Croatian President: if it comes to escalation, we will retreat all Croatian troops from Ukraine

[Nomadian90']

War is the worst thing to happen, I would love those parts of Donetsk and Lugansk oblasts to reintegrate into Ukraine with further constitutional changes for feredalization of Ukraine which will stay out of any military blocks. Crimea would never return to Ukraine and this case should be fixed aswell, every grown-up person understands it.

I will add to this the return of the law that prevailed during the rule of Yanukovych, i.e. the removal of the titles of Ukraine's national heroes from the Banderites. And no discrimination against minorities, regardless of whether they are Russians, Poles or Hungarians.
Then there would be peace.

[Jana]

Reading the memories of German officers in Yugoslavia and memories of Cossack troops commander says that Croat army was quite poor in military meaning:

Lol, what a nonsense. This is regarding their extremely poor equipment, training and clothing, they were miserable and he's commenting on general NDH army nothing to do with volounteers in Stalingrad.
Our guys came farthest.

What Germans? When Croats received their equipment and discipline, they were top.

There are no soldiers like Croats.

[Jankec]

Federalization is just a tool in Russia's hands to meddle into Ukrainian politics forever. Federalization of Ukraine, or Moldova, or whatever country where Russians have concocted a frozen conflict, is not considered by anyone.

I would like Ukrainians to negotiate a return of Donetsk and Lugansk (Crimea even) to Russia, in return for Ukraine's accession into NATO. Inevitably, Ukraine will have to sacrifice something to gain its independence. Freedom is not free.

Ukraine has already gained independence in 1992. NATO membership isn't an indicator of independence and loss of Donetsk and Lugansk regions isn't in its interest.

[ixulescu]

Ukraine has already gained independence in 1992. NATO membership isn't an indicator of independence and loss of Donetsk and Lugansk regions isn't in it's interest.

In our region grey region (between Russia and the West), NATO membership is certainly an indicator of independence.

Compare Ukraine with Romania from the 90s to today. Ukraine started with a little economic advantage but now Romania has 3 times the GDP per capita of Ukraine. This is solely because Russia continuously interferes with Ukraine, and no investor wants to risk money there.

NATO is a guarantee for investments, and in that respect it's even more important than accession into UE. It of course comes with a political and economic cost. But it's well worth it.

[ixulescu]

It can happen only if Ukraine would shrink into Western Ukraine by 1939 Soviet-Polish border.

It's obvious to me that not only the Russian state but also Russians themselves do not respect the statality of Ukraine. No wonder Ukrainians want to stay away from the Russians.

[KirillMazur]

Lol, what a nonsense. This is regarding their extremely poor equipment, training and clothing, they were miserable and he's commenting on general NDH army nothing to do with volounteers in Stalingrad.
Our guys came farthest.

What Germans? When Croats received their equipment and discipline, they were top.

There are no soldiers like Croats.

According to the memoirs of Stalingrad veterans, the Germans and Croats were the strongest opponents - their discipline and morale were at their best. The Hungarians are also not bad, but not at the forefront, but in sabotage units.
The weakest opponents militarily were the Romanians and Italians - no discipline, no morality, no patriotism - only theft. They did not pose a danger in any quantities.

[Victor]

In our region grey region (between Russia and the West), NATO membership absolute is an indicator of independence.

Compare Ukraine with Romania from the 90s to today. Ukraine started with a little economic advantage but now Romania has 3 times the GDP per capita of Ukraine. This is solely because Russia continuously interferes with Ukraine, and no investor wants to risk money there.

NATO is guarantee for investments, and in that respect it's even more important than accession into UE. It of course comes with a political and economic cost. But it's well worth it.

As i've said, it may happen only through separation of Ukraine into two states. Kremlin usually prefers loyal or neutral states, a sort of phylosophy of crypto-Soviet republics, that's weird but it's a fact.

[Victor]

According to the memoirs of Stalingrad veterans, the Germans and Croats were the strongest opponents - their discipline and morale were at their best. The Hungarians are also not bad, but not at the forefront, but in sabotage units.
The weakest opponents militarily were the Romanians and Italians - no discipline, no morality, no patriotism - only theft. They did not pose a danger in any quantities.

My Ukrainian grandfather participated in 1944' siege of Budapest as artillery commander, it was a Hungarian Stalingrad when Hungarians fought to the last drop of blood for every centimeter of soil. Romanians switched to the Soviet side at that moment so they participated in siege as allies of USSR.

[ixulescu]

The weakest opponents militarily were the Romanians and Italians - no discipline, no morality, no patriotism - only theft. They did not pose a danger in any quantities.

I wonder why Soviets bothered at all with Romanians and Italians. They could have just ignore them. Or maybe that's the the reason why Romanians arrived first at Stalingrad, a month before the Germans - Soviets didn't care.

What a bunch of Soviet imbecilities.

[rothaer]

Western Ukraine and Ukraine out of the Western part are two different lands mentally, ethnically, genetically, culturally, religions differs in most of cases too. Western Ukrainians are the mix of Rusyn population and some mountain tribes like Hutsuls, Boyki, Lemki and few others, Hutsuls are of Vlach origin. Yep, I agree that Western Ukrainians are someway similar to Croats, not the Dalmatian and Istrian ones, but from Slavonia, Baranja, Medjimurje. Whole other Ukraine has nothing in common with Croatia. Sovetoids in Kiev who got Ukraine in 1991 decided to base their patriotism and nationalism on Western Ukrainian version which is totally alien for whole Ukraine out of the West. Personally, I consider 1939 when Stalin stole those regions to be the tragedy and one of numerous time bombs created by Communists.

I fully agree to this except that something was "stolen" in 1939. It were the Poles that used the opportunity of the Russian civil war to conquer these areas that were clearly beyond what was Polish people settlement area (roughly Curzon line and today's Poland's eastern border). So taking this back was actually okay.

But you are completely right with that these areas that historically for a very long time had been ruled by Poland-Lithuania now turns toxic for Ukraine/Russia. It was the Polish treatment of Ukrainians in their area that gave rise to a separate Ukrainian nationalism, while there was no such idea in the rest of the Ukraine, which was historically even core Russia (Kievan Rus).
An independent Ukraine imo happend more by accident, when at the dissolution of the Soviet Union for the first time in history the entities of the Soviet republics that were created in the revolution likely just for decoration purposes, internally (externally they were already used for multiplying seats in the UN etc.) were taken serious.