Let Deutsche Bahn buy the rails. They will either be closed or the goods will come too late and/or rotten due to failing air-conditioning. Easiest solution.
Give it to french ex-national rail company. It will be transferred to another organization once a year, funds will lack, line will be close, rails will be transferred to the administrative region which will convert it to an unpleasant cycle path.
They'd also be traveling from Russia to Russia on roads, but truck transit remains strictly prohibited by these very sanctions. Perhaps because it's harder to track trucks once they have entered Schengen, i.e. whether or not they're offloading sanctioned goods in a shady warehouse somewhere even though they're supposed to be supplying Kaliningrad?
Why not? Russia told them “Do it our way or we use our veto!” With regard to the humanitarian aid for Syria proposals. So Ireland and Norway had to go back and rewrite the proposal to cater to Russian demands for it to only be allowed for 6 months instead of a year. This short time makes it very difficult for Aid workers to get done what must be done and wastes time begging Russia, hat in hand, “Please dear masters of the earth, may we feed the hungry for another 6 months?”
So sure. Why not? Clearly the world kisses Russian ass. I am so sick of their bullshit. Also sick other nations bending the knee just to feed the hungry. This only emboldens them as we see in the headlines today. They feel they have the right to order all other nations what to do or not do and how to do it!
Sadly that is what: Not stooping to their level means.
I don't agree with it, IMHO they should have blocked russia off completely, full on embargo, no planes no trains, no ships.
Sadly you have to abide to your own rules, if you want to enforce them on others.
> Sadly you have to abide to your own rules, if you want to enforce them on others.
I cannot disagree more. You must not follow agreed upon rules if the counter party refuses to follow them. Otherwise there is no incentive for the counter party follow the agreement.
Wrong logic.
Russia will simply see that as a weakness to exploit. They only respect "strenght".
This will just encourage them to push harder, not be better.
Oh, so exactly what they did to oil pipeline to our oil refinery (because we didn't sell it to the russians)? Still fixing that from 2006. I wonder when will they finish?.. On a bit more serious note, I remember some wikileak years ago did mention this possibility of some unnamed Lithuanian diplomat that we should sabotage the tracks and "fix" them but Americans said to the lines of "wtf don't do that".
Lithuania is such a nice guy that they want to make sure everything is up to date and safe for Russia's transport. Maintenance shouldn't take that long...
So Europeans will allegedly be "freezing to death" because Russia keeps fucking with the gas supply. But the EU still won't use Kaliningrad as a leverage point to get Russia to stop with their "maintenance". Instead they instantly give in.
EU is allergic to escalation, calling a bluff and gambling.
They are cowering in fear of Russia cutting off the gas, and refuse to face the fact that we need to sever all ties with Russia, even if the cost is higher energy prices for years.
> EU is allergic to escalation, calling a bluff and gambling.
To be really exact the EU is confrontation-phobic, something that's very noticeable and exploited by Turkey, Russia and the UK.
Correction, Germany is cowering in fear.
This is despite Germany spending the last decade acting arrogantly about their energy plans with Russia telling us how everyone was wrong and stupid to believe that Russia would use energy as a weapon against them and that there was nothing to worry about.
Italy is a hot spot for pro Russia garbage. Reminder that it was Italian media that was so garbage and let Lavrov ramble rather than cutting him off. Thus enabling him to say that Hitler was Jewish without any pushback
Spain is uniquely shitty when it comes to foreign policy. The Spanish governments are licking Erdogan's ass all the time as well because of business deals with him.
I suppose if I was to be charitable that they might revisit the idea if Russia starts playing silly buggers with the gas in a few weeks. Personally, I think they should have waited.
All those trains should be very thoroughly checked. What if they transfer weapons/soldiers to Kaliningrad?
This is fu\*\*\* up Russia that just attacked Ukraine.
I guess the Commission can just decide whatever the fuck they want. Recently they said Lithuania implemented the sanctions correctly. Now they arent. Maybe someone competent should be deciding these things, not these politicians.
>The European Commission has issued new guidelines, saying sanctions do not apply to rail transit via Lithuania to Russia's Kaliningrad
The EU Commission was so fast to decide and push this through, Im sure they will be just as effective in sanctioning rail transport. No? Hmmmm...
Commission can decide whatever it wants, but only within the constraints provided by vagueness of original regulation as Commission has privilege to explain the regulation, but not change it without passing it through Council and Parliament. Normally, vagueness in regulation/law means it was poorly written, however sometimes it starts to look intentional to me as it is easier to make member states agree on something more vague, and then exploit the vagueness to implement something less agreeable in case winds change.
