My main gripe with this article is the conclusion in the final section:

1. The EU cannot promise accession without undermining its own rules regarding democratic criteria like freedom of speech, anti-corruption and so on.
2. Even if the EU made this promise, I don't see how that would help set Ukraine on a path toward becoming a worthy and contributing member of the EU. Promising them access to EU funds no matter what won't do anything to disincentivize the pervasive corruption.

Long story short, the article does a good job describing the current situation, but it fails to offer solutions beyond "we need to strengthen Ukraine's air defense".

This post was edited by Black XistenZ on Dec 2 2023 03:02pm

I thought it was a fairly accurate assessment.

Its important to distinguish what "winning" is for Putin and what it translates to for ordinary Russians, and at what cost.

Exclusive interview with NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg - After the major attack by Russia, the situation for Ukraine is critical.


We need to prepare for bad news. Conflicts develop in stages. But we must support Ukraine in both bad and good times», he said (quote on «RIA Novosti»). The head of the alliance also admitted that NATO members could not meet the increased demand for ammunition. Answering the question, how to act in such a situation of the Ukrainian army, Stoltenberg redirected «the adoption of these difficult operational decisions to the Ukrainians and their military leadership».

Source: Das Erste
https://www.tagesschau.de/multimedia/video/video-1279144.html

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, December 2, 2023

Key Takeaways:


Poor weather conditions continue to slow the pace of Ukrainian and Russian combat operations across the entire frontline but have not completely halted them.
Russian forces launched another series of Shahed 136/131 drone and missile strikes targeting southern Ukraine overnight on December 1-2.
Ukrainian and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) officials reported that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) completely disconnected from all external power sources for five and a half hours on the night of December 1 to 2, marking the plant’s eighth complete black out - all under Russian occupation.
The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned three third party entities involved in the transport of Russian crude oil above the G7 price cap.
The Russia Ministry of Defense (MoD) signaled that it likely intends to continue relying on crypto-mobilization recruitment schemes for any potential increase in the size of the Russian military.
The Kremlin’s policy towards the role of migrants in bolstering Russia’s industrial capacity continues to be inconsistent.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s November 30 threat against Moldova may have emboldened certain pro-Russian actors to attempt to sow political instability and division in Moldova.
Russian forces continued offensive operations along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line, near Bakhmut, near Avdiivka, west of Donetsk City, in the Donetsk-Zaporizhia Oblast border area, and in western Zaporizhia Oblast and advanced near Avdiivka.
Radio Svoboda’s “Schemes” and “Systems” investigative projects published a joint investigation on December 1 detailing how the Main Directorate of the Russian General Staff (GRU) created the “Redut” private military company (PMC) to recruit thousands of Russians for irregular combat service in Ukraine.
Ukrainian partisans reportedly conducted a partisan attack against Russian military personnel in occupied Melitopol, Zaporizhia Oblast, on December 1.

The cracks in the foundation are starting to become visible.

I'd avoid using words "crack" and "Zelensky" in one same sentence

Lol'd

Also seems those eastern European truckers are starting to get a little angry.

why ? isn't that what he is on for the longest time ? You do realized he is an award wining actor / comedian.

Is Vladimir Zelensky the next Ngô Đình Diệm?

If that is the case, that means the entire Ukraine will be gone. Worst than a rump state.