Russian warship, go f**k yourself!

Zelensky still enjoys popularity higher than any world leader, and that's with a dip, 2 years into a war. His general is even more popular. I doubt a "change at the top" will achieve much. That said, if they want to change, they'll change.

It's a full-scale war, there are going to be losses and significant problems, that's a given. So far, Ukraine has excelled given their extreme situation, but that's the issue, they've set a high bar.

Important point "if true".

It doesn't always make sense to the soldier on the ground, however it could be strategically important to the Ukrainians in the medium or longer term (for complex reasons). Or it could be a mistake. It's a brutal war, sometimes there's no good/bad option, only the least worst.

No one has a crystal ball, keeping pressure on e.g. Kharkiv took a heavy toll, but paid off later. With this bridgehead, it could pay off in the future, or not. These decisions are made by people with infinitely more knowledge than a couple of people on the internet, with infinitely more at stake. And even that doesn't guarantee success or a good outcome.

This tired narrative dragged out again. The East and South voted for a candidate who was running on a pro-EU ticket. A majority of Ukrainians in the East/South did not want Russian occupation/control. And that was after years of heavy Russian meddling in local politics and propaganda (which is still doing the rounds here I can see)

Ukraine is absolutely enormous, taking the whole country was never feasible.

What the Russians have control of now is as much was ever practical

It was completely feasible, the Russians believed they would do it in days, most analysts had Ukraine collapsing within weeks if not days. Russian front line units had parade uniforms packed, Russian officers had booked tables at Kyiv restaurants - Russian forces were outside the capital on the first day.

There were a few key factors that were critical in the entire country not collapsing, one of which was the comedian/actor President staying put and very effectively rallying the nation.

It's very possible to take immense swathes of territory, the Russians took Crimea in a day without a shot, everything there collapsed. The Taliban, a vastly smaller force than the Russian military, after 20 years of preparations and defence against them, took the rest of the country in just over a week, a larger country that Ukraine, why? Because everything collapsed. It's a snowball effect.

Indeed, there was relatively high corruption in Ukraine (like many ex-Soviet states), on-top of that continual and direct meddling from Moscow.

Despite all that, and their poor economic situation, they managed to get their armed forces to the level that they didn't just hold the Russian military, but pushed them back, which remains one of the most extraordinary military upsets in modern history.

Am still waiting for your response re what you would have done if in charge of UKr . And how much of UKr - pre 2014 boarder- would be involved re ‘handing over ‘to Ru as part of finding a solution to end the RU attack?

There's seemingly a good congregation after joining a CofI church in a local town with a popular clergywoman.

They want to get as far away as possible from the Russian Orthodox and to what they perceive as western as possible.

If it's a family war imagine you had bullied your little brother and had him speak the language you spoke not what he wanted or grew up with and he performed in your country as a comedian in your language and you kept telling him we're brothers all the one. And suddenly he started speaking his own language again and he declared we are not all the one we are different and more western and modern and this place where I am is not yours it's this way since the break up of the soviet union and we are joining our western neighbours not you with your suppressiveness and bullying ways. If you had badness in you and you knew what you could get away with. Imagine what such a brother would do to his little brother and especially his family..