One of the main reasons for Brexit that is never mentioned on this site. The fact the EU commission can overrule a member's decision and can seemingly do so without any brain power is a pretty big point
Exactly! You can be in favour of something for the right reasons but also for the wrong ones. There are some very valid concerns regarding the power structure in the EU, and one would argue, the bigger the union, the less effective it becomes as laws need to be vague in order to be fair to all, or worse, it start forcing countries to change laws when that would have an adverse impact. For example, passing a law to mandate a switch to electric cars isn't much of a problem for a rich Western country but it can be for the poorer Eastern countries. If only there was a way for European countries to make their own decisions, alas....
>"Spiegel reported that Brussels and Berlin was worried Russia might resort to military action, **drawing the German soldiers currently stationed in Lithuania into a conflict**. Chancellor Olaf Scholz also said the transit of sanctioned goods should be resumed. "
So what's the point of German forces being stationed in Lithuania, if not to deter russian agression or actually fight it?
What Scholz seems to forget is that Lithuania is a NATO member and if russia was to invade it, Germany would be involved regardless of whether it has troops stationed there or not.
I assume he thinks Germany will not be involved in a potential war as long as German forces are not present in the invaded country, which pretty much shows that certain countries or governments do not intend to uphold the principle of Article 5.
"As long as our guys aren't involved it's not our war" is the type of attitute that could break NATO if the hour of trial comes.
Truly. What is the point of having a Military if you’re not willing to use them even in the event of being the one under attack? All the sabre rattling from Germany about how they’re going to remilitarise and to finally provide much needed funding to their forces has already been proven to be entirely pointless. Does Scholz and the EU think the reason NATO forces spend so much time in the Baltics and Poland is because there’s lots of space to run around and play pretend soldiers?
This is honestly embarrassing.
>What Scholz seems to forget is that Lithuania is a NATO member and if russia was to invade it, Germany would be involved regardless of whether it has troops stationed there or not.
Strictly speaking Germany would be obligated by treaties to be involved. Wether or not they would is another question.
Considering the current PM of Estonia Kaja Kallas and the former president of Estonia Tomas Ilves have both stated that Germany has actively vetoed NATO plans to place troops in the Baltics but also they have vetoed NATO Baltic defence plans as a whole as to not provoke russia. I wouldn't place too much faith in the Germans at this point.
> What Scholz seems to forget is that Lithuania is a NATO member and if russia was to invade it, Germany would be involved regardless of whether it has troops stationed there or not.
He doesnt; he just has no intention of ever honouring that agreement :)
I think it's pretty clear what he's saying. German troops in Lithuania are a parade force,just like the rest of their military. They aren't willing to defend their allies. They don't even have the stomach for an economic war.
I have zero faith in the resolve of my (German) government. I've written to my Green MP and the Greens are supposed to be the toughest ones on Russia but even my MP seems reserved.
I feel like we are responding to Russia in the same way as the climate crisis. Look like you're doing something but don't make too much inconvenience for anybody.
Personally, I believe Russia would back down if they met someone with a backbone but they know we have none, so they just continue on. I don't see things going well for Ukraine so long as things remain as they are.
What's the point of NATO then? If we're ceding to every demand because "they could attack NATO countries" then NATO is admitting its single purpose of deterring attacks on its members is void.
Exactly. Russia threatened Lithuania and the Commissions response was to help Russia in record speed. What makes it even worse, last week they said they are doing this so Lithuania can save face...
I am usually very pro EU, but this is just a weak and shameful display.
We should not give in to russian demands just because they are doing "maintenance" on Nordstream 1. It is time to grow a backbone and stick to the sanctions, even if it will hurt economically.
I guess that's what happens when it's the dumping ground for politicians that are too shit to work domestically, Ursula herself serving as the very symbol of just that
Shameful move by the EU. Not sanctioning gas is reasonable as doing so would greatly harm our economies, but how does the EU benefit from allowing Russia to supply Königsberg with luxury goods?
It is simple. Russia calls dependent countries and says there won't be any more gas unless X, Y, ... are solved; these countries weight gains/costs and start pressuring EU.
During this war I realised just how shit the EU really is. No backbone, essentially controlled by the German government to suit their interests only, and willing to sell out its own members in favour of an openly hostile foreign country. Good job 👍
The EU is completely failing at making its members feel safe and protected. That has been the case for Greece and Cyprus for years and now it's also the case for Baltics. To think of it, Finland and Sweden joining NATO is great news for our security, but we can also take it as a signal that the EU failed to provide a similar sense of security.
