| ▲ | jmyeet 21 hours ago | |
Russia had a clear theory of victory for the Ukraine war. It's tiered. The ideal outcome was to install a puppet regime in Ukraine (like there used to be and is in Belarus). They have failed in this. Failing that, secure a land bridge to Crimea. If the war ends today, Russia has succeeded in this goal. My estimation is that Putin is waiting for this to happen. It's hard to get good information on the state of the Ukraine war because there is too much bad information out there. NATO Atlanticists and US imperialists push the narrative that Ukraine is on the verge of winning. Likewise, there's Russian propaganda that Ukraine is about to collapse. Consider this: we've heard that the Russian economy is on the verge of collapse for over 4 years now. IT's funny that you mention Russia not embracing democracy because the West is responsible for that. When the former Soviet states sought guidance from the West, Western banks and governments simply enabled the looting of the former USSR creating the oligarchs we have today. State industries were sold to friends for a pittance (eg [1]). Russia's theory of victory is easy: just hold onto eastern Ukraine. The US has no theory of victory in Iran. None. Iran just has to survive. | ||