what happens to Ukrainians living in occupied areas? The Ukrainian army leaves and trust Russia’s war crimes will stop?
Nothing good. But it just is what it is now. I'd be shocked if the Trump administration is able to negotiate a full Russian withdrawal - and based on everything they have said while campaigning they aren't interested in continuing to fight. So what else is there?
I know I've pointed out before, but a majority of the people in occupied areas are ethnic Russian. There is virtually little different in day-to-day life between these areas and Russia proper.
Putin is a very calculating dictator. He does not make decisions rashly or randomly. He is an expert at using fear to get what he wants. He wants to be remembered up there with the great imperialists of Europe, including Peter the Great. He emulates and idolizes Stalin. With so many countries having nuclear weapons, he cannot be too crazy with his military attacks, lest one of the other nuclear powers panics and lights up Moscow. He would prefer that other countries simply give up from fear when the Russian troops land on their doorstep, but that is not working out for him in Ukraine. His military is too incompetent, and Putin tends to be overly involved in the direction of the military (so military leaders do not become too popular).
And if Putin does escalate, will Trump put him on double secret probation, and take away his pudding? What if Putin escalates, and then tells Trump that he is de-escalating, but with more troops. Will Trump fall for it? Putin is not stupid. He knows that Trump has an aversion to using U.S. troops in battle. He bailed out of Afghanistan, and Iran slapped him in the face by sending missiles into U.S. bases in Iraq. Hell, Trump is scared of being hit in high school football games that he never played in (because, you know, his high school was too small to even field a football team). War is even more dangerous than Trump's imaginary football games, if you can believe that.
Nah... he's legitimately terrified of the joke of an army that's spinning it's wheels in the mud east of the NATO border, is gonna steam roll through NATO--MAD be damned--if they can just make it past Ukraine... Then it'll be easy as pie. Do try and keep up now ... Lol!
Meh...same thing as the Afghans and Iraqis that worked with us for years under risk of death, I suppose. Though the Ukies never did anything for us--well, other than protect Democrat secrets and launder Dem money... (Z gonna have to figure how to get his toast buttered pretty quickly here, if he wants to keep Ukraine and indy nation.... which dare i say, might just entail coughing up some of *dem* secrets...).
German PM candidate says he would allow long range German missiles to be used on Russian soil if Russia doesn't "cease hostilities" Putin Faces German Ultimatum: End Ukraine War or Face Taurus Missiles Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and candidate for chancellor, recently announced a strong stance on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. He pledged to issue an ultimatum to Vladimir Putin if elected. Merz declared that he would give Russia a 24-hour deadline to cease hostilities. If this demand was ignored, he would push to supply Ukraine with Taurus long-range missiles, which would enable potential strikes within Russian borders. “I would allow Kyiv’s government the authority to state: If the bombing of civilians doesn’t stop within 24 hours, range restrictions on available weapons will be lifted, and, if needed, Taurus missiles would follow a week later. This would give Ukraine the opportunity to regain the upper hand,” the chancellor candidate added. Merz also emphasized the need for Germany to define its national interests more assertively. “The Americans take a far more direct approach. It’s not about one side winning outright but about finding agreements that benefit both parties. Trump would call it a deal,” he remarked, referencing U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
I hope European countries step up and cover the US funding lost once Trump is sworn in and supply Ukraine with all it needs to fight Russia. They are the ones that are threatened the most. If it means giving Trump the finger so be it.
Meanwhile, we need to look into every available legal avenue to ship as much equipment and arms to Ukraine as possible for the next two months. People in Taiwan have to be getting a little nervous.
Article Waltz wrote about the war in Ukraine last year. Doesn’t sound like he’s a pack it up and go home type of person. U.S. Representative Mike Waltz
They have a choice, just like in any war. Move and accept that they are now under Russian authority and Russia law. Accept that they are now Russians, not Ukrainians. I'm sure there will be charities, various NATO and UN agencies as well as the Ukrainian government that will help with the relocation process and expenses.
Why do you support funding a hopeless war that the U.S. has no business being in? Why do you support causing more Ukrainians to die a needless death, fighting a war they can't ever win? The answer is clear. Get both Zelensky and Putin to the negotiation table. Putin gets the 25% of Ukraine his forces have taken (the eastern part of Ukraine) permanent. In exchange, Putin agrees to stop again war actions against the remaining 75% of Ukraine and Ukraine becomes NATO members. It is told very strongly that any action in the future against Ukraine would be considered an attack against all of NATO, and that in any future engagements, those NATO allies wouldn't just be supplying weapons. That is Russia tried again, they would be fighting forces from all NATO countries, which as we know, would absolutely crush the outdated Russian Army. It's a dang good deal for all involved. The war ends, Ukraine keeps 75% of their country and gets the NATO membership Russia did not want them to get. Russia gets to keep 25% of Ukraine that they have control of and effectively get Eastern Ukraine to create a buffer zone between NATO and Russia. Russia gets the parts of Ukraine (Donbas Region and Crimea) that are truly more ethnically Russian, and those citizens truly come home.
that deal isn’t bad - but how do you sell Russia on the nato thing? It’s like the whole point of the war was to stop the expansion of nato I doubt they ever agree.
Because Russia is now in a war that they can no longer afford long term. Eventually they will run out of manpower. Russia had more leverage to say "no NATO" when people still had some fear of the Russian military. The Russian military has been shown now to mostly be a paper tiger. The 25% of Ukraine they are given is the part that is ethnically Russian, so they get to bring those citizens home. With this deal Russia gets to avoid any possibility of a long term humiliating defeat and get to focus on rebuilding their economy. And with this deal Russia can actually use the 25% of Ukraine they conquer essentially as a buffer zone between Russia and NATO, so the buffer would still be there. Having NATO expand into an Ukraine cut back 25% is a lot better than NATO expanding into an Ukraine with their entire territory, including territory that comes right up to Russia. As it stands NATO gets a very weakened and partially destroyed Ukraine, not much of a prize and Putin gets to declare Victory at home.
