ATLASCUB Wed Mar 09, 2022 9:43 pm
Taking over Kiev has taken way too long.
Other than that there was an obvious Russian miscalculation as to Ukrainian military leadership resolve and their unwillingness to lay down arms, with high profile defections. It did not happen nor materialized in any shape or form in over a week of conflict.
In that regard props to the Ukranian regime, CIA and MI6 for cleaning house and eating SVR's lunch on this one. You gonna tell me you couldn't get a couple consequential assets high up in the Ukranian military to flip, staying in the shadows for this very moment - you had over 8 years to prepare for this? The fvck has the SVR being doing? If I'm Putin, I'm cleaning house at the FSB after this op is done.
Obviously the Ukranians came to the quick conclusion, along with their NATO advisers that Russia's rules of engagement left big fat holes in civilian, urban areas to be exploited. As such it is not hard to figure out why #1: "hopless desperation" defections have not come sooner and #2: why the Ukranian army is still, despite limping, alive.
No other choice for Russia than to see this through till the end, no matter what the other side throws at you cause all they need is for Russia to balk and agree to a half-assed compromise that keeps those dogs in power in some shape or form for them to be back at it. You don't do this to keep the same regime in charge, no matter what propaganda koolaid you drink tells you (from whichever mouth it comes from).
No credible threat to the physical wellbeing of the top leadership of Ukraine has been made, and that is unfortunately a shame, and a misstep in Russia's threat posture and messaging, on top of the fact that the propaganda war was lost since Day 0. You can't reason with mad dogs, you can't force them to love you. The only thing you can do is either take them out cold to send a message, or put the fear of god in them that they'll be taken out. Seems to me top Ukranian leadership is comfy in their belief that they have a way out, and NATO (U.S/UK/Polish) protection. Even if they're holed up in a third country (Poland, Moldova, Romania or what have you).... the SVR should be hunting them. You can keep Zelensky alive as a trophy piece, but everyone else should have had a massive target on their back since Day 0, with a few of them already being dead sending the obvious fucking massive message: "no one can't protect you, we're coming for you and it's only a matter of time..". Capitulate or else....
Last edited by ATLASCUB on Wed Mar 09, 2022 9:52 pm; edited 3 times in total