Cary
Steven BeschlossVladimir Putin is a murderous thug who launched a war in Ukraine a year ago to steal Ukrainian sovereignty and end their democracy by committing mass murder and terrorizing destruction. But sure, tell me again how Zelensky and the Ukrainians should negotiate for peace with him.
Level 98 🇺🇦@StevenBeschloss Yes. The only "threat" to Russia was Russian's realising that Ukrainian democracy was working out better for the average Ukrainian citizen than Putin's dictatorship was working out for Russia i.e. the threat was to Putin, and his cronies, hold on power, and their ill-gotten wealth.
John Breen@StevenBeschloss It makes me wonder, when ever in history, on any scale, has a psychopathic bully been ceded accommodations and appeasement in exchange for mercy, and things got better ?
PJT NorthThey should negotiate with their gun held to his head. Absent that, only with victory already in their pocket.
Sorry, I’m channeling my recently deceased USMC shooting team member dad. We enjoyed talking about Ukraine kicking Russia’ *ss in his final days.
AutisticMumTo3@StevenBeschloss
One of the things that concerns me about the situation is how internationally at least Russia got away with annexing Crimea and then several years later came back for more of Ukraine. How can anyone know Putin won't do the same again after a few years of peace & time to build up its armoury again?
One of the things that concerns me about the situation is how internationally at least Russia got away with annexing Crimea and then several years later came back for more of Ukraine. How can anyone know Putin won't do the same again after a few years of peace & time to build up its armoury again?
Grandpa Donnegotiate the way the North Vietnamese negotiated. Bicker over shape of conference table for 18 months. Agree to cease fires and use them for sneak attacks. Demand full withdrawal and reparations. Maybe rights to their oil fields. Present demands and when they don't agree scream to international press that they are not serious.
Zhi Zhu 🕸️“...Georgia was followed by Crimea. Look at the pictures of Grozny or Aleppo. Compare them to Kharkiv & Mariupol. Why do they look so similar?
Because Putin sees every off-ramp provided to him by the world as an entrance on the road to his next target.
We must, after 2 decades, learn the lessons Putin has taken such pains to teach us...
Either we stop him this time or he will do this again.”
https://twitter.com/djrothkopf/status/1505388936096587784
David Rothkopf on Twitter
“We must, after 2 decades, learn the lessons Putin has taken such pains to teach us. There are two choices. Either we stop him this time or he will do this again. Either he pays a price for these crimes greater than any he has known before or we will be right back here again soon.”
HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴
Bathsheba BlueAnd Georgia was preceded by two Chechen wars.
There’s also the non military takeover of Belarus.
Tim Richards@StevenBeschloss How do you negotiate with someone whose demands make no sense at all?
LHamilton@StevenBeschloss It's curious how some of the very folk who strongly support "stand your ground" laws in their own states are so eager for people in another country to surrender their lives and liberty to a thuggish intruder.
Reynardine@StevenBeschloss I think there are some of us still capable of remembering the lessons taught us between 1938 and 1945 on that account. The rest of us had better be reminded.
ramshackle@Reymohamme5 @StevenBeschloss one of those lessons was that the soviets were willing to put 26 million people through the meatgrinder and keep fighting. Not sure how that breaks down between Ukraine and Russia but its a pretty grim lesson nonetheless.
@ramshackle @StevenBeschloss
They had to, as they were being invaded by an enemy that intended genocide ("Hunger Plan", q.v.) and were committing it as they went. Ukraine is in that exact situation now. Russia (the invader) can quit any time and be no worse off.
They had to, as they were being invaded by an enemy that intended genocide ("Hunger Plan", q.v.) and were committing it as they went. Ukraine is in that exact situation now. Russia (the invader) can quit any time and be no worse off.
@Reymohamme5 @StevenBeschloss Russia as a nation sure. But Putin can't. His future is contingent on being perceived by people who matter in Russia as competent, ruthless and patriotic. The siloviki can't pull out for the same reason, and no one else gets any say in the matter. It was a remarkably stupid thing for them to invade, but now they are in, there is no upper limit to the number of Wagner mercenaries they're willing to consign to zinc boxes to avoid embarrassment.
