Gotcha. I didn't know what his family consisted of (serving ages for example). There are plenty of people leaving/have evacuated so I didn't think that doing so would be an issue.
This is what the president of Finland said the other day. The IC psychological profile of Putin these days must be chilling.
Oh, I wasn’t talking about the urban environment. Only a damn fool would put massed tanks into Kyiv (if they want to see them again). They will be used to cut off the city and establish the outer cordon. To avoid a very bloody urban fight, Russia is either going to have to: 1. starve them out (I think that would be my play), downside of which is it’s slow and gives NATO more time to get its shit together; 2. Street-by-street, building-by-building, gets the military objective done faster, but lots of Russian casualties (perhaps more than their people will be willing to accept) and plays even more poorly on TV than a siege.
I don’t recall the specifics, but my recollection is that there is indeed a way, but it is not practical in most circumstances. I believe the security council has to start it, so there is problem #1. But there is also a process to remove one of those countries from the UNSC. This won’t save Ukraine, and I am personally torn on the effectiveness of the UN writ large, but it is possible.
Ahh no show me where I said that and cease putting words in my mouth. Thanks. Attacking NATO means game on. I've said it elsewhere in this thread. The naïve notion of Providing air support or shooting down Russian fighters like its some kind of arcade game is sheer fantasy. Sending rescue forces in to grab downed pilots can turn messy fast. Start losing Ospreys, HH-60s HH-53s and shooting up Russian ground forces to rescue aircrew turns a neat tidy plan to mud. If the Russians grab the pilots, now what? Lotsa folks wanna sacrifice our service people in the name of freedom. GTHOH with that nonsense.
Agreed, with sane actors. Curious if Putin has lost patience after initial setbacks and will send armor into the big city or just surrounding capital buildings for photo ops. Next 24 will tell us a lot. Damn logistics..
I'm as anti-imperialist as it gets. And I know my history. Authoritarians who invade their neighbors in hopes of bringing back a historic empire don't just stop with one country. The more they win, the bolder and more difficult to beat they get. Ukraine is an ally. It's a democracy. Putin is invading because they refused to be his puppet anymore. We must stand up for our allies and against authoritarianism. We've already seen how this has played out in the past when America refused to get involved and Europe chose to appease a madman. Had they stood up to him in the beginning, they could have stopped him before he turned the world upside down. We should not repeat the mistakes of history.
Exactly massive civilian casualties won't play well. Massive Russian troop casualties will definitely add an unexpected pressure Putin didn't count on imo to stopping this conflict. An insurgency will also play against Putin's folly
It's utterly insane for you to lecture others about being willing to "sacrifice our service people" when you're just as willing to sacrifice them, except you draw the line at NATO instead of Ukraine.
I was just thinking to myself before I read your post, “What’s Putin’s hurry?” I think we’re all agreed (no matter what our opinions are on the subject) that there will be no foreign intervention. After he completes the isolation of Kyiv, he could strangle it off and methodically move into the rest of the country as I described. This would save him a lot of casualties. But I’m reading now that he’s already moving into Kyiv, despite the risks. It’s almost as if he has to get this done as quickly as possible before something else happens, and I don’t mean the spring rains and mud. What are we not seeing about the sequel to this operation?
None taken. Love your dogs, but then I love all dogs. Lost mine a year and a half ago and can't yet bring myself to get another one, who might outlive me.
I’m more of a nail, hammer thinker….lol…. My only guess is he wants a quick turn, capital photo op with newly denazified gubmit loyalists so that he can then use the propaganda on other ex-combloc countries military to overthrow their corrupt leaders or you are next. He can use propaganda to trigger internal conflicts without crossing borders. Or he could ride bare back X2 into the sunset…
Get one (or five.) I’ve lost a dozen, always say no more, always do, always glad in the end. Back to Red Dawn: Ukraine.
The Russians were like the Beatles to Democrats in the 1960's, but today the Russians have moved on to hip hop and the Democrats are still listening to Herman's Hermits.
Rational actors is key. It is why punishing a country while the oligarchs are in no real danger doesn’t work. It is North Korea. I believe Putin has always seen himself as a statue, and it matters not whether it’s ala Lenin or Stalin or someone actually cool. Also why I frequently post here saying statues should be forbidden on general principle. Honor deeds, not people.
I can't make sense of this. Are you alleging that the Democrats were big fans of the Soviets in the 1960s?
Putin didn't expect this kind of commitment from the people or this kind of leader for them to rally around. The man is genuine and has earned my respect, I can't believe that other people much more important than me feel the same way. I really hope they are being given tactical support and intelligence and effective weapons to neutralize the armor and artillery the Russians bring. I have to wonder how much the rank and file russians doing the fighting are willing to die for Putin to kill their ukranian neighbors
