At some point, the reality of this is going to reach the Russian people and they are not going to be happy. The numbers are staggering. Not only is their economy beign crushed, their military is too. The Russian Army Is Losing A Battalion Every Day As Ukrainian Counterattacks Accelerate (msn.com) The Russian army is losing at least a battalion’s worth of vehicles and men a day as twin Ukrainian counteroffensives roll back Russian territorial gains in eastern and southern Ukraine. That’s hundreds of casualties and scores of vehicle write-offs every day. These losses are catastrophic for Russia. The Russian army barely was sustaining a little over 100 under-strength battalions in Ukraine before Kyiv’s forces counterattacked in the south on Aug. 30 and in the east eight days later. In just under two weeks of brutal fighting, the Ukrainians have destroyed, badly damaged or captured 1,200 Russian tanks, fighting vehicles, trucks, helicopters, warplanes and drones, according to the Ukrainian general staff. Independent analysts scouring social media for photos and videos have confirmed nearly 400 of the Russian losses. Around 5,500 Russian troops have died in Ukraine since Aug. 29, according to Ukrainian officials. It’s possible the Ukrainians are overstating the death toll, but it’s worth noting that recent U.S. estimates of Russian losses have been only slightly lower than Ukrainian estimates. To put these numbers into perspective, Russian losses in Ukraine have swelled by a tenth in around 10 days—in a war that’s 200 days old. The rate of Russian casualties and vehicle write-offs doubled then tripled as the Ukrainians launched their counterattacks.
no reparations, sanctions remain in place. reparations can be made via reduced cost of nat gas or oil to be supplied to Ukraine. should any country or military units be excused from such blatant crimes against humanity? I guess I don't see either as an existential threat as much as Russia admitting to what they did wrong and making amends for those wrongs. AN existential threat to me is one that undermines the independence of the country, not one that holds them accountable for their aggression and war crimes.
Reparations usually don’t work out I imagine we will loan Ukraine what they need to rebuild. It will be interesting to see if they pay it back or not.
My disagreement is on a practical level, not a moral one. I think if Ukraine can end the war with its pre-2014 borders and most of its citizens returned who had been disappeared into Russia, then that is a huge victory. I want Russian beaten but not beaten so badly that they obsess over the loss for the next 20 years and can’t be reintegrated into the West as a counterweight against China.
From a former US Marine, Ukraine’s dramatic push to Izyum an optics win, resulting in horrific losses, and showing uncanny similarities to WWII Germany’s Ardennes Offensive ...
An incredible and stunning demonstration of Ukranian resolve aided by Western logistic and material support. Truly stunning. Putin has fallen into an Alligator Pit
Study: over 90% of bots pro-Ukrainian, fewer than 7% pro-Russian ... https://arxiv.org/pdf/2208.07038.pdf
Russian incompetence, lack of purpose, and corruption that sapped supplies and performance of what the do have has played a large part too.
… because the Russians are throwing down their weapons and running away? You’re absolutely right. We need to take those scores off the board.
There’s an outside shot now that they can push them close to feb borders by winter. That would make for an interesting offseason.
The February starting point should play no role in decision making. Taking good defensible ground for the winter should be the priority. This winter is going to suck for all affected by this war unless there are miraculous circumstances that end it soon. Spoiler alert: there won’t be.
For real, If the Ukrainian offense gains further momentum I wonder how it shakes out. Let's get real, The Russian Confederation has committed terrible crimes, immense Infrastructure destruction, countless deaths......in their "Special Operation". What if the offensive carries all the way to the Russian boarder?
oh I agree generally. The point I was making was, let’s say Ukraine takes back much of the lost land before winter. Now Putin has to make a strategic decision - take the brunt of a terrible winter where he will likely face all kinds of internal pressure while little to nothing happens, further alienate his only revenue source (energy to the west). with the risk of the spring coming and mud everywhere making any quick make up advances difficult, or look for an off ramp? He doesn’t seem to have a realistic timely end game at that point. Whether he is willing to accept it is another story.
I hope so. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Strange as it is to say, Ukraine still needs to be mindful of not being too successful too quickly. Otherwise, Russia might exercise its most dangerous course of action. And then all of us everywhere are all in on this war. We don’t want that.
I will take NATO / Western Imperalism over Russian / Eastern block totalitarianism, thuggery and police state occupation every day of the week and for a month of Sundays. People, women and human rights have far greater quality of life opportunities under Western regimes (warts and all) as compared to Eastern European "thug" czars whom only take care of their families, political cronies and police captains.
Doesn’t need to be taken off the board, just held in perspective. Next Saturday, I predict USF will break off a 45 yard run to much consternation and hair-pulling and WTF’s and how could that happens!
