ricesoup

joined 4 weeks ago
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37
can European intelligence substitute the American one? (lemmy.ml)
 

I don't mean the EU as such, as it doesn't have any spying capabilities, but states like the UK, France, Germany and maybe Sweden, Norway, Italy or Spain must have satellites orbiting earth to spy on adversaries, equipment to eavesdrop on communications like the NSA does, operatives on the ground...

Can they substitute American intelligence gathering, now the US is essentially trying to pull a chamberlain on Ukraine?

685
dear republicans, what's the point of alienating every single ally of the US? (lemmy.ml)
 

it's like you believe you can tariff them expecting they won't do the same. Why do you believe the rest of the world is not going to retaliate and why do you believe America can prosper without the rest of the world?

What's the point of having a military alliance with countries you puts tariffs on? That's unfriendly to say the least.

29
what sources can I use to compare the armed forces of the world? Focus on America, Europe, Russia, Turkey, Japan, both Koreas (lemmy.ml)
 

I'm just trying to guess how much time has Ukraine before being absorbed by authoritarian Russia.

OK, a bit melodramatic, but if Russia keeps advancing, even if it's meters per day, even if it takes them 10 years to reach Kyiv, they are still advancing and Putin can throw as many bodies as he wants, a luxury Ukraine does not have. It pays being a larger country, both in terms of demographics and surface.

Now that it's clear that neither trump nor vance like Zelenskyy and want his head to divide the country and stir things up to find somebody more amenable to sell out the country to both the US and Russia, it's up to Canada, UK, the EU and hopefully Australia, South Korea and Turkey to help Ukraine navigate the next 4 years. What I want to know is what military capabilities these countries can spare to help Ukraine.

I'd also like some kind of probabilities scale: for example, it is plain stupid to suggest Greece and Turkey have so many tanks they could lend some to Ukraine. This ignores political realities between both countries, as they hate each other and were accepted simultaneously into NATO so they wouldn't veto or kill each other.

Also, do you know if any reputable source has a timetable the EU would need to substitute America's capabilities? Not even to match America's 2.8K American nuclear warheads and nuclear carrying missiles, their 6 fleets, 11 carriers..., but to simply defend the EU's territory win a conflict with Russia with no American involvement and no territorial loss and eventually defend Ukraine and help them reclaim their lost territories.

Just 2 days ago I though talking about NATO being dead was being melodramatic but now I really believe in 6 months this organization won't exist anymore. Europe has to go back to cold war levels of military spending.

Is there any hope for Ukraine to survive as an independent state now that trump is desperately wishing for a peace treaty with Russia, even bypassing Ukraine? in c/nostupidquestions@lemmy.world
[–] ricesoup@lemmy.ml 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I'm not trying to diminish the quality or importance of the French military, the only EU country with an independent industrial military complex, but as of 2025 USAF has 385 operative F-35 and another 1,350 on order. Many NATO allies are procuring this fighter. This is a 5th generation fighter, the Dassault Rafale and the Dassault Mirage 2000 are 4th generation. Currently, no 5th generation fighters are being produced in the EU.

Unpopular opinion, but the Americans have better quality airframes and produce more. On a wide EU-Russia conflict the EU would still depend on US made weaponry. Sad but true.

Which should be a reason good enough to create an EU wide military industrial complex and make your own 5th and 6th generation fighters and your own defense systems.

But the EU is eternally disunited.

45
Is there really nothing the EU or NATO can do to stop Russian vessels cutting energy and communication cables at the Baltic sea? (lemmy.ml)
 

BBC Article

These are propaganda coups for the Russians. They're dragging anchors and getting away with it.

Can't EU countries block Russian vessels navigating the Baltic sea?

To access the Baltic sea from the North sea any ship must cross the Danish straits. Same question.

It gives the impression they're winning and makes the EU and NATO look weak.

98
Is there any hope for Ukraine to survive as an independent state now that trump is desperately wishing for a peace treaty with Russia, even bypassing Ukraine? (lemmy.ml)
 

While it is true that the EU provides more financial support than the US, the US provides most of the military aid that helped the country withstand and slow down the Russian advance. The EU is powerful as an economic block, but they don’t have a unified army, they depend on American weaponry (with the exception of France), and I don’t see much political will to keep arming Ukraine if the US pulls out completely or if the Trump administration pauses sanctions.

It seems to me that Trump simply cannot get over Zelensky not ‘helping’ him to find something nefarious about Biden’s son during his first administration and now POTUS is first provoking him and then, when Zelensky send a diplomatically worded answer, POTUS overreacts and insults, like he got the excuse he was looking for. So vindictive and victim blaming.

This is not the America I was taught about.

I’ve never seen a country destroy it’s credibility with allies so fast in such a short notice. Putin is sure having a good time watching all this.

I’ve heard most US senators are pro Ukraine, but I don’t see any of them confronting Trump. GOP belongs to MAGA now.

Unless democrats win the midterms in 2026 he’s going to have 4 years of trifecta. I don’t see how Ukraine can survive 4 more years of onslaught only with European help and no boots on the ground.

Does Ukraine have any chance?