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Or, in this case quickly and unexpectedly surrender territory Russia announces troop pullback from Ukraine's Kharkiv area Russia’s Defense Ministry announced Saturday that it's pulling back troops from two areas in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region where a Ukrainian counteroffensive has made significant advances in the past week... Konashenkov said the Russian move is being made “in order to achieve the stated goals of the special military operation to liberate Donbas,’” one of the eastern Ukraine regions that Russia has declared sovereign. The claim of pullback to concentrate on Donetsk is similiar to the justification Russia gave for pulling back its forces from the Kyiv region earlier this year when they failed to take the Ukrainian capital. https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/ukraine-breaks-front-line-east-nearing-key-town-89636777 Given that Kupiansk was a crucial logistics center for rail transport in that region and Izium is an even more important rail hub where Russia funneled their troops bound for Donbas, I'd guess neutral obsservers wouldn't be calling this anything but a major defeat for the Russians.

The problem is, that even if I were to google it, most of these evaluations took place before the Ukraine war. Now that the world has seen how the Russian soldiers and Russian materiel actually perform, the unanimous verdict, apart from a few besotted Russophiles, is that Russian military capability is greatly overrated.

Because Russia has such an advanced economy? Because their chip technology is the equal of any other country in the world. In the wreckage of some of their fighter jets they found GPS devices meant for civilian use taped to their control panels. There is no way an economy as small as Russia's and so much of which depends on raw materials, can be as advanced as the western economies and the advanced asian economies are..

Actually prices have been declining and natural gas storage has gone far better than expected. And most of the weaponry is coming from the USA.

This is of course Russian propaganda. Not even the Russians claim that their weaponry is superior to what the Ukrainians are getting from the West. In fact all this is just opposite to the facts. Tell us, what would be your criteris for conceding that the Russians are in retreat and losing control of territory?

It's pretty likely that Russia will be the last to know. And the last to acknowledge their reversals. Time is definitely not on their side.

This is truly bizarre. You mean they subjected their troops to months of misery (not to mention the Ukrainians) when they could have completed this in a few days? They lost lots of men and material in the early day of the war when they were advancing on Kiev and just decided not to go farther because that was part of their plan?

No rush? As the USA pours increasingly advanced weapons systems into Ukraine, and Ukrainian troops keep on getting trained to a higher standard it looks to me like time is running out for the Russians. Unless they resort to nukes, which I wouldn't put past them. Keep in mind that the Ukrainians are fighting for cultural survival. The Russians have made very clear that they want not just to conquer Ukraine, but make its culture disappear.

Back and forth? 2 major military locations have just been taken from the Russians. Eyewitness reports said Russian troops fled. Their supply lines are gravely imperiled. I'm sure from a Russian point of view it has always made sense to take Odesa. So what's been standing in their way? What stood in their way that kept them from taking Kiev?

You mean Russia hasn't wanted to take Odesa? Just like it didn't want to take Kiev? And are you claiming that Ukrainian troops haven't captured Kupiansk and Izyum?

It's reported that Russian troops have now fled Izyum, which was their major staging point for taking Donbas. Ukrainian troops enter Izium, Kharkiv Oblast A video emerged of Ukrainian social media showing the Ukrainian troops securing the checkpoint at the entrance to the city of Izium, Kharkiv Oblast. The narrator in the video says that the Ukrainian troops are already in the city: Ukrainian officials haven’t yet confirmed the liberation of the key city of Izium, which has been the second major goal of the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive in Kharkiv Oblast. Earlier today Russian Telegram channels linked to the Russian military claimed that the Russian forces have already abandoned Izium https://euromaidanpress.com/2022/09/10/ukrainian-troops-enter-izium-kharkiv-oblast-video/

Well, it is significant that the President can only serve 2 terms. And that is due to an amendment that I think was passed in the 1950s (maybe 40's?) Still you make a good point. Specifically in regard to the Supreme Court.. People can live a lot longer nowadays than when the Constitution was created.

I don't think I've ever used a meme before but just this once... https://twitter.com/uamemesforces/status/1568509843421499395/photo/1

Well, the President actually is limited to 2 terms in office.

