Kieselguhr

Don’t you think Russia is stalling because of the confidence it has gained from its territorial gains on the battlefield? They recently advanced in the Sumy region but are also slowly moving forward in the east. Meanwhile, your elite units are forced to operate a separate Spanish-language recruitment platform, presumably targeting Latin American mercenaries rather than Spanish citizens.

You’re painting a generalized picture. It might seem like the end of the world is approaching from here, 10,000 kilometers away…

… Russia is not gaining territory on the battlefield?

If Ukraine stops resisting, that 10,000 kilometers could shrink considerably, and we would face much greater challenges. As for Western soldiers, the Ukrainian army operates on a contractual basis, supplemented by mobilization and the joining of volunteers. At the beginning of the war, soldiers arrived from several countries to fight for Ukraine, but their numbers are incomparable to the 12,000 North Koreans recruited by Russia, for example. In our country, including Russians and Belarusians fighting for the freedom of their own homeland, we are not talking about thousands.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is struggling with mobilization, and the recruitment of people aged 18–24, which began in February, is not progressing as hoped.

Mobilization is a problem in every war. Ukraine is no exception, as we want the war to end. People are getting tired. We can mobilize 27,000 people a month, while the Russians can mobilize 40,000 to 50,000 because their losses are greater. Mobilization is possible in our country because of the state of war. No one else has any experience in how to stop Putin. We were the ones who stopped him. You are right in that this is a difficult period. We did not mobilize 18- to 24-year-olds, but offered them one-year contracts. I have never spoken about this before, but since you asked, I will tell you what I think, because it is a sensitive issue: I do not believe that we should mobilize people from the age of 18, as the leaders of other countries have thought. Operation Spider Web has shown that it is not the number of people that matters, but weapons and technology. And money and exerting pressure. The sanctions would target the money that the Russians are using to finance the war. However, when it comes to sanctions, as Western partners list the reasons why they did not decide to impose them, they include that Ukraine did not mobilize people aged 18 and above.

To be honest, we gave 18- to 24-year-olds the opportunity to show that they can serve if our partners want them to. We have now given them that opportunity, in accordance with our legislation. But in the meantime, thousands are fighting on the front lines without adequate weapons.

Zelensky gave an interview

Dems would be much more civil while they were tear-gassing protestors

Hanlon's Razor

The worldview he learned from his father will affect not only 1.4bn Chinese people, but the whole of humanity.

They just have to include this quote in the Encyclopedia Britannica entry on Great Man Theory

That being said,how can the Russians be so careless with a leg of their nuclear triad?

Well it seems like according to the START treaty and/or other nuclear treaties they gad their nuclear bombers in the open precisely as part of nuclear deescalation

In fact, rather than being parked in shelters or under well-protected concrete structures, these aircraft were parked in plain sight of satellites, on open tarmac in clearly marked bays, making them easily detectable by US/NATO spy satellites.

As strange as it may sound, Russian bombers could have been parked in the open for exactly this reason: so that they can be spotted or detected by US satellites.

“FYI, those bombers that were hit HAVE to be out in full view due to nuclear treaty obligations. Zelenskyy took advantage of that,” General Flynn noted on X.

So now that's out of the window

(Though the FSB did fuck up spectacularly about this)

Possibilities

• Ukraine did it on their own (not that likely)
• CIA helped them bomb nuclear targets and Trump knew (that's nuclear escalation)
• West helped them bomb nuclear targets and Trump did not know (that means intelligence agencies gone rogue)

You are arguing in bad faith. Disengage.

Nah, this is a 100% pure shitlib take:

You clearly support Russia's pointless territorial grab in the Ukraine.

While I vehemently disagree with the soft pro Ukraine takes he has,I won't shed tears over them losing some bombers.

1. Well apparently those bombers are part of the nuclear arsenal, so this is actually a nuclear level escalation, which makes me, an Earth-dwelling human, very concerned

2. They've also hit civilian infrastructure

Yeah just to be clear, I'm not saying he said this, I just did some philological excavation.

All in all, if Russia gave it her 100% military power even excluding nukes they could've ended it in 2 weeks even in 2022, simply by doing decapitation strikes and bombing every bridge airport and power station

This NYT article is the source, I think

“That is not the question,” Mr. Barroso said Mr. Putin told him. He continued, referring to the Ukrainian capital, “But if I wanted to, I could take Kiev in two weeks.”

So Barroso said Putin said this (in 2014)

It is truly amazing how biased they are that they don't turn the very same arguments around to talk about Ukraine:

It's also entirely possible that Ukraine has a few more surprises in store for Russia.

Russia has waaaay more capabilities to "surprise" (escalate) further. It actually shows restraint that they haven’t bombed every bridge and power station in Western Ukraine (that's what the US would do)

the Russians are keen on perpetuating the illusion that they're open to compromise and genuinely seek peace.

As opposed to Ukraine's sincerity? Are you serious?!?! Conducting a large drone attack hours before demanding ceasefire? I shoot at you then shout "ceasefire"! Is this sincere?

attempts to achieve through diplomacy what they haven't been able to on the battlefield.

Literally what Ukraine is doing in trying to get back territory through negotiation they've lost years ago

The Russians, on the other hand, presented their proposals only in Istanbul

Did the Russians change their demands? Lavrov has been quite open about it for years at this point.

an excerpt:

It's also entirely possible that Ukraine has a few more surprises in store for Russia. The unpredictable element here is when the Russian economic elite, for whom this war is hardly a favorite undertaking, will finally lose patience. What movements that might trigger within the halls of power is anyone's guess. The consequences are just as uncertain.

As for the recent talks, there doesn't seem to be any clear roadmap for what comes next, at least not publicly. It's essentially a continuation of the same process, largely because the Russians are keen on perpetuating the illusion that they're open to compromise and genuinely seek peace.

Of course, the rhetoric coming from state-affiliated media outlets paints a different picture. Their message is clear: if their baseline conditions aren't met, the war will continue. It's a decidedly bellicose stance, especially when coupled with attempts to achieve through diplomacy what they haven't been able to on the battlefield.

Negotiations will undoubtedly continue. The hour-long meeting on Monday simply wasn't enough time to delve into the complexities. The Ukrainian side publicly released its memorandum outlining the preconditions for a ceasefire, handing it over to the Russian delegation. The Russians, on the other hand, presented their proposals only in Istanbul. In other words, and I have to say, from Ukraine's perspective, it's the kind of proposal you could reject on gut instinct alone. Moreover, the limited time for review doesn't help matters. It was almost a given that the Monday meeting wouldn't yield a breakthrough. However, it does allow them to say that a third meeting will take place.

It feels like they need to strike a delicate balance in praising Ukraine, but also not praising them too much that people would think they don't need Western aid

All of this is of course very far from actual materialist or even realist analysis