[vizzah]

Damn.. even though we were both on the same reverse-engineering/cracking scene back in the '90s, but I can't immediately recall his scene nickname -- his full name has immediately slammed me back. Were we all the same gang - whether from .ua or from .ru, hanging on IRCs, chatting in English and Russian (almost nobody spoke Ukrainian online back then), although Dennis was from a Russian-speaking part of UA.. I see his blog is still predominantly in Russian (with ENG translation), it is so damn pathetic that Ukrainians are being suppressed into ukrainization and fighting for a cause many do not side with - four oblasts which Russia demands should be given to them to stop the war. It's unpopular opinion, but people in Ukraine do not want to die and fight for being "pro-Europe". It is simply not worth it. As a Ukrainian who emigrated decades ago, I am asking everyone to push Zelenskiy towards being more accommodating to Russian demands, give them their f*cking four oblasts and the Crimea, but stop the war! It can't be won. I'd like to hope that Dennis could get away from serving or use his tech skills in drone teams or whatever.. but how many other talented people are being taken to the front lines against their own will and against their cause?! :(

[benterix]

If everybody followed your line of reasoning, not only Ukraine but half of Europe would be Russian already. Remember Putin's initial demand before the invasion was a full reset to the 90s. It was only because of Ukraine's dramatic fight that he scaled his demands temporarily.

Also, this logic doesn't work, because if it worked, he should already be satisfied by the annexation of Crimea in 2014. But he didn't, and this "success" made him even more hungry. It took time for everyone to understand this.

[vizzah]

I don't buy this nonsense about Putin having ambitions beyond Right-Bank Ukraine. Putin didn't expect such resistance, and he understands now that Ukraine won't allow itself to become entirely Russian. Western Ukraine is not a match for Russia ideologically or historically, and since the war began, Central Ukraine has become much more radical in its stance toward everything Russian. He now realizes that Eastern Ukraine is the only area where Russia can be tolerated , if ceded to Russia.

And please -- anyone who talks about European ambitions is either naive or deliberately spreading propaganda.

[artem2471]

And what would be with the people who live in those regions? Who would house them, if they decide to move to Ukrainian controlled territory? What would be with the people who would be persecuted by Russians?

What do you know about what people in Ukraine want? Who gave you the right to speak from Ukrainians position?

You don’t live in Ukraine, you are not a Ukrainian, you are just “from Ukraine”.

[vizzah]

The regions are largely already occupied. Are you aware of how many refugees have already left for Ukraine? They are not coming back to those territories unless they are liberated. A lot of pro-Russian refugees left for Russia. Any non-conscripts left for Europe.

I know what my relatives in Ukraine want -- they want to stop the war without it progressing further and without the conscription of 18 year olds. Zelenskiy should have held a referendum on Crimea years ago -- he promised it before getting elected. They purposely want to avoid this because most Ukrainians would vote to cede Crimea to end the war. This could have been used as a strong negotiating chip with Russia. Ukraine could have negotiated the return of some of the already occupied territories in exchange for accepting the loss of Crimea. But it's not happening! And nobody is allowed to talk about this -- not even hint at it! I ask my numerous Ukrainian contacts privately, and they all agree: cede Crimea, at least to end the war.

It is quite obvious that Ukraine cannot win a war of attrition, and the longer this drags on, the more devastated Ukraine will be when the war ends. The amount of damage to the economy, infrastructure, agriculture, housing, etc., is already beyond recovery. Have you seen how much the World Bank expects Ukraine will need to rebuild? More than half a trillion USD -- that's today's figure.

So yeah, you can continue the demagoguery about "who gave you the right" or "what if, what then" -- but Ukraine needs concrete steps and the acceptance that it will have to lose something in order to secure its further independence and, hopefully, future prosperity.

PS: But if you think losing millions of lives, losing bright minds who don't want to have to do anything with this war, is more important than ceding some pro-russian oblasts - go on the frontlines and fight for this flawed ideology.

PPS: I checked your posting history on HN and you seem to have joined 3 months ago to support Ukrainian-government's official narrative. I would have saved my time responding to you, should I checked it earlier.

[rasz]

Its pure Danegeld, you give bully one finger he cuts off your arm. putin himself is quite clear about goal being going back to at least pre 1989 borders.

If Ukraine would agree to what you were manipulated into believing Dennis Yurichev would be drafted into russian army and forced to storm Lithuania.