www.ditl.org

Vilnius says other NATO members should follow Lithuania's example

Lithuania's ambassador to Ukraine says Vilnius is ready to start shipping defensive weapons to Ukraine to help the country stop Russia seizing more of its territory.

Marius Yanukonis told Ukraine's Channel 5 that Lithuania wanted to be the first country to openly arm Ukraine and hoped it would set an example to other NATO countries which he said should follow suit.

The move came as US Senator John McCain, during a trip to Kyiv, piled more pressure on the Obama administration saying the US must do more to deter Russia from escalating its military operations in Ukraine. McCain said that the US must arm Ukraine without delay before Putin became more emboldened.

John McCain, Republican US Senator: "The House of Representatives feels the same, overwhelming majority of American people feel the same. I can't answer for the president of the United States and his administrations, except to say that I know that this is shameful, shameful that we would not provide them with weapons to defend themselves. They are fighting with 20th century weapons against Russia's 20st century weapons. That's not a fair fight."

NATO has been holding military drills across several Eastern European countries in recent weeks as a way of reassuring NATO-member countries there unnerved by Russia's invasion of Ukraine; but Kyiv is hoping for more US support.

Last week the US Congress passed the National Defence Authorization Act (NDAA) which includes a provision that would give President Barack Obama's administration USD 300 million for Ukrainian security assistance if Obama signs the bill.

US military advisors are already training the Ukrainian military. About 300 US paratroopers arrived in Ukraine in April to train Kyiv's National Guard.

Britain has already sent military personnel to train Ukrainian troops, while Canada and Poland have pledged to send 200 and 50 instructors respectively this year. But Western countries with the exception of Lithuania have so far declined its requests to supply weapons.

Graham Kennedy wrote:Good for them. We should be doing the same.

Mikey wrote:If this were a nation a bit farther west than Ukraine is, NATO would have live mobilized forces on the scene.

Captain Seafort wrote: ...but Ukraine isn't worth loosing DC or London, which is a potential outcome if we start deploying forces.

Mikey wrote:a) The point isn't what Ukraine is worth (which, BTW, is a cold-blooded piece of inhuman analysis even for you, because it's worth everything because humans live there) but what checking Russia is worth

b) Ummm, histrionic much?

OK, forget NATO specifically and look at what has been deemed worthy of armed response in the past. We went and got our asses kicked up and down East Buttfuck because the frogs couldn't hold on to a colonial city in the armpit of a nowhere, useless, completely un-impactful country in SE Asia, but armed response in protecting a nation and its elected government - which nation contains the third-largest nuclear stockpile in the world; a natural buffer between Russia and Moldova, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and easier direct access to the Mediterranean via the Black Sea; and sites such as Mariopol and Sevastapol - doesn't merit any help, even when the naturally and (truly) democratically elected president of said nation was poisoned - no, really, this isn't a B-rated spy movie, it really happened - with a mycotoxin (!) by Russian-backed movers. Oh, and we DID go to fight the native population in the name of "help," we were actually fighting against the will of a group of the populace, while in Ukraine we would be fighting aligned with the will of the populace. Yeah, I can see why we'd want to avoid any chance of accidentally doing the right thing or helping people.

Mikey wrote:I was actually referring to Vietnam, but the lack of any actual "war" there as known by that term may have been confusing.

Anyway, I personally can't countenace the outright invasion of a sovereign nation without even the pretext of an excuse, and against the visible and overwhelming will of the invaded populace, nor can I countenance the unwillingness of the West to get incolced when the West has shown itself to be more than willing to involve itself in far more morally ambiguous situations for far less reason.

Mikey wrote:And for all the suffering Ukraine has had historically at the hands of Russia/the U.S.S.R., and for remaining a bulwark against Russia even at hugely disadvantageous odds during the nuclear de-proliferation phase and again during the rise of Emperor Palp- er, Putin, we give Ukraine a big "fuck off, we're busy."

Reliant121 wrote:Correct me if I'm wrong but the extended sanctions against Russia has helped send their currency/economy into a steep recession has it not?