Russia - threadbanned users in OP

If Russia wants to play a longer game, it will mean the collapse of the Russian Federation. They don't have the manpower, capital or the technology to challenge the west.

Well, they could have capital and technology...but Vlad and his mates looted the store. One of the primary causes of the Russian strategic collapse is industrial-scale corruption.

@Pa ElGrande Ukraine has ~1,200 KM border with Russia and another ~1,000 KM with Belarus. There is no choke point, those borders are impossible to seal and Russia will always be there, testing, looking for weakness, in addition Ukraine that is part of NATO (it de facto is given the tactics, training and weapons) presents a continued security threat to Russia. That makes Moscow paranoid and given the failure of their current tactics, it also makes them desperate and more willing to consider tactical nuclear strikes as a means to compensate for these failures.

You're over stating Russia, so what they have nuclear weapons, chances are when ukraine has total control of all of their borders they will also develop a nuclear capability of some kind, along with a massively funded and modernised military,

Russia now has Sweden and Finland to deal with now ukraine will be their least of their worries

Smoke rising near Chaltyr village of Rostov region

Russia proper is under attack, nuke territory

But even if they had, what could they do about it? Go against the State?? Not going to happen. Now in the wake of Putins ouster, You will have many claimants to the powerless objectors tag.

'Friends of Ukraine' which include NATO members are indeed greatly assisting Ukraine. But this is a wider grouping of states who view the expansionist aims of Russia as a threat to European and regional stability, and the greater world economy.

We are not members of NATO and are helping one way or another. We have sent modest enough logistics assistance but have supported Ukraine at every turn in EU sanctions. Every single one of us are paying more for fuels, goods and services than we were at the start of the year. Part of these costs are related to underwriting the costs of Ukrainian resistance.

Russia likes to state this as a war against NATO in their propaganda now, once they moved past Nazis. What the Russian media, leadership and public are slowly learning is that not only do Ukrainians not want to live under Russian control but that the greater population of Europe is steeled against them too.

Where does one start? Maybe bullet-points might be the way to go here. OK. Ahem.

Comrade,

1. Ukraine is not NATO. Trust me on this, if NATO did become involved, say tomorrow fir arguments sake, thus whole thing would be over right quick. NATO are ready, and I'm talking 4 hours kind of ready. One look at their daily aircraft operations would tell you that.

2. There will be no Nuclear strike/detonation. For starters the prevailing winds are Moscow-bound the majority of the time ( for a dirty bomb) plus Putin's generals, not Putin, holds the deck of cards here and they, above all else, know that the conventional strike, from Nato, that would follow a nuclear detonation of any kind would not be worth it.

3. You're forgetting about Kaliningrad. ( as most people do). If Russia so much as sneezes at Ukraine, or indeed any EU/NATO aligned country, you can say goodbye to Kaliningrad. I've been tracking the massive increase in air traffic, both commercial and military, into the enclave over the last 2 months. This is Putins aircraft carrier ( seeing that their actual, and only, carrier is still in dry dock and won't be finished before the port becomes ice-bound). It's all well and good flying in huge and expensive arms systems and equipment into Kaliningrad, but the Polish are itching to cross that border. Will Putin risk losing Kaliningrad as well? I doubt it.

You underestimate both the zeal of the Ukranian armed forces and the prime opportunity presented to the West to, once and for all, put Russia back on the bold step, so to speak.

There will be no deal until the Ukranian flag flies over Sevastapol.

Are you trying to be funny? Are you that lacking in self-awareness?

"Ukraine that is part of NATO (it de facto is given the tactics, training and weapons) presents a continued security threat to Russia."

God-dammit....

Doesn't this make you want to get up off you ass and, you know...

https://twitter.com/Internl_Leaks/status/1569265768885551112?s=20&t=MRpxuJqB-_PLm0vZylZ9-w

Follow through, it's Crimea from a week ago (so, technically RuSSia I guess.)

Russia doesn't have elections.

It's pure conjecture that the RuSSian government looks like, is shaped like, or in any way resembles what's in place today, 2 years from now. Could be a very different story; at the rate they're going, that joke meme of Zelenskyy angry about the liberation of the Kremlin is as likely to be true as any point you've raised here.

Article quoting official spokesperson for the Ukrainian Southern command.

Weren't they kicked out of the Olympics even before the war, for blatant doping?