Posted on 08/17/2025 10:23:22 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
“Slovyansk and Kramatorsk form the northern half of the fortress belt and serve as significant logistics hubs for Ukrainian forces defending in Donetsk Oblast. Druzhkivka, Oleksiyevo-Druzhkivka, and Kostyantynivka serve as the southern half of the fortress belt.
“Ukrainian forces first began building up defensive positions in and around these cities after retaking them from pro-Russian proxy forces who attacked and seized Slovyansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka, and Kostyantynivka in April 2014.”
I consider the first three maps to be of interest (and the others to be merely speculative):
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/critical-importance-ukraine%E2%80%99s-fortress-belt-donetsk-oblast
The Left: so little time, so many Hitlers.
Donbas for peace is a win/win.
russia will capture it anyway.
Other details need to be part of the peace plan.
Again, not true.
Merkel was surprisingly honest.
There were violations on both sides, but
the Russians were going along with the premise of
the agreement giving Donbas some autonomy, protected rights
of their Russian heritage and culture, and political representation after
the 2014 debacle. Minsk was supposed to be
a solution to the civil war that did keep the Donbas as part of the Ukrainian
nation.
The neo-nazi Ukrainian nationalists controlling the Z regime have given ample examples even before WW2 that they don’t play nice with “impure race” nationalities and have no desire to share the sandbox with anyone they even suspect of Russian cultural ties.
What does that say about you?
You say that I hate and despise this man.
I'll let you characterize my feelings how you may.
Whatever feelings I have about him were confirmed and intensified by the manner which he presented himself when he visited the White House.
I do not feel that he was solely to blame for the disrespect he showed MY President but also showed to Our Republic which was his greatest benefactor.
The leader of the Ukraine that you refer to was surely egged on by the war profiteers and the political enemies of Trump.
That said, I will respectfully answer your question as your comment to me was posed respectfully and devoid of name-calling that so often is part of the dialogue on FR between those who support the war and those of us who feel Our Republic has no business sticking its nose in age old territorial conflicts.
My feelings about the leader of the Ukraine say that I am a proud American and I do not take kindly to ingrates coming into the home of the President which is figuratively the home of all Americans and acting out with such disrespect.
Such behavior violates the ancient code of hospitality that separates the civilized from the heathen.
But wait…if Russia doesnt want NATO on its border, give us a rational military reason Russia would do a full war mobilization ( which it has not) and roll its tanks right up to the borders of…NATO.
Eastern Ukraine would make a potentially acceptable security buffer between Russia and NATO…hundreds of miles of essentially demilitarized land, if the Russians agree to not base a major military presence there ( Crimea being another case with long time Sevastapol as HQ of the Black Sea fleet much to British despair)
They don’t need all of Ukraine. Modern weaponry makes distance from the enemy’s weapons far less significant…but the more space, the better. Look what the USA was willing to risk to keep nuc missiles out of Cuba…that 90 mile separation was simply not tolerable. And anyone wonders why Russia draws a redline in Ukraine?
You know the Korean “ war” never ended, it is an armistice that has lasted since about 1953, dividing the Korean peninsula between competing empires of East and West. Land was traded for peace.
The eventually settled demarcation between Kiev and Russia, in Eastern Ukraine, will become another “ dividing line” between another 2 Empires. Russia and Europe ( and by extension the USA since we seem fated to protect Europe from imploding or exploding on an all too often historical cycle)
It can become a long lasting or permanent settlement. But Kiev must cede a geographic buffer and Europe must cede a psychological one and rein in NATO.
Way too much to unpack here
Watch Oliver Stone’s documentary “ Ukraine on Fire” about that coup
Research why Yanukovych rejected the terms the EU and IMF wanted to impose for membership, and why he was poised to accept the Russian terms for an equal payment of $15 Billion to dig out of Ukraines debt spiral. Which sealed his fate to be replaced by a “ pro western” leader. Nuland and company had the new govt preselected.
As I read once provocateurs started shooting at Ukrainian security forces and civilians, it was within their Constitutional responsibilities to shoot back.
So when a nicely dressed multi-billionaire & mass murder comes to your house, so to speak, you would welcome him with open arms. But God help the man fighting for his life and country whose dress standards do not meet your expectations.
Smacks of elitism, snobbery, and hubris on your part, in my opinion.
Dude, I NEVER mentioned his dress.
I clearly said presentation.
Which has a much broader context than dress.
He could have dressed as a beggar and presented himself with the respect and dignity of national leader addressing a world leader.
Yes his dress was disrespectful, but it was just a minor symptom of his much bigger problem.
I think the Donbas and no NATO in Ukraine would meet the essence of Russian demands.
Zelensky won’t accept.
Trump won’t pour more money into the war if Zelensky says no.
Putin will take much more than the Donbas.
If Zelensky refuses to agree he will end up losing most if not all of Ukraine.
Nothing short of nuclear war will stop Russia, and they have the largest arsenal in the world.
Unfortunately, Ukraine is in a no-win position, they will lose territory no matter what happens on Monday.
The only question is how much.
You missed my point totally. To begin with, Hitler demanded German speaking areas be part of Germany, like Austria and the Sudetenland. Britain and France agreed when Hitler said he had no more desire for additional territory. How quick was Hitler to grab the rest of the Czechs after the ink dried on that paper? Putin works in exactly the same system. Who would be next?
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