Will Russia Emerge As The Next Dominant Superpower

[galambo]

So this all leads me to have more confidence in such US terrorist bases existing in Ukraine.

Honestly this war would be long ago over if usa don't poke nose in other countries business. Itz ukarine fault that why they poked Russia on orders of usa and EU. USA after 2nd World War didn't started any war on its soil rather it have its war on other countries soils. Usa itself is completely safe for its inhabitants while rest of the world is facing destruction as part of usa peace process in the world.

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[DrBeer]

Like you, I always ask ONE simple question - and on the basis of what arguments did you decide that the United States has a desire to attack Russia? Why do they need it? What are the goals of such an action, in your opinion?
I beg you - just do not say "seize our resources" - this is really very funny!
And so, please answer this extremely simple question - what is the main goal of the US attack on Russia?

US is already attacking Russia but through a proxy called Ukraine. The reason is also pretty simple, competition. To put simply Russia was growing stronger while US was growing weaker so they needed to create an Afghanistan 2.0 for Russia so that they get caught for a long time like US did for 20 years and spent $7 trillion. Ukraine was a very good Afghanistan 2.0.

It's also to destabilize the region, increase the energy cost (US is also selling its very expensive-to-extract oil at a higher price), mess up Europe economy and force them to increase their military budget (something Trump couldn't do despite all his pressure), possibly move even further east (Finland and Sweden joining NATO), distract Russia from Syria so that US can revive ISIS again (which failed miserably), ...

Stop stop stop! Putinzhe officially declared - this is a special operation against Ukraine blablabla. You do not trust Putin? Are you saying that he is a cheap star? Why is he lying so stupidly and primitively to everyone? Do you want to say that he is afraid of the USA, since he hides information that he is at war with the USA?

And once again the question is - what resources, and from whom, in your opinion, do these insidious states want to take away?

[og kush420]

Stop stop stop! Putinzhe officially declared - this is a special operation against Ukraine blablabla. You do not trust Putin? Are you saying that he is a cheap star? Why is he lying so stupidly and primitively to everyone? Do you want to say that he is afraid of the USA, since he hides information that he is at war with the USA?

And once again the question is - what resources, and from whom, in your opinion, do these insidious states want to take away?

Putin is uncontrollable - Russia is powerful and they will keep invading Ukraine till they get what they want.
But the war in this time is horrible although Ukraine didn't turn out to be a weak country but they were asking for ceasefire - Russia should have a soft corner for the other people as well.

[Wind_FURY]

Stop stop stop! Putinzhe officially declared - this is a special operation against Ukraine blablabla. You do not trust Putin? Are you saying that he is a cheap star? Why is he lying so stupidly and primitively to everyone? Do you want to say that he is afraid of the USA, since he hides information that he is at war with the USA?

And once again the question is - what resources, and from whom, in your opinion, do these insidious states want to take away?

Putin is uncontrollable - Russia is powerful and they will keep invading Ukraine till they get what they want.
But the war in this time is horrible although Ukraine didn't turn out to be a weak country but they were asking for ceasefire - Russia should have a soft corner for the other people as well.

There will never truly be peace in that region after the invasion. The U.S., U.K., Germany, and the rest of NATO will keep sending weapons to Ukraine and the other territories around that region. Why? Because they know they have lost, but what they can do is destabilize the region and make it harder for Russia to truly conquer, and get control.

[Hydrogen]

Bumping this to check if views have changed over the last two months.

When I made this thread I thought I was saying: water is wet.

One possible outcome for russia may have been obvious given general economic and political conditions across the world.

Some digressed. Perhaps now we have a clearer picture.

[DrBeer]

During World War II the world's major powers were bombed back to the stone age. With the exception of two nations. Russia and the united states. This set the stage for america and russia to emerge as the world's dominant superpowers leading into the cold war, korean war and vietnam war which followed.

Both the USSR and USA enjoyed the luxury of surviving World War II with their territories and economies largely intact. Profiting handsomely by loaning capital to other nations to rebuild. While the rest of the world toiled under debt and reconstruction efforts.

