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© Thomson Reuters 2024.Ukraine outnumbered, outgunned, ground down by relentless Russia
By Max Hunder KRAMATORSK, Ukraine©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
47 Comments
2020hindsights
Drones are a disrupter for this war. There is a huge investment in militech in the US that are experimenting with AI powered drone that can be used by Ukraine on the battlefield.
UChosePoorly
Stay strong Ukrainians! This too shall pass.
JJE
The ultimate decider of this conflict will be the Loss Exchange Ratio - rather than territory gained like a game of Panzer General. The western puppet masters understood the Russian war machine was gearing up and forced Kyiv into a fool hardy counter offensive last summer before the window closed.
Russia has to keep forcing UAF into pear shaped defensive battles that force them to hold or lose territory permanently. They are in a classic Catch-22 situation: hold static positions and the Russians attrite them or withdraw from defensive positions ceding territory forever. The average age is 43 and unit strength is becoming a joke. They don't have the chance for an "elastic defense" meaning they have lost their offensive potential. It's now all defensive like the Germans post-Kursk.
The demographics long-term of Ukraine is a shocker. If they don't reverse course very soon it'll be an irreparable blow to their statehood.
TokyoLiving
The hidden truth, which no one in the west wants to accept since the war began, is inevitably coming to light..
It's a lost was for Ukraine..
The best they can do is accept peace capitulations with Russia and stop this lost war for its own sake..
Blacklabel
Aren’t they “winning” though? we have been insistently and incessantly told that for years here.
bass4funk
You and I don’t always agree on issues, but on this one, I couldn’t agree more. Had the U.S. not involve itself in the first tried peace negotiations with Russia and refrained from joining NATO the country wouldn’t be in shambles and thousands of lives on both sides wouldn’t have been lost and thousands of years of history would still be intact.
2020hindsights
bass4funk
Sure. And Ukraine would be a territory of Russia in that scenario.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Shame doesn't even begin to describe repeating Kremlin talking points: withdrawal was never on the table and a ceasefire with terrorists right next to your capital isn't acceptable either. Also an unconditional ceasefire wasn't on the table.
Ukraine applied in 2008. Why wasn't there an attempt to eliminate Ukraine as a nation by Russia then?
Not shamelessly counting pennies while Ukraine burns would keep Ukraine's independence and American credibility intact.
Strangerland
The extremist logic seems to be that this would preferable to making Putin angry.
bass4funk
Maybe.
I disagree.
Well, and here we are.
I don’t know and frankly, don’t lose sleep or dwell on it.
Hmmm…
TaiwanIsNotChina
Sources that the West forced Ukraine into a count offensive or it didn't happen.
Russia doesn't have to do anything so barbaric. The civilized thing to do would be to withdraw, declare its not a horde state anymore and apologize.
UChosePoorly
Bass4Funk - most Americans don’t want Russia gaining more people, territory, and resources to continue to fight. We will continue to help Ukraine and Ukraine will continue to resist.
UChosePoorly
Again, most decent people don’t want to see nations conquered and subjugated. Freedom is preferred.
TaiwanIsNotChina
And I'm sure you would be doing that after two years with no artillery shells to fire back, right? Because you are a brave boy? Face it: Ukraine showed us all how they can send Russians to their graves like beds but they weren't given the means to survive.
15 million decided otherwise I guess.
bass4funk
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-public-support-declines-arming-ukraine-reutersipsos-2023-10-05/
So far, House Republicans say, No.
2020hindsights
bass4funk
Sure. And Ukraine would be a territory of Russia in that scenario.
And then they invade Poland or Estonia, with Ukrainian troops.
bass4funk
Hasn’t happened yet, calm down and don’t over-extend yourself.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Still Putin's War. Ukrainians know this.
kurisupisu
There is an estimated number of 10,000,000 Ukrainians living outside their own country.
Before the Russian invasion private planes were reported to have departed in significant numbers from the country.
Russians in the hundreds of thousands have done the same.
I have witnessed large numbers of both in Thailand.
The people with means have fled leaving the poor to remain.
bass4funk
No, I said that I don’t care
I really don’t care if it does or not.
So far, they haven’t and Ukraine is running out of time.
No, it’s not.
The support also includes nonmilitary assistance. About $8 billion would go to help Ukraine’s government continue basic operations with a prohibition on money going toward pensions. And there’s about $1.6 billion to help Ukraine’s private sector.
Again, No!!
plasticmonkey
Do you believe that it's important for the US to have allies? Years ago you thought so, but then you had a conversion experience.
A world in which the US is an unpredictable or unstable presence is a very dangerous wish.
Quo Primum
Two years later, and still no one has been able to explain why exactly anyone in Japan or in my country should care about who controls which pieces of land in Ukraine.
I didn’t care when this started, and I care even less now.
We've dumped scores of billions of dollars & hundreds of billions of yen into this. And for what?
This doesn't mean I'm okay with Russia's military action. I'm not. This whole invading-and-occupying thing is so 1930s.
But how does this impact us at all?
And please, none of this "we have to stop Russia now, or they'll invade other places too" nonsense.
