The West: Russia has lost momentum in Ukraine

[JimH52]

War in Ukraine: West says Russians have lost momentum

Almost three months after Russia shocked the world by invading Ukraine, its military faces a bogged-down war, the prospect of a bigger NATO and an opponent...

www.marketwatch.com

The West and NATO says Russia has lost momentum in the war inflicted on Ukraine. Russian thought that going would be easier in the east, but that has not happened.

Britain’s Defense Ministry said in its daily intelligence update Sunday that the Russian army had lost up to one-third of the combat strength it committed to Ukraine in late February and was failing to gain any substantial territory.

“Under the current conditions, Russia is unlikely to dramatically accelerate its rate of advance over the next 30 days,” the ministry said on Twitter.

The assessments of Russia’s war performance came as Russian troops retreated from around Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, which was a key military objective earlier in the war and was bombarded for weeks. The regional governor said there had been no shelling in the city for several days, though Russia continued to strike the wider Kharkiv region.

If one of the goals of NATO was to weaken the military of the Russian nation, the objective has been reached. And Putin is talking about opening another front on his war in Finland? He can't even finish his war in Ukraine.

 

[Sunni Man]

Yet, the Russia army is advancing on several fronts everyday and crushing the Ukrainian forces. ....

 

[Rogue AI]

UK says is about as honest as Ukraine says. The same folks claimed Russia would be out of ammo months ago. Yet fools keep drinking the kool-aid.

 

[Litwin]

War in Ukraine: West says Russians have lost momentum

Almost three months after Russia shocked the world by invading Ukraine, its military faces a bogged-down war, the prospect of a bigger NATO and an opponent...

www.marketwatch.com

The West and NATO says Russia has lost momentum in the war inflicted on Ukraine. Russian thought that going would be easier in the east, but that has not happened.

Britain’s Defense Ministry said in its daily intelligence update Sunday that the Russian army had lost up to one-third of the combat strength it committed to Ukraine in late February and was failing to gain any substantial territory.

“Under the current conditions, Russia is unlikely to dramatically accelerate its rate of advance over the next 30 days,” the ministry said on Twitter.

The assessments of Russia’s war performance came as Russian troops retreated from around Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, which was a key military objective earlier in the war and was bombarded for weeks. The regional governor said there had been no shelling in the city for several days, though Russia continued to strike the wider Kharkiv region.

If one of the goals of NATO was to weaken the military of the Russian nation, the objective has been reached. And Putin is talking about opening another front on his war in Finland? He can't even finish his war in Ukraine.

looks like 1917 to me

 

[Litwin]

UK says

 

[para bellum]

The same folks claimed Russia would be out of ammo months ago. Yet fools keep drinking the kool-aid.

Well the war is only 2-1/2 months in, so anyone claiming that "months ago" seems unlikely to me. At least not anyone who is in the UK MOD or other NATO command.

What has been said is that Russia is running low on PGM's. That's based on consumption, pre-war inventories, and the fact that they are repurposing anti-shipping missiles for land attack. The inventories of newer missiles like Kalibr and Iskanders is limited, and if Russia expends them all in Ukraine, they have nothing in reserve for a China or NATO scenario.

There is video circulating of KH-22's launched from a TU-22. The CEP of that missile is something like 30 miles. It's useless with a conventional warhead other than as a terror weapon.

Russia has millions of dumb munitions, in the form of artillery shells and rockets, unguided bombs, etc. No one is expecting them to run out of ammo.

That won't save them here though, Ukraine is fixing to bitch-slap the RF all the way back to where they came from.

 

[Astrostar]

War in Ukraine: West says Russians have lost momentum

Almost three months after Russia shocked the world by invading Ukraine, its military faces a bogged-down war, the prospect of a bigger NATO and an opponent...

www.marketwatch.com

The West and NATO says Russia has lost momentum in the war inflicted on Ukraine. Russian thought that going would be easier in the east, but that has not happened.

Britain’s Defense Ministry said in its daily intelligence update Sunday that the Russian army had lost up to one-third of the combat strength it committed to Ukraine in late February and was failing to gain any substantial territory.

“Under the current conditions, Russia is unlikely to dramatically accelerate its rate of advance over the next 30 days,” the ministry said on Twitter.

The assessments of Russia’s war performance came as Russian troops retreated from around Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, which was a key military objective earlier in the war and was bombarded for weeks. The regional governor said there had been no shelling in the city for several days, though Russia continued to strike the wider Kharkiv region.

If one of the goals of NATO was to weaken the military of the Russian nation, the objective has been reached. And Putin is talking about opening another front on his war in Finland? He can't even finish his war in Ukraine.

It's wonderfully obvious that the Trump Cult bet on the wrong horse. How can tiny Ukraine give the great "Savvy" Russian leader so much trouble? It's because the great American President Biden is giving support to Ukraine and making life as tough as possible for Trump's "Pootie." Too bad, Trump obviously didn't do his homework before backing Putin! Bigly!!!

 

[para bellum]

It's wonderfully obvious that the Trump Cult bet on the wrong horse.

It's woefully obvious to me that the best way to undermine support for Ukraine in the US, is to politicize the war.

The more tribal you make it, the harder it will be to help Ukraine. Hope you guys are proud of yourselves.

"Politics ends at the water's edge" used to be the norm. Not any more, sadly.

 

[JimH52]

It's wonderfully obvious that the Trump Cult bet on the wrong horse. How can tiny Ukraine give the great "Savvy" Russian leader so much trouble? It's because the great American President Biden is giving support to Ukraine and making life as tough as possible for Trump's "Pootie." Too bad, Trump obviously didn't do his homework before backing Putin! Bigly!!!

And the repubs want this Poootin's supporting former president back in power? REALLY?

