Not that Trump would do it to his pal Putie pie, but I think all he would have to do is get another 20 billion or so in Ukraine aid passed to show we aren’t giving up, and Putin would come to the table for real. He is counting on running out the clock on both us and Ukraine right now.
US senate supposedly has bipartisan support for a bill for tougher sanctions that would target countries trading with Russia (China). Trump wants to wash his hands of the war but it won’t go away and will get more bloody for Ukraine. Sorry Dear Leader it’s on your watch. That’s the way the potus works, stop being weak. “Russia unleashed yet another massive aerial bombardment aimed at Ukrainian cities and towns before dawn on Monday, Since taking office, Mr. Trump has not approved a single new military assistance package for Ukraine and has not said whether he will spend the $3.85 billion Congress has already authorized for Kyiv. While the last shipments of weapons promised by the Biden administration are still making their way to the battlefield, no new weapons are in the pipeline. “The U.S. is slowly starving Ukraine of vital aid, which is very much understood and acted on by the Russians.” “trump - This is not Trump’s war.” Russia Intensifies Attacks on Ukraine as U.S. Steps Back
Former Russian president Medvedev wants a large "buffer zone" within Ukraine. He is willing to let Ukraine keep a tiny sliver of land next to the Polish border. Only one problem for Russia: at its current rate of advance, it will take 91 years to capture that land. Apparently he's hoping that some dimwitted president of the U.S. either hands it to him, or brings in troops to attack Ukraine. Why not ask for all of Europe, but allow a 20-km slice of land bordering the Atlantic Ocean for the Europeans? Presumably, Russia would be kind enough to allow any Ukrainians that don't fit in that tiny sliver of land to serve in New Russia as slaves and organ donors. It is also noted that at the current casualty rate per km of advance, this new goal will cost Russia 50 million soldiers. Time to suit up, granny. Russia's former president wants to seize a 'buffer zone' in Ukraine. It would take 91 years at Moscow's rate of advance.
I disagree, and it’s the bolded part I disagree with. We should do exactly what you said for the reasons you said it, but you may still assume that whatever Putin does will not be “for real” but will be some sort of a play for time and space to come back later when Russia’s position has improved. And unless we are willing to push this thing to a Russian strategic defeat (primarily through political and economic means, secondarily in the field), then the best you are going to get is an interruption in hostilities. Sadly, few people are willing to push Russia the way Russia demands to be pushed.
Answer to your question is yes, overthrow him. I disagree the shortest path are necessarily protracted losses on the battlefield. The old saying, money talks. Trump also keeps circling back to sanctions. The implication here is Trump has sanctions in mind that might actually have real world impact, as opposed to the many sanctions over the past three years which have clearly not. What those sanctions are, who knows? For this to work, Trump has to keep a door open for whomever takes over for Putin. The proposition has to be believable. If we help Ukraine do things like take out the bridge, etc, we risk realizing the Russians worst fears. Therefore, Trump has to show some restraint. If Putin is being unreasonable, the die has been cast. Time to push him out. Trump didn’t initiate all of this to turn around and go home. There will be a resolution one way or another. He’s telling Russia (not necessarily Putin) we can do this the hard way or the easy way.
I think if Putin truly sees a long term stalemate he will want this off his plate because it’s weakening him domestically and internationally. Us showing commitment to Ukraine could accomplish that. Could he then come back later (assuming he’s still in power) with some new trumped up provocation? Sure. But that also gives the west time to further arm Ukraine and prevent it. The only reason this war even started was because his intelligence services gave him an almost comically rosy view of how it would go. Hard to imagine he would have attacked if you had told him 3 years later his entire economic relationship with Europe would end, his country would be cut out of the free market economic system, have 20 percent domestic interest rates, his money overseas cut off, that he’d have a million casualties and likely set his economy back a decade, all to gain less than 20 percent of the country with no end in sight (assuming the west still steps up). He won’t make that mistake again, and will only attack if he knows he has a vastly superior force. The comparison is always WW2, when the allies capitulated from a place of weakness, Hitler rolled through his first few countries and scared the allies into trying to buy him off. That isn’t the case here, he needs an exit almost as badly as Ukraine does. The only question is whether he is willing to run his country into the ground over this war, and I think in the end the answer is no. But we will see. Jmo.
