Re: ...to form a negative image of the Russian Federation
If there's one thing that is crystal clear, it's that Russian military superiority was all fake. All smoke and mirrors.
All that pro-Putin hype, all that "fear Putin" "Putin strong" "obey big boss Putin" propaganda from Tucker Carlson, Fox News and Newsmax, Trump even.... Putin couldn't even take Ukraine.
His soldiers are untrained conscripts, they don't want to fight. His professionals have less loyalty to Putin than to their friends and relatives in Ukraine. They know the hype is fake, they know their equipment is shit, they know they don't vote for Putin. Ukraine and Russian populace is well mixed from Soviet days, they are family, they don't want to kill their family.
He cannot run proper supply lines to his tanks even. His army will be sitting ducks if they don't surrender.
He's sending everything he has at Kiev to try to take it, desperation.
Kazakhstan is not *refusing* to send forces, it *cannot* send forces. If the illusion of strength is popped, then who would suppress their democracy movement in Kazakhstan? Who will protect their resources if they send *their* army to help Putin? It's supposed to be Putin that shores up *their* dictatorships, not the other way around FFS!
I think even Belarus will become quickly flip-able as Putin's army moves across the border too. It was Putin's army that suppressed the pro-democracy protests there. They can see what's happening across the border in Ukraine there and Luschenko is very very unpopular.
Weakness breeds weakness, China can see how weak Russia is, if they cannot win against Ukraine, all those resources, all those minerals, all that oil, protected by Russian schoolboys.
I bet Georgia wants back its land from those schoolboys too.
NATO can and should take the opportunity to end the threat from Russia once and for all. Article 5 has been triggered, then can join the fight. They should.