President Kekkonen used to invite world leaders and other officials to his private sauna at the height of the Cold War — Sauna Diplomacy, the Finnish Recipe

The picture of having a heated discussion with Finns during the height of the Cold War with alcohol involved sounds just too intriguing to pass up. Material for a great artist, maybe? Could call it "The Sauna"

These are a set of five Finnish high relief wood carvings of a traditional Finnish Sauna or 'Taking Sauna". Almost everyone in Finland either has a wood burning sauna in their back yards or has access to a sauna. The "taking sauna" is a part of Finnish culture

.

https://bluestarrgallery.blogspot.com/2013/03/finnish-high-relief-wood-carvings-of.html

Yet a nuclear holocaust wasn't inevitable. Not only did it not happen, but the Soviet Union collapsed and before that there actually was nuclear disarmament. Hence LeMay's "rationality" was not only wrong, but actually quite dangerous.

I think we have to understand that wars aren't inevitable. — ssu

If there is a nuclear war someday then we have postponed the inevitable to a bigger, more disastrous exchange of nuclear missiles.

If wars are not inevitable lets go for total disarmament, I mean total. Some countries do not have armed forces.

As discussed before, an United States of Europe is a threat to the United States of America, which may explain the dynamics of the current situation.

The graphic images have led to global condemnation of Russian President Vladimir Putin and demands he be tried for war crimes. — SMH

It appears that the people whom they govern simply do not think. Where are the graphic images from Yemen? We all better hope no-one circulates graphic pictures of corpses in our back yard.

So - is Zelenskyy right? — Wayfarer

Since you asked the question, I am sure everyone here is aware of the irrationality in singling out one particular member of the UN security council for punishment when other members have 'credible allegations' of various crimes that they have no intention of ever addressing, let alone admitting.

As for Zelenskyy, I do not know what everyone here thinks of his actions, but his frequent absurd statements make him seem like a puppet whose strings are being manipulated from the other side of the world rather than a national leader. I know that I would respect his leadership if he made the choices presented to him earlier. Right now it looks like he is the best person for the job of getting Ukraine destroyed and his people killed.

Can't we come up with some sort of exit strategy for Ukraine at this point that simply makes sense for Ukraine and in its best interest? Will it be the same as Zelenskyys? Why not?

I'm not so sure how Curtis LeMay thought about it. He perhaps would have wanted have that nuclear war in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, when Russia had only a few ICBMs. He surely saw the "brief but bloody" war something that would prevent from the "long and bloody" war, which is quite dubious. — ssu

I see the rationality of Curtis LeMays' view: it would have resulted in submissive, united Russia, prosperous and peaceful. Courage for a soldier is more than courage in battle, it is also courage in peace. I must admit I misjudged him.

Air Force General Thomas Power, who once asked officials at the RAND Corporation why they were concerned about keeping down body counts on both sides in the event of a nuclear conflict. “The whole idea is to kill the bastards,” he cried. “At the end of the war if there are two Americans and one Russian left alive, we win.” (LeMay, who was the model for General Jack D. Ripper in Stanley Kubrick’s classic Dr. Strangelove, thought Power “not stable.”)

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/12/trump-daily-intelligence-briefings-history-jfk-cuban-missile-crisis-214521/

I was referring to this case:

Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 was a commercial flight shot down by the Ukrainian Air Force over the Black Sea on 4 October 2001, en route from Tel Aviv, Israel to Novosibirsk, Russia. The aircraft, a Soviet-made Tupolev Tu-154, carried 66 passengers and 12 crew members. — ssu

I stand corrected: I was not aware of this case, the only similar incident was the suspected TWA 800 flight: but it occurs to me now that they do not clear the skies of commercial airliners before launching missile tests. If it locks on to the wrong target...

accidentally shot down a Russian airline — ssu

As I recall it was an Ukrainian air force plane, a large one, at altitude, which should have sent alarm bells ringing. Interestingly, the route over Ukraine was changed due to the war there.

