Putin says that Russia is fighting for the motherland in Ukraine…

It is the 9th of May, the traditional Victory Day in Russia. Unfortunately for Putin, he has still not gotten his victory over Ukraine. The invasion which he assumed would take two or three days is now dragging on for over three months.

Ukraine played an important role in WW2, a fact not lost on Zelensky.

⚡️Zelensky in his WWII victory day speech: 'We won then. We will win now.'

“We will never forget what our ancestors did in World War II, which killed more than eight million Ukrainians,” said President Zelensky.

“Very soon, there will be two Victory Days in Ukraine,” he added. pic.twitter.com/4nDmY7bDPS

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) May 9, 2022

It is hard to independently verify the Russian losses but if even a percentage of the figures are true the Russian Army is taking a major hammering, their biggest military losses since WW2.

These are the indicative estimates of Russia’s combat losses as of May 9, according to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/Vrf1pYRI30

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) May 9, 2022

The Ukraine invasion will leave a long term scar on the Russian military, they have been shown to be a paper tiger with nowhere near the capabilities the West thought they had.

The tragedy is how senseless the whole thing is. Thousands of Ukrainian civilians dead. Tens of thousands of poorly trained Russian conscripts blown to bits, and for what? Russia is an international pariah, Putin’s legacy is in tatters. Russia is facing defeat, how do you stop a conflict where all sides are determined not to give an inch?

The only winners are the Western Defense companies whose order books are overflowing. Franklin D. Roosevelt said it best:

“War is young men dying and old men talking”

Brian O'Neill

Managing Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any political party. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.