All Things Russia & Ukraine

[PizzaSnake]

So, can the SC declare a state court conviction void? Because it looks like Georgia has the whole cabal dead to rights.

https://www.ajc.com/politics/fulton-gra ... LKA7TIQQM/


“The Fulton County special grand jury investigating potential criminal interference in Georgia’s 2020 elections has subpoenaed key members of former President Donald Trump’s legal team, including his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, according to copies obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

In addition to Giuliani, those being summoned include John Eastman, Cleta Mitchell, Kenneth Chesebro and Jenna Ellis, all of whom advised the Trump campaign on strategies for overturning Democrat Joe Biden’s wins in Georgia and other swing states.“

[PizzaSnake]

“The Swiss president, Ignazio Cassis, pushed back on the plan, saying protection of property rights was fundamental in a liberal democracy. ”

How about human life? How about the horrors of war:rape, torture, PTSD?

Certainly revealing of his priorities.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... ian-assets

[MDlaxfan76]

“The Swiss president, Ignazio Cassis, pushed back on the plan, saying protection of property rights was fundamental in a liberal democracy. ”

How about human life? How about the horrors of war:rape, torture, PTSD?

Certainly revealing of his priorities.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... ian-assets

mmm, I think one can care about all of the above.

There needs to be a finding in an international court to support the seizure of such assets as war compensation. Not just, a 'sure, we think you're the good guys, so go ahead and we'll give you their assets'...

[old salt]

So this is what they mean by the "sharing economy". Meanwhile, Russia's revenues increase as energy prices soar. Lunacy.

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy ... 022-07-05/

Oil from U.S. reserves sent overseas as gasoline prices stay high

HOUSTON, July 5 (Reuters) - More than 5 million barrels of oil that were part of a historic U.S. emergency reserves release to lower domestic fuel prices were exported to Europe and Asia last month, according to data and sources, even as U.S. gasoline and diesel prices hit record highs.

The export of crude and fuel is blunting the impact of the moves by U.S. President Joe Biden to lower record pump prices. Biden on Saturday renewed a call for gasoline suppliers to cut their prices, drawing criticism from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

About 1 million barrels per day is being released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) through October. The flow is draining the SPR, which last month fell to the lowest since 1986. U.S. crude futures are above $100 per barrel and gasoline and diesel prices above $5 a gallon in one-fifth of the nation. U.S. officials have said oil prices could be higher if the SPR had not been tapped.

"The SPR remains a critical energy security tool to address global crude oil supply disruptions," a Department of Energy spokesperson said, adding that the emergency releases helped ensure stable supply of crude oil.

The fourth-largest U.S. oil refiner, Phillips 66 (PSX.N), shipped about 470,000 barrels of sour crude from the Big Hill SPR storage site in Texas to Trieste, Italy, according to U.S. Customs data. Trieste is home to a pipeline that sends oil to refineries in central Europe.

Atlantic Trading & Marketing (ATMI), an arm of French oil major TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA), exported 2 cargoes of 560,000 barrels each, the data showed.

Cargoes of SPR crude were also headed to the Netherlands and to a Reliance (RELI.NS) refinery in India, an industry source said. A third cargo headed to China, another source said.

At least one cargo of crude from the West Hackberry SPR site in Louisiana was set to be exported in July, a shipping source added.

"Crude and fuel prices would likely be higher if (the SPR releases) hadn't happened, but at the same time, it isn't really having the effect that was assumed," said Matt Smith, lead oil analyst at Kpler.

The latest exports follow three vessels that carried SPR crude to Europe in April helping replace Russian crude supplies. read more

U.S. crude inventories are the lowest since 2004 as refineries run near peak levels. Refineries in the U.S. Gulf coast were at 97.9% utilization, the most in three and a half years.

[PizzaSnake]

“The Swiss president, Ignazio Cassis, pushed back on the plan, saying protection of property rights was fundamental in a liberal democracy. ”

How about human life? How about the horrors of war:rape, torture, PTSD?

Certainly revealing of his priorities.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... ian-assets

mmm, I think one can care about all of the above.

There needs to be a finding in an international court to support the seizure of such assets as war compensation. Not just, a 'sure, we think you're the good guys, so go ahead and we'll give you their assets'...

Do you doubt the Ukrainian claim?

[old salt]

The disparity in the amount of military assistance provided to Ukraine by the US, compared to our EU allies, especially Germany & France continues.
We continue to ship more 155mm howitzers, their transporters, & massive quantities of ammunition (which may included precision guided shells).
We just delivered 4 more advanced HIMARS MLRS systems, in addition to the 8 already in service.

