- Aug 24, 2020
- 7,096
Just a reminder that this is day 695 of the 3 day special military operation.I never said that anyone had explicitly accepted defeat. In fact, I said that they hadn't. What I said was that most impartial commentators are now saying it openly. I'm not sure the NYT falls into the category of impartial, that's a matter for debate.
As far as the assertion goes, I think you only have to look at objectives v outcomes, and the situation on the ground now.
Russia's objective was to protect the Russian-speaking population of Eastern Ukraine whilst cementing control over its black sea ports, all of which it has done. Ukraine's objective was to repel the Russian forces and take back all of the territory it had lost since 2014, none of which has happened.
Clearly, by anyone's measure, the Russians have met their objectives and the Ukrainians have not met theirs.
You may not be happy about this, and things may indeed change, but it is the reality on the ground, so to speak.