1 hour ago, DanvilleFan said:

Problem is I can't see Ukraine agreeing to that as they get nothing.  Maybe the U.S. will pressure them to accept.  I could see a "No Ukraine in NATO" but in exchange for Russia pulling back from some territory (but probably not all).  There has to be something that let's each side save face/justify why the war happened to its people.  The fear if Russia keeps the territory would be that they use the time to rebuild their forces and then launch new attacks in a few years from their new positions deeper in Ukrainian territory.  Maybe there's a DMZ setup between the two sides?

Agreed, in all seriousness the most fair scenario would likely be that Ukraine keeps all of their territory and they don't join NATO. I'm just not sure Russia is willing to call that a victory. More so, given the fact that the US and other NATO participants spent hundreds of billions of dollars defending Ukraine without much direct intervention. 

1 hour ago, DanvilleFan said:

Problem is I can't see Ukraine agreeing to that as they get nothing.  Maybe the U.S. will pressure them to accept.  I could see a "No Ukraine in NATO" but in exchange for Russia pulling back from some territory (but probably not all).  There has to be something that let's each side save face/justify why the war happened to its people.  The fear if Russia keeps the territory would be that they use the time to rebuild their forces and then launch new attacks in a few years from their new positions deeper in Ukrainian territory.  Maybe there's a DMZ setup between the two sides?

That's Russia's opening negotiation point, keep their gains and no NATO. If a cease fire comes and an eventual end to hostilities I'm sure there will be some level of give and take on both sides.

NK soldiers getting their first taste of the rest of the world. These guys come from a country with only one controlled TV station, a few controlled content radio stations, no internet and no outside media. 

I read an article that stated the NK soldiers in Russia are gorging on ? sites every chance they get.

It's got to be a shock to them to see any other culture other than the tightly controlled one they live in.

I wonder how many will defect when this is over?

 

14 hours ago, Jumper_Dad said:

NK soldiers getting their first taste of the rest of the world. These guys come from a country with only one controlled TV station, a few controlled content radio stations, no internet and no outside media. 

I read an article that stated the NK soldiers in Russia are gorging on ? sites every chance they get.

It's got to be a shock to them to see any other culture other than the tightly controlled one they live in.

I wonder how many will defect when this is over?

 

I've often wondered if there will be effects in North Korea if these troops return home.  Historically, if soldiers see somewhere fighting for more liberty/freedom that causes them to want the same in their own country (see France in 1789).  Of course, it's just as likely that North Korea kills these troops when they come back to or throws them into a gulag.

Yemeni fighters are joining Russians troops on the front line against Ukraine.

According to multiple reports Kyiv is under multi-wave Russian drone attacks. 

Saw a refinery may have been destroyed in this attack.

I think these recent attacks on Kyiv are 1) payback for missile strikes in Russia and 2) increasing pressure and damage before expected upcoming cease fire talks.

 

From The Wall Street Journal:

Ukraine Says It Killed Senior Russian General in Moscow Scooter Bombing

Ukraine carried out one of its most audacious operations on Russian soil early Tuesday, killing the commander of the unit designed to protect Russia’s troops from chemical, radiological and biological attack, by blowing up a scooter on the snowy streets of Moscow. 

https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/ukraine-says-it-killed-senior-russian-general-in-moscow-bombing-9e315b29

On one hand it was just one military officer (and an assistant I think) but on the other hand this was a big dog and the assassination took place outside a residential building in Moscow.  The BBC ran with an article saying the assassination pierces Moscow's air of normality and that it's one thing reading about it in the news, it feels far, but when it happens next door to you, that's completely different and frightening according to one citizen.  Whatever it is, it feels like an escalation to me. 

Russia launched a rush-hour missile attack on Kyiv today. Probably a bit of retaliation for the scooter bombing and recent Ukrainian missile attacks into Russia.

5 hours ago, Jumper_Dad said:

Russia launched a rush-hour missile attack on Kyiv today. Probably a bit of retaliation for the scooter bombing and recent Ukrainian missile attacks into Russia.

Did it do any damage to speak of?

31 minutes ago, theguru said:

Did it do any damage to speak of?

Not really. Ukraine claims to have shot the majority of them down while Russia claims success in hitting the targets they were going after. There were several injuries and a few fatalities. 4 Embassies (not ours) were damaged and electrical power grid was down in a large part of the city.

In what Ukraine calls Operation "Spider Web", several Russian Air bases across the entire country were attacked via drones.

117 Ukrainian drones were smuggled into Russia and placed under the roofs of wooden cabins that were then shipped across the country. Ukraine then this weekend remotely opened the roofs of the cabins releasing the drones. Each drone was independently piloted and targeted Russian strategic bombers at Russian Air bases. 

40 strategic missile bombers (34% of the Russian arsenal) were destroyed or severely damaged. The drones which cost around $4,000 each did cumulative damages of approximately $7 billion dollars.

To put this in perspective it would be like someone destroying 50 to 60 US B-52, B-1 and B-2 bombers in the US arsenal. 

 

The Ukrainians gave the Russians a dose of their own medicine. Peace talks scheduled to happen today. 

The Russians usually make big attacks just before peace talks because they think it makes them look more powerful and threatening. The Ukrainians come to the table today with some power to show.

From Google and https://interestingengineering.com/

Drones are now taught as individual courses or extracurricular activities within the robotics program. In strategic terms, Russia's drone education program combines military and industrial policies with youth training, preparing the next generation of drone pilots and engineers as tensions with the West rise.

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Also, I think the drone attacks by Ukraine set peace back.  Russia will to respond to this attack and in a big way. 

32 minutes ago, theguru said:

From Google and https://interestingengineering.com/

Drones are now taught as individual courses or extracurricular activities within the robotics program. In strategic terms, Russia's drone education program combines military and industrial policies with youth training, preparing the next generation of drone pilots and engineers as tensions with the West rise.

=============

Also, I think the drone attacks by Ukraine set peace back.  Russia will to respond to this attack and in a big way. 

I disagree that the Ukraine drone attacks set peace back. The only way to peace for Ukraine is winning. Russia will never agree to peace if they are winning. More sanctions, more force, and more winning for the Ukrainians is the only path to peace.

Just now, Voice of Reason said:

I disagree that the Ukraine drone attacks set peace back. The only way to peace for Ukraine is winning. Russia will never agree to peace if they are winning. More sanctions, more force, and more winning for the Ukrainians is the only path to peace.

Ukraine can never win.