The EUroburghers talk a good game, but it's increasingly obvious that they want the war to end soon so they can get back to business as usual with Russia. Zelensky is reportedly apoplectic with France & Germany. He just fired his long term Amb to Germany, along with the Amb's to Norway, Italy, Hungary & India.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-europe ... 1653247453

[old salt]

The disparity in the amount of military assistance provided to Ukraine by the US, compared to our EU allies, especially Germany & France continues.
We continue to ship more 155mm howitzers (144 so far), their transporters, & massive quantities of ammunition (which may include precision guided shells). We just delivered 4 more advanced HIMARS MLRS systems, in addition to the 8 already in service.

The EUroburghers talk a good game, but it's increasingly obvious that they just want the war to end soon so they can get back to business as usual with Russia. Zelensky is reportedly apoplectic with France & Germany. He just fired his long term Amb to Germany, along with the Amb's to Norway, Czech Republic, Hungary & India.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-europe ... 1653247453

Why Europe Hedges Its Support for Ukraine
Paris and Berlin worry that an EU with Ukraine could lead to a competing Warsaw-Kyiv axis.

Napoleon’s foreign secretary Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord once said that “A diplomat who says ‘yes’ means ‘maybe,’ a diplomat who says ‘maybe’ means ‘no,’ and a diplomat who says ‘no’ is no diplomat.”

Talleyrand died in 1838, but the passage of time hasn’t diminished the truth of his words. From debates about an energy embargo against Russia or the prospects of European Union membership for Ukraine, European diplomats are dealing in the art of the diplomatic “maybe.” High-ranking EU representatives are regularly visiting Kyiv and promising President Volodymyr Zelensky immense military, economic and diplomatic aid. These promises will be hard to keep once they collide with the cold realities of European politics and the national interests of EU member states.

With negotiations over an EU end-of-year embargo on Russian oil stalling, it isn’t clear when to expect an end of major oil flows from Russia to Europe. And even if a plan were to come together, the current EU proposal is full of exemptions, allowing the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia to continue importing Russian crude until 2024, which would create numerous opportunities to circumvent an embargo. Something similar is under way with natural gas: The European Commission has issued new guidelines on sanctions, effectively allowing European states to pay for Russian gas in rubles as Vladimir Putin has demanded. Most important, the end of 2022 is far away. By then an embargo could be obsolete.

It has become obvious in recent months that many European states care more about ending the war than about who wins. Germany in particular seems to be interested in keeping the option to return to the pre-Ukraine war status quo. Berlin doesn’t stand alone in this. Following his successful re-election, French President Emmanuel Macron has hedged his bets, saying that a future peace in Eastern Europe must not include an unnecessary humiliation of Russia and could include territorial concessions to Moscow.

From the beginning of the war, support on the Continent has been lackluster compared with the responses of the U.S. and U.K. According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, in the first month alone, the U.S. dedicated $4.4 billion in equipment and other aid to Ukraine, twice as much as the EU and its member states. If Ukraine survives this war, it will be primarily because of support from Washington and London, plus some Eastern European states, especially Poland. Yet even hawkish countries like Poland wanted U.S. guarantees to resupply their stock of arms before they were willing to send sophisticated weaponry to Ukraine.

Germany increasingly seems willing to provide more and better equipment, but every promise seems immediately to meet some bureaucratic or logistical hurdle that takes weeks or months to be resolved. The latest example is the delivery of the Gepard antiaircraft tank, which lacked the required ammunition for action.

Given these developments, it would be too optimistic to expect imminent Ukrainian EU membership. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and Germany’s foreign affairs minister, Annalena Baerbock, have signaled that they would support such a move, but they both know that at least one of the 27 EU member states would veto full membership for Kyiv. It isn’t clear whether such a veto would come from Hungary, Austria, France or even Germany itself, but Mr. Macron gives the clearest indication of what to expect. He recently suggested the creation of a “European political community”—a kind of purgatory for states that would like to gain full membership but probably never will—in addition to the EU.

Despite the supranational ambitions of the EU and its most ardent supporters, national interests still dominate the political calculations of member states. For Paris and Berlin the Ukraine crisis isn’t only a security issue, it could also determine the EU’s future power distribution.

