Learn to read a map: where is Ukraine? Where is Russia? Where is America?

You getting paid for this?

When Putin started his Special Military Operation on that day in February, 2022, he didn’t invade Ukraine, he invaded America.

On that, we are in total agreement. Our difference lies in who we think has been the initiator of this critical situation.

There is the BBC/CNN/PBS propaganda that “Putin” is the sole source of the problem — a would-be new Ghengis Khan.

There is the more supportable view that the evil lies in the US/NATO Political Class who responded to the collapse of the Warsaw Pact by expanding NATO to the borders of a Russia that wanted to join the West — despite promises not to do such a threatening act.

MAD: Mutually Assured Destruction. A nuclear launch would be suicidal for Russia.

The U S has been very careful of what weapons and information it has provided to the Ukraine. Russia has never been threatened. Russia has lost wars and survived. The Russians know what they could be facing from the “air shows” in Syria. The “leadership” in Russia has been stealing anything that is not nailed down in order to have a lavish future. There is no future after a nuclear exchange. The US/NATO has been careful not to threaten “Rodina” (Mother Russia). The recent “drone” attacks in the Moscow area target the Oligarch class. LThe peasants may be steeped in “propaganda”, but I think that the military has a better view of the game. I doubt that the military is willing to die for Putin’s ego.

It is a dangerous game. We didn’t start it. The arguments that Putin has made about NATO in the Ukraine hold equally well about NATO along Russian borders in Poland, Finland and the Baltic states. I read this as Putin playing Tsar. He has openly talked of the new empire that extends to the Vistula River in Poland. That would mean an invasion of a NATO country. I doubt that such a scheme would be worth dieing for.

It is obviously a dangerous game. What did you think NATO was all about? If Russia/Soviets rolled West, and the US/UK/NATO resisted, we’d be at the same decision point. We are forcing Russia to chose either destruction (MAD) or withdrawal. I doubt that China would be so kind. Once nuclear weapons are in play, the question was always, “Let me do what I want, or we die together”. The game has always then been, to avoid putting an opponent in a condition where death is preferrable to submission. Is the re-establishment of the Russian Empire in Eastern Europe worth destruction? I sincerely doubt that physical control of the Ukraine is that important to Russia. I don’t think that Russian is suicidal about it.

Let’s not kid ourselves — any open US/NATO attack on Russia would escalate to global nuclear war in a very short period of time. Same with any US/NATO attack on China — or even with any (unlikely) Chinese attack on Russia. No nuclear-armed country will accept defeat at the hands of foreign aggressors, making nuclear response inevitable.

Our Betters in the DC Swamp do not seem to realize just how close to catastrophe they are pushing us. Although if the Russians responded to US aggression by thoroughly nuking only the District of Columbia, they would earn the undying gratitude of a large part of the US citizenry.

An air war over the Ukraine might be too expensive to risk. There would be no way to throw “mobics” into an air war. The fate of Moskva, should make Putin worry about the resources spent on training, maintenance and up grades for the Russian air forces. The Russians have some “spiffy” systems but can’t even provide sox for their grunts. Significant losses to their air force might activate the Chinese Dragon.

With careful design and a bit of armor they’d be mostly safe from gunfire, and I’m guessing the price would be similar to an anti-aircraft missile, so dominance would go to whoever could saturate the airspace, even if the AA missiles were 100% effective.

Glider bombs are of course a very cost effective solution, as the plane effectively functions as a reuseable boost stage, furnishing potential energy the glider translates into greater distance, and kerosene is a lot cheaper than rocket mass to boot. Additionally, a 5,000+ pound explosive charge is exactly what the doctor orders when clearing out enemy troops positions in built up urban blocs, which are normally very difficult to deal with otherwise (every rubbled building is a new bunker or fighting position).

There have been analyses suggesting that the related issue for the German Nazis in WWII was they were running out of trained pilots. It takes a lot longer to train a pilot than to build an airplane. Maybe Zelensky could fill us in on those details?