Have to disagree. Huge difference to Afghanistan is that the Ukrainians want the help from the USA and other Western countries.
The Ukrainian government and the Afghanistan government both wanted the US's help. Neither exist w/out the billions of dollars in support from the US. The fact remains is the US can't continue to prop up pro US governments indefinitely. If Europe took their energy crisis more serious, then Russia may care less about Ukraine and the west would not care either. The west only cares about the impact Urkaine has on energy. They are not that vested in the Ukrainian people anymore than we are vested in the Afganistan people now.
I'm confused. Which narrative are we going with today? Russian army is in such disarray it can't handle Ukraine and a few Western high tech weaponry -or- The Russian army is so powerful it can take on the full force of NATO when it plows through Romania and Poland and eventually reaches Eastern Germany.
Russian army is in disarray because of US donated arms (HIMARS) and western support over the summer. Re-read this thread if you need a reminder of how this went. Our read the rather comprehensive Wiki (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine) as to how the conflict has played out. Phase 1: Invasion of Ukraine (24 February – 7 April) Russia started its special operation to de-Nazify Ukraine and had goal to decapitate pro-Europe government. The Russians were outside Kyiv within days. The US and UK supplied anti tank and anti air arms. Turkey supplied drones. The Russians adapted to the drones but their supply lines were badly damaged. The Ukrainian Armed Forces of 2022 were not the sames ones the that were in disarray in 2014 when "little green men" had invaded and annexed Crimea. Phase 2: Southeastern front (8 April – 5 September) By mid-April the Russians had retreated to Eastern Ukraine to solidify their positions and regroup. The Russians were never able to achieve air superiority which would’ve decisively changed how this war unfolded for both sides. Had Ukrainian armed forces not gotten longer range artillery, Russia would have been able to both defend its Eastern holdings and regroup for a repeat western advance. Phase 3: Ukrainian counteroffensives (6 September – present) Instead it's the Russian military in disarray and Ukraine working to reclaim its country. This war would be over today if only Russia withdrew.
You wrote earlier that the Ukrainian government wouldn’t exist without billions in aid from the US so do you then therefore agree that the Russian military could do a lot of damage and get to the borders of NATO without US aid helping Ukraine?
The previous poster stated East Germany. Poland and the Balkans stand between Ukraine and East Germany. Given the general low opinion of the Russian military, why would NATO be afraid of the Russian military at the border?
We are running the Russian military into the ground - which will weaken Putin and Russia for decades. DD
There's a lot of sad stuff coming out from Russia if you look for it. No doubt Ukranians should be the spotlight for sympathy, but I can't say that most Russians have a choice in the matter.
The Russian soldiers themselves aren't doing a very good job but they are still doing a lot of damage. Further if they take Ukraine they likely take Moldova and that causes a major refugee crisis into NATO countries. It also leaves Putin in control of a good chunk of the world's food supply.
The Taliban do not want the US there. There is no equal or similar force to the Taliban in Ukraine. You made the "civil war" comparison before and while I get it, it does not apply to Ukraine. Ukraine doesn't have a CIVIL war problem; it has an invasion problem. That makes it much more likely that the US does NOT need to prop up Ukraine forever. Europe may not care about Ukrainian, but they are concerned they will be next if Ukraine fell.