On 14 July 2014, a Ukrainian Air Force An-26 transport aircraft flying at 6,500 m (21,300 ft) was shot down

In April, the International Civil Aviation Organization had warned governments that there was a risk to commercial passenger flights over south-eastern Ukraine.[3]: 217  The American Federal Aviation Administration issued restrictions on flights over Crimea, to the south of MH17's route, and advised airlines flying over some other parts of Ukraine to "exercise extreme caution". This warning did not include the MH17 crash region.[61][62] 37 airlines continued overflying eastern Ukraine and about 900 flights crossed the Donetsk region in the seven days before the Boeing 777 was shot down.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_Airlines_Flight_17

https://craneip.com/china-remains-ukraines-largest-trade-partner-in-2020/

The most popular categories of goods that were imported into Ukraine were mineral fuels, oil and its distillation products, reactors, boilers, machinery, equipment and mechanical devices, and vehicles.

The main countries-suppliers of goods to Ukraine were China (with a share of 15.3%), Germany (9.4%), and Russia (8.5%).

Could it be said that China helped fuel Ukraine's war machine?

Here we go:

CNN has not been able to independently confirm the details around the men's deaths. — CNN

Note the URL

/ukraine-images-russia-invasion-what-matters/index.html

If a video of civillian bodies along the roadside is taken as proof of Russian atrocities, then there is no need for either further comment or explanation.

This is the reason wars happen: because reason never settles the issue.

https://www.rt.com/russia/553293-bucha-war-crimes-truth/

The linkage between the dead and the Russian military was established immediately, without any fact-based data to back it up, and subsequently echoed in all forms of media – mainstream and social alike. Anyone who dared question the established “Russia did it” narrative was shouted down and belittled as a “Russian shill,” or worse. — RT

I am not sure that the following possibilities have been addressed:

1. Despite the rhetoric, it is possible that certain behind the scenes agreements may have been taking place here, negotiations that are not only not reported by the news media, but would change the context of the entire situation, and which we will never know.

2. Since no-one is a perfect actor, and no-one is infallible, some of the truth may slip out from time to time especially in real-time interviews. Zelenskyy is the one to watch here.

3. When a particular course of action is taken, for example Fox news has a general on saying "Biden wants Putin to win" it is more probably due to low intelligence + some sort of a plan than due to pure stupidity.

Just a note about Zelenskyy: I don't get it: Why does he not say straight out to NATO: look: give us the weapons we need to win this war or we are going to surrender in 24 hours, and we will be turning back all weapons at the border. Am I missing something?

How would that work?

One can see it happening here with Bucha: — ssu

Whoever committed the crimes at Bucha, I am not interested in defending them. One thing I must point out is the photographs of more or less evenly spaced out bodies looks suspicious to me. All of them by the roadside, where they can be clearly seen, and photographed from above for effect.

You have to realize I have no way of knowing what those photographs represent, who took them, and when. Impossible. I have to trust someone's version of events.

So who puts them into power? The Biden Regime enjoys a little more than 51% support. That is already a division. Voter turnout was

In 2020, 67% of all citizens age 18 and older reported voting, up 5 percentage points from 2016 (Figure 1).

That works out to 34% roughly. Factor in the vast sums of money spent on media and campaigning, and you only have to decide if the money was totally wasted, or had some influence on the election.

I never found out if Russian meddling swayed the election in 2016, which works out to a colossal failure in the democratic process. But never mind, I'd rather watch North Korean TV, at least it is obvious whose side they are on, no meddling of any sort there.

I think we need to make the distinction between the people of the United States, the people of Russia, and the regime, the Biden Regime, in this case. There is a large disconnect between the what the people want and what the Regime wants, in many cases.

It's been a long time since armies met on a field and did battle away from the civilian populations. Urban war is bound to destroy people and property. — Bitter Crank

Highlighting civilian deaths is a proven propaganda tactic. So is making believe that this is the only war ever fought in history - recent history. Obviously we need something else, but take note that the United States is planning for more wars - this is a fact - and more civilian deaths.

Today's headlines.

EUROPE
International outrage grows over civilian killings — BBC

Civilian killings where? Yemen? Iraq? Other conflict regions we cannot name because the news does not name them?

I am willing to bet international outrage grows over Western governments hypocrisy. Hopefully this is the first step in a long downward sloping trend in credibility. It is not news anymore. I have no use for subjecting myself to eternal bias.

