Ukraine war thread

[Dr Strangelove]

[Dr Strangelove]

[Dr Strangelove]

[al_keda]

Haaa haa!!

[Dr Strangelove]

[Dr Strangelove]

The chaos in the world is a direct consequence of the Russian attack on Ukraine, said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

"The explosive situation in the Middle East and drones in the skies over Cyprus are not separate conflicts, but a direct result of the destruction of international law.

It all started in Ukraine, when Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, cynically violated the borders of a neighboring country and signaled to the entire world that the rules no longer apply," Meloni remarked in an interview with Tg5.

The war in Europe is already underway, and to consider these events "distant" is a dangerous illusion. Without restoring the rule of law, which has been destroyed in Ukraine, the chaos will only worsen, she added.
Ukraine Now

Ding! Ding! ^^ This all day long!

[Dr Strangelove]

Oh, come on, I don't mean to offend anyone in Italy—but facts are facts.

When it comes to the crucial ranking as a share of GDP (usually based on pre-war GDP in 2021 or cumulatively), Italy regularly ranks very low—often in the bottom third or even among the weakest large EU countries.

Current and older Kiel/Statista data shows figures such as: Bilaterally, approximately 0.09–0.14% of GDP (depending on the update and whether it's only bilateral or includes the EU share).

With the EU share included (e.g., EU financial aid), it rises to approximately 0.7–0.73% in some presentations, but is still significantly below countries like Estonia (3–4%), Denmark (over 3%), Norway, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, or even Germany (approximately 0.4–1%, depending on the calculation).

Italy typically ranks 20th-30th+ among the approximately 40 donor countries surveyed (depending on the exact metric and update), far behind the top performers (Estonia, Denmark, Norway, Latvia, etc.) and also behind medium-sized donors such as the Netherlands, Sweden, or Finland. Southern Europe (Italy, Spain, Greece) is often criticized in the Kiel Tracker as a "small donor" despite its large economy. For comparison (approximate values ​​from 2025/2026 data): Estonia: ~3–4% of GDP → 1st place
Denmark: ~3% → Top 3
Germany: ~0.4–1% → usually Top 10
Italy: ~0.1–0.7% → 20th-30th place or lower

[Dr Strangelove]

[Dr Strangelove]

Zelenskyy: The Russians have a major personnel problem. They’re becoming weaker. It’s a new feeling for us — and it’s not a bad one. The enemy’s personnel losses are starting to add up.

“We're sensing Russian weakness in certain areas. It's a new feeling. This doesn't mean we should let our guard down, let me explain. We can't relax, can't think the enemy's given up, can't think their numbers have dropped. But what's important, very important, is that personnel-wise, they feel a bit weaker. No time for training there. So they have a major personnel problem, in our view. Of course, all our personnel challenges are known, we have no secrets. We have, well, these issues, they exist. But still, we'll do everything to strengthen our guys, our army. But this feeling, it's not a bad one. I think the monthly casualty numbers are starting to have an effect. Again, I don't want to sound like some pseudo-optimist, but I'm just saying that, in my view, the enemy personnel losses are starting to add up. That's what I mean. So we'll see how things go moving forward”, - Zelenskyy, on Tuesday, Mar 3rd, 2026