War in Ukraine — Megathread

[ZFire]

This whole situation is very he said she said. Both Russia and Ukraine spew constant propaganda that either side is murdering civilians. It's hard to say what's the truth and what isn't.

It's well established that propaganda is a tool in any warfare from any side. But I think I'll take my chances with a country that believes in a democracy rather than some kleptocratic country controlled by a clown dictator.

Besides, have you seen the laughable propaganda Russia has put out lately? Some Russians even at a state level believe that the US-funded biolaboratories are now producing 'monster' Ukrainian super soldiers.

You can't make this stuff up ROFL. I had the translate this just to see how insane your state media has gotten. Russia's propaganda has taken them to places that are beyond fiction. And the sad part is, some people believe in this shit… I hope you aren't one of them.

With that said, Ukraine is far more credible.

I'm curious though, why are you so honed in to highlight Ukrainian propaganda? Are you claiming that the evidence of what Russia is doing in Ukraine is propaganda? Are you saying Russia are justified in their invasion because of some (Pick your BS reason) ?

Tell us what you really think…

 

[Lane]

This whole situation is very he said she said. Both Russia and Ukraine spew constant propaganda that either side is murdering civilians. It's hard to say what's the truth and what isn't.

And just what Russian civilians are the Ukrainians murdering? I can hardly believe you would make such a misleading comment. And this is NOT a he said, she said situation. Russia is the aggressor. They invaded Ukraine, which had done nothing to provoke such an invasion. It was a land grab by Russia, an attempted theft, pure and simple.

To say or believe otherwise is to be under the spell of Russian propaganda, which is unfortunately, notoriously effective. It's really not hard at all to discern the truth about what's going on. All you have to do is look at the history of Putin over the past 20 years, and the history of Russia over the past several centuries. Please, do a little historical research!

 

[dan]

As much as I hate to admit it, there is absolutely no way Ukraine is going to ever win this war.

...and you know this how? As long as the US keeps pumping weapons into Ukraine, unless Putin mobilizes Russia, I just don't see them winning in the long run. Ukraine is huge and there a lot of room to retreat and counter attack...

Even if Russia nukes Kiev, NATO will not enter a war with Russia. Everything is leading to this.

...three issues as I see it in nuking Kiev, #1 fallout can spread to Russia, #2 no trophy to show for it, and #3 it's basically telling NATO - we're too incompetent to capture Kiev so we're just gonna cheat and press a button.

 

[ZFire]

He refuses to negotiate with a lying tyrant, at all, rallying the people of Ukraine to defend the sovereignty of their country against savage invaders. I understand why people call him a hero, a hero who would do anything to fight for their country's right to exist as a free and independent nation.

Fixed.

There are times when one has to be practical, and Zelensky is not doing the right thing for Ukrainian people. He is just promoting himself on social media while his fellow citizens die.

Yes, you could say he's grandstanding, but I have no choice but to respect the man's decision to do so given the circumstances. Ukraine needs all the help they can get and he knows that if his utilization and maneuvering of social media gets more food, more medical supplies, and more weapons to defend their land against savage invaders, then the attention will be all worth it.

Also get real, we're living in the digital age. Things have changed with how we document things now. Give the man some props for using social media to his advantage. It's been able to quell and eliminate Russian state disinformation and propaganda. Not all of it though as it seems like you have fallen victim to it yourself.

The US and NATO is not sending enough equipment to make any significant difference, just for that "hey guys, I helped, I'm a good guy!" bragging rights.

Ohh, you sure about that? Poland keeps on winning . And what about the recent arrival of US-supplied M142 HIMARS which are already making an impact?

It's going to take years to degrade Russia's military and economic power. European countries, mainly the EU are in the process of untangling themselves away from Russian fossil fuel dependency. And it's going to be worth it in the end, because of what Russia have done, and would otherwise continue to do.

All Zelensky will do is push Putin to do more serious fucked up shit/drastic measure to finish the war quicker (like actually bombing cities for real) or other horrible things. Even if Russia nukes Kiev, NATO will not enter a war with Russia. Everything is leading to this.

