As Trump dithers over Ukraine, Russia’s military edge weakens, officials say

[Roadvirus]

Yes, he is. We are going to have to cut a lot of things, probably. Government spends too much on things it shouldn't spend on.

But it's okay to skyrocket the debt by making Trump's tax cuts permanent.

"Sorry kids, but you'll have to do with less because i want to make my tax cuts permanent."

Propping up a tinpot dictator in Ukraine should not be one of them.

 

[Roadvirus]

Actually, Russia has gained approximately 5,000 square miles of territory in the last year.

And incurred the most casualties of the war in that same period.


Last year was the deadliest for Russian forces since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine: at least 45,287 people were killed.

This is almost three times more than in the first year of the invasion and significantly exceeds the losses of 2023, when the longest and deadliest battle of the war was taking place in Bakhmut.

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At the start of the war, losses happened in waves during battles for key locations, but 2024 saw a month-on-month increase in the death toll as the front line slowly edged forward, enabling us to estimate that Russia lost at least 27 lives for every square kilometre of Ukrainian territory captured.

How Russia suffered record losses in Ukraine in 2024

Last year was the deadliest for Russian forces since the start of the full-scale war with at least 45,287 killed.

www.bbc.com

Now that they've driven Ukrainian troops out of Russian territory, they have more troops to dedicate to the front.

But Ukraine is still launching attacks on Russia proper via drones.

Those refineries and war machine factories aren't experiencing unknown caused cases of spontaneous combustion.

 

[Roadvirus]

Is the Donbas worth World War III or the thousands who have died so far?

I don't think so.

Yes. It is.

Tyrants like Putzin have to learn that stealing land from another country is not allowed. To not teach him that lesson will invite WWIII for sure.

 

[Roadvirus]

I haven't, but the four oblasts voted to Join Russia.

Votes that are considered illegal under international law.

 

[ataraxia]

Quite the contrary, the war has ground to a stalemate, and nothing can really be accomplished by either side at this point.

A fair treaty would allow Russia to keep Crimea and Donbass, return Zaporozhia and Kherson. Allow for a UN (not NATO) force of peacekeepers to uphold the peace, and provide money to Ukraine to rebuild.

That would work and I am sure the Russians will agree to it- so they can rebuild their military, catch their breath, and then come back and finish the job- in about 3 years.

 

[iguanaman]

That would work and I am sure the Russians will agree to it- so they can rebuild their military, catch their breath, and then come back and finish the job- in about 3 years.

Trump kissed Putin's butt in every way possible to get him to accept a ceasefire to no avail. The problem is that Putin cannot stop the war even for 60 days. His troops would all go home and never come back. Putin is committed to eternal war for Russia and it will not end with Ukraine.

 

[JoeB131]

You think she's losing any sleep over it? heh, heh, heh

I think she's still whining about how she got cheated.

Because she lacked the self-awareness to realize she was a garbage candidate.

 

[JoeB131]

Putin became president in 2000, everybody knew he is former KGB, Sweeden, Finland, wow, that sure is a bunch of countries that do not trust Russia, even before 2014, nobody wanted to join a military or political alignment with Russia , much less Putin. They didn't trust Russia or Putin.

Your post strongly suggests what I was saying, Europe recognizes that NATO has a reason to exist.

You haven't answered why Europe has rejected communism, despotism, Russia and Putin.

Who says they have. They have plenty of communism in Europe, subsidized by the US Taxpayer.

Europe might think NATO has a reason to exist, but it doesn't mean American should keep funding it.

Exactly my point. He's a war criminal who is on a campaign of conquest.

The difference between war criminals and war heroes is the difference between winners and losers.

Since Putin is winning...

Then your answer is that might makes right.

Way of the world.

OMG - you think might makes right.
That's not a solution. That will never yield a lasting peace. Military power is never justice. Without justice there will be no peace. What's the point of a pyrrhic victory and endless occupation without ever being able to govern Ukraine?

Russia has governed Ukraine for centuries...

I wrote of empathy. I told you that if you have none, to read no further.

I realize your heart bleeds.. but, um, since Ukraine can't win militarily, then they need to get what they can live with diplomatically.

When was that? LOL , the 2022 referendum in occupied Ukraine, nobody trusts a Putelection when votes come out a rifle barrel.

What were the choices on those ballots? The same as the Putelection of 2014?

No one said it was an ideal situation.

But it's the reality we have to live with. Ukraine has lost those four oblasts.

They won't get them back on the battlefield.
They might get SOME of them back at the

 

[JoeB131]

But it's okay to skyrocket the debt by making Trump's tax cuts permanent.

"Sorry kids, but you'll have to do with less because i want to make my tax cuts permanent."

I think taxes should be increased, but government spending needs to be reduced.

BOTH Parties run up the debt, because that is the path of least resistance.

And incurred the most casualties of the war in that same period.