It reminds me of the unsophisticated attempts of some communist countries to imprison people and subject them to loudspeakers blaring "Communism is good" 24 hours a day. It is torture, and in this case can be escaped at the click of a button.

I'm afraid that lauding Stalin as a great man is is line with denial. — frank

One of the sacred traditions of this earth is to laud mass-killers as great men.

I deplore it, but that it is.

I refuse to use the title "Alexander the Great" for example.

So if Finland is the model, why not evacuate civilians like Finland did? — boethius

I would think only a fool will send most of his protective armor, a large part of his defense, the human shields, out on trains. It is Illegal, inhuman, but I hope you see the insanity in advertising to the Russians "The civillians are gone, all gone, the only ones left here are those who want to kill every last one of you so do your worst". That is patently insane, and in the terror of battle I am not sure how I would react.

Maybe I would prevent the civilians from leaving and try to make believe that the Russians will not attack so much because they don't want to look bad.

"While Russian troops have battered Ukraine, officials in China have been meeting behind closed doors to study a Communist Party-produced documentary that extols President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia as a hero." — frank

It's a comment on our different ways of looking at things that I do no find this disgusting at all. The Chinese population knows that Facebook is banned in China, that YouTube is banned, that there are restrictions from news outside.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/11/media/bbc-news-banned-china/index.html

BBC is also banned, although there were getting their eyefull of Western Propaganda until 2021.

This is classical party line politics. Anyone who lives in a country where Western news is banned, having the natural skepticism that is part of being human, will conclude that the government wants to hide something, and is engaged in news-shaping.

Don't you think the Chinese, being human beings, will judge for themselves if unleashing death and destruction on Ukraine makes President Putin a hero? It really beggars belief to even imagine that the propaganda item mentioned will be more regarded as more than a curiosity by the Chinese, except those who want to believe it.

"The humiliating collapse of the Soviet Union, the video says, was the result of efforts by the United States to destroy its legitimacy. With swelling music and sunny scenes of present-day Moscow, the documentary praises Mr. Putin for restoring Stalin’s standing as a great wartime leader and for renewing patriotic pride in Russia’s past." — frank

I think that most of the time propaganda of this type helps to support, not to create, views that are already held. The collapse of the Soviet Union was a goal of the West, if not planned, was one of the biggest coincidences of modern history. So I it comforting to see other people agreeing with me.

Vladimir Putin a hero? Well, there are tragic heroes, so no offence, but he might turn out to be one.

We don't need another hero.

All the children say
We don't need another hero
We don't need to know the way home
All we want is life beyond
The thunderdome

So what do we do with our lives
We leave only a mark
Will our story shine like a light
Or end in the dark — Tina Turner - We Don't Need Another Hero

About 'poor' nations which I have some familiarity with, it is the external shocks that prevent them taking the path of peaceful development. One option that has been taken is an authoritarian leadership that is able to suppress the natural pendulum power swings between opposing groups - that takes too long and cause too much violence. We agree that education is important, so is the right for sovereign nations to work out their problems internally, without foreign interference, which, ironically is the what is being denied Ukraine at the moment. I do not see how to avoid this unless people see the need to spread non-violence instead of 'democracy'

You made an interesting comment about Russia:

Russia could go full westernized, remove Putin and corruption, have free elections, free and independent media, good education for all and be just as consumerism and capitalist as the west (which they really are anyway), and that will still be a better point of origin for future change past capitalism than how things are right now. That is my point. — Christoffer

Could they? How could the Russian people achieve this? There is no magic spell for changing a nation, other nations can help or hinder the process, and in this case I think that there is case to be made that Russia was not helped.

Maybe you could answer the question as to who benefits from the current power structures in international politics and how can that be changed so that all nations prosper?

Instead of protesting specific military actions, people should protest militarism: but does the common man out there have the intellect or courage or insight to do this? Why aren't we all anti-war?

Here is one faith that addressees the issue at hand, I believe all religions center around this idea in one form or another. (This was the first result from a search engine, not Google, for "can all nations prosper?")

