# Russia invades Ukraine -- The regional situation **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** ukraine-invasion\ **Created:** [December 30, 2023, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349 "2023-12-30T18:43:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 77
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2026, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1523 "2026-01-02T14:51:40Z")
**Moderating** : Enough of the assassination sidebar. If it involves Putin or Zelenskyy it is one thing, but the rest of this has become a hijack. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2026, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1524 "2026-01-02T15:45:08Z")
Russia’s losses for 2025 are staggering. I don’t understand why the Russian people continue supporting the war. I found an article about Ukraine’s F-16’s. They’re being used for missile interception. > **[Russia's losses in Ukraine rise faster than ever as US pushes for peace deal](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62n922dnw7o)** > > A steep rise in soldiers' obituaries is documented by the BBC as part of its work in counting Russian war losses. > **[Ihnat: Ukrainian Air Force carries out about 7,000 sorties in 2025](https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4075973-ihnat-ukrainian-air-force-carries-out-about-7000-sorties-in-2025.html)** > > The Air Force not only protects the skies but also strikes back at the enemy, carrying out approximately 7,000 sorties in 2025. — Ukrinform. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2026, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1525 "2026-01-02T18:51:38Z")
2026 promises to be a year for Ukraine to really enhance its fighting capabilities > **[This Is Why Russia Can’t Afford to Stall Talks: What Ukraine...](https://united24media.com/latest-news/this-is-why-russia-cant-afford-to-stall-talks-what-ukraine-is-getting-in-2026-14714)** > > Ukraine is set for a significant upgrade in air capabilities by 2026, enhancing defense and strike operations against Russian forces. > Taken together, Defense Express argues that these systems—fighters, AEW aircraft, missile shields, ballistic weapons, and cruise missiles—form an ecosystem rather than isolated upgrades. The combination would: > > - extend Ukraine’s air combat reach; > > - strengthen missile defense against ballistic threats; > > - enable sustained deep strikes at scale; > > - reduce dependence on single suppliers. > > While not every platform is guaranteed, Defense Express concludes that even partial delivery would mark the most profound modernization of Ukraine’s air and strike forces since independence. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2026, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1526 "2026-01-02T23:52:25Z")
ISW is down today, Jan 2. I tried early this morning and now late this evening. 403 forbidden Did they get hacked or DNS attack? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1527 "2026-01-03T00:20:40Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > ISW is down today, Jan 2. It’s up for me. > **[Site Search](https://understandingwar.org/site-search/?_website_search=ukraine)** > > Search Date Publication Type Map Type Media & Events Team Focus Areas Product Line Map Series Staff designation ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1528 "2026-01-03T00:35:07Z")
Thanks for checking. I did clear my Chrome cache. Oh well, maybe I can reach it tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1529 "2026-01-03T10:45:41Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And why would anyone be angry about that, or why would Kyiv deny it if true? Taking out Putin, if possible, would probably be the least-bloody way possible to end the war. He’s a perfectly legitimate target. Coming back to this in light of today’s events in Caracas I posted this on another thread, but it also chimes with this idea: I have never seen such a big font on top of the New York Times’ website: [U.S. CAPTURES MADURO, TRUMP SAYS](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01/03/world/trump-united-states-strikes-venezuela) > President Trump announced that U.S. forces had carried out “a large scale strike against Venezuela” and were flying President Nicolás Maduro and his wife out of the country. The Trump administration had been building pressure on Mr. Maduro for months. I bet Putin knew. That is the reason he announced that Ukraine had bombed his residence. He thus legitimated trumps attack on Maduro in advance. And it gives him an excuse to keep on trying to kill or kidnap Zelensky. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2026, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1530 "2026-01-03T11:39:57Z")
Has anyone quoted the [precedent of Noriega](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_invasion_of_Panama) yet? ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1531 "2026-01-04T08:00:56Z")
Meanwhile, as the world looks to Venezuela, someone has sabotaged Berlin’s electricity network, leaving around 45,000 households, 2,200 businesses, several hospitals and retirement homes in the dark until Thursday next week. The temperatures are below freezing, the distant heating does not work because the pumps are electric, mobile networks are down. This is the second time this has happened recently. Last time it was in september. An “anarchist” group nobody had ever heard of claimed responsability then, but everybody thinks it was Russia. > **[Berlin power outage hits 45,000 homes after suspected arson attack](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/03/berlin-power-outage-hits-homes-suspected-arson-attack)** > > Damage to cables means tens of thousands will be without electricity until Thursday amid freezing temperatures Someone should Maduro Putin and his band of thugs. Delenda est Rossia! ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2026, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1532 "2026-01-07T03:22:21Z")
