Posobiec suggested that, as the 80th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Stalingrad approaches, the thought of western tanks entering eastern Europe has given the people of the region flashbacks to World War II.
"People need to understand not only the significance of the surrender, but also the scale of the fighting in Stalingrad," Posobiec began. "This was the first time that a German field army had ever surrendered in World War II."
He went on to explain that the area in which the battle took place was "the heartland of Russia's heartland," noting that had the Germans taken Stalingrad, they would have essentially cut Russia off from its ability to survive as a nation.
"The fighting that's going on today in the Don River basin of Donbas," Posobiec continued, "is only a few hours away– it's in that exact same region, the Volgograd Gap. That is why this is so significant for the Russians ... It is existential for them."
Bannon explained that while Americans largely have a limited concept of exactly what took place during World War II, eastern Europeans keep the events fresh in their memories.
"Why is that hurting us now?" he asked. "When you see Leopard II tanks that have the iron cross on them that'll be going across Ukraine ... how is that gonna set in that part of the world?"
"This is conjuring up the darkest nightmares of eastern Europe," Posobiec replied, "to hear that the gray tanks with iron crosses have returned yet again; have returned yet again to confront us, to attack our land."
Posobiec also recount the atrocities of the fighting that went on in eastern Europe, where soldiers and civilians alike were starved, murdered, and abused.
"I'm not saying that that's what's going on today, but what I am saying is you are tapping into something that I don't think westerners, specifically Americans, really quite appreciate just how alarming this is for people in this region."
