I don't know what is truly happening in Ukraine, but I hope Tomenable is right, and it's not beyond the realm of possibility. Russia has always shown signs of being a paper tiger. Remember how shocked the west was to discover that so many of their missiles couldn't operate properly? Heck, they couldn't even build a decent car.
It's also possible that Putin and his military leaders were so arrogant that they didn't entertain the possibility that Ukraine would really resist and so they never set up proper re-supply lines. They may have thought that they could re-supply in Ukraine. Or, it's just the incompetence that is rife in western totalitarian regimes.
For the record, one of the most important moral imperatives is the right of a people to be free to choose their own leaders. Most actual Ukrainians do not want to be forced back into union with Russia. Whether it's because they actually don't consider themselves Russian, or that they don't want to be under authoritarian rule or both, that's a fact.
Pontificating from the safety and freedom of western Europe or the U.S. about how logical it is for Russia to want to keep Ukraine, and how it would be GOOD for western Europe if it became closer to Russia while Ukrainians are dying so their children don't have to live in a dictatorship shows a lack of a moral compass which is breathtaking and heartbreaking at the same time.
Listen to the people of Ukraine. Listen to the people of Eastern Europe who know what being forced back into union with Russia would be like. They're not expendable.
Throw all the Marxist apologia spewed out in our colleges and universities into the trash can.
The following contains an analysis by a reporter stationed in Russia for years. Very enlightening. Ignore the inane comments of the "host".
