₦airaland Forum

Lawmakers in Germany overwhelmingly voted in favor of providing Ukraine with "heavy weapons and complex [weapons] systems" to aid Kyiv as it battles Russia's invasion.
The petition passed on Thursday, with with 586 votes in favor, 100 against, and seven abstentions.
The vote in the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, represents a historic shift in policy for Germany — after the government held off for weeks on sending heavy equipment
What weapons will Germany send to Kyiv?
In addition to heavy weapons, such as anti-aircraft systems and armored vehicles, the measure passed by German MPs included provisions for sending heavier equipment to eastern NATO allies as well.


Military aid should continue and accelerate wherever possible, according to the proposal backed by the ruling coalition and the biggest opposition party, the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU).

Germany will also deploy more soldiers to boost NATO presence in eastern Europe, and encourage Russian soldiers to lay down their arms and seek asylum in Germany and the EU.
Additionally, the measure foresees an appeal to China for it to "abandon its acceptance of war" and actively support a truce.

Why did some oppose the deliveries?

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) opposed the initiative, saying that it felt close to a declaration of war.

The motion would prolong the fighting in Ukraine and "could make us party to a nuclear war," said the AfD's most senior Bundestag lawmaker Tino Chrupalla.

The socialist Left Party was also against the move, pointing to earlier statements by Chancellor Olaf Scholz about how heavy weapons deliveries increase a risk of a nuclear escalation. Scholz, a member of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), had rejected the idea just days before making a U-turn earlier this week with deliveries of anti-aircraft tanks.

"Every day there is a different course, I can't keep up anymore, and many people in this country feel the same way," the Left Party's Dietmar Bartsch said. The Left Party also said that delivering more weapons would simply make the war last longer.

In response, Nils Schmid, from the ruling SPD party, said weapons' deliveries would help end the war faster by putting Ukraine in a position of strength.

Schmid also said the initiative was following two basic principles, one of Germany not being at war, and the other principle of "Putin must not win this war."

"This is why we support Ukraine with everything we have at our disposal, politically, diplomatically, economically and of course, in a very measured way, militarily," he said.

Scholz under fire for going to Japan

Several lawmakers, including CDU head Friedrich Merz, sharply criticized Scholz for going away on a diplomatic visit to Japan while the Bundestag was debating the conflict in Ukraine. Merz accused the chancellor of "hesitation and timidity."

Scholz took the reins of the German government in December 2021, after his SPD party ousted the conservatives following the political retirement of long-time CDU Chancellor Angela Merkel.

SPD representative Nils Schmid defended Scholz's trip to Tokyo by pointing out Japan's significance as Germany's most important partner in Asia.

But the move is not likely to help Scholz shake the accusations of being indecisive on Ukraine. A new dpa/YouGov poll suggests some 45% of Germans are unhappy with his course in the crisis, compared to 37% who approve of his response to the war.

Hanibbal:
EU will stop running into problems the moment they stop allowing US to dictate to them. Why would you strangle yourself just because US wants to use an opportunity to bring its enemy down.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has asked Congress for $33 billion to fund both humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine through September of this year, he said Thursday.

The massive aid package is accompanied by a proposal to Congress that it amend several longstanding criminal laws to make it easier for the U.S. to sell off the seized assets of sanctioned Russian oligarchs.

The $33 billion includes a request for $20.4 billion in additional security and military assistance for Ukraine, as well as additional money to fund U.S. efforts to bolster European security in cooperation with NATO allies.

“It’s not cheap. But caving to aggression is going to be more costly if we allow it to happen,” Biden said Thursday.

“We either back the Ukrainian people as they defend their country, or we stand by as the Russians continue their atrocities and aggression in Ukraine every day,” said Biden.

The administration said this is intended to equip Kyiv and European partners with additional artillery, armored vehicles and anti-armor and anti-air capabilities, accelerate cyber capabilities and advanced air defense systems, and help clear landmines and improvised explosive devices.

Another portion of the $33 billion is a sum of $8.5 billion to help support the Ukrainian economy.

That total will help fund Ukraine’s government, support food, energy, and health care services for the Ukrainian people, and counter Russian disinformation and propaganda narratives, Biden said.

Part of it is also intended to support small- and medium-sized agricultural businesses during the fall harvest, and for natural gas purchases.

This money is likely to come in the form of direct financial assistance, a relatively rare form of international aid.

Most foreign assistance is things that have already been purchased, like weapons and food. It can also come in the form of expertise, aid workers, or loans. Rarely is direct economic support provided. This makes it the closest thing to cash from one government to another.

Biden said the direct U.S. aid to Ukraine’s economy is “going to allow pensions and social support to be paid to the Ukrainian people, so that they have something in their pocket.”

Another $3 billion will help provide more traditional humanitarian assistance in the form of wheat and other commodities to people outside Ukraine who have been hurt by the dramatic rise in the price of food caused by Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian ships that would otherwise be exporting millions of metric tons of grain around the world.

The supplemental budget request to Congress is expected to win broad support among Republicans and Democrats, even as it pushes the total American expenditure in Ukraine past $36 billion in just 9 months.

The other part of Biden’s package Thursday is a broad set of proposals to Congress to change current laws to make it easier for the Treasury and State Departments to follow through on the hundreds of individual sanctions that have been imposed on Russian oligarchs, companies and government officials since the start of the war.

