Ulrich Speck @ulrichspeck Twitter profile | Pikagi

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Ulrich Speck

@ulrichspeck

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Foreign policy analyst and strategist. Columnist NZZ. Ex GMF Berlin, Washington; Carnegie, Elcano Brussels; RFERL Prague, PhD history

Heidelberg/Berlin

Joined June 2009

Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

19 days

The new quasi-alliance of neo-imperialist, autocratic powers against the US-led, liberal, free and open order is advancing: Russia vs Ukraine China vs Taiwan Iran vs Israel We see increasing cooperation, and increased readiness to move out of the grey zone, towards open attack.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

1 year

German-Ukrainian declaration: "Russia must immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders."

Tweet card media

Joint Declaration by Ukraine and Germany — Official website of the President of Ukraine

The President of Ukraine and the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany reiterated their unequivocal condemnation of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine.

www.president.gov.ua

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Ulrich Speck

3 months

"I don't need standing ovations, I need ammunition"

@kravchukev

Yevheniia Kravchuk

3 months

Standing ovation for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this morning at the Munich Security Conference. @ZelenskyyUa #MSC2024

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

If Germany and France are unable to build European security against Russia, the new European security order is going to be built around them.

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

The sad irony: if the EU would have provided Ukraine with fighter jets (and other stuff) before Russia attacked, maybe Russia would have never attacked.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

Warning shots Western capitals choose to (largely) ignore: - the brutal Chechen war (early 2000) - the Georgia war 2008 - annexation of Crimea 2014 - war against Ukraine since 2014 - war in Syria since 2015

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

For Germans who invested so much in the partnership with Russia it's hard to accept that they were wrong. They always thought they were "rational", smarter than the Central Europeans who were warning about Russian aggression, and who the Germans saw as irrational, "traumatized".

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

Some European countries take the military support for Ukraine very seriously -- because they understand that this is also their fight.

@BasedPoland2

Expat in Poland 🇵🇱

2 years

🇵🇱🇺🇦 Poland will send 100 T-72 tanks to Ukraine.

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

If Germany and France had armed and trained Ukrainian forces in parallel to pursuing the diplomatic process with Russia (Normandy format), maybe Russia would have been deterred from attacking Ukraine in February 2022. Past is past, but there is a lesson for present and future.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

"Every war ends with a negotiated settlement." Except, for example, World War I and II, to name a few.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

What would Russia be without nukes, without oil and gas? Quite possibly a prosperous, peaceful democracy.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

The myth that a corrupt autocracy can build a powerful, efficient modern military force has been shattered in Ukraine. This must frighten Putin and Xi, and those around them. And it should reassure the free world.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

If someone got humiliated in the French-Russian relationship recently, it is France -- driven out of Mali by the Kremlin-controlled Wagner group.

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

We see London stepping into the vacuum Berlin is leaving in Central and Eastern Europe.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 months

It remains a mystery why neither Scholz nor Macron nor Sunak, with far bigger resources, were unable to do this. Congrats to Pavel who shows that there is a way, if there is the will.

@nexta_tv

NEXTA

2 months

⚡️ #Czechia President Petr Pavel has said that all the funds needed to purchase 800,000 artillery ammunition for the Ukrainian Armed Forces have already been raised. The first shipments are expected to arrive in #Ukraine within a few weeks.

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Ulrich Speck

1 year

What Macron says about Taiwan -- the core security theme in the Indo-Pacific -- vindicates the Australian decision to cancel the submarine deal with France and to create AUKUS with the UK and the US.

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

For many years, Berlin and Paris thought they knew how to handle Russia. Yet their Russia policy did nothing to stop Putin. One would expect some modesty now, and a certain amount of soul-searching.

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

Many people are thinking about potential compromises leading to peace in Ukraine. Yet to understand what's at stake for Putin one must keep in mind that this war didn't start in 2022, it started in 2014. For Putin, destroying Ukraine's independence has become an obsession.

