Russia - threadbanned users in OP

Keep talking in crankish rather than English by all means, you're only discrediting yourself.

What's the end game here if Russia do eventually achieve some sort of Ukrainian submission?

Russia won't have the resources to support and police Ukraine. We're going to be looking at an even bigger humanitarian crisis but this time one the West won't be able to help with..

Is the plan here just hoping Ukraine can somehow survive this with a combination of economic sanctions and a supply of Western arms?

Any sort of Russian success here is going to lead to some real questions needing answers in Brussels and Washington..

Hypothetically if Russia were to be "successful" in Ukraine. We now know that Putin could invade other non-NATO countries, e.g. Moldova, with impunity. Using the spectre of nuclear war to protect them.

From the Guardian, speculation on Putin's health/condition:

Western intelligence believes that Russian president Vladimir Putin’s personality has changed dramatically over the past five years, with the 69 year old Russian leader displaying increasing and obvious paranoia about his health.

But while the shift in character is marked, intelligence sources say, there is an underlying mystery about what could be the cause – with explanations ranging from cancer, Parkinson’s disease, the onset of dementia or the use of steroids for treatment of another condition.

“The big tell that Putin is concerned about his health is that he is so obviously worried about coronavirus,” an intelligence source said, citing his insistence on sitting at a distance from foreign leaders like French president Emmanual Macron, or some of his own key figures, such as defence minister Sergei Shoigu.

He only met China’s President Xi Jinping last month after elaborate coronavirus precautions were taken on both sides.

“Coverage of Russia is pretty good from both a human and signals intelligence perspective,” a Western source added. “But there is a grey spot when it comes to Putin’s personal health. What we know is that there has been an identifiable change in his decision making in the past five years”.

Speculation about Putin’s long-term health is widespread amongst Russia experts in the West’s intelligence agencies.

Similar claims were reported in the Mail on Sunday over the weekend, but ultimately there is no firm evidence to back up any of the theories circulating. Putin is believed to have had three Covid vaccine treatments. One Western source said he had taken the Pfizer vaccine, although the president himself said in June last year that he had received Russian Sputnik jabs.

No, but at least he's publicly stating his feelings on it. Like we are doing on here.

@wandererz

yes

Invading forces don't usually have to literally control every bit of land. The main thing is putting boots in the major urban centres - the places of economic and political importance. And Putin's forces may be able to take those in time - how much I have no idea, but what a headache it'd be trying to hold onto them.

Another mayor kidnapped.

RTE platforming Irexit activist Karen Devine on the Brendan O'Connor radio show, hosted this week by Dearbhail McDonald. Devine talking absolute drivel, claiming there is a "partition between Ukrainian speakers and Russian speakers" in Ukraine and referencing the discredited fools Jeffrey Sachs and John Mearsheimer in admiring tones. McDinald did not challenge her.

Two weeks ago Brendan O'Connor platformed David Horgan, who argued against sanctions on Russia and trotted out the standard pro-Russia tropes. Horgan is an energy industry corporate type who was involved in setting up a LNG terminal in occupied Crimea. O'Connor never mentioned this.

Is it any wonder that pro-Russia propaganda spreads in society when you hear this absolute bollocks going without challenge on the national broadcaster's main weekly current affairs discussion.

Russia will back off this unwinnable invasion and claim they achieved their objectives or some rubbish. Not after a massive amount of indiscriminate destruction though. They will keep forces in donbas and crimea.

Western sanctions will continue.

Yeah, the yanks have such a surplus of military hardware their national guard (reserves) are better equipped than most standing armies, even their police forces have more military hardware than many armies have