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Forums - Politics - Russia and Ukraine flashpoint

"Ukraine relies on U.S. support in many areas. Without it, Ukraine will likely have to retreat in some places faster than before. But I don't think it will be catastrophic or that everything will collapse [on the front]," Ivan Stupak, a military expert and ex-officer of Ukraine's SBU Security Service, told The Moscow Times.

Stupak said that Ukraine depends on U.S. support in various ways but warned against exaggerating its impact on the front.

"We rely on U.S. assistance in multiple areas, including air defense systems like the Patriot missiles. However, these are not primarily used on the front lines, they protect cities like Kyiv and Kharkiv from missile attacks," Stupak said. "If these missiles are no longer available, our infrastructure and civilian population will suffer — this means hundreds, possibly thousands, of civilian casualties among Ukrainians — but the military situation on the front lines will not change drastically," he added.

According to Stupak, the shortage of 155mm NATO-standard artillery shells is another pressing issue. While Ukraine has ramped up domestic production since a previous delay in U.S. aid in 2024, concerns remain about the reliability of locally manufactured shells.

Another critical area affected by the aid pause might be the supply of HIMARS rockets, Stupak noted. Yet he said that while these rocket systems played a significant role in the early months of the war, they have become vulnerable to drone attacks. "For the past six months, there has been almost no public information of their use," Stupak said.

Alshansky also pointed out that while the suspension of U.S. aid is significant, it is difficult to assess its full impact on the front without Europe's response. "If we have some clarity on what Europe is willing to do for Ukraine's security, then we can make calculations. For now, it's too early — any estimate would be speculation."

Trump Halts Military Aid to Ukraine: Experts Say Front Will Hold, But Challenges to Intensify - The Moscow Times

Last edited by Ryuu96 - on 04 March 2025

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🇪🇺 Ursula von der Leyen unveils a €800B, 4-year EU rearmament plan, with €150B in loans for defense investments.

"Europe will take responsibility. We will, of course, continue working closely with NATO partners. This is Europe's moment, and we are ready to step up."

www.politico.eu/article/ursu...

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— NOELREPORTS (@noelreports.com) 4 March 2025 at 13:09

Hungary will block it unless you do something about them.

🇪🇺🇭🇺 The EU is halting the development of a new €20B military aid package for Ukraine due to Hungary, Politico reports.

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— NOELREPORTS (@noelreports.com) 4 March 2025 at 07:48

One country dictating to all the rest, a country which receives billions in EU aid.



⚡️ Marine Le Pen calls Trump's suspension of U.S. aid to Ukraine "reprehensible" and "very cruel for Ukrainian soldiers defending their country." While acknowledging the U.S. can't be forced to continue support, she argues Ukraine should be given time to adjust.

www.lefigaro.fr/politique/ma...

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— NOELREPORTS (@noelreports.com) 4 March 2025 at 14:45

Hell has frozen over, one of the most far-right parties in Europe criticising Trump, Lol.



Britain’s BAE Systems rose by 15% on Monday, Germany’s Rheinmetall gained 14%, France’s Thales increased 16% and Italy’s Leonardo was also up 16%. In London the surge in defence related shares helped to push the FTSE 100 to a new record high. It closed up 0.7% at 8871.31.

Shares in aerospace companies with significant defence revenues also rose on Monday. Airbus, the European passenger jet maker, rose by 5%, France’s Safran gained 3%, while the rally added to Rolls-Royce’s momentum after the British jet-engine manufacturer sent investors into raptures last week with strong results. Its shares gained 4% on Monday, hitting a record high.

The British defence technology company QinetiQ rose by 12%, while France’s Dassault Aviation gained 15%.

European Defence Stocks Soar As Arms Makers Expect Orders Boom | Stock Markets | The Guardian

European Defence Shares Jump As Blistering Rally Gathers Pace

Last edited by Ryuu96 - on 04 March 2025

Ryuu96 said:

Hungary will block it unless you do something about them.

🇪🇺🇭🇺 The EU is halting the development of a new €20B military aid package for Ukraine due to Hungary, Politico reports.

[image or embed]

— NOELREPORTS (@noelreports.com) 4 March 2025 at 07:48

One country dictating to all the rest, a country which receives billions in EU aid.

Well, to be clear, over 6.3 billions of those from those are frozen, and 1 billion actually got outright stripped of it's budget due to the rule-of-law concerns.

Considering that Orban spent billions on things that could almost be considering vote-buying and racked up a huge deficit from it, so much so that he can't do it anymore, it's no small wonder that his Fidesz Party is now actually losing in the polls for next year's election to Tisza and continues to drop further and faster. In other words, Orban is on his last leg and without a major shift in Hungary, will be gone next year.

Ryuu96 said:

⚡️ Marine Le Pen calls Trump's suspension of U.S. aid to Ukraine "reprehensible" and "very cruel for Ukrainian soldiers defending their country." While acknowledging the U.S. can't be forced to continue support, she argues Ukraine should be given time to adjust.

www.lefigaro.fr/politique/ma...

[image or embed]

— NOELREPORTS (@noelreports.com) 4 March 2025 at 14:45

Hell has frozen over, one of the most far-right parties in Europe criticising Trump, Lol.

She's trying to sell her party as much more moderate than it actually is, it's her modus operandi for over a decade now, when she ousted her father from his own party. Remember that she also ousted the AFD from their political group in the EU parliament to not be perceived as too far right.



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It's great to see Europe stepping up. 🇪🇺💪

It is very unlikely that Zelensky will agree to give territorry to Russia right? He will most likely bend to Trump's ego for now and drag it for as long as he can.

Maybe he can buy some time until Europe and Ukraine somehow adjust to the new reality.

The worst part will be Trump lifting sanctions on Russia, this will make it much easier for the Russian army to keep producing missiles. 😔



don't mind my username, that was more than 10 years ago, I'm a different person now, amazing how people change ^_^



Elon Musk in the 1940s would have been pressuring Jan Smuts to pass the Group Areas Act.



Germany's coalition talks between CDU and SPD seemingly have them agree to take on massive debt for the sake of spending on defense and infrastructure over the coming decade. They want to try to put this into the constitution (for the sake of safer long term planning) with the current parliament where CDU, SPD and Greens combined still hold the necessary two third majority for the remainder of this month, so there's not much time left for the easy path. Obviously, the Greens will demand concessions in regards to their bread and butter which is combating climate change, so this will be challenging despite being a reasonable request.

If the three involved parties can't get this done by the end of March, the newly elected parliament will have to get The Left on board as well for changes to the constitution, because the only other party left (AfD) will be against it by default. The Left's demands would concern redistribution of wealth in favor of the majority of Germans, which is again reasonable, but not what conservatives have in mind.

So the way this will play out is probably that conservatives will insist on getting their way while everyone else has to make concessions for the sake of Europe's security or else they'll be the bad guys. A repeat of the shitshow in January when conservatives voted for a resolution with the help of the AfD and then blamed SPD and Greens for supposedly forcing conservatives to pursue that path as if the CDU hadn't had a chance to refrain from doing so.



Legend11 correctly predicted that GTA IV will outsell Super Smash Bros. Brawl. I was wrong.