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

Germany has taken a strong position. The biggest European economy and the unofficial leader of Europe. Putin knew well why he invested so much in friendly relations. Germany was open to that. But the attack on Ukraine changed everything. Comes certainly as a shock to Putin.

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

Those who advise Ukraine to seek territorial compromise with Russia to get peace should be aware that Ukraine already went through this exercise 2015ff -- and that the result was not peace but a brutal war in 2022 in which Russia tries to destroy Ukraine as a state and a nation.

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

Much of Europe still treats Russia's renewed imperialism as an annoyance, not as a threat. That could become a costly mistake.

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

Forced by Putin, Olaf Scholz is putting an end on a specific vision and reality of a German partnership with Putin, conceived and pushed for years by Schröder but also supported by Steinmeier, Gabriel and -- reluctantly but nevertheless most consequential -- Merkel.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

The most dangerous wrong idea of our times? Ruling elites in Russia and China have convinced themselves that only America stands in the way of their dream: to run an empire and to rule the world.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

For most countries in Central Europe, with the strange exception of Hungary, it's obvious that the fight in Ukraine is a fight for their own future. This is something still not fully understood in Germany and Western Europe.

@Reuters

Reuters

2 years

Czech Republic sends tanks, infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

0dd fact: without nuclear weapons, Russia would be (almost) no threat to its neighbors. And without oil and gas, it might not be a dictatorship.

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

Had Macron supported Ukraine the way Boris Johnson did, almost all of Europe would now dance to the tune of strategic sovereignty.

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

Wondering how Merkel must feel. She was the central figure in negotiations with Putin and in putting together the sanctions with the US in 2014/15. What she tried to prevent is exactly what happens now, a large-scale Russian war against Ukraine, and all she did was to delay it.

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

If Ukraine wins, or at least clearly asserts itself, Central Europe will become the center of gravity of Europe.

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Ulrich Speck

1 year

If the report is accurate that the US is going to send Abrams to Ukraine in order to convince Germany to send Leopards, Ukraine and Europe have to thank again the Biden administration for being serious on defending the European security order against Russia.

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

French foreign minister Le Drian: "The Russian logic is based on the usual triptych: indiscriminate bombardments, so-called humanitarian 'corridors' designed to then accuse the adversary of not respecting them and talks with no other objective than to pretend to to negotiate".

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

If Berlin and Paris don't understand that Russia's attack on Ukraine requires a new approach to the EU, resulting in an attractive offer to Ukraine, they miss a historic opportunity and may put the EU on the track of increasing irrelevance.

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

Dictators look strong until they suddenly fall.

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Ulrich Speck

1 year

Macron's interview with Politico just confirms that he doesn't care about security in the Indo-Pacific and has no clue what's going on there -- he is just obsessed with a supposed European (French) vassal status towards the US.

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Europe must resist pressure to become ‘America’s followers,’ says Macron

The ‘great risk’ Europe faces is getting ‘caught up in crises that are not ours,’ French president says in interview.

www.politico.eu

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

"Trust to Germans is coming very close to zero" in the Baltic region -- which has been the most German-friendly region in Europe in the last decades, says @Pabriks at #LennartMeriConference

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

Wie sich Gabriel an Selenskyj und Melnyk abarbeitet, ihnen "Verschwörungstheorie" und mangelnden Friedenswillen vorwirft -- das wirft Licht auf ein Milieu in Deutschland, das auf Partnerschaft mit Russland setzt und die Ukraine als Störenfried sieht, Angriffskrieg hin oder her.

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Ulrich Speck

1 year

With this war, Ukraine is emerging as a major new geopolitical player in Europe, changing the landscape.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

9 months

"Austria, unlike most European Union countries, is still buying nearly as much natural gas from Russia as it was before the war in Ukraine." "Germany, which got 55 percent of its supply from Russia before the war, now imports zero."

