Many of the countries that guy rattled off are already NATO countries. I think he even said that's not a serious option for them. Russia would be crazy to attack a NATO nation. I don't understand his logic about how they need that land to be more secure? Maybe they do want Ukraine, part of Ukraine, or at least want Ukraine remain neutral. Time will tell, but so far all they've done is taken over part of Ukraine that had already been in a civil war with the rest of the country and which wanted to join Russia. So what's the rational for our continued support of the conflict? What will we do once Ukraine is totally wasted? You want NATO troops on the ground in Russia fighting them directly?
This debate can be likened to a situation where a man is fucking another man's wife. The cuck responds violently, one side might focus on the fact that the violence a is not a justified response to adultry, and therefore we should arm the bull, so that he has a fair chance against the cuck, who has a knife. The other side might focus on the idea that even though violence isn't good, it's a risk you take when you fuck another man's wife, so stay out of it, so rather than arm the bull attempt to de-escalate and/or stay out of it. (though to adapt this analogy to the ukraine situation, the 3rd party would also have fucked the wife as well) We can spin our wheels all day trying to determine what's right. But what if rather than knives, the cuck and the bull have nuclear weapons? That should over-ride everything when it comes to evaluating how violence should be utilized. In the words of the Great Joe Biden, "Don't". We only get to make the nuclear mistake one time. There might be a 1% chance any conflict between nuclear powers actually results in a nuclear war. But how many times do we get to play this game?
No. This is more like a guy is trying to break into the your house and rape and murder your wife and kids. And he's threatening to burn down the neighborhood if you don't let him. I mean, nobody else has any business helping anyway. Your wife really wants it. He can tell by the way she looked at him.
Russia has greatly increased the number and strength of attacks along an 800 mile front. 122 seperate battles in one day. This includes opening up a new front in the north, that has been quit for almost two years. It is believed Russia has about 50,000 fresh troops, and 400 tanks in this region. The attack here was very large, but it is unclear how many of these new troops were used. There are many contradictory reports at this time. It is too early to understand how much land Russia has actually gained. But it is believed their cassualty rate has doubled. And their gains were minor.
Couple interesting things from Sec. Blinken in Kyiv today. Said several times that USA is going to help Ukraine "win" the war. this is kind of a step up from help "as long as it takes". He also seemed to be saying that Ukraine could use the weapons they get from USA however they want. which would seem not to rule out using against target in russia. Last night Ukraine hit an air base in Crimea with about 10 ATACMs and damaged 4 planes, two air defense systems, a radar system, an airfield fuel and lubricants warehouse and some personnel. Zelensky seems to consider the situation quite critical right now as he called off all diplomatic meetings and sent all his generals to the front. There were some mistakes made north of Kharkiv. Some fortifications not built properly and an untested territorial defense unit sent to defend one of the points of attack. The guy who was in charge of the entire sector has been replaced.
It has not been easy to understand what Russia is doing. What has Russia gained by enlarging the war? Short answer, nothing. They have taken a bad battle plan. If they have a plan. And made it bigger.
It appears there is no end to Ukraine and Russia inventing new ways to kill each other. Ukraine has a new way to set traps for the Russians. Ukraine flys a drone into Russian held territory. The drone carries a very visable Ukrainian flag. Then plants the flag in a open area, or high location that is easy to watch. The Russian commanders get mad about the Ukrainian flag in their area. And send troops to take it down. These troops become easy targets for other drones or artillery ready to spring the trap.
Turn what tide? At current kill rates of roughly 4-1 Russia will run out of people before Ukraine... And Ukraine will start getting even better weapons which will skew the numbers even more.
1/2 million 500,000 is the conservative est of Russian casualties since the start of their invasion. Many Russian supporters do not believe this number. However, with so many Russian govt agencys, churning out tons of red tape. There are clues to be found. 7 months ago, on Oct 17, 2023, the Russian ministry of finance reported paying out 289,900 Ukraine war vets death benefits to their families. Also, the rate of Russian payments to disabled war veterans has sharply increased. An additional 400,000+ added just in 2023. Many believe the total Russian killed and wounded to be much higher than 500,000, probably closer to 1 million. BTW, 300+ Bradley fighting vechicles arrived in Ukraine last week.
That is utter horse pucky. What are you going to do when Ukraine actually surrenders? Your whole world will come crashing down as you realize you put your trust in liars.
If they surrender I will be a bit disappointed but I'll understand. I'm not sure why you think I have some emotional attachment one way or the other. I just like seeing people fight back against despots and dictator. There is no place in the world for assholes like that. Ukraine has already won as far as I'm concerned. If they hold out and completely push Russia back I'll be happier. But there is no situation in which I'll think they failed. This has been a huge success.