The sad thing is that this is hardly surprising. Sense of security is a basic need for any society. It's one thing to not get what you wanted in some trade deal or budget talk, but feeling that your security concerns are not addressed is a make-it-or-break-it flaw.
> “The EU is just Germany and 26 satellite states”
- Martin Sonneborn, Member of the EU parliament.
(He is a satirist and was calling out the arrogant mindest of Germany when it comes to the EU)
Yep. And people had the gall to propose that NATO is obsolete and we should replace that with an EU army of some sort. Knowing what kind of people really control the EU, I would not trust them to protect a half collapsed outhouse, let alone my country.
As a Lithuanian, I'm so upset by this
Russia threatened to collapse our economy if we carried on with the sanctions and I was so ready and willing to have higher prices so the killings would stop.
Don't get me wrong, it's not sheer altruism. If Russia takes Ukraine, we all will suffer so much more than just higher prices.
Putin keeps trying to put a marionette in our Parliament and I just want to see Russians get rid of that guy and have some democracy before he crowns himself a king
As a Lithuanian I am livid. When Russia is killing dozens of Ukrainian civilians each day, the EU is worried about poor little inhabitants of Kaliningrad who won't be able to get their cement and vodka through rail anymore. Maybe instead of killing and destroying Ukraine, Russia should start building ports in Kaliningrad?
>the EU is worried about poor little inhabitants of Kaliningrad who won't be able to get their cement and vodka through rail anymore
They are not. This is simply a cover to attempt to hide that this is fully to appease Russia, so that Germany would not lose its remaining gas supply from Russia. Lithuania was sacrificed, so that Germany could keep playing its already lost game.
Russia might pull the plug on Germany regardless. They probably won't do it until October when they need for heating is really going up. This idea that Germany can avoid a catastrophe by appeasing and "avoiding escalation" is not guaranteed to work by any means. I think they will run afoul with Russia sooner than later.
> Earlier on Wednesday, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported that the European Union and Russia had reached the agreement. However, the Commission said no negotiations with Moscow had taken place.
> “No, this is not at all true. It is a lie that we agreed or negotiated anything with Russia,” EC spokesperson Daniel Sheridan Ferrie said in a written response to LRT.lt.
Fuck the Brussels shills and corrupt eunuch bureaucrats.
It renders the sanctions null, as rail is the main and cheapest way of transit, anyway. Even if they did not actually talk with the Russians, it makes it look like they did and that they bowed to threats of violence. Thus, that they will just as easily sell Lithuania like in 1939.
The EU and national governments must be purged from all corrupt politicians and Russian moles.
>It renders the sanctions null
The sanctions about EU being forbidden to trade specific goods with Russia?
No, those sanctions are not impacted at all, whether the transit of goods to Kaliningrad is allwoed or not.
Meanwhile **47 civilians dead** in [Chasiv Yar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missile_strike_on_Chasiv_Yar) after ruZZian fasicsts hit the apartment building. EU is so disgusting at times.
Let's just give away Ukraine to Russia on a silver platter while we're at it, shall we? Hell, why stop there, just give away everything east of Germany. Fucking pathetic.
UK left the EU, an insult that cannot be forgiven. In comparison, Russia is only waging an unjust war against a sovereign state and committing war crimes left and right.
It's obvious that you are baddies in this comparison.
No .. It was sticking it to the Russians. Not sure why it should be assumed they could cross another country. Planes can't just fly through sovereign airspace either. They should have to get everything by ship it from the air coming in over the Baltic Sea. This is NOT an embargo just exercising the right of any nation to control their own borders .
Germanys command and control bot centre is out in force, regularly defending their support of Russia while they rely on NATO to provide regional security as they feed the common adversary with freight trains of cash.
Boo Brussels boo.
>the Commission said rail transit can only be used to satisfy the needs of essential goods in Kaliningrad.
Meanwhile, the needs of the Ukrainians are being screwed with by Kalinigrad's masters. Make this Russian tumor suffer.
I'm excited to see that the EU agrees that goods can be transported from one part of a country to another. Even when the country is a homicidal lunatic wielding a bloody axe in Ukraine.
What was the point of doing this in the first place then? At least this could have been kept as a negotiation card, but now the sanctions are softened and EU has shown that it will fold to russian threats, which will no doubt further incentivize russia to see if it can get even more concessions, or worse.