Why One Country Is Struggling to Break Away From Russian Gas

Austria, unlike most European Union countries, is still buying nearly as much natural gas from Russia as it was before the war in Ukraine.

www.nytimes.com

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

The German politician doing the most to help Ukraine right now is Ursula von der Leyen, head of the EU Commission. As a former German defense minister, in charge when Nato decided to strengthen its Eastern flank since 2014, she has a good understanding of the situation.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

"Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression runs on the money Russia gets by selling fossil fuels to Europe. And while Ukraine has, incredibly, repelled Russia’s attempt to seize Kyiv, Putin won’t be definitively stopped until Europe ends its energy dependence."

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

Zelensky makes a strong case for applying sanctions against Russia before a Russian attack. #MSC2022

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

The only chance for lasting peace in Ukraine and Eastern Europe is a change of attitude in Russia -- the country must back-off from its imperialist and revisionist course. This will only happen if Russia loses in Ukraine -- if it realizes that it can't get what it wants.

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

Der Wunsch, die Ukraine möge sich doch bitte dem Aggressor kampflos ergeben und damit den Deutschen unangenehme Fragen und schwierige Entscheidungen endlich ersparen, wird in diesen Tagen lauter.

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

If accepting that Ukraine is an independent state and Ukrainians are a nation distinct from Russia means "humiliation" to Putin, then this humiliation is unavoidable. Ukraine and the West have to go through this dangerous phase; and it is Ukraine that pays the enormous prize.

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Ulrich Speck

1 year

In 2022, Europe was lucky to have a US president for whom the Cold War was the formative experience. With neither Germany nor France able to adequately respond to Russia's attack on the European peace order, the US has again filled the geo-strategic leadership vacuum in Europe.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

11 months

Most people outside Russia who are "pro-Russian" are actually "anti-American". They usually know very little about today's Russia and have no idea about how to deal with Russian aggression other than giving Putin what he wants in the hope to make him happy and quiet.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

Macron would be in a far better position to play a role in Western policy on Russia and Ukraine if he would admit that his approach to Putin in the last years has utterly failed and was based on illusions and wishful thinking.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

As everyone is guessing about Putin's goals and his modus operandi in the current crisis, here's my take -- a thread.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

The bravery of Ukrainians has reminded Europeans of their fundamental values, and now they act upon them.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

Höre immer wieder aus Washington: Wissen die Deutschen eigentlich, wie sehr ihr derzeitiges Verhalten gegenüber der Ukraine dem deutschen Ansehen schadet?

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

Es scheint, dass die meisten, die fordern, die Ukraine sollte einen Kompromiss mit Russland eingehen, nicht verstehen oder wissen, dass der Krieg von 2022 seine Ursache darin hat, dass Russland mit dem Kompromiss von 2015 nicht zufrieden war.

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

Russia's attack on Ukraine is forcing everybody to show their true colors.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

The best chance to end this war quickly is by delivering more weapons to Ukraine. Moscow will only stop when its war aims are frustrated.

@olex_scherba

olexander scherba🇺🇦

2 years

With only 4 HIMARS in action, Russian ammunition depots are burning all over Ukraine. Imagine if we had a hundred of these bad boys. #ArmUkraineNow #StandWithUkraine #Happy4thofJuly

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

Nothing Putin is currently doing is new; it's just the culmination of what he did again and again in the last two decades.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

1 year

Keine Leopard-Panzer für die Ukraine: wenn es dabei bleibt, wird Deutschland zwangsläufig für künftige ukrainische Niederlagen mit verantwortlich gemacht werden, fair oder nicht fair. Das sollte man im Kanzleramt bedenken.

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Ulrich Speck

1 year

Also interesting that the leader of a country that contributes 2 percent of the overall military help for Ukraine is convinced that he'll play a major role in shaping the outcome of the war.

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Ukraine war: Questions over France's weapons supply to Kyiv

Paris's relative absence in its supply of weapons to Ukraine leaves eastern European countries wary.

