Russia-Ukraine War (continuing)

1. Countries have held elections during extremely poor conditions before. Ukraine itself held elections in May 2014 while the country was breaking apart, people were being burned alive in Odessa and widespread violence breaking out. Iraqi elections started in 2005, Afghanistan starting in 2004. Its difficult sure, but its possible to do.
2. You might object to the 1945 terminology, but its the historical experience of what happens when the leadership of the losing side fanatically refuses to negotiate on terms the winning side might accept. You have to negotiate when you still have something, anything to trade for better terms that total defeat. Ukraine still can trade for better terms. NATO could help them secure a good deal - but stupid ideas like NATO membership in X years, or deploying "peacekeepers" is not helping. It's the issue I have with the "friends of Ukraine". They constantly push for no negotiations which leaves a 1945 style outcome as the most probable scenario.

It's very difficult for Ukraine to hold elections whilst being invaded. Campaigning and nationwide voting and a fair election would be next to impossible. Polls have shown a majority of Ukrainians recognise this and are against holding an election during war-time. In my experience this a fake "concern" point held up by contrarians.

Putin so far hasn't offered genuine negotiations or talks. Lavrov has literally just rejected Trump proposals. They've been bombing the country 24/7 since Feb 2022 without ceasefire. It's likely to end with some sort of talks, but it's 100% in Putin's court - he's the one who started the war, is continuing it and can end it at any time.

In POOR conditions? Millions of the population are far away from their electoral areas, refugees in the west of the country. Millions are refugees abroad. A fifth of the country is occupied. Hundreds of thousands are in the armed forces.The administration and manpower required to overcome those chaotic conditions would challenge the capabilities of a much larger and wealthier state even in peacetime. Chaos and disruption and the destruction of hundreds of public buildings has made the tranquility required for the voting and subsequent vote counting next to impossible, not to imagine that it would require the diversions of many thousands of personnel from essential tasks: firefighting, the armed forces, medical facilities, rescue operations. And you expect that the remaining population would be content to queue up all day in voting centres waiting for a Ruzzian missile to fall on their heads…something the Ruzzian vermin would be happy to take advantage of, to kill more Ukrainians. It's utterly superfluous to accuse you of not being serious. All these facts are so blatantly obvious that I know you are not serious and are acting the vatnik troll. Don't bother…we know your game. What next…lets hold an election in Gaza or, say, Sudan?

What's more, ''genuine negotiations'', isn't Ruzzia arriving up, dictating whatever terms they choose:that Ukraine must concede a fifth of its territory, including areas not under Ruzzian occupation, under the guise of recognising ''current realities'' and that the government must be ''denazified'' and Ukraine then being forced to sign. If that is your expectation, then that's not going to happen.

NATO turning up and dictating terms??? Isn't that precisely what Russia is doing? With their bullcrap "New Realities" doctrine? A glossing over their murderous and destructive illegal invasion of Ukraine. Putin and his murderous regime need to be dismantled ASAP!

Genuine question: how do they know 6 killed and 3 injured when striking from afar? That Igor guy has a long tradition of taking rumours and posting as facts. In this case I hope he's right but what's the source for the very precise figures?

A few other accounts have the same story too,so I guess there must be some truth in it.

Positive bit of news: big prisoner exchange, nearly 200 Ukrainians on the way home

See how the Russians like it

Just a note on Ukrainian prisoners. Captured Russian troops said that their orders were to consider Ukrainian civilians as combatants, so some of those Ukrainians being swapped are actually civilians.

Excellent. I've been looking forward to the moment Russia would start levelling their own city to take it back.

Dumbest idea of the year? Let's sink an oil tanker and cause an ecological catastrophe instead of just doing what Finland did and impounding it.

Aren't roads kind of a 2 way thing 🤔😳,

A road to the border allowing logistics is a road from the border to your logistics centre ..

Two unrelated stories, from different sources, one from each side of the front line. Nothing that we didn't already know, but I find the juxtaposition particularly bitter-sweet:

On the Ukrainian side: one "left behind" soldier gone back for by his platoon commander (who paid for it with his own life)

While over in Russkiy Mir, the platoon commander does things differently …