Ukraine (Mod Note & Threadbanned Users in OP)

Don’t think it’s a question of if they fight but rather how long they can fight for. A female Ukrainian MP Lessia ? ( didn't catch her second name) made a valuable point on sky news this am - she asked the media to use the correct terminology and to be careful how they framed the situation - she was clear that this wasn’t a separatist engagement - that this was not a civil war situation but a full scale Russian invasion of a sovereign Nation - spoke very well and it came on the back of sky news reporting about Donbass region referring to separatists this , that and the other. The sky news presenter obviously didn’t mean anything by it but acknowledged that she had a valuable point.

I'm not sure will the Ukrainian's fight back, the Russians seemed to come over the border fairly easily without any resistance. They might realise that its fruitless as they will be beaten by the Russians. Anyway it's a terrible situation. I think NATO and the West should do more to help the Ukrainians.

I think its safe to say we will be seeing European borders redrawn over the next few years as they all line up for Russian occupation

Have to say I'm surprised at putins move last night but he's not invaded beyond the 2 regions he's recognised as being independent (in his eyes). I suppose he's just firing a few warning salvo shots.

I'd be surprised if he launches a full scale invasion, he may be unhinged but he's certainly not stupid.

He'll essentially get what he really wants , a bugger buffer zone , Nato not admitting Ukraine into the alliance, Make European leaders and Biden, look like complete fools (actually he's already ticked that box) and of course yield a massive increase in Profits as gas prices go through the roof.

Roll on a few months, all will calm down and European Leaders will be Queuing up to kiss his hand, Pipeline project will be back on track and he'll have two new states , to add to Crimera.

Ukraine will be almost forgotten about.

It's bewildering listening to all these Russian experts talking absolute nonsense, the dogs on the street know what Putins up to, it's not rocket science, ultimately its Ukraine that will suffer.

Calling on the general population to fight. There are no words to describe Putin.

It could also be a tactic to draw them in and take them on based on their own plans. A straight head to head against the Russian military juggernaut would be insane. Draw them into your own territory that you know and hopefully have prepared makes more sense. It will also foster a feeling of overconfidence which obviously would favour the defenders. Obviously I could be completely and utterly wrong and they are folding like a piece of paper but any interviews I have seen in recent times with members of the Ukrainian military has indicated a stoic stubbornness to defend their country.

NATO could not put boots on the ground in the Ukraine it would be used by Putin to garner more support for this criminal act. NATO could have provided a lot more expertise and military assets (weapons). It still can specifically surface to air missiles, anti-tank weaponry and communications equipment. Tanks would be useless and would end up being scrap in no time. This is now a war of attrition and the more Russia moves into the Ukraine the more they have to make Russia hurt.

I think this could become a guerilla warfare type situation - I strongly feel that Ukrainians know exactly what lies ahead under a Russian backed regime change and have had enough of that.

Right. Let me hold my hands up here and admit my monumental stupidity here.

Can someone please explain to me what this war is about again?

Putin is an old-school Russian who served in the KGB. When he started his career, his eyes were on the prize of being in command of all of the USSR, or at least very high in the chain. When the soviet union collapsed, his dreams collapsed with it, and since then he has been conspiring to build a new soviet union on the basis of lands that he believes were "stolen" from Russia when the iron curtain fell. Georgia and Ukraine are two of these, but there are many others.

He's functionally a Russian supremacist, absolute narcissist and psychopath. The power and wealth he has consolidated over the last 30 years means that he is in absolute control of Russia. There are rumours that he may be terminally ill, and that this is his all-in attempt to set a legacy before he dies.

Regardless, there is no reasoning or negotiating with him on this. He is going to do this one way or another. We all watched over the last two weeks as politicians banged on about diplomatic solutions, while intelligence agencies and the dogs on the street said that Putin would ignore all that and invade anyway. And here we are.

You will see many useful fools bang on about NATO encroachment and US aggression and claim that Russia had no choice, but ultimately these are all useful excuses that Putin has leaned on to carry out his intentions. There is only one reasonable response left from the rest of the world. You cannot negotiate with a megalomaniac.

How do you know that?

And if that is true, what could have been done to help prevent this from happening?

Reuters fact check seems to think Ukraine will be able to put up a big fight

Yes he has and it's all been ignored meanwhile Ukraine is been pounded from Russia , Belarus , Moldova and we're sitting back and the only tools we have is the UN and very limited sanctions

Like you say they are a big fish in a small bowl. Russia should be able to defeat Ukraine but not without some cost. But as you say that doesn't mean Russia can go toe to toe with NATO.

All NATO can to do is make it as expensive and as painful for Russia. But from the sidelines. That's what they've done by pouring military aid into Ukraine for weeks.