So you're telling me that putting up a valiant effort to defend one's own country will warrant a nuke retaliation? I like how by saying this, you are low key admitting how bad it has gone for Russia so far.

Look, I don't know what Russian state media is telling you, but the war is currently a battle of attribution. Despite Ukraine taking heavy losses in the east, along with the mounting casualties and the new terror raining down on Kyiv and other key cities once again, Ukraine's vision of victory remains surprisingly undiminished, which is the full restoration of their territory and sovereignty. If Ukrainians want to fight, they will win.

Now spin on that.

 

[AnthonyMcDonald]

Besides, have you seen the laughable propaganda Russia has put out lately?

Oh yeah. Russian media is a fucking clown show. There's no denying that.

With that said, Ukraine is far more credible.

I agree.

I'm curious though, why are you so honed in to highlight Ukrainian propaganda? Are you claiming that the evidence of what Russia is doing in Ukraine is propaganda? Are you saying Russia are justified in their invasion because of some (Pick your BS reason)

No, I do not think Russias invasion is justified. I'm not delusional. However I think that all news should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[Juan]

Yes, you could say he's grandstanding, but I have no choice but to respect the man's decision to do so given the circumstances. Ukraine needs all the help they can get and he knows that if his utilization and maneuvering of social media gets more food, more medical supplies, and more weapons to defend their land against savage invaders, then the attention will be all worth it.

Also get real, we're living in the digital age. Things have changed with how we document things now. Give the man some props for using social media to his advantage. It's been able to quell and eliminate Russian state disinformation and propaganda. Not all of it though as it seems like you have fallen victim to it yourself.

Well, I would respect the man more if he took a gun and went to the front lines instead of recording videos for social networks and sending others to die on his behalf.

And Zelensky is irresponsible because he could just capitulate and sign a defeat instead of making more people die unnecessarily.

You tell me how a country like Russia that sells oil and gas is going to run out of money to finance their war. That's just nonsense... they will not run out of money, and the war will go on for years unless someone makes a diplomatic move and stops it. Even if it looks bad on paper many lives would be saved.

 

[Lane]

That's what Zelensky is doing. I think the guy should reach an agreement even if it is a bad agreement. Thinking that Ukraine can win the war is just not realistic.

You're assuming Putin would live up to the terms of even a "bad agreement". He won't. He never lives up to is word. He lies constantly. He manipulates public opinion constantly, saying what they want to hear, but doing things entirely differently. He's NOT to be trusted.

You can't negotiate with him. It's either decide you want to live under miserable Russian rule, or choose to fight, and even die. The state of Vermont in the U.S. has on its vehicle license plates the saying, "Live Free or Die". Every sense I've gotten about the people of Ukraine is that is exactly how they feel. I really admire them for their willingness to stand up for their freedom, even if it results in their death.

 

[Juan]

"Live Free or Die". Every sense I've gotten about the people of Ukraine is that is exactly how they feel. I really admire them for their willingness to stand up for their freedom, even if it results in their death.

That's just a silly attitude. People have to adapt to whatever happens. That's the intelligent approach to life.

Ukraine is lost and the sooner Zelensky admits it, the more lives he will save.

 

[Lane]

Ukraine is lost and the sooner Zelensky admits it, the more lives he will save.

The only way Ukraine loses is if the West does not provide them with enough weapons, which sadly has been the case for too many years. If the West had started heavily arming Ukraine after Putin invaded and took Crimea in 2014, this present war would likely never have occurred.

The price Putin would have had to pay to go up against modern weapons from the West, by a trained and determined Ukrainian military would have been prohibitive. But sadly, Ukraine was not armed like they needed to be, even though the U.S. and Britain had assured their security in the Budapest Memorandum back in the 1990's.

As far as lives saved... I believe in the continuity of life, and I would rather enter life after death knowing I fought valiantly for what I believed in, rather than entering into it like a beaten, defeated victim. That's just my preference, and certainly would not be everybody's choice. But I think the spiritual welfare of every person is more important than their physical welfare. In my mind, some things are worth dying for.

 

[ZFire]

Well, I would respect the man more if he took a gun and went to the front lines instead of recording videos for social networks and sending others to die on his behalf.

