There would not have been a war in Ukraine, unless western neocons and elites set out to deliberately provoke one, likewise there won't be a war with China unless they too can provoke one.

"As I have inferred, I find it hard to see the United States as an evil empire from observing the post WW2 fates of Japan and Germany, and I would much rather see Ukraine supported than see it suffer again as it did under Stalin's tyranny."

Yes I know Fester I understand and accept your reasoning, but the US goaded Japan into war, then they dropped nukes on them when they didn't have to, and Germany has been treated like a sacrificial lamb the way gutless Greens politicians have sold their own people down the river on energy and allowed their own western allies to blow up Nordstream and they don't say a damn thing, and Ukraine has been utterly destroyed and for what, so that the west can go in there and get a hold on the nations wealth at fire sale prices, oil pipelines, land, blackrock wealth management, claimed european benefits, all at the cost of generations of national debt upon the citizens, those lucky to still be alive and all because they want to get Putin and rape and loot Russia as well, or are scared China is becoming to wealthy, strong militarily or impose rule over people and nations that don't wish to be ruled as vassal states by the west?

They don't give a crap about human rights or the citizens, Germanys haddit, they people at home are paying 4 times the price for energy, and as far as the west goes generallyit's probably all just a plan by the elite, their Great Reset to centralise more money and power into the hands of the elite at the expense of the average Joe.

"What I see in the conflict is the gradual destruction of Russian forces."

How is that going to happen?

It's not going to happen, Russia is making 200,000 shells every month, while the west is only able to manufacture little more than a tenth of that, but the western MIC, politicians and bankers will profit from it all they will wield their sanctions, attempting to use money and trade as weapons, meanwhile Russia China and other BRICS nations will find new markets and methods of payment.

Ukraine can't recapture the land, they can't beat them on the battlefield without NATO intervention / US troops coming home in bodybags at which point we may then be looking at a nuclear war with tactical nuclear weapons employed by Russia and risking WWIII.

All for what? Legitimate Russian security interests / Crimea / the autonomy of the Russian speaking people in Ukraine post 2014 western coup?

Look at this they're all so full of shite
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-02/anthony-albanese-keynote-speech-singapore-shagri-la-china-us/102428396

"Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has used a keynote speech at the region's top security summit to urge China to reopen high-level communication channels with the United States, saying both great powers need to establish "guardrails" to ensure catastrophic conflict does not break out."

You won't see the little lapdog saying that about Russia and Ukraine with thousands dying every day do you?
- Every opportunity for dialogue and negotiation the US opposed it and Boris Johnson stopped it.

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/nov/12/anthony-albanese-meets-ukraine-foreign-minister-at-asean-who-says-it-will-be-a-joint-success-when-russia-defeated

http://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/australia-will-continue-to-provide-assistance-to-ukraine-albanese/video/0aa59cabae50fe01acd232775bd89ef6

On that front, Albo the weasel wants to keep the war going, providing weapons and assistance at our expense and for Russia to be defeated.
- Not one word about 'dialogue' or 'negotiations' to 'avoid conflict'.
- He's helping support and continue the conflict.

He's a weak little pansy and a lapdog.
He doesn't care about people dying in a conflict.
It's perfectly fine.

"US goaded Japan into war, then they dropped nukes on them when they didn't have to"

Unsurprisingly I have a different view AC. Given the high casualties on both sides and the Japanese ethos of fighting to the last I side with the view that bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved many lives on both sides.

As for being goaded into war, Japan's invasion of China was hardly the action of a peace loving humanitarian nation.

You speak of Russia as a nation resolute in preserving its autonomy, but like Nazi Germany it is the autonomy of an Afghan warlord, replete with xenophobia, oppression and belligerence. "The west" as you refer to it consists of countries seeking a peaceful and mutually beneficial interaction between nations. The freedom and prosperity enjoyed by these nations is testament to its effectiveness, and as Putin is finding out in Ukraine, those freedoms are highly valued and protected.

There was the view that Russia wanted a war of attrition because it had the capability to outlast the Ukrainians. Because of the superior range and accuracy of Ukraine's weapons, a war of attrition is very much in Ukraine's interests.

AC's claims are beyond factually incorrect and are hilariously psychotic.

Japan was at war a decade before America sanctioned their oil, and the reason they did was after warning Japan to cease the atrocities it was committing they cut off Japan's oil that it used for its army.

Secondly, the US has just supplied 750 000 howitzer shells to Ukraine and is looking at another batch shortly. The 50 countries supporting Ukraine can easily outproduce Russia.

I believe that the Russian separatists are going to hold a referendum in Belgorod to secede from Russia.

Russia is losing this war.