At this point it seems likely that this war will end with Russian troops on Polish border.
That seems improbable but I think if Ukraine hits crimea hard enough it can go kaboom by Kinzhals.
Once US offensive burns out then Ukraine isn’t going to have much of an army left. The west isn’t going to be able to supply a comparable batch of weapons nor will Ukraine have experienced and trained soldiers. The army increasingly consists of conscripts kidnapped off the street and gang pressed into service. Two probable outcomes in my opinion are that Russia leaves a rump state in western Ukraine or they go all the way.
I certainly can’t see how Ukraine would not only kick out Russia but also turn things around so much that they gain ground. It’s like playing poker with one deck of cards and all the aces face up on the table and your opponent raises you in the hope that the final card will be another ace.
I expect the regime in Ukraine is going to fall sooner than later because the only thing that keeps it going is western support. That’s now starting to run into limits set by the manufacturing capacity in the west. This isn’t a question of money, but a question of logistics.
Can’t argue with that. I’m surprised it’s lasted this long tbh. God knows what the west promised/threatened when it made Zelensky pull out of peace talks. Unfortunately the war hawks still got their way.
I think the original idea in the west was that they were going to choke Russia off economically. This was supposed to be over in a couple of months, but then China and India didn’t play along. And the west clearly didn’t have a backup plan for when Russian economy didn’t implode. Now all the western leaders painted themselves into a corner politically by taking a maximalist position on the war. Admitting that Russia won will be career ending for a lot of these people. And I think this is the main reason for such vehement support. They’re sill hoping against hope that something will happen that will turn the tide in their favor because their backs are now against the wall.
They shouldn’t even gain ground, just drive out Russia. Attrition is currently in their favor and Russia is having to force their subjugated people to fight.
One option of course is a people’s revolution at Russia.
The OP screenshot reads:
Zelensky tells CNN the war will not end so long as Crimea is occupied
Crimea was lost to Ukraine in 2014. Taking Crimea means gaining ground that Ukraine did not hold before the war. This goal will prolong, not shorten the tragedy.
Has Russia started a draft? What do you mean by ‘force their subjugated people to fight’?
If there were a revolution in Russia today, do you think the new government would end the war?
Crimea is Ukraine but currently occupied by the war started on 2014, as are the areas occupied by the later attacks.
Putin’s succession is a power grab. There are no guarantees that the next one would be any better but there’s a chance that continuing the war wouldn’t be in the next ones interest.
Crimea is Ukraine but currently occupied by the war started on 2014
That may be so but if Zelensky cannot maintain control over the land with which he started his premiership, how could he possibly hope to gain all that back as well as land that was lost before he came to power? If the Ukrainian military has only managed to maintain the parts of Ukraine that it currently holds after more than a year of war with soldiers, training, supplies, intelligence, and other support from NATO, what hope does it have of even regaining the land lost since 2021/2 by military force? I’m not talking about what might be ideal. I’m talking about what is feasible and realistic.
There are no guarantees that the next one would be any better but there’s a chance that continuing the war wouldn’t be in the next ones interest.
The answer to this riddle depends as much on NATO as it does on Russian politics. The only way that ending the war would be in the next leader’s interests is if they agree to sell off Russia to the US (again!—but they surely remember how that went the first time). Whatever the position was before the invasion, if Russia backs down now, NATO will be coming to slice Russia into pieces so that it’s ailing billionaire class has something profitable to invest in.
Is he growing fatter?
Where are those liberals who claim Kim Jong-un and Maduro are eating like kings while overseeing a starving populace?
While Ukraine burns, the brutal right-wing dictator Zelensky eats cake. While imperialists seethe, Maduro noms on an empanada.
Cocaine is a helluva drug
Wouldn’t cocaine make you lose a lot of weight seeing as its a potent stimulant? It would be really hard to add weight on a cocaine, meth, or other stimulant addiction.
Cocaine lasts like 15 minutes and the OD window is pretty narrow so you can’t use it for too long consecutively. The crash and withdraw make you depressed damn near ahedonic so people could definitely eat that feeling away. Meth makes you lose weight because it keeps you awake, dopamine feuled, and appetite suppressed upwards of 16 hours per high
Chronic cocaine usage prevents the body’s formation of fat storage and causes long term difficulty in maintaining a healthy weight. The appetite suppressant only adds to this problem, and it last much much longer then 15 minutes. The cocaine anhedonia also commonly leads to people eating less food, rather then more, as the body is not motivated enough with dopamine to consume.