In other words, a purely material civilization bases itself on the zero-sum game called survival of the fittest, where one wins and another loses. But from a Baha’i perspective, a divine civilization, based on the spiritual virtues of love, kindness, justice and equity, operates with a completely different framework and philosophy—that we live in a world of abundance and bounty, where prosperity for all can become a reality:

https://bahaiteachings.org/zero-sum-one-nation-prosper-others-dont/

And Russians do support they troops. — ssu

Everyone support their troops There should be condition of enlistment that they will only fight wars sanctioned by the UN Security council. That will show them.

He was corrupt, but that's totally normal for a nation who still has echos of its former regime. The only thing that matters is how it progress, does it move towards less corruption or more? — Christoffer

There are several concerns:

World Bank published The Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) reports that evaluate efficiency of governments in several countries on the basis of following six indicators.

Voice and Accountability
Political Stability and Absence of Violence
Government Effectiveness
Regulatory Quality
Rule of Law
Control of Corruption.

http://www.countryranker.com/worlds-top-20-countries-with-best-government/

The world index of best countries does rate Sweden highly,

http://www.countryranker.com/worlds-top-20-countries-with-best-government/

1. Finland
2. Singapore
3. Denmark
4. Sweden
5. Norway
6. Switzerland
7. Netherlands
8. New Zealand
9. Liechtenstein
10. Canada

The big question is : do the people of that country have a say in how that country is being run? Peace, stability, prosperity, these things are important, but how do you get there? Sanctions do not help, not does meddling in elections, funding of protests by foreign countries, and planned poverty. Nor does disintegration. How do you explain Yemen's right to self determination - it's a joke. How is Yemen supposed to progress?

I see no way for the good people of this world to control the trajectory of their nations be it in economy, foreign policy or the environment, maybe they never had a prayer, though revolutions keep occurring 360 degrees revolutions, these. Paradoxically, the unpredictability of war has the chance to disrupt the system. It is not ideal.

frank
10.4k
In this case, many oil companies are very very happy. Not to mention Lockheed and company.

And seeing as this war may escalate again, they are even happier. It's savage.
— Manuel

Yep. — frank

Being specific about who benefits, who has the upper hand, etc is very welcome. Some suspect that certain politicians also get paid sums of money by arms companies to make decisions to favor them, but this has not been proven.

I think we would do well with a list of people responsible for the Ukraine tragedy, but Zelenkyys' current location is unknown except for the satellites that broadcast his TV appearances.

https://nypost.com/2022/03/07/ukrainian-president-volodymyr-zelensky-revealed-his-location/

Meanwhile I estimate the score is thus:

People of the world : -5
People of Ukraine : -10
People of Russia : -6

It is an unusual conflict, in which no-one will benefit. Have we seen mutually assured destruction here?

https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/LMT

You may want to invest in your 'defence' :

https://www.fool.com/investing/stock-market/market-sectors/industrials/defense-stocks/

You are on heck of an optimist. Yes, I hope so, we all need to eat.

Here is a new one: BBC hosting a clip from Russian TV accusing the Nationalists of using human shields in effect. Whom does it help, really?

Russian state-controlled Rossiya 24 news channel


https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-60595215

The authors also don't include a second order analysis of what affect their, and similar, analysis may have on the Kremlin's decision making (whether they have made the same conclusions independently or then just read their publicly available paper). — boethius

It is nice to have a scholarly analysis of the options that were available. How people can coolly discuss military actions that will kill and injure many thousands is really beyond me, however, I think anyone could come up with some sort of strategy, and I will aim to do so. The logistics, split second decision- making, contingency planning and so on will require much expertise, I would think, not to mention courage. I think it was General Patton who said "It is very difficult to look a man in the eye and send him to his death in battle"

So what sort of plan could we come up with? Obviously the 8 year war in the east of Ukraine was continuing to cause death and destruction to the people in that area, which was held by rebels supported by Russia. So how do we save that area? Invade and secure it. The rest of Ukraines's military then goes into an all out war to re-capture those areas : stalemates don't win wars. In that case, better to destroy Ukraine's military also, through air strikes and missile strikes.

