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It's been posted earlier in this thread that russia is building up forces in belarus near the Polish border.
Here is something to consider as far as scale is concerned. During WW2 it took 1.4 million Nazi's to successfully occupy the Ukraine alone. Russia has less than 200,000 soldiers for this campaign which is...imo...turning into a global humiliation never seen on the world stage. They don't have the capacity to complete the military mission in Ukraine much less invade another country....unless they use tactical nukes. Either way put a fork in them...they are done.
None of us have any idea what kind of intelligence Ukraine & America have on Russians trying to end Zelensky. So that is 100% speculation on your part.
The fact remains that, for whatever their reasoning was (which isn't even important), the Ukrainian government had one request -- out of an abundance of caution, no members of U.S. Congress mention the meeting with Zelensky until it was over. Very simple and reasonable request -- "don't talk about the meeting until it's over."
And yet two Republican senators literally do exactly what Ukrainian officials asked us not to do, tweeting out pictures of Zelensky during the meeting
Anyone that's intellectually honest and capable of being apolitical would agree that Rubio and Daines doing EXACTLY what Ukrainian officials requested we not do was, at the very least, inappropriate.
The two easiest things to buy in Florida are an AK-47 and a Marco Rubio.
There is something going on with the column that we are not privy to. Whether it is lack of personnel, Russian flanking of attackers, lack of rockets or what, this column has been sitting intact for way too long.
They need (and I assume they are) to hit that column from the sides with rockets (if they have any left - maybe that's why it still exists). The best thing we could see at this point would be thousands of Russian troops leaving their equipment and WALKING home, before they are killed.
Without something like this happening where his troops simply give up, I fear Putin is going to start using tactical nukes on the city centers.
And for once I agree with Lindsey Graham. Somebody needs to take Putin out.
I support the people of Ukraine!
Vladimir Putin is Evil Incarnate. I hope and pray the good Russian people rise up and do what is 'necessary'.
It would depend on which nation enforced a no-fly zone.
If it was our Air Force, I'm pretty sure Russian pilots would respond, and escalate the war. It would sure drop the USA into a participant.
But if Turkey was to be the nation to enforce the no-fly, Putin may not respond as aggressively as he would to us. Turkey has a large modern navy in the Med, and it's raring to get tested in battle. An aggressive Russian response to a Turkish no-fly patrol could justify such a naval battle with the Russian fleet, based in Crimea.
Putin may not want to upset Russia's relationship with Erdogan very much either. Turkey bought most of their advanced military equipment from Russia, but Erdogan really needs to display his NATO loyalty in this crisis. Both Putin and Erdogan want to be regional strong-men, but Erdogan wants to be NATO's strong man because NATO could interfere with Erdogan's own designs on other territory.
There's another factor at play in this; so far, Russia's Air Forces haven't been in the air over Ukraine nearly as much as they should be. The Ukraine's jets are all older Russian aircraft and their air forces are tiny, but the Russians have been very unwilling to tangle with the Ukrainian pilots and have fled rather than fought.
This is making a lot of experts think that Russia's Air Forces may not be as combat-ready as the West believed they were. There are many reasons why this may be so.
And Ukraine's President Zelensky is asking for more old Russian MIGs, fighters his pilots know how to fly and fight with, sent, not a no-fly zone covered by NATO. Some NATO nations have those planes, and Poland could be the nation that best gathers them, as it's both the closest neighbor and is also under threat of Russian expansion.
I'm not at all sure that a no-fly zone escalation would lead to nuclear warfare though. That's only a Putin threat that's meant to scare his opponents. Once his threat didn't work on the Ukrainians, Putin laid off that threat, as NATO took it very seriously.
Putin has under-estimated way too much of the West's response to this invasion, and he doesn't even know some of the new leaders, such as the German guy who was elected after German President Andrea Merkel retired. He also was far too over-confident in his own military's performance.
