So, now RuSSia starts sending missiles at civilian enclaves in Ukraine?
Be gas if Israel's snuck in some Iron Dome tech unbeknownst to anyone...
It's all over, looks like the Russians got out in time from Kherson city.
Probably most early 20th century politicians were "racists" by contemporary standards. However as a counter to the darker side of Churchill's record, one thing stands out: he called out and fought the most racist regime of all time, Hitler's 3rd Reich. And his views on Russia seem, with hindsight, to have some merit.
Russian ministry of Defense states the withdrawal of troops from the right bank of Dnipro has been concluded. "Not a single serviceman or piece of equipment lost"
I suppose abandoned is technically not lost depending on the definition used.
You would think we'd know better at this stage than to quote any official Russian source, on any topic.
This is a shambolic retreat and an enormous strategic defeat for Russia. Remember Putin proclaimed Kherson eternally Russian, what, 6 weeks ago? It's the biggest defeat of the war so far, the ongoing Russian collapse continues.
And, as we know from history, military collapse begets political, economic and societal collapse. Good!
Not a single serviceman lost = All servicemen on the east bank are dismissed from the armed forces immediately
It wasn't an endorsement.
Especially the thousands of dead ones.
Why quote a bunch of inveterate liars?
Of course he is 100% right. He knows where EXACTLY each serviceman and piece of equipment is BUT he is not saying where it is. I also assume that he handed over some of the equipment to his Ukr counterpart - probably no room in the trucks for some of the stuff?
Did some say a while back that Russian soldiers aren't allowed phones? Is that just the grunts? Maybe this is other UE?
Ukrainian military entering Kherson
big news
The Russians bugging out of Kherson without a fight is one of the outcomes I was hoping for (mostly for the safety of the civilians there).
But all of this leaves me wondering; What got the Russian commanders to finally pull the plug on this? I'm pretty certain that Russian thinking until pretty recently was to have Kherson as part of their new Russian oblasts (why bother with a sham Referendum otherwise?). They mightn't get all of Ukraine, but at least maybe they could have this bastion on the south coast. But now they are leaving wholesale and I can't help but wonder what factor has made this come to pass.
The Ukrainians fear a trap in Kherson, which is a reasonable fear, but I don't think the Russians should be given that much credit. Blowing up the nearby dam to destroy the city is a super-villain level of evil, which isn't impossible but I don't think is likely either (Crimea's water is dependent on it too). Beyond their already dire military / logistics situation I'm wondering if they've finally realised that they simply don't have enough of anything to hold their frontline long term or into the harsh winter. Maybe, they are trying to build a new smaller front around Crimea, and possibly around as much of the Donbass that they can manage.
With any luck, that new smaller frontline will be equally difficult for them to maintain, leading to their eventual eviction from Ukraine. (Hopefully)
Flag waving crowds also being reporting in Kherson's central square. Ukraine might already have the city. LiveUAmaps already have most of the territory recoloured to blue.
Remember Putin proclaimed Kherson eternally Russian, what, 6 weeks ago?
Even the lamp posts know what country they're actually in.
Christmas comes early for non Putin lickspittles.
Can only hope this humiliation culminates in Putin's downfall and a more reasonable ( and realistic) czar takes over in mother (fukker) Russia.
Historically the Russians are happy to fail so long as their failures are inflicting collateral damage on their opponents, they take the attitude that most other nations can't sustain the amount of punishment that Russia can and its paid off for them before, Finland, Japan, Germany all walloped Russia but it ended with Russia winning by default.
This is why Vlad is hammering civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. Very important the west holds its nerve but with the likes of Macron and Scholz calling the shots in Europe, Russia will really work on encouraging the west to bottle it. The media event obssessed nature of politics means that "something" needs to be seen to come out of the G20 summit, so expect some other dozy peace plan a la Minsk to appear
Not sure, Kherson was of much tactical use to Russia anymore, they needed it as a bridgehead on the other side of the Dnipro to strike towards Odessa but thats not going to happen now. The Ukrainians see it more a symbolic and moral win rather than a tactical one right now, given the difficulty they'd have crossing the Dnipro. They might be able to mallet supply routes into Crimea now, which is handy.
You may be disappointed - the most likely alternative to Putin right now could well be Prigozhin, owner of Wagner PMC.
He has been steadily gaining influence over there, and likely would be more radical than putin
Let him be more radical than Putin. Russia is a busted flush - let it puff out its chest just like Kim the Kretin.
He's an oligarch, a businessman too. What Russia are currently engaged in is bad for business. First step, decapitate the current regime, take over then consolidate and rebuild wealth. After that, who knows - maybe more military adventures. But in a bad place at the moment.
If you just want details about what is happening on the ground I would recommend this daily podcast.
What I like about it is that the bulk of the content is regional updates where they talk about what has changed on the ground in each of the active war zones. They use both Russian and Ukrainian sources although they themselves are clearly pro-Ukraine.
It's typically about 25-35 minutes each day so it's detailed enough.
Now ... Get 70% of the UA forces in kherson to bakhmut straight away for "operation humiliation" round 2
If local Ukrainians recognize any Russians amongst them, I would not give much for the Russians chances of survival.
How Ukr feels today..
No way that the sanctions end under a figure like him.
The real problem for Russia is there's no clear way out. Putin has killed or muzzled any opposition figures and created a power vertical based on himself. There's no Gorbachev-style reformer waiting in the wings.
The frontline in the south along the Dnipro as far as Zaphorizhzhia will now become solely an attritional battle of equipment. And we know which side have the M777s and HIMARS. Infantry will be irrelevant and will be redeployed eastwards. For Ukraine this I expect will be over time and after R&R. I don't know if Russia has similar rotation of troops or if they just keep them at the front until their dead/wounded/victorious. I'm not sure who will benefit most from these extra troops in the east, especially with winter approaching. They will need to be properly kitted out if they are to be of benefit and not to become a frostbitten overhead.
If reading anything from a Russian source is so upsetting to you, I suggest you use the block feature.
But it's the truth, nothing was lost. They know exactly where every piece of equipment is!!! It's now in Ukrainian hands.
It looks like the bridge that's next the Kakhovska dam has been heavily damaged as well.
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