Russia Invades Ukraine | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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Russia Invades Ukraine

So what we got from that is "ask Putin what he wants". Perhaps we could shine his shoes and kiss his arse too.

You're a true master of statecraft.
 
Saw an interview with an exiled member of the Pussy Riot group, she is now living in Georgia.
Her view of how Putin can be stopped is with a bullet to the head.
She is probably correct that it is likely the only way he will stop
 
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So what we got from that is "ask Putin what he wants". Perhaps we could shine his shoes and kiss his arse too.

You're a true master of statecraft.
That's what I got from David's post too. Where does give Vlad what he wants stop - when he has a reunified USSR?
 
That's what I got from David's post too. Where does give Vlad what he wants stop - when he has a reunified USSR?

Yes. He's already taken Crimea, he'll probably take more of the east, he'll try and screw more from the Ukrainians in any negotiations. He'll make sure Ukraine stays weak and he'll repeat the process in the next few years if nothing else changes.
 
So what we got from that is "ask Putin what he wants". Perhaps we could shine his shoes and kiss his arse too.

You're a true master of statecraft.

Ok, fine, don't ask Putin.

You're the one who said it is Putin who can end this, he started it so that makes sense.

But, your "solution" is to not talk to him.

Great solution, meanwhile people die, cities get levelled, but whatevs that appears to not be an issue.

DS
 
Ok, fine, don't ask Putin.

You're the one who said it is Putin who can end this, he started it so that makes sense.

But, your "solution" is to not talk to him.

Great solution, meanwhile people die, cities get levelled, but whatevs that appears to not be an issue.

DS

Numerous leaders have already spoken to him. I'd guess that that hasn't led anywhere is because he's not willing to cede anything other than what he was after the entire time. The Donbas region and the entire south coast. They want to cut Ukraine off from the sea so that it increases their reliance on Russia. This falacy that its due to NATO expansion is a cover screen which you have been sucked into.

Diplomacy only works when both sides come to the table and are prepared to meet some of the others demands and arrange a mutually beneficial outcome. I doubt Putin is at that stage at this point.
 
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Diplomacy only works when both sides come to the table and are prepared to meet some of the others demands and arrange a mutually beneficial outcome. I doubt Putin is at that stage at this point.

Spot on Poshman. "Walk softly but carry a big stick" is the old diplomatic/strategic truism. Putin started this a loooong time ago, and yes, the West has been weak in dealing with his aggressive expansionism.

He's already taken the Crimea. He's already nibbled off parts of Georgia. Russia is weak, and he's a good bluffer - so he goes all in on every conflict and we just give way. NATO did nothing on Crimea, we did nothing we he used chemical weapons in Syria despite Obama saying we would. No red lines were crossed but he still moved in.

DavidSS, you want the war to end, so do we all. But when does it stop? He'll take Donbas and the east. He'll continue to destabilise Georgia and may take more of that country too. Belarus is already a proxy state. The Finns and Swedes have already started stockpiling fuel and food because they know Russia will mount cyber-attacks on their infrastructure.

For those interested, this podcast - Arthur Snell interviewing Jason Pack - is good on how successful Putin has been at bluffing the west, and why he knows he can continue to do so - and we have well-meaning people who want to end violence and the war who just play into his hands every time.


If you prefer to read not listen, the Jason Pack article is here.


Explains perfectly why asking Putin "what he wants" is totally the wrong approach. It's naive and has failed time and time again. As I've said before, the only thing Putin understands is strength, and giving him "what he wants" only leads to more suffering and misery.
 
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GIF by SB Nation
 
Great tweet thread here on how badly the Russian offensive is going - it looks as though the Ukrainians will be able to mount a counter-offensive in the East. The US will step up humanitarian, financial and military support for the Ukrainians, and will strengthen sanctions against Russia.

It's possible Russia will be pushed back to the Crimea and will lose their gains in Donbas and the East. Looks like "the West" has finally had enough of Putin's bullshyte.


Of course, one outcome could be Russia using chemical weapons or even nukes, although this is unlikely as they'd be a pariah state for 50 years. Thankfully not all of us are buying into the "statecraft = giving Putin what he wants" strategy.
 
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Great tweet thread here on how badly the Russian offensive is going - it looks as though the Ukrainians will be able to mount a counter-offensive in the East. The US will step up humanitarian, financial and military support for the Ukrainians, and will strengthen sanctions against Russia.

It's possible Russia will be pushed back to the Crimea and will lose their gains in Donbas and the East. Looks like "the West" has finally had enough of Putin's bullshyte.


Of course, one outcome could be Russia using chemical weapons or even nukes, although this is unlikely as they'd be a pariah state for 50 years. Thankfully not all of us are buying into the "statecraft = giving Putin what he wants" strategy.
Do you reckon Vlad will up the ante on Monday next week on May 9?
 
Do you reckon Vlad will up the ante on Monday next week on May 9?

Dunno, he really needs a win for V-Day. Not sure what else he can do besides more artillery and troops fed into the mixer unless he goes chemical/biological/nuclear.

This was a good podcast too - from beginning of April but pretty much spot on on how the land war would go for Russian. Looked at the imbalance of Russia's invading forces - too many tanks, not enough infantry, so the Ukrainians would led the tanks advance too far with out infantry support, take out the supply lines, then the tanks. Tanks are extremely vulnerable to anti-tank weapons without infantry cover. This guy (analyst ex Brit Mil) also points out that Ukraine has around 400,000 trained and battle hardened military personnel or civilians who fought in the Donbas whereas Russia's troops are poorly trained and inexperienced.


So far the Russkis have lost their flagship in the Black Sea, 15-20,000 troops, enough military hardware that it will take decades to replace, and of course the economy is effed. They failed to take Kyev and are retreating back to the east. And the Ukrainians have done all this without a no-fly zone and no direct military help from "the West".
 
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In the current state, you wonder if Putin and Zelenskiy would accept Ukraine split into East and West as an end.
 
In the current state, you wonder if Putin and Zelenskiy would accept Ukraine split into East and West as an end.

I doubt Zelensky would accept that, and nor would most Ukrainians... losing half your country is not something most people around the world would accept, particularly when you know Putin would reneg on any treaty signed in a few years anyway. He'd make up some more Red Lines and just pretend they were crossed.
 
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I doubt Zelensky would accept that, and nor would most Ukrainians... losing half your country is not something most people around the world would accept, particularly when you know Putin would reneg on any treaty signed in a few years anyway. He'd make up some more Red Lines and just pretend they were crossed.
Yeah I suppose the lunatic knows(?) he's fighting a losing battle with his country collapsing economically and has no other option but to continue fighting as full bore as he can.
 
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Dunno, he really needs a win for V-Day.
Does he though? Whether he has a win or not, his propaganda machine will be working triple time to announce his victories and how well the Russian forces are doing in this “liberation” ( not a war) against the nazis. It seems a lot of Russians will swallow anything that is being put out by this murderous thug, which isn’t surprising considering how repressive they have been on their “ free” media
 
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Yeah I suppose the lunatic knows(?) he's fighting a losing battle with his country collapsing economically and has no other option but to continue fighting as full bore as he can.
Well he’s still gotta stop those facists doesn’t he?