this post was submitted on 20 Jan 2025
321 points (92.6% liked)

World News

39691 readers
2911 users here now

A community for discussing events around the World

Rules:

Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.


Lemmy World Partners

News !news@lemmy.world

Politics !politics@lemmy.world

World Politics !globalpolitics@lemmy.world


Recommendations

For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Summary

Germany warns that Russia is rearming faster than expected, replacing war losses and stockpiling tanks, missiles, and drones.

Putin has redirected Russia’s economy to fuel its military, aided by supplies from Iran and North Korea.

While there’s no clear evidence of plans to attack NATO, Russia is creating the conditions for it.

On the Ukraine front, Russian forces are advancing in south Donetsk, nearing strategic town Pokrovsk, a key supply hub and coal mining center.

Analysts suggest Putin aims to seize land before potential peace talks.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] clutchtwopointzero@lemmy.world 2 points 7 hours ago

Now that Putin's asset (Donald J Trump) accomplished his mission of taking the presidency and is in progress to dismantle american institutions, it would be a good time for Russia to make a move against the previously-called "american interests"

[–] Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works 8 points 10 hours ago

It's a great time to do that. Trump won't interfere as a very well known Russian asset.

[–] RizzRustbolt@lemmy.world 4 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

replacing war losses

With what? Starving Koreans and untrained children?

[–] Allero@lemmy.today 2 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

It's mostly about equipment. There are still enough people to be mobilized, and plenty are signing the contract even now.

Ads for contract military service are everywhere, and the payment is big by Russian standards, so whenever some men find they have nothing to lose or a starving family to support, they know where to go.

[–] njm1314@lemmy.world 4 points 12 hours ago

It's all going to depend on if the rest of NATO can hold together. They have to plan for 100% no American Aid. Though I wonder how incredibly damaging having a US general be in charge of the NATO forces will be in that regard. Will he actively sabotage NATO defensive efforts?

[–] IndustryStandard@lemmy.world 28 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

While there’s no clear evidence of plans to attack NATO, Russia is creating the conditions for it.

Holy clickbait. How is this article allowed

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 18 hours ago

Eh, it's the Telegraph.

[–] Mohamed@lemmy.ca 2 points 23 hours ago

Sort of clickbait. Not the most egregious example.

But yes reading that line did make me feel misled.

[–] GreenKnight23@lemmy.world 59 points 1 day ago (1 children)

surprise surprise! just after his little orange butt plug was sworn in too!

[–] werefreeatlast@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago

Hold on! The orange buttplug is about to do something stupid!...

[–] ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml 56 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (5 children)

Simultaneously so weak and incompetent that they can't take a village of 80 year olds but so scary that they'll go to war with like a fifth of the planet.

How does the Umberto Eco thing go again?

[–] Dead_or_Alive@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)

NATO is not a monolithic defense shield. There are weak points that Russia can go after.

The Baltics are made up of very small nations that Russia even in its current state could roll through in a few days.

Once they take those countries they can just sit on them and declare that they will use nukes to defend them.

That leaves NATO in a very bad position militarily of having to retake those countries with the very real threat of nuclear war. It will test the resolve of Alliance members especially those who aren’t immediately adjacent to Russia and are not threatened by them militarily. Will they risk the lives of their people?

Combine that action with China trying to take Taiwan and a US that is not very reliable under Trump and it’s not nearly as cut and dry as you think it may be.

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The Baltics are made up of very small nations that Russia even in its current state could roll through in a few days.

They thought that about Ukraine as well... It's 2025 and the Russian border is probably one of the most observed in the world right now. The chances of a Blitzkrieg style attack is nil.

That said if there was ever a time for the EU to start building up its war machine, that time is now.

[–] Dead_or_Alive@lemmy.world 4 points 20 hours ago

No one can predict the future but Ukraine has caught Russia unprepared by rushing small but well equipped units to the front to take land during the Kursk offensive and then rush reinforcements in afterwards.