What next? Well, there must be some way to ensure that a war won't start again, some sort of agreement must be reached with the Ukranian government. How to convince them? Well, surrounding Kyiv and might convince them, and seizing a few cities might convince them some more. There is no way the Zelenskky will misunderstand this. All horrific stuff.

Oh and of course, no to NATO membership.

So, the objectives: (from RT, not sure if it complete)

According to the Kremlin, the goal of the intervention is “to protect the people [of the Donbass] who have been tortured for eight years by the Ukrainian regime.”

Moscow has vehemently opposed NATO’s presence close to its borders, and embarked on a mission to obtain security guarantees that would halt the US-led military bloc’s expansion and block Kiev from joining its ranks.

Wikipedia reports that the people separatist movement in the east started as a result of political turmoil in the Ukrainian government.

I am not sure how de-Nazification fits into the propaganda machine, is this aimed at Russia or the West?
Whom is the message intended for, and how does President Putin know it won't be dismissed out of hand?

No good decision was ever made in a swivel chair.
George S. Patton

The Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture has given its forecasts for the sowing of crops that farmers will be able to carry out this spring: a total of about 13.4 million hectares could be sown, including cereals, maize, beet and sunflower, which is 3.5 million fewer than in 2021. Ukraine, known for its highly fertile black soils, was the world's fourth largest exporter of corn and wheat before the war. — Olivier5

This is certainly good news. Which port will they use to export it?

https://www.producer.com/daily/map-of-ukraines-wheat-producing-districts/

Another predictive piece:

Interesting:

These pressures could set conditions for what we assess to be Putin’s preferred course of action, which focuses on undermining Zelensky and the current Ukrainian political environment in advance of Ukrainian parliamentary and presidential elections in 2023 and 2024 respectively.

This instance of tiresome propaganda needs highlighting:

Ukraine says its troops have retaken more than 30 towns and villages since Russia pulled back from the area this week. — Al Jazeera

I guess they could report that the Ukrainian troops met 'little resistance'

Here is a prediction, something to work with:

Deaths will range from—

Now (March 11, 2022):

5-10,000 Ukranian troops; 10-20,000 civilians; 5-10,000 Russian troops

If fighting goes three months:

30-50,00 Ukranian troops; 50-500,000 civilians; 30-50,000 Russian troops

Prediction of Putin's remaining in power:

By March 11, he is certainly significantly weakened, no way back. Chances of losing power within 3 years, now 50%.

I agree with the last prediction, for the sake of Russia, he may step down, if I understand him correctly.
The fall guy I think it is called.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/3/10/2085116/-Ukraine-War-Predictions-March-11-2022

Media even started to report Kiev as under siege, encircled, shelling everywhere. — boethius

Let's fact check that at least:

Newspaper headlines: Kyiv faces siege and UK under fire over refugees
By BBC News
Staff

Published 12 March

https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-the-papers-60716208

FOX NEWS FIRST

Published February 25, 2022 4:02am EST

Kyiv under siege as Russian forces overrun Ukraine

https://www.foxnews.com/us/kyiv-under-siege-as-russian-forces-overrun-ukraine

Worth it? The number of people killed in the 911 WTC attacks and the number of soldiers sent over to Iraq so that the enemy could conveniently kill them on home soil were roughly the same as I recall.

911 attacks 2,977 people were killed,

As of July 19, 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Defense casualty website, there were 4,431 total deaths (including both killed in action and non-hostile) and 31,994 wounded in action (WIA) as a result of the Iraq War. — Wikipedia

Worth it for whom? We have to distinguish between sub-sections of society that benefit from wars and those that do not, and the continued well-being of these sub-sections, not to mention a colossal rise in their happiness and well being indices.

Estimating losses is part of the battle plan I would think.

The EU, however, could serve as a foundation for world economic activity in a more peaceful way that actually solves problems (like environmental armageddon) with far higher mutual benefit to all parties involved. This is the US nightmare scenario and the reasons for treating Russia as an enemy to drive a wedge with the EU (and also reason for interfering in EU democratic processes since WWII). — boethius

I began to suspect this from the way the U.S. has been acting with regard to Ukraine and Russia, creating division between the two. As I read this, about and think about NATO, North America's Terrorist Organization, perhaps, with reference to Chomsky, as I read this I am become rather angry.

