Looking like Soledar is as good as gone. Question now is where the next defensive line is staged
"Ive been seeing various items that the Ukrainian army is severely depleted."
Depends on who you listen to.
Whether these "strategically important" little known towns fall to the invaders is not huge as it pertains to the ultimate Ukrainian victory. It DOES seem important within the Russian political dynamic, and who will ultimately become king Orc (Sauron).
I want nothing more than a Ukrainian victory but for all the talk of Russians freezing in bunkers and Ukraine receiving top of the range gear from NATO, they are been beaten back while suffering huge losses.
Whats the plan now?
They aren’t getting what they need and at some stage it’s going to become unsustainable.
The latest video from Reporting from Ukraine suggests fortifications along the high ground roughly west of Soledar.
Despite modern technology, geography seems to play an important role in this war.
What you are seeing in Soledar is the peak of what Russia can do. A wave of bodies in the meat grinder to gain some ground which looks like a temporary gain considering reports from the likes of CNN and ukraine rather than the Russian propaganda machine. Hopefully in spring we will see Ukraine make gains elsewhere when they conduct assaults.
What it looks like is Russia is mobilising more canon fodder. And Ukraine can’t match this with numbers.
The territory Russia stole seems lost for now as Ukraine get beaten back.
All the while Putin can terrorise Ukraine for years from the Black Sea unchallenged.
The west and NATO have a tough decision to make.
Give them what they need or else put boots on the ground.
Julian from Twitter seems to be a dick
Ukraine can match the Russians numbers and likely exceed them with motivated and trained soldiers vs Russian forcibly conscripted who are sent to the front with little or no training and proper equipment and weapons.
Remember ukraine cancelled a winter mobilisation because they were already at the numbers required and were actively turning people away from recruitment centers.
If Zelensky announced tomorrow they were looking for a Million people to sign up chances are they would reach that figure in a few weeks
You guys are clueless. International relations don’t work by telling your neighbours to FU.
Boots on the ground unfortunately is WW3, it's not an option.
Plenty of videos recently of Ukrainians getting subpoenas from the military handed out in cities and towns, not clear if its an ongoing thing or a new wave of mobilisation has begun,
If only someone told Putin that before he started the war.
I for one don't think a "ZULU" type attack against modern weapons is sustainable. And I don't think the Ukrainian losses are as bad as Russias. The invader, ESPECIALLY with Russian "tactics" always lose considerably more men (killed, MIA, wounded). As Ukraine has no choice they will fight it out to the last mobik.
I agree, the West is too slow in providing what is needed and how much. But, imo, Russia is so far from victory (being able to KEEP what they've invaded) it cannot be imagined actually happening.
I’ve seen that posted here before, possibly by you. Although never with any evidence.
Saw that. One post says these are Russians being killed. Propagandists painted yellow armbands over white. Ukrainians wear blue/green armbands in this fight. The old guy certainly looks like a mobilized Russian.
Yeah sure , wouldn't be the first time a claim made by some sources
Germany and Hungary have shown themselves to be firmly in the pockets of the Kremlin,
But there's not a lot they could do to actually stop anyone sending tanks , especially if they think they can demand others send theirs first,
Ukraine is fighting for their survival and the idea that Germany are seeing this as some kind of game is displicable ,
The next Rammstein conference should be very interesting next week
Have you got a link to any of those videos Timmy? I can't find anything on Youtube/Google.
It is shameful to see them bickering over who sends what first. Churchill must be turning purple in his grave with embarrassment.
If Belarus launches an invasion it changes the demographic
We already have additional attacking forces wagner group, drones, soon missiles from Iran, artillery from NK resupplied by China I guess.
Not to mention the sheer inhumane brutality and mass destruction of of cities and towns this not a rules based war it a genocidal annihilation of a sovereign state.
...if not from gout.
Link them up please.
In an interesting development Ukraine requested the no new sanctions to be applied to Belarus,
It's a surprising move but clever at the same time, essentially saying to Belarus were not attacking you despite missiles and aircraft launching attacks from inside Belarus,.
They certainly need more help and keep asking for more equipment and getting it in drabs and fits from Europe.
Lot of fear in Europe that Russia could be too badly beaten. That's not just out of residual Socialist solidarity from the likes of Scholz etc, but a fear that things won't quickly return to normal.
If the war ended tomorrow it won't be "back to normal" for many years.
Western European political leaders need to accept that glaring reality quickly.
Its already an unfair war for Ukraine. Unfortunately Russia holds more cards.
It's grim but NATO countries cannot directly join the conflict. Cannot have US or UK or whatever soldiers shooting at Russians, that's "go straight to WW3 and nuclear".
It won't necessarily go to WW3, there are scenarios where NATO or NATO countries should get involved.
Annexation of Belarus, Russia resuming a blockade of grain, Russia heading to Moldova, unlikely as is, etc.
If Western Europe had taken this crisis seriously from Day 1 things would be very different now.
And people still call that a win and the way they are talking it's like the imminent collapse of the Ukrainian Frontline. It's like deja Vu with Severodonesk over again.
Must be like 1k dead Russians per km taken at this stage in that front.
But let's all forget about the Kherson and Kharkiv counteroffensive.
It's not really Brussels though, the EU can't force countries to send weapons to Ukraine though.
It's not who can inflict the most pain but who can endure the most who wins.
To take a quote from Irish history.
The rada passed some updated laws on mobilisation at the end of last year.
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