Who are the relevant countries you speak of? The U.S. obviously still have a great deal of respect and trepidation to Russia because of its nuclear heft; not to mention the vast resources it has that are still going to remain relevant, viable in today's world contrary to what's being postulated on all western sourced media.
Even the European countries that are understably angry with Russia's invasion of Ukraine deep inside know that Russia is not a country that can easily be trifled with regardless of the word vomit they spew on the daily as their way of reassurance and assuage their already fractious population. So much so that Russia is being used as the ultimate bogeyman at every electoral gain the Rigth-leaning factions win from Romania, Georgia, France, Germany etc ... Do these examples showcase that your rhetorical attack is exactly just that, a rhetoric devoid of actual relationship to the facts on the ground.
Additionally, if there are no relevant countries "respect" Russia that would mean that none of these EU countries would be forced to choose between guns and more guns a.k.a. asking for 3% to their respective defense budget, which is quite astounding since most of the chihuahua members of U.S. led NATO could barely managed to reach the mandated 2% budget!!
I am however inclined to agree with you that Russia's performance on its war against Ukraine has left much to be desired, and to a certain extent their military prestige has been diminished especially within the aforementioned group of countries that dreaded the Russian military juggernaut. The Russians took unnecessary casualties; logistics handling was abysmal, made assumptive conclusions based on a faulty and romanticized view of their so-called brother Ukrainians that ended up smacking in their proverbial butts when they got mauled bigtime.
Having said that, Ukraine will end up the sore loser on this conflict period, no question. It's industrial capacity razed to the ground. It's human and intellectual capacity siphoned by its so-called "ALLIES" for better pay and improved social security compared to what they had in Ukraine. Pre-invasion Ukraine was already known as the most corrupt country in Europe imagine the delapitated state of a post-conflict Ukraine when REAL GOVERNANCE is going to be required and people will now become more acute and hypervigilance to their day to day needs. Are we going to now contend that this new Ukraine with a diminished infrastructure, tax base, income and all the things I mentioned could somehow be able to deliver and function more efficiently and effectively with little or no corruption? Let's be honest with ourselves. That shit will not happen anytime soon.
I am also very dubious that all the rah-rah from Western public that populates the popular discord will eventually wane and sour because of the economic struggles and pain that'll afflict their countries. It's easy to cheer for a far away conflict when it's portrayed as a battled between good vs evil; democracy vs autocracy, and the most unhinged description was the infantile comparison of Putin to Hitler, hence the automatic response mechanism from many people in the west.
If you and people like you are more than happy to double your tax and also literally put your money and lives where your high minded mouth is then sure I respect your prerogative and stances, because you have a principled stance on this important matter. But, if all you can or is prepared to sacrifice is to score some gotcha debate with some of the members here (for living, working, paying taxes to the countries it oppose on principles) then who the bleep are you to lay moral superiority when you're exactly doing the same thing are we not?
I partially agree with you. You raised pertinent issues that deserve consideration.
Three things here:
1- Putin is not entirely wrong. Everything Putin said and the war he started are legitimate and are also being understood and gaining ground in the West. As you yourself acknowledged, this is part of the new right in Georgia, Romania, Germany and even in the US, mainly.
This is an important victory for Putin against the idea of liberal intrusive democracy represented by Biden failed administration.
2- What is being criticized and ridiculed is Putin's execution and leadership in the conflict.
A good ruler is not always a good war leader.
Russia's military performance and hesitancy are becoming a joke and has lost respect even among its allies. All the red lines were crossed and Putin didn't fulfill any of the tough response promises he made. Hence the inevitable comparison with Netanyahu's leadership in Israel against Iran and Hezbollah.
Israel has managed to regain its deterrence force, while Russia is losing that.
Russia's diplomacy and geopolitical arrangement were hasty. The West confiscated Russian money, imposed sanctions, threatened it, and no real alternative emerged other than non-institutional bilateral collaborations in the BRICS.
There is no way to ignore that the execution of the conflict contains flaws. Defending errors as some do only prevents those errors from being corrected. The function of the yes-man is very despicable.
3- We cannot ignore, underestimate or overestimate anyone. We need to be realistic, I always repeat this.
Ukraine made a big mistake by being fooled by Western promises. It was devastated. But that does not mean it is the end. They are showing that they still have support against Russia's incompetent execution.
So I maintain my assessment of this conflict: Ukraine will be divided into three parts. Donbass and Crimea will remain with Russia. The center will become a kind of West Bank and the western part will be an extension of Poland economically and militarily.