The most prestigious positions in the EU are held by Western European politicians, reflecting a power imbalance between Eastern and Western Europe, from Ms. von der Leyen (Germany) and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde (France) to the high representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell (Spain) and the president of the European Council, Charles Michel (Belgium). Eastern European governments have made clear that this status quo is increasingly unacceptable to them, and the war in Ukraine has given them additional confidence to change it.

The EU is built around Germany and France, and both states have jealously guarded their position as the ultimate decision makers in Europe. Policy makers in both countries are aware that an EU with Ukraine could lead to a competing Warsaw-Kyiv axis, something neither France nor Germany wants. Ukraine is politically and culturally closer to Poland than Germany, meaning that German power in the EU could be diminished significantly and replaced by growing Eastern European influence.

These thoughts might seem cynical in light of the heroic struggle of Ukraine and its people, but it would be a mistake to believe that power politics has been replaced by universally held ideals. As Talleyrand pointed out, making promises is part of diplomacy, but ultimately actions matter more than words.

@4:10 Ukraine's implausible theories of victory.
https://www.dw.com/en/the-day-with-bren ... v-19049331

[MDlaxfan76]

Let's hope that Zelensky is successful in shaming/pushing Germany and France...

It's good to see our long range precision weaponry getting to the front lines and having an impact.

Seems to me that long range precision strikes will be critical to turning the tide and pushing Russia back. The strikes so far appear to be mostly targeted on weapons supply caches and supply lines.

Had an interesting discussion this weekend with a gal who is on the worldwide board of a major consulting firm, she leads their financial institution practice worldwide, just got in from Dubai. Born in Poland, she speaks 9 languages, lives in Switzerland, very plugged in. Married to my elementary and high school buddy.

Another elementary and high school pal at our dinner is an attorney who represents technology companies and their IP all over the world.

Both described the massive exodus of people and capital from Russia. His clients all scrambled to get their people out, trying to get their Russian employees out as well. Everyone with the means to leave wants to leave. She described the influx of rich Russians to Dubai, paying 3X for apartments...desperate to get out.

She, unsurprisingly, had strong opinions about Putin's Peter the Great ambitions, said we should absolutely believe what he says his intentions are to reinstate Russian empire. Her husband cautioned that we shouldn't think Ukraine is some gleaming example of democracy, corruption had indeed been rampant, especially the further east one went in Ukraine, but that at the same time it's clear that Ukraine wants to move westward. She talked about the complete decimation of eastern Ukraine that is occurring at Putin's hand.

Interesting discussion.

[CU88]

Putin created this situation.

No one said it was going to be fun, fair or easy to try and resolve this horrific attack on a sovereign nation.

[old salt]

No one said it is our responsibility to resolve this horrific attack on a foreign nation.
So who is paying for all this, other than the US taxpayer ?
Is it worth it for the US to pay to reconstruct the territory which Russia has destroyed in the taking ?
What's next ? Are we going to pay to democratize Belarus ?

[a fan]

No one said it is our responsibility to resolve this horrific attack on a foreign nation.

50+ years of American leadership----mostly Republican, as you very well know-----has said it is our responsibility.

So who is paying for all this, other than the US taxpayer ?

Same people who paid for the Iraq War. And who pump money to Israel, and many other countries that we have zero written obligations to help. It's what we do, and have done, since WWII.

Is it worth it for the US to pay to reconstruct the territory which Russia has destroyed in the taking ?
What's next ? Are we going to pay to democratize Belarus ?

All questions that we asked, and ignored, by the American left since Vietnam.

We don't HAVE to keep the shipping lanes open with American power. We CHOOSE to do that.

We don't HAVE to keep the oil flowing from the ME. We CHOSE to do that.

We didn't HAVE to arm Saddam, the future ALQ in Afghanistan, the Contras, and a number of other factions. We CHOSE to do that.



BTW, the correct answer as to why we're all-in in helping Ukraine is that Joe Biden is like Frank the Tank from the Movie Old School. Biden got us involved because he assumed our NATO and EU allies would support it fully, and stop trading with Russia.

So Biden's out streaking with Ukraine, trying to figure out where all his buddies from NATO and the EU went...

"There's more coming! Everybody's doing it! "

[old salt]

No one said it is our responsibility to resolve this horrific attack on a foreign nation.

50+ years of American leadership----mostly Republican, as you very well know-----has said it is our responsibility.

So who is paying for all this, other than the US taxpayer ?

Same people who paid for the Iraq War. And who pump money to Israel, and many other countries that we have zero written obligations to help. It's what we do, and have done, since WWII.