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

If Scholz and Macron really wanted, they had already convinced Orbán to agree to an oil embargo. They have enough leverage. In the past, Orbán played his games but in the end knew he had to comply with the EU mainstream.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

11 months

The war in Ukraine is - Not a US proxy war against Russia: US is not interested in destroying / diminishing Russia - Not a Russian war of self-defense: Russia as a nuclear power is not threatened by anybody - Not a territorial dispute between two countries

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

Deutschland im August 2022: Der gegenwärtige Kanzler und sein Vor-Vorgänger sind beschäftigt mit Russlands Versuch, Deutschland, Schlüsselland in Europa, aus der westlichen pro-Ukraine-Koalition herauszubrechen.

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

Ukraine is weakening Putin's imperial project and it is demolishing the myth of the Russian army. And it demonstrates the strength of democracy in the fight with autocracy. All these are invaluable services to longterm European security, freedom and prosperity.

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

Die Wut gegen den Botschafter und den Präsidenten eines friedlichen demokratischen europäischen Landes, das sich unter größten Opfern gegen einen äußerst brutalen Angriffs- und Eroberungskrieg zur Wehr setzt, ist schon befremdlich. Da tun sich Abgründe auf.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

59% of Germans want sanctions against Gerhard Schröder.

@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

59% der Deutschen für Sanktionen gegen Schröder.

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Ulrich Speck

1 year

What will remain from 2022: Trump hasn't been able to destroy American democracy. Putin hasn't been able to destroy the European peace order. The center holds. The liberal order is far stronger than many have hoped or feared.

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

Deutschland hat bei Nord Stream 2 sehr lange gezögert; hat sich geweigert, bei der Bewaffnung der Ukraine eine konstruktive Rolle zu spielen; und erscheint nun durch den Unwillen bei SWIFT als Hemmnis für eine kraftvolle Antwort auf den russischen Angriffskrieg.

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Ulrich Speck

1 year

Morawiecki: "Old Europe believed in an agreement with Russia, and old Europe failed. But there is a new Europe — Europe that remembers what Russian communism was. And Poland is the leader of this new Europe."

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Poland’s Morawiecki plays Europe’s anti-Macron in Washington

The Polish PM is stressing that Warsaw is Washington’s crucial European ally.

www.politico.eu

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Ulrich Speck

1 year

Macron driven by national great power ambition. Scholz driven by mercantilism. Both inadequate at a moment when the liberal, rules-based order is threatened by Russia and China.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

Russia is making Nato indispensable for at least another decade.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

6 months

The richest man of the world is also one of the most illiterate commentators on geopolitics.

@yarotrof

Yaroslav Trofimov

6 months

All these US bases in Taliban Afghanistan and in Turkmenistan. Wow! They’ve been real good at hiding them. Am now fully expecting a tweet with a map of Russia surrounded by NATO bases in China.

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

Aus dem Wirtschaftsministerium hört man: Keine Energiesanktionen! Aus dem Verteidigungsministerium: Sorry, wir haben kaum Waffen, die wir abgeben können! Die zwei wichtigsten Hebel Deutschlands, der Ukraine zu helfen, und damit der eigenen Sicherheit, bleiben ungenutzt.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

Klar ist geworden: Olaf Scholz ist kein Helmut Schmidt -- der als Kanzler eine Menge von Verteidigung und Strategie verstand. Er ist auch kein Willy Brandt, der zeitlebens gegen Totalitarismus kämpfte und auf Solidarität mit den Schwächeren setzte.

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Ulrich Speck

8 months

The west keeps being surprised that Putin and Xi are not following the logic of economic interest and don't prioritize welfare of their subjects. Many expect them to "come to their senses" and reduce aggression abroad and repression at home, because this is "in their interest".

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

Deutschland und Ukraine: - Waffen: nur auf maximalen Druck - Sanktionen: möglichst nicht im Energiebereich - Besuch in Kiew: nein danke - EU-Mitgliedschaft: äusserst schwierig... Diese Bundesregierung handelt nur unwillig -- wenn der Druck von aussen oder innen zu gross wird.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

Die russische Strategie ist klar: es geht darum, den Willen Deutschlands, die Ukraine zu unterstützen, zu brechen. Dazu wird Angst benutzt (vor Energieknappheit und Atomkrieg) sowie Desinformation und Propaganda. Nicht so klar ist, was die Gegenstrategie der Bundesregierung ist.

