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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPxpPT4b4vnDlX0sBGz3r4Q

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Thanks, SB, for posting this link to “Scott Ritter and the Battle of the Donbas.”

This is the best info I have seen explaining the military situation of Ukraine, as well as a lot of the politics.

In brief: Ritter says that the total objective of Russia is to “Liberate the Donbas region.”

Ukraine had about 600,000 troops available to defend, and Russia attacked with 200,000.

So Russia needed to “Shape the battlefield.”

This entailed attacking Kiev in the West, drawing the Ukraine military there, and then demolishing their means of transportation back for the eventual battle in the East (i.e., Donbas).

I’m over-simplifying, of course. But this makes a great deal of sense.

Ritter claims that the 60,000 Ukraine forces in Donbas have “Gone gopher”, i.e., they have dug in with supplies. Hence they are no longer actually mobile enough to repel the Russian forces out of Donbas ... but may be sticky to eliminate.

Ritter thinks Russia will win for sure, and that the U.S./NATO options are severely limited.

He also thinks there may be an eventual “Peacekeeping” NATO force allowed into Western Ukraine, which might satisfy some of Putin’s demands for de-Nazification.

I highly recommend watching the entire interview for anyone who has about 81 minutes to spare.

If you can find it anywhere, its fair to want to hear Putin’s pre-incursion speech concerning the imminent Russian incursion. Nothing has changed that I can see. Tactics, but not mission.

He laid out not only the tick tock of his mission into UKR, but also the history, the evidence and the arguments that affirm his reasons for taking defensive action now, in an offensive manner, in order to better secure the imperiled security of Russia.

An hour long statement, no interruptions. Eyes wide open, for sure. Putin is not a stupid man. He is taking some criticism for his initial military restraint, but is thought to be now addressing that criticism.

The speech to my surprise was Trumpesque, but tougher. Putin probably hasn’t the restraints POTUS 45 had to contend with, or to calculate, from many corners.