And Zelensky is irresponsible because he could just capitulate and sign a defeat instead of making more people die unnecessarily.

Again, Ukrainians have shown that they understand themselves to be fighting for their country, not their government. Why aren't you acknowledging this? You do realize that the Ukrainian military is operating under a decentralized command where commanders of tactical teams take advantage of fast moving opportunities to achieve mission objectives? There's not one person at the helm of command.

And if we go with your logic, any country threatened with invasion should just surrender immediately. So where does that lead us to? Well, at first large countries governed by a authoritative political leader will end up taking over everything, then fighting amongst themselves happens, and eventually an ever changing, brutal world where strongmen takeover until they die in some way.

It's funny how you keep blaming Zelenskyy when you have no understanding of what's going on in Ukraine or how Putin and Russia operates.I also find it interesting how you never bring up Putin. The clown is sending his sheep to get slaughter en mass.

I have a better idea though. Russia retreating back to their own country would save many lies.

That's just a silly attitude. People have to adapt to whatever happens. That's the intelligent approach to life.

Ukraine is lost and the sooner Zelensky admits it, the more lives he will save.

This is a war for self-determination. If people were to adopt a pathetic defeatists mentality like your post above, then what's to stop dictators like Putin from marching onto other countries with no consequences. I mean the international community already gave Putin gains back in 2014 with Crimea. It never stops with people like Putin.

You tell me how a country like Russia that sells oil and gas is going to run out of money to finance their war. That's just nonsense... they will not run out of money, and the war will go on for years unless someone makes a diplomatic move and stops it. Even if it looks bad on paper many lives would be saved.

Someone hasn't been paying attention. Sanctions take time to hit. Even before 2014, they played a role in holding back Russia's development of their armed forces. Russian forces are also currently desperate for soldiers. They are literally conscripting anyone they can in Donbas, paying massive (in Russian terms) signing fees for new contract soldiers, eliminating the maximum age to enlist, and sending old timers/retirees into battle.

It is a Russian army that can't seem to find enough AK rifles to hand soldiers, instead they are handing out Mosin-Nagant rifles from WW2 era and pushing out outdated/retired T-62 tanks into battle.

You're assuming Putin would live up to the terms of even a "bad agreement". He won't. He never lives up to is word. He lies constantly. He manipulates public opinion constantly, saying what they want to hear, but doing things entirely differently. He's NOT to be trusted.

You can't negotiate with him. It's either decide you want to live under miserable Russian rule, or choose to fight, and even die. The state of Vermont in the U.S. has on its vehicle license plates the saying, "Live Free or Die". Every sense I've gotten about the people of Ukraine is that is exactly how they feel. I really admire them for their willingness to stand up for their freedom, even if it results in their death.

@Lane , it's so mind boggling how some have the audacity to think that Putin will suddenly be nice to all the Ukrainians still under his control in a scenario where he gets to keep their land. Putin being forced out of Ukraine completely is what I hope is achieved. This is what the Ukrainians want, and their opinion is the only one that matters.

 

[dan]

If the West had started heavily arming Ukraine after Putin invaded and took Crimea in 2014, this present war would likely never have occurred.

I beg to differ. If USA was to start heavily arming Ukraine with 100's of HIMARS, Abrahms MBT's, F-16's, etc, then Putin would immediately see that as a deep threat and declare war on Ukraine.

This war was inevitable after 2014 invasion of Crimea, no matter how you try, the ultimate goal, of Putinist imperialism is to annex the whole of Ukraine or at least as much as possible.

There is also another less known reason to attack Ukraine is because new natural gas was discovered in Donbass and in the Black Sea and Zelensky was going to cut a deal with the EU, making Russia lose billions.

The Donbass is a natural resource goldmine,thats why Ukraine did not allow them to separate. If Donbass was a useless piece of wasteland, Zelensky wouldn't try to hold on to it.

 

[Lane]

the ultimate goal, of Putinist imperialism is to annex the whole of Ukraine or at least as much as possible.

Totally agree!

then Putin would immediately see that as a deep threat and declare war on Ukraine.

Is what you're referring to somehow different than what is going on right now???