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

"if Ukrainians were relying on the EU alone, the war might already be over. And we’d be looking at a weak, dismembered and Russia-controlled Ukraine."

@fpleitgenCNN

Frederik Pleitgen

2 years

The Anglosphere is saving Ukraine while the EU is saving itself – POLITICO

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

Why Russia is most unlikely to use tactical nukes: - wouldn't stop Ukraine - might bring Nato into the war - would alienate China, India; make Russia a global pariah - would increase risk for Putin to be toppled at home - lead to uncontrollable dynamic which Putin hates

@shashj

Shashank Joshi

2 years

I was struck by @Gottemoeller remark on Tues that Russia could "strike back now in really unpredictable ways" incl tactical nuclear weapons. It's unknowable, but I'm less worried. TNWs wouldn't necessarily halt Ukr advances & could induce NATO intervention

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

The current conflict with Russia makes clear that the US remains the indispensable partner for Europe for very long time. Without US leadership, the current European level of support for Ukraine would be unthinkable, whether it's on sanctions or on weapons delivery.

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Ulrich Speck

2 years

Prediction: The damage in trust Germany and France have experienced in this major European security crisis is massive -- and make sure that the US, the UK and Nato will play the key roles in European security for many years.

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Ulrich Speck

1 year

The more Ukrainian territory Russia can keep -- once this phase of a war that Russia started in 2014 is over --, the more likely it is that Russia will restart the war after a pause, feeling comfortable with its renewed imperialist attitude.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

5 months

Fiona Hill: "A world in which Putin chalks up a win in Ukraine is one where the US’s standing is diminished, where Iran and North Korea are emboldened, where China dominates the Indo-Pacific, where the Middle East becomes more unstable and where nuclear proliferation takes off".

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

Panikmache bei Energiesanktionen ("Millionen von Arbeitslosen"), Panikmache bei Waffenlieferung ("dritter Weltkrieg, Atomkrieg"). Da zeigt sich ein Muster bei Kanzler Scholz.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

Wenn Polen, Tschechien und die Slowakei schwere Waffen an die Ukraine liefern können, dann gibt es keinen Grund für Deutschland, das nicht auch zu tun.

@visegrad24

Visegrád 24

2 years

Heavy weapons donated to Ukraine: 🇵🇱: T-72M1 tanks (100+), BWP-1 (nr unknown), 122mm 2S1 Gozdzik (20+),BM-21 (20+), AAM R-73 (100) 🇨🇿: Strela-10M SAM, T-72M1 tanks (12+), BVP-1/Pbv 501A (5+/56), 152mm vz. 77 DANA (20+), RM-70 (20+) 🇸🇰: S-300 SAM (4) 🇩🇪: Nothing

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Ulrich Speck

1 year

What @jensstoltenberg says is what everybody who wants to lead Europe in these times should understand and communicate clearly. But that's not what we hear from Scholz and Macron, which is why they continue to disqualify themselves from a leadership position in Europe.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

Putin has essentially lost: militarily Ukraine is stronger than Russia, and the West is united and supporting Ukraine.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

First take: The attack on the Kerch bridge is also a signal that Kyiv doesn't let itself scare by Putin's nuclear intimidation tactics. It pokes another hole into the idea that Russia responds to any attack on occupied and "annexed" territory with nuclear escalation.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

1 year

"“Poland has become our most important partner in continental Europe,” a senior U.S. Army official in Europe said"

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Meet Europe’s coming military superpower: Poland

Warsaw is turning to major arms deals with South Korea to establish supremacy in Continental Europe.

www.politico.eu

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

German foreign minister @ABaerbock in Madrid: "Sending weapons to Ukraine helps saving lifes every day"

Tweet media one

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

A weakened Russia won't be able to subjugate Belarus forever. Ukraine's success will also offer new perspectives for a free and independent Belarus. The West should put this on the map.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