 

[Ringo]

 

[Ringo]

A battery of United States M777 howitzers was struck by a cruise missile near Podgornoye- Russian MOD

S-500 air defense-missile defense systems are beginning to enter service — Deputy Prime Minister Borisov

"Peresvet" laser installations are serially supplied to the troops, they can blind enemy reconnaissance systems in orbits up to 1.5 thousand kilometers high Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Borisov

 

[AZrailwhale]

0

A battery of United States M777 howitzers was struck by a cruise missile near Podgornoye- Russian MOD

S-500 air defense-missile defense systems are beginning to enter service — Deputy Prime Minister Borisov

"Peresvet" laser installations are serially supplied to the troops, they can blind enemy reconnaissance systems in orbits up to 1.5 thousand kilometers high Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Borisov

if Russia starts blinding western satellites, that will bring NATO into the war. Satellites are a strategic asset. The very last thing Russia can afford is NATO air and sea power backing up the Ukrainian ground and air forces.

 

[JimH52]

0

if Russia starts blinding western satellites, that will bring NATO into the war. Satellites are a strategic asset. The very last thing Russia can afford is NATO air and sea power backing up the Ukrainian ground and air forces.

That would start WW III.

 

[AZrailwhale]

That would start WW III.

Which is why Russia won’t do it.

 

[DGS49]

The Union won the Civil War because General Grant fought it as a battle of attrition, with unlimited resources backing him up. He didn't care if he lost 10,000 troops today because he knew he could replace them quickly and the Confederates couldn't.

And so it is with Putin. He doesn't really give a shit how many troops are killed, he will replace them. Ukraine doesn't have that luxury. Battle of attrition.

 

[AZrailwhale]

The Union won the Civil War because General Grant fought it as a battle of attrition, with unlimited resources backing him up. He didn't care if he lost 10,000 troops today because he knew he could replace them quickly and the Confederates couldn't.

And so it is with Putin. He doesn't really give a shit how many troops are killed, he will replace them. Ukraine doesn't have that luxury. Battle of attrition.

Russia doesn’t have either the troops or equipment to fight a battle of attrition. Despite Putin’s propaganda machine, the Russian population will soon realize that they will gain nothing from conquering Ukraine that is worth the cost in blood and treasure. Then Putin will either be deposed or killed.

 

[toomuchtime_]

The Union won the Civil War because General Grant fought it as a battle of attrition, with unlimited resources backing him up. He didn't care if he lost 10,000 troops today because he knew he could replace them quickly and the Confederates couldn't.

And so it is with Putin. He doesn't really give a shit how many troops are killed, he will replace them. Ukraine doesn't have that luxury. Battle of attrition.

But this is not a war of attrition and Putin does not have unlimited resources and it is clear that Russian claims about the size of its active military are not true.

Putin has been telling the Russian people and the Russian politicians, even in his own party, that this is not a war but just a special military operation so there has been no full mobilization and Putin's current resources are probably nearly all in play right now. Some western analysts estimate Putin has already committed 85% of available active military forces to Ukraine. This is why Putin has been trying so hard to hire foreign mercenaries.

Russia's current losses are the result of Russia not having nearly enough forces in Ukraine to defend the areas it is (has been) holding and the fact that the Ukrainian military is tactically superior to the Russian military. So the Russians cannot move troops to defend a weak spot on their front without creating another weak spot Ukraine can exploit. That's what we are seeing now. Ukraine talked all summer long about a counteroffensive in the South and retaking Crimea, so the Russians moved troops from the north and east to bolster their defenses in the south, but somehow failed to see Ukraine was also building a large force in the north.

If Putin called for a full mobilization, which would be very unpopular with the Russian people, he might be able to have enough troops to defend what Russia is holding, but the problem is Russian military factories are barely able to supply the current troop level and would not be able to meet the demands of another 300,000 troops. That's why Russia is scrambling to by weapons from places like Norh Korea and Iran.

 

[JimH52]

Which is why Russia won’t do it.

I hope Poootin will not do it. But he is probably armed with all the top secrets trump sold to him....so you never know?

 

[georgephillip]

If Russia withdrew its forces prior to the latest Ukrainian gains in order to increase its chances of conquering Bakhmut, does that bode well for Kiev?

Defending Bakhmut: How Ukraine Is Countering The Russian Offensive In The Donbas

"In June, after the Russian Army entered Syevyerodonetsk, which was the largest city in the Luhansk region controlled by Kyiv at the time, the defense lines of the Ukrainian Army shifted and stretched to the outskirts of the city of Bakhmut in neighboring Donetsk.

"Given that this location serves as a junction with roads in many directions -- Lysychansk, Horlivka, Kostiantynivka, and Kramatorsk -- it has become a vital, strategic area that Russian forces are trying to capture. RFE/RL photojournalists have been recording events as both sides engage in battle."

 

[georgephillip]

Russia has lost the war in Ukraine.
Or not.

For Russia this is an existential conflict.
It can not survive the Anglo-American world's determination to end the existence of a Russian state opposed to US hegemonic domination.

Determining which side is "winning" depends to some extent on how many dead and wounded each side is experiencing:

“Russia has lost the war” | MR Online

"Finally, as far as casualties are concerned, the number of deaths in the ranks of the Ukrainian army is staggering.

"According to American officials, there are about 100,000 dead, to which must be added the wounded in the proportion of three for every one dead.

"This means that, between the dead and the wounded, they are losing between 300 and 400 men a day on the various fronts.

"Russian losses are around 48,000 wounded and 16,000 dead, 8,000 of which belong to the Russian army and the rest to the territorial units, Chechen forces and the Wagner group.

"It should be borne in mind that the brunt of the war has so far been carried out by the territorial units of the Donbass and the special forces on their respective fronts."