“Russians expand Donbas assault”

Shelling on Wednesday hit a village north of Kharkiv that Ukrainian forces recently recaptured.

“In the early weeks of the invasion, Russian forces pushed to take Kyiv and Kharkiv, Ukraine’s two largest cities. But Kyiv never fell, and now Kharkiv is back under Ukrainian control. Kharkiv reopened its subway system earlier this week, after pushing Russian forces largely out of artillery range. Russia now is concentrating on Donbas, the industrial area on Ukraine’s eastern edge, where fighting has been ongoing since 2014.

Russian forces are making progress in Donbas. Ukrainian military units have pulled out of Svitlodarsk, another city in Donbas, and earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that up to 100 Ukrainian soldiers could be killed each day in the battle for the area.

But Russia is paying a steep price for the gains it has made. The Kremlin is sending units from southern Ukraine to fight in Donbas, according to Ukrainian officials, and losing so many men that continued Ukrainian resistance could eventually force it to shift strategies again.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday morning that nine attacks had been repelled in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which together form Donbas. Dozens of Russian vehicles were destroyed, the ministry said, including three tanks.

Mr. Haidai said that holding Severodonetsk would be crucial for Ukraine’s efforts to stop any further Russian advances, adding that the heavy casualties would eventually force Moscow to ease the assault.

“They are no more bulletproof than anyone else,” he said of the Russian soldiers. “If they do not succeed during this week—by Saturday, Sunday —they will get tired, and the situation will at least stabilize for us.”

Don’t Say ‘Peace’: Russia Polices Words to Shape Ukraine War Narrative
Today in Russia, holding the book “War and Peace” or a piece of paper with printed asterisks can get people detained. WSJ looks at how far the Kremlin is going to restrict free speech and control the narrative about the war in Ukraine. Photos: Maxim Salekh, Sota via AP, Konstantin Goldman

In a video released on Twitter early Wednesday, fighters claiming to be from the Donetsk People’s Republic, a pro-Russian breakaway area, said they had already sustained heavy losses, and didn’t want to fight for Russia in Luhansk, after already having fought to take Mariupol, a port city on the Sea of Azov, which is adjacent to the Black Sea.

“We refuse to go to the slaughter,” one fighter says in the video. “We don’t want to be cannon fodder.”

As Moscow seeks to boost morale and replenish its manpower for its offensive, Mr. Putin visited wounded soldiers at a Moscow hospital, his first known visit since the war began, and the Russian parliament adopted a bill lifting age limits for enlisting in the military.

Elsewhere Wednesday morning, four rockets struck the outskirts of the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhizhia, which has remained relatively safe since the start of the invasion, even as surrounding areas came under Russian control. Local Ukrainian officials said at least one person was killed in the attack. Moscow said this week that it would focus on expanding its occupation in the southeastern Ukrainian region.

Mr. Putin signed a decree Wednesday to enable residents of occupied areas of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions in southern Ukraine to apply for Russian passports. A swath of southern Ukraine, including almost all of its Kherson region and the majority of its Zaporizhzhia region, has been under Russian military rule since early March. Russia has already distributed passports to residents of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic and a similar area in the Luhansk region.”

Comment: This has developed into a war of attrition. Can Russian conscripts continue to be flogged into the attack by officers who despise them? I doubt that is possible for much longer. pl

Russian Forces Expand Donbas Assault, Take Heavy Losses – WSJ

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59 Responses to “Russians expand Donbas assault”

  1. Babeltuap says:

    Zelenskyy’s said 11 high-rise buildings were destroyed in Sievierodonetsk and eight in Lysychansk and that Russian troops heavily outnumber Ukrainian forces in some parts of the east and Kyiv has been trying unsuccessfully to arrange a prisoner swap with Moscow.

    The number of Ukrainian prisoners of war held in the Russian-backed self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics number is increasing daily, Luhansk official Rodion Miroshnik was quoted by Tass news agency as saying.

    NTD source (CCP haters): ‘Russian Forces Battle to Surround Ukrainians in East’
    https://www.ntd.com/live-updates-russia-ukraine-war-may-26_784879.html

    • d74 says:

      [PoW ] “Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics number is increasing daily”:

      Yesterday, they said they had 8000+ PoW.

      True, acurate?

