I can’t help but notice you’re very careful not to say anything negative about Russia, despite their illegal invasion, their war crimes and their utterly brutal and inhuman tactics.

Exactly what I said: not like this. Not with his VP in charge. It should become a democracy where the mineral wealth is used to help the people.

You’re absolutely right. War costs everybody. That money would be better spent to improve people’s lives instead of destroying it. But when someone attacks you, not defending yourself may end up costing more. And helping (and gaining) an ally is better than losing them.

But more than that: the EU showing its strength can discourage further aggression from Russia. And maybe the US.

Do you enjoy submitting to bullies?

It’s Russia that threw the rules out of the window. The EU and Ukraine have been the most rules abiding powers here. The only ones, arguably. It’s hamstringing them, and en helping the aggressor that doesn’t respect any rules. Sometimes you just have to hit back. And this is still very mild.

The US still gets an exception for everything it does. But maybe it’s time to reconsider; if the US is willing to punish international judges and make their life impossible simply for prosecuting Netanyahu, what risk is there still for the ICC to also open investigation into American war criminals. They have plenty.

The USSR also got a second front. Western allies were also fighting Germany, even if they could have easily stayed out of it. The EU knows some of their members are next on the Russian menu, and still they refuse to fight for their survival.

I honestly think the EU can only win by helping Ukraine. Russia and the US see the EU as weak abd indecisive, which is why they think they can take advantage of it. If the EU shows itself to be strong and a major power in its own right, they’re likely to back off. Both Putin and Trump only respect strength and force, and Ukraine is the best opportunity for the EU to show that.

On top of that, they’ll gain a valuable ally with the most effective and creative army in the world.

There is too much to win for the EU, and nothing to lose. Just end this war by liberating Ukraine.

There’s a few frames missing, unfortunately.

Kidnapping foreign presidents is also bad. Maybe not quite as bad as 4 years of bombing and killing, but still bad. I’m no fan of Maduro, and I think Venezuela will be better off without him (but maybe only if it’s also without his VP and her family’s extensive control of the government apparatus), but this is not a good way to accomplish that.

So reality is complicated and nuanced, and media doesn’t handle that very well. Especially not when they’re increasingly becoming propaganda outlets for a fascist regime.

The difference is that the US is beating up someone who was sitting quietly in a corner, while the EU is beating up someone who has been beating Ukraine to a bloody pulp for the past 4 years.

There’s a difference between seizing oil tankers because you want their oil, and seizing them because they’re funding an illegal and needlessly destructive war. The first is as explicitly piracy as you can get, the second might be justifiable as sanctions, though definitely in a grey area that most countries would have preferred to stay out of.

But I’m all for seizing the entire shadow fleet and sending the profits to Ukraine.

Also, if the military is all Trump loyalists, that will increase the chance they’ll obey illegal orders that pit them against Americans.

Exactly. I think the EU should strengthen its ties to other European countries and Canada, and reduce or eliminate its dependency on the US or US companies. And look for more alliances elsewhere: South America, and democracies in Africa and Asia. I would rather deal with China than the US at this point (though Russia is still worse).

The grift goes global.