Tag: ukraine

“Look at demonstrations against conscription and the military…”

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 10.17.2026

Can Vladimir Putin’s increasingly aggressive actions against Germany force the government to bring back compulsory military service?

It’s hard to fathom the idea that Germany could conceive of bringing forced military service back to the country.

Conscripts are never happy about being dragooned into the military. Think of the United States and its involvement in the Vietnam conflict. 1961-1975.. A Civil War which successive administrations poured hundreds of the thousands of young Americans into a senseless war. Over 50,000 Americans perished. Many of whom were conscripted young men at the margins of society. Black, Hispanic and White, too.

The classic anti-war anthem, “War. What is it good for?? Absolutely nothing!!” Edwin Starr – 1970

Given Germany’s hellacious Nazi regime (1933-1945) resulting in World War II and the Holocaust today’s German youth are quite rightfully taking to the streets in protest of any proposed conscript military.

Deutsche Welle 10.17.2026

Experts believe that, so far, Germany has been ill-prepared — both militarily and mentally — for Russian provocations. They also warn against the idea that ending support for Ukraine would make Germany safer.

The Bundeswehr (German: [ˈbʊndəsˌveːɐ̯] ⓘ, lit. Federal Defence) are the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Bundeswehr is divided into a military part (armed forces or Streitkräfte) and a civil part. The military part consists of the four armed forces: German Army, German Navy, German Air and Space Force and Cyber and Information Domain Service, which are supported by the Bundeswehr Joint Support Command. Bundeswehr – Wikipedia

The perceived security threat has led the German military, the Bundeswehr, to fast-track significant modernization through substantial investment. But it is struggling to find enough recruits for its planned expansion. Many young Germans have taken to the streets to protest against plans to reintroduce conscription. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius faced criticism from inside his own party, the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), for saying that Germany must become “capable of waging war.” Many found the statement to be too militaristic.

Is Germany prepared for a military threat? “Not at all. Germany is not well prepared militarily or in the civilian sector, and the population isn’t mentally prepared for it either,” said Meister. “Just look at the demonstrations against conscription and the military that continue to take place, even though Germany needs a draft. For decades, we’ve grown up in this culture of pacifism, in a comfort zone. I believe there is very limited societal resilience, but above all, we are not at all mentally prepared for war.”

The Rich want War..The Youth a Future… Young Germans take to the streets

Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) are under increasing political pressure — especially from the far right — to scale back support for Ukraine. But Merz never tires of emphasizing that Ukraine will continue to receive support under his chancellorship, calling it a matter of Germany’s security. He recently visited Kyiv once again and, together with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, surveyed the destruction caused by Russia.

But this also means that the threat from Russia will continue and even intensify, says Stefan Meister: “I believe we will see a massive increase in attacks such as the one in Leipzig, of provocations involving drones. We will see attacks on infrastructures and possibly also on specific individuals within the military-industrial complex. I believe this is the real, concrete danger facing Germany in the coming months.”

https://www.dw.com/en/how-big-is-russias-threat-against-germany/a-79688426

Vladimir Putin is incapable of doubting that he is right

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 10.4.2026

A pregnant Ukrainian woman being carried away after a Russian drone assault

Just when you think Donald Trump is the most powerful narcissist, think again. His buddy Vladimir Putin is worse because, unlike America, he has total unchallenged authority.

Something Trump can only wish for. That is why he cozies up to authoritarians like Xi Jinping and Vladimir Purin.

Excerpted from Foreign Affairs 9.24.2026

For now, the Kremlin believes that it has both the time and the means to continue fighting for as long as it takes (in Ukraine).

Vladimir Putin is incapable of doubting that he is right.

Vladimir Putin as KGB agent in Dresden, Germany – circa 1980’s

Along with the stage-managed Duma elections, the purging of any trace of antiwar rhetoric from the public sphere is intended to grant Putin a stronger mandate for whatever actions he sees fit to take. An unknown question is how far into the future Russians are prepared to grant this legitimacy.

So far, it has been up to citizens themselves to cope with the burning oil refineries, destroyed warehouses, empty gas stations, nonfunctioning Internet, and life-threatening risks from drone attacks. In addition to chronic inflation, the budget deficit has become a problem, and Russia’s GDP and industrial production are hovering just above zero. This is despite the fact that, until recently, arms production had formally kept these indicators at a moderately high level; now, even that is no longer helping.

After a Russian drone attack in Ukraine – June 2026

In the face of these challenges, people are bearing with the system for now. It is also worth noting that the same surveys that show Russians are less satisfied with the special military operation than they were before also show that greater numbers of them prefer intensifying strikes over making concessions to achieve peace.

More than half the respondents in an August Levada Center poll think it is likely that the special military operation will last another year, and the number of those who say they are certain of this has grown. Precisely because of their utter exhaustion with war, many see increased military activity as a way to bring peace closer.

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/guest-pass/redeem/x8c5CPE1H4U

An updated Version – BACK IN THE USSR

Norway enforces Court order. Seizes Russian vessel in the Arctic

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 9.3.2026

Norway certainly is ready, willing and able to assert its territorial rights and is willing to enforce an international Court order even if the defendant is the mighty Russian power at its border.