  2. Fourth and Long says:

    Zaporizhzhia has its population listed as being 90% as numerous as the population of San Francisco. 746,749 human beings live in Zaporizhzhia. More than double that of Pittsburgh PA. Unfortunately my subscription to the Wall Street ____al has not yet expired and I was able to follow some of the links within the article the link to which is highlighted in blue above using the name of the city itself. Very tough going, assuming the reporting is accurate. And I read the English Wikipedia entry on the city, which should alone be enough to make anyone pause and think carefully about what is going on.

    I’m not precisely at a loss for words, but I can and will say that I do not know or understand how any of the political leaders of the various European powers (including The United Kingdom and Russia) and those of North America (including the United States) can possibly even live or abide with themselves or conceivably carry on conducting themselves in the manner they have conducted themselves heretofore. It must require substances far more stimulating than coffee alternated with suppressants and narcotics on the level of barbiturates and purest undiluted heroin.

    Utter and complete moral imbecility and bankruptcy of outlook.

  3. TV says:

    “Officers who despise them.”
    Why/how would that be?

    • Pat Lang says:

      TV
      Russian officers have a history of despising Russian conscripts as inferior beings.

      • Steve says:

        Pat,

        This isn’t the army of the USSR.

        • Pat Lang says:

          Steve Armies and intelligence service don’t change much unless they are uprooted and a truly new beginning is had.

          • Steve says:

            Well, the Russian army of the 21st century has undergone significant change, even watching the performance of their self-styled opponents and learning by their mistakes.

          • Pat Lang says:

            Not enough

          • Steve says:

            More than enough to understand that occupying a whole country is a fools errand. And more than enough to understand that prioritizing force protection over strategic gain is the road to ruin.

            I’d say those were essential lessons.

    • James says:

      What I observed when I was in Russia was that Russian’s pretty much despise their fellow Russians … but paradoxically they love Russia. So I think the Colonel and TTG might be underestimating how much stomach the Russians have for this fight. But I thought Russian forces would get a warmer welcome from the Russian speaking denizens of Eastern Ukraine so what do I know.

      • TTG says:

        James,

        Yes, Russians love Russia and will fight to the death to defend their land. The problem is no one is invading Russian soil. The Ukrainians also love Ukraine and will fight to the death to defend their land. Zelenskiy, himself, is among the Russian speaking denizens of Eastern Ukraine. The Kremlin screwed the pooch by not realizing any of this.

  4. plantman says:

    Everywhere Russian forces are advancing and yet you stick to this fiction that they can’t hold out much longer. It’s truly puzzling.

    Check out this video and criticize it as you will, but Russia is winning and will continue to win.
    https://youtu.be/0nKidMrwhME

    Putin demanded that Russia’s security concerns be addressed and they were ignored by Blinken and the other neocon pondscum at the State Dept. Now Russia is imposing its own solution at great human cost. It’s tragic and unnecessary.

    I can’t believe I agree with Kissinger (on anything), but he is right. Ukraine should have declared neutrality long ago. Instead, it was dragged into war to advance the narrow interests of people who only care about themselves.

    • Pat Lang says:

      plantman

      How many dead and wounded for every yard of advance?

      • Worth Pointing Out says:

        “How many dead and wounded for every yard of advance?”

        The only figures you have come from:
        “Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said”…
        “Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said”…

        So I am confident that the correct answer is: more than the Kremlin would prefer but far fewer than you believe them to be.

        Still, kudos to Haidai for putting his money where his mouth it: he is predicting that the Russian offensive will run out of steam on Saturday or Sunday.

        I predict that will go the same way as “Russia has only two weeks worth of ammo”.

    • TTG says:

      plantman,

      The Ukrainians have managed to drive the Russians away from the Balkmut-Lysychansk highway and are flowing supplies into Severodonetsk on that road. They see continued value in holding that line and continuing to attrit Russia’s remaining offensive capability.

    • Stadist says:

      Curiously enough germans in WW2 kept pushing and crawling closer to Moscow winter 1941-1942. We all know now how it turned out.

      • ked says:

        a decent comparo.
        early ’43: Soviets hold off & defeat Germany at Stalingrad. a close run thing.
        July ’43: Germany cranks up Citadel… stalls-out.
        July/Aug: Soviet counter-offensives.
        & that was it for the Wehrmacht in Russia.
        will it repeat? unlikely… yet it may rhyme in translation.

  5. Steve says:

    Good question. One wonders why the troops still follow them….

    When any analysis still clings to the belief that the Russians “failed” to take Kyiv we can pretty much dismiss the rest of the it. What kind of idiocy would be required to believe they could take and hold a whole country and not suffer the effects of having an armed insurgency perpetually on their backs? One wonders….