Why does America want to control the world like this and put down Europe, the centre of civilization with its culture and history and quiet spoken wine drinking populace (forgive me). Europe came up with the Airbus, the Rafale and the European space agency, and the Arienne launch system. This is terribly unfair competition. You may be aware of the F-104 Starfighter affair in the 1960s, where an American jet fighter was foisted on several European air forces.

Europe even produced America.

To protect the world from itself, the world must remain at all costs a dangerous place. — boethius

No offence but I find this disgusting.

What the Russians believed is besides the point. We can easily verify if they have met their objectives if a peace deal is signed (assuming it is signed in good faith) and the subsequent movements of their military, and the land they occupy temporarily. I do not think the Western media will go as far as to fabricate maps of areas of control. Crimea, for example is 'illegally occupied'. In any case I doubt the United Nations can rule on internal affairs - the referendum that independent polls have confirmed.

Fascinating video here discussing Ukraine's possible future. I hope it is not blocked.

https://rumble.com/vza74r-crosstalk-ukraines-future.html

As for Russia's future, having Putin step down and put in Medvedev seems to be an option, it makes Russia 'free of the bad guy' and restores its reputation somewhat. President Putin could even surrender to the ICJ, however, I misjudged him once when thinking he would not invade Ukraine, so I do not know. Maybe there is something in the view "this man cannot remain in power" just say the word and he is gone, America looks great again.

It was obvious 4 weeks ago that they could just consolidate their land grab of a land bridge to Crimea — boethius

I finally understand this land bridge thing. So there will have to be a border and a passage through the Eastern regions? Sounds risky, prone to guerilla attacks.

Also isn't the Euro-Russia-Ukraine econo/miltary block a real threat to American economic power? Self-sufficient in oil, gas, aircraft industries, all kinds of weapons, ballistic missiles, rockets to launch space payloads, friendly relations with Iran, Israel, maybe... sounds like a Eurodream. Maybe there is an article to back it up...

The American Dream Vs. the European Dream
Which dream will ensure a better future for all the world’s people?

By Jeremy Rifkin, August 18, 2005

Of this much I am relatively sure. The fledgling European Dream represents humanity's best aspirations for a better tomorrow. A new generation of Europeans carries the world's hopes with it.

https://www.theglobalist.com/the-american-dream-vs-the-european-dream/

How this could have been prevented: Well let's imagine the President of the United States (whoever he is could be even Donald Duck for all I care, said something like this: would it have prevented war?

"Putin is a very smart man, so I said to him, look, this NATO thing okay so we promise never to admit Ukraine to NATO, happy? And another thing- this Donbass region and Lugansk thing... hey you are serious so we will send in UN peacekeepers. You have to agree to that. It is to stop genocide right, so ok we stop genocide"

" I also said that we were very concerned, I said very concerned about the way he has been acting lately so I said we are going to bolster Ukraine security starting with these things - long range SAMs, Artillery, attack helicopters, and those other things so in case you attack - but you wont' attack you are a smart man, so , cruise missiles, and another thing I said to him, we will have military drills inside Ukraine, you know, just in case, I mean who knows, If some crazy guy comes in if he is putin to power then he may do something crazy so we will be having military drills, the full thing, F-16s, F-35s , AWACS, so on. We will enter into an agreement to share satellite and targeting information with Ukraine, in case you attack but you won't do that you are a smart man, and so just to reassure Zelenskky his ratings are dropping like CNN so let's do this"

" I also spoke to Zelenskyy he is a smart man, an actor I understand, show business like me, so I say to him you are not NATO you will never be NATO so but lets pretend like we were kids we pretended, that you are exactly like a NATO country, the training, the command and control, all that, so just to make you feel secure and all that, Putin is a smart man, he would not attack under these circumstances, he just wants security they all do, look at North Korea, he wants security, that is why he is sending his rockets all over, and we can provide security we are the greatest nation with the greatest power and greatest military and greatest economy so we can do this."

