Ukraine Thread

[Viking]

The German and French leaders are starting to feel like they've had enough with Putin's unreliability.

[Gilrandir]

The German and French leaders are starting to feel like they've had enough with Putin's unreliability.

And Putin, perhaps, is showing the size of the gun he has at home... oops, the guns which are sold at supermarkets all over Russia.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Obama is now actively considering supplying arms to Ukraine: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31279621

Putin will pitch like a teenage girl but if he wasn't supplying the rebels they're be out of spare parts and ammo now, like the Ukrainian Army.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Obama is now actively considering supplying arms to Ukraine: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31279621

Putin will pitch like a teenage girl but if he wasn't supplying the rebels they're be out of spare parts and ammo now, like the Ukrainian Army.

It will happen, but will change little. Merkel will have assuaged German sensibilities on the issue and Obama will still be replaced in two years.

[Gilrandir]

Putin will pitch like a teenage girl but if he wasn't supplying the rebels they're be out of spare parts and ammo now

And men and fuel.

Merkel will have assuaged German sensibilities on the issue and Obama will still be replaced in two years.

Two years is eternity for both Ukraine and Putin. As the precipitate winter offensive shows, Putin feels his time is running short or at least shorter than he had hoped for.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

The Winter Offensive might just be the the Russians attacking early to get a jump on the Ukrainian Army, I confess I wasn't expecting the offensive to start until at least mid-February, more likely March.

[Gilrandir]

The Winter Offensive might just be the the Russians attacking early to get a jump on the Ukrainian Army, I confess I wasn't expecting the offensive to start until at least mid-February, more likely March.

Nobody was and Lugandoneans were not inclined to. Something happened that spurred them faster than they were supposed to. People here noticed that all their offensives started either on Ukrainian national holidays or before expected summits. Right now there are reports of DNR/Russia trying to cut off the Debaltsevo promontory. Ukrainians are on the offensive on the southern flank and some villages in the vicinity are reported to have been captured by Ukrainians.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

And men and fuel.


Two years is eternity for both Ukraine and Putin. As the precipitate winter offensive shows, Putin feels his time is running short or at least shorter than he had hoped for.

Putin is a chess player. Simply trying to consolidate the gain in the time frame he has left before his own people are fed up with affairs as they are. He won't go much further after this -- because he needs to consolidate, not because of much of what the West is doing.

[Gilrandir]

Putin is a chess player. Simply trying to consolidate the gain in the time frame he has left before his own people are fed up with affairs as they are.

His people are being successfully bombarded by his propaganda, so as far as I can judge (from what I see on Russian TV) they (well, the vast majority of them) don't blame him in anything. They still believe that it is the USA-Russia affair, so the USA (or broadly speaking the West) is guilty of it all as it ultimately aims to destroy Russia. Thus, they are to weather it and it can be done by tightening their belts and ranks around the leader. The saddest part of it all is that the two closely related peoples have now become enemies and even the lulling of the conflict is not likely to change this enmity in the foreseeable future.

He won't go much further after this -- because he needs to consolidate, not because of much of what the West is doing.

Yet, I believe, that if the West announces of lethal weapons being given to Ukraine it will bring about more aggressive warfare on Russia's part.