Why do you say that? Look:


I condemn all aggressive and hostile comments in this thread, regardless of the source. However, if users are allowed to be toxic, repeatedly, and those that condemn them are then sanctioned, as we saw in the last few days, then the natural result is a deterioration of behaviors and social norms.

My understanding is based off of Putin's initially stated goals of “to protect the people that are subjected to abuse, genocide from the Kiev regime” and “demilitarize and denazify Ukraine.” - these seem to only be achievable with regime change, given that the Russian understanding is that the current regime is led by Banderites, such that denazification would have to include a washing out of the current regime - together with his statement that the "Kiev regime" has engaged in genocide, I think that regime change has to be his goal. But I do expect not much to change in 3 months on the Ukraine front, maybe there will be a Spring offensive by Russia given that reports of graft in the Ukrainian military as well as other pessimistic outlooks are finally making the rounds on Western media.

Well, it's interesting that Russia claimed to intervene in Ukraine to halt what they called a genocide, yet their actions resulted in a genocide on a scale ten times larger within just one year, surpassing Ukraine's nine years of alleged genocide.
Ukraine and Russia must have a genocidal derby face off!

In the modern day, it seems that wars have devolved into both sides accusing the other of genocide, such that their defeat is a moral imperative. (also Israel vs. Hamas)

Pretty silly if you ask me, given that in 2023 we *should* be smarter than that. Honour in warfare is very much dead.

This post was edited by El1te on Dec 19 2023 06:15pm

Regardless, conflicts in the 21st century don't offer solutions; instead, they merely defer problems to be addressed in the future. What is Russia's ultimate objective here? It has sacrificed its economy for the long term and eroded its already diminished international reputation. Even if, hypothetically, Russia managed to conquer a significant portion of Ukraine, what would come next? Is there an anticipation that such an outcome would lead to prosperity for the Russian state? Do they envision a scenario where everything returns to normal as if nothing significant occurred, with red carpets unfurled for Putin in European capitals?

Russia would still need to invest hundreds of billions to reconstruct Eastern Ukraine and establish natural resource extraction facilities to recover some of its expenses. This is a task Russia has struggled with on its own territory, especially given that most of its specialists in oil and natural resource extraction are over 45 years old. Approximately 2-2.5 million affluent Russian specialists have departed from Russia, being replaced by 2-3 million impoverished refugees from Ukraine, predominantly consisting of women and children making matters even worse for Russia long term. The brain drain is real and its the hardest resource to replace in modern world, so on this front Russia already lost.

Then there's the aspect of war returning home, as it inevitably does. Hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers, some with significant criminal histories, returning from their positions in the Eastern Ukraine. Does anyone believe these individuals will smoothly integrate into civilian life, particularly in Russia where economic opportunities are so limited that these same individuals were willing to endure trenches and dodge bullets for a monthly wage of $1,500? Reports of abductions, killings, child molestation, assaults, accidental explosions are already emerging from Russia. So far, only those who are physically incapable of continuing their service have returned, representing only a tiny fraction of what is expected to come back.

In what way is any of this a triumph for Russia and its citizens precisely? Putin is aware that his time is limited, and he won't have to endure the consequences as long as he doesn't lose power. His family and associates have secured luxurious retreats far away for themselves when the situation worsens. It is the typical Russian individual, misled and uninformed about how the world and the economy function, who will bear the consequences of Putin's attempt to emulate Peter the Great and show NATO its place by invading non-NATO Ukraine.

dont get me wrong, i also believe for Russia to achieve a lasting victory they will have to regime change Ukraine, however, apart from the initial push on Kyiv, Russia's actions have not suggested that they want to take over all of Ukraine, or remove the current Ukrainian Government. What Putin alluded to in an interview earlier in the year was that Russia might have to go back to Kyiv (to regime change) if there was no resolution (negotiated peace) to the conflict.

The Russia government is actually quite easy to understand, they mean what they say and do what they say, and they do proportionate responses, as related to international affairs. I am not saying they are goodies, I am saying they are straightforward.

This post was edited by ferdia on Dec 20 2023 02:07am

you forgot to quote me. you played that very well though. you carried out over 40 personal attacks against users in this thread on this account, I called it out, you were not sanctioned, and users, frustrated that no action was taken, lashed out, whereupon they were sanctioned. this is what i mean when i say poor moderation.

This post was edited by ferdia on Dec 20 2023 02:13am

I had over 40 personal attacks directed at me, I called it out and moderators took action. Now please stop with unnecessary off-topic posts, if you want to tell me something there is a pm function on the site.

If you don't know how to use pm function, read this: Private Message System Guide

Hostile behavior and spam shall not be tolerated in this thread.

Very true, Russian government is very easy to comprehend
Here they are assuring everyone that they have 0 intention invading Ukraine, mere days prior to the invasion


So straight forward.

This post was edited by Uber23 on Dec 20 2023 02:33am