As you note, Afghanistan beat the Soviet Union, there is no reason to believe Ukraine cannot beat Russia. It is also unlikely to take 20 years given how deeply Russia is expending their Soviet inheritance. We are actively watching Russia drain this one-time resource as their storage yards deplete every month. We have watched the Black Sea Fleet sink and the remnants relegated to the furthest coasts of Russia while Ukrainian grain shipments have recovered. This war is winnable, and Ukraine intends to do just that.

Then tell us what Ukraine and the west should do.

If it is giving up and letting Russia seize control of the entire nation, then you I have fundamentally different world views.
If it is negotiating with Putin, we are again in disagreement. We don’t bow down to bullies. When we do, they end up taking our lunch money again and again.

So really: please tell us what the best alternative is.

Western allies (who are - incidentally - keen on carving up and selling off what’s left of Ukraine once the war is over)

Da, komrade. It will be sad day when glorious ruzzia NATO breaks up and redistributes land once this war is over.

Hello there Russian shill.

I guess russian occupation must be worse, but who understands such things as wisely as you do.

And Russia is going to North Korea and China for shits and giggles becase they too need help as well as selling thier fossil fuels far and wide.

The issue isn’t Russia stops at Ukraine and it’s happy families, that can’t occur, millions of Ukranines will conduct partisan operstions for decades if they did take Ukraine at all.

The issues are many, an example, do you help your friends in times of need if they ask ? The US did sign a treaty in '91 saying they’d come to Ukraine’s defence if Ukraine gave their nukes up. Another issue, do random countires get to invade other countires and we’re all just meahhhh. It will also embolden countires to just say, no one will care and invade a neighbor (China, North Korea are watching) The US is sending a token amount of military, getting rid of their old shit and refreshing thier weapons systems, spending huge amounts of money in the US to do it. Simialry.otjer nations, like the Netherland, Denmark etc was getting rid of the F16s to replace them with F35s etc. The tanks gifted we’re old ones as another example…

Russia has already said they won’t stop there, so when they take Lithuania, what then ? Try it with Finland and what then ? What if they decide they want to take Poland, what then ?

Fuck Russia, give Ukraine what they want and need. We should be putting boots on the ground ) not at rhe front perhaps but logistics, mechanised repairs etc and military jets in the air.

Its operating entirely on the credit from its western allies

Nope. It’s aid, not loans. At least by and large, that is, some small amount of loans might exist. You might be confused by the US passing lend+lease but that was more of a political signal to the Russians.

Certainly not when the MIC they’re relying on demands giant profit margins for every rocket launched and bullet fired.

Generals don’t give a fuck about the military-industrial complex they care about whatever resource they have getting used efficiently because you don’t win wars by being wasteful: You don’t suddenly start shooting ATACMS when artillery will do and is available for the simple reason that artillery shells are easier to get, more abundant.

Not when Ukraine is cannibalizing itself in the effort.

Have a look at Ukraine’s demographics. Have a look at which age range is exempt from the draft. The reason is quite simple: Ukraine is a democratic society, not run by a little man and his viceroys for their own personal benefit. The only country cannibalising itself here is Russia, Ukraine is surviving.

Cool. Take it up with Putin since he is the reason they are dead.

I care quite a bit about the Russian soldiers who left Russia.

I care quite a bit about the Russian soldiers who waved the white flag.

I care quite a bit about the Russian solders who refused their orders and stayed in Russia.

I do not care about the Russian invaders. They made their choice, they will now live (or die) with them.

You don’t have a lot of options. Makes sense to take your chances against Ukraine than try to overthrow the Russian military/government.

Not in a strategic sense, no, because Kremlin guards are still less well armed than Ukraine. The trouble, of course, is that people are too scared to make that kind of cool-headed analysis but as soon as there’s a crack in the regime because, say, Omon can’t respond to lesser incidents because they’re lying in a ditch in Ukraine the dam would break. Which OTOH is rather unlikely to happen because regime security is Putin’s #1 concern, he’d let go of Ukraine before risking it, so he won’t kill off their response capability like that. He may be mad but he’s not crazy.

What really needs to happen is for war law to be changed to allow heads of state and government buildings to be targeted. Then they’d be a lot more careful about going to war.

Bad idea. If Putin loses, the Siloviki have a good justification for a coup. If Putin gets assassinated, they’d be forced to declare him a martyr and continue the fight.

And Ukraine thinks the same or the SBU would already have gotten to him. They’re also not touching the likes of Shoigu, they only target competent people: The more of a clown show the Russian regime is the easier the war becomes.

yeah i expected you to say that you would celebrate the deaths of any soldiers who kill innocent people, but you very specifically only care about those who invade neighboring countries.

do you celebrate the deaths of the some 15k US soldiers who died in the Mexican-American war?