The West tip-toeing around Putin has done Ukraine no good. It's like, "Oh, we can't send lethal aid to Ukraine (we'll just send the binoculars) or Russia might get mad" (Obama). And then it was, "We can't send them effective modern weapons, or Putin might not like that" (Trump). And then it was, "We can't send them too much advanced weaponry, or it will start WW III" (Biden).

And look what all this timidity has wrought. Putin feeling emboldened and thinking he can get away with just about any military operation against Ukraine. Appeasement never works.

 

[dan]

Totally agree!

Is what you're referring to somehow different than what is going on right now???

The West tip-toeing around Putin has done Ukraine no good. It's like, "Oh, we can't send lethal aid to Ukraine (we'll just send the binoculars) or Russia might get mad" (Obama). And then it was, "We can't send them effective modern weapons, or Putin might not like that" (Trump). And then it was, "We can't send them too much advanced weaponry, or it will start WW III" (Biden).

And look what all this timidity has wrought. Putin feeling emboldened and thinking he can get away with just about any military operation against Ukraine. Appeasement never works.

As in WW2, the line will be drawn at the Polish border till then USA will continue to tiptoe around Russia in hopes Putin will be appeased at stop... just like we hoped Hitler would stop at Czechoslovakia.

 

[dan]

It is a Russian army that can't seem to find enough AK rifles to hand soldiers, instead they are handing out Mosin-Nagant rifles from WW2 era

Thats a badass sniper rifle, used by the legendary sniper of Stalingrad Vasiliy Zaycev

Tell us what you really think…

Unfortunately he can't say what he really thinks since its punishable by up to 15 years in Russian prison.

That's not a place a dude with severe tinnitus & hyperacusis can survive even 1 day, or any prison for that matter.

 

[ZFire]

In other news:

Russia threatens Swiss newspaper over Putin caricature

 

[Juan]

You do realize that the Ukrainian military is operating under a decentralized command where commanders of tactical teams take advantage of fast moving opportunities to achieve mission objectives? There's not one person at the helm of command.

Are you telling me the EU and the US are sending weapons without any control to a bunch of disorganised mercenaries?

Read this and see where weapons sent to Ukraine are ending up:

Plane carrying munitions crashes in Greece killing all onboard | Greece | The Guardian

The Ukrainians started to campaign years ago to get into the EU, falling for false promises, and they sat with the US government who also promised they would join NATO, which is not going to happen... so Zelensky is just silly. He fell for lies and now Ukrainian people are dying.

Neither the EU nor NATO want Ukraine to join. That's the reality.

 

[Juan]

The only way Ukraine loses is if the West does not provide them with enough weapons

That sounds a lot like NRA haha... so absurd. Weapons sent to Ukraine are being smuggled to other countries and sold on the black market. They may end up in the hands of terrorist, being used in the future to attack the same countries who are sending the weapons.

As far as lives saved... I believe in the continuity of life, and I would rather enter life after death knowing I fought valiantly for what I believed in, rather than entering into it like a beaten, defeated victim.

That's just plain crazy nonsense.

I would prefer this kid to be alive today. To "enter life after death knowing he fought valiantly and blah blah blah" does not seem a great choice:

 

[Wrfortiscue]

That sounds a lot like NRA haha... so absurd. Weapons sent to Ukraine are being smuggled to other countries and sold on the black market. They may end up in the hands of terrorist, being used in the future to attack the same countries who are sending the weapons.

That's just plain crazy nonsense.

I would prefer this kid to be alive today. To "enter life after death knowing he fought valiantly and blah blah blah" does not seem a great choice:

View attachment 51017

Can't trust Putin but the war will keep taking lives.

 

[ZFire]

Are you telling me the EU and the US are sending weapons without any control to a bunch of disorganised mercenaries?

Read this and see where weapons sent to Ukraine are ending up:

Plane carrying munitions crashes in Greece killing all onboard | Greece | The Guardian

The Ukrainians started to campaign years ago to get into the EU, falling for false promises, and they sat with the US government who also promised they would join NATO, which is not going to happen... so Zelensky is just silly. He fell for lies and now Ukrainian people are dying.

