Re:India considers buying discounted Russian oil, commodities
by kavalg on Monday March 14, 2022 @01:09PM
(#30675028)
Having part of Ukraine in EU is not impossible and I think with the current state of matters, may be accepted by many. The other option is a full NATO-Russia confrontation that will tip the scales in one or the other direction. Of course all this assumes that it doesn't escalate up to a nuclear exchange. It looks like the desired outcome for the US is to remove Putin from power and to bring democracy to Russia. Whether this war is seen by US as a shortcut to this or as a long term, strategic move to achieve it is currently not very obvious. It looks like the desired outcome for Russia is to have a clear border with NATO, that is sufficiently distant from Moscow, to gain some territory in the process that is rich in natural resources and inhabited by many Russians and dare I think about it, to push the world's financial system away from USD.
Internationally, Russia has dug itself a deep hole with its own shortsighted actions - 1. hundreds of billions of dollars of damage and outsized civilian death that necessitates hefty war reparations to Ukraine 2. foreign investment and reconstruction that Russia simply cannot supply 3. Ukraine would be highly foolish to give up seeking NATO membership as "neutrality" would just be an invitation for Russia to rebuild its army and restart the same war in the future 4. becoming part of Russia's empire has become even less attractive with the ascendant totalitarianism.