Russia - threadbanned users in OP

As a long time subscriber to this thread, and with a heavy heart, I too am inclined to agree.

I have always in the passed, do now and will continue to hope that Ukraine some how manages to boot the scum that is Russia from its sovereign land but I'm having serious doubts.

I think the collective West, irrespective of all its "We're with Ukraine to the very end" , its standing ovations for Zelensky in its various houses of power, its robust handshakes at meet and greets in front of the cameras and its many many promises.. we all have to get used to the idea that its very unlikely now that Ukraine will ever get back all of the land Russia stole from it since the invasion.

There will be no major breakthroughs, the current counter offensive has unfortunately floundered and Ukraine military chiefs are openly exclaiming that the war is at a stalemate, the political will and landscapes are just not what they were this time last year either.

There are fractures appearing in places where strong bonds seemed to exist before, such as the relationship between Ukraine and Poland, their politicians are not as pally pally as they once were, trucker protests continue and even internally, once what seemed like strong bonds are publicly under strain such as Klitschko proclaiming Zelensky is "Paying for mistakes he has made" and  Zelensky is allegedly "bypassing" Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi in communication with some military commanders, complicating the latter's ability to fully command Ukraine's Armed Forces.

Some countries are also no longer willing to handover the military aid Ukraine needs, major players (US) are on the cusp of stopping military and financial aid to Ukraine due to their own political bickering and one-upmanship.

Lets face it, Ukraine was drip fed military equipment that was second rate in comparison to the modern NATO \ EU systems enjoyed by their members militaries, they were given just enough to stave off the aggressors and in some places push them back, but not anywhere near in the quantities required to fully drive the marauding hoard back from where they came.

If it comes to pass that the whisperings that are supposedly getting louder in political circles in both the EU and US are true whereby they are looking to start putting pressure on Kyiv to go to the negotiating table, then its inevitable that Putin will be rubbing his hands together and quite rightly exclaiming that he was right, the West did fold in the end, he will have gotten his pound of flesh and all the 10s of 1000s of Russian lives it cost to get that pound of flesh will have been worth it.

The Russian people will look upon the West as weak and that their dear leader was right all along, and in my opinion, if all this comes to pass, its a characterization the west will fully deserve.

It will embolden not just him, but others too looking on from the shadows and the door will be open for more leaders with imperialistic tendencies to come to the fore at various locations around the globe.

My fear is that, right now, it is just Ukraine that will deal with the brunt of what Russia has to offer at the negotiating table but give it a few years and Russia learns from its many mistakes in this escapade, I wont be surprised if we see an emboldened Russia once again move westwards and try encroach into a NATO member state and call NATOs bluff, after all, NATO done very little this time round, what's to make him think it would be any different next time round ?

I so hope I'm wrong

Thats true -

also at one point the number one profession/ group being actively conscripted / drafted (i forget the difference) was accountants,

There is a massive military need also for trades and professions, and Ukraine are currently trying to match skills to needs at recruitment / conscription - ie you agree to join as an electrician or a mechanic

I assume with a large bureaucracy know for corruption prewar , actively in an all out war, and with limited I.T. -because war- the fear is that fick ups or changes to those policies could happen in a heart beat ..

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??

you don't speak sarcasm as it seems...

There was a time when, from from a humanity standpoint, you could understand the logic in encouraging Ukraine to negotiate a settlement. Huge numbers of civilians were being killed and injured every week, the energy infrastructure was on its knees, ability to defend against long distance missiles seemed negligible and Russia looked as though it had only halted its ground offensive because of the winter. But that's long gone. Now it's Russia whose navy has been neutered, hasn't advanced anywhere of any significance in - what, over a year? , is seeing its air defence systems targeted with precision, is suffering massive numbers of casualties in nonsensical attempts to take tiny villages/ towns, is stuck in a foreign country like a sitting duck, having to maintain extensive supply chains.

I don't see why anyone would suggest Ukraine has to negotiate now. Unless there is something going on behind the scenes that none of us are privy to which is pushing the narrative in the media the last week or two of 'problems for Ukraine'. If the US are deciding to scale back financial/ military support and the EU is seeing more member states slide towards right wing governments, then maybe there is a source of discomfort there. But unless Russia is getting massive backhanders from China, surely it's Putin who must be feeling the noose tighten with every passing month?

I'd be wary of what Putin would turn to if it became clear that the tide of war on the ground had turned. Russia seem to be the masters of the dark arts. All they need is to isolate Ukraine from the EU (foment right wing sentiment here, encourage more Orbans into power, whip up anti-foreigner/ anti-establishment rhetoric) and the US (whip up hysteria about the middle east, muslims, china etc). Putin won't go quietly with his tail between his legs that's for sure.

They will never get Odessa,and it's not going to be handed to the Russians as part of any negotiations

The problem with this idea is Russia is still moving forward despite the losses, despite the claims of them have no money,no men ,no ammunition,no artillery, artillery barrels, missles or drones , despite this all been regularly claimed on here for nearly 3 years, and now we have political infighting between zelensky and Valery Zaluzhny and three countries currently blockading Ukrainian trucks carrying supplies there's literally thousands of trucks stuck going nowhere in Poland, Slovakia,and Hungary with possibly more going to start,they are absolutely reliant on those trucks getting into Ukraine, something needs to change

Coming up to 2 years, not 3. The 3 day Russian special military operation started on 24-02-2022.

There's also no point in a negotiated settlement as russia has been verifiably shown to break it's own deals and treaties every single time. It's just stupid nonsense spouted by idiots because they're idiots or because they have an agenda.

I doubt that the West will give up support for Ukraine, because even if Putin does win in Ukraine, guess who's next?? And then we will have a war in Europe. And as for the US. and apart from all the white noise with an election looming, the US military know full well that Putin is at war with the US as well, in the propaganda war, interference in the elections etc. not to mention Putin's active helping enemies of the US. and all of that before you even begin to talk about the massive US Military / Industrial element, which is generating millions for the US economy. Plus, reducing Russian military might, without a single American lost in combat.

I find it perplexing that all the talk is about what is happening on the front lines with Russia making gains here and there - however small. And it is continuall y trying to seek out where UKr is ‘weak’ and exploit same. Also, that with all the talk of Ru running out of ammunition, low moral, poor clothes, etc, etc that it is still advancing bombing and firing away.

There is little or no talk of the damage that UKr is doing behind the Ru lines which , I think, is the real war, in the long term , is at. This directly attack the Ru supply/soldier rotation lines. So , IMO , what’s the point in gaining small footholds here and there and then trying to defend them while losing 1000s through death and injury and then left stranded because of totally insufficient lines. The only option is for the Ru soldiers to turn around and go home IFTHEY ARE ALLOWED or surrender

Youre point is that you think that Putin (russia) is super competent at manipulating world affairs and populations but I dont think that stands up because the Russians (putin) have clearly made a lot of mistakes along the way and not anticipated events that affect them