Russia and Ukraine flashpoint

[Bofferbrauer2]

Ryuu96 said:  ðŸ‡ºðŸ‡¸ Sen. Lindsey Graham: “Putin’s Russia is playing games — and it needs to stop.” Graham is pushing new legislation with 70+ cosponsors to hit Russia with tougher sanctions and slap tariffs on countries buying Russian oil & gas. “Enough is enough.” www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/index... [image or embed] — NOELREPORTS (@noelreports.com) 17 May 2025 at 10:43 Italy is ramping up support for Ukraine, pulling 400 M113 armored vehicles out of storage and including them in its 11th military aid package. The M113s have been phased out and replaced by Dardo IFVs. www.ilgiornale.it/NEWS/POLITIC... [image or embed] — NOELREPORTS (@noelreports.com) 17 May 2025 at 10:41

Even Lindsey Graham is slowly having enough of Trump after bending over backwards several times over for him before.

Also, finally Italy is doing something! Meloni may have talked much about supporting Ukraine (in stark contrast of her coalition partners, who for a while openly supported Putin until she put them into their place), but actual shipments from Italy have been few and far between, and apart from Artillery systems and some air defense, they actually didn't send much to Ukraine (admittedly, 100+ M109 is actually crucial support for Ukraine, but apart from 6 PzH 2000 and a couple Bandvagn, also the only armored vehicles Italy has sent so far), so this shift is very welcome for Ukraine.

Ryuu96 said:

🇵🇱 Polish FM Sikorski: "The only country that could really put Putin in his place is China."

He says Russia is now China’s economic vassal — and a trade embargo from Beijing could force Moscow to back down. But admits: "That seems unlikely right now."

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— NOELREPORTS (@noelreports.com) 17 May 2025 at 10:55

At this point I'd rather take my chances with trying to convince China than fucking Donald Trump, Lol.

Maybe it's time to convince China: "Stop trading with and supporting Russia or we'll stop trading with you guys for the time being."

Sadly, China knows it's in too strong a position for this, since so many necessary raw materials are coming from China...

Ryuu96 said:

Kaja Kallas: “Everyone wants peace — except Russia.” At the summit in Albania, she stressed sanctions and isolation are key to pressure. The EU plans its largest rollout of 4 sanctions regimes, with over 130 new measures expected on May 20, according to Nexta.

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— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) 17 May 2025 at 11:39

🇪🇪❗️🇷🇺 Estonia Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur:

"Over 60% of Russian oil transport goes through the Baltic Sea. Russia has 500 shadow fleet vessels in play. If we control the shadow fleet, we have a huge impact."

— MAKS 24 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social) 17 May 2025 at 12:00

🇵🇱 Poland’s Foreign Ministry condemns Russia’s deadly strike on a bus near Sumy, saying the attack — coming right after peace talks — “reveals the Kremlin’s true intentions.”

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— NOELREPORTS (@noelreports.com) 17 May 2025 at 12:04

At this point I'd rather take my chances with trying to convince China than fucking Donald Trump, Lol.

If Russia were to lose their shadow fleet it would get very difficult for Russia to sell it's oil anymore, most pipelines went towards Europe and China isn't overly interested into Russian oil and gas. Add those sanctions on top of that, and it could cripple Putin's war economy by overheating the economy.

And as for Putin striking a bus full of civilians: