(July 12, 2023 at 11:46 pm)Thumpalumpacus Wrote:(July 12, 2023 at 5:58 pm)Angrboda Wrote: If I were NATO then I'd put obstacles in the way of Ukraine joining. A NATO country on the border of Russia is a flashpoint and Putin can't keep it in his pants.
If that was the real issue, Russia would've invaded the Baltic states and the war's over in five days. They're NATO members, after all.
Of course, they don't have the coal, rare metals, uranium, and prestige as Target Ukraine.
I think NATO should greet Ukraine once they win this war. Russia cannot beat Ukraine alone, as we're seeing here. They're sure not gonna get punchy once Ukraine has Article 5 in its pocket.
With the pending ascension of Sweden, Russia is now the only non-NATO country with a border on the Baltic Sea. While this probably doesn't affect things in any material way, I think it's going to have a huge impact on the Russian psyche.
Boru
‘I can’t be having with this.’ - Esmeralda Weatherwax