Russia - threadbanned users in OP

Also I didn't see this posted yet but rumours abound that the UK is adding another new system to its support: the Stormer.

They're basically just a vehicle for launching LMM and Starstreak missiles; but it gives the operator some protection and also the ability to potentially engage multiple air targets in quick succession.

We have been clear with Ukraine from the start about what support we were willing to give. Germany has been the opposite of clear.

Canada and the UK sending heavy artillery to add to what the Americans are deploying this week ,and Romania is changing it's laws to allow weapons to be sent to ukraine

If you closed down the Russian embassy here, they would do the same there. You would be throwing Irish passport holders living in Russia to the wolves.

Correction; that 'Mariupol' explosion seems to have been a warehouse explosion in Balaklei in 2017. I wish people would stop faking so much.

Careful posting such sensible comments, you'll be quickly labelled a Kremlin agent.

Indeed, not just Ireland, what are France and, say, Spain doing? Seems the main militarily help is from US and UK, who are always happy to join a war that suits them, and the Eastern Europeans, who have good reason to fear Russia.

The situation is far more complex than the emotional mud slinging of posters here would ever concede

Afair they expelled a token number from the embassy (4).

I did see there was some coordination around the EU when this happened and I noticed several other countries, not even large ones, were expelling them in blocks of 10-20 or so. Russia sent 2 home from the Irish embassy in retaliation afterwards.

Other countries sent more packing after evidence of the Russian atrocities in parts of N. of Ukraine they occupied emerged.

I speculate the worry is if Ireland even expel too many (not go so far as to close it...), the Russians might just close down the Irish embassy completely. So it is fear of the negative consequences driving it, as always with these things. But of course it is only Germans who think this way (about how to respond to Russia's invasion) we are told.

Wouldn't it be marvellous if someone blew up nordstream 1 and nordstream 2

We are in fog of war territory here. It would be far worse to have a chaotic Germany at the heart of Europe at this time. The optics are atrocious no doubt but we are not privy the full details of what informs their policy right now. Germany has been caught with its pants down with regard to its dependence on Russia. They really have been caught blindsided and were tone deaf to the threat from Putin. Their politicians are not great communicators either and I’m sure there is a certain amount of face saving going on for their utter stupidity of the last 10 years. In times of war countries do callous things even when they are on the right side. Germany could thrash their economy now and next thing we have something on our hands that makes Ukraine look like a picnic in 6 months or a years time. Germany cutting off Russian gas would be like a heroin addict going cold Turkey. Worse probably. It’s quite possible Putin has back channelled to the Germans that any increase in weapons sent will result in restricted supply. The countries that are sending the most weapons U.K./USA are the ones he has least hold over in that regard. This war is an unbelievable damning of Eu energy policy of the past ten years. We even had this beamed into our homes every Wednesday night with Gazprom plastered all over champions league coverage and we lapped it up unquestioning. It used always give me a chill when I saw it.

No loss, but as I have said before, embassies don't actually do much for individuals in trouble.

Yeah and on top of that Im disappointed that the Biden administration isn't publicly calling the German govt out on their intransigent response to the war. Im sure they are in the background but they should be making the point publicly that Russia is on the edges of the EU and that Germany has a responsibility to stand up to them.

Like is the German government on the side of freedom and democracy or are they not, thats the black and white choice here when it is Ukraine who are suffering devastating consequences and war crimes on their population. The largest economy in the EU cant just sit this one out and hope it blows over to keep the gas flowing all while the UK and US are doing the majority of the heavy lifting in supplying weapons to Ukraine.

In the space of just a few short weeks the German govt. really have thrashed 30 years of soft power and consensus building in the EU by showing that when it really matters that they cant be relied upon. The German govt would do well to remember that there are 35,000 American troops on their soil providing them with a deterrent to Russian aggression and providing the German State with national security. The US should be publicly calling them out on their intransigence on Ukraine , they should turn the screw on them to get their act together. This is a very winnable war for Ukraine but to win it they need the fence sitters to get off the fence.