Looking at the current era a similar trend could emerge. America, the european union and china all carry large ratios of debt to GDP close to 100%. Russia's debt to GDP ratio is by far the smallest of any major power at around 20%. If a major recession hit global markets a case could be made for russia's government and economy being best structured to weather it. Russia is one of the most self sufficient nations in terms of raw materials, food and energy production. Russia also has many other world powers reliant and dependent on them for natural gas and other resources.

Long story short russia has many advantages over the USA, EU and china if an economic crisis hits.

If global markets are devastated by a crisis, russia is (in my opinion) the number #1 prospect to emerge as the next dominant superpower.

To avoid this, I think the united states would do well to keep its economy strong. As a hedge against russian encroachment. There isn't much alternative deterrent.

While russia's invasion of ukraine has stalled. Russia isn't trying very hard. They don't have to. They simply have to wait for the next big economic crisis when free money and support thrown at ukraine can no longer be funded. Then resistance may well crumble.

The best deterrent against invasion and war may be a strong economy with enough liquidity to make invasion too high priced too consider. Our current era with high deficits and weak economies could be interpreted as an open invitation for ambitious regimes like russia to invade us.

On the plus side if russia is the next dominant superpower they may be bitcoin friendly. At least that would be one positive thing we might look forward to in the horror show that could be the future.

Everything is described very nicely. You only missed 1 small but critically important nuance. A technologically backward, totalitarian, country built on lies, theft and aggression - cannot, in a normal world, be a leader!
Can, in your opinion, a person - socially degraded, eternally drunk, stealing everything he sees, offending the weak, squealing and urinating in his pants, when he deserves to be punched in the face by a strong one, become the leader of the state? EVEN let it be separate ... well, let it be a university? Sociums where educated, cultured, law and order-respecting citizens live? NO ! If he can become a "leader" - then only among the same downgraded and degraded personalities. Total: Russia can become a leader among North Korea, and such sewers as the DNR/LNR/Abkhazia/PMR. Although no .. North Korea is not such an idiot country

[Ozero]

So this all leads me to have more confidence in such US terrorist bases existing in Ukraine.

Honestly this war would be long ago over if usa don't poke nose in other countries business. Itz ukarine fault that why they poked Russia on orders of usa and EU. USA after 2nd World War didn't started any war on its soil rather it have its war on other countries soils. Usa itself is completely safe for its inhabitants while rest of the world is facing destruction as part of usa peace process in the world.

The cynicism of your reasoning here just rolls over. Are you saying that the war in Ukraine would have ended long ago if the United States had not provided military and other assistance to Ukraine? Yes, Ukraine in this case, perhaps, would have been captured by Russia and destroyed as a state, and Ukrainians as a nation. At the same time, the leadership of Ukraine would have been shot or tortured along with a significant part of the civilian population, as the Russians did in the suburbs of Kyiv, when they believed that the war would soon end in victory for them. After the liberation of this territory, more than one and a half thousand civilian corpses, including women and children, were found in the Kyiv region alone, with signs of torture and violent death. Are you talking about such a desired result on this forum?
I just did not understand what is the fault of Ukraine here. The fact that she began to defend herself against aggression and defend her freedom and independence? And the Ukrainian army is now defending itself very effectively. The wolf ridge of Russia has already been broken practically in Ukraine.

[bittraffic]

So this all leads me to have more confidence in such US terrorist bases existing in Ukraine.

Honestly this war would be long ago over if usa don't poke nose in other countries business. Itz ukarine fault that why they poked Russia on orders of usa and EU. USA after 2nd World War didn't started any war on its soil rather it have its war on other countries soils. Usa itself is completely safe for its inhabitants while rest of the world is facing destruction as part of usa peace process in the world.

The cynicism of your reasoning here just rolls over. Are you saying that the war in Ukraine would have ended long ago if the United States had not provided military and other assistance to Ukraine? Yes, Ukraine in this case, perhaps, would have been captured by Russia and destroyed as a state, and Ukrainians as a nation. At the same time, the leadership of Ukraine would have been shot or tortured along with a significant part of the civilian population, as the Russians did in the suburbs of Kyiv, when they believed that the war would soon end in victory for them. After the liberation of this territory, more than one and a half thousand civilian corpses, including women and children, were found in the Kyiv region alone, with signs of torture and violent death. Are you talking about such a desired result on this forum?
I just did not understand what is the fault of Ukraine here. The fact that she began to defend herself against aggression and defend her freedom and independence? And the Ukrainian army is now defending itself very effectively. The wolf ridge of Russia has already been broken practically in Ukraine.