Ukraine mayor says Russian soldiers who kidnapped him knew nothing about his country — Olivier5

Ukraine mayor says? Which side do you think he is on, and how do you verify that? Russian soldiers, living in the country right next to Ukraine, training for possible SMOs, 'knew nothing about Ukraine?'

A country that voted for independence in 1991 is expected to welcome the presence of Russian troops attacking and blowing up their country with open arms?

I think something that needs repeating here is 'no-one is that stupid'.

After President Harry S. Truman relieved General Douglas MacArthur as commander of the forces warring with North Korea — for the latter’s remarks about using many atomic bombs to promptly end the war — Americans’ approval-rating of the president dropped to 23 percent. — FrankGSterleJr

You have to agree that from a military point of view, nuclear weapons are very attractive. Generals do not have to worry about politics.

. Surely he must realise that the West, including NATO, would never initiate a nuclear-weapons exchange. — FrankGSterleJr

My question is always this: why keep nuclear weapons if you are never going to use them? I feel the public is afraid to go for total disarmament.

Here is more likely propaganda, but like all fiction, food for thought.

Consider the old story that Jimmy Carter left his biscuit in a suit that got sent to the dry cleaners. Today, no one will confirm the story, but no one will deny it either.

https://abcnews.go.com/WN/president-bill-clinton-lost-nuclear-codes-office-book/story?id=11930878

A full scale invasion is just the very last option that should have been pursued. — Manuel

Well yes, but I look at the Wikipedia facts on the recent history of Ukraine. While Russia or NATO can be blamed for the conflict there were a string of institutional failures that made problems more likely. These do not have much to do with democracy, maybe a lack of it.

How could this have been avoided? What were the factors leading to this war?

How to avoid a war? It's a bit tricky. Forgot who said this, and I'm going to probably phrase it badly, but, after a certain point, it can no longer be avoided. What that point is, is obscure-ish in terms of timelines — Manuel

The interconnected issues of Crimea, Sevastopol, and the Black Sea Fleet not only constituted Ukraine’s thorniest postindependence problem but also posed a significant threat to peace in the region. In 1954 the Russian S.F.S.R. had transferred the administration of Crimea to the Ukrainian S.S.R. However, it was the one region of Ukraine where ethnic Russians constituted a majority of the population. — Britannica

Transfer of Crimea to Ukraine.

The parliament finally stripped Meshkov of his powers and elected a pro-Kyiv prime minister. In March 1995 Ukraine abolished the post of Crimean president and instituted direct political rule, though it granted Crimea significant economic concessions. The Crimean separatist movement collapsed.

Removal of the presidency and establishment of direct rule.

The turbulent relations between Ukraine and Russia in the post-Soviet period were likely inevitable, given that the independence of Ukraine was such a sudden, fundamental change.

Sudden, fundamental change: the breakup of the USSR (to avoid civil war, perhaps) incidentally all but destroyed North Korea's economy and caused widespread famine.

Nevertheless, on December 3 the Supreme Court ruled the election invalid and ordered a new runoff for December 26. Yushchenko subsequently defeated Yanukovych by garnering some 52 percent of the vote

https://www.britannica.com/place/Ukraine/The-Orange-Revolution-and-the-Yushchenko-presidency

The Supreme Court getting involved in elections - the US Supreme Court had the sense to avoid involvement in 2020.

You could read on, however, my point it that political instability, interference, and lack of proper political skills set the stage - how to avoid this - ensure a stable, secure national government, however it also has to be worship facing West, and this is a problem.

Have John Mearsheimer or Chomsky addressed any of this in their articles?

For those who cannot access RT, the following is a link to a news item and some selected comments copied from the site, presumably viewable in Russia and the world. I do not know if the commentators were arrested or deleted, but here it is. So much for total control of the media.

Roderick Alberts
Russians seem angry about losing the war in Ukraine, just read the posts below. poor buggars

ZZZZZinga
moderator-puppet Prove you can defend a single oil tank. Buffoon.

https://www.rt.com/news/553149-us-gives-ukraine-chemical-weapons-protection/

But it would have been much better, in terms of less human suffering. — Manuel

In that case, let me ask you, if you were in put in President Putin's position:

• What do you think are the threats to your country? "Existential Threats"
  
• How do you meet those threats without going to war?