Ukraine War Watch Thread

[funkervogt]

The fall of Avidiivka may have been more damaging than thought. Up to 1,000 Ukrainian defenders are still missing, and the number captured by Russian troops could be in the hundreds.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/20/us/p ... ussia.html

[funkervogt]

Former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates believes Russia now has the upper hand in the Ukraine War.
https://www.youtube.com/live/qMgxiVrcen ... 2mCtQos3ub

[wjfox]

Barely 10% of Europeans believe Ukraine can still defeat Russia, finds poll

Wed 21 Feb 2024 05.00 GMT

Support for Ukraine among Europeans remains broad, but nearly two years after the full-scale invasion barely 10% now believe it can defeat Russia, according to an EU-wide survey – with some form of “compromise settlement” seen as the most likely end point.

The shift in sentiment – this time last year, more Europeans than not said Ukraine must regain all its lost territory – will demand that politicians take a more “realistic” approach that focuses on defining what an acceptable peace must actually mean, the report’s authors argue.

“In order to make the case for continued European support for Ukraine, EU leaders will need to change how they talk about the war,” said co-author Mark Leonard of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), which commissioned the polling.

Most Europeans “are desperate to prevent a Russian victory” but do not believe Kyiv can win militarily, Leonard said, meaning that the most convincing argument for an increasingly sceptical public was that continuing aid “could lead to a sustainable, negotiated peace that favours Kyiv – rather than a victory for Putin”.

The January polling in 12 EU member states – including France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden – found that Ukraine’s stalled counteroffensive, growing fears of a US policy shift and the prospect of a second US presidential term for Donald Trump were fuelling pessimism about the war’s outcome.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/ ... ussia-poll

[firestar464]

The fall of Avidiivka may have been more damaging than thought. Up to 1,000 Ukrainian defenders are still missing, and the number captured by Russian troops could be in the hundreds.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/20/us/p ... ussia.html

It's worth noting that I remember Russian losses were even higher. Ukraine's goal is to attrit Russian forces

[funkervogt]

The fall of Avidiivka may have been more damaging than thought. Up to 1,000 Ukrainian defenders are still missing, and the number captured by Russian troops could be in the hundreds.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/20/us/p ... ussia.html

It's worth noting that I remember Russian losses were even higher. Ukraine's goal is to attrit Russian forces

Russia has many more people.

[Powers]

Russia has many more people.

And the war isn't inside their borders.

[firestar464]

I'm well aware of both.

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[weatheriscool]