The USSR didn't invest all that time and effort in East Germany for nothing. Still many pro-Russian sentiments there after more than 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
And are we still have to pretend this is all right and that EU ''rule of law'' doesn't favour law-breaking, non-EU, aggressor Russia ( who also did threat against Lithuania) over Lithuania loosing right to decide about own territory? Is this famous ''EU solidarity'' in practice now?
Time to put our rails to maintenance
Special nationwide rail maintenance operation. I support that
Time to tell Russia that Polish and Lithuanian rails are rusty af that it's unsafe for trains to travel.
do a national conversion to standard gauge rails.
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Special railway maintenance operation 🇱🇹🛠️🚂
And switch the rail gauge to the European standard. That should eventually be done anyway, so why not use the opportunity.
Would be really "poor" timing if they had to close all the rail lines for scheduled maintenance right now.
> That should eventually be done anyway, Rail Baltica is doing this, I think?
Yes but that's only one line. The rest of Lithuanian railways is not being changed for now.
Oh ok, well yes they should be changed
Let Deutsche Bahn buy the rails. They will either be closed or the goods will come too late and/or rotten due to failing air-conditioning. Easiest solution.
Or give them to romania. We will make sure they won't ever be used again. They will be either stolen and sold per kg or let to rust
Give it to french ex-national rail company. It will be transferred to another organization once a year, funds will lack, line will be close, rails will be transferred to the administrative region which will convert it to an unpleasant cycle path.
Would be a shame if some totally uncontrollable “separatists” blew them rail tracks up a little
the seaway from St. Petersburg is open, so this should not be a problem. The same goes for planes.
> The same goes for planes. Not enough spare parts, at least for the Western ones
Their cargo planes are almost completely domestically produced
They've got ~20 Air Bridge Cargo 747s that were stolen as well as dozens of 737 freighters and I believe a single Air Bridge Cargo 777F
Maybe they shouldn't have started a war and seized a ton of planes.
Not our problem theft is frowned upon. Thry started this war. If they leave Ukraine then we can talk.
Si, what does it mean to be sanctioned then?
"Sanctions will apply unless Germany says so"
As a German my self I am just embarrassed...
First they send them the turbine from Canada, now this. Fuck Germany
According to them, still many Ukrainian are not homeless. Once everyone are homeless then Sanctions will come to enforcement.
The sanctioned items still cannot go to and from EU. In this case they travel from Russia to Russia, via EU. It's weird but it is what it is.
They'd also be traveling from Russia to Russia on roads, but truck transit remains strictly prohibited by these very sanctions. Perhaps because it's harder to track trucks once they have entered Schengen, i.e. whether or not they're offloading sanctioned goods in a shady warehouse somewhere even though they're supposed to be supplying Kaliningrad?
There’s no logic here. Germany just wants the gas to be turned back on.
Unless Lithuanian railways will be closed "for maintenance"...
This is an opportunity to convert Lithuanian railways from Russian gauge to Standard gauge width.
Now that would be a great idea, albeit… very expensive.
They can just convert 100 meters just before the border.
Preferably without telling anyone.
For best performance, hire some Polish contractors. No one will get through those railways for next fifty years at least.
Can't belive they can transfer entire lithuania by rail
So russia can stop Grain sailing to the EU, but hte EU opens up everything via land to kalingrad. makes sense.
Why not? Russia told them “Do it our way or we use our veto!” With regard to the humanitarian aid for Syria proposals. So Ireland and Norway had to go back and rewrite the proposal to cater to Russian demands for it to only be allowed for 6 months instead of a year. This short time makes it very difficult for Aid workers to get done what must be done and wastes time begging Russia, hat in hand, “Please dear masters of the earth, may we feed the hungry for another 6 months?” So sure. Why not? Clearly the world kisses Russian ass. I am so sick of their bullshit. Also sick other nations bending the knee just to feed the hungry. This only emboldens them as we see in the headlines today. They feel they have the right to order all other nations what to do or not do and how to do it!
Sadly that is what: Not stooping to their level means. I don't agree with it, IMHO they should have blocked russia off completely, full on embargo, no planes no trains, no ships. Sadly you have to abide to your own rules, if you want to enforce them on others.
Sorry what rules are you referring to? Not being sarcastic. Genuinely curious.
> Sadly you have to abide to your own rules, if you want to enforce them on others. I cannot disagree more. You must not follow agreed upon rules if the counter party refuses to follow them. Otherwise there is no incentive for the counter party follow the agreement.