Is it worth it for the US to pay to reconstruct the territory which Russia has destroyed in the taking ?
What's next ? Are we going to pay to democratize Belarus ?

All questions that we asked, and ignored, by the American left since Vietnam.

We don't HAVE to keep the shipping lanes open with American power. We CHOOSE to do that.

So what ? We've also passed -- we're not in Venezuela or Nicaragua. We bombed Libya & Serbia, but didn't invade.
At least the Israelis put our military aid to good use & defend themselves. They are the model military ally.
Without open sea lanes you would not be exporting your product. Ingrate.

[Typical Lax Dad]

No one said it is our responsibility to resolve this horrific attack on a foreign nation.

50+ years of American leadership----mostly Republican, as you very well know-----has said it is our responsibility.

So who is paying for all this, other than the US taxpayer ?

Same people who paid for the Iraq War. And who pump money to Israel, and many other countries that we have zero written obligations to help. It's what we do, and have done, since WWII.

Is it worth it for the US to pay to reconstruct the territory which Russia has destroyed in the taking ?
What's next ? Are we going to pay to democratize Belarus ?

All questions that we asked, and ignored, by the American left since Vietnam.

We don't HAVE to keep the shipping lanes open with American power. We CHOOSE to do that.

We don't HAVE to keep the oil flowing from the ME. We CHOSE to do that.

We didn't HAVE to arm Saddam, the future ALQ in Afghanistan, the Contras, and a number of other factions. We CHOSE to do that.



BTW, the correct answer as to why we're all-in in helping Ukraine is that Joe Biden is like Frank the Tank from the Movie Old School. Biden got us involved because he assumed our NATO and EU allies would support it fully, and stop trading with Russia.

So Biden's out streaking with Ukraine, trying to figure out where all his buddies from NATO and the EU went...

"There's more coming! Everybody's doing it! "

Old Salt has gotten cheap all of a sudden!!

[a fan]

No one said it is our responsibility to resolve this horrific attack on a foreign nation.

50+ years of American leadership----mostly Republican, as you very well know-----has said it is our responsibility.

So who is paying for all this, other than the US taxpayer ?

Same people who paid for the Iraq War. And who pump money to Israel, and many other countries that we have zero written obligations to help. It's what we do, and have done, since WWII.

Is it worth it for the US to pay to reconstruct the territory which Russia has destroyed in the taking ?
What's next ? Are we going to pay to democratize Belarus ?

All questions that we asked, and ignored, by the American left since Vietnam.

We don't HAVE to keep the shipping lanes open with American power. We CHOOSE to do that.

So what ? We've also passed -- we're not in Venezuela or Nicaragua. We bombed Libya & Serbia, but didn't invade.

Yep. We're all over the place. That's my point.

But I like how after arming everyone and their mom for the last 50+ years.....Saddam, Afghanis-turned-AlQ, Iraqis, Kurds, Contras, and on and on and on.....

....Ukraine is somehow a bridge too far for you. I don't know how hard I should laugh at this absurdity.

At least the Israelis put our military aid to good use & defend themselves. They are the model military ally.

Give Ukraine $3 Billion per year for, oh, about 40 years. You'll get the same result.

Without open sea lanes you would not be exporting your product. Ingrate.

You're calling me an ingrate because I know that the British and Germans are perfectly capable of keeping their own ports safe? I'll let that go, and ignore it.

But since YOU brought it up: how come you haven't noticed that Russia CLOSED the sea lanes in the Black Sea? Suddenly, you don't care about sea lanes?

[Typical Lax Dad]

No one said it is our responsibility to resolve this horrific attack on a foreign nation.

50+ years of American leadership----mostly Republican, as you very well know-----has said it is our responsibility.

So who is paying for all this, other than the US taxpayer ?

Same people who paid for the Iraq War. And who pump money to Israel, and many other countries that we have zero written obligations to help. It's what we do, and have done, since WWII.

Is it worth it for the US to pay to reconstruct the territory which Russia has destroyed in the taking ?
What's next ? Are we going to pay to democratize Belarus ?

All questions that we asked, and ignored, by the American left since Vietnam.

We don't HAVE to keep the shipping lanes open with American power. We CHOOSE to do that.

So what ? We've also passed -- we're not in Venezuela or Nicaragua. We bombed Libya & Serbia, but didn't invade.

Yep. We're all over the place. That's my point.

But I like how after arming everyone and their mom for the last 50+ years.....Saddam, Afghanis-turned-AlQ, Iraqis, Kurds, Contras, and on and on and on.....

