Right now, Ukraine has no real choice but to fight a delaying action in the Donbas, with the aim to make the Russians pay dearly for every single meter of ground. That has definitely been achieved in Severodonetsk, whatever damage the city suffered, Russian forces have suffered severe losses in their weeks-long attempt to take the city. At the same time, whilst the defenders suffered some significant losses themselves, it appears like a) they were nowhere in the same ballpark as those on the Russian side and b) Ukraine were able to pull a significant number of their units in the city across the Severski Donets river to Lysychansk in fighting condition, which is a massive achievement in its own right.
Given the elevated location of Lysychansk, which sits on a bluff overlooking Severodonetsk and about 40-60 meters above the flood plain where the latter city is built on, Ukraine has managed to bleed the Russians dry for a city that is now vulnerable to harassing fire from the heights of Lysychansk whilst being extremely hard to take for any type of assault, especially now that the bridges are blown. Ukraine made Russia pay dearly for a piss-poor defensive position. A Pyrrhic victory if I've ever seen one.
They can't continue creeping forward this slowly indefinitely. Lysychansk is on higher ground directly behind a river. It will be an order of magnitude harder for the Russians (though they seem to be worryingly coming up from the southwest also).
In humanistic terms, not much achieved, because war is an absolutely dreadful business.
In strategic terms, Ukraine are successfully limiting Russian advances to an absolute snail's pace and making Russia expend a lot of military resources in the process. If the UAF cannot push Russia out of large areas in this present time, the next best thing they can do is to make advancing very difficult. Bleed the beast, as it were.
Putin strategy of a slow creep forward is because all other strategies failed.
I’d keep breathing in the meantime Albania and Bosnia 🇧🇦 have
The russian army is weaker than it was before it approached Severodonetsk.This has been the military plan all along and it will continue to be the plan in the east until Ukraine has the power to launch an effective counter attack.
It can be spun that way if you like but that’s not what Ukrainians are saying and also this is what putins strategy is a slow creep forward.
Achieved you say what exactly is the achievement from a destroyed city and thousands dead.
A huge amount has been achieved from this battle and Severodonetsk was expected to fall many weeks ago.The Russian now have to start on Lysychansk to claim the Luhansk oblast so many weeks of fighting in this region ahead.Lysychansk is on higher ground so an advantage there to start with
Are they leaving the city and repositioning across the river, if so that's the smart thing to do - there's no point trying to retake a city already destroyed.
As predicted unfortunately Ukrainian troops are withdrawing from there positions in Sievierodonetsk for now anyway. 90% of homes there destroyed. 🫤
There is a plan in place and I would think training has been going on secretly before this bill was introduced.
That's serious weaponry, and if it's the case that they are allowed strike into Russia, that's a serious escalation of the support the West are providing. Forget Peter the Great II, Putin is a boiling frog, lads. A festering boiling frog.
On what basis are you asking this question and at this time?
Hope there is on going training of Ukraine pilots on f16s this asset is needed to change the war imo.
drones have been effective but need piloted craft to deal with advanced anti air system's.
An amazing sight from this side of the launch....where they landed is a different story.
A cargo plane crashed close to Moscow.It's probably not war related and may be a malfuntion related to maintenance,which may be war related!
"The plane flew from Orenburg to Belgorod, on the way landed at the gas station in Ryazan. Immediately after takeoff he fell to the ground.The Ministry of Defense of the Muscovite attack: "One engine refused to take off due to a malfunction. The plane made a hard landing with partial destruction." Four have already died, the other five are in critical condition"
"If you want peace, then prepare for war" and that will be the mantra in future for the west. And that will include becoming blackmail proof in terms of food and energy."
I wish I could agree. There is something that sits very uneasy with me here about all this. Aside from the fact that many European nations, especially the large ones, seem just so nonchalant with the fact that a close neighbor is in a battle for survival. It's that the suffering of so many, the rape and murder and forced deportations of so many people that has once again been introduced in this part of the world, there feels to be an almost 'meh' reaction from so many in power.
I don't know if it's just me, but I don't see any urgency from many of those in power to actually be willing to put a stop to this.
Hindsight being the great thing that it is, if I knew then what I know now, it would be different. But we are where we are. Since Georgia, where it began ( illegally taking over part of an independent Country ) the warnings were getting louder and louder year on year, yet no one thought it would come to outright war. Then you have the global village, where every thing is interlinked, and BINGO, shake one strand of the web, and it reverberates literally world wide. But if there's one positive outcome from all of this....Putin has shown the world what can happen when someone like him gains unlimited power. But its a one -trick pony. The world will not allow itself to be taken in like it has been, especially the west. The old adage " If you want peace, then prepare for war" and that will be the mantra in future for the west. And that will include becoming blackmail proof in terms of food and energy.
.
@POTUS addressing food shortages caused by Russian aggression: Putin’s war, not sanctions, are impacting the harvest of food and disrupting the movement of that food by land and sea to nations around the globe that need it.
But it's quite clear that they haven't "liberated" the Donbass, so I'm not sure how they could claim that as a victory.
It would be like us invading NI with the aim of a forced united Ireland, taking possession of maybe two and a half NI counties and then abruptly declaring victory and "mission accomplished".
The problem with the West seems to be that it's not set up to withstand any real disruption in supply chains. Throughout Western countries, there would be contingency plans for various disasters, but precious little for what happens when certain essential commodities jump up in value and therefore price. If nothing else the war in Ukraine and its subsequent damage to western relations with Russia has reminded us that we need strategies in regard to the above - becoming self-sufficient in energy production and food production for a start. Putin seems to fancy Russia as able in regard to those two, and its people stoic enough to forego any luxuries which will now become harder to source within Russia. He has to think that, otherwise he knows he's f*cked for trying to dig in for the long haul.
The thing of it is that there's plenty of money in the West, but we know that the ordinary people are not really seeing it. The austerity generated by this war needn't be so bad if the rising costs were absorbed by companies' profit margins and the wages of their top people (who are already making a very good living in most cases) rather than the person working just to make ends meet.
Any links to where your money goes towards weapons for Ukraine?
Russia can declare a victory any time they like - doesn't mean that the Ukrainians will agree .
It'd kind of ruin a Moscow victory parade if the Ukrainians are staging an offensive-
No outright victory anyway, but its completely Putins fault 100%. Now he can't win, and and can't be seen to lose, so dead end. But he can and is causing havoc world wide, especially in the west.
Give them all the weapons they need.
And give them arms ..
Absolutely brilliant news
Ukraine's future is in the EU and we should welcome them with open arms
Be a few years off before there both full members but a huge 1st step in the process towards it.
I guess that is why we are hearing mounting pessimism in those Russian vox pops on YouTube. What would even constitute a 'victory' for Russia at this point in time? They have been drawn into a horrible war of attrition.
At this stage all Russian diplomats should be expelled and we should recall our own embassy. Russia is a gangster fascist dictatorship, it's not like our diplomats could do anything over there to assist Irish citizens in such a state. Anybody who stays is on their own, as they already were.
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