Gonzalo Lira: Force Putin has assembled is an army of occupation, i.e. he doesn't need all that just to defeat what's left of the hoho military

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[ganeemead]

ukraine surrounded, nothing west can do about it

The logic seems coercive. In a rational world i.e. with rational people on all sides, Russia would not want all of ukraine, east side of the Dnieper river at most, would have settled for Russian ethnic areas originally. Now they seem to be preparing to simply seize the whole thing.

[MarMema]

Oh haha, Gonzalo. Still in Ukraine and still alive? If I were him I think I would stop reporting. Almost got him killed last time. SBU are nasty.

[chajin]

In a rational world i.e. with rational people on all sides, Russia would not want all of ukraine, east side of the Dnieper river at most, would have settled for Russian ethnic areas originally. Now they seem to be preparing to simply seize the whole thing.

I don't know why, but the word "Sudetenland" keeps buzzing in my ears.

OK, of course I know why: Hitler didn't want just ethnic German territories, just as Putin doesn't want just ethnic Russian territories, he wants what Stalin got--lucky for us, he won't live long enough to get all Stalin got, but who knows what his successor will yearn for.

[ganeemead]

Lira is correct in noting that the force Putin has assembled is an army of occupation. He doesn’t need all that just to defeat whatever forces Kiev might have left.

[wardaddy]

In before Lira is a Russian shill

[pierrem15]

I think the SBU just keep him around for the comedy value.

[tlozo]

ukraine surrounded, nothing west can do about it

LOL, has anybody told the West, Ukraine is surrounded?

U.S. Transportation Command is delivering the first shipment of Bradley Fighting Vehicles to Ukraine as part of the United States’ $2.85 billion military aid agreement announced earlier this year.

The shipment — containing more than 60 Bradleys — left the shores of North Charleston, South Carolina, last week, and will provide the Ukrainian forces with additional offensive and defensive capabilities to protect their borders against Russia’s illegal invasion.

[montag813]

Nothing West of the Dneiper is of any value. Resources are all in the East, along the flat land that NATO tanks could fly across. All Russia needs is East of the river and the West is defeated. Too bad their men and weapons suck so bad.

[PGR88]

Putin is Hitler!

Long live the facile, simplistic, junior high school historical analogy!

[rottweiller_inc]

I think it’s starting to occur to certain neocons that Russia is not going to be defeated and now they’re going to have to figure out how to deal with Russia after they’ve pulled all the shady stuff that they’ve done

[Pete Dovgan]

Yea, occupying Ukraine isn’t going to work out for Russia or Putin. They basically will be left economically isolated for the rest of their existence from the west. Constant police state, uprisings, and puppet governments that are hated. Then they get a border with nations that will immediately arm to the teeth, like west Germany did, pushing the Russian economy into the toilet.

IF this is their plan, its stupid. The original plan, to take over quickly, withdraw, and place a puppet government was better. This plan is a disaster, IMHO, and they would be better off just withdrawing.

Stupid war with stupid prizes.

[anton]

I think Putin is trying to set up a peace where he does not have to fix all the stuff he broke but he still ends up with the trillions of dollars of natural resources.

[chajin]

Putin is Hitler!

I didn't say he was Hitler. I said he was Stalin, which is very different.

Instead of Sudetenland, I could have used the analogy of 1939 Poland, where Stalin in the secret protocol wanted the Russian half and Hitler wanted the Prussian half, but Stalin actually wanted it all (so did Hitler) and he got it after WWII.

[rottweiller_inc]

Well and all the money the central banks froze and the yachts they stole. almost reminds me of what Russia did in east Germany when they pulled out even took everything, the door knobs.

[LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget]

Intellect is rare. Most people are morons. You can sit by my fire anytime.

[lodi90]

I think Putin is trying to set up a peace where he does not have to fix all the stuff he broke but he still ends up with the trillions of dollars of natural resources.

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That’s Plan C. The original plan was the “Novorossiya” fantasy with “General Government” type rump state governed by a Quisling Ukrainian. Everything we saw in Hitler’s Germany we see in Putin’s Russia. Genocide, imperialist resource grabbing, etc. Textbook Nazism but coming from Russia this time.

[Jim Noble]

I don't know why, but the word "Sudetenland" keeps buzzing in my ears

I don't, either - but I know that the history of Bohemia did not begin in 1919.

[LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget]

You need to bright to sit by my fire. You can sit out there. Not welcome by my fire.

[lodi90]

I think you underestimate that the fact that Putin is running the Stalinist playbook. He’ll murder, exile or deport any Ukrainian who opposes him and import Russians to replace them. This is a classic Russian colonialist war of choice with all the genocide, misery and death that comes with it.

[Kazan]

Gonzalo had the BBC numbers on Russian causalities (which includes DPR, LPR and Wagner Group) — 20,000. He said the low estimate on Ukrainian causalities is 157,000.