I can understand Russia's reticence, given that the U.S. is always foaming at the mouth to do something horrifically evil and aggressive, and the U.S. will fucking consider a pigeon landing on a NATO commander's head to be a Russian plot. But you're right in that Russia in hindsight should have gone more tit for tat.

We're not anywhere near a revolutionary moment. 30% of the country is convinced Russian influence operations control a lot of the country and installed Trump and are trying to destroy the US entirely. 40% of the country (overlapping with above somewhat) is convinced China is trying to destroy and control us with tik-tok and the rest are mostly too tired, too beat down by bad labor conditions and life to care to think on it one way or the other.

US civil war is a meme. It's not happening anytime soon, even the strongest moments of BLM were minor and the US is far too good at managing things at home and distracting the masses. We're decades out from discontent and economic conditions getting bad enough that there's anything resembling an insurrection and it won't be red states vs blue states but uprisings in cities that grow and grow and refuse to be extinguished as they get more intense.

World war it is then if you're right. And likely nuclear because Russia can't win against US and NATO without devastating losses and a huge mandatory mobilization. China won't intervene because that's against their foreign policy. The DPRK could I suppose decide letting the US host nuclear weapons in the occupied south is unacceptable and launch an attack to retake the south and catch the US with their pants down but I'm skeptical they will either.

Though I suppose Russia could blink at the last moment and decide they'll tolerate a heavily armed, NATO-ified rump state on their border rather than go to nuclear war. Russia's reluctance all along has worsened things for them and I'm not entirely convinced they're over it. The amount of times they talk about wanting talks comes off as almost pleading really which signals weakness to the vicious west and I'm afraid probably could lead to escalation from the west mis-analyzing all this as a sign that if they just push them a bit more they'll sue for peace or give up. Then again this all could also just be western bluff and bluster and they could be out of ideas other than playing Nixon's "madman" card against Russia and hoping they back down.

hey now

State charges though right? Don't think they can send him to serve it out of state in a federal prison for those. Not sure if states have comfy prisons as I think most white collar more bourgeois criminals tend to commit federal crimes or at least get nailed for them first.

Maybe, but how long can he really hold on to power at this point? We already know he'd lose if elections were held. If he surrenders or gives up an inch of dirt, the Banderites will hang him from a lamp post in Kiev (they've said as much and we have every reason to believe them). If he refuses peace and keeps the meat grinder going under martial law, he risks mutiny, coup, revolution or civil war -- or maybe all of the above.

I don't think anyone in Ukraine wants to see Z stay in power, aside from the CIA.

I don't think Zelenskyy is guaranteed to die or be arrested, but I don't think he'll get off scott free either.

He also signed that law that prohibits his government from negotiating peace. I'm not sure Putin will even negotiate with an unelected, illegitimate government which he refuses to leave. Bro went all in on barricading the escape routes.

I don't like to indulge wishful thinking and fantasy much, either. I am trying to look at this from a materialist lens, though.

I mention it elsewhere in this thread, but Zelenskyy has no real base of support within Ukraine. He will never be "pure" enough for the Banderites. Polling has shown that he wouldn't win in an election against Zaluzhnyi, who is more or less the Banderite and militarists guy. After dismissing Zaluzhnyi, I think we all half-expected there to be a military coup. The Banderites have threatened to kill him multiple times (personally, I think he's only still alive because he's the money guy). The communists and anti-fascists want to see him violently overthrown. The rest of the citizens of Ukraine are prisoners living in a fascist police state run by an unelected dictator, who's pushing them into an impossible meat-grinder.

Ukrainians know he's blocked multiple peace deals that they would have been totally amenable to. Consider that the Istanbul peace deal that the US/UK torpedoed would only have required that Ukraine not join NATO. What Ukrainian civilian would have been willing to risk nuclear war just to join NATO, just so the west can park nukes on another Russian border, risking yet more nuclear war right in their front yard?

Grim conditions for someone trying to stay in power. The west can try to spin it all they like, but the western media bubble cheering him on is totally divorced from the conditions and opinions inside Ukraine. Historically speaking, the material conditions of Ukrainians are going to be the real determining force for Zelenskyy, no matter how many suburban white people in Kansas paint their faces on instagram.

Biden was also responsible for the Iraq war if that's what you are alluding to in terms of getting the Dems onboard (tough sell I am sure lol). Biden also took part in multiple crime bills that sent people of color to prison in massive numbers. You might be correct that bush is more evil, but the gap might be very slim.