Events in Ukraine is an invaluable resource. (A Ukrainian who lives in Europe, and regularly summarizes things like the Drone war or deep dives into the background of people like Budanov) He’s on Substack.
On Telegram I can recommend Tales from the fourth Reich, an AFU officer and former Azovite.
Rezident on Telegram is also great as is легитимньій (Legitimnyi)
Big ups to the boys at Bentley Kiev btw! Quite an impressive win. I’m sure the boys on the front line will grit their teeth, knowing their sacrifices made this possible ;)
And sure, the price of that peace will likely be a lot higher than it was a year or two ago. But it’ll be smaller than it will in a year or two.
Such is the price for political cowardice.
But if Ukraine agrees to peace negotiations now, parts with the five regions and agrees to a neutral status, they may keep Odessa. And their statehood.
Without Odessa, a bankrupt country and millions of citizens 20-40 abroad, Ukrainian statehood looks a lot more dubious.
There is a difference in the war effort of the two countries. Ukraine is fighting for their freedom, for their existence. Russian soldiers don’t have that at stake. They may not even care about who wins and would rather go home. Ukraine is committed. You describe soldiers who are burnt out, but you didn’t say that they were giving up, only that they are stepping back. They still understand the stakes. The one thing that I focus on is that Ukraine invents and changes the war over and over with the new drones and equipment that require fewer troops at risk. Intelligence beats volume is a real thing. Dedication is, also.
Given the millions that have left the country rather than fight, and given the fact that the number of deserters soon outnumber the number of active duty soldiers (if it has t already. Last year the number of Ukrainian deserters were 300-400.000), I’d say it’s pretty obvious that most Ukrainians don’t particularly want to fight for their oligarchs and corrupt elites in Kiev.
Last year the Ukrainian government tried to recruit young people 18 and up.
(As in actually recruit. With money. Not just throwing them in a bus and drive them off to the front like normally.)
The result was a miserable failure, with only a few thousand volunteers.
So yeah. I’d say not even Ukrainians particularly want to fight anymore.
Given that there are over 300.000 soldiers AWOL in Ukraine, I’d say the whole system is fucked and broken.
Events in Ukraine is an invaluable resource. (A Ukrainian who lives in Europe, and regularly summarizes things like the Drone war or deep dives into the background of people like Budanov) He’s on Substack.
On Telegram I can recommend Tales from the fourth Reich, an AFU officer and former Azovite.
Rezident on Telegram is also great as is легитимньій (Legitimnyi)
Can you suggest an alternative?
Then again: The interest of the Ukrainian people and of the Ukrainian elites sharply deviate at this point.
There’s a lot of money in war, and a lot of billions of dollars and Euros in keeping the war going.
Just ask the Ukrainian Bentley dealerships, which just took third place in Europe.
https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/bentley-kiev-third-place-retail-seller?hide_intro_popup=true&open=false
Big ups to the boys at Bentley Kiev btw! Quite an impressive win. I’m sure the boys on the front line will grit their teeth, knowing their sacrifices made this possible ;)
The answer is a peace agreement yes.
And sure, the price of that peace will likely be a lot higher than it was a year or two ago. But it’ll be smaller than it will in a year or two.
Such is the price for political cowardice.
But if Ukraine agrees to peace negotiations now, parts with the five regions and agrees to a neutral status, they may keep Odessa. And their statehood.
Without Odessa, a bankrupt country and millions of citizens 20-40 abroad, Ukrainian statehood looks a lot more dubious.
There is a difference in the war effort of the two countries. Ukraine is fighting for their freedom, for their existence. Russian soldiers don’t have that at stake. They may not even care about who wins and would rather go home. Ukraine is committed. You describe soldiers who are burnt out, but you didn’t say that they were giving up, only that they are stepping back. They still understand the stakes. The one thing that I focus on is that Ukraine invents and changes the war over and over with the new drones and equipment that require fewer troops at risk. Intelligence beats volume is a real thing. Dedication is, also.
I actually found the figures. Ukrainian authorities launched the campaign early 2025.
Big cash bonuses for young recruits. Short term contracts, the works.
The results?
Three months later, fewer than 500 had signed up.
Lol!
So much for their willingness to “defend democracy” and similar nonsense.
Given the millions that have left the country rather than fight, and given the fact that the number of deserters soon outnumber the number of active duty soldiers (if it has t already. Last year the number of Ukrainian deserters were 300-400.000), I’d say it’s pretty obvious that most Ukrainians don’t particularly want to fight for their oligarchs and corrupt elites in Kiev.
Last year the Ukrainian government tried to recruit young people 18 and up.
(As in actually recruit. With money. Not just throwing them in a bus and drive them off to the front like normally.)
The result was a miserable failure, with only a few thousand volunteers.
So yeah. I’d say not even Ukrainians particularly want to fight anymore.
So the answer is to capitulate?