He also never expected the Russian economy to be crushed so swiftly or completely. It piled on some big problems on top of the other problems he already had.
While I don't think Putin has changed his mind, I think he's being very cautious right now and wants no escalation at all until his forces have actually met some of their major goals.
Strategically, Putin is boxed in and is trapped by time; as soon as the spring melt comes, the Ukraine soil always becomes a mud bog. That bog has stopped invasions so many times its legendary. No foreigner ever knows as much about territory as the natives who live on it. If his army gets stuck, they'll be sitting ducks.
If it becomes a slow war of attrition if it continues as it is now, it would be smarter if Putin pulled out as fast as he can, and then re-invade in May or June after the roads dry out.
But nothing he can do now will cease the problems piling up on him. If he hesitates, NATO could also grow stronger, and every day that passes, his treasury dwindles and the Russian suffering increases.
I don’t know, but I have the impression that they are in no hurry to actually attempt an invasion of the city itself, but are attempting to encircle it instead.
It seems that another round of face-to-face talks among representatives is scheduled for Monday. Not sure what they will talk about. You?
No idea. I don't think Ukraine nor Russia is going to give in any. I know Putin is in it to win it so I can't see him backing off at this point. His pride would be hurt and that's not happening.
Here is something to consider as far as scale is concerned. During WW2 it took 1.4 million Nazi's to successfully occupy the Ukraine alone. Russia has less than 200,000 soldiers for this campaign which is...imo...turning into a global humiliation never seen on the world stage. They don't have the capacity to complete the military mission in Ukraine much less invade another country....unless they use tactical nukes. Either way put a fork in them...they are done.
I took it to mean that when the Belarus army declined to move per that tweet the Russians now are forced to replace them. Entering Ukraine from that part of Belarus heads them toward Lviv.
Vladimir Putin is Evil Incarnate. I hope and pray the good Russian people rise up and do what is 'necessary'.
And that is the message Senator Graham sent.
Do the Russians even know that a war is going on? If they do, they aren't allowed to call it a war. I heard they were all told the men were on a special mission but they don't call it war. Facebook and other social media has been cut off. What kind of news are they able to hear or read? Putin doesn't want them to know what's going on. I just wonder if they get outside news or are able to contact people outside of Russia.
Maybe if they knew and could see what is going on, they would do what Lindsay Graham suggested.
Last edited by diddlydudette; 03-05-2022 at 07:32 PM..
Do the Russians even know that a war is going on? If they do, they aren't allowed to call it a war. I heard they were all told the men were on a special mission but they don't call it war. Facebook and other social medial has been cut off. What kind of news are they able to hear or read? Putin doesn't want them to know what's going on. I just wonder if they get outside news or are able to contact people outside of Russia.
Maybe if they knew and could see what is going on, they would do what Lindsay Graham suggested.
Those who are not watching 'state' TV know... it's the young people. They, for the most part, are protesting and by extension putting their lives on the line. The older people are tuned into Putin's mendacious propaganda.
I read earlier today the BBC has posted instructions on how to access their broadcasts for those who want to access are in Russia. Once again, a testament to the West's ingenuity.
I took it to mean that when the Belarus army declined to move per that tweet the Russians now are forced to replace them. Entering Ukraine from that part of Belarus heads them toward Lviv.
I think Zelensky is still just an actor. He is unable to think like a statesman because that's just not his background. He also put some of the TV production staff in his government.
It would be like us having Kanye West decide the fate of the world. There's a segment of the population that thinks "well, why not?"
That could be true.
But Zelensky has put his own life on the line at a time when his people needed to see courage, not statesmanship, from him.
Since he doesn't know how to fight in combat any better than his civilians do, that's a very important difference.
And Zelensky is nothing at all like bi-polar Kanye West. He's much more like Ronald Reagan, who was first thought to be a lightweight internationally.
Since this is a war that's being fought with iPhones and TikTok as much as with rifles, I think that having some of his old production staff in his cabinet was a pretty smart thing.
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