Russia - threadbanned users in OP

Amazing how much the Horde winter has brought everything to a standstill and how badly the Ukrainians are coping.

Yes, Russia another washed up empire resentful about lost influence. Thanks for confirming my point

Usual Communist game. Things go wrong so you look to blame internal enemies, liquidate the Kulaks and running dogs who collaborate with the Capitalist enemies/Nazis/Jews etc etc.

It's never the twisted system they operate in and under.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine hit the "military commandant's office" in the occupied Vasylivka of the Zaporizhzhia region, there are casualties

It won't work though will it? Unless they search and strip all phones from their personnel which will cause resentment and probably make operations more difficult. Can you imagine rounding up a gang of 18-30 yr old recruits here and demanding to take their phones off them or insisting they don't use them?

The enemy within. If they do the usual and try punishing collectively, they will just recruit more to the cause. Unfortunately, Ukraine has a similar but far worse problem.

In fairness, I think most of the West assumed that Putin could somehow be 'contained' in a similar fashion to 2014-21 i.e. not be close to him at all, but on just about cordial or passable relations with him and the regime. His invasion of Ukraine in February shocked all of them to the core and they suddenly realised he is now a menace and major threat to global stability.

Nice moment.

Just thoughts off top of my head...about "weakness" of European countries specifically, rather than the West, don't think it was much of a factor here. Likes of France, UK and certainly Germany may have all been militarily stronger + have been weakening since end of Cold war, but they were never very united in foreign policy since then. I don't think Russia/Putin ever saw them as an obstacle really worthy of consideration.

I think there were probably 2 places he was watching before making decision to invade. First the US (for signs its response to what he might do would be weak, e.g. if busy navel-gazing and bound up with internal political chaos). However even internally weakened and distracted, US is still overwhelmingly strong compared to other nations. It is resilient as well, and has gotten over serious internal issues before. Seems like Putin totally forgot that or believed all of his own bullshit propaganda (about both the US and Europe) as dictators appear to do when they get old.

Other was Ukraine itself of course. It was tending towards an EU/Western social + political alignment. Spreading lies + propaganda and corruption, greyzone attacks, provoking conflicts etc. which seem to be the foreign policy tools he knows for Russia's relations with all the post-Soviet countries around it had failed. They were not working to prevent this any more, but actually accelerating further the loss of Russia's influence in Ukraine IMO.

So the big idea was to go to war, annex Ukraine with a quick invasion - topple the govt. and install a puppet regime + do a horrible vicious purge of the pro-EU/Western leaning population just like some of the old Soviet/Russian tyrants he probably looks up to, Stalin for e.g.

edit: Apart from above...yeah would agree it was a close "escape" for Ukraine. It is time for the large/powerful democratic countries that are capable of it, probably not to spout a load of bellicose rhetoric like these scummy tinpot dictatorships do but to act & up their military spending and visibly arm themselves again. The old saw "If you want peace prepare for war" seems to have become very relavant again unfortunately.

Can you point out where I said it was the US fault?

All I said was that this war will benefit them financially. The US will boom over the next 20 years. Europe will continue it's decline at an accelerated rate.

But then, if you’d sided with the US and Trump got his 2nd term instead of Biden…

…where the ‘biggest force on the planet’ is concerned, you’re only ‘bestest pal’ so long as it is politically expedient for them.

Nothing controversial in that state of affairs either, it’s basic political logic.

Seized Russian money will pay for it.

Poland inked another deal to buy a further 116 Abrams tanks from the US , currently only Poland are the only military in Europe who will operate the Abrams tank,

The latest deal will bring the number of Abrams going to Poland to 360 + added to the Korean tanks and IFVs and Apache gunships they also are buying,

Not mention the incredible Agricultural, mineral, gas and oil reserves in Ukraine, which is more than likely the real reason for Putin's invasion. Just wait until they come onstream, and Putin will have some problems getting rid of his oil at a break even price.

Could France just have bitch slapped the Germans.

Not sure they are getting MBTs but they will be getting AMX-10 RCs a wheeled 6x6 infantry fighting vehicles with a 105mm main gun ,

Not a tank but a well armed ifv