Quiet night in Ukraine capital as Russia's military advances slowed

In my opinion it is right for Ukraine to be independent from Russian interference, but at the same time Russia has a right to rule over the breakaway regions of Ukraine, and Ukraine should have given those regions over BEFORE going to join NATO.

Why exactly do the Ukrainians want to keep the breakaway regions anyway? It reminds me of the silly argument about Kashmir - as if somehow it is worth spending billions and killing thousands to keep a region that does not want to be supportive of your country anyway.

Give the Russians the regions and negotiate over NATO/military defense of Ukraine.

Good luck to the brave Ukrainians standing up to the bully Putin. Of course it is impossible to entirely repel Russia’s army; but they can bog Russia down, especially with anti-tank and anti-aircraft mobile weapons. The resistance demoralises the Russian troops who have no heart in this. However, it is only the 5th day

Meanwhile in Russia, interest rates have been raised to 20% in response to sanctions and the rouble has collapsed.

Putin knows how to hurt Ukrainians and Russians alike.

Belarus about to send troops in. Putin is a complete and utter liar.

If Putin needs Belarus troops, it shows how amateur this invasion was.

Ukraine definitely has the psychological and moral advantage.

The Russian troops are mainly young conscripts with no taste for killing fellow Slavs.

Many Russian families were unaware that their sons and brothers had been sent to Ukraine; some POWs have said they thought they were conducting military exercises, until they were given their orders, only hours before the invasion began. One family member said the Russian conscripts were 'cannon fodder'.

The Ukrainians, one the other hand, are fighting passionately for their homes, their families, their lives, their freedom.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/27/ukrainian-officials-upload-videos-of-captured-russian-soldiers-on-telegram

Russia has a right to rule over the breakaway regions of Ukraine,

and why do you believe this ? Because Putin said so ?

Its not a breakaway - a more appropriate word is ‘takeaway’

The photo above is and will forever be an epitaph.

What future for father and a child?

In my opinion it is right for Ukraine to be independent from Russian interference, but at the same time Russia has a right to rule over the breakaway regions of Ukraine, and Ukraine should have given those regions over BEFORE going to join NATO.

Putin already annexed Crimea and caused a war in the east. Under international law he has no such “right to rule”.

And there is still no suggestion that Ukraine was invited to join NATO - it seemed unlikely that 30 countries in the world would want to risk a war with Russia over a disputed and not very stable region.

Props to these Ukrainian people for showing some serious fortitude. My hope is the Russians turn on Putin after losing all of their money and being embarrassed on an international scale. Similar to Sadam and Khadafi

What are Putin’s options from here ?

1, He can retreat from Ukraine & look weak - which would result in Putin either being killed or overthrown by those beneath him.

2, He can stay in Ukraine and get bogged down in a bloody and expensive war that will gut the Russian armed forces and wreck the Russian economy with crippling sanctions - Again, He would be killed or overthrown

3, Last and the most disturbing option is He can drop a Nuclear weapon on Ukraine to force them to surrender. Putin would probably be able to keep his leadership, but he would be remembered as our generation's Hitler

Isn't Zelenskyy playing a blinder? Bravo!

Vladimir Vladimirovich, I suspect some Novichok has your name on it.

Let's see how successful Putin has been in accomplishing his objectives for starting this war;

He wanted to distract from stagnating economic conditions in Russia....failed, the Russian economy is crashing with the massive sanctions imposed by the West...

He wanted to fragment NATO and split the Alliance....failed, NATO is stronger today than it was just a month ago....

He wanted to ensure Ukraine would not join NATO.....failed, not only will Ukraine likely join NATO if they repel the Russians but every other Eastern European country, with the exception of Belarus, will be petitioning for entry also....

He wanted to look "strong".....failed, he recorded all his announcements prior to the invasion so he could hide in a bunker....while Zelinsky has showed each day he is the courageous one standing with his forces in the streets...

He wanted to weaken Biden and help re-elect Trump....failed, Biden checkmated him with his release of Putin's intentions and has led the West in sanctions...looking Presidential compared to Trump who praised the dictator as smart and savvy...

It's a crushing defeat for Putin - one that looking at Russian history he will likely not recover from - and will join the rest of the failed dictators in the Gulag or the grave...

Saw Putin's Russian macho speech. The belligerent threats uttered by the spluttering little red-faced goblin betrayed his deranged mental state rattled to eleven by the unexpected heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people. Putin's army is not the one which whupped the Wehrmacht.

Once again history will show a people fighting for their freedom from Russian aggression. Stalin and Putin are names that will live in infamy for killing Europeans in the name of Russian empire building.

A sad and pointless undertaking as in the end, no matter who Putin puts in charge, the people have shown they will overthrow Pro Russians and regain their freedom. All these deaths are for nought. A waste of life and futures for a madman's ambitions.

but at the same time Russia has a right to rule over the breakaway regions of Ukraine

I don't think anyone has a "right to rule". I've been critical of Ukraine before, and support the idea of self determination for the people on the Donbas regions. But that would require referendums and not invasions. I also said that one question was whether the Russian attack would lead to more or less killings than we have seen in Donbas over the last few years. If some reports of the deaths of Russian soldiers are correct, then it seems it is far worse. (Russian cannon fodder, as Cleo says above.)

Putin seems driven by the madness of nationalistic pride. Ugly and quite depressing.

Zelenskyy is right, Russia should be removed from the UN Security Council! Go Zelenskyy!!!!!

Zelenskyy calls for Russia to lose UN Security Council power, says Ukraine attack 'bears signs of genocide'

https://www.foxnews.com/world/zelenskyy-russia-un-security-council-ukraine-attack-genocide-belarus

Nearly 5,000 Russian troops were killed.

unfortunately most these were probably young men who were deceived by their leaders & didn’t want to be there

Watching Putin's performance on TV last night instructing his top generals to prepare all nuclear-weapons to 'special alert status', it was quite telling that, although he looked dead behind the eyes, he meant every single word of the implied threat that he will deploy the massive nuclear arsenal without the slightest hesitation. The generals must all be thinking that, if this is the case, a plot must be in place to prevent the world conflagration which they now see in Putin's totally deranged and psychopathic mindset as being his only choice, now he is losing face in the eyes of the world, as things don't seem to be panning-out as easily as he thought they would.

Surely there have to be many members of the Russian Dumas as well as significant military figures to create a situation in which Putin disappears, and make the announcement to the Russian people that the President is sick and has been advised to rest indefinitely.

We have to remain under no delusion whatsoever that if he is allowed or enabled to remain in post, nuclear weapons will be unleashed by him in Europe with the horrendous consequences which follow - this frightening scenario is guaranteed for the reason that Putin is now so desperate and cornered, that he will stop at nothing, such is the reality of the sudden escalation which occurs.

and make the announcement to the Russian people that the President is sick and has been advised to rest indefinitely.

He's beyond sick. What sort of lunatic looks at a map of Russia and thinks, "Hmm, needs to be a bit bigger".