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Benjamin Tallis 🇺🇦

@bctallis

Apr 27

It's not enough for #Russia to lose its aggressive war.
▶️#Ukraine must win.
It's not enough to win a military victory
🇺🇦needs a viable future.
That must include a clear path to #EU membership.
Here's why🇪🇺should offer that
(& what's getting in the way)
a🧵

@SecDef

It's clear that the immediate priority for #Ukraine is to defeat #Russia & repel its unprovoked invasion.
What defeating #Russia means has been increasingly discussed in recent days - especially after @SecDef's comments on weakening 🇷🇺
theguardian.com/world/2022/apr…

@shashj

There have been many good interventions on that topic, including from @shashj in discussion with @DrRadchenko

https://twitter.com/shashj/status/1519009010246201344?s=20&t=jzCLQoEIBfOhB-TUOVXC7g

Read 27 tweets

Benjamin Tallis 🇺🇦

@bctallis

Apr 24

#Germany's leaders, especially Chancellor #Scholz seem reluctant to really help #Ukraine-especially by providing #heavyweapons.

(Too) many reasons are given for this, even avoiding #nuclear war, but there's a problem with these excuses for🇺🇦- AND for🇩🇪& its #NATO allies
a🧵

@derspiegel

Here's the latest interview with #Scholz in @derspiegel He steers a question about supplying proper weapons to
1) #Germany becoming a party to the war in #Ukraine
2) The danger of a direct confrontation between NATO & Russia
3) WW3 & Nuclear war

spiegel.de/international/…

As you can see from the quotes below
- and despite the best efforts of the journalists -
there's a lot of diversion, deflection & flim-flam going on here ...
The key point seems to be to keep stoking and manipulating fear among #Germany's population

Read 18 tweets

Benjamin Tallis 🇺🇦

@bctallis

Apr 18

Germany’s response to #Russia’s assault on #Ukraine is an abject disappointment.

Why be so hard on #Germany?
Because:
- Ukraine needs & deserves much better

- We all need a Germany that does much better
(including Germans). A 🧵

#Germany has not unequivocally endorsed #Ukraine's #EU candidacy bid;
- was slow to provide weapons of any kind;
- is dragging its feet over providing #heavyweapons;
- delayed the #EU ban on🇷🇺coal, &
- STILL buys the most🇷🇺gas, giving billions of Euros to #Putin.

This is particularly hard to bear as #Germany COULD do so much more.
A fully engaged Germany COULD make such a difference - as when it boldly accepted millions of refugees - in the 1990s and in 2015.
It believed in its best sides & promised "#wirschaffendas" "we can manage it"

Read 15 tweets

Benjamin Tallis 🇺🇦

@bctallis

Apr 13

What to do with a problem like #Steinmeier getting refused an invitation to #Kyiv by #Zelenskiy?

A 🧵 on why it's better for #Germany to get proactive instead of getting offended over #Ukraine.

Steinmeier being unwelcome in #Kyiv is bad.
I'm not criticising #Zelenskiy's decision (which is justified) but that it came to this is everyone's detriment.
As such, it's an important moment to reflect & consider, why it happened & what to do better.

@MelnykAndrij

#Steinmeier was not welcomed because of his past closeness to Putin's #Russia. He has publicly regretted this but its clear that for Kyiv apology ≠ atonement. Let's be honest the ill-judged harmony concert & FWS' spox criticism of @MelnykAndrij didn't help, BUT

Read 22 tweets

Benjamin Tallis 🇺🇦

@bctallis

Apr 12

Some of observations on Heavy #Weapons transfers to #Ukraine
11/🧵:

1. Transferring any and all heavy weapons is good. Especially of types that 🇺🇦 has asked for.

Therefore it’s good that Hweapons are increasingly delivered by many countries
(eg 🇨🇿🇸🇰🇬🇧) & discussed in 🇩🇪.

BUT

2. The endless debates on how long it takes to train crews to use eg Tanks & IFVs are starting to sound like excuses not reasons. Clearly it’s not poss to just climb in & drive off, but 🇩🇪seems to over complicate this, to say the least.

3. Rather than continuing to talk down to #Ukraine, #Germany’s politicians should consider that the 🇩🇪way is not the only way, & may not even be the best way.
Relative recent performance of 🇺🇦&🇩🇪 militaries needs to be considered- as does accelerated learning in wartime.

Read 11 tweets

Benjamin Tallis 🇺🇦

@bctallis

Apr 5

https://twitter.com/dimitarbechev/status/1511382809281241094

This is a really interesting point. I remember, at an academic conference in 2017, being told that if Central & East Europeans really wanted to integrate into the EU, they should take on Western Europe’s colonial guilt as well.

https://twitter.com/dimitarbechev/status/1511382809281241094

There is a big need for the EU to reckon with its colonial past - & present! - & to stop going down a civilisational, essentialised identity track, to which CEE conservatives have also contributed. BUT, that’s not the only relevant line about the EU or CEE. RU is way worse here.

Treatment of refugees in this instance- which is great- shows what BS it was last time. Willingness was lacking, not capacity. That must change more widely- if we are serious about winning systemic competition, we have to values we espouse- universal not ‘european’.

Read 4 tweets

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