Its like Hillary walking into a working class kitchen for the first time.
They've been shielded from even critical support of China and other AES for so long they literally, not figuratively, literally cannot process that people exist that have beliefs that aren't Reddit Approved. They immediately assume it's bots or wumao. Human beings can't possibly hold these beliefs, so they must be Oriental hordes or actual robots.
Keep blowing Putin, tankie. I've made it clear I don't like Zelensky either, but there's NO justification for waging war anywhere outside of Donbas.
Homophobia from a Catholic person?
I'm surprised the pedophile projection didn't start, honestly.
Do you really think Russia could've just invaded the Donbass? Obviously Ukraine would call it an invasion and try to retake it, at which point Russia would advance into Ukrainian territory to repel them. We'd be in the exact same situation, except Russia & the Donbass would be in a worse situation.
Why the hell would Russia bother with any of that?
Or maybe, get this, they could defend the border of Donbas and keep the war within there?
Prime military strategy revolves around quick, decisive attacks, after which you come to a complete stop, immediatly short of the enemies artillery lines they've spent the last 8 years sighting in.
Have you heard of artillery?
And just let their troops die getting shelled for the next who-knows-how-many years, without ever trying to push back and end the war? Clearly a counterattack is called for, at that point
Pro-escalating-war talking points if I've ever heard them.
My sibling in Christ you want Russia to have let their army get shelled by NATO missiles in the Donbass without ever fighting back. Do you see why people here are calling you pro-west?
Is there anything Russia could have done that you would have approved of, other than let Ukraine kill their troops forever while they stand still? Your take is less coherent than that of libs who just think the Donbass should be part of Ukraine -- at least they can say "Russia should have done nothing!".
What exactly makes you think Russia would've fared worse by sticking to one region?
NATO would have kept sending Ukraine bombs to use for years, and Russia would be powerless to end the war, short of abandoning the Donbass. Even though they could hold the territory, they would never win.
Only if Russia forces Ukraine to surrender - or ideally, they just surrender now - can they actually secure peace and sovereignty for Luhansk and Donetsk.
Real warfare isn't a bloody strategy game where you can park your units on some line somewhere as a phalanx to protect 'your land'. You do whatever you can to remove the enemy's ability to attack you and if they're not interested in negotiation, you try to take land / diminish their forces in order to force them to the table.
Your suggestion isn't remotely based in reality.