The Ever-Widening War-15

Sunday Nov. 10:  According to Reports three Moscow international airports have suspended operations due to an Ukrainian drone attack

https://www.rt.com/russia/607425-moscow-drones-attack/ 

The Kremlin has failed to explain why Ukrainian drone attacks deep into Russia are permissible without any consequences to the West, but not missile attacks deep into Russia.  

The illogical position Putin finds himself in is eroding his credibility.  Putin’s official position for three years is that Russia is not at war, merely involved in a Special Military Operation. Consequently, Russia has withheld the military force that would have made it impossible for Kiev to continue the conflict. Instead of limiting the conflict and saving lives, the long war has cost many more lives and permitted the US and NATO to get heavily involved.  The limited military operation has thus proven to be a disaster.

Putin will succeed in evicting all Ukrainian forces from the Russian areas now reunited with Russia.  But how does he go from this to neutralizing and demilitarizing Ukraine?  

Trump offers Putin no Ukraine NATO membership for 20 years.  Does that mean that Russia accepts NATO membership for Ukraine in 20 years?

It would have been so much better if Putin had sent in the Russian Army to prevent Washington’s overthrow of the Ukrainian government and installation of an anti-Russian government.  Failing this, Putin’s forced intervention to protect the Russian population in Ukraine should have been decisive, using sufficient force to end the conflict immediately.  

Instead, Putin’s blunder has presented a situation difficult to unwind.  

We are left with a situation in which Trump has to recover from the extraordinary mistakes of his appointments in his first term, and Putin has to find a way to recover from the extraordinary mistake of his Special Military Operation.  

Let’s hope they can find a way.

The US and NATO involvement makes it difficult to resolve the conflict as Putin has refused to resolve it by force.  Which side is going to lose face by compromising? To whose disadvantage will a compromise play in the media?

Will this consideration prevent a settlement? 

The Ever-Widening War