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dolorosa_12Russia has occupied less than 1 per cent of Ukraine's territory since November 2022.
'[Making "territorial concessions" would mean handing over] a region the Russians have been unable to capture fully since 2014, thanks largely to the powerful system of fortifications there. At the current pace of the Russian army’s advance, it would take them many years to seize full control.
Giving this defense belt up would enable unhindered, rapid advances of Russian equipment and threaten Ukraine’s very existence as a state. And despite breakthroughs in the Donetsk region, they still have not managed to capture cities protected by fortifications. According to a recent report by the Institute for the Study of War, capturing the cities in the fortress belt would likely take several years and cost Russia significant human lives and material losses.'
In other words, anyone presenting the current state of Russia's invasion as a stunningly overwhelming military force is either ill-informed, or presenting a false picture in order to push a particular agenda. This is not to say that life as a soldier or civilian in Ukraine is particularly easy right now, but it's important to keep these facts in mind.
'Territory' is not lines on a map, on an empty piece of paper: it is the people who live there, and 'territorial concessions' is a conveniently bloodless euphemism for condemning hundreds of thousands of people to totalitarianism and human rights abuses without justice.
'[Making "territorial concessions" would mean handing over] a region the Russians have been unable to capture fully since 2014, thanks largely to the powerful system of fortifications there. At the current pace of the Russian army’s advance, it would take them many years to seize full control.
Giving this defense belt up would enable unhindered, rapid advances of Russian equipment and threaten Ukraine’s very existence as a state. And despite breakthroughs in the Donetsk region, they still have not managed to capture cities protected by fortifications. According to a recent report by the Institute for the Study of War, capturing the cities in the fortress belt would likely take several years and cost Russia significant human lives and material losses.'
In other words, anyone presenting the current state of Russia's invasion as a stunningly overwhelming military force is either ill-informed, or presenting a false picture in order to push a particular agenda. This is not to say that life as a soldier or civilian in Ukraine is particularly easy right now, but it's important to keep these facts in mind.
'Territory' is not lines on a map, on an empty piece of paper: it is the people who live there, and 'territorial concessions' is a conveniently bloodless euphemism for condemning hundreds of thousands of people to totalitarianism and human rights abuses without justice.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-18 07:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-08-18 08:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-08-18 07:35 pm (UTC)Thank you.
I'm sick to my stomach thinking of the Trump/Zelensky et alia meeting going on right now as I type.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-18 08:06 pm (UTC)