We don't really have the truth with us since all of them have propaganda to spread. But you just have to analyze the truth for yourself like the shelling of nuclear power plant. Why Russia would try to destroy the nuclear power plant is likely untrue as they have controlled the region itself, and there is no need for them to bomb the surrounding of the nuclear powerplant.

Like many dead civilians, I guess Russians are shooting where they are. But the propaganda as well is that Ukrainians are storing weapons in kindergartens buildings or Civilian buildings. Things like these happen in every war zone.

[NotATether]

While russia's invasion of ukraine has stalled. Russia isn't trying very hard. They don't have to. They simply have to wait for the next big economic crisis when free money and support thrown at ukraine can no longer be funded. Then resistance may well crumble.

On the plus side if russia is the next dominant superpower they may be bitcoin friendly. At least that would be one positive thing we might look forward to in the horror show that could be the future.

These two statements are contradictory.

If you're wasting your resources in a war, then you are running out of money and have to borrow more from other countries, which means you lose your superpower status <Russia>.

And wasting resources in wars is exactly what America did for the last two decades. The only reason why they are still a superpower is because the dollar is the world reserve currency. Take that away and what do you have? Everything crumbles away to a third country, perhaps China.

[Ozero]

So this all leads me to have more confidence in such US terrorist bases existing in Ukraine.

Honestly this war would be long ago over if usa don't poke nose in other countries business. Itz ukarine fault that why they poked Russia on orders of usa and EU. USA after 2nd World War didn't started any war on its soil rather it have its war on other countries soils. Usa itself is completely safe for its inhabitants while rest of the world is facing destruction as part of usa peace process in the world.

The cynicism of your reasoning here just rolls over. Are you saying that the war in Ukraine would have ended long ago if the United States had not provided military and other assistance to Ukraine? Yes, Ukraine in this case, perhaps, would have been captured by Russia and destroyed as a state, and Ukrainians as a nation. At the same time, the leadership of Ukraine would have been shot or tortured along with a significant part of the civilian population, as the Russians did in the suburbs of Kyiv, when they believed that the war would soon end in victory for them. After the liberation of this territory, more than one and a half thousand civilian corpses, including women and children, were found in the Kyiv region alone, with signs of torture and violent death. Are you talking about such a desired result on this forum?
I just did not understand what is the fault of Ukraine here. The fact that she began to defend herself against aggression and defend her freedom and independence? And the Ukrainian army is now defending itself very effectively. The wolf ridge of Russia has already been broken practically in Ukraine.

We don't really have the truth with us since all of them have propaganda to spread. But you just have to analyze the truth for yourself like the shelling of nuclear power plant. Why Russia would try to destroy the nuclear power plant is likely untrue as they have controlled the region itself, and there is no need for them to bomb the surrounding of the nuclear powerplant.

Like many dead civilians, I guess Russians are shooting where they are. But the propaganda as well is that Ukrainians are storing weapons in kindergartens buildings or Civilian buildings. Things like these happen in every war zone.

I can answer your question about the situation around the Zaporozhye NPP.

Putin and his entourage have already understood that the war in Ukraine is lost for them and are trying to blackmail the inhabitants of the planet with the nuclear threat they themselves created. They need this in order to quickly end the unsuccessfully launched war on more or less acceptable terms for themselves. Having seized the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in Ukraine, they interfere in the technological processes, placed artillery and multiple launch rocket systems on its territory and fire them at other settlements in Ukraine, hoping that they will not be fired at in response. Recently, they have mined the nuclear power plant and spread the word that if they have to withdraw, they will blow it up. In this case, the scale of the accident will exceed the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant by about ten times. In addition, they themselves began to fire at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant and say that the Ukrainians are doing it. Why do they need it?

