Invading Ukraine may never have been Putin’s aim, threat alone could meet goals

I have no idea what their goals or tactics are. That is all still just speculation in my armchair commander opinion.

One small detail I did notice when they were pulling back was that when they loaded up the 12 tanks onto the train I could hear the final drives grinding in at least 3 of those tanks. It appears to me the drills they ran were a little too hard on the tanks and those are being sent off for repair suggesting to me the repairs required are more extensive than what can be performed in the field. I could be entirely wrong. See if you can find the videos of them loading up the tanks that have audio and crank it up.

“Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland; […]” - likely the higher echelons on both sides are aware of it. Events in East Europe have already influenced the history and lives of billions of people, and basically whats happening there will have long lasting effects on asia, africa, the middle east and south america. I only hope it wont get bumpy again as during the cold war era.

Couldn’t agree more with the author, which in my opinion is shared among all major specialists of the region.

Minsk II is the only diplomatic solution. Sadly, as the article states, it’d be political suicide to any Ukrainian leader who implemented it. For Kiev, Minsk II is their Versailles Treaty, humiliation signed during extreme duress, fuel for ultra-nationalists.

As for the latest escalation Washington is now calling on Moscow’s bluff to invade, with loudspeakers, lest it seems even more weak after its Afghan fiasco. That Ukraine is just a pawn among these players, is just a sad consequence of geopolitics.

I hope this will not age like milk since Putin is currently still building up troops near Ukraine.

I think Putin hoped that NATO countries are fractured, but we managed to unite at the first sign of danger. He is making NATO stronger than ever.

He can still kill thousands of Ukrainian people, continue to hold the world at nuclear gunpoint and keep clogging the internet with disinformation, but it's the Russian people who end up worst for it. And that's a shame, they deserve much better than Putin and his criminal, incompetent, illiterate, superstitious oligarchs.

Of course it wasn't/isn't.

Biden needs a distraction from his horrible poll numbers or he won't complete his first term. Even nuclear war is deemed "acceptable losses" to fix that!