re: #261 Hecuba’s daughter

Certainly Russians never expected a determined Ukrainian resistance. Why else think that they could finish conquering the entire country of 43 million within just a few days? It took us several weeks to “conquer” Iraq, a country that is about 1/3 smaller with a similar population. If Russia had limited their assault to the two provinces that declared their “independence”, deferring the broader attack to a later date, they would have had a much better chance of success.

My guess is that his military leaders gave him an overly-optimistic picture of what a war in Ukraine would look like. Over in a matter of days, relatively few casualties, and Zelensky would capitulate quickly to avoid further bloodshed. He’s a comedian, an actor, he has no spine of steel like the Chair…er, the President does. But if they did not take the opportunity before them now, then there would not likely be another for years. Ukraine is rearming, it’s training better soldiers, and it’s fortifying its positions. It’s a now-or-never, go-big-or-go-home moment.