Quote:
Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction
Many (maybe most) Russian civilians should be chased out of Ukraine when all is said and done. They want to be Russian citizens, fine there is a country called Russia... go to it.
Civilians in these situations aren't always innocent. Both implicit and complicit support by Russians in Ukraine has contributed to the suffering of Ukrainians. As far as I am concerned, anyone who has welcomed Russian occupiers, waved Russian flags, cheered the occupying forces, supported Russian institutions, or voted in the phony referendums, should be chased out Ukraine by force. Load up your carts and wagons and get. If some get killed along the way, that is acceptable collateral damage. Letting them stay only kicks the can forward and will be a future security concern.
I know that seems cruel and won't be a popular opinion, but whatever. It would probably be future war prevention if Russians just lose the privilege to live in Ukraine at this point. This scenario plays out all the time. Civilians give support to foreign occupiers from their motherland and then cry foul when the inevitable retaliations occur.
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But Russia controls these regions and it's going to be extremely difficult to remove them by force. So if any civilians are going to be subject to retaliation or collateral damage in places like Crimea or Donbas, it's more likely to be those who are loyal to Ukraine. There's no choice of "letting them stay" when Ukraine doesn't control the territory.
Ukraine has a good shot in the south, where there's virtually no popular support for Russia, if they can mount a counteroffensive. But Donbas is another story, and there is no way Russia is giving up Crimea.