I'm sorry I just feel like you're trolling me at this time point. Russia occupies 1/5 of Ukrainian territory, including most of the coastline, which is vital to Ukraine's economy and prosperity. Furthermore Ukraine's entire industrial capacity was based in the eastern sector, now gone.
The Zaparizhia nuclear power plant is the largest in Ukraine providing 20% of the electricity for Ukraine. Russia is now severing that electricity from Ukraine and connecting the power plant to its own grid. Ukraine just sent grain to Lebanon. The buyers rejected it since the grain is 3-4 months old at this point and flour only has a 6 month shelf life. Now the ship is going to Syria to beg Assad to buy their grain.
Russia didn't even mobilize. If Russia had mobilized with 1 million + men instead of 150-200,000 they would have easily won. They simply did not expect Ukraine to put up a fight. US intelligence also thought that Kiev would fall in 3 days. Intelligence is not always 100%, it just is what it is at the time.
Russia is fighting not Ukraine but NATO through Ukraine. By the end of this war, Ukraine will be cut off from the entire coastline and after that if they don't want to negotiate Kharkiv will be surrounded. It's not a matter of if but when.
So you're arguing that Russia wasted its military reputation and resources - in the greater scheme of its fight against NATO - for meagre Ukrainian territory and the overall weakening of the Ukrainian state? That all these military blunders by Russia are somehow compensated because Ukraine has lost many of its industrial and infrastructural capacity?
Please.
Russia failed to topple the Ukrainian government, is now facing an enlarged NATO with many of its member states having pledged to increase their military budget and has been isolated from western science and market that will in the medium to long term significantly impact their economy. In addition, despite short-term Ukrainian weakening, Kiev will end up being firmly in the political sphere of the West. All these Russian fears of its neighbouring country being taken away from its traditional sphere of influence will ironically come true. And eventually, Ukraine will develop its own military industry which is going to be a thorn in the eye of Moscow of epic proportions.
And all this because Putin and its fellow incompetent intelligence officials in all their hubris completely overestimated the capabilities of their military.
Are you forgetting about the disastrous American blunder in Afghanistan recently. 3 TRILLION down the drain, for what ? for nothing. They trained an army for 20 years, it lasted 1.5 months. What do you call that glorious ? victorious ? War is not always straightforward. Stop buying into US made video games and Hollywood movies.
The same Afghanistan that the Soviets also failed to stabilize through their military intervention after spending huge sums of money?
You see, the difference between Russia and the US is that the latter can waste $3 trillion without its economy flinching. You don't need to lecture me about watching Hollywood movies. I've had discussion about these topics with people that can actually formulate a professional analysis without arguments like ''if Russia really wanted to defeat Ukraine, it could have done so after mobilizing its population''.
Russia is a dying empire. Same as the US. But the latter is far more sophisticated in its military dealings than Russia will ever be.
Again war is not straightforward. WW2 was an absolute disaster for the Soviets at first but in the end they came out on top as a global superpower. You realize that out of 15 German Pzh 2000 howitzers, only 5 are still operational ? Why because of maintenance issues. Apparently firing the howitzer 100 times a day puts too much of a strain on its internal mechanisms.
>It's quite clear that Russia has failed to topple the Ukrainian government, and will not be able to >make any worthwhile territorial advances that would prevent Ukraine from posing any threat to >it.
It came out as a global superpower because Europe (and Asia) destroyed itself after centuries of fighting; not because its power grew organically, And after stumbling in this position of being a superpower - not in the least due to support it received from the United States through the Lend Lease Act - it couldn't even consolidate and hold this status for more than 5 decades. The Romans, Iranians, Chinese, even the Mongols and Turks have a recorded history of being superpowers for centuries - the Russians completely crumbled after 50 years.
You see, there are many similarities between how the Germans screw up their invasion of the Soviet Empire and Russia blundering in Ukraine: both underestimated the vastness of the territory they were trying to capture, failed to accurately estimate the manpower of their opponent and overlooked the international assistance it would face on the battlefield (Ukraine with its support from the West and the Soviets similarly receiving American equipment).
I want Russia to prevail in this whole operation against Ukraine - for the sake of Iran's interests - but I'm not blind to its structural weaknesses that have now been exposed big time.
