One Year Into Tsar Vladimir III's Three-Day War

First, for those who have been carping about the cost to American taxpayers of this war, I present this graphic:

Find more statistics at Statista

Four countries with direct experience of the brunt of Russian aggression have been, by GDP, giving a lot. Poland, in particular, has done far more for Ukrainian refugees that most people probably thought that they would. Germany is starting to step up, a little. By GDP, they've given a bit, but they've still been rather stingy. It's high time that the Germans get over feeling bad because they invaded the Soviet Union (which is why they've pretty much let the Russians riddle thier intelligence service with moles). Are they going to close their eyes to Russia doing similar acts in this century?

I've heard people talking about the amount of money that we are "giving" to Ukraine. But a lot of that isn't being paid to Ukraine. We've given Ukraine a lot of weapons, but those weapons were made in the U.S. Those 155mm shells that the Ukrainians are firing lots of? They're made here. Javelins? Stingers? Cannons? HIMARS launchers and its various rockets? Made here.

And let's not forget that, as a result of what is happening on the Ukrainian battlefield, those weapons are now in demand worldwide. Every country that has threatening neighbors wants HIMARS (or something similar). If you're the Defense Minister of a country outside of the Western bloc and you have sketchy neighbors you mght be less inclined to sign off on a purchase of new weaponry that is either Russian or based on their designs (without being bribed, that is). For nothing is a better advertisement for any particular weapon system than battlefield success.

CDR Salamander has advocated for those countries on the Russian border to spin up militia teams armed with AGTMs in every village. That's a worthy idea, and one that the Taiwanese may want to take a hard look at implementing. But I'd backstop them with a lot more people armed with RPG-7s or similar weapons. True, they may not be that effective against tanks with modern defenses. But they are the bees' knees for blowing up trucks in convoys, especially fuel tankers. Tanks go through a lot of fuel; a tank without tanker trucks to refuel it will become a pillbox.

The pro-Russian apologists (you know who they are) keep on saying that we can trust Putin's word when he says that he only has designs on Ukraine (plus Belarus and Kazakhstan) and all other countries are safe. Well, in my opinion, they are idiots. Putin has masterfully aligned his domestic repressions to be in line with those of the Christian Taliban in this country. They see Putin stamping on the same people they hate, so they love Vlad the Invader.

Of everything, it's Putin's kicking over the world order of the last seventy years that is the most wworrisome. He seeks to return to the Law of Conquest. Anybody who thinks that is a good idea needs to have their head examined. For that reason alone, it is the duty of every civilized nation on the planet to help Ukraine repel Russian invaders.

There are, though, a lot of countries that aren't helping, if even a little. We should keep in mind who they are and, in the future, adjust our dealings with them accordingly.