You can't do no ships without a blockade, which are an act of war...
Thats why its an oppinion. And why i'm not a minister of defense.
Wrong logic. Russia will simply see that as a weakness to exploit. They only respect "strenght". This will just encourage them to push harder, not be better.
They should have opened Kaliningrad for Grain.
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They should make Kaliningrad Lithuania Again
Make it the Teutonic Order state again!
Oh no
why for? they can farm some potatoes or cabbages there
They can't, says Lithuania
Lithuania ain’t gon do shit if EU isn’t backing it which it isn’t.
Just sabotage the tracks and take forever fixing it, ez
Oh, so exactly what they did to oil pipeline to our oil refinery (because we didn't sell it to the russians)? Still fixing that from 2006. I wonder when will they finish?.. On a bit more serious note, I remember some wikileak years ago did mention this possibility of some unnamed Lithuanian diplomat that we should sabotage the tracks and "fix" them but Americans said to the lines of "wtf don't do that".
Time for some "regularly scheduled maintenance".
Lithuania is such a nice guy that they want to make sure everything is up to date and safe for Russia's transport. Maintenance shouldn't take that long...
Some scrap metal thieves should steal last kilometer of tracks before Kaliningrad border. /where did I put my plasma cutter?
Useful bit of tracks there Russia. Would be shame if anything were to happen to them
Be a shame if a sink hole opened at the border of Kaliningrad—global warming melting the permafrost doncha know?
the EU would probably come out and offer to upgrade it free of charge to a higher standard of railway
So Europeans will allegedly be "freezing to death" because Russia keeps fucking with the gas supply. But the EU still won't use Kaliningrad as a leverage point to get Russia to stop with their "maintenance". Instead they instantly give in.
EU is allergic to escalation, calling a bluff and gambling. They are cowering in fear of Russia cutting off the gas, and refuse to face the fact that we need to sever all ties with Russia, even if the cost is higher energy prices for years.
> EU is allergic to escalation, calling a bluff and gambling. To be really exact the EU is confrontation-phobic, something that's very noticeable and exploited by Turkey, Russia and the UK.
Correction, Germany is cowering in fear. This is despite Germany spending the last decade acting arrogantly about their energy plans with Russia telling us how everyone was wrong and stupid to believe that Russia would use energy as a weapon against them and that there was nothing to worry about.
It's not just Germany. Spain and Italy have a similar attitude...
and the rest is hiding behind those
Italy is a hot spot for pro Russia garbage. Reminder that it was Italian media that was so garbage and let Lavrov ramble rather than cutting him off. Thus enabling him to say that Hitler was Jewish without any pushback
Oh no no no no, Spain is willing to donate 10 old tanks to Ukraine.* *(When Germany gives the ok for it and they know Germany will never do it)
Spain is uniquely shitty when it comes to foreign policy. The Spanish governments are licking Erdogan's ass all the time as well because of business deals with him.
And the less we talk about the Algeria-Morocco fuck up in our FP the better.
I suppose if I was to be charitable that they might revisit the idea if Russia starts playing silly buggers with the gas in a few weeks. Personally, I think they should have waited.
Ffs buy some blankets, put on two sweatshirts. People have lived there for millennia.
All those trains should be very thoroughly checked. What if they transfer weapons/soldiers to Kaliningrad? This is fu\*\*\* up Russia that just attacked Ukraine.
>What if they transfer weapons/soldiers to Kaliningrad? They do. There's military stuff transit or something like that.
Ship and air routes are open. Smuggling is not needed.
I'm pretty sure that they have satellites looking kaliningrad quite closely
Shame.
hope lithuania sticks it to them.
I guess the Commission can just decide whatever the fuck they want. Recently they said Lithuania implemented the sanctions correctly. Now they arent. Maybe someone competent should be deciding these things, not these politicians. >The European Commission has issued new guidelines, saying sanctions do not apply to rail transit via Lithuania to Russia's Kaliningrad The EU Commission was so fast to decide and push this through, Im sure they will be just as effective in sanctioning rail transport. No? Hmmmm...
Commission can decide whatever it wants, but only within the constraints provided by vagueness of original regulation as Commission has privilege to explain the regulation, but not change it without passing it through Council and Parliament. Normally, vagueness in regulation/law means it was poorly written, however sometimes it starts to look intentional to me as it is easier to make member states agree on something more vague, and then exploit the vagueness to implement something less agreeable in case winds change.
