I’m always skeptical about all the numbers being reported. By all accounts this offensive is going very well for Ukraine but they are losing more equipment than the Russians?
I’m sure they are but still in this case it seems like the Russian losses would be larger than the Ukrainian seeing as how Ukraine is gaining and holding territory.
I read something this morning that didn’t state this was the goal, but that the Ukrainians expect the Russians to resort to flattening the cities they have taken to drive them out. im not sure there is any strategic advantage to holding the territory for an extended period of time but forcing Russia to pull the forces from the east needed and Russia bombing their own cities followed by a tactical withdraw could be a big strategic and morale victory. Just don’t see the point in taking more than minor losses in holding Russian territory they won’t ever keep.
Ukraine are losing light armor and vehicles, Russia is losing tanks. It’s the quality not the quantity that is important. Russian mil bloggers are freaking out because they’ve noted Ukraine aren’t using Abrams and leopards on the offensive and believe they are poised to strike elsewhere
Ukraine is using Challengers, T-90’s and the Polish Tanks in Kursk They are using some of their best equipment
There's value is causing casualties to Russia's conscripts (kids drafted from the big western cities) who aren't supposed to be fighting in this war. Brings the war home to the families who support this war because it hasn't been their kids going off and dying. Other than that, I'm not sure the strategy here other than propaganda. Maybe they're trying to goad the Russians into making a mistake.
*cough* Belgorod *cough* I mean, there are Challys and Twardys in Kursk, but yeah, you can tell this probably isn't the main thrust. Maybe at this point they've given Donetsk up for dead since Russia just bombs everything to rubble.
I don’t follow the battlefield details nearly as closely as the regulars ITT, and there’s a lot of theories that have some seeming merit as to why Ukraine would expend the men and materiel on this offensive. But it occurs to me that Putin has placed himself in a precarious position, and I find myself wondering if the primary motivation of all of this is to attempt to force the issue with fatally undermining his grip on power. I think it’s a statically unlikely gamble and probably not likely to play out that way, but the longer this war drags on and the longer Russia looks like they don’t know what they’re doing, the more dangerous it gets for him.
To me it looks like force Russia over the river and cut off its supply lines for Kharkiv and Donbas forcing them to come to terms I think the major railways into that area are under fire control now if I’m not mistaken I’ve also seen ppl say it’s a big flanking maneuver or a distraction
IMO Putin will turn the territory to rubble before he agrees to terms with Ukraine to get it back. Very interesting strategic decisions coming from both sides. Historically, and I think recent evidence supports this, the Russian leadership up to the top is incrementally less aware of the truth at an on the ground level. Every person up the chain wants to tell their superior the situation is under control. It’s how you end up with these 5 man motorcycle attacks where the goal is for 1 to survive, get close enough, and have time to get his radio out and call in his position in the enemy line before he is killed. The lieutenant just wants to tell the colonel he encountered the enemy and fired 8 barrages of artillery. The colonel tells the general, we hit the enemy 8 times today, the general tells the defense secretary we are effectively hitting the enemy, the secretary tells Putin, sir we are winning. In reality they lost 50 men and confirmed no casualties. Ultimately I think that means that if Ukraine can hold for another week or two on both fronts, we will start to see Russia move real assets from the East to Kursk. Because the reports from Kursk will need to get better in a hurry.
Putin’s biggest hope was a second Trump presidency. He’d get everything he wanted if that happened. As it looks less and less likely he may become more desperate.
The theory I’ve read that makes the most sense to me so far is that Ukraine uses the Russian territory as a bargaining chip in cease fire negotiations. Ukraine returns the Kursk land in exchange for Ukrainian land grabbed by Russia. but really who knows
I read somewhere that a lot of attacks on Ukraine were launched/staged from that area so this gives them a buffer zone.
Russia's old tactic of waiting until winter for an invading force to wear out might not work this time
Spending money is a bit of a misnomer. Were giving them old shit and spending money to build new stuff for us
My dream is to wake up to a headline that president harris has given the entire Abrams and Bradley boneyard to Ukraine Imagine them with 500+ abrams and 2000+ Bradleys
We have nearly 5,000 active Abrams and over 3,000 in storage. We have given Ukraine like 25. We have nearly 4,000 active Bradleys and over 2,500 in storage. We have given Ukraine like 200. We have nearly 1,200 active F-16s and over 400 in storage. We have given Ukraine 0. We have about 15,000 MRAPs. We have given Ukraine several hundred. We have nearly 5,000 Strykers. We have given Ukraine like 250. We have nearly 1,500 M109. We have given Ukraine like 30. We probably have like 75,000+ Humvees. We have given Ukraine less than 1,000.
The Eastern front in Ukraine seems to be going poorly for Ukraine and kursk seems to be going poorly for Russia. Both sides seemingly okay with conceding to keep their offensives progressing. Something has to give doesn't it?