Ask Your Question today
How do you think this conflict will end?
| Ukrainian victory ( Russia removed from Ukrainian land ) | 12 | |
| Russian victory ( Ukraine ceases to exist ) | 3 | |
| Russian victory ( Keeps the land they're controlling currently, Ukraine shrinks ) | 14 | |
| World War 3 starts, everybody dies | 4 |
Ukraine will win, it will win its independence and not be Russia, even though a lot of bloodshed and restoring of existing buildings will happen in the process.
I think Russia will annex some parts of Ukraine, like they've already done, but I doubt they'll even take half of it.
Why does Russia want Ukraine in the first place? I know the answer always boils down to "resources", but what resources does Ukraine have? Is the country rich in crude oil or natural gas or something?
It has a sizeable minority of ethnic Russians in it, and it's got nice, arable land. Also it used to be part of the Soviet Union.
The claim of sizable minority of ethnic Russians is actually not true. My wife is from eastern Ukraine and I can assure you that while there were some ethnic Russians prior to 2014 in her area (well below a majority of the population); that most of the ethic Russians wanted to remain part of Ukraine and not Russia.
While it is true that Ukraine was a part of the Soviet Union - that has no validity here. The Soviet Union collapsed and fell apart (Ukraine left in 1991 - and the Soviet Union (and Russia) in 1991 recognized Ukraine as an independent country. Note that Ukraine was an independent country before Russia forced them into the Soviet Union in the early years of its formation.
Here's a twitter post picture showing you a key historical comparison between the history of Kiev and Moscow
https://twitter.com/USEmbassyKyiv/status/1496115593149358081
Mail order bride that ran away from her country = opinion discarded immediately
Also retarded Twitter post to think that proves anything whatsoever
Nothing mail order about it - I was not even looking for someone who lived outside the USA due to health issues that prevented most international travel.
I view it as she was someone who found a suitable partner long term she was considered of marriageable age in Ukraine (and had pretty much given up the idea that she would ever be married).
Note that she had a full tourist visa for the USA - almost unheard of for a single lady from Ukraine because of how extensively she traveled out of Ukraine to other countries and returned home to Ukraine. She had met many foreign men in many countries who wanted to marry her - but they did not meet her expectations. She had been to the USA several times before she met me.
She still owns property in Ukraine (now damaged with all the windows blown out and boarded up) and had a viable business up to the start of the Feb 24 invasion (now shut down); and had returned to manage things and see friends with some regularity (her parents are both dead - her mom dying during the 2014 invasion, and she has no other close family in Ukraine: her brother had attended college in the USA and immigrated several decades prior to her meeting me).
She talks all the time to her friends and business associates in Ukraine (hour+ long conversations are typical).
It just turns out that we are really a great match for each other. I married her at age 55 and I did not rob the cradle. It is the 1st marriage for both of us - and we expect it to be the last.
Where it was starved out, and voted to leave. Russians have a bad habit of assuming non russians want to be russians.
The similarities of ukraine and finland are baffling. Finland started out as a self governing province of russia in the 1800s. In the 1880s russia thought that the Finnish wanted to be apart of russia so they tried to push russian laws and requiring them to learn russian. When the russian empire collapsed Finland got the heck out. Fought a civil war against a communist party backed by the soviets. Then the winter war and the continuation war, both having finland give concessions. But now finland has a renued intrest in staying Finland with how power hungry russia has become.
Ukraine has the most fertile soil in Europe. that's all I know. But I think the main reason they did this is to increase the ethnic Russian population of Russia. Ironically, this is doing the exact opposite, many professional young russians are fleeing the country.
That's illogical to hope for a russian victory via as little life lost as possible. You have heard of the mass graves in russian controlled ukrainian cities yes? Civilians and children with bullet holes in them?
I hope for the exact opposite. Land grabs like this were out of date by the 40s. I hope russia loses as many people as physically possible. Their leadership deserves the massive backlash. They people deserve to live in fear of their goverment abducting them for military service.
