Battles Rage Inside Russia, With Waves of Tanks, Drones and North Koreans

3 comments

1. > Here, the Russians need to take this territory at any cost, and are pouring all their strength into it

   The situation is nowhere near as desperate and intense as the guy trying to make it out to be.

   Kursk gambit failed, and now it’s just a cleanup operation on the side of Russia. They are not in any significant hurry, despite the western mass media pulling another invented red line out of their ass about how Russia is trying to finish that by some specific date in February something like that; just so they could claim Russia failed doing that as well some time in the future.

   And again, the whole waves of [incredibly non photogenetic ninja] Koreans rhetoric. Ukraine didn’t lose [all that western money and weapons] because of their poor planning and strategy, it was all the Koreans’ fault. All 30k of them, 10k of which are already dead; 20k more and it’s like they never existed in the first place. Russia is cheating, basically.

   One thing certain though, there will be no negotiations until Ukraine is pushed out of Kursk. Which aligns with Zelensky’s plans of staying power, and it’s fine if more people need to die for that.

2. Holding Kursk as a bargaining chip is not a bad idea, but Ukraine has put so many of their premium assets into Kursk that it seems like they’re gambling the entire rest of the front on it. They have several mechanized, marine, and air assault brigades in that one salient, all of which are under heavy artillery fire. Again, holding Russian land to try and gain a better negotiating position is a solid idea but if the price is that every premium Ukrainian asset cannot be used in any other section of the front, I question if it’s worth it.

3. Since the bot’s snapshot’s got cut short, here’s a full one: https://archive.ph/DMlnH

   Paywalls suck.

   Some highlights:

   > The intensity of the battles could be glimpsed on the road approaching the Russian border: A steady stream of tanks, armored personnel carriers and other vehicles rolled past broken down and blown-up equipment.

   > Russian bombs and rockets exploded with thunderous force in border villages, and Ukrainian missiles could be seen streaking across the sky in the opposite direction.

   > Tens of thousands of drones hunted targets, too. They have transformed the battlefield, although Ukraine has improved its electronic warfare abilities, limiting the effectiveness of drones that rely on radio signals. Russia has now flooded the theater with drones guided by ultrathin fiber-optic cables, with a flying range of more than 10 miles.

   > The best current defense against them is a shotgun, Ukrainian soldiers said.

Comments are closed.