Ukraine (Mod Note & Threadbanned Users in OP)

Have they?

I don't think anyone believes Ukraine is getting Donetsk and Lukhansk back, and I doubt it would even want them, given the Russian leanings of much of the population. If further Donbas territory is conceded to Russia as part of a broader peace settlement, that would likely entail agreement on 'population exchanges' of 'ethnic' Russian and Ukranian citizens in the region, to minimise the number of people handed over to 'Russian rule' against their will.

Of course this might be seen as 'rewarding aggression' but sometimes these sort of distasteful compromises have to be made to achieve a greater good.

So what is the conspiracy theory you have in your noggin? Please post it in the Conspiracy Theory forum, of which you are quite familiar with and we can discuss it there.

When you see how the Russians treat even civilians, it becomes understandable why it doesn't pay to surrender to them.

The choice is, surrender immediately and if you're lucky, you will only end up face down in the street with your hands zip-tied behind your back and a bullet in your head. Surrender later and you get all that plus you get tortured before execution. Or fight like your life depends on it, because it does.

Being a coward doesn't pay in this case.

I'm not ignoring this. I said

IMO Zelensky is rightly focusing in his public statements on ending the war on securing a rock-solid guarantee of future security for Ukraine, and deliberately leaving everything else 'on the table'. If he got that the issue of Russian good faith would effectively become moot, as another full-scale invasion would be so catastrophically expensive for Russia and only a leader who had genuinely lost his mind would do it.

Re the possibility of ceding territory, the latest comment from Zelensky I can find is this

Not sure how accurate the translation is there but he doesn't seem to be categorically ruling out.

Anyway given the flexibility Zelensky has shown up to now, I'd be willing to bet if a comprehensive peace deal was reached it would involve Russia retaining some of the Donbas territory it has seized this year, even if the press conference where Putin trumpeted his gains to the Russian people was reminiscent of this scene from Blackadder

Melchett         Course I am.  Now let's talk about something more jolly,
                 shall we?  Look, this is the amount of land we've
                 recaptured since yesterday.

[Melchett and George move over to the map table.]

George           Oh, excellent.

Melchett         Erm, what is the actual scale of this map, Darling?

Darling          Erm, one-to-one, Sir.

Melchett         Come again?

Darling          Er, the map is actually life-size, Sir.  It's superbly
                 detailed.  Look, look, there's a little worm.

Melchett         Oh, yes.  So the actual amount of land retaken is?

[Darling whips out a tape measure amd measures the table.]

Darling          Excuse me, Sir.  Seventeen square feet, Sir.

Melchett         Excellent.  So you see, young Blackadder didn't die horribly
                 in vain after all.

Any you think that having cities & towns bombed into rubble is going to make them submit at this stage? Only further their resolve, otherwise what would have been the point of all this sacrifice. This war and the economic effects on Russia is going to have very serious long term consequences for them. There will be much pain for Russians yet.

They had but it wasn't strong enough, it was ultimately dependent on Russian goodwill. Ukraine will only setlle for a rock-solid one this time.

Russia would not accept Ukraine actually joining NATO, and Zelensky has conceded this will not be happening for the foreseeable, but may ultimately be forced to accept some form of Ukranian security arrangement that is underwritten by America and/or the major Western European powers. My suggestion would involve NATO arming Ukraine to the teeth, effectively to the point where it matches Russia in conventional forces, but I don't know if that would be enough...

It's very easy for you to say this as a bystander. I think you'll find that in reality patriotic jingoism takes a backseat to more pressing concerns like the massive loss of life. Russia will not take all of Ukraine. Ukraine will not beat back Russia out of its territory. Barring an unlikely nuclear exchange, the only ending for this conflict is successful round of negotiations, which will see some territory ceded to the Russians. Mariupol almost certainly, Kherson may be returned to the Ukrainians.

Vlad seems to be tying up loose ends at a rate of knots, lately, I’d say prospects of removal/assassination are receding.

Is a cyber attack out of the question (like in Iran)?

Putin does look like crap in the clip on that twitter page (but not so bad for a douche bag,mind you)