Posted on 07/25/2023 2:35:20 AM PDT by Cronos
Governments start wars in pursuit of various objectives, from conquering territory to changing the regime of a hostile state. Once a war begins, the stakes are immediately raised. It is one of the paradoxes of war that even as its original objectives drift out of reach or are cast aside, the necessity of not being seen as the loser only grows in importance—such importance, in fact, that even if winning is no longer possible, governments will still persevere to show that they have not been beaten.
...All of these dynamics are evident in Russia’s war against Ukraine. r Putin set as his objectives the “denazification” and “demilitarization” of Ukraine. - By the first, he meant regime change, in which case the war has clearly been a failure. - As for demilitarization, Ukraine is on its way to becoming the most militarized country in Europe. - Many of the Russian speakers in Ukraine on whose behalf Putin claimed to be acting now prefer to speak Ukrainian, while the Russian-speaking areas of the Donbas have been battered, deindustrialized, and depopulated because of this ruinous war.
...Russian forces have failed to take complete control of any of the four oblasts that Putin claimed for Russia in September2022. Much of the ground initially seized after the full-scale invasion has been relinquished..
Putin is not close to achieving any of his war aims while the price of his gambit grows ever steeper.
...Being stuck with bits and pieces of Ukrainian territory with hostile populations, massive reconstruction bills, and long frontlines with an undefeated Ukraine, would not look like a big win—especially when set against the many casualties incurred by Russian forces, the degradation of the Russian army, the sputtering Russian economy, and the knock to Russia’s standing as a great and influential power.
(Excerpt) Read more at foreignaffairs.com ...
Putin imagined 3 days to take Kyiv and 3 weeks to rule Ukraine.
That didn’t happen and everything since then has gone badly for him. He doesn’t have options to achieve what he set out to do. He is in retreat just lashing out inefficiently trying to just kill Ukrainians because he is an a-hole, but no step ever closer to not losing the war.
A lot of people are very disappointed because Russia revealed they’re just a dumb shithole.
License to Lie ping.......
Yes Putin is bad, also equally as bad is Zelinsky, rooting for either of them is an inherent evil.
Both have created a war sink that only serves to kill common people at large rates and consume the worlds economies.
Also anyone who claims to know Russia’s initial plans and thinks they meant to have this over in just a few weeks demonstrates a complete lack of historical and cultural knowledge of Russia. Their warfare has always bene long term “grindage.” It is shallow thinking to continue to assume western warfare somehow dictates how Russia warfare is executed.
The sooner we stop supporting Zelinksy and just let this run it’s course the better.
There is no difference whether the country is managed by Russia or Zelinsky, it is just a brand of tyrannical leadership of preference, we have no business supporting either. In this instance let evil consume evil, it will result in fewer dead innocents.
Take some time and see how Zelinsky was actually running the country, if you were are Christian it is a very bad thing for you there. Again I do not support Putin but arguably Christians are less persecuted in Russia than in Ukraine.
And as a sample of evidence how bad Zelinsky is here is a quote from Newsweek of all places!
“Yet a closer look at life in Zelensky’s Ukraine reveals that it is not the paragon of democracy and Western values that everyone seems to think it is. Ukraine is a deeply corrupt country with wealthy oligarchs playing the same role there as they do in Putin’s Russia. Using the war as an excuse, Zelensky has banned his political opposition and shut down all media not controlled by his regime”
https://www.newsweek.com/zelensky-defender-democracy-opponent-religious-freedom-opinion-1766012
No it doesn;t MEAN any of that. But you need to understand ths shtick that Putin is saying........an d the context in whichi he i s justifyinghis activity, and the extent to which Biden and his crime family is feeding the war for their own enrichment.
That has nothing to do with establishing a new cause for the invasion of nations by others.
It has to do with doiscovering the whoole truth of what the BIden Crime familty has done to set up a war based money machine, whichi they could not do in afghanistan and so BIDEN PRECIPITOUISY ENDED THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN, LEFT BEHIND 8 BILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF US ORDNANCE, AND WITHIN MONTHS BIDEN HAD HIS MONEY MACHINE WAR GOING IN UKRAINE. BIDEN KNEW RUSSIA WOULD INVADE BY PRESSING FURTHER VIOLATION OF THE MINSK ACCORDS.
You think that the war in Ukraine is a righteous war. It is not. It is a Dem money machine war operating under the established propaganda of righteousness, and is not in the national interest of the USA, and the US crime family dems indeed are fascists too as are the NWO and Klaus Schwab, who run NATO.
SO where is the off ramp ? I am sure Donald Trump will bring one.Thanks be to God.
I keep seeing this. Do you have a link showing where Putin said it.
The timing of this article is interesting. It exactly mirrors Biden’s and Blinken’s recent comments.
There’s a propaganda offensive underway, but what is the expected goal?
Putin and Zelensky should announce an immediate cease fire and pull back to their original positions stating that too many people have died and the war must stop.
Then they both publicly praise Trump for his diplomacy.
If nothing else, the entertainment value of watching talking hacks heads explode is worth the price of admission.
Indeed. The "you're on my side or the other guy's" game is getting old quickly. There are obviously more than two "choices" once the whole thing is considered.
I am quite sure that I know what the outcome will be, and will announce it when the outcome is completely clear. Until then.... < sarc >
What is not in any way sarcasm is that our United States is rapidly adding to the "official" 32+ trillion dollar debt, with no thought from the politicians as to stopping this Ponzi scheme. Shoving more US dollars into the non-NATO Ukraine war with non-NATO Russia is not in the interests of those next generations who will be expected to fund this massive and growing debt, all the while having had NO vote on incurring such debt.
Another legacy of the Bush era.
No.
Putin invaded a sovereign nation. He’s the Bad Guy.
I also don’t want one penny of my tax dollars going to this war.
>Yes Putin is bad, also equally as bad is Zelinsky,
Child rapists are bad, but equally as bad as you.
An excellent observation. "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists....." Nope. There were and remain other options, since "the terrorists" at this point seem to be running the White Powder House and its administration.
What is without doubt, the wars since 2000 have added massively to what was about $5 trillion then and more than $32 trillion now.
So, a clearer formulation is "you are either for massive increases in national debt, or you are against it." Precious few in government express the later.
$32,000,000,000,000.00 + is the LEGACY of four successive administrations and most of Congress. Lunatics in the asylum.
So you have nothing left and no justification to make in support of Ukraine, thus your baseless ad hominem.
I am sure your reply has won over countless freepers to your side, such a erudite reply could not help but move them to your position, the sheer force of your cogent posit is astounding.
That’s how the Reds fought and how Putin fights today. If he wants to he just keeps throwing ordnance at Ukie cities a d start killing civilians by the 1000s a d see how long it takes for Zelensky to stop the carnage. Putin is evil and has no problem with doing this a d the West is not going to risk nuclear war over Ukraine. They showed that at NATO conference. A horrible way to fight a war, but it’s how we fought the last war we a tually won.
While your "target" has already responded to you, I add to his response. Your remark was uncalled for, unfounded and in truly poor taste. There is no debate which is advanced by such a remark.
Both Finland and Sweden are now NATO members and the Baltic Sea is now a NATO lake. Russia will lose access to the Atlantic should nato close the straights where Denmark meets Norway, the only base to the Atlantic will be via Murmansk.
But why a cathedral and not a military or political headquarters, barracks, motor pool, weapons storage, etc.?
As I've said since day one: There is NO "good guy" in this fight. I root for the little guy invaded by the big guy, that is all.
Certainly you are entitled to your view, as are we all to "more than two" viewpoints. Be well.
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