....Ukraine is somehow a bridge too far for you. I don't know how hard I should laugh at this absurdity.

At least the Israelis put our military aid to good use & defend themselves. They are the model military ally.

Give Ukraine $3 Billion per year for, oh, about 40 years. You'll get the same result.

Without open sea lanes you would not be exporting your product. Ingrate.

You're calling me an ingrate because I know that the British and Germans are perfectly capable of keeping their own ports safe? I'll let that go, and ignore it.

But since YOU brought it up: how come you haven't noticed that Russia CLOSED the sea lanes in the Black Sea? Suddenly, you don't care about sea lanes?

2 : a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings.

[old salt]

But I like how after arming everyone and their mom for the last 50+ years.....Saddam, Afghanis-turned-AlQ, Iraqis, Kurds, Contras, and on and on and on.....

....Ukraine is somehow a bridge too far for you. I don't know how hard I should laugh at this absurdity.

At least the Israelis put our military aid to good use & defend themselves. They are the model military ally.

Give Ukraine $3 Billion per year for, oh, about 40 years. You'll get the same result.

Without open sea lanes you would not be exporting your product. Ingrate.

You're calling me an ingrate because I know that the British and Germans are perfectly capable of keeping their own ports safe? I'll let that go, and ignore it.

But since YOU brought it up: how come you haven't noticed that Russia CLOSED the sea lanes in the Black Sea? Suddenly, you don't care about sea lanes?

We have no strategic interest in Ukraine. We don't need their oil & no terrorists from there came to attack us.

If the Ukrainians were as good as the Israelis, they would not need our aid & the Russians would not have attacked them.

The sea lanes are not the same thing as ports. They are global, open, free, unhindered transit routes. The global commons.

You've missed my discussions about Black Sea access, how Ukraine has no naval capability, & how the Montreux Convention limits what the US & NATO can do there. The need to open the sea lanes to get the grain out is one of the factors that make a cease fire an urgent need.

[DocBarrister]

But I like how after arming everyone and their mom for the last 50+ years.....Saddam, Afghanis-turned-AlQ, Iraqis, Kurds, Contras, and on and on and on.....

....Ukraine is somehow a bridge too far for you. I don't know how hard I should laugh at this absurdity.

At least the Israelis put our military aid to good use & defend themselves. They are the model military ally.

Give Ukraine $3 Billion per year for, oh, about 40 years. You'll get the same result.

Without open sea lanes you would not be exporting your product. Ingrate.

You're calling me an ingrate because I know that the British and Germans are perfectly capable of keeping their own ports safe? I'll let that go, and ignore it.

But since YOU brought it up: how come you haven't noticed that Russia CLOSED the sea lanes in the Black Sea? Suddenly, you don't care about sea lanes?

We have no strategic interest in Ukraine. We don't need their oil & no terrorists from there came to attack us.

If the Ukrainians were as good as the Israelis, they would not need our aid & the Russians would not have attacked them.

The sea lanes are not the same thing as ports. They are global, open, free, unhindered transit routes. The global commons.

You've missed my discussions about Black Sea access, how Ukraine has no naval capability, & how the Montreux Convention limits what the US & NATO can do there. The need to open the sea lanes to get the grain out is one of the factors that make a cease fire an urgent need.

“We have no strategic interest in Ukraine.”—Old Soviet

You cannot be serious with that ridiculous statement.

Putin’s repugnant and calamitous invasion of Ukraine has destabilized most of Europe.

You don’t consider that a “strategic interest” of the United States?



You have lost all credibility here. I guess France, the UK, and United States didn’t have a strategic interest in Sudetenland either.

DocBarrister

[Typical Lax Dad]

Many of the sycophants have faded away as it has become even more ridiculous….

[a fan]

We have no strategic interest in Ukraine.

You know that "strategic interest" is an invented term, right? Invented by policy wonks in DC...many of whom are pushing up daisies? You act like they're handed down by Moses or something.

We have zero....none....strategic interests in Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen....or any other of the dozens of countries where we've stuck our noses in, right? Each of those countries could disappear tomorrow, and the world would keep right on spinning.

And yet? We armed/funded/bombed/droned/invaded anyway. And not only did you not complain about ANY of these involvements (save the Gulf War)...you screamed bloody murder anytime a President so much as mentioned pulling our troops out of those strategically pointless countries.

Tens of of thousands of casualties. Trillions in US treasure blown. And to what end? To be charitable? Mixed results. And that's being REALLY kind.

