Sunken Moskva Could Be the Biggest Naval Combat Loss in 40 Years

Re:Sunken Moskva Could Be the Biggest Naval Combat Loss in 4... by klausjensen on Friday April 15, 2022 @04:10AM (#31037694)

Two main reasons for European increase in military spending (in no particular order):

1. The latest Russian invasion was a wake-up call. Much bigger than in 2014, when Russia invaded Crimea and East Ukraine. Especially Germany and France have been attempting to reach a lasting peaceful relationship with Russia through trade and agreements. Any hope anybody in Europe might have had of that has evaporated now.

2. Fear that the US will not be there to defend Europe in the future (Trump threatened to leave NATO - and might be re-elected). One of the (fair) reasons behing Trump's threats were European NATO countried not paying their fair share (2% of GDP in 2014 agreement).

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Re:Sunken Moskva Could Be the Biggest Naval Combat Loss in 4... by mcv on Friday April 15, 2022 @05:11AM (#31038030)

Exactly. European countries are finally realising they can't rely on the US to defend them forever, and Russia has become a much more active threat.

For all my life I've opposed defense spending and supported reduction of defense spending, but not anymore. As long as Putin rules Russia, Russia is a real threat to any neighbouring country. Even if my own country is relatively safe, I think it's important we help other countries to defend themselves against this threat.

I would still strongly prefer friendly relationships with Russia, but Putin has made that impossible. We need to stop buying Russian gas as soon as possible.

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