It’s not out of the realm of possibility for Russia to do the same in the Baltics.

[–] TheFriar@lemm.ee 22 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

While there’s no clear evidence of plans to attack NATO, Russia is creating the conditions for it.

This is also a very telling sentence.

“There’s not evidence this is even on their minds or that they would ever attempt such a monumentally stupid move, buuut…just use your 🌈 imagination 💫”

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] PugJesus@lemmy.world 155 points 2 days ago (8 children)

They're betting on their fascist puppet in the US tearing apart NATO, so they don't have to worry about such things when they start eyeing the Baltic states.

load more comments (8 replies)
[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 71 points 2 days ago (8 children)

I'm sorry, but even with the U.S. out of NATO, Russia would get their ass kicked. Putin must know that.

[–] TimeSquirrel@kbin.melroy.org 59 points 2 days ago (12 children)

All depends on if NATO as a whole isn't just a bluff. Are the UK, Germany and France, the three remaining major economies after the US leaves, actually going to go to war with Russia over Lithuania (no offense at all toward Lithuanians), for example? That's what he's testing, and that's why he wants the US out.

[–] barsoap@lemm.ee 13 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

NATO could crumble and Germany and France would still come to Lithuania's aid, they're an EU member. With NATO gone UK might technically not be on the hook any more but they'd still get into the fray, despite their faults and their insistence that they're not they're still Europeans.

The actually difficult part would be stopping Poland from bee-lining for Moscow, nukes be damned. They don't spend 4.7% of GDP because they plan on sitting back.

[–] njm1314@lemmy.world -1 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

That's a lot of faith to have in treaties. Historically Nations tear up treaties of the drop of a hat. They're only as valuable as the vested interest of those involved.

[–] barsoap@lemm.ee 1 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

The EU is way more than just a treaty.

[–] njm1314@lemmy.world -1 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Everything's just a treaty at the end.

[–] barsoap@lemm.ee 1 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Nations, towns, families, your left hand agreeing with the right, all just treaties, got you. Maybe go a bit easier on the reductionism.

[–] njm1314@lemmy.world -1 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Right back at you with the Absurd hyperbole.

[–] barsoap@lemm.ee 1 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

We have common elections, we have a common citizenship, we have a common identity, in many areas it's even common to identify as European over the nation state. That is, regional identity first, then European, then whatever nation state the region ended up in.

All just a treaty.

[–] njm1314@lemmy.world -1 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

None of which has been tested. It's very easy to claim all that in times of peacetime. When it comes time to go fight for someone else is when the real rubber hits the pavement.

[–] barsoap@lemm.ee 1 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

What about it not being about "someone else" did you not understand. Also, sounds like Russian copium.

[–] njm1314@lemmy.world 0 points 7 hours ago

I understood your contention, I just don't believe it.

load more comments (11 replies)
load more comments (7 replies)
[–] PanArab@lemm.ee 1 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (2 children)

We live in a world where might makes right. International laws and norms were killed on Oct 9, 2023.

[–] reddit_sux@lemmy.world 1 points 10 hours ago

World was always run on the rule that might makes right.

[–] djsp@feddit.org 3 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago) (1 children)

The erosion of international laws and norms –insofar as these were ever a thing and not merely a hopeful illusion– did not begin with Israel's Gaza campaign; by the time Israel started bombing Gaza, international laws and norms had already been put into question by the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia, the 2003 invasion of Iraq led by the United States and the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, among others. The list is not exhaustive and any bias unintended.

[–] PanArab@lemm.ee 1 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

Nothing like what’s happening in Palestine though. The US didn’t kill as many children or destroy as much infrastructure as Israel did. Despite the criminality of the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, their intentions weren’t genocidal even if they did show complete disregard for human lives. Somehow Israel has impunity that no one else has, and committed war crimes at a rate and scale that not even Russia did in Ukraine. Israel intentionally created a famine in the Gaza Strip as part of its campaign against the Palestinians as a people.

load more comments
view more: next ›