The problem Ukraine has is, it really, really doesn’t want to fight as it will lose. But let’s think this through. I don’t know what Ukraine’s capabilities are, but if they have the personnel and logistics, they could strike first and probably wipe out fifty percent of Russia’s offensive capability, burn Russia’s supplies and capture large quantities of equipment. Why do I think so? Because I think Russia is posturing, rather than thinking Ukraine is an actual threat. There’s a difference between having troops on the border and those troops being in serious readiness. Now, I think that if Putin thinks he can get away with it...because Biden is weak, yes, he’ll attack. But I doubt they are in a good defensive position and ready for a preemptive strike.
I understand not doing this, as it makes Ukraine the bad guy. Also, people who are about to be killed believe until the bullet strikes their head that it won’t really happen.
Also, suppose Ukraine captures a few nukes. I know I’d be looking for them.
Well they had better quit poking at the bear then. I understand they have voted to not allow Russian commercial shipping.
Anyone with commons sense who thinks that Russia will just use its ground forces needs to think beyond their noses. Russia will blast the livin hell out of the Ukraine ground forces with their air capabilities.
In the Black Sea, they will use their naval capabilities against any aggression there by NATO forces. Who in their right minds think that NATO naval forces have a chance long term in the Black Sea..
I believe that Russia will use Nuclear tipped torpedoes if it comes to it in the Black Sea.
With the Sh*ts and Giggles administration in, I personally think Russia will move after it makes half hearted attempts in negotiations. Kind of like to ones that went on prior to WW2.
75% of the Ukrainian troops defected in Crimea. Thousands defected and deserted in Donbas.
As for the Ukrainian aggression it is purely hypothetical, but Russia of course wouldn’t consider it as their excess. This would result an all-out retaliation on NATO infrastructure as far as Germany.
blather. got it. If Ukraine had all this capability why didn’t they use it when Russia took Crimea from them? The idea of a Ukrainian first strike attack is amusing but, really.
First, I do believe that the Russian troops on the border with Ukraine are for show. I don't think that Putin wants a traditional invasion of Ukraine as he knows how costly it will be.
That doesn't mean he doesn't want to capture all of Ukraine and its resources and make them part of mother Russia. Let's look a few years back at what happened. Russia and Ukraine were at odds. The Russian naval station (its only warm water port) is located in Crimea, which was part of Russia, until it was given to Ukraine. Putin used “little green men” to invade Crimea. The Ukrainian military was afraid to send troops against what Russia labeled as upset citizens, for fear of looking bad to the world and guilty of war crimes.
Right now Putin has lots of Russian troops who are now assigned as mercenaries on the Ukraine border. I fully expect that Putin will play the political game until things are so tense that Ukraine will do something militarily and then the little green men will be sent in to really turn up the heat. At that point Ukrainian military forces will be forced into all out combat and Russia will complain to the world of Ukrainian military attacking Russian citizens in eastern Ukraine. At that point Putin will either send in troops hoping that the west demands a truce and ceasefire or Putin will conduct a devastating attack that will scare the West into telling Ukraine to submit. I could envision an a non-nuclear missile attack against either Kiev or Odessa that destroys large parts of the city, or maybe even a blockage of the Black Sea by the Russian military.
While I agree, that Putin is not ready for a land war on the Ukraine border, I do believe he is planning on conquering it very shortly and making it either part of Russia or a Russian puppet state.