Hi Ac,

Some things are not in dispute, like the front line of the conflict. If the Ukrainian army consists of old men and boys as Prigozhin suggests, then what does that say of the Russian army gaining so little ground against them? It has not moved much since the Ukrainian counteroffensives in the north and south despite Putin's mobilisation of half a million troops as you claimed.

I think that Putin is waiting for the next counteroffensive of the Ukrainians and will order a massive air strike against it. Which side is preparing and which side is desperately hanging on will become apparent in the coming months.

Hi Fester,
"Some things are not in dispute, like the front line of the conflict."
Well even that's disputable, there's Russian maps and western maps, but they're fairly close.

"...what does that say of the Russian army gaining so little ground against them?"

Each side has slightly different tactics.
Ukraine fights to defend every inch of ground no matter the cost in men and equipment;
Whereas Russia fights not only for ground but with an aim to completely destroy the Ukrainian military.
Russia will make strategic withdrawls if the cost of a potential battlefield scenario is too high, as we saw on the Kherson and Kharkiv fronts. Ukraine knows if the lose a certain area they're not likely to get it back, and it affects future planned counter-offensives.
Russia will take all the territory they want when the Ukrainian military is completely destroyed.

Zelensky said in his speech to US Congress:
"We have artillery. Yes. Thank you. Is it enough? Honestly, not really. To ensure Bakhmut is not just a stronghold that holds back the Russian army – but for the Russian army to completely pull out – more cannons and shells are needed. If so, just like the battle of Saratoga, the fight for Bakhmut will change the trajectory of our war for independence and freedom."
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/22/volodymyr-zelenskiy-speech-in-full-joint-session-us-congress

This is why I told you all that a lot of the info you're all getting is untrue, it's projection.
The truth is often the reverse of what they're saying.

Bakhmut will fall within days.
The western media will play it down saying it was not a strategically important city anyway, but that's not what Zelensky himself stated in US congress. A lot of western news is just narrative to keep up support for the war.

Ukraine has lost tens of thousands of its troops there, all for nothing.
It the biggest single battle in the modern era, and Russian mercenaries have beaten Ukraine armed and backed by the US and the entire 30 NATO countries.
- But Russia has largely destroyed a huge part of the Ukrainian military there.

Hey shadowminister,
"The Maidan revolution was homegrown, and while morally supported by the west..."
Yes the Maidan in it's inception was homegrown and peaceful.
They may have been protesting Yanukovych's reluctance to move closer to the EU if I remember correctly.
But there were also provocateurs from Right Sector and Svoboda (i.e the Ukrainian Nazis) co-opted by the West who started shooting up the place.
Later they went and burned some 180 odd people alive in the Odessa Trade building.

"MUST WATCH: Nov 2013 (pre-Maidan!): Ukraine Deputy has proof of USA staging civil war in Ukraine".
http://youtu.be/y9hOl8TuBUM

Burning of people in Odessa - #3
http://youtu.be/aXrbfjbqTsg

Zelensky Admits That Ukraine Can't Win War Without Foreign Troops
http://youtu.be/Jl4OyPwLF8w?t=165

US Wants To Fight War To The End in Ukraine
NO Negotiated Settlement Possible
http://youtu.be/ZAY902SeQyQ

Australians Shout Anti-NATO, Pro-Putin Slogans;
‘Why Should We Pay For U.S. Ambitions?’
http://youtu.be/BdeLrzUFYQQ

AC,

You post bollocks. All the links you post are by pro-Russian propaganda sites and are not worth a pinch of crap.

The fire in Odessa killed 46 people and occurred after the pro-Russian government had started shooting protesters.

The fight for Bakhmut has served its purpose in attacking fortified positions Russians have lost 3-7 men for every one Ukrainian killed. They have lost tanks, IFVs and aircraft that cannot be replaced.

Between the losses in Vuhledar and Bakhmut the Russian counter-offensive has been a disaster for the Russian army and the Ukrainian army is still strong and keen to fight.

You have been predicting the imminent fall of Bakhmut for 4 months and we are still waiting. This along with your predictions that Kherson would hold and that the Kharkiv retreat was a trap.

Russia's economy is in a tailspin and Ukraine is getting top-notch tanks and long-range weapons that devastate the Russians.

Your mind must be retarded shadowminister.
If Putin came out and said the sky is blue, you'd object and call it propaganda because Putin said it.
- Such a backwards and childish mentality.

The first link showed Zelensky himself saying American men and women would have to shed their own blood to help Ukraine win the war.
- That's an admission by Zelensky himself that Ukrainian military is not capable of gaining back all the territory on their own.

Second link might be Scott Ritter, (Pro-Russian individual) but that doesn't change the merit in what he said.
America themselves have forced Ukraine against doing a peace deal in on April 1st in Istanbul last year, Biden says they "will support Ukraine as long as it takes" and even Lindsay Graham has said they are happy to "fight to the last Ukrainian".
That means there will be NO negotiated settlement possible until one of the two armies has been completely destroyed.

All this stuff is fact.
Ukraine is making efforts to join the EU and NATO, so Russia is going to keep this going until there is no longer any kind of security threat to them.

As for the third link, I saw people in the video with akubra hats and Australian flags, you're trying to argue it didn't happen.

"Demonstrators took to the streets in cities like Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, and Perth. Thousands of pro-Putin protesters held placards saying '#IStandWithRussia" and held protests against the Australian government for providing military assistance to Ukraine to battle Russia."

"The sky's not blue dammit, you're all lying - I'm telling you it's Russian propaganda Waaaaaaahhhhh!"

- Stupid bleating sheep, grow up Baaaaa