Putin's endgame elusive as West tries to force Russia out of Ukraine

"" No one knows what President Vladimir Putin is thinking""

and that is exactly what it is, Even Putin himself doesn't know what he is thinking. in the mean time NATO and the EU are watching thousands becoming homeless and hundreds killed.

The Kremlin is playing the long game here.

So let me get this straight. Their long game was to invade Ukraine, lose the initial battles so badly that barely two weeks into the war they are desperately recruiting fighters from the middle east to replace the thousands of Russian troops killed, revealing to the world how weak its conventional forces are in a major humiliation. And at the same time they also cut their economy off from everywhere except China, causing it to tank and the Ruble to lose half its value, throwing the Russian population further into poverty and permanently destroying whatever hopes it had of ever becoming an economic power and turning it into a vassal state at the mercy of China. And meantime, NATO is stronger than ever thanks to that long game Russian plan, its overwhelming advantage over Russia getting bigger rather than smaller.

All that is Russia’s long game to achieve the end of making Ukraine weaker?

That is some advanced level of stupid.

I used to call English Great Grandad, Uncle Albert, during he war.

He would tell me of the heroism and bravery.

I thought this was comic book valour and courage.

Today I zoomed into some of our Ukrainian employees families messages of death wrecked upon them from Russian invasion force.

They didn't cry, all sat in blank acceptance of what they believe to be inevitable.

Russia’s endgame is independent non nuke Ukraine and independent Donbass. So simple.

But the Russians achieved their aims in both cases

yes, achieved by bombing the crap out of cities indiscriminately, killing 1000’s of innocent women & children in the process.

Something I’m sure you’re proud of

Endgame, a misnomer for President Putin's delusions of persecution, dragging, soon to be a screaming Russian people into his obsessive megalomania.

A world of delusional, persecution, wreaked by a Dictator, obsessive need to cling on to power.

The Endgame is/has all the usual suspects,

EU wedded, still a delinquent junkie of Russian fossil fuels.

An EU Commission, a collection of failed political unelected has beans, that never were.

Johnson forever on a zip wire suspended, dangling from the sidelines

The EU could have stood out, raised to the occasion but they stood back a spectator.

Macron is holding conference in Palace of Versailles, in many respects hi-jacking the conference for his own self interests.

The EU promised peace in our time.

The reality, the endgame, is another war, the ultimatum could soon unfold in front of all our eyes.

The Kremlin is playing the long game here. They know that after 6 months, everybody will completely forget about Ukraine just like they forgot about Crimea, Syria and Georgia (remember that one).

Sanctions for Crimea have been going eight years so far and will not be removed. Nobody is going to "forget" Ukraine or the atrocities Russia commits here. Maybe Putin will forget, not a moral bone in his body.

This is the level headed response. Get back to the negotiations table and let them work it out.

you can’t negotiate with a psychopath.

They will lie and manipulate, & do anything dirty or immoral, to achieve victory

Will their defeat force Putin to use nukes?

yes, or Biological weapons

It seems Russia is using older versions of their tanks and armor in Ukraine.

Will their defeat force Putin to use nukes?

Russia has requested that the Council convene to discuss the existence of U.S biolabs in Ukraine.

A deflection. Turn Covid research into something sinister to take focus off your invasion atrocities.

This may be a nothing burger, this may be covered up, this may be a Russian false flag or it may flip the narrative 180 degrees on it's head.

No, it cant flip the narrative of Russia invading Ukraine and committing war crimes against civilians. That has already happened. Syria and Russia have in recent past been found using chemical and biological weapons.

Putin's endgame is control of Ukraine. He may achieve that for a short time but the people of Ukraine are now even further from the Russian sphere of influence than ever and for generations will remain so. They will eventually overthrow Russian control and collaborators will pay a price. It is inevitable.

US, allies to revoke 'most favored nation' status for Russia

https://news.yahoo.com/us-allies-revoke-most-favored-055518554.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

I just hope that the people at the top do not fumble the ball and start WWIII. I don't want to live through the end times.

This fratricidal conflict continues because,regardless of the cost in blood and treasure to both sides, in Putin's imaginary world he sees himself as Russia's Abe Lincoln prepared to sacrifice all in another Russian civil war to preseve the union torn asunder by red-neck secessionist Ukrainian nationalists (aka "Nazis"). The Belorussian goose, Lukashenko,is already cooked and oven-ready for Putin's victory parade so now if only the pesky Zelenskiy would "cry uncle" , Putin's place in history would be assured, or so he thinks. Well, you can't always get what you want, and I predict Putin won't.

Unless people recognize how we got here, they will never be able to make it better.

Well said. You need multiple sources and in different languages if possible in order to do so.

One of the most direct answers came from the third-ranking U.S. diplomat, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland. She said Tuesday that internal, rather than external, pressure on Putin will be more effective.

Funny, quoting the woman who is among the most responsible for this war outside of Putin himself. Nuland is a key regime change warmonger who cut her teeth overthrowing governments and fomenting revolution under Obama. She and her cronies used Ukraine as a pawn - part of their "great game" with Russia. A way to irritate Putin. And irritate him they did.