    • Pat Lang says:

      Steve
      Not a question of “following” them but rather being driven forward by a figurative lash.

      • Steve says:

        Pat,

        That may be your belief. My experience tells me otherwise.

        Keep in mind that rightly or wrongly the overwhelming majority of Russians believe this war with the US and its allies is existential. No lash required.

        • Pat Lang says:

          Steve
          What is your “experience?”

          • Steve says:

            Working alongside them in two Chechen wars. The first under Clinton’s drunken puppet was of course a complete disaster in which all ranks suffered, especially the junior officers. The second was a very different story.

        • Bill Roche says:

          Steve; existential’s a big word. It means “existence”. You’re saying the overwhelming majority of Russians believe that unless Russia successfully conquers Ukraine, it will no longer exist? A country w/t largest land area of the world and about 165 million people, which has existed as such since the departure of the Mongols, will no longer be, b/c it was unable to conquer a smaller neighbor which did not attack it. I have Russian in-laws in NYS and St. Petersburg Maybe I should email them and ask them if they feel Russia is at an existential moment.

          • Steve says:

            Bill,

            I’m not saying it is existential but with all the rhetoric being spewed by dyed in the wool Russophobes these past decades and the Russian experience of of western intervention in their affairs it isn’t at all surprising for the Russian people to believe that the goal is for their existence to end.

            As of the beginning of April (a time when the west was crowing about Russian failure) Putin was running an approval rating over 80%. Given the recent gains they’ve made I would be surprised if that hasn’t risen. That’s pretty overwhelming.

            The basis of that belief has nothing whatsoever to do with Ukraine when Russians know they’re involved in a proxy war being fought by Ukraine on behalf of the US. And why wouldn’t they?

            FYI, St Petersburg is no more a yardstick for Russia than NYC is for the USA. And the idea that Russian Liberals would see an increase in support at this time is nothing but a US fantasy.

            It’s a mistake to ask “what would I believe?” when the only question should be, “what do they believe?”

          • jld says:

            “unless Russia successfully conquers Ukraine, it will no longer exist.”
            It’s not about “conquering Ukraine” it’s about DISABLING the combined Globalists/American push to dismantle Russia.
            So, yes, it is an existential struggle!

          • Muralidhar Rao says:

            Sir when Putin says existential threat from Ukrain, I am sure you know he didn’t mean Ukraine per say, he was looking at how the collective west weaponised Ukraine with NATO equipment, trainers bases etc. Sir I hope you do remember when Condi Rice was taking about existaential threat from IRAQ WMD and Nuclear weapons how far is Iraq from US? Did they have the capability to attack US at that time frame of 2003? So I believe that Putin was right to think about peaceful NATO (Ask Afgans/Iraqis/Libyans) creeping into Russian back waters was not so peaceful after all. Thanks

          • Pat Lang says:

            No, I do not know that. pl

    • Philip Owen says:

      They did fail to take Kyiv. There were 9000 paratroopers lined up for a fast attack to get into the centre of the city before the Ukrainians could get organized.

      • Worth Pointing Out says:

        That’s not how I saw those events play out.

        I saw paratroopers line up for a fast attack on Gostomel airport, followed by a fast follow-up attack by ground forces to relieve those paratroopers, followed by a 40-mile convoy of trucks that were to turn that airport into a logistics and supply base.

        But Gostomel airport is not in the centre of the city, and I heard and saw nothing to suggest that the paratroopers got lost and were deposited in the wrong location.

  6. VietnamVet says:

    Colonel,

    The most astonishing thing about this proxy WWIII is that the opposing sides say the exact opposite thing. You are on your own to figure out what is going on, and that is colored by your beliefs, experience and education.

    Back in 2003, the USA created its own reality when it invaded Iraq. In 2014 there was a conscious decision to conduct a regime change in Ukraine and by extension with Russia itself. There was a break in the Trump term but campaign resumed in January 2021.

    This is not the Red Army. It is a privatized Russian Army that the Kremlin says has no conscripts in Ukraine and has suffered from incompetence unlike in Syria. It is a mostly professional army fighting in a WWI type trench war without air superiority. This is a gigantic strategic mistake. The first two world wars lasted four and six years but this time both sides have nuclear weapons. The Ukrainians are fighting foreign invaders. Most will fight until they cannot any more. I am prejudiced. I was drafted — the last generation of Americans conscripted that is now old and dying off. A professional paid army cannot win a war of attrition against the national defense of people fighting for their homes, families and God. The good experienced men will be eventually be killed, wounded or rotated out and what is left will fall apart.