The British and French peace keeping force agreement is in breaking news. I wanted to ask why UN Peacekeepers aren’t mentioned any more? They were deployed several times in Eastern Europe. They were all over the news in the 90’s. Where did they go? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2026, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1533 "2026-01-07T03:38:41Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > They were all over the news in the 90’s. Where did they go? A big part of that news was their utter failure to prevent ethnic cleansing and genocide in Bosnia and Rwanda. The whole concept of peacekeepers fails without the authorization to reign violence on violators of the peace ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2026, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1534 "2026-01-07T03:52:02Z")
It’s hard to be taken seriously wearing White helmets and driving lightly-armored White trucks. That was a problem in Black Hawk Down’s rescue mission. The borrowed UN personnel carriers took heavy fire. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2026, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1535 "2026-01-07T03:57:02Z")
Another problem is that both Russia and the U.S. are permanent members of the U.N. security council, so would be able to block any peacekeeping plan they didn’t agree with. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2026, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1536 "2026-01-09T17:14:31Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The British and French peace keeping force agreement is in breaking news. > > I wanted to ask why UN Peacekeepers aren’t mentioned any more? They were deployed several times in Eastern Europe. > > They were all over the news in the 90’s. Where did they go? UN peacekeepers have a mandate to monitor ceasefires, but not one to join forces with the attacked party if the other party resumes hostilities. They typically are from the armed forces of countries perceived as not supporting either side in the underlying conflict. Their utility as a buffer force is only with regard to rogue officers where their side’s leadership does not actually want war. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2026, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1537 "2026-01-09T17:53:26Z")
Thank you. The UN Peacekeepers were often in the news. I never fully understood their mission. Patroling and being visible helps deter isolated attacks. But, I see why they are useless if a large army starts an offensive. Peace keepers aren’t combatants. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2026, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1538 "2026-01-09T17:57:44Z")
It also depends on the UN Security Council approving the set-up. Guess which permanent member of the UNSC has a veto in such matters… Hence the “coalition of the willing” concept ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1539 "2026-01-11T21:40:18Z")
As of today Russia has been fighting in Ukraine for a longer period of time than the USSR fought in the Great Patriotic War (June 22nd, 1941 to May 9th, 1945, 1,417 days). Soviet forces reached Berlin (1,000 miles from Moscow) and took it in that time, while today’s Russian army “heroically” advanced 37 miles from Donetsk to Pokrovsk, with losses per square mile exceeding Stalin-era records. [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55036400899_0be70020e5_b.jpg "20260111\_154235") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/68782016@N08/55036400899/) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1540 "2026-01-12T00:13:47Z")
So much winning. Evidently they took lessons from trump. The orotege has become the mentor. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1541 "2026-01-13T18:51:56Z")
[Ukraine has developed its own](https://www.armyrecognition.com/news/army-news/2025/ukraines-fielding-of-the-sapsan-ballistic-missile-shifts-the-deep-strike-equation-against-russia) ballistic missile. Another one from Britain will add to Ukraine’s capabilities. > **[What is Project Nightfall? UK says it will develop new ballistic missile for...](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/project-nightfall-ukraine-uk-ballistic-missile-b2899323.html)** > > MoD says Nightfall missiles will carry 200kg warhead and can strike targets deep inside Russia > [@](#): > > The UK says it will develop new tactical ballistic missiles for Kyiv and put “leading-edge weapons into the hands of Ukrainians” for their fight against Russia. > > Code-named “Project Nightfall”, the missiles will help boost [Ukrainian](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/ukraine)firepower and be capable of striking targets deep inside Russia, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement late on Sunday. > > The Nightfall missiles will carry a 200kg conventional high-explosive warhead and cost a maximum £800,000 per unit, the MoD announced, adding that it plans to produce 10 systems per month. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2026, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1542 "2026-01-19T12:03:25Z")
At the risk of making this US-political, which everything must be these days - if the D’s take both houses of Congress this upcoming midterms, could they pass some veto-proof legislation to help Ukraine? There are still a decent number of Republicans who could go along who’d enable Democrats to get to 2/3 majorities in both houses for Ukraine assistance to pass regardless of a Trump veto. The main problem is that Trump will still be commander in chief, and there isn’t really any recourse if he simply refuses to let the U.S. military ship armament to Ukraine even if Congress has legislated it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349.md?page=76) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349.md?page=78)