AC

The allies, mostly the United States, were instrumental in the defeat of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. I see the peace and prosperity of both nations as testament to liberal democracy. Contrast this with East Germany, replete with cardboard Trabants, a failing economy with polluting industry, steroid mutilated athletes, and the paranoid Stasi reigning terror on its own population. Is East Germany an achievement worth celebrating?

The rationale for the Russian invasion of Ukraine is complete invention, and you might note that the Minsk agreements, signed by Ukraine under duress, have been violated as much or more by the Russians. You might also note that Russia was secretly provisioning the insurgency in eastern Ukraine.

As for Russia never intending to overrun Kiev, I disagree. The Russian army, with its forty kilometer column of armour, intended to lay siege to Kiev as it did with Mariupol. The Ukrainians were able to stop the column, so the siege was averted. The Russian army had to retreat else face complete destruction. You might note the frequent changes in the narrative of the Russian media.

Russia now has to use its dwindling supply of precision munitions carefully, with its current focus on stopping the flow of heavy weapons to eastern Ukraine. I think this strategy is working for them to a degree, but the Russians are taking heavy losses with the advance on Ukrainian forces. Russia has no other choice, as if they don't advance the Ukrainians will get more heavy equipment, and the Russians, whether or not they advance, face constant attack from drones and raiding parties. My own belief is that the Russian army is close to running out of equipment, at which point their offensive will collapse.

Is Russia doing anymore than Australia should be doing in relation to the Solomon Islands? The SI might not be on our border, but Chinese missiles can reach us from there. The same applies to PNG.

We might not be able to resist a full on attack from China, but we should be doing the little things we can do NOW to make it less easy for them in the future.

NB. I am not suggesting that either country be taken apart as Ukraine is by Russia; but occupation shouldn't be much of a problem. Hell, the SI government had to call on Australia to deal with local rioters.

I think Armchair critic is on the ball there !

Hey Fester,
The info regards Russia and WWII came from Oxford University Press.
If the info I put forward there is not correct, then I apologise for getting things wrong.
- But I assumed that info from a renowned University on WWII would at least be be fairly accurate
(If this 'Oxford University Press' are indeed related to Oxford University)
You can find the info here:
http://blog.oup.com/2021/08/what-does-the-history-of-victory-day-tell-us-about-russias-national-identity/

Thanks for the support individual, I don't too much of it.
The first casualty in war is the truth and we're all arguing amongst ourselves relying on the info at hand (much of it misleading) and no-one really knows the true picture.

Hi AC,

I'm not blinded to the Soviet efforts in defeating Nazi Germany, but I do question what they have gained for their sacrifice. Germany and Japan enjoy peace and prosperity whilst paranoid and poverty stricken Russia looks to me to be much like the Nazis they defeated. I have watched some of the video you recommended (covid permitting), and will watch all of it soon enough. While I don't discount anything, I would think it an oversimplification to ascribe all wars to a single cause. For example, if Hitler and Stalin both felt that their fundamental enemy was a conspiracy of Jewish bankers, then why didn't they align themselves against them and cut out the middle men?

Individual

"Is ideology & greed really more important than the loss of thousands of lives in Ukraine & the risk of a WW3 ?"

I get the impression that you you think the death and destruction in Ukraine is the fault of Zelensky, his nazi conspirators and the west because they dared to resist the Russian invasion. I guess the conclusion you come to might depend on what justification you see for the Russian invasion. Very muddy for the Russian army in eastern Ukraine, so I am hoping the Ukranians might have an Agincourt like victory. I see that the precision Russian munitions are still killing plenty of civilians. Zelensky's fault obviously.