War in Ukraine

Not to mention the thugs literally carrying away washers, dryers, and refrigerators…

 

Yep that is why Russia rolled in and took their objective and now are taking additional land which they likely don't want to keep long term. Biden and company were morons pushing Ukraine to goad Russia even more like that.

As far as what is coming bookmark this post if you want - I don't care if there is additional sanctions or if more money is wasted on this by the US or not there is a 98% chance any agreement or prolonged ceasefire will only happen with Ukraine not getting control of Donbass back and Russia won't be allowing any NATO troops/units in there to enforce any peace agreement. Trump can get mad if Zelensky or Russia won't agree to something but Russia will not make a deal allowing those things as they have already took what they planned to take. Ukraine can play stupid and make Russia take more though that they can deal back later. Maybe the lefty media can run more fake news Ghost of Kiev type stories and that will change the result of this war.

 

Of course, they would. They also like seeing their products tested under combat conditions. I would, too.

 

You can be fairly critical of the way this President is handling the war without giving a pass to the last President for the feckless way he handled the war for three years.

 

This should come as a shower for those on this thread - and you know who you are - who’d much prefer to fight Russia to the last dead Ukrainian …

Ukrainian Population's Support For War Effort Collapses, Poll Shows | ZeroHedge

 

I was just in Alaska last week. Looks like I’m going to miss the show …

 

Does this mean I’ll be going to Russia every summer to see my little vnuchka ?

 

I believe the constitutional authority issue rests on the fact that Zelenskyy has far exceeded his term in office as allowed by the Ukrainian constitution. From that standpoint, President Trump has a valid point here. Decisions are being made to continue a war, whether right or wrong. If Zelenskyy has the authority to make those decisions, despite far exceeding his legal term in office, then it’s logical to conclude that he could make territory concessions as well. I mean, after all, if he’s going to rely on the constitutional authority argument, then he should resign immediately, shouldn’t he?

 

You are missing a key point. It’s the Ukrainian constitution keeping Zelensky in power due to its provisions about no executive elections during martial law. The constitution does not grant him the power to sell, forfeit, or trade Ukrainian territory. His point is still valid that he is going to have to go to the legislature to approve any treaty, just like our President would. And would we want any treaty not ratified by Ukraine’s legislature? One way or another, Zelensky won’t be in power forever. Do we want the next Ukrainian government immediately abrogating it? Of course, that is not the real risk. What exactly is going to happen is Russia throwing it out as soon as it thinks it can get away with it. But let’s take away the excuse they will cite that the treaty is no good because it was signed by an “illegitimate” chief executive. Zelensky is right. Any deal our President negotiates would ultimately have to be approved by Ukraine’s elected representatives. We can’t impose it. We can only encourage them to take it.

 

President Trump realizes all of this (do you really think he doesn’t?), as do I. The point still stands. What you described above is far cry from “I can’t do it.” Zelenskyy certainly can cede territory, even if he has to get approval through Ukrainian Parliament. Zelenskyy is trying to hide behind a procedural step as a means to sidestep these negotiations. President Trump is correct to call it out. Instead of blaming it on procedural matters, which Zelenskyy could easily arrange in quick order mind you, why not just flatly say “we’re not giving up any territory” and leave it there? The gamesmanship of hiding behind what would probably be a two-hour vote in Parliament at most (assuming Zelenskyy gave the green light), is stupid, and an insult to all of us.

 

It sounds like you think the Ukrainian legislature would vote away its own territory as a matter of course and Zelensky is simply an obstacle keeping them away from a vote. I don’t think Zelensky is hiding behind procedure. I think he’s just saying he thinks getting the legislature to agree to surrender territory is a pretty tall order. And I would have to agree. A security guarantee from NATO might do it, but then Russia would never agree, since the idea is to come back for the rest later. And hence the dilemma. And to answer your question, I have no idea what politicians do or do not actually understand.

 

Oh well. Guess Russia will just go on and finish the job now (albeit may take a few years at their pace).

 

If they think they can, then they absolutely should. That would be my best military advice. But I don’t think they can sustain either the military or the economic damage this war is doing to them. I think there’s a reason Putin is taking this meeting.

 

Merely comparing poor (Biden) to atrocious (Trump). I really don't think that Biden had the eloquence or popularity of a Ronald Reagan that would have been needed to convince Congress to spend more money in support of this war, and this war was bound to be much more costly than supporting Afghanistan, since the terrain was so much more formidable for Russia in Afghanistan. Biden probably could have done a lot more, but only by compromising other things on his agenda. Trump had the popularity, and possibly just enough eloquence, but lacked courage and conviction (he does not really understand why invading neighboring countries--because they have something you want--is wrong).

 

Zelenskyy is smart enough to know that ceding territory now to Russia in exchange for peace will only result in a second invasion later for the rest of the country. Some people aren't smart enough to see that far into the future. As soon as peace is declared, and troops move away from the front lines, Europe will stop supporting Ukraine. Europe will not do too much to rebuild Ukraine knowing that Russia is going to invade again in a few years. Why rebuild something that may only benefit Russia? So Ukraine's economy will not recover, and they will not be able to afford to re-build their military for the next invasion. This is Trump's gift to Ukraine: abandonment, followed by enslavement. Should be worth a Noble Peace Prize.

 

It looks like a race to see who will lose this war first. Will Ukraine run out of will to fight before Russia runs out of money to fight? Trump has already run out of courage and integrity, so that won't help Ukraine.

Russia Punches Through Ukrainian Lines In Deepest Advance In A Year

 

I’m not pleased with our current policy toward Russia, either. But any fair comparison is going to have to wait until either the war is over or Trump has had three years but the war continues with no end in sight. As far as I can tell, we are not on the cusp of either scenario.

 

It's an insult to all of us that Ukraine does not want to give away its territory with no security guarantee that Russia will restart the attack after they train some more clowns and/or find some more North Koreans to throw at the front line