| Machiavellian said: Hmm, its pretty hard to by that Putin actually want this war to continue and did not instead believe that it would be done and over within within days. Could you elaborate on this point. |
I'd guess (and that is the only thing one can do, noone can look into the brain of Putin) that Putin was sure he'd win the war withîn days, even using "unprofessional" troups and equipment. Just sheer numbers. Now his generals had the same problem as the German generals had in ww2. They had a militarily incompentent leader, and contradicting him would mean instant firing squad. So the Russian generals followed orders and failed miserably (probably they knew that right from the start). No Russian generals or battlefield commanders have been made to disappear, so the blame game hasn't even started in Moscow, which tells us Putin still has full control.
Now Putin (he's not dumbat all) uses the second method, terror against the population. There is no question time will wear down the Ukranian army and population, and more and more people will flee. If anyone thinks those Ukranians left behind are all heroes and will go into a taliban-style warfare, no, that is not going to happen. And suppressing whole nations is pretty much a hobby of the Russian rulers. Simply and steadily destroying the Ukranian infrastructure reduces own losses and basically empties the attacked country over time.
Unless a coup happens in Moscow (and it isn't clear what would happen after that), Putin can destroy the Ukrania with whatever methods he wishes. Sad but factual.
The only counter argument to impress Putin is brutal force. There are ways to do that. None are nice.
Economical warfare? Putin doesn't bother for a few Russian bank being shut down. He has connections to over 40 African banks that do his trades. And there are too many countries that are deppendent on Russian wheat and gas/oil..
Last edited by drkohler - on 06 March 2022
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