Under federal law, in order to sell off seized assets, prosecutors must first show that they are the proceeds of a crime. Currently, being a sanctioned Russian oligarch isn’t a crime.

Legal scholars have noted that without a crime, oligarchs could sue for the return of their property, and would stand a good chance of winning in court. Under Biden’s proposal, Congress would create a new federal offense of knowingly possessing proceeds directly obtained from corrupt dealings with the Russian government.

The two-part request to Congress comes as the war enters its third month and as U.S. military leaders say their strategic objectives in Ukraine are shifting to reflect a medium-term goal and a long-term goal.

In the immediate future, the aim is to arm Ukrainian forces so that they can secure an outright victory in the war by expelling Russia from Ukraine entirely.

But longer term, the U.S. now seeks more broadly to weaken Russia’s entire power structure by tying up its troops in a war of attrition while crippling its economy with sanctions and trade embargoes .

mukina2, HumbledbYGrace, osystein

mema900:
This life no balance

“I’m very grateful that somewhere under the sea, some amazing men and women are deep underwater, hiding, waiting, in case Britain needs to be protected. That’s important”

joyandfaith:
A neonazi who is governing neonazis ordered his fellow neonazi to invade a sovereign nation which is being ruled by a jew who had his fellow jews killed by original nazis in 1940s. Neonazis from Russia are repeatng what original nazi did some decades ago.
Russia is modern NAZI.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/theconversation.com/amp/putins-fascists-the-russian-states-long-history-of-cultivating-homegrown-neo-nazis-178535

Racoon:
What history says about how Buhari’s successor will emerge - Azu Ishiekwene


https://www.thecable.ng/what-history-says-about-how-buharis-successor-will-emerge/amp

MangekyoAlt:
[s] gutter upbringing? Lol speak proper English, bitch you're not in your village

high, but not as high as yours, which is extremely high

people vomit out of frustration? Lmao did you even see the four walls of a classroom? your dad must be stupid, and senseless for teaching you that people vomit out of frustration the fact that you even believed and took his teachings fur the gospel just goes that prove that, though you've not yet surpassed him in idiocy, you've surpassed him in sheer stupidity. So keep going like this you've the potential to surpass him in idiocy as well you stupid Inbred


This should be redirected to your grand pop because of his failed parental upbringing, you've a clown who calls himself your father, giving birth to a complete inbred like yourself.

You should NOT be allowed to breed.[/s]

(Reuters) - Ukraine retains control over the majority of its airspace, Britain's defence ministry said on Wednesday, adding that Russia has failed to effectively destroy the country's air force or suppress its air defences.

"Russia has very limited air access to the north and west of Ukraine, limiting offensive actions to deep strikes with stand-off weapons," it said on Twitter.

"Russian air activity is primarily focused on southern and eastern Ukraine, providing support to Russian ground forces," the ministry added in a regular bulletin.

Russia continues to target Ukrainian military assets and logistics infrastructure nationwide, British military intelligence said in the update.

It flagged a higher risk of civilian casualties, saying most Russian air strikes in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol were probably using unguided free-falling bombs.

"These weapons reduce Russia’s ability to effectively discriminate when conducting strikes, increasing the risk of civilian casualties."

hayzed19:
Please Who is the Jewish President Putin accused of being a Nazi?

MangekyoAlt:
you rabid animal, I'll redirect those words back to you
How your completely useless father married another massively, extremely and horrendously stupid bitch as your mum, and expect to bet a child that isn't as useless as you are, is still something that Infuriates me

Osariemen12:
Prove otherwise.

MangekyoAlt:
Paranoid but not as paranoid as your completely useless father

Who said anything about weapons not finding its way into Ukraine? Is that interfering in the conflict? The USSR showered Vietnam with supplies during the Vietnam War and they beat, and bitch slapped the USA with it, forcing them to flee after Incuring massive casualties

EU hAs BeEn InTeRfErInG sInCE dAy OnE
Meanwhile same EU that have been cautioning their members to refrain from doing anything that would make them engage directly with Russian forces

Ukraine has been pleasing since day one for EU and NATO to step in, with them claiming that doing so would ignite a WW.

Kingpin1000:
After they were invaded by Germany they fought alongside the Nazis before they were overrun by Russia

omenka:
Now look at this news.

Kingpin1000:
Don't blame poland,they already have beef with Russia even before WWII, Poland were Nazis and were overrun by Russians, an average Polish man hates Russians.
So they can freeze with their hatred.

MangekyoAlt:
[s]He's bragging to respond swiftly go anyone who intefers in the conflict. What you should channel your energy now into is pressuring those countries to interfere so we'll see if he's just bragging[/s]

damosky12:

I am old enough to know not to result to insults when questioned.

Does lack of integrity hurt people's job chances? Would you give job to an architect who is renowned for being crooked and lacking integrity?

If you have some grey matter, the answers to these questions should waken you. Enjoy

damosky12:
So government incompetency is responsible for some people's lack of integrity? I'd like to know.

Dvdpity:
Yes..they should start from Cuba and united states unilateral sanctions on different nationalities and nations of the world, in the disguise of Human rights. Lovely initiative.