Сделаем Америку снова великой! Trump - Russia megathread

[UNI88]

Opinion - Putin’s overseas empire is collapsing all at once — don’t let up on him now

And with Assad’s regime likely coming to an end, Russian influence in the region may be ending, too.

At risk now are two key military facilities: the Khmeimim airbase, from which Russian aircraft have been launching attacks against Syrian Rebels and civilians, and Tartus, home to Syria’s only naval base. And without these two bases, Russian operations in the Middle East, the Sahel region of Africa, and Sudan will likely grind to a halt as well.
...
In hindsight, this is the result of Hamas’s ill-conceived Oct. 7 terrorist attack against Israel — likely directed by Iran with Russia’s support. Already preoccupied with their own problems, neither Russia nor Iran nor Hezbollah are in any position to come to Assad’s aide. Putin’s war with Ukraine has drained Russian resources, and Israel has weakened Iran and its proxies. The regional kaleidoscope is now shifting, and conditions are ripe for the “wider regional conflict” that the Biden administration feared.
...
Russia is overextended. Should the pro-Russian Dream Party-led government collapse, Abkhazia and South Ossetia could come back into play for Georgia. A significantly weakened conventional Russian military may not be able to retain these Russian-occupied territories. The loss of the port in Abkhazia would be detrimental to Russian influence in the Black Sea.
...
Meanwhile, in Ukraine, losses continue to mount at a staggering pace. In November alone, while making gains in the Donetsk sector, Russia amassed over 45,720 casualties, also losing 307 tanks, 899 armored combat vehicles, and 884 pieces of artillery. November also ushered in a new single-day record of 2,030 Russian casualties. For purposes of comparison, only 14,500 Russian soldiers were killed in Afghanistan between 1979 and 1989.
...
Putin’s Jenga tower is listing hard. Neither the Biden nor Trump administrations should consider anything short of a complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, and the restoration of its 1991 borders. All instruments of national power — Diplomacy, Information, Military, and Economic — should be leveraged to end the war on the best terms possible for Ukraine.

I put this here because it goes beyond Ukraine.