The EU just told Zelensky not to touch the pipelines, otherwise Ukraine would loose support of many European countries.
Since the start of Putin's criminal invasion of Ukraine, the EU has paid 35 billion euros to Russia and send about 1 billion € of weapons.
The UK sent plenty of weapons, certainly because the Tories had to prove that they have not been corrupted by Russian oligarchs' money - which they were. London has been nicknamed "the Laundry" by Russian oligarchs.
The US has sent plenty as well.
Stopping the imports of oil and gas would be a huge blow for the Russian economy. The EU is working on it, but the dependency is very high.
So the EU ought to act more decently towards Ukraine and provide all the weapons and training they need. I consider that volunteers among professional soldiers should be allowed to take a sabbatical and go - by their owns means and without weapons - to Ukraine. In the end, they will retrieve the weapons they are used to.
We need to do more for Ukraine. The dependency on the Russian has and oil makes that need even more pressing.
Tens of thousand professional soldiers from the EU would make a difference.
Note: The volunteers going on their own, it implies that they won't be paid. So private citizens would have to compensate them: they have families to sustain. I'm pretty sure that money wouldn't be a problem. But it has to remain a private decision, nothing involving the states.
By the way, OTAN is a defensive alliance. It doesn't forbid a member to decide to send troops on the Ukrainian front. The US won't and shouldn't. That's an European war. Having the US support (weapons, logistics, intelligence) is already a huge help.
As a French citizen, I feel that our duty as a democracy is to officially sends troops to Ukraine. Putin needs to be stopped.
I don't believe in a second of a nuclear escalation, escape on one matter: Crimea. It's an Ukrainian territory but Russians may go bersek if we retake it. But let's kick Putin out of Dombass and Transnistria.
But, if reelected, Macron is far too concerned by French large investments in Russia ; and its far-right opponent, Le Pen, share many views with Putin (and has yet to reimburse 12 millions of euros lent by a Russian bank for her 2017 campaign).
Small useless nitpick, it's called NATO in English.
> I don't believe in a second of a nuclear escalation, escape on one matter: Crimea. It's an Ukrainian territory but Russians may go bersek if we retake it. But let's kick Putin out of Dombass and Transnistria.
It's a matter of water - strategic access to the Black sea, and actually having water in Crimea for food and drinking.
I don't think "leave Putin with just Crimea" works either, it's long term unsustainable. Potable water access issues are always ugly, and often lead to instability, like the conflicts that happen in the Palestine region (most of them, at least partially water related), or the current issues plaging Egypt and Ethiopia (disputes over the use of the Nile's water). Russia is not a rich country and can't do the equivalent of the Berlin airlift to relive Crimea of water issues if, say, the North Crimean Canal closes again.
Yes, NATO of course, I often get lost between my languages.
I had no idea of the water dimension of the Crimean issue. Btw, just to be clear, I'm not at all at ease with the very idea of leaving Crimea to Putin: it's an Ukrainian territory.
Indeed, the water issue would inevitably lead to a new conflict later.
I'm very afraid of the possibility that the democracies have not sent enough weapons to Ukraine for the coming operations. I doubt Russians will make the same mistakes again. Obviously, they are taking their time to reorganize ; I guess that also give time to Ukrainians to prepare and to move the newly delivered weapons to the front.
I also brace for a very possible victory of the far-right candidate to the French throne - since we French basically elect a temporary monarch with very large powers without the decent level of checks and balance. That candidate would a new Orban among the EU and NATO. She is a typical populist, but Macron is, to be fair, the lesson-giving super bright guy which policies favor the bourgeoisie and the wealthy.
Since the start of Putin's criminal invasion of Ukraine, the EU has paid 35 billion euros to Russia and send about 1 billion € of weapons.
The UK sent plenty of weapons, certainly because the Tories had to prove that they have not been corrupted by Russian oligarchs' money - which they were. London has been nicknamed "the Laundry" by Russian oligarchs.
The US has sent plenty as well.
Stopping the imports of oil and gas would be a huge blow for the Russian economy. The EU is working on it, but the dependency is very high.
So the EU ought to act more decently towards Ukraine and provide all the weapons and training they need. I consider that volunteers among professional soldiers should be allowed to take a sabbatical and go - by their owns means and without weapons - to Ukraine. In the end, they will retrieve the weapons they are used to.
We need to do more for Ukraine. The dependency on the Russian has and oil makes that need even more pressing.
Tens of thousand professional soldiers from the EU would make a difference.
Note: The volunteers going on their own, it implies that they won't be paid. So private citizens would have to compensate them: they have families to sustain. I'm pretty sure that money wouldn't be a problem. But it has to remain a private decision, nothing involving the states.
By the way, OTAN is a defensive alliance. It doesn't forbid a member to decide to send troops on the Ukrainian front. The US won't and shouldn't. That's an European war. Having the US support (weapons, logistics, intelligence) is already a huge help.
As a French citizen, I feel that our duty as a democracy is to officially sends troops to Ukraine. Putin needs to be stopped.
I don't believe in a second of a nuclear escalation, escape on one matter: Crimea. It's an Ukrainian territory but Russians may go bersek if we retake it. But let's kick Putin out of Dombass and Transnistria.
But, if reelected, Macron is far too concerned by French large investments in Russia ; and its far-right opponent, Le Pen, share many views with Putin (and has yet to reimburse 12 millions of euros lent by a Russian bank for her 2017 campaign).