I would think the fact that Russian troops are on the ground makes a proxy war possible. Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan were all about one superpower making the other superpower bleed by providing training and relatively small infusions of equipment to the proxy, which took the brunt of the casualties. If Ukrainians are willing to sacrifice hundreds of thousands of their young men, the Russians will run, not walk, to the border.
Correct. The Ukrainians can eventually force Putin’s forces out IF they (the Ukrainians) can accept a 10:1 kill ratio in favor of Russia.
One must recall that the Ukraine lost 19% of its population in WW2, only to return to subjugation by Stalin. We cannot really even begin to imagine the scale of the horrors, or the “national memory”.
Tymoshenko sounds like she would do it (have Ukraine fight), but needs to be more forceful about eventually winning, which she does seem to be, as she recovers from her back problem.
I’ve also seen some writings from protesters praising opposition leaders they did not really like previously, because said leaders were willing to stand in there as the bullets started taking out protesters. If the Ukraine’s leaders show courage under fire, Putin’s guys are (eventually) toast.
Also... If Ukrainians start dying in large numbers, pressure to send in assistance will build.