comment: >
  
  great explination, sums up the whole conflict nicely. I think if a lot of right wing Republicans were capable of understanding international politics they'd be a lot more willing to support Ukraine
context: Medvedev is kind of a dick. >
  
  He’s a special kind of dick >
  
  the kind of dick with no balls >
  
  Medvedev talks too much. >
  
  He talks too much in an attempt to terrify westerners with the prospect of WW3. >
  
  It's for internal consumption >
  
  I think Medvedev and a lot of Russian propaganda isn't necessarily supposed to be for internal consumption. I think they're intentionally trying to come across as unreasonable and intransigent in the hopes that eventually over a long period of time the west will grow tired of supporting the war knowing that Russia cannot be reasoned out of Ukraine. 
  They're trying to make it known that the only way Russia is leaving is if they're kicked out physically and hope that maybe after a prolonged conflict the west will give up trying to do it and cut our losses. 
  I hope and don't think it will work but no one can predict the future. >
  
  The thing is, the only country with real losses that is supporting Ukraine is Ukraine itself. Everyone else is just kind of trading equipment for a weaker Russia, most of which is outdated anyway. That and monetary support, but that also goes towards weakening Russia, which is something I'm sure much of the west wants.
  I highly doubt Ukraine will give up, and I don't really see a reason for support to stop, as even outside the obvious moral reasons for it, the west enjoys weakening Russia without putting much at all on the line. >
  
  West does want a weaker Russia.  We are now seeing what happens when they have decades to gain strength.  Ukraine isn't their only target. >
  
  Why do people keep saying this?
  They are having enough fun trying to take and hold Ukrainian land. They have no way to sell a massive war effort towards anywhere else unless attacked. >
  
  This conflict is the proof that this wouldn't be the last time, if the international community had just let them do what they want. About five minutes ago they invaded and annexed Crimea, and everyone just shrugged, thinking that it might be a one off. Putin and his cronies didn't have to sell this conflict to anyone. Putin has control of the decision making organs of Russia. He just mumbled "uh well nazis" and the vast majority of the common people of his nation fell in line, both because they're down with it and because they have no other choice. The international community doesn't want WW3 so they won't intervene directly.
  If everyone else had again done nothing, this would very likely already be over and Putin would be sniffing out the next ex-soviet country to invade. Dude has imperial ambitions and doesn't need anything else.
  But of course the international community DID do something and thus for now Russia's capabilities have been curtailed. Mission partially successful at the moment from the perspective of everyone else, and now the goal is to bleed Russia as much as possible to buy a decade or two of reduced Russian ability to pull something like this again.