Both sides spread bullshit, you have to be infantile to think otherwise. Media war Russia is fighting is not directed towards Western Audiences
After 22 years of trying it seems Putin has given up on the west, but for the rest of the world he explains what he is doing or trying to do.
Russia still lags a bit behind in deploying FLIR pods or similar in large numbers, and even if they had large numbers the weather have not been good for operations at that altitude.
Russia lags behind in FLIR pods that every Soviet fighter since the 1970s has been equipped with?
MiG-25s, MiG-31s, late model MiG-23s, MiG-29s, Su-27s and other models of Flanker and Fulcrum all have FLIR fitted as standard and fully integrated with radar and helmet mounted sights and high offboresight missiles...
The media war hasn't been won by anyone yet. Once the truth is out that's when it's won. Western media looks like it's winning but in the long it won't. Just remember Iraq war propaganda and how the truth came out in the end (zero weapons of mass Destruction)
Not to mention the big lie about how effective Patriot was...
The U.S learned their lesson with the tie eater, and innovated with Guaido.
And how did that work out?
Russia will do better because it will create regions and let them hold their own elections and elect their own people.
A few pages back it was mentioned that Zelensky would most likely flee the Ukraine and continue to act as President in absentia, just as Guaido tried to do to Venezuela.
Guano was never elected president... and most Venezuelans probably didn't know who he was until the US declared him president.
Right now, Russia will try to shift from military occupation, towards administration and forming up of new anti-Nazi forces in under control regions; to give the whole invasion legitimacy as a civil war. Which ultimately of course, it has been since 2014. The so-called 'de-nazification' part of the operation.
Nothing is going to be added to Russia proper.
I agree but it is impossible for there to be a one Ukraine with all its bits intact... Crimea wont leave the RF and the Donbass and Lugansk wont likely join Kiev or Lvov.
It will be like Yugoslavia, but Russia will be acting like London and Paris and will be picking the lines of borders but the people will be voting for their own governments which will not be part of the Russian Federation.
Breaking the country into four bits makes sense because there are factions in these places that simply do not play well together and would end up abusing the other if they make it into power.
The four regions might merge into three or two, but I think they probably decided on those four regions because of the location of certain important things... they want to keep out of the hands of the west/nazis.
Russia must also watch out for the Chinese in the Far East. Never put all your power in the West.
I trust the Chinese more than I trust Europeans...
The DNR/LNR are already recognized by Russia as independent - I can't see them being part of any Ukrainian federation in the near future. They are more likely to join the RF and I suspect most of the East and Southern parts will follow suite.
They were recognised as independent of Kiev, I don't think they will become or want to become part of the Russian federation... as long as they get security guarantees I am sure they will be happy being good neighbours.
https://www.russiadefence.net/t8755-russian-special-military-operation-in-ukraine-4