Is Ukraine Losing The War?

Members of the armed forces of the separatist self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic drive a tank on the outskirts of Donetsk, Jan. 22, 2015. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

Michael Weiss & James Miller, Daily Beast: Putin Is Winning the Ukraine War on Three Fronts

Russian-backed rebels are making gains near Donetsk, Lugansk, and Mariupol. Just how long can Kiev hold off their advances?

Update: Ukraine’s ceasefire has become a farce, with Vladimir Putin the author -- Lucian Kim, Reuters

WNU Editor: Both of the above articles focus on Russia's involvement in Ukraine's civil war, but they miss a few points .... the main one being that while Russia is providing materials and men to the war, and the EU/NATO is providing resources to Kiev .... this is primarily a fight between Ukrainian nationalists in the west, and pro-Russian rebels in the east. As this blog warned in March last year .... when Ukraine's new interim government passed harsh anti-Russian language/educational laws and started to purge the government/military/state run corporations and media outlets of Russian-Ukrainians .... they were laying the groundwork for a catastrophe. What I believe was the final nail in the coffin was Kiev's refusal to negotiate and compromise .... because after that is when we started to see everything disintegrate. Government buildings being stormed by protestors in predominantly Russian speaking regions of the country .... a growing secession movement in Crimea that wanted no part of this new Ukraine and who also felt embolden in their demands because of the heavy Russian military presence in the area .... the killing of dozens of unarmed Russian protestors in Odessa sparking fear in other parts of Ukraine with predominately Russian populations .... and the heavy use of Ukrainian military units to suppress opposition demonstrations in eastern Ukraine .... this was more than enough to blow apart all the past understandings on how Ukraine should be governed and managed. And the sad part of this disaster is that it could have all been avoided if the interim Ukrainian government was willing to compromise just a little bit or stay away from their anti-Russian rhetoric, or when Poroshenko .... elected as President .... would as his first act be willing to accept the original demands of the pro-Russian rebels in the east of establishing a federated state.

Coulda, woulda, shoulda .... this is what the Ukraine disaster will be remembered for ....not on what Putin did, or what the EU/U.S./NATO wanted .... but on how the Ukrainians themselves could not sit down at a table and be willing to discuss and compromise what needs to be done .... and to then ask the people themselves via through elections and referendums if this is the choice that they want.

Sighhh ....

Ukraine has already lost. Russia/Putin have also lost. And after all the fighting and suffering has been done the only thing that will be left will be on where to draw the new boundaries. And everyone will be asking the same question .... was it all worth it ....and the answer would be no.