Another bad take, Lee Harvey. (Because everyone knows that coffin supply determines whether your freedom is worth fighting for or not. Pure foolishness.) Just stop the wars and hand countries to Russia. That should solve the problem...
Putin would come to the bargaining table when the Russian banks were completely out of money. And even then he would bluff to try to get more land.
he can't be gone soon enough. Not only has he not sent the weapons that were authorized by Congress niow Ukraine is only entitled to the level of defense they can afford. Tyrants need to make sure they only take over poor countries goign forward as they won't be able to afford US support run his trap about how terrible it is people dying.all it is, hot air thos missiles got through into Kyiv because they don't have enough defenses...he doesn't give a rats ass about innocent people US won’t give Patriots to Ukraine for free - Sales under discussion Ukraine urgently needs Patriot air defense systems, as supplies received during the Biden administration are running low. The administration of current US President Donald Trump is in no rush to deliver new shipments, The Washington Post reports. The outlet notes that while Russia continues to bombard Ukraine with drones and cruise missiles, ballistic missiles pose the greatest threat. Currently, only Patriot systems are capable of intercepting them. According to media reports, the shortage of Patriot missiles became especially evident over Memorial Day weekend, May 25–26, when Ukraine failed to intercept any of the nine ballistic missiles launched by Russia. Two of those were aimed at Kyiv.
Most likely due to ongoing negotiations behind the scenes, where nuclear threats would be counterproductive?
It seemed to be like the weekly "threat" from Putin but nothing lately, just seemed "interesting" and wondered why. Okeechobee explanation is probably best.
Or it could be the US isn’t doing shit to help Ukraine and threats are no longer necessary. While we’re wildly guessing.
this should have happened two years ago take that bridge down Germany and Ukraine’s other allies scrap range limits on arms sent to Kyiv | Germany | The Guardian The German chancellor has said that Germany, along with Ukraine’s other main western supporters, will remove range restrictions on weapons delivered to Kyiv for the first time, to enable it to defend itself against Russia. Friedrich Merz said Germany, Britain, France and the US had lifted the restrictions to enable Ukraine to be better able to hit military targets on Russian territory. “There are no longer any range restrictions on weapons delivered to Ukraine – neither by the British, nor by the French, nor by us, nor by the Americans,” he said on Monday, following Russia’s largest drone attack on Ukraine of the war to date. “This means that Ukraine can now defend itself, for example, by attacking military positions in Russia … with very few exceptions, it didn’t do that until recently. It can now do that.”
I don't come here as often lately, but I'm not sure how you arrive at "the US isn't doing shit to help Ukraine." Are we not still sending weapons over there?
Putin’s threats came after US started allowed long range missiles strikes. Putin wanted us to think twice about it. Nuclear war was a concern for Biden. However with Trump, that’s not an issue as he apparently won’t continue aid after the current batch. There is roughly $4B remaining from the aid package bill congress passed in 4/24. Trump has yet to pass an executive order drawing-down on those remaining funds. From nov….. “The updated document includes a change that allows for Moscow to launch a nuclear strike if attacked by a nonnuclear country, such as Ukraine, that is supported by a nuclear state, such as the U.S. It was formally approved the same day that Kyiv used its first U.S.-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles against Russia.” Putin takes his nuclear threats to a new level, but Ukraine's allies say they aren't rattled
I don’t believe we are since there’s still billions left that Congress already authorized. However, we are still providing valuable intel to Ukraine so we are doing something, if not as much as we could/should.