Now, on the right bank of the Dnieper in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, the most combat-ready units of the two Russian armies, totaling approximately 20,000 people, are practically surrounded. Four bridges, through which the Russians could supply these troops with equipment and ammunition, are now damaged by the Armed Forces of Ukraine and it is no longer possible to transport anything over them. In addition, these bridges are under the full fire control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which are capable of striking them at any time. Russia can no longer do anything about this, since Russia already has problems with "live meat", and every day the Armed Forces of Ukraine methodically deliver precision strikes against ammunition depots, command posts and concentrations of Russian troops. Under such conditions, Putin's entourage is looking for ways to end the war, or at least withdraw troops from the region without looking like a defeat. So they create tension around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in order to explain the need to demilitarize this territory and explain the reason for the withdrawal of their troops from it. Although it will be very difficult to withdraw. Russian troops pressed against the Dnieper will have to abandon their unfinished military equipment and cross the wide Dnieper by swimming or using improvised means. In the near future we will see how further events will unfold.

[tygeade]

The cynicism of your reasoning here just rolls over. Are you saying that the war in Ukraine would have ended long ago if the United States had not provided military and other assistance to Ukraine? Yes, Ukraine in this case, perhaps, would have been captured by Russia and destroyed as a state, and Ukrainians as a nation. At the same time, the leadership of Ukraine would have been shot or tortured along with a significant part of the civilian population, as the Russians did in the suburbs of Kyiv, when they believed that the war would soon end in victory for them. After the liberation of this territory, more than one and a half thousand civilian corpses, including women and children, were found in the Kyiv region alone, with signs of torture and violent death. Are you talking about such a desired result on this forum?

The people who are in full support of Russia and Putin will always come out and say "Ukraine war wouldn't happen if USA and EU didn't cause it" because in their mind it means "Ukraine would have been in under Russian control" and nothing more. They are basically saying that Ukraine should have been left powerless to start a war or defend one.

We all know that the first action was taken by Russia, Ukraine did nothing but just responded them and that’s it, there is nothing that Ukraine started, if Russia leaves all Ukrainian lands tomorrow, Ukraine won't attack them. Hence, it shows that Russia only wants west to get out in order to take whole of Ukraine and nothing more.

[Argoo]

The cynicism of your reasoning here just rolls over. Are you saying that the war in Ukraine would have ended long ago if the United States had not provided military and other assistance to Ukraine? Yes, Ukraine in this case, perhaps, would have been captured by Russia and destroyed as a state, and Ukrainians as a nation. At the same time, the leadership of Ukraine would have been shot or tortured along with a significant part of the civilian population, as the Russians did in the suburbs of Kyiv, when they believed that the war would soon end in victory for them. After the liberation of this territory, more than one and a half thousand civilian corpses, including women and children, were found in the Kyiv region alone, with signs of torture and violent death. Are you talking about such a desired result on this forum?

The people who are in full support of Russia and Putin will always come out and say "Ukraine war wouldn't happen if USA and EU didn't cause it" because in their mind it means "Ukraine would have been in under Russian control" and nothing more. They are basically saying that Ukraine should have been left powerless to start a war or defend one.

We all know that the first action was taken by Russia, Ukraine did nothing but just responded them and that’s it, there is nothing that Ukraine started, if Russia leaves all Ukrainian lands tomorrow, Ukraine won't attack them. Hence, it shows that Russia only wants west to get out in order to take whole of Ukraine and nothing more.

Absolutely right. In Russia, the goals and reasons for the attack on Ukraine are periodically changed, and this testifies to the constant and continuous lies that now permeate the entire domestic and foreign policy of this state. Russia needs Ukraine, its territory, its hardworking and intelligent people, it needs its history to appropriate it for itself, but it does not need an independent state itself and does not need a freedom-loving nation next to this authoritarian country.
Ukraine posed no threat to Russia, whether it was in NATO or not. But Ukraine in NATO would be inaccessible to Russian attack, and therefore they rushed to try to capture it. Thus, Russia made a fatal mistake for itself.

[be.open]

The cynicism of your reasoning here just rolls over. Are you saying that the war in Ukraine would have ended long ago if the United States had not provided military and other assistance to Ukraine? Yes, Ukraine in this case, perhaps, would have been captured by Russia and destroyed as a state, and Ukrainians as a nation. At the same time, the leadership of Ukraine would have been shot or tortured along with a significant part of the civilian population, as the Russians did in the suburbs of Kyiv, when they believed that the war would soon end in victory for them. After the liberation of this territory, more than one and a half thousand civilian corpses, including women and children, were found in the Kyiv region alone, with signs of torture and violent death. Are you talking about such a desired result on this forum?

