Live Conflict Ukraine-Russia War

[SilverMachine]

The morale boost evaporated once they lost more territory to Russia in the east.

Your second point doesn't make any sense. The U.S. hasn't given that permission yet, to use U.S. weapons inside Russia. It may happen in future, but as of now hasn't, thus the Kursk offensive didn't "achieve" that.

Ukraine deployed a *lot* of awesome troops and materiel to Kursk that could have been better spent elsewhere, in the hopes that the Russians would divert their troops from Eastern Ukraine to deal with the guys in Kursk. Putin didn't fall for it and didn't take the bait, therefore Kursk didn't achieve shit beyond a momentary "we're awesome!" feeling among Ukrainian troops, and the cost of it was Russia more-easily taking the territory in the east.

It's truly that simple. Zelensky made a gamble, one not all of his generals and intel people supported, and it didn't pay off.

 

[Spitfire9]

Vladimir Putin is all too aware that economic pressure brought down the Soviet Union as he is forced to hike defence spending and slash social benefits to fund his war in Ukraine, according to Western officials.

Vladimir Putin 'fears Soviet-style collapse' amid pressures to fund Ukraine war

Warning comes after Russia’s government unveiled plans to hike defence spending to highest levels since the Cold War

www.standard.co.uk

The massive attack on Ukraine, which all expected to succeed in defeating the country in a few days or weeks, did not succeed. The prospects of a drawn out war succeeding were very poor once 'the West' decided to back the continuing existence of Ukraine as an independent state. At that point Russia should have started looking for ways to disentangle itself from a failed strategy. Putin chose not to do that.

The consequences of Putin choosing to continue with a strategy very unlikely to succeed were suffered by the world - disruption in trade, increased fuel prices, increased food prices etc. While the countries of the world have largely adapted to the new reality of a Russia cut off from its previous trading partners, Russia is now facing severe economic problems.

Inflation: near 10%
Central bank rate: 19%
Unemployment rate: lower than 2.5%

Russia has effectively run out of labour, resulting in a bidding war as the Russian army, defence producers and civil producers try to attract labour to their sector. Normally central banks raise interest rates to suppress inflation by reducing demand for goods and services. Demand for goods and services is not the problem here.

It does not help by further reducing one's labour stock by sending it to a place where it can be eliminated through death or incapacitation.

 

[UkroTurk]

FT: Biden considers advancing Ukraine’s NATO membership before he leaves office

Ukraine, Nato membership and the West Germany model

FT: Biden considers advancing Ukraine’s NATO membership before he leaves office — Novaya Gazeta Europe

In one of his final foreign policy decisions as US president, Joe Biden may agree to advance Ukraine’s NATO membership bid at a meeting between Ukraine and its allies due to be held in Germany later this month, The Financial Times (FT) reported on Tuesday.

novayagazeta.eu

Jeremy Shapiro of the European Council on Foreign Relations told the FT that the White House, which has so far been “sceptical” of Ukraine’s NATO accession, may consider the so-called “West German model” of NATO membership, according to which Bonn joined the alliance in 1955 to ensure its own security, despite its lack of territorial integrity due to the existence of East Germany. “The Russians would hate that, but at least it could be some opening gambit for a compromise,” Shapiro said