As Putin accelerates his 'manic' and terrifying assault on the people of Ukraine, German Chancellor Scholtz continues to 'dig in his heels' against supplying Taurus missiles to Ukraine that can protect Ukraine's civilians against the near 'avalanche of weaponry' being supplied to Putin from China's XI Jinping and North Korea's Kim Jon Un, so that Putin can continue his 'manic' and terrifying assault on the people of Ukraine.
"Germany on Wednesday announced it was shipping 5,000 protective helmets to Ukraine, while reiterating that it would not send any weapons.
The gesture followed days of strong criticism of Germany’s refusal to export weapons to Ukraine and the fact that Berlin hasn’t granted Estonia permission to send old German howitzers to the country. Berlin had previously refused to export protective military equipment such as helmets or vests.
“We will deliver 5,000 helmets to Ukraine — equipment that is needed,” Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (right) said. A defense ministry spokesperson could not say whether the helmets would be donated or whether Ukraine would have to pay for them." (Politico : 26 January 2022) (my emphasis)
Since then, Germany has had to be dragged by NATO members into supplying Ukraine with weaponry to defend itself against Putin's 'manic' and terrifying assault on the people of Ukraine.
As reported by the Hindustan Times,
"Germany Delivers Marder, IRIS-T To Ukraine As Chorus Mounts For Taurus.
Will Scholz Give In?" (Hindustan Times : 1 May 2024) (my emphasis)
(Hindustan Times : 1 May 2024 : YouTube)
Tellingly, in a recent poll conducted by the German Forsa Institute, Tass is reporting that,
"The majority of Germans are against supplying long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine, according to an opinion poll conducted by the Forsa Institute for the [Russian free-to-air] NTV television channel.
Thus, as many as 56% of the polled spoke against sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine while 37% favored such supplies. Notably, the number of those supporting this idea has considerably increased compared to March (28%). Supporters of The Greens party account for 63% of those who want Germany to supply Taurus’ to Ukraine while opponents of the idea are mostly supporters of Sahra Wagenknecht’s left-wing party and the right-wing Alternative for Germany." (Berlin - Tass : 30 April 2024) (my emphasis)
Former [SPD] Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, a longtime friend of Manfred Güllner, stood down in favour of the CDU's [East German raised and Putinversteher] Angela Merkel. (Wikipedia)
Consequentially, and as reported by Euronews, NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg is correct in bemoaning the fact that,
"NATO countries have not delivered what they promised to Ukraine in time, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday.
This has allowed Russia to press its advantage on the battlefield, while Kyiv’s depleted forces wait for military supplies from the US and Europe, the NATO chief added.
"Serious delays in support have meant serious consequences on the battlefield” for Ukraine, Stoltenberg told a news conference in Kyiv with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy." ( Euronews : 29 April 2024) (my emphasis)
(Euronews : 29 April 2024)
Notwithstanding these critical delays in the delivery of munitions and missiles to Ukraine, all is not lost.
"Vladimir Putin's army was left reeling after a deadly strike by ATACMS missiles wiped out a Russian military base in occupied Ukraine.
The devastating attack was filmed by Ukrainian drones hovering near to the base in Rogovo, which is located in occupied Lugansk province." (Express : 1 May 2024) (my emphasis)
"Ukraine has been pursuing a persistent bombing campaign targeting crucial oil fields within Russian territory for weeks.
Russia has been left grappling with rocketing fuel prices because of a tenacious bombing strategy putting growing pressure on consumers.
According to the latest government data, the cost of diesel went up almost 10 percent over the past week, with gasoline prices hitting a six-month high.
Reports of strikes on oil refineries have been increasing in recent months, with Russian Telegram reporting yet another drone attack in Ryazan Oblast causing a massive fire in the early hours of May 1." (Express : 1 May 2024) (my emphasis)
More critically, as reported by Jennifer Hansler and Samantha Waldenberg,
"The United States imposed sanctions on more than a dozen companies in China and Hong Kong for their support of Russia’s war in Ukraine as part of a tranche of nearly 300 new sanctions unveiled Wednesday.