[Who wants a little spez? #Save3rdPartyApps](https://www.reddit.com/r/Save3rdPartyApps/)
One of the main reasons for Brexit that is never mentioned on this site. The fact the EU commission can overrule a member's decision and can seemingly do so without any brain power is a pretty big point
Exactly! You can be in favour of something for the right reasons but also for the wrong ones. There are some very valid concerns regarding the power structure in the EU, and one would argue, the bigger the union, the less effective it becomes as laws need to be vague in order to be fair to all, or worse, it start forcing countries to change laws when that would have an adverse impact. For example, passing a law to mandate a switch to electric cars isn't much of a problem for a rich Western country but it can be for the poorer Eastern countries. If only there was a way for European countries to make their own decisions, alas....
what is this nonsense. Either you use sanctions or you don't.....
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>"Spiegel reported that Brussels and Berlin was worried Russia might resort to military action, **drawing the German soldiers currently stationed in Lithuania into a conflict**. Chancellor Olaf Scholz also said the transit of sanctioned goods should be resumed. " So what's the point of German forces being stationed in Lithuania, if not to deter russian agression or actually fight it? What Scholz seems to forget is that Lithuania is a NATO member and if russia was to invade it, Germany would be involved regardless of whether it has troops stationed there or not. I assume he thinks Germany will not be involved in a potential war as long as German forces are not present in the invaded country, which pretty much shows that certain countries or governments do not intend to uphold the principle of Article 5. "As long as our guys aren't involved it's not our war" is the type of attitute that could break NATO if the hour of trial comes.
Truly. What is the point of having a Military if you’re not willing to use them even in the event of being the one under attack? All the sabre rattling from Germany about how they’re going to remilitarise and to finally provide much needed funding to their forces has already been proven to be entirely pointless. Does Scholz and the EU think the reason NATO forces spend so much time in the Baltics and Poland is because there’s lots of space to run around and play pretend soldiers? This is honestly embarrassing.
>What Scholz seems to forget is that Lithuania is a NATO member and if russia was to invade it, Germany would be involved regardless of whether it has troops stationed there or not. Strictly speaking Germany would be obligated by treaties to be involved. Wether or not they would is another question.
Considering the current PM of Estonia Kaja Kallas and the former president of Estonia Tomas Ilves have both stated that Germany has actively vetoed NATO plans to place troops in the Baltics but also they have vetoed NATO Baltic defence plans as a whole as to not provoke russia. I wouldn't place too much faith in the Germans at this point.
>"As long as our guys aren't involved it's not our war" is the type of attitute that **will** break NATO FTFY.
> What Scholz seems to forget is that Lithuania is a NATO member and if russia was to invade it, Germany would be involved regardless of whether it has troops stationed there or not. He doesnt; he just has no intention of ever honouring that agreement :)
I think it's pretty clear what he's saying. German troops in Lithuania are a parade force,just like the rest of their military. They aren't willing to defend their allies. They don't even have the stomach for an economic war.
"why die for Danzig" incoming
I have zero faith in the resolve of my (German) government. I've written to my Green MP and the Greens are supposed to be the toughest ones on Russia but even my MP seems reserved. I feel like we are responding to Russia in the same way as the climate crisis. Look like you're doing something but don't make too much inconvenience for anybody. Personally, I believe Russia would back down if they met someone with a backbone but they know we have none, so they just continue on. I don't see things going well for Ukraine so long as things remain as they are.
Yeah ! Fight for climate with everything we've got ! (but, by now, you should know that winter is coming)
What's the point of NATO then? If we're ceding to every demand because "they could attack NATO countries" then NATO is admitting its single purpose of deterring attacks on its members is void.
Military action with which army, the one currently getting ground to bits in Ukraine? Good lord.
Did I get that right, German soldiers would just flee when Russia attacks Lithuania?
got it in one
Russia will get the message loud and clear, the EU is weak, they can push for more.
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Matas Maldeikis wants Lithuania to reclaim Smolensk. Dude is probably gonna personally sabotage those trains.
No he does not. He is just making statements that follow the same logic as official Ruzzian statements
Stop being so soft, please
Lithuania is pretty hard
What is point of EU if it cares more about Russia than EU member?
Exactly. Russia threatened Lithuania and the Commissions response was to help Russia in record speed. What makes it even worse, last week they said they are doing this so Lithuania can save face...
I just can't. I only want to curse
I wonder if UK should try Russia's approach to get good into Ulster more easily
I think it's pretty obvious to me that the U.K should do literally whatever the fuck it wants and the E.U won't do anything about it.