Please. That attitude is so 1930s too.
As bad as Putin is, the idea that he's going to invade Poland, or the Baltics, or anyone else? That's absurd.
We've given massive piles of money and aid over the past two years to a country which -- no matter who heads it up -- has consistently demonstrated since its establishment in 1992 that it's one of the most corrupt governments in the world.
Again, nobody has given me one good reason why we should care about this so much. It seems to be nothing more than pure over-emotionalism.
Quo Primum
Well put.
Besides there being no impact or importance at all on the rest of the world as to who control which pieces of ugly, nondescript land in the Ukraine ... it's also a lost cause.
And we shouldn't continue to fund a lost cause that nobody logically should care about.
We have plenty of problems at home to address.
That's what Putin told America in his Tucker Carlson interview -- and as much as I loathe Putin, he was 100% undeniably correct about that.
Haaa Nemui
So little freedom that even pro-war Russian bloggers are offing themselves for revealing the truth about Russian casualties in the taking of Avdiivka.
UChosePoorly
Who are you to tell Ukrainians how they should feel about being invaded? We help others because we someday may need help is what my parents taught me. What did yours say on the subject of helping others?
HopeSpringsEternal
Ukraine pathway to victory with more $funding, another desperate selfish attempt to buy time in order to save Biden & European Politicians from being voted out.
Few believe Ukraine can win this war, especially growing number of Ukrainians, if you believe Ukraine's former Top General's views, who just stepped down, and Time Magazine's recent Ukraine survey work below, more and more desire negotiated peace vs. war.
How Ukraine Is Really Doing
Time Magazine
BY SURIYA JAYANTI FEBRUARY 16, 2024
bass4funk
Of course.
No, no change. But I don’t think that ally friendship should jump ahead of US national interests domestically.
I wish the U.S. were that, but with this administration it is so predictable, I truly understand why Vlad likes and wants Biden to be President. You can see him a mile coming.
2020hindsights
Quo Primum
Well, it's what they are talking about on Russian TV. ISW is also reporting that Putin is looking at Estonia.
Just like Russia will never invade Ukraine, right?
What do you think Putin will do if Trump was in power? Trump's already said that he won't invoke article 5.
UChosePoorly
Bass - what if the non-military aid were cut and we are just sending surplus arms that would cost us more to dispose of?
I know you are a dollars and cents kind of guy, so is this something that could work to get help to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan?
plasticmonkey
I truly understand why you believe Vlad's to be an honest statement.
ian
So they finally admitted?
if they did that from the start maybe there would have been a greater chance of them getting the support they need in time
HopeSpringsEternal
Americans also clearly moving away from continued military support of Ukraine in polls. There are no clear objectives to continued fighting, simply more death, risk, damage and cost to Ukraine and the WORLD.
Nobody believes Putin wants nuclear war with NATO, he's simply ensuring new Russian citizens in former Ukraine areas safely partitioned from Kiev to resolve their 10year Civil War, MUCH like Yugoslavia 25 years ago.
ian
Does it really need to be said?
Does anyone really want a nuclear war?
UChosePoorly
When the world needs to be destroyed, we will all know. We aren’t there yet.
ian
But there's lots of aid lined up for Ukraine still though it's for reconstruction. Maybe it's a hint?
UChosePoorly
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Filter
bass4funk
I really don’t think you don’t.
Haaa Nemui
Agreed, as do all of us who oppose the war.
In the 1930s they were right.
There is another 1930s attitude that resulted in further invasion, occupation and oppression, and you’re displaying it here. “It’s not our war!!”
Until it is.
HopeSpringsEternal
Yes, important people understand Putin's rational actor and has no insane ambitions regarding NATO territory.
Putin's legally assisting those new Russia citizens who have achieve their legal independence for CAUSE in former Ukraine, due to human, property and citizenship rights violations by Zelensky Admin starting in 2014 and escalating under Biden Admin in 2021.
HopeSpringsEternal
Not just any old opinion recent on the war, US Military Elite and Political insiders below.
2020hindsights
HopeSpringsEternal
Nobody believes Putin wants nuclear war with NATO,
Does it really need to be said?
Does anyone really want a nuclear war?
That's not what Russian TV is saying.
If Trump is in power, do you think he will come to Estonia's aid?
Putin won't invade Ukraine.
Does it really need to be said?
Putin won't kill Navalny.
Does it really need to be said?
Putin won't invade Estonia.
Does it really need to be said?
HopeSpringsEternal
Media strictly propaganda on BOTH sides, plenty of crazy talk on both sides. But nobody's surprised at Navalny death given the level of his betrayal to Russia.
Estonia's potential undemocratic treatment of their Russian speaking citizens is certainly a serious risk. Let's hope Democracy means something in Estonia, where all citizens are treated and protected equally, unlike this Ukraine Civil War madness starting in 2014.
Meanwhile Ukraine crumbles, time for peace and stability there and globally, as there's no military path.
Strangerland
Nobody's surprised Putin executed Navalnty to get rid of him due his loyalty to the motherland over the dictator Putin.