When it rains, it pours. And it looks like Ukraine is having a monsoon moment: Now comes word that the Russians have fled Izium, which is a very major city in Kharkiv and the staging post for Russian aggression in Donbas Russian Forces Flee as Ukraine Makes Rapid Eastern Push Thousands of Russian troops retreated in the face of a lightning Ukrainian offensive in the Kharkiv region that threatens to derail the Kremlin’s bid to cement control of Ukraine’s east. A local Moscow-backed official and pro-Russian military bloggers said Saturday that Moscow’s forces had pulled out of Izyum, a staging post for the campaign in Donbas, to avoid being encircled.... Daniil Bezsonov, first deputy minister of information for the Moscow-backed Donetsk People’s Republic in Donbas, said the Russian military had abandoned Izyum and some other localities in Kharkiv. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-10/russian-forces-flee-as-ukrainian-army-makes-swift-eastern-push

That's already old news. The subsequent capture of Kupiansk has huge strategic significance. And the eyewitness reports of Russian troops fleeing en masse is significant as well

This is some very good news. Well, if you don't support the Russians Ukraine recaptures Kupiansk potentially trapping thousands of Russian troops The town is where rail lines linking Russia to eastern Ukraine converge meaning soldiers could be cut off from supplies to Ukraine’s benefit Ukraine's flag has been raised above Kupiansk in the northeast of the country, six months after Russian forces captured the strategically located town... Eyewitnesses have said Russian soldiers were fleeing Ukrainian troops in what has become a rout. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/09/10/ukraine-recaptures-kupiansk-potentially-trapping-thousands-russian/

So the western campaign went according to plan? The Russians never meant to take Kiev? Is the capture of Kupiansk your idea of something insignificant? Ukraine recaptures Kupiansk potentially trapping thousands of Russian troops The town is where rail lines linking Russia to eastern Ukraine converge meaning soldiers could be cut off from supplies to Ukraine’s benefit Ukrainian troops have captured Kupiansk, the main railway city that has supplied Russian forces in northeastern Ukraine, as a collapse in Russia’s frontline threatened to turn into a rout. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/09/10/ukraine-recaptures-kupiansk-potentially-trapping-thousands-russian/

Like the "neutral sources" that claimed the Russian campaign against Kiev wasn't really a campaign against Kiev and went according to plan?

"Ukraine suffered huge losses and hasn't gained any significant territory, if any at all." Really? Kharkiv offensive: Ukraine enters key town as counter-attack gathers pace Ukrainian forces have entered the key eastern town of Kupiansk, as their rapid counter-attack makes further gains, officials say. Kupiansk is a vital supply hub for Russian forces in eastern Ukraine and fell a week after February's invasion. Ukrainian special forces posted photos to social media which they said showed their officers in the town. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62860774 It looks like Ukraine suckered Russia into believing that their main effort was going to be Kherson. This eastern attack is actually far more perilous for the russians since it can cut their supply liines much further back.

I did a little searching on it. 'But two things happened, after which a member of the Ukrainian delegation, Mykhailo Podoliak, had to openly admit that it was "not the time" for the meeting of the presidents. The first thing was the revelation of the atrocities, rapes, murders, massacres, looting, indiscriminate bombings and hundreds and thousands of other war crimes committed by Russian troops in the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories… The second "obstacle" to agreements with the Russians arrived in Kyiv on 9 April."' https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/05/5/7344206/ The second obstacle was Boris Johnson. But, according to the reporting, Johnson didn't order Zelensky to continue or make threats. How could the west actually stop Ukraine from agreeing to halt hostilities? Johnson just pointed out that the West no longer believed that Russia was nearly as strong as was originally feared. That Russia could be beaten. I think events have borne out the truth of that judgement. ANd please I am not interested in youtube channels. It's been my experience that those who make a habit of recommending videos instead of the written word do so because videos are a lot harder to fact check.

Well, traditionally Russia west of the Urals has been considered part of Europe. And that's where most of the population resides and most industry is to be found.. European Russia (Russian: Европейская Россия, европейская часть России) is the western and most populated part of Russia. It is geographically situated in Europe, as opposed to the country's sparsely populated and vastly larger eastern part, which is situated in Asia, encompassing the entire northern region of the continent. The Ural Mountains divides Russia into two parts, bisecting the Eurasian supercontinent. European Russia covers the vast majority of Eastern Europe, and spans roughly 40% of Europe's total landmass, with over 15% of its total population, making Russia the largest and most populous country in Europe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Russia Not that any of this excuses Russia for the atrocities it is continuing to commit in Ukraine.

Can you share with us a link to what this proposed deal entailed? Did it include Russian withdrawal from the internationaly recognized territory belonging to Ukraine? As for the Ukrainians losing the war...have you been followiing the news lately? Not even the extremely pro-Russian military bloggers believe that. Quite the contrary actually.

And when they question the government's version of events, do Americans get sentenced to 15 years on prison? Do anti-government reporters in the USA regularly get murdered?

Actually, i don't take much of an interest in fiction.