committing 0.25% of GDP annually towards Ukraine would provide "more than sufficient resources".











  • Earlier today, a Russian official said air defences had thwarted a drone attack on the Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery in the city of Yaroslavl.








  • That alone could offer some hope that a diminished Russia would be forced to withdraw or, alternatively, that Ukraine would be in a better position to win the war in the future.








  • Persuading countries in regions such as Africa and the Middle East to deny Russia its imperial schemes will require a major shift in how the United States and its allies describe the stakes of the war and even in how they articulate their broader worldview, Hill argued.








  • The presence of Russian troops so close to the Ukrainian capital is not sustainable.








  • But his remark lives on as a challenge to all policymakers thinking about whether to engage diplomatically - and even militarily - in a potential conflict between two foreign countries.










Ideally, the two sides do this based upon their relative probabilities of winning a hypothetical war. The suffering and destruction in Ukraine and the economic turmoil the war has produced in the West should be compelling enough reasons to end it. Ditto the devastation it continues to create in some of the world’s poorest countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Yemen. Along with devastating droughts and local conflicts, it has led to staggering increases in the price of basic foods (with both Ukrainian and Russian grains, to one degree or another, blocked from the market). More than 27 million people are already facing acute food shortages or outright starvation in those four nations alone, thanks at least in part to the conflict in Ukraine.



About Sky News



And, surprisingly, Russian and Ukrainian officials have met for talks on the border with Belarus. But, by agreeing to the talks, Putin seems to at least have accepted the possibility of a negotiated ceasefire. The Ukrainians do not have unlimited resources of course, especially artillery ammunition and long-range precision weapons.







Russia was not present at the discussions, however, and U.S. national security spokesperson John Kirby stated ahead of the talks that the White House did not expect any "tangible deliverables." That scenario could embolden critics of the war; increase public discontent with continued funding for Ukraine; and pose a problem in terms of arms production and supplies for the West. The war between Russia and Ukraine entered a new phase this summer when Kyiv launched its much-anticipated counteroffensive, and there were hopes Ukraine would regain the upper hand.



Why is the Russian air force not more involved in the war? I rarely see any news regarding Russian strikes from the air. — Matt



I thought that he would take small slices of territory in eastern Ukraine. I had to update over the past week, as I heard his rhetoric, saw this large mobilization, and realized this was going to be a large invasion. Still, even this outcome where Ukraine remains a sovereign democracy and NATO is faced with an improved security situation could be "fraught with danger," the analysts warned. Analysts of course agree that an unequivocal withdrawal of Russian armed forces from Ukraine would be best possible outcome for the country in its dire situation. Such a situation is a tinderbox in Europe, Ian Bremmer, Eurasia Group's president, said in emailed comments Monday.





We now know the Russian leader is willing to break long-standing international norms. This week, Mr Putin put his nuclear forces on a higher level of alert. Most analysts doubt this means their use is likely or imminent.



It's promising to deploy British forces to eastern European members of the Nato military alliance if Russian troops cross Ukraine's borders. Britain - like other western powers - is coming to Ukraine's aid. It's threatening economic sanctions against Russia if it invades. It's providing Ukraine with anti-tank weapons and armoured vehicles. For https://bagge-albrechtsen.mdwrite.net/ukraine-russia-war-latest-hungary-signals-major-shift-in-ukraine-funding-stance-russia-claims-it-has-taken-control-of-kharkiv-village-1706865736 than six months, Guardian correspondents in Ukraine have delivered powerful, independent reporting.





If the US abandons the military alliance, it will fall to European countries to ensure a Ukrainian victory, Mr OBrien says. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv was already an active NATO partner, sending a handful of troops to Afghanistan during the alliance’s mission in the country. "Revenge" could take the form of cyber attacks - something the National Cyber Security Centre has already warned about. Often hard to attribute, these could target banks, businesses, individuals and even critical national infrastructure.











  • The Western countries have gone from training the Ukrainians on specific systems to training larger units on how to carry out coordinated attacks.








  • Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been highly critical of the EU's financial and military aid for Ukraine and has maintained close ties with Russia.








  • Yet one could argue that Putin is more interested in gathering the lands of the Russian empire.








  • But why would he (and it will certainly be a male) do that if Russia controls large swathes of Ukrainian land?










When I combine that with an analysis of Russia’s operational ease, I think the most reasonable thing that we could be expecting right now is regime change in Kyiv. I’ll tell you how my expectations of this conflict have evolved. I’m very much on record for saying that I thought Putin would invade.





Ukraine will probably try to exploit the success it has had in re-establishing its control over the western Black Sea and its vital trade corridor to the Bosphorus. The US defence aid package is held hostage by what President Biden rightly labelled "petty politics" in Washington. And the future of the EU's economic aid is seemingly dependent on Hungary's incongruous stance. Meanwhile, Indian thinktank Observer Research Foundation's Russia expert, Nandan Unnikrishnan, said India was unlikely to sign "any major military deal" with Russia because it would cross a red line with the US.











  • According to this approach, wars will end when the problem that caused the war is resolved by fighting on the battlefield.








  • “And there was a proxy war overlaid onto it,” Morris told Al Jazeera, referring to the US support for Iraq in furtherance of its own interests in the Middle East.








  • We have been doing this for 200 years, in times of crisis and peace.










I have a good, safe life and follow events there from the comfort of my New York apartment. The lives of millions of people who live in or fled the war zone have been shattered. In addition, nearly 13 million Ukrainians (including nearly two-thirds of all its children) are either displaced in their own country or refugees in various parts of Europe, mainly Poland. Millions of lives, in other words, have been turned inside out, while a return to anything resembling normalcy now seems beyond reach. One reason that countries such as Germany have been reluctant to send heavier weapons to the Ukrainians is that Berlin does not want to give Putin any pretext for escalation.











  • That, he said, is “because the Ukrainians know” that it is in Western interests “to not let them collapse”.








  • It would be wrong to say that the front lines in Ukraine are stalemated, but both sides are capable of fighting each other to a standstill as they each try to take strategic initiatives.








  • The drama over the border in Russia has hardened the view in Kyiv that Mr Putin's time as Russia's president is coming to an end.








  • Is the Kremlin trying to prepare Russian public opinion for failure?










Also in the mix is a pledge from France to ship AMX-10 RC light, wheeled tanks. And long, exhaustive fighting carries its own risks, according to Benjamin Jensen, a war gaming expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. That’s because the longer conflicts last, the more they exhaust finite resources and, hence, the parties are more willing to gamble.