Russia also probably wont use nukes. Of course they could it would be dubiously effective because then nato would have to respond to that shit by wiping out russian bases and ports via non nuclear options.
Why? Because russia isnt the only backwards country to possess nukes. You really want North Korea to get the idea it could actually win over South Korea just by threatening to use nukes? Or Pakistan, or iran, or china? Allowing a country (that's losing) to use nukes scott free sets a terrible precedent for the future. Ironically increasing the chance for nuclear war in the near future.
That is fiendish. The people of Russia, being dedicated to their country, since they are under the rightful governance of Russia, must fight the war that Russia started; it is their duty. Hoping that as many people die as possible while fulfilling their national obligations is horrendous.
They arent my countrymen. Every dead russian decreases the chance they kill our actual allies.
It is not a national obligation to wage war on a non aggressive country. I do not support a draft that isnt warranted (ie they are a legitimate threat to our country) the same could not be said about ukraine and what russia did to counteract it.
Its evil to allow evil.
Ukraine isnt our direct ally but they sure as shit are fighting our opponent. So more weapons to them.
A dead person is a dead person, no matter what country they're in. Wishing for more death is not moral, no matter who's deaths you're wishing for.
While I do agree that one is not obligated to perform immoral acts because one's country insists upon it, it is entirely understandable to do so, out of loyalty for said country.
Russia is not our "opponent". It is merely another country. Countries do not become "opponents" until one has wronged the other, and Russia under its current government has not done that.
That guarentee was with the soviet union, not russia. And it was a verbal agreement. NATO was on its way out of the public need... that's when russia decided it needed Georgia, Chechnya, Crimea renewing intrest in the alliance against a power hungry authoritarian state.
LloydAsher is correct. The US guarantee to not expand NATO eastward was made to the Soviet Union; long before Russia emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union.
As such its no longer valid as the country to which the promise was made no longer exists.
It turns out that a number of the other countries who broke out of the Soviet Union was interested in joining both the EU and NATO. NATO's charter allows such expansion if countries meet certain conditions.
Russia has no claim on deciding what other independent countries do in regards to international politics and alliances.
Ukraine will win. Russia can go fuck itself. Especially Putin and his murderers.
Dont forget the likely collapse of Putin's regime. Cant say gaining a couple thousand square miles of territory, losing Crimea, and 60k+ loyal russians are going to make that victory look like a victory.
At this point I just want putin to try one nuke. One nuke will be met by sinking the black sea fleet and probably more Russian casualties than the nuke itself. All by non nuclear means. Got to set an example so other nations dont get the idea of lobbing nukes as a scare tactic.
I think annual exercises by Russia's strategic nuclear forces couldn't have come at a better time than now as appropriate propaganda fodder for his Ukraine invasion, which is having seismic effects on the global economy. But does he even care at this point? I highly doubt... there's no hope for a peaceful negotiations resolve between Russia and (Ukraine + NATO) in the near future. Brace yourself for more global economic turmoil buddy.
Russia will be ground into dust via their weight and sheer incompetence in battle. Russia will never be able to bounce back to where it once was. At least not under putin. Where even if he gets Ukraine, now he has to deal with nato Finland.
Putin will be assassinated(or die of his diseases), and Russian pride will be broken.
Russia will win unfortunately. Ukraine should just give up already, they are selfish and ruining things for all other countries that has to get involved because Ukraine wont swallow their pride. Who cares. Its more important that my country doesnt get involved than whatever happens to Ukraine. Not my problem.
Europe or Japan? Only reason a nuke was used was because it was all but impossible to invade Japan without horrendous casualties on both sides. Russia... isnt the hardest country to invade. Not by a longshot. It happened so often the soviet defense policy was to have as many proxies in front of their homeland as possible.
Some countries are not geographically gifted like japan or the usa.
