I think I heard that Ukraine lost 55K men on the foreign policy podcast The Duran, which is very good. I think the Podcaster Alexander Mercouris said he got the figure from the Russian Ministry of Defense, which is usually fairly accurate imo. accurate.
I don’t necessarily disagree with the sentiment. However, I don’t believe Zelenskyy and Ukraine are forced into continuing this war by anyone other than Russia.
Putin nearly has Ukraine landlocked with the 2022 push. That wasn't the case after 2014. Sealing off Ukraine from the Black Sea was always the objective, as it neutralizes Ukraine as an asset to NATO. Calling that "pointless" betrays a fundamental lack of understanding of the objectives of this war. This is why it's dangerous to rely upon only Western media for your understanding of the war. You really need to digest both sides to truly understand what's being fought over. Don't get me wrong. I have no illusions that Russia and Putin are any sort of benevolent entity. But I also know Ukraine came in at a 4.5 freedom rating entering this war on a scale of 1 (free) to 7 (not free). They are not the benevolent democracy loving government the propaganda ministers in the West like to make them out to be. And let's not act like this is the first time we've seen this movie. Over the decades, we've seen Washington prop up the image of some very corrupt regimes. My read is that Trump likely ends this war figuratively before he's inaugurated. He carves out some mega-contracts for American companies to come in and rebuild Ukraine. Yes, I'm sure the mineral deposits will come into play. Naturally, Trump is thinking "what's in it for us?" Stop the war so it's safe for American companies to come in and clean up (monetarily) and everybody else stfu. Remember Trump is telling us he is soon to sanction Iran into the dark ages and tariff China into a depression. Those are Russia's two best buds. A weak Iran and a weaker China means a weaker Russia without firing a single shot.
Only real pushback I have is that Russia hasn't cut off the Black Sea and, given the backsliding everywhere else (Sweden, Finland, Multiple ships lost, becoming China's bitch in the way you were trying to avoid with the West, etc.) it does seem rather pointless. Odessa still lives and will continue to do so. So, what was the "point"? In the end, they have slightly more than they had after 2014 in terms of land, but have not cut off Ukraine from the Black Sea and from the looks of it, probably won't accomplish that goal no matter who wins the US election.
My take is Putin is continuing the war to survive. My guess is Russia will be threatening and continuing the war until we wake up one morning and Putin is dead and Russian troops are pulling out.
There may be a list of the 77 Russians who have fallen out windows since the war started. I kept trying to go to the list but I kept getting redirected.
Not sure it even happens then. By all accounts, anyone who would replace him shares his 19th-Century view of the world.
I don’t think Ukraine makes it into NATO if you freeze the front lines where they are today. Odesa is technically in Ukrainian hands, but otherwise, Russia has the country landlocked and a land bridge to Crimea to fortify the Black Sea port. Ukraine needed to push Russia back further to be an asset to NATO. I don’t think Zelenskyy cares about NATO as long as he has some level of security assurance. Russia would be delighted if Ukraine says they shall remain neutral going forward.
Three strikes and Russia is OUT! Ukraine just destroyed the third and last railway ferry between Russia and Crimea. This could put a crimp in Russia's supply lines. The ferry is 500' long, probably capable of moving 9-10 railcars at a time (standard U.S. railcars are about 50' long). Ukraine destroys Putin’s last railway ferry in Crimea
Interesting that Russia quit using the rail bridge and went to ferries and Ukraine said that the bridge was no longer a valuable military target since it was not being used. Was there some kind of deal to not use it if they quit trying to attack it? Will it be put back in use now that the ferries are all out of action?
I don't see Ukraine and Russia making those kinds of deals in the middle of a battle for survival. Neither side would trust the other, for one thing. It is possible that the bridge has been damaged enough that it is not safe to run railcars across it anymore. Each railcar can weigh 140-145 tons or more.
Putin getting desperate to find soldiers willing to fight. He is offering $22k equivalent to any Moscow resident who wants to go to war and join the death toll. It comes with a $34k life insurance policy. Make sure you read the fine print, and don't be in a hurry to spend your signing bonus. Russia is offering Moscow residents a record $22,000 to fight in Ukraine
This is what Trump is doing to the cult The Daily Show on Instagram: "Putin is “all for freedom?” We are talking about the same Putin, right?"
Not sure NATO is a necessity or even a good idea. Let's start with economics (EU) and move on from there.