Cocaine also increases metabolism by a significant margin, along with increasing body temperature. Both leading to an increased burning of calories even when stationary and at rest.
So while it is possible, gaining weight on cocaine is really damn hard. It is mostly a symptom of getting clean off of cocaine.
Meth is a whole other league though, and I will agree.
I’m skeptical that Zelensky is actually a cocaine addict. I read that the interview where he said that was spliced.
But I wouldn’t be surprised if it were true.
Must be all those marmalade sandwiches.
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The things they ask get more and more far fetched.
Here’s an idea, then: build your own damn weapons and take it.
Can we get an interview with an average Ukrainian citizen because I’m really starting to think Big Z isn’t speaking for anyone but himself.
The war in Ukraine will not be over
so long as Crimea is occupied by Russia. ftfyTo the last Ukrainian, I see
Comrade Zelensky is right
Putin needs to stop causing Russian and Ukrainian proles to die for his own amusement from the ivory tower
War isn’t right
So the answer is to keep fighting until Ukraine gains more land than it started with? That doesn’t sound very anti-war to me.
No, Ukraine should stop at their borders as Zelensky here states. It doesn’t need to do what Russia has done.
Ideally they wouldn’t even need to fight back the conquered areas. Putin or his successor should retreat so peace can be negotiated.
In summary, the workers and the people of Russia and Ukraine should be free from the exploitation of the bourgeoisie
The OP screenshot reads:
Zelensky tells CNN the war will not end so long as Crimea is occupied
You said,
… Zelensky is right … War isn’t right
Again, Crimea was lost to Ukraine in 2014. Taking Crimea means gaining ground that Ukraine did not hold before the war. This goal will prolong, not shorten the tragedy. Therefore, showing agreement with this goal means that while you say war is bad, you’re materially okay with war so long as it’s against people you don’t like. That’s inconsistent.
Ideally they wouldn’t even need to fight back the conquered areas. Putin or his successor should retreat so peace can be negotiated.
And, materially, they don’t have to fight for them. All they have to do is comply with the Minsk agreements. If Russia were then to renege and continue the war, things might be different.
It’s unlikely that Putin’s successor would do something substantially different. They might prosecute the action differently but they are still likely to prosecute the action. Arguments that see redemption in a successor to Putin fail to (a) treat the Russian people seriously, as capable, autonomous actors, and (b) fail to take Russia’s concerns seriously re: NATO expansion, NATO-led coups, the Nazi problem, and the well documented conflict in eastern Ukraine from ~2014 until this war.
Untrue. Please avoid assumptions that don’t relate to my comments.
The war is wrong and the quickest most humane end to it is Russia’s exit. Since it’s beginning in '14.
It is also horrible that they prop nazis around world for their excuses. It’s hardly believable that a nazi Putin would denazify anything
The war is wrong and the quickest most effective end to it is usa’s exit, since usa started the war in 2014.
It is also horrible that they prop up nazis in ukraine for their war. It’s hardly believable that boris johnson would ever let zelensky come to the negotiation table.
Which bit is untrue? What assumptions have I made? I’m not trying to make assumptions about you. I’m unpacking what you said to show that the implications are inconsistent.
If Zelensky is right and he wants to continue the war until he regains territory lost before he came into power, then it follows that continuing a war is the right thing to do. That is inconsistent with the claim that ‘war isn’t right’. Both claims cannot be true at the same time. Perhaps you didn’t mean to say that Zelensky is right?
It’s hardly believable that a nazi Putin would denazify anything
Nevertheless, it’s Russia’s stated aim in this war. What does Ukraine have to lose by calling Putin’s bluff by complying with the Minsk agreement? At the very least, they win the moral high ground and can shout, ‘Aha, we told you Putin was lying; all he wanted was war all along.’ I’ll ignore for now the fact that Germany and France have admitted that they never intended for Ukraine to comply with Minsk, never mind what Russia planned.
What? “Comrade Zelensky”?
Argh, just imagining this hurts.