And yet here you are telling us that Ukraine is a bridge too far. I mean...that's great, knock yourself out. But given the context of your decade+ of postings? It's a weird hill to die on.

We don't need their oil & no terrorists from there came to attack us.

Earthlings in need of something to eat would disagree with your assessment of Ukraine's value. I'll leave it at that.

If the Ukrainians were as good as the Israelis, they would not need our aid & the Russians would not have attacked them.

Great. Stop sending the Israeli's $3 billion per year, OS. You're telling us that they don't need it.

Ukraine had nukes, and you keep ignoring that Western allies and Russia talked them into giving them up, leaving them vulnerable to attack. And then hilariously tell me about the Montreaux Convention as if one agreement is a joke, and the other was wrought by the Lord.

Since we helped talk them out of their nukes, doesn't Powell's Pottery Barn rule apply here?

The sea lanes are not the same thing as ports. They are global, open, free, unhindered transit routes.

Great. Then focus on the F'ing sea lane to the South of the ports. Closed by Putin to Ukrainian exports.

(This is the dumbest thing you've ever written here, btw)

You've missed my discussions about Black Sea access, how Ukraine has no naval capability, & how the Montreux Convention limits what the US & NATO can do there. The need to open the sea lanes to get the grain out is one of the factors that make a cease fire an urgent need.

Right. So it's not Putin's fault that the sea lands are closed? Seriously? This is all on Zelensky?

[old salt]

We have no strategic interest in Ukraine.

You know that "strategic interest" is an invented term, right? Invented by policy wonks in DC...many of whom are pushing up daisies? You act like they're handed down by Moses or something.

We have zero....none....strategic interests in Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen....or any other of the dozens of countries where we've stuck our noses in, right? Each of those countries could disappear tomorrow, and the world would keep right on spinning.

And yet? We armed/funded/bombed/droned/invaded anyway. And not only did you not complain about ANY of these involvements (save the Gulf War)...you screamed bloody murder anytime a President so much as mentioned pulling our troops out of those strategically pointless countries.

Tens of of thousands of casualties. Trillions in US treasure blown. And to what end? To be charitable? Mixed results. And that's being REALLY kind.

And yet here you are telling us that Ukraine is a bridge too far. I mean...that's great, knock yourself out. But given the context of your decade+ of postings? It's a weird hill to die on. I say again -- no oil, no terrorists, no Cold War spread of Communism.
It's not that important to us whether Ukraine is Belarus or Bulgaria. One less broke E EUro country we have to rebuild & rearm.

We don't need their oil & no terrorists from there came to attack us.

Earthlings in need of something to eat would disagree with your assessment of Ukraine's value. I'll leave it at that.
That's why the war needs to end immediately, so the grain can get out. Russia exports grain too.

If the Ukrainians were as good as the Israelis, they would not need our aid & the Russians would not have attacked them.

Great. Stop sending the Israeli's $3 billion per year, OS. You're telling us that they don't need it.
They need it & they have put it to good use. That's why they still exist, in peace.

Ukraine had nukes, and you keep ignoring that Western allies and Russia talked them into giving them up, leaving them vulnerable to attack. And then hilariously tell me about the Montreaux Convention as if one agreement is a joke, and the other was wrought by the Lord.
We'd love to see the Montreux Convention go away. How do you propose we get around it. How are we going to get US warships into the Black Sea & what do we do then ? Are you willing to risk a naval war with Russia within the confines of the Black Sea. Tell us how that would play out.

Since we helped talk them out of their nukes, doesn't Powell's Pottery Barn rule apply here?
No. That was a memo, nearly two decades ago. It said that the US would recognize Ukraine's independence & borders. There was no US commitment to defend them. They've had more than enough time to arm themselves. This is not a nuclear battle.

The sea lanes are not the same thing as ports. They are global, open, free, unhindered transit routes.

Great. Then focus on the F'ing sea lane to the South of the ports. Closed by Putin to Ukrainian exports.

(This is the dumbest thing you've ever written here, btw)
Focus ??? ...then what. How do we open those sea lanes ?

You've missed my discussions about Black Sea access, how Ukraine has no naval capability, & how the Montreux Convention limits what the US & NATO can do there. The need to open the sea lanes to get the grain out is one of the factors that make a cease fire an urgent need.

Right. So it's not Putin's fault that the sea lands are closed? Seriously? This is all on Zelensky? What ? That makes no sense. It's a critical factor which all you cheerleaders ignore & don't have any answers for.