To elaborate on this point: Russia is trying to 1 take Ukraine and 2 keep it. They have not succeeded in part 1, and part 2 is much much more difficult. Afghanistan, as stated in the above comment, is a good example of this: the war to take Afghanistan took less than a year, whereas the struggle to keep it under control was failing two decades in.
Russia can’t even do the easy part.
Of course, this is assuming that they’re not just trying to keep hold of Crimea so they have a port on the black sea, which I think is the real reason they’re prosecuting the war.
What’s funny is that Ukraine was making no moves on the conquered territory of Crimea. They didn’t seem to want to fight Russia over it. But now that Russia went and invaded the rest of the country all bets are off…
I would add three things to what they need to realize:
It is possible for Ukraine to win.
Russia is a ruthless and incompetent oligarchy, and they cannot be allowed to expand their territory.
Fighting or fleeing are vastly preferable to being subsumed by Russia.
All perfectly correct. However, it is a war that Russia will never win, like Afghanistan.
To elaborate on this point: Russia is trying to 1 take Ukraine and 2 keep it. They have not succeeded in part 1, and part 2 is much much more difficult. Afghanistan, as stated in the above comment, is a good example of this: the war to take Afghanistan took less than a year, whereas the struggle to keep it under control was failing two decades in.
Russia can’t even do the easy part.
Of course, this is assuming that they’re not just trying to keep hold of Crimea so they have a port on the black sea, which I think is the real reason they’re prosecuting the war.
What’s funny is that Ukraine was making no moves on the conquered territory of Crimea. They didn’t seem to want to fight Russia over it. But now that Russia went and invaded the rest of the country all bets are off…
Yes, very true that.
I think he was referring to the Russian war with Afghanistan not the 2 decades long US war with Afghanistan.