Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-25

[The Minsky Moment]

Additional steps announced by Ukraine:

1) Ukraine is eliminating all pronouns.  Everything will be called by its full name, all the time.
2) Kyiv will be renamed Kyv. Kharkiv will be renamed Kharkv. Dnipro will be renamed Npro.  All other cities will similarly have the letters D, E, and I removed.
3) Every Ukranian baby will be issued a drill and be required to use it every day.  Twice.
4) Ukraine will build a wall around Mexican embassy in Kyv, out of solidarity.  They will say Mexico paid for it.
5) Ukraine will announce tariffs on itself, just because they love the word so much.
6) The Ukrainian national anthem will be changed to "YMCA"'
7) Henceforth Pierogis will be made using fried chicken and diet coke.

[Solmyr]

Zelensky is offering $500 trillion of rare earth.  Also $1 quadrillion of uncommon earth.

What about epic earth?

[Crazy_Ivan80]

Zelensky is offering $500 trillion of rare earth.  Also $1 quadrillion of uncommon earth.

What about epic earth?

That's for Ellen musk, but being played by someone else so it can lie about later

[The Minsky Moment]

Zelensky is offering $500 trillion of rare earth.  Also $1 quadrillion of uncommon earth.

What about epic earth?

No one uses epic earth because you have to go through their storefront.

[DGuller]

I'm not sure why people say that Trump is the stupid one here.  It seems to me like he used his acumen to get a great deal from Ukraine, the greatest.  I think Ukrainians living in Ukraine would recognize it for what it was, as in my experience most of them have The Art of the Deal in their bookcase, and it's the kind of book many of them read again and again.

[grumbler]

The Ukrainians can make whatever promises and sign whatever deals they want to, and, postwar, renounce any of them on the basis that they were extorted.

[Tamas]

To me it's clear Trump doesn't yet want to just throw away Ukraine - could be just laziness or doesn't want his own Afghanistan disaster. But he can't just say that, would make him look like a kind and sensitive person. BUT if he maintains the status quo because of a GREAT DEAL, then he is actually an amazing wheeler-dealer.

[Sheilbh]

To me it's clear Trump doesn't yet want to just throw away Ukraine - could be just laziness or doesn't want his own Afghanistan disaster. But he can't just say that, would make him look like a kind and sensitive person. BUT if he maintains the status quo because of a GREAT DEAL, then he is actually an amazing wheeler-dealer.

Yeah I think he wants a deal and the people rejecting it are the Russians.

I've said before but I think there's a huge contradiction between the perspective of the pro-Russian/anti-war Westerners and the war goals and policy of Russia - in part because I think there's a mental challenge that to acknowledging Russia's actual war goals would undermine the pro-Russian/anti-war line rationale they've built.

Good and bad people on this were projecting onto Trump that he'd do a deal/betray Ukraine but sort of on the basis that Russia would basically accept what they've got when the reality is Russia think they're winning and Putin has maximalist war aims.

[Richard Hakluyt]

For me it is axiomatic that Putin wants to re-establish the Russian Empire; which is pretty bad news for a couple of hundred million people and a dozen or so countries.

If only Yeltsin had not been quite so keen on vodka maybe we could have got something better? But really, Russia is just being Russia, its not a huge surprise.

[Jacob]

Today Hegseth is apparently saying that it is unrealistic for Ukraine to return to 2024 2014 territories; and also that the US will not put boots on the ground to guarantee a ceasefire nor will any potential European troops be covered by any NATO guarantees.

[Richard Hakluyt]

It is always best to show all your cards to the opposing player after all.

[Barrister]

Today Hegseth is apparently saying that it is unrealistic for Ukraine to return to 2024 territories; and also that the US will not put boots on the ground to guarantee a ceasefire nor will any potential European troops be covered by any NATO guarantees.

I agree - completely unrealistic.

Ukraine must return to pre-2014 territories.

You know - the ones that the USA actually guaranteed previously.

[Tamas]

BTW I only read the Guardian and it's a bit hard to follow the Ukraine war there as they have much more focus on which Gaza street is seeing fighting in a given hour (exaggerating), but wasn't Russian poised for some big breakthrough since... May?

[Barrister]

BTW I only read the Guardian and it's a bit hard to follow the Ukraine war there as they have much more focus on which Gaza street is seeing fighting in a given hour (exaggerating), but wasn't Russian poised for some big breakthrough since... May?

From the sources I've been following - no?

Russia continues to make incredibly tiny gains at incredibly huge costs.

[mongers]

BTW I only read the Guardian and it's a bit hard to follow the Ukraine war there as they have much more focus on which Gaza street is seeing fighting in a given hour (exaggerating), but wasn't Russian poised for some big breakthrough since... May?

From the sources I've been following - no?

Russia continues to make incredibly tiny gains at incredibly huge costs.

Meanwhile on the diplomatic front the scales are reversed.