Quote (Goomshill @ Apr 21 2023 10:38am)
ever since the week Russia withdrew from its attempt to seize Kiev- over a year of war now- its been abundantly clear what the endgame will be. NATO will annex western Ukraine, Russia will retain the DPR/LPR/Crimea, and the only thing being truly fought over right now is where the buffer zone / DMZ will cut. NATO already had a chance to wave a white flag and watch Ukraine crumble like Afghanistan did: They didn't. They held on and now half of Ukraine will join NATO. Or at least- a bombed out and depopulated shell of what was already the poorest country in Europe before the bombing- will join NATO. While Russia gets to keep the valuable east. And India and China won't be dragged down
They had the chance of experiencing what Poland or the Baltics got, but someone decided to violate them before they reached to that point.