@Reymohamme5 @StevenBeschloss Maybe they consolidate their positions along the dnipro and call it a win. That's probably the least terrible of a bunch of really terrible outcomes. In a perfect world they'd be kicked out of the 4 oblasts too, but we've never seen a nuclear power in a hot war losing territory they claim as part of the homeland, and I'm not as wildly optimistic about how that would turn out as most.
@StevenBeschloss because Ukrainian people can do without further death and destruction of their country
Peter Lee@farragher @StevenBeschloss and you assume they’d prefer to live under Russian rule for the rest of time? After what Russia have shown them in the past year?
Ask yourself: would you?
The problem here is that Putin seems eager to continue further destruction of people he openly claimed have no right to be a country, since at least 2008.
@StevenBeschloss Theoretically, because they still hold a decent amount of Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. And despite the incredible incompetence of Russian military leadership this war is costing the Ukrainian people a lot more than the Russians. But that's all pretty moot since neither side politically is in a position where they can negotiate. So more bloodshed it is.
Linus Wolford@StevenBeschloss I agree, but with a madman who is ratcheting up the doomsday clock closer and closer to midnight, what other solution do we have besides a good ol CIA coup? And even if that works, what backlash will come of it? Could that go nuclear? Honestly, there hasn't been a day in the past year where some fear of nuclear annihilation hasn't been in the back of my mind.
@StevenBeschloss to put it another way: there's no democracy if we're all irradiated ash. How do we resolve this crisis firmly and tactfully?
@LinusFromAK @StevenBeschloss
Oligarchs coup
I would assume they know Putin is a liability and I can only wonder how safe is Putin in RUS right now
Oligarchs coup
I would assume they know Putin is a liability and I can only wonder how safe is Putin in RUS right now
xs4me2By utter defeat.
GJ Groothedde 🇪🇺@StevenBeschloss Putin HAD peace. He can have peace again tomorrow.
Stefan Scholl@StevenBeschloss Careful how you phrase this. Zelenskyy already told the Russians his terms for any negotiations.
There are people who are receiving more and more support who believe that nobody wants to talk about peace treaties.
In reality, there is constant communication with Putin. The western leaders are always on the phone with him.
And Ukraine has laid out the terms.
Deborah MacPherson@StevenBeschloss what a different world we will be in if Ukraine wins - when Ukraine wins
@StevenBeschloss there will be no negotiations between the vile Putin & Zelensky! Putin wants Ukraine!
gavinisdie 
@StevenBeschloss not end thier democracy and independence, most likely end the idea of a Ukrainian
🍸Pooka🥕Boo🍸@StevenBeschloss Spot on comment there Steven.... thanks
Ira@StevenBeschloss This war will end only one way: with the elimination of Putin from power in Russia. Dead or alive, Putin must go.
What those yelling “negotiate for peace” really mean is Ukraine should concede territory to Russia to achieve the illusion of peace. Which would set Russia up to continue its assault on Ukraine’s government, (democracy), economy and national security. Not to mention prevent them from joining NATO or the EU.
mpmaddog@inklings @StevenBeschloss To man CHAMBERLINS not enough CHURCHILLS.. imagine WORLD wo him!! let that sink in..
Elledeeay@StevenBeschloss The only negotiating #zelensky should do with Putin is how fast the Russians get out of #ukraine and get their their internationally recognized territory back. Other than that, he should negotiate at all!
Murray Stauffer@StevenBeschloss
On Arkansas, legislators andgovenor are passing legislation that will eventually leave a lot of children uneducated.
#shs,#trumpster,#1984,#itcanhappenhere
On Arkansas, legislators andgovenor are passing legislation that will eventually leave a lot of children uneducated.
#shs,#trumpster,#1984,#itcanhappenhere
@StevenBeschloss curious how folks expect this war to go. I'll admit I didn't think the invasion would happen, so prediction may not be my strong suit. But I dont really see any alternative to a decade or so of fighting with the front lines moving slightly west and a chunk of Eastern Ukraine turning into no man's land. Unless you believe that either side has the capacity to decisively win, and that Ukraine winning wouldn't go nuclear immediately, what's the end goal and how do we get there?