Last year was the deadliest for Russian forces since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine: at least 45,287 people were killed.

The USSR lost 20 million people in WWII.

45,000 isn't a big number in a population of 147 million.

 

[Fledermaus]

Who says they have. They have plenty of communism in Europe, subsidized by the US Taxpayer.

Citation?

Europe might think NATO has a reason to exist, but it doesn't mean American should keep funding it.

America funds it as a wall against Russian aggression.

The difference between war criminals and war heroes is the difference between winners and losers.

Since Putin is winning...

So very winning....

How many meters this week?

Way of the world.

It doesn't have to be.

Russia has governed Ukraine for centuries...

Russian Empire absorbed Ukraine in the late 19th century.

Which century is 1991 in?

I realize your heart bleeds.. but, um, since Ukraine can't win militarily, then they need to get what they can live with diplomatically.

Perhaps.... But remember, survival is often winning.

No one said it was an ideal situation.

But it's the reality we have to live with. Ukraine has lost those four oblasts.

Your OPINION is noted.

They won't get them back on the battlefield.
They might get SOME of them back at the

Your OPINION is noted.

 

[Roadvirus]

The USSR lost 20 million people in WWII.

45,000 isn't a big number in a population of 147 million.

45K in one year. It's 106K+ dead from the date of the article to the beginning of the invasion.

Then we have to factor in it's impact on future demographics for Russia. So many men sent to the slaughter (or injured to the point of sterility) will effect any chances of population growths. The birth rate in Russia was 1.78 back in 2015. It's 1.42 as of 2022.

 

[Hamish Howl]

I think she's still whining about how she got cheated.

I think that's a weird fantasy life your posts display.

 

[Hamish Howl]

45K in one year. It's 106K+ dead from the date of the article to the beginning of the invasion.

Then we have to factor in it's impact on future demographics for Russia. So many men sent to the slaughter (or injured to the point of sterility) will effect any chances of population growths. The birth rate in Russia was 1.78 back in 2015. It's 1.42 as of 2022.

This is good. Less Russians, less problems.

 

[Hamish Howl]

But it's the reality we have to live with. Ukraine has lost those four oblasts.

Oddly enough, Russia has only captured one, and that was before the war. The rest are still being fought over.

 

[JoeB131]

America funds it as a wall against Russian aggression.

Why is that our problem? We are wasting money defending rich Europeans from a Russian threat that isn't coming.

The Europeans want to exploit Ukraine for its resources. This is why they inspired the Maidan Coup that started this bullshit.

Russian Empire absorbed Ukraine in the late 19th century.

I think your history is a little off.

It's been ruled by Russia since the 14th Century, when Moscow displaced Kyiv as the power center in the Russian Empire.

Perhaps.... But remember, survival is often winning.

Awesome. They can survive without the territories Russia has reclaimed. If they are smart and get to the negotiating table, they might even get some of them back.

 

[Rogue Valley]

45K in one year. It's 106K+ dead from the date of the article to the beginning of the invasion.

Then we have to factor in it's impact on future demographics for Russia. So many men sent to the slaughter (or injured to the point of sterility) will effect any chances of population growths. The birth rate in Russia was 1.78 back in 2015. It's 1.42 as of 2022.

Also, men fleeing Russian conscription must be factored in. I don't think they're going back as long as Putin or a Putin clone is in power.

Since 2022, the aggregate of Russian dead, wounded, and missing in Ukraine is 1,000,000. Such loses of young men are not sustainable.

 

[Rogue Valley]

Why is that our problem?

Why is Israel our problem? Why is China our problem?

 

[soap box]

Who says they have. They have plenty of communism in Europe, subsidized by the US Taxpayer.

Europe might think NATO has a reason to exist, but it doesn't mean American should keep funding it.



The difference between war criminals and war heroes is the difference between winners and losers.

Since Putin is winning...



Way of the world.



Russia has governed Ukraine for centuries...



I realize your heart bleeds.. but, um, since Ukraine can't win militarily, then they need to get what they can live with diplomatically.



No one said it was an ideal situation.

But it's the reality we have to live with. Ukraine has lost those four oblasts.

They won't get them back on the battlefield.
They might get SOME of them back at the

Why haven't we invaded Mexico. I'm unashamed of my military power which gives me a free ticket to control anything I wish. Better yet, we should conquer Canada. We are more powerful so that means our possession of North America is justified because we have military superiority.

Might makes right, and that means empathy is weakness. Look at how Morocco trembles in fear that the powerful Spain is militarily superior. Spain is in NATO but Morocco is not. Spain is more powerful so Morocco should be ceded to Spain. The invasion should happen any day now. The powerful are righteous because they're powerful, because might makes right.

This is the new America. Let the atrocities begin because that's who we are now. Our military power is to be used to commit whatever sins we wish.

