Putin’s poorly prepared assault on Kharkiv has achieved nothing but record Russian casualties

Telegraph UK ^ | 5/21/2024 | David Axe

[marcusmaximus]

Everyone expected Russia to launch a new offensive in Ukraine on May 9. That’s because May 9 is Victory Day in Russia – the day the country celebrates the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

It’s a symbolic day for a war of choice that’s less about territory or resources than it is about Russian strongman Vladimir Putin’s conception of himself as a new Russian emperor lording over a thriving Russian empire.

But Putin’s new Russian empire is a farce, albeit a nightmarishly bloody one. And his Victory Day offensive is a farce, too. Less than two weeks after the first Russian platoons marched across Ukraine’s northern border with Russia, just north of Kharkiv, the Russian operation has ground to a halt after just a few miles.

Even worse for the nearly 500,000-person Russian army of occupation in Russia, the northern offensive has overextended Russian logistics and armor support and forced unprotected infantry to attack on foot. The Russian casualty rate was high before Victory Day. Now it’s catastrophically high as Ukrainian mechanized brigades reinforce the northern front.

-snip-

No one outside of the Kremlin knows what the offensive’s actual military objectives were supposed to be. But in strictly military terms, the offensive almost certainly wasn’t worth it. Not only did the Russians fail to gain control of any important terrain, they also squandered offensive firepower that might have made more of a difference elsewhere along the 700-mile front line.

One possibility is that Russian commanders hoped their 30,000-strong northern force would break through Ukrainian defences and drive toward Kharkiv, 20 miles to the south. Alternatively, they may have intended for Ukrainian commanders to think the Russians were aiming for Kharkiv – all in order to compel the Ukrainians to redeploy every available brigade from

[Cronos]

Kazan on 21st May 2024
“Ukraine, you jackass, is getting its ass kicked. It’s losing a village or two PER DAY. d”

And Kazan on 20th July 2022 https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/4079519/posts?page=96#96
Only someone completely ignorant of what is going on can’t find a daily map of the areas Russia controls and see how much ground the Russians have been gaining week by week.

Kazan on 12th October 2022 https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/4099922/posts?page=24#24
EVERYTHING changes in 3 weeks as Putin amasses biggest force yet

Kazan on 26th October 2022 https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4103469/posts?page=23#23
It’s now well known that a newly-unified, Russian-Belarussian command is planning a winter offensive….. …..a “second front” against unprepared, largely unguarded areas in the Ukraine’s north. There may be some diversionary raids, but it’s understood that the most likely axis of advance is near the Polish border, south to Lutsk and then potentially to Lvov….. …..cutting off the main supply lines into the Ukraine….. …..without which all organized resistance by Ukrainian forces employing large modern weapons, would cease totally in as little as six weeks.

Kazan on 4th November 2022 https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/4106075/posts?page=24#24
Russia will control Kherson both next week and for as long as any of us are alive.

Kazan on 12th November 2022 https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/4108353/posts?page=27#27
“EVERYTHING changes in 4 weeks; this is Putin’s calm before the storm | Redacted with Clayton Morris
The ground in Ukraine will likely freeze in the next 4-7 weeks. When that happens, we will see everything change in Ukraine.”