Neither the EU nor NATO want Ukraine to join. That's the reality.

First of all, decentralized command means that subordinates in a unit are empowered to act on a commander's intent. Any objectives/intel that have been carried out are then reported to the commander. The commander reports it to higher command. This is a military strategy that allows for more operational and tactical opportunities.

Disorganized they are not. It's all a collaborated effort between logistic coalitions, Ukrainian ground force units, and the Ukraine gov't. I can't speak for the EU nations, but it should come as no surprise that CIA operatives and a small number of US spec-ops groups are operating inside Ukraine. CIA has literally been training Ukraine special ops and ground forces for seven years. They're helping them in some capacity right now such as training Ukrainians on how to use HIMARS and likely assisting with the transportation of US-supplied big-boy weapons and confirming whether the weapons are where they need to be (the frontlines).

As for your plane crash news story, you speculate too much. You try to find anything that's going to fit in your little narrative. Here's a pro tip. When events such as this occur, it's best to wait a little bit, so more info can come out. Have you been following up on this story because news stories are saying the 11 tons of mortal shells, training shells, and mines were produced by a private Serbian defense company to be sent off to the Ministry of Defense of Bangladesh. Meridian airlines (Ukrainian airline) had the necessary cargo plane needed to transport these materials, so Serbia went with them. Your black market narrative of Ukrainian smuggling weapons makes no sense if anything.

I mean sure, there could be a possibility of some bad actors in Ukraine, but you're acting like this is some wide spread issue which is just silly. There is no sufficient evidence to suggest this.

 

[Lane]

As for your plane crash news story, you speculate too much. You try to find anything that's going to fit in your little narrative. ... Your black market narrative of Ukrainian smuggling weapons makes no sense if anything.

I mean sure, there could be a possibility of some bad actors in Ukraine, but you're acting like this is some wide spread issue which is just silly. There is no sufficient evidence to suggest this.

Happy to hear I'm not only person thinking this exact same thing. This has similarities to the kind of stuff Trumper World believes in here in the U.S.

 

[Juan]

As for your plane crash news story, you speculate too much.

I speculate too much, you say... but it's you who say that the CIA is carrying out operations inside Ukraine... and YOU know haha...

So you are telling us the CIA is risking a nuclear war by acting on Ukraine.

 

[ZFire]

I speculate too much, you say... but it's you who say that the CIA is carrying out operations inside Ukraine... and YOU know haha...

So you are telling us the CIA is risking a nuclear war by acting on Ukraine.

There's no speculation here, you just haven't been keeping up to date with world events and geopolitics.

Commando Network Coordinates Flow of Weapons in Ukraine, Officials Say

WASHINGTON — As Russian troops press ahead with a grinding campaign to seize eastern Ukraine, the nation's ability to resist the onslaught depends more than ever on help from the United States and its allies — including a stealthy network of commandos and spies rushing to provide weapons, intelligence and training, according to U.S. and European officials.

Much of this work happens outside Ukraine, at bases in Germany, France and Britain, for example. But even as the Biden administration has declared it will not deploy American troops to Ukraine, some C.I.A. personnel have continued to operate in the country secretly, mostly in the capital, Kyiv, directing much of the vast amounts of intelligence the United States is sharing with Ukrainian forces, according to current and former officials.

At the same time, a few dozen commandos from other NATO countries, including Britain, France, Canada and Lithuania, also have been working inside Ukraine. The United States withdrew its own 150 military instructors before the war began in February, but commandos from these allies either remained or have gone in and out of the country since then, training and advising Ukrainian troops and providing an on-the-ground conduit for weapons and other aid, three U.S. officials said.

Few other details have emerged about what the C.I.A. personnel or the commandos are doing, but their presence in the country — on top of the diplomatic staff members who returned after Russia gave up its siege of Kyiv — hints at the scale of the secretive effort to assist Ukraine that is underway and the risks that Washington and its allies are taking.

Army Secretary Christine E. Wormuth offered a glimpse into the operation last month, saying the special operations cell had helped manage the flow of weapons and equipment in Ukraine. "As the Ukrainians try to move that around and evade the Russians potentially trying to target convoys, you know, we are trying to be able to help coordinate moving all of those different sort of shipments," she said at a national security event held by the Atlantic Council.

