Europe at War

[Todd]

To ensure a more enduring peace in Europe, Putin must come out of this empty handed.... The days of a face saving option are over. That said, Crimea might be subject to some compromise,  maybe...

Ukraine is not winning the war.  That is why Ukrainian leaders are desperate for more hardware including prior gen fighters.  Ukraine is not in a position of strength.  Territory, treaty status, war crimes and more are all up for negotiation. 

Best hope for the peaceniks is to threaten imminent defeat in Donbas and southern Ukraine;  this would just might bring Putin scrambling to peace negotiations.

What does "this would just might" mean?

I agree with Rishi Sunak that NATO ought to pull out all the stops short of invading actual, legitimate Russian territory.

Sunak doesn't call the shots. 

One big takeaway from this war is that it is quite easy for netizens to engage in keyboard kombat and thoughtlessly wish away civilian lives.  It's shamefully immoral. 

[Fëanor]

Ukraine is not winning the war.  That is why Ukrainian leaders are desperate for more hardware including prior gen fighters.  Ukraine is not in a position of strength.

Well, dah.

One big takeaway from this war is that it is quite easy for netizens to engage in keyboard kombat and thoughtlessly wish away civilian lives.  It's shamefully immoral. 

I'm accusing you of cynical disingenuousness.  You are indifferent about civilian lives;  what you want is the reestablishment of Russian as a superpower and of the Soviet sphere of influence.

[LKB]

You're accusing me?  What does that mean?

Anyway, you are wrong on all counts.  The fact that you use the word "Soviet" betrays your age and mindset.

And it is you and the other warmongers on this forum who enthusiastically embrace and defend policies that have led to the deaths of more than 40,000 civilians.  You support immoral policies.  You really ought to be ashamed of yourself.

Fëanor's assessment is dead on, and his usage of " Soviet " is perfectly appropriate. You know this, but apparently for the sake of consistency continue in your futile attempts to shift blame onto the West for Putin's aggression.

It is you who should be ashamed, and  profoundly so.

[Todd]

With so much bad news about the war, it's always refreshing to read some good news:

Ukraine aid support softens in the US: AP-NORC Poll

[Madiel]

You're accusing me?  What does that mean?

Anyway, you are wrong on all counts.  The fact that you use the word "Soviet" betrays your age and mindset.

And it is you and the other warmongers on this forum who enthusiastically embrace and defend policies that have led to the deaths of more than 40,000 civilians.  You support immoral policies.  You really ought to be ashamed of yourself.

At this point, moderators... why the hell are YOU putting up with this?

[Todd]

China considering providing "lethal support" to aid Russian invasion of Ukraine, Blinken says

[Karl Henning]

"Among the elite, though they understand it was a mistake, they still fear to do anything themselves," said the only Russian diplomat to publicly quit office over the war, Boris Bondarev, formerly based at Russia's U.N. mission in Geneva. "Because they have gotten used to Putin deciding everything."

[Karl Henning]

But beneath, Putin is creating a militarized, nationalistic society, fed on propaganda and obsessed with an "existential" forever war against the United States and NATO. So far, no one in officialdom has had the nerve to object — not publicly, at least.

[Madiel]

My understanding is that the 1940s fight against the Nazis is already a big part of Russian national consciousness. Which is why Putin is claiming to be fighting Nazis now.