I agree, but who is “we”? (Unless you meant “internal” instead of “eternal”.)
The other major thing that China gets out of protracting the war in Ukraine is exhausting western (and especially US) support for defending the sovereignty of other nations under attack by their imperialist neighbours. The more that Americans are tired of supporting Ukraine, the less they’ll support Taiwan if/when China decides to bring its wayward children back into the fold. I believe this is their primary motivation, and the cash they get from weapons sales, money they save buying discounted oil, and a weakened Russia are all just gravy.
@Gorsnak: I agree w you. Chiina is more interested in exhausting the West than in weakening an already fatally spiralling-in Russia. Or in profiting in whatever small degree from sales to Russia.
I meant what I wrote: “eternal”.
Who is “we”?
IMO about 80% of the EU population, similar numbers in Canada, Australia, Japan, and a hefty if probably smaller fraction of the usual smaller good-guy countries.
And about 45% of the US population, but perhaps a declining percentage. IOW ISTM the klepto-totalitarians are winning their war here in the USA.
Ret General Petraeus is associated with ISW and other think tanks. He’s pretty informed.
Petraeus is quoted in several videos in the past few weeks. He is claiming Putin/Russia is in trouble and near collapse.
I know he doesn’t get Pentagon briefings anymore. He still should know a lot more than the average guy.
You can search youtube for Petraeus and filter for the past month for other examples.
This narration is pretty dry. I set playback speed to 1.25.
10 mins
No one beats the Russians at being assholes. No-one!
I didn’t realize there was more than a handful of countries that still supported Russia
By support I mean still trade.
I’m not sure the Brics summit really moves the needle. There are 195 UN-recognized countries in the world. If you can only get ~20 to at least nominally side with you on an issue, that means roughly 89% of the world’s countries disagrees with you.
Granted, the countries reportedly attending the Brics summit represent 45% of the world’s population. Take away China and India, though (2.8 billion folks total between them), and the rest combined only represent ~10% of the world’s population.
What’s more, the combined economic might of Brics is only 28% of the global economy. The U.S. by itself is 25%, and NATO combined is almost 31%.
Finally, Brics may appear on the surface to be a unified coalition, but it’s not. China and India are the most notable smile-in-public-but-hate-each-other-in-private members, but there are others. As the article notes: “There is tension between two of the newest Brics members, Egypt and Ethiopia. And, despite talk of detente, Iran and Saudi Arabia have long been regional rivals.”
What they mostly are is “mildly to highly resentful of US / EU power and wanting to go their own way at least some.”
There’s also a decent fraction of those countries w authoritarian to despotic leadership who sorta like the idea of joining in with the other asshole / corrupt countries.
Today I learned.
BRICS stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
It was significantly enlarged in 2023. Refer to the article if your interested in details.
My quote is from the Guardian. China has not changed its position. Although Xi Jinping final statement is clearly aimed at Zelensky’s current plan to escalate and force a Russian settlement in 2025. I added bolding for clarity
It doesn’t appear Putin gained any additional support at BRICS.
I wrote an OP 15 months ago expressing my contempt for this so called organization (I argued that it is more like a club, someone compared it to the G7, which is accurate, I believe), I have not changed my mind about it since. Other posters were not so negative, in particular some that are citizens of “member” countries. I think I would reply more forcefully to them today.
Putin’s push to move Moldova away from the West has failed……this time. But he’s always going to be poking and prodding for a soft spot, so we need to start being more forthright in getting to those vulnerable areas first and offering what assistance we can where possible.
It’s an “only just” in Moldova. The presidential election is going to a second round, and the referendum was a very tight result.
And before Moldova’s presidential election’s second round there is the parliamentary election in Georgia (not the USA state, the one in the Caucasus):
I remember living just across the back yard of Georgia’s embassy in Brussels, a beautiful, almost cubic shaped building in Chant d’Oiseaux – nice quarter. They had a well tended garden and often celebrated receptions, and they threw a party when Georgia won a football match during I don’t remember which football world cup. It all seemed very normal…
Meanwhile Elon Musk seems to have been having regular contact the last two years with Vladimir Vladimirovitch Putin. Maybe that is what got him closer and closer to Trump, or was it the other way around?
The man is a menace. He and Peter Thiel.
I can easily see Russian commanders sending the K battalion into the more dangerous areas. 1. To gauge their willingness to fight and 2. to save Russian lives.
Why do a shit job if it can be passed off?
How long before the language barrier causes a firefight between a NK unit and Russian? 
Link Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, October 25, 2024 | Institute for the Study of War
The movements of Nk troops are being closely monitored. It’s interesting that some of the intel is being released and reported.
Probably a warning to NK. We’re watching you!
I have to wonder whether the Russians believe one benefit in using NK troops on the front lines is the likelihood that they’d be less likely to defect? They’d certainly be unable to read any “Come over! We have cookies!” enticements leaflet-dropped on them, and no doubt they’re being heavily indoctrinated on horrible things that would happen to them if they fall into the hands of the EVIL Ukraiinians, on top of the indoctrination they’ve already absorbed at home.
That might be unnecessary because their extended family would be hostages to their good behaviour.
Good point. I hadn’t thought of that.
Trivial to create Korean propaganda.
I feared it was going to be dicey and cheating would prevail, and so it has happened:
But what I did not expect was that Viktor Orbán would so blatantly jubilate. I really hope he pays for all this one day:
If he flies to the USA next week it will be very bad news. I am sure he is looking forward to sticking the middle finger at the other heads of state and government in the EU.