    If Ukraine can hold the line in the next weeks; the Russian Federation will have to do a full mobilization or sue for peace. But, the West does not want peace.

  7. Richard Ong says:

    I mean “East Africa during WWI”.

  8. Deap says:

    Get it over with – put the Russian speaking-Russian Orthodox Ukraine into its own state or become by consent, a satellite of Russia herself. Doubt Russians ever wanted to occupy Kyiv and take on that headache. Let that Ukraine continue to be Ukraine – more power to them but keep it to themselves.

    Currently reading “Adriatic- A Concert of Civilizations at the End of the Modern Era” (Kaplan) – a reminder that no post-Soviet breakup of various territories under its prior control has been easy. Long, protracted, bloody, ancient resentments still flourish today.

    Also a reminder this part of the world has be under pillage and plunder by various “civilizations forever. Something that is not part of our American reference points, until Biden recently opened our southern borders to any and all. We are getting a taste of what it means to be over-run by the thundering hordes who will now leave an indelible imprint on the fabric of our extended history as well.

    The book is a reminder so far, this relatively short term Ukraine matter looks positively peaceful when compared to the blood and destruction between Serbia and Kosovo that lasted for year.s Get to the peace table, and get this over with. The post-modern world is awaiting with its own sets of problems that are not going away either.

    Accept the “fixed” borders set right after the collapse of the Soviet Union are not tenable. Fix them to make more sense.

    Everyday I am grateful I got to live during the relative Pax Americana post WWII. It was just the luck of the draw, nothing that I earned, just that I was a small part in the last best man left standing.

    • TTG says:

      I have another idea. Get it over with by getting all Russian troops out of Ukrainian territory. They can take their Quislings with them. ?Then all those forced deportations of Ukrainians can return to Ukrainian territory.

      • Steve says:

        TTG,

        Didn’t Poroshenko effectively abandon any claim to eastern Ukraine when he launched the “Anti-terrorism Operation” in 2014, then went to all out war with Ukrainian Russophones in 2018? This was all accompanied by some pretty genocidal rhetoric from Kyiv, in both politics and media.

        Eventually this opened the door to Russia claiming to exercise R2P as a caucus belli – not unreasonably compared to its previous uses by the west.

        That territory is now taken along with the land corridor through to Crimea, and I doubt any of it will be surrendered back to Ukraine. As things stand today permitting autonomy for the eastern regions along with Ukrainian neutrality is looking painless by comparison. Whoever was preventing that should be taken out and shot.

        • TTG says:

          Steve,

          Poroshenko effectively reasserted claim over those territories when he launched the ATO. Genocidal rhetoric flew both ways from hotheads on both sides.

          Getting the Russians out of the land they already occupy is going to be a tall order, but holding that occupied territory will also be a tall order against continued Ukrainian resistance and Western sanctions.

          • Steve says:

            TTG,

            Autonomy within the Ukrainian state was the path to a peaceful resolution of the issues then extant. Along with a neutral military stance it was the core of the Minsk accords agreed by most NATO members and the political platform that elected Zelensky. I suppose the question of why it was never ratified will be in some think-tank report a few decades from now when the fog is allowed to lift.

            There’s a very good comparison with the acceptance of devolution for Scotland and Wales. Did the Whitehall respond to that claim with extreme military violence? Why did the democratic government of Ukraine not respond in a similar fashion instead of stomping all over reasonable requests for a degree of self-governance such as that enjoyed by 50 US states that recognize different needs for different people within a federated system?

            Instead they went to war with their own people and now for that very reason, they’re taking the punishment for it. Has the Ukrainian government – including President Zelensky – served their people well? I don’t think so.

          • TTG says:

            Steve,

            You’re totally discounting the role of Russia in the 2014 Donbas uprising. Without that direct Russian intervention including the military leadership of Russians like Girkin, the Ukrainians probably would have eventually worked something out. There still would have been blood spilt, but not as much as what happened with Russian intervention. Russia was not going to stand for the loss of Sevastopol, so Crimea was still going to be lost.

          • Steve says:

            TTG,

            According to the Ukrainian SBU there were never more than 56 Russians from the Russian military in Donbas during that time. Meanwhile, what were our spooks doing with the extremists throughout Maidan and beyond. We already have a clear statement of intent through the Nuland/Pyatt call including their relationship with some of Europe’s most extreme factions who carried out the killings in the square.

