rabas

So, Crimea was officially transferred to the Republic of Ukraine! ... But why? You conveniently avoid this question by quoting further down at "Hence, in 1954, Crimea was more “Russian” than..." You omit the reason that 'Hence' refers to!, which is: "A sizable population of Tatars had lived in Crimea for centuries until May 1944, when they were deported en masse by the Stalinist regime to barren sites in Central Asia, where they were compelled to live for more than four decades and were prohibited from returning to their homeland. Stalin also forcibly deported smaller populations of Armenians, Bulgarians, and Greeks from Crimea, completing the ethnic cleansing of the peninsula. Hence, ..." So the real reason? Ethnic cleansing! The paper further concludes that Crimea was only absorbed into the USSR because Russia had cleansed the original inhabitants so no need for Crimea to remain an autonomous republic.

This does not sound right, neither the 'small numbers' nor that Ukraine is somehow responsible. Do you have reliable links to confirm this?

I provided at least one link with actual views and opinions from the Indian government about their S-400 system purchases in light of the S-400's abysmal performance across the board in the Ukraine war. Their abysmal performance was not in question, only what India can do about their mistake now. But you have scolded me more than once about including links to factual information. (propaganda hates the light of day?) If you are really interested, look at my post record.

...the H word, again. Yes. Why have hegemony (def: leadership, dominance) when you can have despotism (def: the exercise of absolute power especially in a cruel and oppressive way.) Me, I have always rooted for global cooperation among all peoples.

If it's from Russia, it's state propaganda. The rest they toss from windows. As to the propaganda that the West nixed it to kill more Ukrainians. There were many rounds of negations that eventually failed for several factors. What the head Ukrainian negotiator really said [Wiki] : "Ukrainian lead negotiator Davyd Arakhamia stated in an interview on 24 November 2023 that in March 2022 the Russian delegation had promised Ukraine peace for refusing to join NATO, but that Russia had not given any security guarantees and the Ukrainian delegation did not trust Russia to uphold such an agreement.[77][79][80] " The lack of security guarantees from someone like Putin is more than sufficient for the US, UK, and most peoples' grandmothers to say don't sign.

Off their rocker. Imagine that a billion people with a $51 trillion GDP and vastly superior advanced technology could defeat Putin's corrupt Russia with it's $2T GDP and no exchangeable currency. Wait, that makes sense! The only way Putin can't lose is if the West believes the messengers of Russian propaganda saying you can't win.

Well, no. Kennedy declared a naval quarantine not a blockade, which was not an act of war. He only blocked offensive nukes entering Cuba. (vaccine?) "On October 22, he ordered a naval “quarantine” of Cuba. The use of “quarantine” legally distinguished this action from a blockade, which assumed a state of war existed; the use of “quarantine” instead of “blockade” also enabled the United States to receive the support of the Organization of American States." [US Office of the Historian]

Are the Thai still kind and let the foreigners stand in front for a better view? I've always heard this was the reason...

Yes, lets ask Crimean people. A real Crimean, an original Crimean Tartar who is now Ukrainian. Emine Aiiarovna Dzhaparova is the mother of two young children. She was also Ukraine's deputy minister of foreign affairs. In this 24 minute TED talk, she will tell you, as a mother, of all the unspeakable horrors that Russia has brought upon Crimea since the time of Joseph Stalin. Hint, it's bad. The war-torn history of Crimea—my home | Emine Dzhaparova | TEDxAthens

Too complicated with logical flaws. Let me make it simple. Putin started the war. If Putin withdraws there can be peace tomorrow.

Putin refused to go long in advance. So, if Putin invaded, and Putin refuses to attend peace talks, then Putin is the sole source of the war.

