Is anyone else increasingly apathetic about Ukraine-Russia conflict

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[–]radicalcentristNational Centrism 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (5 children)

Both sides are annoying, but I found Russia's performance to be mind baffling.

Given how corrupt Ukraine is, Putin could have just offered to buy out Zelenskyy and turn him into a pro-Russian puppet.

Instead, he launched an all out invasion that failed to topple the government, and now he's stuck in a stalemate. If he surrenders, then he loses whatever strongman status he built up. But if he continues the fight, then he's just depleting Russia's military inventory.

The whole war is like a Boomer's final cry for attention. Putin is at an age where he should have retired already, but he's using his last days to to make everyone miserable. Pathetic.

[–][deleted]  (4 children)

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    [–]radicalcentristNational Centrism 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

    The West tried to goad Putin into storming on Kiev, but Putin's not stupid enough to attempt that (according to John Mearsheimer). His actual goal is to try and install a pro-Russian government, not to conquer Ukraine by military means.

    Do you consider the Bay of Pigs a success? The U.S sent troops to overthrow Cuba, yet Castro pushed them back and even got nuclear missiles in return.

    If Putin wants to install a new government, then he's letting millions of Western aid continue to flow into Ukraine.

    [–][deleted]  (2 children)

    [deleted]

      [–]radicalcentristNational Centrism 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

      I don't see how this is analogous to Putin's war. Cuba and Ukraine are geographically distinct from each other.

      Cuba was the closest to a U.S adversary being right on their doorstep. Even more so than the USSR or Japan was.

      Yet any invasion/embargo against Cuba is regarded as a failure, the same way Putin declaring the Ukrainian government "Nazis" in the opening war but then being forced back from the Capital is now a failed objective.

      Shifting gears to a war of attrition is historically a bad idea. We have Afghanistan & Vietnam as precedents for bigger countries losing the will to fight in the long term.

      The Ukrainians aren't competent enough to use equipment properly, hence the hesitancy of various governments to supply their best equipment.

      You don't need Ukrainians for that. The U.S supplying their satellite intel is good enough. It was how they managed to sink a Russian ship last year.

      https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/us-intel-helped-ukraine-sink-russian-flagship-moskva-officials-say-rcna27559

      By the way, I'm not saying Ukraine is perfect or can actually win the war. Rather it's Russia that put themselves in a quagmire that is too difficult to dig out.

      [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

      We have Afghanistan & Vietnam as precedents for bigger countries losing the will to fight in the long term.

      The Russians don't think like Europeans/Americans. Generally the European way of war is that one side fights until the situation is completely hopeless, then surrenders. But for Russians, there's no such thing as a "hopeless situation". Hitler's Germany adopted a similar attitude, believing it could simply survive by holding out for a miracle, was that mistaken? Hitler's Germany was leagues ahead of the US government and even they underestimated the Russian/Slavic mentality, and admitted so.