The Russian-Ukrainian War Thread

[Feanor]

I actually agree that the river (Dnepr/Dnipro) would constitute a “perfect”/equilibrium border and commented so long time ago (maybe more than once). Problems:
- How do you get there?
- Why?
- What happens if you start losing Belarus, where is the “perfect” border then? And so on.
Somehow, many (I would argue most “successful”) countries don’t have these “perfect” perceived borders and manage to live somehow and mostly happily so. Not without occasional troubles, of course. I should probably cut short here in order not to contradict my usual Russian propaganda proprogramming

Well if you think the Dnepr is the perfect border, I have good news for you. It runs through Belarus and into Russia, in iirc Smolensk region. So presumably that's where it would be. That having been said, perfect borders tend to be nonsense. In a few places around the world geography lines up relatively neatly but in many more it doesn't. I think the better question is, equilibrium between whom? What are we even trying to balance with this theoretical exercise?

Realistically I think currently the deal that makes sense territorially is for Russia to hand over what they hold in Khrakov and Sumy in exchange for Ukraine handing over territory to the administrative borders of Donetsk and Lugansk region and that becomes the international border. This recognizes realities in the ground, resolves the political question of "liberating the Donbas" and pushes Russia away from Sumy and Khar'kov. But based on recent statements I don't think the sides are ready to end the war yet.