Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-23 and Invasion

[Duque de Bragança]

The other reality is we also need a strong Germany. Germany has historically been the most powerful state in Europe and its presence on the sidelines can no longer be the norm if the West and its values will survive the 21st century.

Like I've said before, I think it's high time Germany stopped letting itself be defined by the actions of nutjobs during an era that is quickly passing from living memory. These days it just looks more and more like an excuse.

Good luck with that.

[The Larch]

Apparently one of the key item for the EU sanctions, kicking Russia off the SWIFT system for banking transactions, is being blocked by Germany, Italy, Hungary and Cyprus.

[Syt]

French embassy in Vienna.



It's facing the Red Army memorial on Schwarzenbergplatz.

[crazy canuck]

Does Tucker Carlson have an ideology or is he just printing money by pandering to the right?

[Syt]

Apparently one of the key item for the EU sanctions, kicking Russia off the SWIFT system for banking transactions, is being blocked by Germany, Italy, Hungary and Cyprus.

[The Brain]

It's good that the EU used the weeks of warning to hammer out harsh sanctions that they could quickly activate after the new invasion.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

Apparently one of the key item for the EU sanctions, kicking Russia off the SWIFT system for banking transactions, is being blocked by Germany, Italy, Hungary and Cyprus.

technically Belgium could pull the trigger alone, but I doubt that'll happen

[The Brain]

Does Tucker Carlson have an ideology or is he just printing money by pandering to the right?

Likely an active Russian agent.

[Duque de Bragança]

Apparently one of the key item for the EU sanctions, kicking Russia off the SWIFT system for banking transactions, is being blocked by Germany, Italy, Hungary and Cyprus.

Cyprus works as an off-shore/tax heaven for oligarchs so its hardly surprising. No need to elaborate further about Germany, Italy and Hungary.

[Syt]

That's a big gap of air traffic:



Also, probably an AWACS or similar?

[OttoVonBismarck]

No one can really "block" the US from going after SWIFT. The way Obama actually got countries on board with the Iranian SWIFT ban was threatened sanctions against SWIFT, for an international financial organization like that to just "eat" U.S. sanctions is non-viable, if the U.S. actually sanctioned SWIFT it would either have to comply or face a sort of economic implosion of its system. Now there's good reasons the US only threatened to sanction SWIFT and didn't actually do so, but that club is still in the bag of tricks. The real question on SWIFT is if Biden wants to do it and how hard he's willing to push to make it happen, no one in the West can stop Biden on that if he really goes hard for it without suffering immense economic harm.

Unfortunately the global financial system with all of its complexities and interlinked relationships, while I think eventually we should have Russia fully cut out of meaningful economic ties to the West, some of those decisions don't make sense in an "overnight, flip a switch"  sense, as much as that might satisfy various urges. I don't know that it is prudent to push for Russia to be locked out of SWIFT right away, but it should be understood as an end goal.

[Sheilbh]

Obviously focus is on Ukraine - but I find there something very moving about the images of individuals or small groups protesting in Russia and being immediately and forcefully arrested

[Syt]

Obviously focus is on Ukraine - but I find there something very moving about the images of individuals or small groups protesting in Russia and being immediately and forcefully arrested

Apparently one of Russia's most famous rappers also called for protests against the war. Of course "big rap star in Russia" might be the same as "big country & western singer in China."

[OttoVonBismarck]

Obviously focus is on Ukraine - but I find there something very moving about the images of individuals or small groups protesting in Russia and being immediately and forcefully arrested

Fuck them, those prole bootlicker pieces of shit put Putin in power because they'd rather have national pride than freedom. I don't feel sorry for Russians.

[Sheilbh]

Apparently one of the key item for the EU sanctions, kicking Russia off the SWIFT system for banking transactions, is being blocked by Germany, Italy, Hungary and Cyprus.

Apparently it came up on a Johnson-Scholz call earlier with Scholz saying Germany wouldn't support turning of SWIFT.

Big picture--no war with Russia, obviously. But Alexander Vindman is basically spot on with this, he has done a lot of good analysis. The West needs to accept some truths here:

Isn't the other truth that China's rising and the security situation in the Pacific is shifting quite quickly? I don't disagree with anything you've said - I'm just not sure the US is able to simultaneously significantly shift more resources to Europe and do what it needs to do in the Pacific. But I might be wrong.