He's probably a center fold
People keep calling them fascist yet we often see Ukrainian forces capturing hammer and sickle flags, Putin repeatedly has spoken about how the end of the Soviet Union was a disaster, every one of his senior political and military leadership have been members of the Communist party.
Putin has not gone full Communist on Ukraine yet, he is no Lenin, or Stalin.
Don't downplay their crimes by labeling them as their little brother fascism.
The problem with using any form of WMD in eastern Ukraine is the prevailing wind..it blows straight back into Russia.
Got any more 'thoughts'?
He's not a man at all in my eyes.
Dangerous yes unfortunately
This isn't an organised retreat, they are literally running away without putting up much resistance and leaving large supplies of arms behind. They don't appear to have set up any secondary defensive lines. The sense of shock in pro-Russian quarters is obvious and palpable.
So this isn't what a plan looks like. It looks like a major strategic collapse because that's exactly what it is. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
Let's hope there is a fresh rope at hand in red square
Still a dangerous man
I believe they only keep their eyes on intelligent folks whospers, you'll be grand.
These are very dangerous days for Putin. You could imagine a scenario where he is removed from office or even dead within a few short weeks. A situation where his army is taking an absolute hammering and his propagandists can't even cover up the fact is hugely risky for him.
A God amongst men .
Go to war with what Kermit? He's played his full hand and his bluff has been called. He's finished.
Be interesting to keep on eye on possible surrender talks taking place between Ukrainian forces and Russians who've had enough. It's all rumours at present, but still..
If the forces give up in Kherson, it would be a game changer and might cause Russians all over to refuse to fight.
Would just need to b1tch slap those Chechens.
Is it realistic? Russia like the United States is big enough that they might agree in principle to pay reparations and make a token effort as the United States did when it fled Vietnam. So reparations are unlikely, Crimea is a money pit, kinda like Northern Ireland is to the UK in one sense. I don't reckon Ukraine could do much with it after the war and most of the population (2 million) are ethnically Russian. Strategically the Russians must hold it to guarantee access to the Black sea, they also need agreement on the canal that supplies water from the Dnieper, which Ukraine had cut off in 2014. I suppose an agreement that the Russians pay for fresh water access with demilitarisation would work.
The Ukrainians are then left with the Donbass population, which is primarily Russian, this is an important economic centre for the country. There will need to be peacekeepers to protect the population from the reprisal of the more extreme elements of Ukrainian society who will want revenge and to enforce dominance. It would take time to deal with the bad blood between the two populations and there would always be an independence movement that wants to break away. That problem might be intractable as Russia will continue to exist and prepare for a second attack which might be years in the future. Most of eastern and Southern Ukraine down to the border with Romania are Russian speaking and even pre-February there was dislike for the language enforcement laws in these regions.
Given the paranoid nature and ambitions of successive Russian governments, I reckon they would eventually try again. A loss of Ukraine would also mean loss of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko (68) is probably coming to the end of his reign as well and with no Russian strongman, there is a real chance that he would be overthrown in a coup since there is a dissident population present there. Without a strongman at the helm, would an unstable Russia be in anyones interests?
Russia is a corrupt, inept sh ithole run by a fascist crook who believes he's a tactical genius. It doesn't lend itself to competence at any level. It's a country incapable of rising and improving because of Putin and their only answer is to try and drag others down to their level. And they're currently failing at that.
Seems Russia is continually re defining what constitutes success. From the denazification of Ukraine and overthrowing the democratically elected government to the liberation of Donbas. Quite the shift. Hopefully that'll be downgraded too.
The biggest movement of troops since WW2 will hopefully lead to the biggest defeat for fascism since WW2.
Have you seen the sheer quantity of armour left behind during their disorganised retreat? Must be hundreds of millions of euro worth. Must be some masterplan.
No. No I’ve not. Perhaps I’ve over estimated your intelligence, although the bar was set low.
Now, the FSB will be keeping an eye on me, eh? 😱😀
Lasting peace looks like a couple handfuls of nuclear warheads. This imbroglio was only made possible by the west's deception in guaranteeing Ukrainian sovereignty in exchange for them handing over their nuclear weapons.
The main lesson from this conflict, which won't be lost on many, is that the only protection from Russia, Putin, or the like, is to possess nuclear weapons.
Even when this ends, it's not over, given Xi is as dangerous a megalomaniacal prick as Putin. Australia, South Korea and Taiwan, all need them.
Imagine back last January when Putin was massing his troops on the border, if Biden could have said: "it's a good thing you are only conducting exercises their, Vladamir, because we gave them 5 nuclear weapons two weeks ago."
There would have been no invasion and many, many thousands of lives saved and hundreds of thousands of children still with their rightful parents in Ukraine.
They sent in the units of contract soldiers first.
Their nukes are useless, they might use one but even if the West responded with non nuclear they would rip Russia apart.
Russia may well kill Ukrainian civilians in massive numbers but it won't change the fact that they are still only a few hours drive from home 6 months in and losing ground.
I was watching a former NATO commander on CNN today warning that Russia can raise huge manpower and extra resources with a declaration of war.
Putin didn't declare war for internal political reasons but if he's staring defeat of his "special operation" he may have to do something because a defeat is the end for him.
The massive amounts of ordinance left behind is a bit of a clue dontcha think?
It may also be a sign of desperation. Bad news after bad news this week, so he stages this nasty stunt as some form of diversion.
You are the one claiming Zaporizhia is Russian?
Suspicious that you'd fly that kite. We'll be keeping close tabs on you.
How can you be so certain of this ie best of their equipment now used up……the WMD’s are still there and I’m sure there is also plenty of anthrax, mustard gas etc etc…?
It's what i expected from the botox dwarf. He's a mean and spiteful person.
I refer you to my reply to Hobgoblin a couple of pages back. Anyone that thinks it was anything other than a rout isn’t looking at the evidence on the ground.
I have no doubt that Russia will try to regroup, however it is Unknown if all those who ran would want to go back into the cauldron.
Will it matter at this stage to the outcome of the war if he does?
I suspect not.
He may still try but the best of Russian soldiers and equipment are used up.
How can anyone be sure if this ‘retreat’ by the Russians is as a result of the Ukrainians getting the upper hand or is it just the Russians giving the Ukrainians a false sense of victory and they will return with a major offensive including possible chemical/WMD’s…?
I wonder will Putin end the special operation soon due to the losses and declare war on Ukraine.
A lot of people are absolutely livid over the attack on the Ukrainian power grid, seeing it as a mean and spiteful act by Putin and not even connected to Russia's war effort.
Who are you talking to, everyone here knows the score with you.
You’re fooling nobody.
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