The move comes after repeated warnings from top US officials, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, to top Chinese officials that they must crack down on China’s provision of dual-use items to Russia that the US says are being used to strengthen its military in the war against Ukraine." (CNN : 1 May 2024) (my emphasis)
"European Union officials plan to inform Chinese diplomats on Friday about the intent to add more Chinese companies to a blacklist because they had helped Russia evade EU sanctions.
The Chinese companies stand accused of buying European-made goods that are not permitted to be sold to Russia, then exporting them to Russian military buyers.
The aim of the meeting is to enlist Beijing’s help in closing the loopholes, people familiar with the planning said." (South China Morning Post : 26 April 2024) (my emphasis)
Let us remind ourselves that China itself is currently facing critical economic problems.
As reported by Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo,
" China's industrial profits fell in March and slowed gains for the quarter compared to the first two months, official data showed on Saturday, raising doubts about the strength of a recovery for the world's second-biggest economy.
...
Signs of the economy gaining momentum in the opening months were shown to have gradually given way to concerns over lacklustre demand at home." (Reuters : 29 April 2024) (my emphasis)
Joe Blogs : 29 April 2024 : YouTube
Xi Jinping thus has to take into account the impact that Putin is having on the economic woes of China in his support of Putin.
As Jacob Paul writes,
"China could force Vladimir Putin to leave Ukraine by withdrawing its support for Russia, an analyst has said.
“China wants to win on all fronts, and this includes trying to balance the tension between supporting Russia and trying to alter the relationship with the US.
...
Prof Bryson said: “China needs to work with the US and other countries to try to stabilise the international economy.
“This includes reducing trade barriers but also trying to facilitate the end of conflicts that are dampening global economic growth" (Express : 27 April 2024) (my emphasis)
Xi Jinping is well aware that as Putin continues to ramp up the growing possibility of precipitating a war with NATO as, with the aid of Chinese companies, he accelerates to rain bombs upon the people of Ukraine, the global economic fallout will be catastrophic for China.
Which raises the question,
"How long will the 'bromance' between Xi Jinping and Putin last?"
UPDATE : 3 May 2024
Finally two members of NATO are throwing down the gauntlet to Putin, confronting him with sending troops from a NATO country to defend Ukraine, and explicitly stating that the defence missiles they are providing to Ukraine can be used against targets in Russia itself.
As reported by Al Jazeera,
"French President Emmanuel Macron said he has not ruled out sending ground troops to Ukraine if Russia breaks through Ukrainian front lines and the government in Kyiv made such a request.
In an interview with The Economist published on Thursday, Macron reaffirmed his previous statements backing Ukraine in the face of Russia’s battlefield advances.
“If the Russians were to break through the front lines, if there were a Ukrainian request, which is not the case today, we would legitimately have to ask ourselves this question,” he said. (Al Jazeera : 2 May 2024) (my emphasis)
And, as reported by David Hughes and Luke O'Reilly,
"Lord David Cameron (left) has backed Ukrainian strikes against targets inside Russia using British-supplied weapons.
The Foreign Secretary said it was a decision for Ukraine how to use the supplied equipment and Kyiv “absolutely has the right” to strike back at Russia.
...
On a visit to Kyiv, Lord Cameron said: “In terms of what the Ukrainians do, in our view, it is their decision about how to use these weapons, they’re defending their country, they were illegally invaded by Putin and they must take those steps.
“We don’t discuss any caveats that we put on on those things. But let’s be absolutely clear, Russia has launched an attack into Ukraine and Ukraine absolutely has the right to strike back at Russia.” (Irish News : 2 May 2024) (my emphasis)
What is more significant about these developments is that Putin has, like a 'cracked' record, yet again threatened the world with nuclear war should any NATO troops assist Ukraine in fighting against his troops in Ukraine.
As recently as 2 months ago he addressed an assembly, that included many Russian generals, and again re-iterated his nuclear threat against NATO.
The Telegraph : February 2024 : YouTube
What should be understood is that Putin's threats of unleashing a 'nuclear war' against any NATO country will invoke NATO countries to unleash their nuclear arsenal against Russia.
In other words, Putin is prepared to sacrifice the Russian peoples on the alter of his manic and delusional ideas about recreating the old Soviet Union.
Modern Muscle : May 2023 : YouTube
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