There's a difference between getting all of Ukraine, and invading a NATO country.njbill wrote: ↑Sun Jun 30, 2024 2:52 pmWell, that is what Putin wants to do and will do if he could find a way to pull it off. How many times has he said he wants to reconstitute the old Soviet empire, which includes hegemony over the old Soviet bloc states? Zero chance he'd stop there.old salt wrote: ↑Sun Jun 30, 2024 2:35 pmFantasty scaremongering. Putin is bogged down in Ukraine. He can't even keep his troops on his own border supplied.njbill wrote: ↑Sun Jun 30, 2024 8:40 am Putin is just saber rattling. Do you want him to overrun Eastern Europe, then Germany, then France, then invade England? That’s what he wants to do. Standing up to him is the right thing to do. Not to mention required by our NATO treaty obligations (if he invades a NATO country).
At the beginning of the war, people were saying he'd be in Kiev in a couple of days. That is certainly what Putin intended. As things have turned out -- with huge help from the West -- Ukraine has been able to fend him off for now. But Putin is in this for the long game. He is hoping the West will grow tired (politically, financially, and militarily) of supporting Ukraine. He is hoping his puppet Trump will win the election so that he can continue his aggression in Ukraine just as he was doing under Trump. Trump, the liar, of course ignores the fact that Putin was fighting and seeking to gain ground in eastern Ukraine during the entire Trump presidency. Trump has already publicly said he'll let Putin do whatever he wants. Trump wants to pull the US out of NATO. He has said he won't honor Article 5. He won't come to the aid of any NATO ally if Russia attacks.
Scaremongering? More like a sober assessment of what Putin intends and what Trump would allow.
The first is clearly possible.
The second? Not a chance.