The commandos are not on the front lines with Ukrainian troops and instead advise from headquarters in other parts of the country or remotely by encrypted communications, according to American and other Western officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters. But the signs of their stealthy logistics, training and intelligence support are tangible on the battlefield.

Several lower-level Ukrainian commanders recently expressed appreciation to the United States for intelligence gleaned from satellite imagery, which they can call up on tablet computers provided by the allies. The tablets run a battlefield mapping app that the Ukrainians use to target and attack Russian troops.

The C.I.A. officers operating in Ukraine have focused on directing the intelligence that the U.S. government has been providing the Ukrainian government. Most of their work has been in Kyiv, according to current and former officials.

No one is risking nuclear war.

 

[ZFire]

A peace deal with Russia should not happen under no circumstance.

It's pretty much a given that:

1. Any peace deal would involve Ukraine giving up territory to Russia
2. Any peace deal would require most Western sanctions on Russia being dropped.
3. Any peace deal would involve Ukraine agreeing to reduce the size of their military
4. Russia can finish their full invasion in a few years when they'd regain some of their military strength.

It would also send a worldwide message that you can invade another country and expect the international community to simply denounce it and give you part or possibly all of that country with little to no consequences.

 

[Juan]

WASHINGTON — As Russian troops press ahead with a grinding campaign to seize eastern Ukraine, the nation's ability to resist the onslaught depends more than ever on help from the United States and its allies — including a stealthy network of commandos and spies rushing to provide weapons, intelligence and training, according to U.S. and European officials.

Much of this work happens outside Ukraine, at bases in Germany, France and Britain, for example. But even as the Biden administration has declared it will not deploy American troops to Ukraine, some C.I.A. personnel have continued to operate in the country secretly, mostly in the capital, Kyiv, directing much of the vast amounts of intelligence the United States is sharing with Ukrainian forces, according to current and former officials.

That sounds surreal... I do not believe one bit of it.

CIA operations in Ukraine are so "secret" the press reports about them haha.

 

[RAA]

A peace deal with Russia should not happen under no circumstance.

It's pretty much a given that:

1. Any peace deal would involve Ukraine giving up territory to Russia
2. Any peace deal would require most Western sanctions on Russia being dropped.
3. Any peace deal would involve Ukraine agreeing to reduce the size of their military
4. Russia can finish their full invasion in a few years when they'd regain some of their military strength.

It would also send a worldwide message that you can invade another country and expect the international community to simply denounce it and give you part or possibly all of that country with little to no consequences.

Totally agree, Russia can't be trusted.

They sign a deal to allow grain to leave the ports and then hours later they attack the Odesa port with cruise missiles, total scum...

Russia fires missiles at Odesa port hours after signing grain export deal

 

[Lane]

Ukraine is lost and the sooner Zelensky admits it, the more lives he will save.

The only way Ukraine loses is if the West does not provide them with enough weapons

Opinion: The American-made weapons that could change everything

"There is a growing belief in western defense circles that if the West gave Ukraine some of the latest weaponry and tactics, they could turn the tide of war in weeks and spare hundreds, even thousands, of Ukrainian lives."​

 

[ZFire]

Opinion: The American-made weapons that could change everything

"There is a growing belief in western defense circles that if the West gave Ukraine some of the latest weaponry and tactics, they could turn the tide of war in weeks and spare hundreds, even thousands, of Ukrainian lives."​

It would also provide valuable real-world combat data for the West as well.

Ukraine Situation Report: Defense Chief Wants Advanced Weapons Testing Against Russians

Ukraine is also openly offering itself as a venue for NATO allies to donate and demonstrate advanced weaponry in real-world combat scenarios. The countries would then benefit from the combat experience of Ukrainian soldiers using those weapons against Russian forces, according to Ukraine Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.

