Let's examine another entry in the "Let the Wookie win" genre.
Ukraine is playing with fire by succeeding?
Only if Ukraine is serious about quickly ending the war and negotiating peace with Russia might this invasion be a good idea. Otherwise, it is a risky offensive undertaken merely for psychological effects. Offensive warfare usually incurs more casualties and burns more weapons and equipment than being on the defense, especially if the defensive side is entrenched, has other battlefield fortifications, or can make the most of rivers, high ground, forests, or other terrain advantages.
Russia's military has lost much more in Ukraine's incursion thus far. His point would make more sense if he said Russia has to be careful counter-attacking dug-in Ukrainian troops holding Russian territory captured quickly at relatively low cost.
And I agree that Ukraine could lose more than it has gained with this incursion. But that is a simple acceptance of the unknowns of how this will unfold in Kursk and the rest of the front.
But the call to end the war and negotiate peace before anything else happens is a call for Ukraine to lose the territory Russia has kept since it invaded Ukraine in 2022--let alone talk about what Russia took in 2014-2015.
In the end, this is another entry in the "let the Wookie win" school of foreign policy:
America is amazingly resistant to winning and amazingly tolerant of enemies doing what it takes to win.
It assumes the Wookie cannot be beaten. Only made angrier and more dangerous by resisting it. Let's focus on beating the Wookie. Maybe if it loses an arm in this fight it will actually be less likely to rip other people's arms off in the future.
NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.
NOTE: I'm adding updates on the Last Hamas War in this post.NOTE: I'm now on Substack, with The Dignified Rant: Evolved.