“Russia invaded Ukraine, took a nuclear plant hostage, illegally annexed 20% of the country’s territory, used Iranian kamikaze drones and missiles to destroy civilian energy infrastructure before winter and then demanded the West stop escalating.”
This will bring Russia to the table. Russia being driven out of Ukraine will bring Ukraine to the table ... not to agree to terms wrt the end of the Russian War ... but to agree to terms with NATO and Russia about security arrangements going forward ... and to get to that table Russia must agree to war reparations.
Belarus proudly showed off their version of the "cope cage" to the media. I mean, they have cope cages, but like Benny in The Mummy films, sometimes you need to pray to Buddha after you pray to Jesus. Apparently, you weld a pole on the back of your tank and attach a small bucket filled with diesel. Once you think someone is about to shoot you with a Javelin or NLAW, you hop out and light the diesel on fire, and the heat will divert the thermals on the missile so it harmlessly destroys your bucket instead of your tank. Seems legit.
Not sure how the Trump campaign’s interactions with Kremlin backed associates is relevant here…aside from showing how Putin has been trying to wage political war against the West (funded Brexit too). We know for a fact that Russia influenced our elections in 2016, continues to spend money to influence US public opinion, and has been probing the West’s responses as it took territory from Ukraine. Doesn’t seem like Russia is all to concerned about negotiating in any meaningful way. I mean this 2 minute snippet sounds reasonable and it feels like those concerns are being held by the Biden administration as they’ve put limitations on the assistance to Ukraine…. Going so far to make sure the weapon systems and munitions aren’t being used to attack over the Russian border, despite the Russian army aiming for population centers.
