Quite sad to see those deaths of both Russian and Ukrainian soldiers. I might hope that Russia would declare victory and pull out. They could renegotiate the leases with Crimea and allow that region to continue as a vacation spot for many. Crimea has long been quasi independent despite claims of various government. Of course that was in the past. It might take years for tourism to restart.
Meanwhile Russia seems intent on grinding away destroying Ukraine bit by bit. That may have worked for Russia in other places but Ukraine is huge with a population no longer aligned with Slavic brothers.
To get Russia out may require much greater production of munitions by the west. Give Ukraine the tools to stop Russia. Apparently force is the only answer at this point in time.
I think Russia tried to avoid having to grind anything out in the early stages. Putin asked for a neutral Ukraine; we and others could not let the NATO bone go. There was an early effort at peace, but the West intervened. Biden did not speak to Putin once since the conflict began. Trump has at least done that much but he should have stopped with aid from day one. This thing only ends one way. Also, the more we and the Euros participate, the more we and they become legitimate targets.
I wasn't aware of this until I read your post so I had to play catch up before I could respond. I think I'm okay with it. From what I understand, they are defensive weapons. Patriot types, designed to help prevent further deaths. We also aren't paying for them. NATO is covering the entire cost. If it had been more tanks, missiles and drones I would feel the same way you do. I see this as providing more time to bring negotiations to a successful conclusion and reduce the killing. Zelenskyy has been the main block to concluding the the negotiations and the war. I will be glad when they have a new leader.
I think the problem is that as long as the West keeps supplying Zelenskyy with weapons, the more he believes there is a war he can pursue. He's not pushing for a peace deal. Also, there is this factor and it might be a good subject in itself: the problem with a proxy war is you cannot claim innocence. The whole reason Iran is a target is that it uses proxies in Hamas and Hezbollah to attack Israel. That dynamic is repeated with Ukraine as we, the Germans, and other Europeans provide weapons. The Germans are sending long-range missiles. What happens when Russia toward Berlin? I don't believe the Article 5 part of NATO applies here. It's for a direct attack on a member without provocation; when that member is arming one of the belligerents, a response would be retaliation, not provocation.
Yes, it cannot continue for too much longer. I saw a film earlier of recent bombings in Kviv made by a woman living there. Russia will continue until something forces both leaders back to negotiations. I see the UN as an impediment to progress.
Changing the proxy does not change what is going on. Making NATO a middleman isn't going to fool anyone. The thing with proxy wars is that eventually, you become a legitimate target. We have recent evidence of this being the case in a different conflict.
Quite sad to see those deaths of both Russian and Ukrainian soldiers. I might hope that Russia would declare victory and pull out. They could renegotiate the leases with Crimea and allow that region to continue as a vacation spot for many. Crimea has long been quasi independent despite claims of various government. Of course that was in the past. It might take years for tourism to restart.
Meanwhile Russia seems intent on grinding away destroying Ukraine bit by bit. That may have worked for Russia in other places but Ukraine is huge with a population no longer aligned with Slavic brothers.
To get Russia out may require much greater production of munitions by the west. Give Ukraine the tools to stop Russia. Apparently force is the only answer at this point in time.
I think Russia tried to avoid having to grind anything out in the early stages. Putin asked for a neutral Ukraine; we and others could not let the NATO bone go. There was an early effort at peace, but the West intervened. Biden did not speak to Putin once since the conflict began. Trump has at least done that much but he should have stopped with aid from day one. This thing only ends one way. Also, the more we and the Euros participate, the more we and they become legitimate targets.
I wasn't aware of this until I read your post so I had to play catch up before I could respond. I think I'm okay with it. From what I understand, they are defensive weapons. Patriot types, designed to help prevent further deaths. We also aren't paying for them. NATO is covering the entire cost. If it had been more tanks, missiles and drones I would feel the same way you do. I see this as providing more time to bring negotiations to a successful conclusion and reduce the killing. Zelenskyy has been the main block to concluding the the negotiations and the war. I will be glad when they have a new leader.
I think the problem is that as long as the West keeps supplying Zelenskyy with weapons, the more he believes there is a war he can pursue. He's not pushing for a peace deal. Also, there is this factor and it might be a good subject in itself: the problem with a proxy war is you cannot claim innocence. The whole reason Iran is a target is that it uses proxies in Hamas and Hezbollah to attack Israel. That dynamic is repeated with Ukraine as we, the Germans, and other Europeans provide weapons. The Germans are sending long-range missiles. What happens when Russia toward Berlin? I don't believe the Article 5 part of NATO applies here. It's for a direct attack on a member without provocation; when that member is arming one of the belligerents, a response would be retaliation, not provocation.
Yes, it cannot continue for too much longer. I saw a film earlier of recent bombings in Kviv made by a woman living there. Russia will continue until something forces both leaders back to negotiations. I see the UN as an impediment to progress.
But, at least, the "no action, talk only" crowd will have to put on their big boy pants. https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2025/07/11/trump-attempts-to-slow-the-inertia-of-war-now-sending-weapons-to-nato-instead-of-ukraine/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=trump-attempts-to-slow-the-inertia-of-war-now-sending-weapons-to-nato-instead-of-ukraine
Changing the proxy does not change what is going on. Making NATO a middleman isn't going to fool anyone. The thing with proxy wars is that eventually, you become a legitimate target. We have recent evidence of this being the case in a different conflict.