Unless people recognize how we got here, they will never be able to make it better.

According to international law Putin started the war and is a criminal. There was no reason for this assault except Putin’s intention to restore the USSR empire. There was no “nazi terror” against Russian-speaking Ukrainians. So-called fascists are everywhere, we have Antifa here in the US, and so what? Ukraine now is suffering tremendously, unbelievably… Innocent civilians, kids are being killed… cities destroyed. Ukrainian soldiers are heroes, they manage to control the situation on the ground but in the air they are helpless.

@Avenger - what do you suggest the west do about it?

As Western leaders congratulate themselves for their speedy and severe responses to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

I don’t see people congratulating themselves.

“The endgame has to be decided by the Ukrainians in terms of what they will accept,” he said.

Putin can cause a meltdown in the reactors in Ukraine like Fukushima making it inhabitable and a Chernobyl out of Ukrainians’ motherland. Negotiations and de-escalation is the way to go.

NATO nations aren’t about to risk triggering World War III by joining the fight in defense of a non-member state.

This is the level headed response. Get back to the negotiations table and let them work it out.

According to international law Putin started the war and is a criminal. There was no reason for this assault except Putin’s intention to restore the USSR empire. There was no “nazi terror” against Russian-speaking Ukrainians. So-called fascists are everywhere, we have Antifa here in the US, and so what? Ukraine now is suffering tremendously, unbelievably… Innocent civilians, kids are being killed… cities destroyed. Ukrainian soldiers are heroes, they manage to control the situation on the ground but in the air they are helpless.

ANYBODY willing to take the time to think their OWN thoughts, consider the evidence rather than the narratives about the evidence, knows the basics of how this ends,

Worst case, with WW3 fought with nuclear weapons.

Almost as bad, WW3 fought without nuclear weapons until one side simply can't fight anymore, and the other is in barely better shape.

But the other case, the one that COULD have been the outcome all the deaths ago, is an agreement on a set of lines drawn on the map, with 'here's us' and 'there's you' and a bit in between that's a bit of neither, and a bit of both.

The lines might be only in Europe, or wrap around the world.

They might be dead straight, or wavy, fractal or sharp, with discontinuations where a bit of the one side sits surrounded by the other.

The thing is that both sides will think they are the good guys, the other the bad.

The truth though is ancient, a symbol familiar.

Look at the yin yang, and you'll see it.

if only a few more people use the Ukrainian flag in their facebook bios, we'll have Putin whipped by next week.

Putin's endgame is really simple. Ukraine will NOT join Nato, The Ukrainian military will be weakened. The Russian populated, Russian speaking south and east of the country will become defacto Russian territory. Ukraine will either lose all access to the Black sea or will need Russian permission to use the ports.

Western democracies have elections, the sanctions will hurt western economies and a bad economy is the not good for governments re-elections. Putin will have has this in his calculations. Europe needs Russian gas and oil much more than it needs a "free" Ukraine.

Sanctions might work until business start setting up in countries that end in stan, than they import to Russia. Russian gas sanctions will mean more gas and resources diverted to its military, less expensive fuel for China and other Russian allies.

force Russia out of Ukraine

It would be nice if that were a viable option outside of apocalypse and Western leaders were no intent on this political posturing.

Sanctions will not change Putin's mind.

But it will damage completely the Russian Economy.

It is very nice to see that more and more companies from all over the world stop buisness with Russia.

And all the nice and peacefull Russians living in Russia must exactly do what is mentioned in this article, ” the Russian people take matters into their own hands.”

Everyone wants a nice, comfortable and peaceful life with a little bit luxury and such things.

But Putin detroyed that for millions of Russians in Russia, and for all the Ukraine people living in Ukraine.

Therefore, the mass murderer Putin and all his insane murderer supporters have to pay the highest price for that.

These murderes are trying to take away everything from the Ukraine people, their land, their homes and their dreams.

These Russian mass murderer Mob do not hesitate to kill women and children.

I really hope that the nice and peaceful Russians will take this matter in their own hands, and bring all these murderes to justice!

If necessary, with the help from the rest of the world and of course with the help of God.

One thing is for sure: At the end, justice and humanity will win, and all these Russian mass murderes will be history.

“Putin must fail,” she said. “We know from history that aggressors only understand one thing, and that is strength. We know that if we don’t do enough now, other aggressors around the world will be emboldened. And we know that if Putin is not stopped in Ukraine, there will be terrible implications for European and global security.”

identifying a problem is easy.... doing something about it, not so. but talking heads everywhere are spouting pious words..... and that's about all..... same old same old, in other words.

Putin is very desperate now.

He’s just pounding the cities indiscriminately.

Don't be surprised if he starts using chemical weapons (then blames it on the Ukrainians)

Appearing beside Blinken, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss suggested the Western response may go beyond hopes of getting Russia out of Ukraine.

“Putin must fail,” she said. “We know from history that aggressors only understand one thing, and that is strength. We know that if we don’t do enough now, other aggressors around the world will be emboldened. And we know that if Putin is not stopped in Ukraine, there will be terrible implications for European and global security.”

hear hear...I salute you.