(03-16-2022, 08:29 AM)mikesez Wrote:

(03-16-2022, 05:46 AM)The Real Marty Wrote: There's a growing possibility of a compromise that will end this war. 

Both sides are feeling an enormous amount of pain right now.  Russia because of the sanctions, and Ukraine because their cities are being shelled into rubble and their citizens mass murdered.  In addition, there are some reports that if the war goes on much longer, Russia will have a severe supply shortage, even including ammunition.  They didn't plan for this.  Also, Putin has to be coming to the realization that he has stepped into a colossal quagmire. 

Ukraine will promise to never join Nato.  Putin will declare victory because he has stopped Nato's expansion. 

Russia withdraws and declares victory. 

The West slowly eases the sanctions, while they ship arms to Ukraine so Russia will think twice before doing this again.

It's going to be hard to make a lasting peace unless Ukraine accepts the loss of Crimea and possibly other connecting territory as well.  Russia should have offered to basically buy those territories a long time ago, a lot less people would have died.  It's a lot harder for Ukraine to accept it now.  It would seem to normalize getting territory by violence.

They'll have no choice but to accept the loss for now. Perhaps sometime in the future when Ukraine rebuilds into a position of strength can it deal with Russia for Crimea. However, that's so far down the road right now it's unthinkable.

Apart from the war rebuild, Ukraine has a lot of internal changes that must be made before it can become truly westernized and prosperous. It still operates in the shadows of the old Soviet/Russian system. 

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