The people who are in full support of Russia and Putin will always come out and say "Ukraine war wouldn't happen if USA and EU didn't cause it" because in their mind it means "Ukraine would have been in under Russian control" and nothing more. They are basically saying that Ukraine should have been left powerless to start a war or defend one.

We all know that the first action was taken by Russia, Ukraine did nothing but just responded them and that’s it, there is nothing that Ukraine started, if Russia leaves all Ukrainian lands tomorrow, Ukraine won't attack them. Hence, it shows that Russia only wants west to get out in order to take whole of Ukraine and nothing more.

Absolutely right. In Russia, the goals and reasons for the attack on Ukraine are periodically changed, and this testifies to the constant and continuous lies that now permeate the entire domestic and foreign policy of this state. Russia needs Ukraine, its territory, its hardworking and intelligent people, it needs its history to appropriate it for itself, but it does not need an independent state itself and does not need a freedom-loving nation next to this authoritarian country.
Ukraine posed no threat to Russia, whether it was in NATO or not. But Ukraine in NATO would be inaccessible to Russian attack, and therefore they rushed to try to capture it. Thus, Russia made a fatal mistake for itself.

This is not true, the goals of the special operation have remained unchanged since February 2022 - the protection and liberation of Donbas, the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine. The geography of the operation has slightly changed, since the authorities in Kyiv turned out to be incapable of negotiating and refuse to negotiate, the original terms of the peace agreement are now irrelevant. This is Putin's usual way of negotiating - his first offer is the best, and then the conditions get worse. Now Ukraine will at least lose the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, as well as Kharkov, Nikolaev and Odessa.

I can answer your question about the situation around the Zaporozhye NPP.

Putin and his entourage have already understood that the war in Ukraine is lost for them and are trying to blackmail the inhabitants of the planet with the nuclear threat they themselves created. They need this in order to quickly end the unsuccessfully launched war on more or less acceptable terms for themselves. Having seized the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in Ukraine, they interfere in the technological processes, placed artillery and multiple launch rocket systems on its territory and fire them at other settlements in Ukraine, hoping that they will not be fired at in response. Recently, they have mined the nuclear power plant and spread the word that if they have to withdraw, they will blow it up. In this case, the scale of the accident will exceed the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant by about ten times. In addition, they themselves began to fire at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant and say that the Ukrainians are doing it. Why do they need it?

Now, on the right bank of the Dnieper in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, the most combat-ready units of the two Russian armies, totaling approximately 20,000 people, are practically surrounded. Four bridges, through which the Russians could supply these troops with equipment and ammunition, are now damaged by the Armed Forces of Ukraine and it is no longer possible to transport anything over them. In addition, these bridges are under the full fire control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which are capable of striking them at any time. Russia can no longer do anything about this, since Russia already has problems with "live meat", and every day the Armed Forces of Ukraine methodically deliver precision strikes against ammunition depots, command posts and concentrations of Russian troops. Under such conditions, Putin's entourage is looking for ways to end the war, or at least withdraw troops from the region without looking like a defeat. So they create tension around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in order to explain the need to demilitarize this territory and explain the reason for the withdrawal of their troops from it. Although it will be very difficult to withdraw. Russian troops pressed against the Dnieper will have to abandon their unfinished military equipment and cross the wide Dnieper by swimming or using improvised means. In the near future we will see how further events will unfold.

I think soon IAEA inspectors and UN commissioners will arrive at the nuclear power plant and determine who is shelling it. So far, Russia has strengthened the air defense system and managed to intercept all of today's shells that continue to fly to the nuclear power plant from the territory of Ukraine controlled by Kyiv.

[Argoo]

@be.open. You say that the goal of Russia's "special operation" in Ukraine in February was the protection and liberation of Donbass, the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine. I wonder how, in your understanding, a special operation in this case differs from a war, if you use this term?

