Quote:
Originally Posted by Lathum
At thins point I don't think Ukraine is willing to concede anything.
I think Putin really thought he would intimidate Zelensky to step down through a show of force then install a puppet regime. Once that didn't happen his hand was forced into launching what has clearly been a half assed invasion. Now that it's going so poorly I think we really all need to be concerned with what his next move is, because at this point there is no clear off ramp for him.
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Exactly. I think that prior to the invasion, the worst case off ramp was to take the two states and call it a day. He didn't think he'd be in any position where he couldn't fall back to that. And if you're Zelenskyy, you can't accept that offer, especially now, after how well they've been fighting. But if you're Russia, where do you go from here? Long, protracted war with a crippled economy and no life line? And if Putin withdraws, tail tucked between legs, he's probably not alive much longer, right?
SI