Prediction Thread: When Will Russia Conquer Ukraine

[My Wife Hates CIV]

[My Wife Hates CIV]

[My Wife Hates CIV]

[Geronimo]

)

[Edit:]
Regarding your last point:

I take the announcement to destroy the plant, like any official Russian announcement, with a grain of salt. Probably they will destroy any remaining steel making capacity at some point by shipping intact equipment back to Russia but I think they will restock the bunkers for complicating any potential Ukrainian counterattack.

[N35t0r]

I don't think there's much intact equipment they're though.

Also, in that case the Ukrainians can do what the Russians should have done, which is just sieging the place and starving out whoever is in there.

Plus, I don't think, if it gets to the point of Ukraine retaking Mariupol, the Russian army will be organized enough to do that, and with sufficient morale for a 'stand and die' order on a foreign city

[My Wife Hates CIV]

[Geronimo]

what has this war earned Russia, anything? was Russia in danger if this war didnt happen?

They will gain territory which is ultimately the only thing they really value.

[My Wife Hates CIV]

[giblets]

largest country needs more land

[My Wife Hates CIV]

[Geronimo]

largest country needs more land

QFT

[Apocalypse]

It's not just land but to scare the west away from investing in Ukraine too.

[N35t0r]

what has this war earned Russia, anything? was Russia in danger if this war didnt happen?

It's somewhat analogous to the US getting into Vietnam I think.

Except the Russian armed forces were clearly even worse prepared than the US's were then.

I just hope it doesn't last as long.

[BeBMan]

Maybe Tom Cruise is behind this war to promo his Top Gun sequel

In other news the retired Russian colonel who was being openly critical on Ru state TV first returned to the same show a couple days later and made a rhetoric U turn, fully supporting the official line then.

[Geronimo]

Maybe Tom Cruise is behind this war to promo his Top Gun sequel

In other news the retired Russian colonel who was being openly critical on Ru state TV first returned to the same show a couple days later and made a rhetoric U turn, fully supporting the official line then.

Smart. The viewers can figure out the truth and he avoids the 6x8 with a toilet.

[Proteus_MST]

if you cant control it, do you own it? but you still pay taxes on it. thats where russia is at.

More important than the land itself very likely is, what is below the soil ... for example a huge natural gas field in Donbass.
(in these regards, AFAIK there also are natural gas reservoir in the Black Sea, just in front of the coast of Krim and Odessa)

More money to be made by Putin and his Oligarchs.
(at least that was surely the initial plan ... the only reason that Putin continues the war now is, that he doesn't want to lose (as this would weaken him in Russia) and desperately tries to get out of this war as winner)