Quote:
Originally Posted by Damien
Maybe they'll stop short of Crimea to try and give Putin an out? He can't lose Crimea and stay in office surely so the threat of it might convince him to try and find a way out of the war.
I also wonder if he'll go full mobilisation and the consequences of that domestically and for the war. Hopefully, Ukraine very quickly put up defences to be ready for any counterattack.
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That ship has well and truly sailed. Any cease fire that leaves Putin with any Ukrainian territory can be spun into a victory in Russia and leaves Russian armour on Ukrainian soil, from which it can launch another offensive next year, or in 10 years.
Sure there may come a point when Russia becomes interested in a negotiated settlement but what possible reason could Ukraine now have for negotiating away even an inch of its sovereign territory? Crimea is Ukraine and Russia must now get out, including from the bases it maintained there post-USSR.