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Something for Putin to Win [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-10-03  

(Caution: possible snark, or not)

The image above should be familiar. It shows the present extent of Ukraine which those brave people are fighting for. It is also all of what V. Putin would like to incorporate into Russia, causing Ukrainian culture (and people) to disappear. This was the intent, but matters in Ukraine are not going as the Russians had anticipated.

The Ukrainians with national pride, ingenuity, persistence, and support from the West have fought the Russians to a standstill. Ukrainian troops and support have made significant penetrations of the much vaunted defensive lines. Russia appears to be losing, but no one knows what the future holds.

A loss will never satisfy Putin, so he must be offered a prize to claim as a win. Looking at the map to the right and comparing it to the one above, you can see that at one time the boundaries of Ukraine were extended far to the East compared to the 1991 line which the Ukrainians are fighting to restore now. (Don’t let the difference in scale throw you off. You can use the Sea of Azov to orient by.) Ukraine at that time, about 120 years ago, extended to the Caspian sea and cut off all access for Russia to the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. Other maps show a more complete extension touching securely the Caspian Sea and Turkey. This extended area is nearly the same size as the territory which Ukraine is now claiming. Let us call this extension to the East beyond the claimed boundaries of Ukraine “The Eastern lands.”

Putin needs to go home with a win. After military defeat on the home land of Ukraine, or even just a stalemate, Ukraine would be wise to offer him a guarantee that the Eastern Lands outside of the 1991 boundary would belong to Russia in perpetuity. This chunk of turf is almost the size of Ukraine proper and would look very impressive on a map. He can sell this as a gain to his citizens since they are well trained to accept anything he says. There are other advantages: The Eastern Lands would not need to have all the road signs changed since they are already written in Russian. Further, Putin’s own dacha on the Black Sea would be securely in indisputed Russian territory.

Putin needs to walk away with some sort of victory—This “territorial concession” could be it.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/3/2196499/-Something-for-Putin-to-Win

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