Will Putin Invade Ukraine?

[Hydra009]

Putin tells the world in general and Trump in particular that he's ready for peace - then tells his own people that he'll exploit the "cooling" of relations between the US and Ukraine with increased aggression.  Interesting.

[Hydra009]

Putin: Give Donbass to us diplomatically!
*under his voice* because we are unable to fully take it by force.

[Cassia]

I'm looking at a Russian infantry training video and I'm watching the three fattest guys in Russia slowly bumble into a trench and make pewpew noises while very, very, very slowly walking down an empty trench.  One of them is doing that fat guy heavy breathing thing and it honestly looks like he's about to drop towards the end of the video.

Apparently, they're practicing trench clearing, but at such a glacial pace that the enemy could order an artillery piece from IKEA, construct and load it, then fire it on them before they even so much as make it to the enemy trench.

People talk about how Russia has a huge population as if their entire population can be converted into soldiers, which it can't.  They can't even convert much of the men of the right age because of much more severe substance abuse and health problems than other countries.  This is what they're working with, take a good long look.  Would Russia deploy these people if they had other, better options?

These guys will get killed immediately but their commander is glad because he doesn't report it for a good while and just keeps their salaries. Putin is paying these guys way more than they can make any other way. Their families are all for it, especially if Ivan was just hanging around drinking vodka all day. Grab a toilet while you are there. I bet officers take bribes for who gets to skip out of missions. There is hardly a single transaction in Russia that is not saddled by corruption.