Do you understand why many countries in the former Eastern Bloc (i.e. the Baltics, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, etc.) have looked to the West since the collapse of the Soviet Union? They don't trust Russia. Russia has long acted as an imperial power even prior to the Soviet Union, bullying and occupying its neighbors. The Russian Empire annexed large parts of Poland in the 18th Century. Prior to WWII, the Soviet Union carved up Poland with the Nazis and annexed Brest-Litovsk (today Belarus). After WWII, the Soviet Union annexed Lviv. Why do you think countries which were occupied by the USSR for almost fifty years look to ally themselves with the West?temporal1 wrote: ↑Sun May 01, 2022 12:30 pmAs I’ve said over and over, I think a negotiated peace (i.e. diplomacy) will largely be determined by the conditions on the ground. As long as both sides think they can win, there isn’t going to be a peace deal.
The possibility that this war move outside Ukraine and provoke WWIII is scary.
Outside divine intervention, i could not use the word “peace” in this situation, i would be glad for tentative resolution.
The rhetoric and history on all sides prevents dreams of immediate peace.
WWIII is really up to the U.S.; biden-harris-pelosi are up for it. from their armchairs, anyway.
i don’t find it scary as much as dismal. and infuriating. my fears+prayers are replaced with growing disgust/anger.
The more talk ramps up, the more likely military volunteers will decline, then increased push for draft talk, females to register.
i hope Z is getting a good first-hand look at what he’s dealing with here. aged+incompetent legacy politicians.
are we destined to see this vibrant enthusiastic man become a grey haired depressed 80 year old championing a destroyed peoples+land, pawns between big boys? that’s what becomes of protracted wars/military conflicts.
DJT counseled Z to find a way to get along with Russia. wise counsel.
to pretend that Z is in control of anything is a stretch. he is in an untenable situation. he has no control, no way out.
he+Ukraine just happen to be in the wrong place. the Japanese resort to Seppuku.
Z could walk away and turn to God. God always offers His way, in every situation. As you know.
The West of course isn't pure and doesn't have pure motives, but it's not the US that has declared Ukraine a fictitious country. It's not the US that annexed Crimea and supported separatist forces in Donetsk and Ukraine. It's not NATO that has invaded Ukraine with a brutal war of attrition. So while I'm of course aware of the US's hypocrisies in this conflict and around the world, I also reject the notion that Russia's and the West's actions in Ukraine are at the moment morally equivalent.
Russia is reportedly forcing the occupied city and region of Kherson to switch from Ukrainian hryvnia to Russian roubles. The Ukrainians allege that the Russians are planning on holding a "referendum" in mid-May to turn Kherson into a "statelet" similar to Donetsk and Lugansk. In other words, the Russians are attempting "to scrub a part of the country clean of its national identity and embed it in Moscow’s sphere of influence." Approximately half of the population of the Kherson region has fled because they don't want to be a part of Russia or under its sphere of influence.
I don't think accepting weapons from the West to defend themselves against Russia was that hard of a decision for Zelinsky to make. In fact, Zelinsky is on the record criticizing NATO for not providing more weapons or the no-fly zone. He is in an untenable situation, but giving Russia what it wants is not a solution either.
