Land for peace means new Russian military bases in Donbas and a strengthened war machine for Putin

The Washington Times ^ | Wednesday, August 20, 2025 | Ben Wolfgang

[MinorityRepublican]

The ugly truth behind any deal that would cede a chunk of Ukraine’s Donbas region to Moscow is that it could immediately strengthen the Russian military, providing a major win for one of America’s leading adversaries in an era of great power competition.

In such a scenario, Ukraine would lose some of its most heavily fortified defensive positions. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s generals would seek to deepen their substantial footprint in the strategically vital theater with new military bases. The Russian navy could gain even greater control over the Black Sea. The Russian government and its armed forces could take de facto ownership of the significant mineral deposits underground in eastern Ukraine.

The U.S., Ukraine and Europe likely will insist on a sizable buffer zone designed to prevent Russia from turning the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, which collectively make up the Donbas, into a military hub that could threaten Kyiv and other former Soviet nations in Eastern Europe. It’s unclear how that scenario could be prevented, short of a permanent multinational contingent of ground troops stationed in the region willing to fight the Russian army if necessary.

NATO officials, including Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met Wednesday to discuss such a plan and held a “candid discussion,” a senior alliance official told The Associated Press.

Alliance members, including the U.S., have given few, if any, indications that they are truly willing to engage in all-out war against the Russians if, as many battlefield analysts fear, the Kremlin inevitably breaks whatever agreement is made to end the current conflict.

Questions are swirling around President Trump’s push to end the war, including exactly what the U.S. military commitment would be to the still-undetermined “security guarantees” the West says it is willing to provide to Ukraine.

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TOPICS: Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: chanceofheavymugasms; proxywar; putinthewarpig; russiankeywordtroll; russianstooges; russiansuicide; russiantrollfarm; securityguarantees; ukraine; vladtheimploder; welfarewar; zeepersdisappointed; zeepersindenial

[BobL]

Victoria Nuland, for starters. It’s all documented.

[PIF]

Best to trade Ukrainian-held land to Russia and trade Russia-occupied Ukrainian land back to Ukraine. Sound like fair exchange. Why not give the Russians land now that they could not take in 10 years That will save lots of lives [ except for hohos that have to be exterminated ].