Russia will probably win -- which is usually a bad thing -- and then the rest of the world will try very, very hard to pretend they didn't
Is it? Because all I see is russia losing territory it recently annexed? Cant even protect its newly acquired land?
What a loaded comment in a little letter like that.
Though when I see it on a destroyed vehicle all it tells me that I dont need to feel bad about the charred corpses around it.
Also a blitzkrieg works best if it was a surprise. Russia invading wasnt exactly a suprise to ukraine. Plus they had 8 years to prepare for that eventuality.
Yeah they wouldn't attack NATO, everyone would be fucked if that happened.
I guess they'll keep the land, not take all of Ukraine. Their 300 000 reservists, albeit of massive quantity, are grunts.
What about the other former Soviet Bloc states in eastern Europe from Lithuania through Bulgaria? If/after Russia takes Ukraine, do you think they'll move onto those other (formerly) Russian-speaking countries?
Russia will take a portion of Ukraine, maybe the whole thing. Ukraine can not win this war. Winning for them includes their whole country being in ruins and Russia leaves. Not really a win.
Or russia collapses like it did after Afghanistan. And that killed only a forth of what ukraine managed to pull off.
Even if Russia wins it still loses. Russia ain't the Soviet union it cant survive cut off internationally.
I think the ppl of the west are gonna turn on Zelensky in a few months because he refuses over and over to negotiate to end the war. Things are gonna get really bad economically this winter and he will be seen as the cause. Sending money to Ukraine is not gonna be popular. They arent our allies.
Ironically though spending money is popular. About the only nonpartisan thing that our politicians can agree on now adays.
I perfer to spend money rather than blood. Plus we get to get all the fun russian technology and cryptography equipment back here to do some fun tests.
Ukraine will drive Russia completely out of it's territory; and most of the Russian economy will collapse by the time that happens such that Russia will not be able to rebuild its military.
My source for the Russian Economy is based on a recently published paper by a leading Russian Economist discussed in this Youtube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMRn7jx7JqA
Ukraine will be admitted to NATO about 1 year after they secure their borders (NATO will not expand into a country that does not militarily control its own territory - they are not going to sign up for an "instant" war).
Ukraine probably will take multiple years to be fully integrated into nato. First thing that would probably happen is a security guarantee from another power like poland.
Russia can suck eggs if they cry about nato expansionism, they exclusively became a helluva reason to join nato.
Then again with the amount of foriegn crap that's in ukraine right now they could be coasting like how Finland was doing. Lot of reforms have to take place before a country can join nato. Or that america pulls a land lease program in ukraine as payment for all the weapons and money we sent over.
Though russias collapse would be payment in of itself. If crippling china only costs 1 trillion dollars I wouldnt shed a tear for it.
That being said we should kick out Turkey. Cant be in nato if you are a dictatorship. Political reasons impede that of course.
Actually, Ukraine integration into NATO will be very fast.
During this war Ukraine has been adopting all of the NATO procedures and standards of how to work within NATO. They are now actually well ahead of Finland and Sweden - even though Finland and Sweden have for years worked with NATO.
This is one of the reasons they have managed to coordinate so well with willing NATO countries. Because the communications and request now almost always come in the NATO standard forms and methods.
No doubt it would be easier but you cant join nato during a contested land war. Even if russia pulls out they can always be edging on ukrainian territory, prolong the war on paper so it's harder for ukraine to get full membership.
Plus you got Turkey which isnt exactly the most pro nato nato member.
Note that I said that once Ukraine drives Russia out of its territory, that they will join NATO within a year.
NATO will not allow anyone to join that does not have military control of its borders (and I assure you that once Russia is driven out - the rules will change and anytime Russia fires on Ukraine - Ukraine will fire back with a lot more accurate weapons).
I'm not sure there will ever be a peace deal. But, once Russia is out - what's to negotiate other than compensation for an unjust invasion. I believe that international courts and bodies will level much of that compensation on Russian trade.