Quote (Black XistenZ @ Dec 30 2023 06:16pm)
Lul? It absolutely does matter that they already controlled the Donbass and Crimea before the invasion. If those places had been the primary target, this whole war would have been unnecessary. The costs of this war have to weighed against the gains Russia made thanks to this war - namely the land bridge from Donetsk to Crimea and a few bombed out cities like Sieverodonetsk, Bakhmut, Mariupol and (in a couple of months) Avdiivka, which are all lying in ruins.
One post ago, you were boasting about what an accomplishment it was for Russia to hold off the Ukrainian counteroffensive although it was fueled by oh-so-much military spending by the West. Now, you turn around and stress that all this Western military spending doesn't actually amount to much. ;)
They controlled a fraction of the Donbass pre-war, you can look at the map and see how much it has expanded. The war is not just about controlling territory but degrading Ukraine to the point where they either give up NATO aspirations or the country is in such shambles that it would be an absolute liability to have them in NATO.
There's no boasting lol, it's objective that the collective west crowd sourced hundreds of billions in weapons to send to Ukraine and that firepower was going to reverse Russian gains. That didn't happen. My point is when we spend 800 billion in military expenditures that doesn't actually mean we get 8x the value compared to Russia's 100 billion per year. Because half the stuff we actually buy is overpriced and the whole industry is filled with bloat. In Russia it's not the same because, at least not right now because this is an existential threat.
Quote (Goomshill @ Dec 30 2023 06:20pm)
so anyway the war is escalating again
a day ago Russia launched its largest set of airstrikes on cities across Ukraine, particularly hitting Kharkiv many times
today Ukraine struck Belgorod in the mainland, apparently using the long range NATO supplied missiles that we were repeatedly pinky promised would not be used to strike "Russian territory" while still intending to attack the DPR/LPR/Crimea.
both Ukraine and Russia have raised formal protests to the attacks on each other at their security council / UN kabuki theaters, but notably Russia directly accused Britain of being behind the attack on Russia today
Every tit-for-tat has been way more severe and that's been their calling card for the entirety of this conflict. I keep wondering if the west continues to push the boundaries, how are they going to return the favor in years to come. Don't be surprised in a few years when some towelheads start targeting US bases or UK ships with sophisticated weapons.