FriscoKid said:
Russia is desperate right now. This might not be a good thing and probably why Putin made the nuclear threat. Their losses have been pretty staggering and I'm not sure what they can send forward except for more bodies.
Most of their best divisions and equipment is gone. Ukraine has been destroying or capturing big stockpiles over the past few weeks. A caged animal is a dangerous animal. I'd hope that Ukraine keeps hitting Kherson (from a distance though) because that seems to be where Russia is taking a stand.
The only way for a just outcome in Ukraine is for Russia to get desperate - so it is only a good thing for Russia to be desperate. I'm also not in denial that a nuclear power that is desperate isn't ideal and could be damgerous. But Putin made this bed and I hope he suffers until his ass gets couped and a new Russian leader is forced to come to terms with what they did. The alternative to a desperate Russia is a conquered Ukraine. We cannot let nuclear powers invade liberal countries with impunity just because they could theoretically do really bad things. They know that if they cross that red line it is impossible for them to win. The only leverage they have left is our fear.
I feel like we've handled this invasion brilliantly. Do just enough to support Ukraine so that they can win. Don't do enough to the point Russia can successfully play the victim to the world. Be vague enough about retaliations to chemical and nuclear weapons that Russia must respect limitless responses if he crossed that red line. And completely isolate Russia from the world so that nobody, except the truly irrelevant countries, would actually back Russia if they did cross that line.
My hope is that now Putin has crossed the perverbial Rubicon (mobilization, illegal annexations, and desperate nuclear threats), we change our gameplan. We double or even triple our support to Ukraine. We let them use our weapons against Russian military targets in Russia (but make it clear civilian targets are off limits period). And we no longer announce specifically anything we are doing to help Ukraine at all. We let Russian imaginations run wild as we give Ukraine the tools to win with overpowering force. Now is the time to press the advantage, and we let Russia whine into the nether as they desentigrate from within. Nobody feels sorry for Russia. They did this to themselves.