            I’m not sure you understand the way Putin operates. He’s highly legalistic, partly to demonstrate the difference between Russia and the US whose claims to a “rules base” order are nothing but do as we say, not as we do. To blatantly overthrow an elected government – no matter how corrupt – in the name of promoting “democracy” then denying what you’ve just seen them do takes some chutzpah. To openly state, on camera, that the US has spent $5bln on democracy promotion in Ukraine since 1991 and that money simply cannot be found, sets my alarm bells ringing.

            The recent history of of Ukraine has been a long way from that of a democratic state that can discuss differences of approach. It’s been one of eliminating other voices, of closing down political discourse, often through the adjustment of laws but also through arrest, torture, and assassination, such as eliminating their negotiators. This is all the stuff Putin is lambasted for but with far less – if any – supportive evidence.

            What the west is supporting in Ukraine is not an open, democratic state. It’s supporting its own interests at the enormous expense of the Ukrainian people, not only in terms of whether they live or die but also in how they live and under whose control. A case in point is the new labour laws being passed that are abolishing trade unions mass firings of workers (euphemistically called suspensions).

            You may have seen the WaPo story yesterday in which two soldiers were interviewed and recalled their treatment under this regime while they’ve been fight against all odds at the sharp end of the war. They were immediately arrested and have disappeared. Clearly the journalist was followed for that very purpose and the arrests carried out within minutes of his leaving. This isn’t just wartime expediency, it’s been the post Maidan Ukraine.

          • TTG says:

            Steve,

            Entire Russian Army units took part in the 2014-2015 fighting in the Donbas. Moscow denies it, but gave battle honors to several unit for their participation in the battle of Ilovaisk. Chief among them were the 331st Guards Airborne Regiment of the 98th Guards Airborne Division, the 6th Tank Brigade, 31st Air Assault Brigade and the 8th mountain Brigade. That figure of 56 Russians probably refers to the captured Russians.

          • Steve says:

            TTG,

            Where do you get that info?

            Baud was working there for NATO at that time and flat out denies it in addition to quoting SBU officials. As one of the very few professional neutrals in this story I’ll go with his account rather than those with an ideological dog in the fight.

          • TTG says:

            Steve,

            Yup, definitely sounds like it refers to 56 captured Russian soldiers.

          • borko says:

            TTG

            The post coup Ukrainian government was not interested in resolving the issue with those that opposed it in any way but force. The Odessa massacre is one example, the ATO is another.

            This government is trying to impose a unitary state, identity, history, language etc on a region with various cultural, ethnic, linguistic, political and other traditions. The events of the last 8 years are the result of such policies.

            Being armed and trained by NATO and actively trying to become a NATO member just added another ingredient for disaster that is currently unfolding.

          • TTG says:

            borko,

            The Odesa massacre was immediately precipitated by anti-Maidan protesters attacking pro-Maidan protesters with bats and rifle fire. The pro-Maidan crowd then burn’t down the anti-Maidan tent encampment. Both sides then use fire bombs when the anti-Maidan people holed up in the Trade Unions House. The pro-Maidan crowd weren’t angels, mostly futbol hooligans along with Pravy Sektor thugs.

            Choosing to be armed and trained by NATO and seeking NATO membership is Ukraine’s right as a sovereign nation. None of that justifies Russia’s invasion in 2014 or in 2022.

        • Steve says:

          TTG,

          You’re right, all the source material is the usual suspects. That’s problematic.

          Had the 56 been prisoners surely that would have been stated. The Russians deny entering Ukraine at that time, confirmed by the OSCE mission. However, I’m sure they had been supplying weapons to assist the defenders and to augment the stuff deserters from the Ukrainian army had brought with them. Could it be that the claim of a superior emanates from the Ukrainians attempting to save face?

          The claim that there were Russians there – as there have been foreigners fighting on the Ukrainian side – is credible on the same terms. Indeed I met some dead ones in Kosovo, dressed in Russian uniforms and carrying papers. When I had some of them checked out it turned out they were recruited and paid by a Russian nationalist businessman.

          With all that said, the goal of the Ukrainian government was to kill the federalists. Wouldn’t the Russians be able to claim an R2P intervention? After all wouldn’t that play well with the Narod, rather than just letting them fend for themselves?

