Russia - threadbanned users in OP

The Russian army is stuffed full of contracted soldiers who are purely fighting for the money. How much stomach would they really have for defending Kherson city if the rest of the West bank was entirely in Ukrainian hands, the supply lines from the east bank were down for heavy weaponry but they were still able to escape on foot?

I don't think it's a ridiculous notion that the Ukrainians would prefer to allow them to escape on foot (abandoning their heavy weaponry) then have to fight them for it at huge cost to their own numbers.

It certainly wouldn't be an act of mercy by the Ukrainians. This is a unique situation given the lack of bridges on that river. When it comes to the Donbass they really will have to fight village by village, town by town and city by city.

It would fit with the "Provide your enemy with a golden bridge" advice by Sun Tzu. Plus modern technology would allow the retreating forces to be hammered as they were crossing the golden bridge, like at the Falaise Gap in Normandy in 1944 (even if that wasn't actually the plan at the time).

If this attrition war continues as it has been, then it's going to come down to which side has the economic and political will to keep fighting. We can see on our own side that concerns over the cost of living are mounting and that could lead to pressure to relieve whatever generators of austerity can be relieved, including the idea of lifting some Russian sanctions in return for cheap gas/oil, which would in turn give Russia more revenue to continue with this dreadful war.

On Russia's side, things are a bit more opaque because it's, well, Russia. The killing of Darya Dugina is highly suggestive that things are not at all well within Russia and there is probably widespread quiet discontent over Putin's actions within Ukraine. Given the generally paranoid nature of Russian politics, the pressure Putin is feeling has to be significant.

Obviously, another couple of years of this is going to be good for no-one, or relatively very few. Russia needs to be driven back hard to wherefrom they came as soon as possible. They shouldn't be bled slowly to defeat, they should have their throat cut.

What PR misstep would there be to make in skipping Gorbachev's funeral at this point? He probably hated Gorbachev, blaming him for selling out the USSR, and I don't know if the regular Russian on the street would be worried about Putin skipping it either. Putin doesn't even have to play nice to the West anymore or even play ambivalent, so there's not even a reason to attend the funeral in order to look good that way. Plus it's one less public appearance he has to make.

He held him personally accountable for the break-up of the U.S.S.R., something which he famously stated was "the greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th century".

Had Putin been in charge then he would have sent in the tanks and he saw Gorbachev as weak for not doing likewise. He had no respect for him and probably doesn't want to be associated with him or his legacy.

It would be great to see Putin gone in one way or another, but we can't sit back and say that's just going to happen as a matter of course.

Putin is banking on the very chaos you're talking about, though he would obviously be hoping that it will break Western countries' desire to continue backing Ukraine.

Gorbachev did send the tanks in. It didn’t work. The appetite was not there for it. The red army did not want to murder its own people on the mass scale needed to hold the Soviet Union together. Most of the red army divisions ordered to put down the break up were local to the areas they were ordered into.

And even if Putin was gone tomorrow, there’s no guarantee that the next fella won’t be as bad. Best to try to win the war itself than bank on Putin’s end being some kind of magic bullet.

Has anyone seen anything factual reported about the kherson offensive?

There's a media black out currently in place,were getting a few tit bits here and there but no real detail about where and when they did or are doing something.

Seeing drone strikes are back too .

Very little coming from the orc's other than ukraine has suffered huge losses and the counter offensive has totally failed

That question wasn’t meant for you sorry!!

It was a response to a poster saying we need to negotiate with Russia to stop the war.

from today bbc.com

how dare you count the cost to your life for a war that should have nothing to do with you .

We want more money off you and we deserves it too.

Zelensky's are shameless in their demands of us. I kinda admire their brass bollocks.

This whole media love in for Zelensky stinks of something else I'd guess something along lines of "10% for the big guy"

yes, I know Putin is hitlers secret love child and all that and I should be willing to send my kids to the mines to support Zelensky's quest for whatever he is trying to achieve poking the bear next door.

Couldn't kill my granny with covid cos that would be socially irresponsible but killing her with hypothermia for the Zelenskys - that's noble.

Whaaaaaat