Larry Johnson observes that the fat lady appears to be singing in Ukraine:
The fat lady is singing from a balcony overlooking a city that is ablaze. Zaporhyzhia, Dneipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kherson, Kharkiv, Sumy… The Russian ground forces are attacking in all of these locations, which represents about 1,000 miles of territory stretching from Sumy in the north to Zaporhyzhia in the south. Russia is inflicting an average of 1,335 casualties a day on the Ukrainian forces, which translates into 456,695 losses in 2025 as of November 17. That is almost 40,000 per month. Add to that an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 desertions each month… That means Ukraine must recruit a minimum of 60,000 new conscripts each month just to maintain its current troop strength. That ain’t happening.
The recruitment figures cited by the Atlantic Council and the Institute for the Study of War, which represent partisan pro-Ukrainian sites, reinforce the dire state of the Ukrainian forces. When your very best friends are telling you that you are 50% short, you know things are grim.
Meanwhile, back in Kiev, Zelensky ain’t home. He’s scampering about Europe pleading for more money, but the Europeans are focused intently on the brewing corruption scandals haunting the Z-man. There is not a lot of enthusiasm for sending billions of dollars more to Ukraine as key officials in Zelensky’s government seek sanctuary in Israel.
And not just Israel either. There are reports that at least one high-ranking official has already applied for asylum in the USA.
The sooner this war ends, the better. The senseless slaughter of Ukrainian men is as pointless as the bellicose rantings of the EU politicians trying to preserve their collapsing “liberal democracies” that are by threatening to force their peoples to go to war with Russia against their collective wills.
I think the primary sticking point will be Odessa. Russia wants it, but doesn’t currently hold it. So it’s Kiev’s one significant bargaining chip, but I don’t think the war will end until Kiev’s masters are willing to cash it in for some concessions on Russia’s part.

