That's a silly statement. We entered that on Feb 24th. It has always been thus. And Russia will be the loser. In 21st Century Europe it cannot be allowed to invade a neighboring country and "win".
Bah! My remaining brain cell can’t take it! It must be both the FAS and lead based paint. Going back to trucking!
You have never heard of a “White peace”? As it looks now, a chain of events has started with the top nuclear powers apparently committing to a polarized outcome. How does one price that kind of risk?
It is not a "chain of events". It is a brutal military invasion of a neighbor. That cannot possibly be rewarded with a "win".
I forget where I heard the story but a young trader asked his mentor what to do during the Cuban missile crisis and his mentor tells him that’s east, buy stocks because if there’s a nuclear war we’ll all be dead anyway.
Are you saying a “Draw” would be ok? This is what I’ve been suggesting all along with my give “Putin an exit ramp” comments so we return to the status quo, more or less. An early draw is better, much, much better, than a draw after global attrition involving WMDs. This is what we are risking when both sides become committed to an outcome they deem favorable. Further, what one side deems fair, the other side may see as unfair, extending or expanding the conflict. Do you feel the weight of what is happening, yet?
No, a "draw" is not ok. When you brutally invade a neighbor without any attack on you, a loss is the only thing that should be allowed. Russia not just will be the loser, it has to understand that it is a loser. So that this will not be repeated. Anyone who claims that Russia in any way feared an attack from Ukraine, whether NATO or non-NATO, is delusional. There is no way anyone would try to invade Russia, simply because of its nuclear weapons. Russia had no fear of attack whatsoever. Thus its invasion is just naked military aggression. It HAS to lose in that invasion. No other outcome is acceptable. And I am very familiar with the situation/sentiments/mood inside Ukraine. There is no way Ukrainians will or can agree to anything that can be interpreted as a "win" or even a "draw" for Russia. Any Ukrainian politician who even leans towards something like this will immediately be swept from power.
The problem with StrangerDanger is he has never won convincingly. As a 6'6" 284 pound man I have many times and the beaten stay beaten, you just have to fuck 'em up properly and sure, sometimes twice or in an awesome manner. Or just kill them and they don't bother you after that either. Hence Germany and Japan being very good for a looooong time.
Huge, huge, HUGE… It can not be understated how bad of losses this is for Russia. A 10% loss in a western military would make the forces considered “combat ineffective”. A 20% loss across all forces would mean total defeat. And make no mistake, the Russian forces and equipment at the vanguard early in the war was their best. Adding to this, the Russians are committing more forces…