Da jetzt vielfach vor einem "Bellizismus" gewarnt wird mit Blick auf die Ukraine (gemeint ist militärische Unterstützung), sei daran erinnert, dass ohne amerikanischen Bellizismus Hitler den Zweiten Weltkrieg gewonnen hätte; Europa wäre ein Nazi-Reich geworden.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

There are those who understand what Ukraine is fighting for, and those who don't. Two separate worlds.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

1 year

Sometimes people fail to realize what a big story is going on in Europe in our times: America is saving Ukraine from being annihilated as a state and destroyed as a nation by Russia.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

Wenn man in Deutschland nicht versteht, dass primäres Interesse nicht die 21 Grad Wohnungstemperatur ist (statt 18), sondern die Bewahrung der europäischen Friedensordnung gegen den russischen Angriff, dann wird man nicht in die Lage kommen, diese Friedensordnung zu verteidigen.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

Es bleibt ein Riesenproblem des deutschen Ukraine-Diskurses, dass die Unterstützung der Ukraine nur als "Solidarität" und Hilfe für das Opfer dargestellt wird -- und nicht als zentrales deutsches Interesse.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

Man könnte auch mal darüber beleidigt sein, dass der Bundespräsident hastig versucht hat, sich ausgerechnet mit polnischen und baltischen Amtskollegen in Kiew eine Gelegenheit zu verschaffen, die prekäre Bilanz seiner Russlandpolitik über zwei Jahrzehnte zu übertünchen.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

When we hear that Russia reacts to "humiliation" with total escalation (ie nuclear weapons), I always think about the moment when Turkey shot down a Russian attack aircraft in 2015. Russian reaction: We will "seriously reevaluate" our relationship with Turkey.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

Dear "realists", land for peace is not going to work. Russia wants to control all of Ukraine -- this is an imperialist war that is about submission, not a territorial dispute about borderlands.

@IuliiaMendel

Iuliia Mendel

2 years

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of the 🇷🇺Security Council, said that Russia is preparing new massive strikes on Ukraine. "The 1st episode has been played. There will be others…the goal of our future actions…should be the full-fledged dismantling of the political regime in 🇺🇦”

Tweet media one

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

7 days

Too few people notice how strange it is that US military support for Ukraine decides about the fate of Europe. Western Europeans with their world class economies and deep pockets had two years to ramp up production of arms and ammunition. But they remained passive.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

Ich vermute, Russland wird weiter Gas liefern. Es benutzt lediglich die Angst vor Unterbrechung, um den deutschen Willen, die Ukraine zu unterstützen, zu brechen. Eine klassische Putin-KGB-Operation; er sieht die Bundesrepublik als das schwächste Glied des Westens.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

Not sure whether the German government understands the profound damage such a position brings to Germany's standing in Europe and the world.

@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

"While Eastern EU countries like Poland and Lithuania want the EU to keep up the pressure on Moscow by ramping up its penalties, some such as Germany are signaling support for taking a pause to “review the effect of the sanctions imposed so far”"

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

Putin became powerful by manipulating a West that was keen to leave the Cold War behind. Now he is losing power by overplaying his hand vis-a-vis the West. First the brutal open war against Ukraine, now the open use of energy to coerce the West. He is overplaying his hand.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

Putin is not cornered. He has lost the opening battles for Kyiv and Kharkiv (been "humiliated"), now he is digging in, trying to cut Ukraine off from Western supply, through intimidation ("nuclear war") and by turning the global South against the West.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

Putin now faces defeat in his asymmetric war against the West. His weapons are not working -- neither the Russian military nor the energy weapon deliver as he expected. His assumptions about Ukraine and the West have turned out to be illusions.

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@ulrichspeck

Ulrich Speck

2 years

Ohne die Unterstützung durch die USA wäre die Ukraine wohl verloren.

@PentagonPresSec

Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder

@PentagonPresSec

2 years

48 hours. From Presidential authorization on April 13th, to the first shipments departing on April 15th. That's the speed at which we are mobilizing to help equip the Ukrainians with the material they need to defend their country.

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