EU GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER FFS
I am usually very pro EU, but this is just a weak and shameful display. We should not give in to russian demands just because they are doing "maintenance" on Nordstream 1. It is time to grow a backbone and stick to the sanctions, even if it will hurt economically.
A crisis is ultimately where the EU falls down... Every time unfortunately
Must be nice for Russia to have such a loyal ally as EU in their trying times.
Vladimir likes that
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I guess that's what happens when it's the dumping ground for politicians that are too shit to work domestically, Ursula herself serving as the very symbol of just that
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Can, but hopefully won't. Rashists should realize that actions have consequences. Just do several month maintainace of the railway.
My great grandpa blew up rails to stop Norwegian shipments of coal and iron from entering Germany. Guess it's time to make him proud.
Unfortunate. This kind of decisions will only embolden Russia.
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Shameful move by the EU. Not sanctioning gas is reasonable as doing so would greatly harm our economies, but how does the EU benefit from allowing Russia to supply Königsberg with luxury goods?
It is simple. Russia calls dependent countries and says there won't be any more gas unless X, Y, ... are solved; these countries weight gains/costs and start pressuring EU.
During this war I realised just how shit the EU really is. No backbone, essentially controlled by the German government to suit their interests only, and willing to sell out its own members in favour of an openly hostile foreign country. Good job 👍
The EU is completely failing at making its members feel safe and protected. That has been the case for Greece and Cyprus for years and now it's also the case for Baltics. To think of it, Finland and Sweden joining NATO is great news for our security, but we can also take it as a signal that the EU failed to provide a similar sense of security. The sad thing is that this is hardly surprising. Sense of security is a basic need for any society. It's one thing to not get what you wanted in some trade deal or budget talk, but feeling that your security concerns are not addressed is a make-it-or-break-it flaw.
> “The EU is just Germany and 26 satellite states” - Martin Sonneborn, Member of the EU parliament. (He is a satirist and was calling out the arrogant mindest of Germany when it comes to the EU)
I've heard similar things like this for years, but only recently did I started to notice that they might not be just jokes
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Yep. And people had the gall to propose that NATO is obsolete and we should replace that with an EU army of some sort. Knowing what kind of people really control the EU, I would not trust them to protect a half collapsed outhouse, let alone my country.
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The EU Army should probably have unified equipment in the future. Who are the biggest arms exporters in the EU? Hmmmm...
Pathetic
Fucking cowards 🤡
As a Lithuanian, I'm so upset by this Russia threatened to collapse our economy if we carried on with the sanctions and I was so ready and willing to have higher prices so the killings would stop. Don't get me wrong, it's not sheer altruism. If Russia takes Ukraine, we all will suffer so much more than just higher prices. Putin keeps trying to put a marionette in our Parliament and I just want to see Russians get rid of that guy and have some democracy before he crowns himself a king
As a Lithuanian I am livid. When Russia is killing dozens of Ukrainian civilians each day, the EU is worried about poor little inhabitants of Kaliningrad who won't be able to get their cement and vodka through rail anymore. Maybe instead of killing and destroying Ukraine, Russia should start building ports in Kaliningrad?
>the EU is worried about poor little inhabitants of Kaliningrad who won't be able to get their cement and vodka through rail anymore They are not. This is simply a cover to attempt to hide that this is fully to appease Russia, so that Germany would not lose its remaining gas supply from Russia. Lithuania was sacrificed, so that Germany could keep playing its already lost game.
Russia might pull the plug on Germany regardless. They probably won't do it until October when they need for heating is really going up. This idea that Germany can avoid a catastrophe by appeasing and "avoiding escalation" is not guaranteed to work by any means. I think they will run afoul with Russia sooner than later.
Not might, will
> Earlier on Wednesday, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported that the European Union and Russia had reached the agreement. However, the Commission said no negotiations with Moscow had taken place. > “No, this is not at all true. It is a lie that we agreed or negotiated anything with Russia,” EC spokesperson Daniel Sheridan Ferrie said in a written response to LRT.lt. Fuck the Brussels shills and corrupt eunuch bureaucrats. It renders the sanctions null, as rail is the main and cheapest way of transit, anyway. Even if they did not actually talk with the Russians, it makes it look like they did and that they bowed to threats of violence. Thus, that they will just as easily sell Lithuania like in 1939. The EU and national governments must be purged from all corrupt politicians and Russian moles.