Protecting the population of Donbass must first of all include physical protection. What we observed in the Donbass can hardly be called protection. Not being able to break through the defenses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Russian invaders chose the traditional tactics of a barrage of fire. This is when a certain territory is shelled with artillery and other various types of weapons, after which the Russians go almost to scorched earth. The percentage of civilians in Donbass with such tactics of "liberation" remains very small. In this case, the Russians do not conquer cities and other settlements, but practically only ruins, mostly destroying its civilians. I understand that this is what you call the protection and liberation of the inhabitants of Donbass.

If the term "demilitarization" can mean the destruction of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, then what does "denazification" mean in your understanding? Even in Russia itself, this is still not understood. Should this be understood as the destruction of Ukraine as a nation?
But if we look at how the events unfolded, then from February 24, the Russians wanted to quickly seize the entire territory of Ukraine from three sides at once. Having lost a huge number of troops and equipment, they were forced to leave the northern and central parts of Ukraine in order to avoid complete defeat. And then the plans of the invaders changed: realizing that they could not capture the whole of Ukraine, they focused only on the capture of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and southern Ukraine. And how, the "special operation" has been going according to plan for the sixth month already? The next gesture of "goodwill" will most likely be the retreat from the right bank of the Ukraine from the Dnieper of that approximately 20,000-strong grouping, which actually fell into an encirclement. It is still possible for the Russians to escape on foot across the dilapidated bridges. Next, you just have to swim.

[pooya87]

The people who are in full support of Russia and Putin will always come out and say "Ukraine war wouldn't happen if USA and EU didn't cause it" because in their mind it means "Ukraine would have been in under Russian control" and nothing more.

Sometimes people confuse analyzing an ongoing situation with a different view compared to what the propaganda media is telling you with supporting Russia. The truth is that any aggression against another sovereign nation is the same but that doesn't change the fact about the reasons for this invasion.

I'm certain that 90% of those who are condemning this war and this war alone can not show me another post of theirs that have condemned other wars that US, EU and specifically Ukraine have been involved in as the aggressor. Like invasion and destruction of Iraq where Ukraine supplied the third most number of troops and some of you still claim it was a "peace keeping mission"!!!

[amishmanish]

Kremlin is tumbling under pressure. Russian economy is in its weakest phase after cold war and people seem not in a good mood to let Putin continue. I see we might see a big change in Russia in future, who knows Russia might take democratic way in future. Let's hope for best and lest hope war ends

[be.open]

@be.open. You say that the goal of Russia's "special operation" in Ukraine in February was the protection and liberation of Donbass, the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine. I wonder how, in your understanding, a special operation in this case differs from a war, if you use this term?

From the point of view of Ukraine, this is a war. From Russia's point of view, this is a special military operation. The key difference is that Russia is conducting this operation with a peacetime army, without mass mobilization. Simply put, Ukraine has deployed 100% of its military potential and attracted significant Western military assistance in this conflict, while Russia has deployed a maximum of 15% of its military potential.

Protecting the population of Donbass must first of all include physical protection. What we observed in the Donbass can hardly be called protection. Not being able to break through the defenses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Russian invaders chose the traditional tactics of a barrage of fire. This is when a certain territory is shelled with artillery and other various types of weapons, after which the Russians go almost to scorched earth. The percentage of civilians in Donbass with such tactics of "liberation" remains very small. In this case, the Russians do not conquer cities and other settlements, but practically only ruins, mostly destroying its civilians. I understand that this is what you call the protection and liberation of the inhabitants of Donbass.

Russia is using barrage-of-fire tactics to break into the fortified areas of the Armed Forces of Ukraine that Ukraine has built in Donbas during its eight years of aggression against the Russian-speaking population. There have been no civilians in Avdiivka for a long time, so only soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine suffer from massive shelling. Where there are civilians, Russia uses precision-guided strikes.

If the term "demilitarization" can mean the destruction of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, then what does "denazification" mean in your understanding? Even in Russia itself, this is still not understood. Should this be understood as the destruction of Ukraine as a nation?