Ukraine "is essentially a testing ground," Reznikov said on July 19 during a live webcast conversation with John Herbst, senior director of the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center. The entire interview can be viewed in the below video.
"Many weapons are now getting tested in the field in the real conditions of the battle against the Russian Army, which has plenty of modern systems of its own," Reznikov said. "It has electronic warfare and signals intelligence tools, air defenses, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, among other equipment."

Let the arms manufacturer run wild and have them sponsor Ukrainian forces for their efforts.

 

[Juan]

Opinion: The American-made weapons that could change everything

"There is a growing belief in western defense circles that if the West gave Ukraine some of the latest weaponry and tactics, they could turn the tide of war in weeks and spare hundreds, even thousands, of Ukrainian lives."​

That's so ridiculous... Russians and Ukrainians have been fighting in some regions since 2014 more or less... so I doubt the war is going to end soon.

 

[Lane]

The following (excellent) article sums up pretty well how I feel the Ukrainians could turn the tide in this war, and reclaim territory that's been captured (temporarily) by the Russians. He infuriates me that the U.S. and the West won't give Ukraine the weapons they need to win the war--which they assuredly could! -- I edited the article below with what I thought were the more important points.

The U.S. is a lot stronger than Russia. We should act like it.

In the third phase of the war, Ukrainian troops are holding a strong defensive position in neighboring Donetsk province (also part of Donbas) and effectively hitting back with High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and other longer-range weapons supplied by the West. The HIMARS, in particular, have been a game changer by allowing the Ukrainians to destroy more than 100 high-value targets such as Russian ammunition depots and command posts.

A Ukrainian battalion commander told The Post that since the HIMARS strikes began, Russian shelling has been "10 times less." Another Ukrainian officer told the Wall Street Journal: "It was hell over here. Now, it's like paradise. Super quiet. Everything changed when we got the HIMARS." President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukrainian fatalities are down from between 100 and 200 a day to 30 a day.

If Ukraine is able to fight back so effectively with only 12 HIMARS (soon to be 16), imagine what it could do with dozens more and, better still, Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), which use the same platform but have nearly quadruple the range. These rocket systems should be supplemented by Western tanks and fighter aircraft. If the West were to supply all these weapons, Ukraine could mount a counteroffensive to take back lost land in the south and east and help end the war.​

The Biden administration is slowly supplying more HIMARS and, for the first time, is even discussing the provision of Western fighter aircraft (after nixing a Polish plan to send MiG-29s in March). But ATACMS appear to be off the table because, as national security adviser Jake Sullivan explained last week, the administration does not want to head "down the road towards a third world war." Ukraine isn't even allowed to use its HIMARS to end the shelling of its second-largest city, Kharkiv, because the Russian artillery batteries are located on Russian soil.

This strategic calculus makes no sense. Does Sullivan really believe that Putin will launch World War III if the United States supplies rockets with a range of about 180 miles but will hold off as long as we're supplying only rockets with a range of about 50 miles? Or that the provision of HIMARS, NASAMS air-defense systems, 155mm howitzers, Phoenix Ghost drones, Javelins and Stingers isn't too provocative — but fighter aircraft and tanks would be?

... Biden is in a far stronger position than Putin, but he is acting as if he were weaker. Stop letting Putin deter us from doing everything we can to aid Ukraine. Putin should be more afraid of us than we are of him.

The war has already proved costly to Russia: It has lost about 1,000 tanks, and roughly 60,000 soldiers have been killed or wounded. There won't be much left of the Russian military if the Ukrainians are armed with lots more HIMARS and ATACMS, along with tanks and fighter aircraft. The fourth phase of the war could prove decisive — but only if the United States finally makes a commitment to help Ukraine win.
​

 

[Juan]

A peace deal with Russia should not happen under no circumstance.

It's pretty much a given that:

1. Any peace deal would involve Ukraine giving up territory to Russia
2. Any peace deal would require most Western sanctions on Russia being dropped.
3. Any peace deal would involve Ukraine agreeing to reduce the size of their military
4. Russia can finish their full invasion in a few years when they'd regain some of their military strength.

It would also send a worldwide message that you can invade another country and expect the international community to simply denounce it and give you part or possibly all of that country with little to no consequences.

That sounds extremely unrealistic.

What if we applied that to Israel too? It would get tricky...