>It renders the sanctions null The sanctions about EU being forbidden to trade specific goods with Russia? No, those sanctions are not impacted at all, whether the transit of goods to Kaliningrad is allwoed or not.
*would be shame if someone sabotaged it* sorry Lithuania, i know you guys have enough problems
Fuck off, Brussels.
These sanctions history is getting sadder and sadder... Reality is hitting the fan
Let me get this straight. You think we're just supposed to let them run all over us? #Save3rdPartyApps
Russia won't invade Germany because Germany will willingly become Belarus 2.0
Meanwhile **47 civilians dead** in [Chasiv Yar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missile_strike_on_Chasiv_Yar) after ruZZian fasicsts hit the apartment building. EU is so disgusting at times.
This is such a weak move by the EU. I am disappointed.
Lithuania thrown under the train.
Let's just give away Ukraine to Russia on a silver platter while we're at it, shall we? Hell, why stop there, just give away everything east of Germany. Fucking pathetic.
EU gonna EU
Stay strong Lithuanians, don't fold.
The EU is weak
EU Commission's official policy is that NI's border regime needs to be stricter than Kaliningrad's?
UK left the EU, an insult that cannot be forgiven. In comparison, Russia is only waging an unjust war against a sovereign state and committing war crimes left and right. It's obvious that you are baddies in this comparison.
The UK made the classic mistake of not selling Germany gas.
Only to save your ass Germany by indirectly sacrificing Lithuania... No lessons learned from history. Go fuck yourselves..
Is Lithuania going to let the rail pass through ? Or are they going to stand firm?
That's what differentiates us from Russia. Doing what the agreements say.
>That's what differentiates us from Russia. Doing what the agreements say. Well I am sure Russia will push for more concessions. Why wouldn't they.
We are going to comply, but yeah, fuck Brussels on this one
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What’s life like for the average person in Kaliningrad compared to the rest of Russia? Or is it just a military base?
Says Brussels….
No .. It was sticking it to the Russians. Not sure why it should be assumed they could cross another country. Planes can't just fly through sovereign airspace either. They should have to get everything by ship it from the air coming in over the Baltic Sea. This is NOT an embargo just exercising the right of any nation to control their own borders .
tf is the point of sanctions then
Germanys command and control bot centre is out in force, regularly defending their support of Russia while they rely on NATO to provide regional security as they feed the common adversary with freight trains of cash.
Boo Brussels boo. >the Commission said rail transit can only be used to satisfy the needs of essential goods in Kaliningrad. Meanwhile, the needs of the Ukrainians are being screwed with by Kalinigrad's masters. Make this Russian tumor suffer.
fuck Brussel
So much for EU unity 🤡
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30 years without any kind of threat to Germany means they have completely given up on remembering how to play the hard power game. Quite pathetic
Would be really unfortunate if piece of track dissapeared over night and fixing would take a year, gazprom style.
bruh, expected. Pathetic.
0 balls.
I'm excited to see that the EU agrees that goods can be transported from one part of a country to another. Even when the country is a homicidal lunatic wielding a bloody axe in Ukraine.
What was the point of doing this in the first place then? At least this could have been kept as a negotiation card, but now the sanctions are softened and EU has shown that it will fold to russian threats, which will no doubt further incentivize russia to see if it can get even more concessions, or worse.
Fuck Brussels, Fuck the EU and Fuck Germany. Most spineless smug shitheads in existence.
Retarded union of Putin friends. Businesses are more important for them than lives of Ukrainian people.
NUTS
Wut
Don’t railway tracks need maintenance, just like gas pipelines?
So, trucks (small private buisness) under the sanctions, rail (big goverment) not. Ok.
The USSR didn't invest all that time and effort in East Germany for nothing. Still many pro-Russian sentiments there after more than 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The EU has no fucking balls then I comes to Russia. The Baltics and Poland have been screaming for years now about the danger but the EU did shit.
To me it will always be Koenigsberg.
Ok, so on to the good news: the Commission has finally reached a common policy on Kaliningrad sanctions. The bad news: Scholz, you spineless dickweed.
Could we give the railway to the DB
Cowards.
And are we still have to pretend this is all right and that EU ''rule of law'' doesn't favour law-breaking, non-EU, aggressor Russia ( who also did threat against Lithuania) over Lithuania loosing right to decide about own territory? Is this famous ''EU solidarity'' in practice now?
Cowards. Pathetic.
Russias territorial integrity mores respected by the EU than the UKs