  9. mcohen says:

    To okip or not to kip.that is the question.perfect staging ground.use Russian terroritry to enter donbas. from east.
    Delay along western front, attack along north east of kharkiv.
    Russia has no intention of occupation.They are trying to bribe locals with all sorts of bullshit.like passports.probably printed in China.They want the locals to be the occupiers.an occupational hazard in itself
    Therefore apply same tactics on Russian territory.bribe russians with more vodka and some good quality caviar and more attacks on dog training centres.thats it for now.10-4 good buddy

    • Al says:

      Mc,
      Maybe an electric bike squad sprinting east into Russia at night. Then from the rear take out bunch of armored tracks. Sprint back into Ukraine. That should keep the Russies looking over their backsides!

  10. KMD says:

    Interesting analysis of the Russian advance in the Donbass.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-myU95rwA1w
    It looks like Ukraine is unable to hold position and is retreating.

    • Babeltuap says:

      KMD – nobody knows. Unless somebody is in the trenches reporting impossible to know. So much disinformation. I know from my meager position as a combat officer what the news was reporting (CNN) was absolutely false. A complete fabrication they made up out of thin air with stock footage on my situation. Same thing happened AGAIN when I was working the oil spill in La. Nonsense info…meh.

      We will know when we know it appears and not beforehand. All you can do is question it until things simmer down which they will and will look NOTHING like what has been reported.

      • Steve says:

        Babeltuap,

        There’s plenty of credible information out there on which to understand the situation in the east. Even the WaPo narrative has been changing direction over the weeks, the latest evidence being yesterday’s interview that I relate above.

      • KMD says:

        Point taken. Agree that MSM from all sides is propaganda masquerading as information. One has to dig and sift for oneself to be semi informed and after all that, who knows what’s actually real? I guess we get to choose whether to be uninformed or misinformed.
        Skepticism is unrelenting, disciplined, incremental, and critical path foolishness.
        It is the eye of neutrality, inside the mercenary tempest of curious passion.
        I did not know. I went and looked. Everything else was vanity.

  11. MT_Wild says:

    What I find most annoying is that predictit.org does not have a Ukraine Russia war betting section. If we are to truly treat this Unnecessary pain destruction like a match between opposing teams, we could at least bet on it.

    I know where I’d put my money. And I feel like I’d get good odds.I actually sent the suggestion in to predict it, saying that by giving our betters a read our betters are read on how the populace feels about how the war is going, they might actually save thousands of lives. I’ll post back if it actually gets listed.

  12. A. Pols says:

    This board seems rife with ideas that Russia is a country of incompetent oafs and stumblebums who are close to running out of soldiers and bullets. It reminds me of a joke from the fifties about the Russians being unable to sneak an atom bomb into New York in a suitcase because they didn’t know how to make a suitcase. The Germans thought the same thing in 1941. The Colonel and TTG seem wedded to the idea that Russia has thrown all it has at Ukraine, have fallen short, and may soon be driven from Ukraine. Do any of you consider that Russia wants to neuter Ukraine, not destroy it, and are therefore proceeding strategically and not focusing on immediate tactical successes?
    My layman’s take is the Russians are in the the process of wearing down Ukraine’s forces and will to fight, and that it’s likely in the next 2-3 months Ukrainian resistance will crumble and the Russians will have the day.

    • Leith says:

      A Pols –

      Nobody here is saying anything about oafishness. Russians are just as smart or smarter in some cases than western Europeans and Americans. Unfortunately for now they are being led by thieves and racketeers. They will figure it out despite Putin’s stranglehold on the media via the FSB, Roscomnadzor, Rospechat, et al.

      One day, when the Putin and his crooksters are history, the Russian people will use their intellectual wealth and natural resources wealth to again become a world power. The sooner the better I say.

      • Deap says:

        When was Russia ever a “world power”?

        US picking a fight with the Soviets, who turned out to be a paper tiger when all was said and done, did not make them into a “world power”.

        Seems like Mother Russia was far more interested in being left alone than expansion. They had to take a massively feudal and illiterate population into the 20th Century as their primary concern.

        Marching into Eastern Europe post WWII would be a reasonable buffer zone protective strategy after Napoleon and Hitler’s murderous incursions, rather than the first steps to post WWII Soviet domination.

        My own mid 1970, height of the Cold War, trip to the Soviet Union revealed how hollow the Soviet Super Power propaganda was. Even as a tourist.

        I am again reminded of a pundit’s prescient comment a number of years ago – “winning the Cold War” was the worst thing possible for America. As we flounder for a new, unifying raison d’être.

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