>>17547139They HAD a population of 40 million, then all the ethnic Russians with half a brain fled to the west and got refugee status.
Now they've got about half their population, which is less than the population of Australia, and I couldn't beat Russia in a ground war even if I was the absolute dictator.
There is no scenario in which Russia is forced to the table on terms not favourable to Russia, if Zalensky wasn't an idiot he'd know that Russia is walking away from this mess with something, and his card to play is to give them that something for cheap in return for concessions that will help Ukraine in the long run.
Russia gets the Donbas and Zhaporizhia, Ukraine keeps Kharkiv and Russia doesn't get in the way of EU/NATO membership. I don't think Putin would take it anyway, but at least it's a deal on the table which would affect Russian morale. Why die for what they'd give you if you just stopped fighting.
