I have watched you write articles predicting the downfall of Russia and Putin for some time now and I cannot understand how you believe that Russia is losing.

Russia has called up 300,000 troops and will be deploying them to the battlefield in the coming weeks and months. This enormous mobilization will overwhelm Ukraine and there's nothing anyone can do about it.

Recent Russian missile strikes aimed at civilian infrastructure and electrical production weakened Ukraine's economy and capacity to resist, and these strikes will surely intensify and succeed in putting out the lights right in the middle of winter.

Russia is no longer fighting just to aid Donetsk and Lugansk, they are fighting for what they regard as Russia itself. They are no longer fooling around hoping Ukraine will come around and negotiate. Now they're willing to strike at civilian targets, and they've proven that over the last few days.

What will you say when Russia wins this war after all your confident predictions that it will lose? The best Ukraine can hope for is that Russia pushes the Ukrainian army out of the provinces it has annexed and calls it quits.

I suspect that all the cheerleaders for this war will say that Russia's failure to take the whole damn country is a Ukrainian victory, even as Russia keeps its new territory and Crimea as well.

There are much darker possibilities as well. God only knows how many civilians will die this winter if Russia wrecks the electrical grid and gas supply. Odessa is at stake and they could lose that as well.

Negotiation is the right path. It was the right path before the war and it remains the right path now. Put in is not going to be lynched by a mob in the street, Russia is not going to just fold up their tents and go home. It's time to face reality.