In Russia, we are well aware of what denazification is, and no, this does not mean the destruction of Ukraine as a nation. It's just that next year in January in Kyiv there will be no traditional torchlight procession in honor of Bandera - that's what denazification is. And before the end of the summer, a tribunal will begin in the Donbas against the militants of Azov with swastikas on tattoos - this is also denazification. Denazification is not directed against the Ukrainian nation, but against the ultra-right Ukrainian nationalists, who turned out to be so widespread in Ukraine that the national battalions are part of the cadre of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

But if we look at how the events unfolded, then from February 24, the Russians wanted to quickly seize the entire territory of Ukraine from three sides at once. Having lost a huge number of troops and equipment, they were forced to leave the northern and central parts of Ukraine in order to avoid complete defeat. And then the plans of the invaders changed: realizing that they could not capture the whole of Ukraine, they focused only on the capture of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and southern Ukraine. And how, the "special operation" has been going according to plan for the sixth month already? The next gesture of "goodwill" will most likely be the retreat from the right bank of the Ukraine from the Dnieper of that approximately 20,000-strong grouping, which actually fell into an encirclement. It is still possible for the Russians to escape on foot across the dilapidated bridges. Next, you just have to swim.

Yep. Russia has a flexible strategy, in general, the special operation is going according to plan. Putin is a great strategist, he made even the weather and time work for him. Ukraine did not have and does not have a single chance in this confrontation, and the prolongation of the conflict only worsens the position of Ukraine. The enemy of Ukraine now is not Putin, but Zelensky - because of his stupid persistence in the delusion that Ukraine can defeat Russia. This drug addict clown came to power on promises to end the war in Donbas, and he dragged the whole country into the war and brought it to default. Although it was possible simply not to sabotage the Minsk agreements.

[bakasabo]

Just because Russia has started war against Ukraine, Russian can become a dominant superpower? If we imagine, that Russian wins in this war and add Ukraine territory to its, it will turn Russia into dominant superpower? Ukraine is not the bigger country on the globe. Victory or defeat in this war wont change world powers balance. To become a superpower, one country must control the major part of the globe. But the bigger country is, the harder it is to control and counter every flash of aggression on your land. Imho, Russia dont have enough resources to react on every attack on their current territory. Russia is only able to become as a country that is involved into endless war.

[Ozero]

Russia is now very exhausted from the war in Ukraine and from the economic sanctions imposed against it. According to various estimates, Russia has already lost from 70,000 to 120,000 killed and wounded, 1,876 tanks, 4,141 armored vehicles, 233 aircraft, 195 helicopters, 985 artillery systems, 261 MLRS, 136 air defense systems, 3,044 automotive support equipment, 787 UAVs, 15 ships and boats and other military equipment. Now Putin is already looking for weapons in other countries: he is exporting and using the arsenal of Belarus, asking for weapons from China, it seems that he has already agreed on the supply of Iranian drones. All this will need to be restored over time. More and more material resources are being spent on the war. This should also include the very high promised salary to those who agree to fight in Ukraine under a contract. And these are not only additional contract soldiers from all over Russia, but also about 13,000 Belarusian contract soldiers, mercenaries from Syria and other regions. And also very large payments to the wounded and relatives of the killed servicemen.

 But very much now Russia is beginning to suffer from the imposed sanctions, the effect of which will only intensify over time. The sanctions will set Russia back in economic development by several decades. Which one is a superpower? It will still be good for her if the Russian Federation remains within its former borders, since in the oppressed regions they have already felt the weakness of the central government and soon there will be a mass separation of many republics. Russia, after all, in words for the free expression of the will of individual nationalities and regions? Chechnya has already tried twice to secede from Russia and intends to continue to defend its independence. There are dozens of such applicants. And the tanks in Russia are already running out ...

[Sithara007]

^^^ LOL.. 120,000 killed and wounded. OK.. even if we take this wild claim, assuming that there is a 1:4 ratio for dead:wounded, we will arrive at around 24,000 deaths. Number of Russian deaths reported by BBC News Russian and Mediazona amount to 5,507. DPR/LPR deaths amount to ~4,000. Another 1,000 or so deaths can be attributed to PMC Wagner and other non-formal organizations. After taking in to account all the undercount, the most liberal estimate may be around 15,000 and out of which 1/3rd maybe Ukrainian citizens from DPR/LPR.