pcr has a summation of the current status and potential future of ukraine;

The Conflict in Ukraine: How Do Matters Stand?

Paul Craig Roberts

I have tried to provide accurate analysis of the conflict in Ukraine. This is not a simple task as there is little publicly available information about how the Kremlin sees the widening of the conflict. France has sent troops. The US Secretary of Defense said that eventually NATO troops will be deployed to Ukraine, and European governments are preparing for war with Russia in 4 or 5 years.

Putin’s original goals were the liberation of the Donbas region, and denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine. How denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine were to be accomplished without the conquest of Ukraine was never clear.

The appearance of long-range missiles, that is, missiles whose reach extends beyond the battlefield into Russia, resulted in statements from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Russia would have to compensate for the missiles reach by taking more of Ukraine in order to create a buffer zone. As the missiles the West sends keep lengthening in range, the consequence is that the buffer zone keeps enlarging and the entirety of Ukraine will have to be conquered and occupied and a Russian-friendly government installed in Ukraine. Already there are reports of Ukrainian drone attacks on Tatarstan in central Russia one thousand kilometers from the front line in Ukraine. Clearly the conflict is not a limited military operation. https://www.rt.com/russia/598116-airports-closed-factory-evacuated-tatarstan-drone/

Whether Putin understands that his “limited military operation” is no longer practical is unclear.

The Ukrainian Army has been defeated. More mobilization will only result in a higher Ukrainian death toll. So where does the conflict go from here?........more.......