Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

You can paste full URL like: https://x.com/threadreaderapp/status/1644127596119195649
or just the ID like: 1644127596119195649

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

  1. On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
  2. Click again on or Share Via icon
  3. Click on Copy Link to Tweet
  4. Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
  5. More info at Twitter Help
Ruth Deyermond Profile picture
@ruth_deyermond
Mar 1, 2022 • 8 tweets • 2 min read • Read on X
A short thread on the war and where we are with the Russian government’s goals of re-writing the European security order to reflect a weakened West and a stronger Russia.
To recap, in the last week, the Russian government has:
Launched an unprovoked invasion of the whole of Ukraine for no obvious reason;
Embarrassed itself militarily;
Caused NATO and the EU to unite as they haven’t done for years, if ever before;
Caused Germany to overturn 75 years of post-WW2 defence policy;
Caused Switzerland to break with 200 years of neutrality;
Caused Finland to debate joining NATO;
Caused neutral Sweden to send lethal aid to Ukraine;
Triggered crippling sanctions, which currently appear to be sending the Russian economy back to the 1990s;
Caused Nord Stream 2 to be cancelled;
Caused Western energy companies to walk away from Russian partners;
Caused a rethink of the energy relationship with Russia by European states – a critical relationship for the Russian economy;
Been shut out of most of Europe’s airspace;
Annoyed the oligarchs;
Got Russia kicked out of Eurovision, the World Cup, and international ice hockey;
Triggered an ICC war crimes investigation;
Triggered significant domestic protests, despite the great costs to the people involved in them;
Caused the EU Parliament to recommend accepting Ukraine as an accession candidate
Caused widespread discussion about Putin’s mental health;
Transformed a former comedian and Paddington voiceover from a not very popular president to a global icon of courage and resistance;
United countless people around the world in admiration of Ukraine.

But apart from that, it’s all been a great success.
I missed this out. Another triumph: Image

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Ruth Deyermond

Ruth Deyermond Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @ruth_deyermond

Ruth Deyermond Profile picture
Jan 20
A few quick thoughts on the reporting and the reality of the Trump administration’s foreign policy.🧵
Both US and European news media are likely to talk a lot about the “unpredictability” of Trump’s foreign policy as if it’s some kind of strategy. This is misleading – Trump foreign policy wasn’t and isn’t unpredictable, it’s incoherent.
Trump 1 policy was incoherent because what Trump said and did often didn’t align with his own administration (not just career State Dept people but his own appointees). And, of course, we could see very little of what Trump and his inner circle were doing behind closed doors.
Read 17 tweets
Ruth Deyermond Profile picture
Jan 8
If Trump's demands for 5% spending on defence really plunges European NATO members into crisis mode then they haven't been paying attention. It seems to me that the point of this demand is that it's designed not to be met. That's what should be causing alarm. 🧵
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, NATO members' defence spending as a percentage of GDP has been transformed. Compare 2021 and 2024 estimates: Image
Image
In his 1st term, Trump talked often (in the style of a mafia boss running a protection racket) about the need for European NATO members to "pay" 2% for their defence, referred to those that didn't as "delinquent", and threatened them: https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-roundtable-discussion-fighting-americas-seniors/
Read 11 tweets
Ruth Deyermond Profile picture
Dec 30, 2024
Time for another end of year 🧵. Apologies (again) for the enormous length.
In many ways, late 2024 looks like late 2023, but choices confronting policymakers and citizens are both more constrained and more urgent as we move closer to a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine and to a post-West US - and thus a post-US West - under a Trump administration.
2024 has been the year when everyone except China lost.
Read 62 tweets
Ruth Deyermond Profile picture
Dec 6, 2024
Not sure any state in the world has a foreign policy or diplomatic infrastructure that can cope with what’s going on at the moment.
Foreign policy is, obviously, about advancing priorities (and dealing with the legacy of previous governments’ foreign policies) while broadly trying to hold everything else as constant as possible in order to achieve that.
The policies themselves and the institutions that develop and implement them reflect that focus. In order to function within budget and staffing constraints they have to assume that lower-priority areas are stable or unimportant enough not to spend a lot of time and attention on.
Read 10 tweets
Ruth Deyermond Profile picture
Nov 22, 2024
Given how cautious the Biden admin has been in Ukraine because of this fear, it was always clear they wouldn't have authorised the use of ATACMS if there had been any risk of Russia using nuclear weapons. 🧵
The fact that Putin revised the nuclear doctrine, used his exciting new missile, and made threatening noises on TV isn't an indication that we've moved nearer to the use of nuclear weapons in the last week - on the contrary, it's a strong indication that nuclear use is not likely
If you're a normal Westerner who doesn't spend much time thinking about Russian foreign policy or war or nuclear weapons, and you suddenly see wall-to-wall media coverage of ICBMs and nuclear threats it's likely to be very scary. As others have pointed out, that's the point of it
Read 13 tweets
Ruth Deyermond Profile picture
Nov 15, 2024
Many analysts and journalists are still framing what's coming as roughly like a traditional presidency: led by the president, filled with appointees that have real roles, aiming to produce workable policy that serves US interests. I don’t think any of this is looking correct.
Looking at the incoming administration picks from Gabbard to Kennedy to Gaetz to Hegseth, it seems pretty obvious that these are not serious nominations in the sense that they are expected to conduct government business in the way that’s normally understood of those roles.
These nominations are so odd, even by Trump standards, that I wonder if they are intended not to be serious (even if confirmed) but to signal contempt for the normal functioning of US democracy: a joke cabinet member for a joke system of government.
Read 7 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

Send Email!

:(