I dont believe that Putin will end this without Odessa. He needs to cut Ukraine off from the Black Sea to fully ensure his security on that flank. I believe Putin is with Trump in this bigger war against the satanists but he is not going to be leaving the security of Russia to chance.
Edit to add: There are also concerns over Polish and Lithuanian designs on reimagining the Grand Duchy. Much of western Ukraine was Polish before WW2. And the entire area to the Black sea was part of the Grand Duchy. There have been subtle signs that Poland and Lithuania have larger goals here independent of NATO and the EU.
There are also issues with the SW flank of Ukraine too and Moldova/ Transnistria and Hungary. There is a large area of Hungarian speakers in west Ukraine. Moldova has historically bounced back and forth between Russian, Ottoman, Romanian (Vlad the Impaler and his line, for the most part in his multiple reigns a vassal of Hungary, plays in here) and Hungarian control.
When we discuss issues in this part of the world, its important to remember that the Balkans and slavic states have been a battlefield for most of the last 1200 years. They are the buffer between Europe and the Ottoman Turks, between Christianity and Islam.
Don't forget, Putin said that he no longer considers Zelensky the President of Ukraine because his presidency expired and they didn't hold new elections. Putin has no one to negotiate with.
Nice read Fd.
I dont believe that Putin will end this without Odessa. He needs to cut Ukraine off from the Black Sea to fully ensure his security on that flank. I believe Putin is with Trump in this bigger war against the satanists but he is not going to be leaving the security of Russia to chance.
Edit to add: There are also concerns over Polish and Lithuanian designs on reimagining the Grand Duchy. Much of western Ukraine was Polish before WW2. And the entire area to the Black sea was part of the Grand Duchy. There have been subtle signs that Poland and Lithuania have larger goals here independent of NATO and the EU.
There are also issues with the SW flank of Ukraine too and Moldova/ Transnistria and Hungary. There is a large area of Hungarian speakers in west Ukraine. Moldova has historically bounced back and forth between Russian, Ottoman, Romanian (Vlad the Impaler and his line, for the most part in his multiple reigns a vassal of Hungary, plays in here) and Hungarian control.
When we discuss issues in this part of the world, its important to remember that the Balkans and slavic states have been a battlefield for most of the last 1200 years. They are the buffer between Europe and the Ottoman Turks, between Christianity and Islam.
Don't forget, Putin said that he no longer considers Zelensky the President of Ukraine because his presidency expired and they didn't hold new elections. Putin has no one to negotiate with.