"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (13 Viewers)

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Did Putin said something along the lines that this war special military operation was to avoid being surrounded by NATO?


Whatsoever I've feared has come to life
And whatsoever I've fought off became my life
Just when everyday seemed to greet me with a smile
Sunspots have faded, now I'm doing time
Now I'm doing time
'Cause I fell on black days
I fell on black days

So what you wanted to see good
Has made you blind
And what you wanted to be yours
Has made it mine
So don't you lock up something
That you wanted to see fly
Hands are for shaking
No, not tying, no, not tying
.
 
One can only hope that Ukrainian aspirations to retake Kherson in a few weeks become a reality.
NATO's appetite for supporting Ukraine's ongoing armed resistance won't be endless. Eventually, likely by early 2023 some of the more spineless Western nations will begin pushing for Ukraine to begin talks with Russia on ending the war wherever the line is. Chief among them will be France and Germany, especially as the latter freezes without Russian gas this winter.
I also expect Zelenskyy's new demands on regaining Crimea as a peace condition has rattled some supporters who at best wanted Ukraine to settle on regaining the Feb 2022 borders.

So, Ukraine has at best six months left to seize as much territory as it can. Of course in six months Ukraine may have enough weapons, and Russia huge manpower, arms and economic losses, to tell those weaker NATO supporters to pound sand.
 
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What is with this term "appetite" when referring to support for Ukraine? Zelensky [sic] appealed to the world for help and the world responded.
By appetite I suggest there is a limit, like in all philanthropy to the support the world is willing to give. Zelenskyy must not assume, and I suggest he does not that the West's support is endless. Eventually France, Germany and other weaker willed (or they may argue, pragmatic) states will push Ukraine to settle.
 
"A British Defense Ministry intelligence update this week said the fleet has been in an "extremely defensive posture" in the waters off Crimea, barely venturing beyond the coast. The Russian fleet's "limited effectiveness undermines Russia's overall invasion strategy," the British said. "This means Ukraine can divert resources to press Russian ground forces elsewhere.""

This reminds me of how after the cruiser General Belgrano was sunk the Argentine navy returned to port and played no further part in the invasion of the Falklands. This allowed the British forces to be focused elsewhere.
 

I don't believe most leaders in the West see this as "philanthropy" at all. I think most if not all of them realize that this is also an important point of self-interest; that stopping Putin here is vital to a peaceful international order and that failing to act now will end up in acquiescing to further autocratic demands.

As such, their duty is to explain to Western populations why this material support is necessary. The battle is over Western public opinion. If the people understand the dangers clearly, they will continue supporting the Ukrainians.
 
I agree. While there are inconveniences to the European countries (many Americans whine about the cost of gasoline hitting $4/gal because of Putin's invasion, but many European countries are seeing similar hikes -- gasoline was about €2/L during my recent trip to Italy -- plus the prospect of not having electricity due to lack of natural gas), spending money on defending Ukraine weakens Putin and makes it less likely he'll attack, say, Poland.
 
A BRITISH ARMY BASE, England (AP) — A few weeks ago, Serhiy was a business analyst at an IT company. Zakhar was a civil engineer. Now they are soldiers, training to liberate Ukraine from Russia's invasion — but doing it more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) away in Britain.

They are among several hundred Ukrainian recruits pounding through an intense form of infantry training at an army base in southeast England. One batch of the 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers that the British military has pledged to train within 120 days, they are spending several weeks learning skills including marksmanship, battlefield first aid and –- crucially for their country's future — urban warfare.

As the Ukrainians practice house-clearing amid the rattle of gunfire and pall from smoke grenades on a mock-townscape where British soldiers once trained for operations in Northern Ireland, they think about driving Russian troops from the streets of their own cities..

"The most important part is urban training, because it's the most dangerous combat, in cities," said Serhiy, who like the other Ukrainians did not want his full named used because of security concerns. "The British instructors have a lot of experience, from Iraq, Afghanistan. We can adapt all this knowledge to the Ukrainian situation and use it to liberate our country from Russian invasion."



Bravo, Limeys!
 

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