War in Ukraine

I would not expect or want the Administration to react emotionally as I just did. Russia knows.

 

There are all kinds of ways of doing it unemotionally. I’m taking about something as simple as, “Yeah, they don’t want to go there. They understand as well as we do the implications of a nuclear attack on the U.S.”

 

I tend to believe that the Ukrainians put some value on their freedom and independence, and that is why they were willing to fight for it. No one forced Ukraine to fight for their freedom--they did it of their own volition. And, no, there is no reason to believe at this point that Ukraine does not have a reasonably good chance of winning this war, with further support from western countries. In terms of preventing a Russian advance, Ukraine is winning the war right now, and has been for over a year.

Shame on the cowards who were born to a safe and free country who would deny others the chance to fight for their own freedom against a brutal aggressor nation. Besides, how can anyone guarantee the safety of Ukrainian soldiers if they do surrender? How good has Russia been in honoring the Geneva Conventions? What would stop Russia from rounding up the soldiers and executing them? Is genocide that unthinkable for a country that runs torture centers and executes prisoners already? A Ukrainian surrender will probably not stop the deaths of Ukrainians--but it will stop the deaths of Russian soldiers. Ukraine is in an existential fight right now, in every sense of the word.

And no, I don't think you know what you are talking about. The only agreement that Russia was interested in before the war was the complete surrender of all of Ukraine. They may have accepted a staged surrender of the country, with the currently-occupied lands being taken over immediately, and further lands being turned over in future surrenders after recurring flimsy accusations of Nazis in Ukraine. There is no doubt that Putin had a goal of reconstituting the Soviet Union, the collapse of which he described as the greatest tragedy of the 20th century. You would have to be naive to believe otherwise.

 

Ukraine destroys another Russian ship, this one a cruise missile carrier ship. What's remarkable is that it was taken out by Ukraine's air force.

Ukrainian Air Force Commander confirms destruction of Russia's modern warship in Kerch (yahoo.com)

 

There's a reason why Russia and pals decided to start wars during Biden's presidency. He's mostly useless and since our other 'leaders' are busy squabbling to avoid shutting down the government (because they can't lead and shirked responsibility for so long) while pulling fire alarms there's nobody with a personality to unite the US in any direction. Whichever direction the US chooses is the direction both wars go, so the best case scenario for them is a senile old guy who can't make decisions to stumble on long enough that people get tired of the war and begin ignoring it, which has mostly happened for Russia.

Say what you want about Trump being a tool (I agree) but he definitely has a personality and isn't afraid to make a decision. The current guy just kinda looks lost and makes mostly incoherent statements.

 

Ukraine Invasion Day 620: Kerch shipyard hit, Project 22800 ship damaged

Ok not a stalemate don’t hurt me prez lol

 

Biden is choosing a low-key position for supporting Ukraine, and that's generally fine. I think he needs to be more vocal, not in response to Russian smack talk, but to keep America on board with support for Ukraine. It is easy for simple-minded Americans to think only of how much this support is costing us right now, or whether Ukraine deserves help or not with their history of corruption. You know, ideas planted by Russian propaganda with a hint of truth among the lies.

No doubt Trump would make a decision, and that would be to threaten Ukraine with no support if they don't surrender immediately. That's essentially the only way that Trump could guarantee to stop the war in one day. Trump knows how to protect the value of his Russian business holdings. Of course, that's a form of corruption that most of Trump's fans would like to overlook.

Also, I would argue that Putin chose to invade when he did partly because Trump weakened NATO for him. Little did Putin know that the invasion of Ukraine would revive NATO and cause NATO to expand further into his neck of the woods.

 

This article, based on British intel, claims that neither Ukraine nor Russia can achieve a breakout because their troops are spread out over a 745-mile front.

I am hopeful that the addition of F-16's to the equation, if they are survivable against what's left of the Russian SAM systems and modern Russian jets, can make a difference, either in creating conditions for a Ukrainian breakthrough, or going well behind the Russian lines and disrupting supplies or destroying weapons factories. They might even want to bomb an oil refinery or two.

Ukraine and Russia can't break their stalemate because their troops are spread too thin over 745 miles, UK intel says (yahoo.com)

 

Biden needs to make decisions, be obvious and vocal about them and then lead the nation (and much of NATO). He doesn't need to respond to Russia at all, and shouldn't, but being 'low key's isn't helping anything it's just causing Ukraine to slowly be demolished and lose its working age male population.

His job is pretty much just to make decisions that he feels are best for the country. While I'm not a big fan of having crypt keepers in office you would think it would be beneficial as they wouldn't worry about current public opinion or reelection, little stuff like that which would clear their mind for making the best decision for the future. Unfortunately he is incapable of this. Personally I'd rather have someone who makes a decision I disagree with, follows through and owns it from start to finish over a guy who tries to keep things low key and not ruffle feathers.

If we're going to support Ukraine then do it. If not don't. Trying to do two things at once (support Ukraine while not disrupting foreign relations or provoking Russia) is a recipe for doing both poorly, which is what's happening. Ukraine is in a war of attrition and other enemies are emboldened while Turkey openly supports terrorism.

 

Game over ?

Game Over: US, European Officials Quietly Nudge Ukraine To Seek Peace | ZeroHedge

 

There is no peace option for Ukraine. There is either a fighting death option, or a surrender death option. I suppose a slavery option might be theoretically possible, with a threat of death at any time. Surrender requires a certain amount of trust of the other country to not kill you after you lay down your arms. Russia, the genocidal warmongers and rapacious barbarians, cannot be trusted. They are not a civilized country.

I sure as hell wouldn't opt for peace if a new weapon like F-16's were only weeks or a few months away.

 

Ukraine destroys a Russian Pole-21 electronic warfare system.

Military: Ukraine destroys Russian electronic warfare system (yahoo.com)

 

Ukraine says that Russia ran away from Kherson because they were afraid of encirclement. Russians are terrified of encirclement, most likely because they know it is likely the rest of their army will abandon them.

Ukrainian military officer explains why Russians ran away from Kherson (yahoo.com)

 

Handing out awards when they should have been pressing for peace. Latest count 28 KIA and 53 WIA …

 

The virulently anti-Putin Mediazona estimates that 724 Russian tankers have been killed during the entire war. Not tanks, but the multiple personnel who operate the tanks. So it is realistic to presume that a few hundred tanks have been lost, against the upwards of 1,500 a year that are being manufactured. Takeaway: Russia can fight for a long, LONG time. It’s high-time for peace talks.

 

When you know you’re losing, all you have is lies …

 

All those sam systems and other air defenses that have been taken out are allowing the ukraine air force to expand their mission.

 

Peace at this juncture is Russia losing.

Their goal was to absorb Ukraine.

They'd be concluding the campaign with a sliver of Ukraine, 50.000 casualties conservatively, and being universally considered a laughing stock.

Putin babbles, and the world chuckles.

2 years ago, ppl feared Russia and Putin.

 

And that it sucks. We are also learning about Iranian and North Korean capabilities.