Abuse of military power justifies conquest. We are more powerful so that proves we're right.

This is what America has become, selfish and ugly. But I'm shameless so I don't feel anything.

 

[BogJeSrbin]

Why haven't we invaded Mexico. I'm unashamed of my military power which gives me a free ticket to control anything I wish. Better yet, we should conquer Canada. We are more powerful so that means our possession of North America is justified because we have military superiority.

Might makes right, and that means empathy is weakness. Look at how Morocco trembles in fear that the powerful Spain is militarily superior. Spain is in NATO but Morocco is not. Spain is more powerful so Morocco should be ceded to Spain. The invasion should happen any day now. The powerful are righteous because they're powerful, because might makes right.

This is the new America. Let the atrocities begin because that's who we are now. Our military power is to be used to commit whatever sins we wish.

Abuse of military power justifies conquest. We are more powerful so that proves we're right.

This is what America has become, selfish and ugly. But I'm shameless so I don't feel anything.

Russia is doing the just thing in Ukraine by liberating the people of Ukraine from Ukrainian Nazism. Ukraine means “borderland”, so by its very name it is on the border of a country, not a country in its own right. By its very name, Ukraine is rightful Russian land.

Ukraine as a country was built upon Nazism. The Nazis established a puppet Ukrainian government in the same manner as they established a puppet Croatian government. Ukraine and Croatia are fake countries built by the Nazis.

 

[Fledermaus]

Why is that our problem? We are wasting money defending rich Europeans from a Russian threat that isn't coming.

The Europeans want to exploit Ukraine for its resources. This is why they inspired the Maidan Coup that started this bullshit.


I think your history is a little off.

It's been ruled by Russia since the 14th Century, when Moscow displaced Kyiv as the power center in the Russian Empire.



Awesome. They can survive without the territories Russia has reclaimed. If they are smart and get to the negotiating table, they might even get some of them back.

In the 1300s there was no "Russia".

Grand Duchy of Moscow eventually took full control of its own sovereignty.

But Ukraine wasn't part of that.

 

[JoeB131]

Why is Israel our problem? Why is China our problem?

They aren't.

Israel is an apartheid state that commits genocide against it's indigenous people. Left up to me, we'd cut them off tomorrow.

The disputes with China are because we are ignorant of Chinese history and culture. Taiwan is part of China. They speak Mandarin, write in Hanzi, and are ethnically 98% Han Chinese.

Same thing with the South China Sea. China has laid claim to that area since the Qing Dynasty, but now we are backing claims of countries that didn't even exist back then?

 

[JoeB131]

Why haven't we invaded Mexico. I'm unashamed of my military power which gives me a free ticket to control anything I wish. Better yet, we should conquer Canada. We are more powerful so that means our possession of North America is justified because we have military superiority.

We don't need to invade Mexico. We already have more Mexicans than we know what to do with.

And I'm happy to let Canada enjoy the polite fiction that they are an independent country. The last thing we need are eight more states and 30 more congressional districts.

Of course, if either Canada or Mexico joined a hostile military alliance and put troops right up against our border, that might be a different issue.

This is the new America. Let the atrocities begin because that's who we are now. Our military power is to be used to commit whatever sins we wish.

Abuse of military power justifies conquest. We are more powerful so that proves we're right.

This is what America has become, selfish and ugly. But I'm shameless so I don't feel anything.

I guess, other than a sense of Drama.

There are a whole bunch of places where we could intervene and we don't.

We are bombing the Houthis, but we aren't taking a side in Yemen's Civil War.
We aren't involving ourselves in Myanmar's Civil War, either.

There are smaller conflicts going on all over the world, and we aren't involving ourselves in them, because as sad as it is to say, they don't effect us.

 

[soap box]

We don't need to invade Mexico. We already have more Mexicans than we know what to do with.

And I'm happy to let Canada enjoy the polite fiction that they are an independent country. The last thing we need are eight more states and 30 more congressional districts.

Of course, if either Canada or Mexico joined a hostile military alliance and put troops right up against our border, that might be a different issue.



I guess, other than a sense of Drama.

There are a whole bunch of places where we could intervene and we don't.

We are bombing the Houthis, but we aren't taking a side in Yemen's Civil War.
We aren't involving ourselves in Myanmar's Civil War, either.

There are smaller conflicts going on all over the world, and we aren't involving ourselves in them, because as sad as it is to say, they don't effect us.

I don't think you understood what I posted. You didn't explain why 'might makes right' is justified.

 

[Rogue Valley]

"might makes right" is only valid in regards to Russia.

Dontchaknow?

 

[JoeB131]

I don't think you understood what I posted. You didn't explain why 'might makes right' is justified.

I understood it perfectly well.

That you didn't like my answer is your issue.

"might makes right" is only valid in regards to Russia.

Dontchaknow?

which makes the Comedian pretty stupid for messing with them.