SNIP
….the Wall Street Journal ran a remarkable, long-form, magazine-style article under the headline: “As Ukraine Invades Russia, Kyiv’s Troops Are in Trouble on the Eastern Front.” Uh oh
SNIP
Using around 14,000 of its last, best troops, and a vast array of critical, impossible-to-replace war equipment, Ukraine tried to flip the script by invading Russia in a quiet, remote, sparsely populated area on the northeast corner of the map.
In other words, bantam-sized President Zelensky boldy let slip the dogs of war. But in this case, the dogs of war were more like the miniature poodles of war.
SNIP
It looks a lot like the Russians knew they were coming. So Ukraine’s most experienced units are now, a week later, rattling angrily around inside a killing box inside Russia, scores of miles from the power plant, far from reinforcements or supply lines, trying to … something. We don’t know yet.
SNIP
The bigger problem, as the Journal’s article soberly informed readers, was that, to scrape together 14,000 effective soldiers, Ukraine had to take them away from other places on the immense frontline.
SNIP
But manpower shortages are the most critical shortfall. This ‘news’ (to Journal readers) has been the constant refrain that better-informed C&C readers have heard for over a year now. A military expert quoted for the story simply explained, “Ukraine doesn’t have enough reserves; they don’t have enough units to reinforce everywhere.”
SNIP
The article was a major narrative shift. I expected, but didn’t find, the usual litany of quotes from military ‘experts’ about how Ukraine still has time to turn things around, given a few more billions and steady NATO support