If we are on the brink of ww3, which I doubt, then Ukraine is the first casualty it appears. The parallels are easy to draw, but hard to back up certainly as the specifics do differ. But those not aligned will increasingly find themselves subject to pulls in either sphere of influence, which is my main point. Ultimately you could argue this all is a failure of foreign policy for a few governments with Russia being emboldened to invade. Which you could also say of both previous world wars too. To dismiss the comparison is to dismiss history, and those who fail to learn from history…
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partnership_for_Peace - here’s the hitlist if you’re Putin. I’m fully aware of Ukraine’s efforts with democracy, but you know who doesn’t care? Anyone on this list not making serious efforts to join NATO is writing their own invasion plan imo
Going to call nonsense on the headline: NATO is intact, and Putin wouldn’t dare invade a nato country.
Trump it’s the caveat, but even in that event France and the UK have a nuclear umbrella, and there is a shit load of troops. A war with NATO is unwinnable for Russia for certain.
Ukraine danced with the neutrality devil and lost, just as Belgium on WW1 did, and the NL of WW2. Any country now adjacent to Russia and not in NATO has a choice: risk the neutrality game or side with NATO. I know which I’d be picking.
It’s opposite MAD theorem. If neither side knows that there are countermeasures then neither side will launch a first strike, as they then run the risk of being knocked out in essence.
Ever play defcon? First to launch rarely wins there
The addition of more troops would undoubtedly be a large escalation resulting in further mobilisation in Russia. If you were a french soldier, would you be willing to go to the front without some much more serious negotiations occuring? Have we learned nothing since 9/11 and fighting on foreign soil?
Vice City was my favourite, the soundtrack alone was amazing. I have literally skipped V after IV was too big, and never finished rdr2, depsite rdr being one of my favourite ever games. Hoping for a tighter, tastier VI, not just “more”