Excerpted from The New York Times 9.3.2026

Norway Seizes Russian Ship, Testing Moscow in the High Arctic

Empowered by an international court order, Norway captured the vessel as part of a global effort to seize Russian assets. The Russians called it “piracy.”

For the past several days, Norwegian security services had been tracking a Russian research ship.

It was cruising around Svalbard, an icy archipelago high in the Arctic near the North Pole that Norway controls but is governed by a one-of-a-kind treaty that gives the Russians access.

On Wednesday, the Norwegians pounced.

Armed with a court order that is part of a global effort to recover Russian assets, Norwegian police officers boarded the ship while it was docked in Barentsburg, a tiny Russian outpost in Svalbard. The officers confronted the captain of the ship, a somewhat clunky, 200-foot-long oceanographic vessel, and announced that they were “arresting” it.

The seized ship was part of a broader effort to enforce an international court judgment ordering Russia to pay a Ukrainian energy company, Naftogaz, more than $4 billion for expropriating that company’s assets in Crimea. The ship, owned by the Russian government and called Professor Molchanov, after a famous Russian scientist, is now prohibited from leaving Barentsburg until Norwegian courts decide what to do next.

“We have only acted as a messenger,” said Lars Fause, the governor of Svalbard.

Norway seizes Russian ship in the Arctic

Norway’s proposed fence along Russian border

Edvard Hagerup Grieg (/ɡriːɡ/ GREEG; Norwegian: [ˈɛdvaʁd ˈhɑ̀ːɡəʁʉp ˈɡʁɪgː]; 15 June 1843 – 4 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of Norwegian folk music in his own compositions brought the music of Norway to fame, as well as helping to develop a national identity, much as Jean Sibelius did in Finland and Bedřich Smetana in Bohemia.[1]

Arrested on Russian ship

The Governor of Svalbard has today, following an order from the Nord-Troms District Court, seized the Russian ship “Professor Molchanov” which is docked in Barentsburg. The seizure was implemented after the Nord-Troms District Court granted the Ukrainian company Naftogaz the right to seize the Russian ship.

In a ruling on August 31, 2026, the Nord-Troms District Court granted the Ukrainian company Naftogaz the right to seize the Russian ship “Professor Molchanov”, which is now docked in Barentsburg on Svalbard.

The legal process and ruling are part of the company’s fight to recover funds that were expropriated by Russia in 2014.

The Governor of Svalbard is the bailiff and, following an order from the Nord-Troms District Court, has seized the ship on Wednesday, September 2, 2026.

The ship has been ordered by the District Court to berth at a location determined by the Governor and it has been decided that the vessel will berth at Barentsburg until the Governor or the Nord-Troms District Court decides otherwise.

The governor will take care of the crew and passengers on board the vessel in collaboration with Trust Arcticugol.

https://prod.sysselmesteren.no/nb/nyheter/2026/09/har-tatt-arrest-i-russisk-skip/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

ART IMITATES LIFE

Occupied (Norwegian: Okkupert) is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015.[2] Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg.[3] Season 2 premiered on 10 October 2017.[4] The third and final season started airing in Scandinavia on 5 December 2019,[5] and was released in many countries via Netflix on 31 December 2019.Occupied – Wikipedia

Russia launches yet another major drone attack on Ukraine. The World yawns

SAN FRANCISCO

Lee Heidhues 6.2.2026

Most of America has tuned out to the ongoing Russian carnage being inflicted on the people of Ukraine.

The mainstream media only gives the Putin led aggression scant coverage.

The Russian onslaught is well into its fifth year and the truth of the matter is most of the world has lost interest.

Much of this has to do with the undeniable fact that Donald Trump has regarded the Ukraine carnage a side show.

And, given the problems of his own making, think Iran Trump is happy enough to let Putin do what he wants while Ukraine burns and its citizens perish.

Excerpted from Deutsche Welle 6.2.2026

Russia launched a major missile and drone attack on Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, Dnipro and Kharkiv, overnight into Tuesday, killing at least 22 people and wounding over 100 others.

This comes after days of warnings that Moscow was planning another major attack. On Tuesday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that ​”another ‌large-scale attack may occur tonight,” according to Ukrainian intelligence. 

Russia launched 73 missiles and 656 drones at Ukraine starting 6 p.m. local time on Monday (1500 GMT), Ukraine’s air force said, adding that 40 missiles and 602 drones had been neutralized. 

Kyiv was the main target, but drones struck 38 other sites across Ukraine, the air force said on Telegram

Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said it used high-precision, long-range weapons to strike Ukraine’s defense industry facilities. In a statement, the ministry said it carried out a “massive strike” and claimed to use “high-precision weapons.”

“The ​strike ‌objectives have been achieved, all ‌designated targets have been hit,” ‌it ​claimed.

Following the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Europe to develop its own air defense systems.

“Europe needs its own anti-ballistic defense so that this war can finally be brought to an end,” he wrote on social media on Tuesday. He also called for more support from Washington, saying their Patriot systems — which can intercept Russian ballistic missiles — are “absolutely necessary.”

https://www.dw.com/en/russia-launches-major-missile-attack-on-ukraine-several-killed/a-77384025

Open the Link and watch the Video of the devastation against Ukraine inflicted by Russian drones.