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Russia would have had more decisive steps, then too. Most Russians criticize Putin for not taking this too seriously. Just like America in Iraq, Russia could've
by nikolay 2y ago
Russia would have had more decisive steps, then too. Most Russians criticize Putin for not taking this too seriously. Just like America in Iraq, Russia could've destroyed all energy infrastructure on day one, all airport fields, etc. Russia has a lot more capacity unlike Ukraine.
- namaria 2y agoTheir goal was never to occupy Ukraine. They got what they wanted, the land corridor to Crimea and a nearly permanent quagmire blocking Ukraine from EU and NATO membership. The US has always had to contend with the risk of coming up too hard and collapsing Russia. No one wants rogue generals with nuclear armed ICMB.
- nikolay 2y ago[flagged]
- valeg 2y ago[flagged]
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- timeon 2y agoThis seems pretty naive. Crimea and Ukraine's NATO membership was already quagmire since 2014. Only thing that has changed here is that Finland and Sweden are now in NATO.
- llamaimperative 2y agoNah bro that’s 15 dimensional chess. Only in dimensions 2 through 14 does “Finland and Sweden join NATO” sound like a bad thing. Putin’s 15th degree of chess is where it all is revealed as strategic genius.
- sam_lowry_ 2y agoI guessed sarcasm only after seeing your other comment.
- llamaimperative 2y ago"Just like America in Iraq" what the hell are you on about? The US invaded on March 20th. Iraq's head of state was captured on April 9th. Russia isn't even close to having the same problems that America encountered after its obscenely successful invasion. When/if they do actually have to occupy Ukraine and sustain insurgency, it's going to be an absolute nightmare for decades. Russia mustered all the might it could in an attempted shock and awe campaign against Kiev, the problem is that Russia is a 3rd world country that acts like it's not because it 1) used to be a 3rd world empire and 2) it has nukes. Russia and its military have been thoroughly gutted by decades of kleptocracy.
- falcor84 2y agoI agree with everything else, but just wanted to nitpick that by definition, Russia used to be a *2nd* world empire.
- llamaimperative 2y agoDefinitionally true, you're right :) trying to counteract the tendency to overplay the "glory days" of the USSR.
- aguaviva 2y agoMost Russians criticize Putin for not taking this too seriously. Largely out of the entirely unsupported belief, which you seem to share, that Putin could easily unleash huge reserves of untapped offensive potential any moment he wanted to (aside from nukes, which are of course completely useless for what he's trying to do in Ukraine). The simple fact is, though, he just doesn't have that capacity. If he had it, he would have certainly made use of it by now, now nearly 3 years in. It's simply preposterous to suggest he's sitting on some massive potential, but hasn't been using it yet for some mysterious reason.
- llamaimperative 2y agoThe fetishization of Putin you see on here is absolutely bonkers. Guys... he's just a dictator like all the others through history: fundamentally confused by an information environment of his own making, undermined by systemic corruption and a culture of distrust, and dangerously delusional in his ambitions. He's just a complete loser, and his clowncar of an invasion is an extension of that fundamental loserness.