To be fair, winter is coming. I think we're going to see a slowdown in Russia's tempo soon.
But maybe not, I can see the merits of pressing their advantage. Even in horribly crappy winter weather.
The War in the Ukraine
- Thread starter SampanViking
- Start date
But maybe not, I can see the merits of pressing their advantage. Even in horribly crappy winter weather.
Leaving a route to escape is part of Sun Tzu's Art of War.
Leaving some people alive to escape is also a weapon by itself, as these people will show fear among their own army.
Winter hardens the ground once again, making vehicles passable. You also lose a lot of foliage, putting defenders at risk. It makes forests open ground which advantages the force with greater fire power.
Unrelated, additional news.
Iskander strikes with cluster munitions at Dnipropetrovsk air base. One MiG-29 fighter taken out. Up to 15 engineering and technical staff allegedly killed. Infrastructure damaged.
Russian flag raised over Kopanka at the Kharkhiv region.
Olgovsky forest completely captured. This salient, the Russians did not allow the Ukrainians to escape, no escape route was left. Compared to other areas in the front, the Russians in Kursk are more prone to kill their opponents, although prisoners are still taken.
Boom. Big explosion at the Kurakhovsky Thermal Power Plant, like the arrival of a huge FAB. The city is now in the midst of battle and encirclement.
M113 gets Krasnopoled near Kurakhovo.
Maxxpro burning after hit by FPV in Toretsk.
Members of the Mad Dogs unit have taken out a Baba Yaga.
Ukrainian T-64BV firing at Russian positions, gets hit by an FPV drone to the rear.
Medvedev visits the tank production plant and mentioned that since the start of the war, production has increased 8 times.
Russians get busy building reinforced concrete shelters in their air bases.
Prince Vandal drone hunts and attacks a Roschel Senator.
British AS-90 155mm SPG found destroyed.
By following a drone, reconnaissance discovers the location of a Ukrainian UAV control point in Kherson, and Russian troops put an ATGM into it. The Kornet-M or 9M133M, has a range of 10km with a thermobaric warhead, and is the weapon most likely used against non tank targets.
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Yes, I think it's pretty obvious why Russians are much less likely to give you a chance to surrender in Kursk. I feel bad for those guys, a lot of them are not going to have a happy ending. In particular, this guy.
If he's actually in Kurks and gets captured. I think he might want to save a bullet just for himself.
If he's actually in Kurks and gets captured. I think he might want to save a bullet just for himself.
"Both sides are so extremely cringe and perhaps that's why they hate each other: familiarity breeds contempt."
That reminds me of this tanknet.org exchange from 2017 regarding an episode in the Donbas War:
Member Stuart Galbraith: "Its not the incapable [Ukrainian] formation one might expect.... In fact, they fought like Russians."
Member Roman Alymov (Russian): "[A]bout 'they fought like Russians' – they are Russians, so what you expect? Famous Strelkov, who was repeatedly asked questions like 'what do you think about pro-Ukrainian soldiers' was always replying something like 'They are Russians, and because of that they have all positive and negative features we Russians have'. It is not ethnic war, it is civil war along political choice divisions. FYI, I got relatives in Ukrainian army."
Link:
I think the different behavior with encirclements is that it's much harder for Ukraine to bring enough men to the border area, while it's easier for them to just swarm into Donbass area bulges.
Whenever they encircle, they need to make the trade off either to fully surround the enemy, which means killing/capturing everyone in the pocket, but not getting to potshot at their reinforcements. At the same time, the battle to close the pocket by itself is not always easy and can take weeks/months depending on size. On the other hand, they can leave a small escape route open and kill more enemies, but lose the shock effect of advancing past the pocket.
Near the border, it's probably small groups that are easy to finish off, rather than the huge meat waves in the Donbass which takes many weeks to digest. Plus Russians have air supremacy there.
the truth is probably more mundane...Russia does not have enough manpower and logistic support to conduct envelopment of an enemy force under the contemporary environment.
2S22 Bogdana 155mm SPG found destroyed.
Kyiv. Two transformers self destructed. Likely overloaded power circuit.
Russians assaulting Razdolnye.
Two T-80BVM of the Kozma Minima Battalion leads an assault with two IFVs, leading to a successful breakthrough in the Kurakhovo sector.
Ukrainian D-30 howitzer taken out by Lancet in the Kramatorsk direction.
Russian artillery arriving at Toretsk.
Warehouses in the Odessa port burning.
Lancet takes out a Ukrainian vehicle of.Western manufacture in Kherson.
Grad MLRS working on Ukrainian positions in Kurakhovo.
British AS-90 SPG taken out by Lancet in the Sumy region.
Nona-S of the VDV in action in Chasiv Yar.
Russian MoD reports the capture of Novodmitrovka.
FAB hits Ukrainian positions in the Kurakhovsky TPP.
Russian armored assault by a battalion of the 39th Brigade against Ukrainian positions in Elizavetovsky.
Kyiv. Two transformers self destructed. Likely overloaded power circuit.
Russians assaulting Razdolnye.
Two T-80BVM of the Kozma Minima Battalion leads an assault with two IFVs, leading to a successful breakthrough in the Kurakhovo sector.
Ukrainian D-30 howitzer taken out by Lancet in the Kramatorsk direction.
Russian artillery arriving at Toretsk.
Warehouses in the Odessa port burning.
Lancet takes out a Ukrainian vehicle of.Western manufacture in Kherson.
Grad MLRS working on Ukrainian positions in Kurakhovo.
British AS-90 SPG taken out by Lancet in the Sumy region.
Nona-S of the VDV in action in Chasiv Yar.
Russian MoD reports the capture of Novodmitrovka.
FAB hits Ukrainian positions in the Kurakhovsky TPP.
Russian armored assault by a battalion of the 39th Brigade against Ukrainian positions in Elizavetovsky.
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Creating an artillery killing zone is more logistic intensive than surrounding and sending waves of infantry like in Mariupol and Bakhmut, which is more manpower intensive.
Since Russia has near unlimited equipment and economical support, it makes sense to protect the 1 resource (manpower) that they can't squander, else it end up impacting the war morale at home like the Vietnam draft, I think that's the only way Russia can be forced into a disadvantage.
Sure they are attempting to preserve resources. But comparing the Ukraine conflict with Vietnam, those two are totally different. Ukraine is not a continent away, it is right on their border. And Ukraine actually invading some Russian territory and doing long range strikes into Russia only makes the case of the Russian government for continuing the conflict more convincing to the citizenry.
In the case of Vietnam everyone knew it wasn't any risk to America's own security so the incentive to continue to fight was much lower.
It's a bigger war for sure. More munitions being thrown, more soldiers involved, more closer to both blocs' centers of gravity.