The European Conservative is a small EU English language politically oriented publication covering philosophy, politics, culture, and the arts. I would not consider it a reliable source on complex political issues. There were many rounds of negations that eventually failed for several factors not mentioned in your link, which is reporting soundbites. What the head negotiator really said was [WIKI] "Ukrainian lead negotiator Davyd Arakhamia stated in an interview on 24 November 2023 that in March 2022 the Russian delegation had promised Ukraine peace for refusing to join NATO, but that Russia had not given any security guarantees and the Ukrainian delegation did not trust Russia to uphold such an agreement.[77][79][80] " The lack of security guarantees would be sufficient reason for the US, UK, and most peoples' grandmothers to say don't sign.

Correct. It shows Russia's sole, not yet fully functional S-500 system moved to Crimea because ATACMS have cleared out most/all S400/S300 systems there. Forbes: Ukrainian ATACMS Rockets Are Blowing Up Russia’s Best S-400 Air Defenses As Fast As The S-400s Can Deploy To Crimea A desperate move that Russian generals can't be happy with. Surely Putin will never back down but much of Russia isn't very happy. And yes, Russia can change and many Russians yearn for a better life more integrated with the world.

As posted earlier by kwonitoy, Ukraine/NATO is literally cleaning out Putin's invincible S400/S300 air defense systems. Giving up on S-400, Putin's MOD has moved their S-500 system to Crimea. System. How many do they have? One. And no current production as it's still not fully qualified. This system was protecting Moscow Putin. Is that desperate? It may not work as well as promised. LINK Russian industry has struggled to source precision electronics needed to produce the originally planned precise hit-to-kill missiles so the prototype has an old style warhead. "In other words, the S-500 is probably not as effective as it could be against the very weapon that’s been harrying Russian air-defense batteries in Crimea."

No, it's not. Only Russia had a recession in 2022, which is relevant to Russia's war. The 2020 recession was Covid. (image from your post)

Ukraine winning would be Russian withdrawal, fall of Putin and a more civil government in Russia (for the people), friendly relations between Ukraine and Russia focused on mutual growth and benefit, even some repair work. Wait, that benefits Russia too! And wow, some other leader than Putin could have started that 20 years ago.

Here's more 'clickbait' factual information. Russia's GDP has not grown over the last 10 years. Nor has its GNI which is based on PPP. [ GDPlink GNIlink ] FYI, GDP always grows after recession, doesn't mean a bright future. Can you see Russia's recent recessions in red? Also, sudden GDP growth from a jump in weapons manufacture trashes Russia's civil economy.

No country will be happier about a weakened Russian war machine than Ukraine. Well, except maybe the 20 odd other countries they've invaded since 1900. But they've had time to rebuild and bury their dead.

Lol. Shoot the messenger, and miss! He is a tenured Professor of Business. With various degrees in Government and Psychology, Public Policy, Entrepreneurship, and PhD in Organizational Leadership, he's probably as well qualified to discuss Russian propaganda in the US as anyone. As hopefully you know, Russian propaganda is historical, storied, and ubiquitous.

Neither the UK nor the US were occupied during WW2, fully or partially. Ukraine is as we speak. You cannot hold a vote when only some citizens can vote, obviously (WTH, duh). Rightly, the Ukraine constitution forbids such an election. [LINK]

Free and fair elections, not Soviet style Russian elections. Not only were many of the reported election numbers mathematically impossible, but there was also no longer much of a choice: All prominent opposition figures had been either murdered, imprisoned, or exiled. Like in Soviet times, the election also welded Russians to their regime by serving as a referendum on Putin’s war against Ukraine. All in all, last weekend’s Soviet-style election sealed Putin’s transformation of post-Communist Russia into a repressive society with many of the features of Soviet totalitarianism. Russia Is Back to the Stalinist Future

Oh, come on. How do you hold free and fair elections inside occupied territory? VAG? Vote at gunpoint?

Neither were occupied by invading armies.

Low flying, low radar crosssection drones currently have some advantage. Also depends on what types of radar are placed where. There will always be a battle between stealthier drones and better anti-drone radar. Just like the new Ukrainian anti-turtle tank warheads. What comes after turtle tanks?

Not cardboard. Click the link, all the Su-57s are sitting in the open. There is one dummy, easy to spot.