Pooty Poot Poot looks depressed, ill and hopefully has terminal cancer.
Russia’s main objective now is to seize the parts of the eastern Donbas region not yet controlled by Moscow.
Russia’s main objective now is to rub out the larger part of the Ukraine army.
This is going to be a hell of a fight. The Ukrainians are at a disadvantage in terms of assets and materiel, but they are motivated. They’d be fools, though, to engage Russia in the open, as they just don’t have the assets for that kind of fight. Their best bet is to draw the Russians into kill zones.
I’ll be very glad when this is over. I think all the news coverage is BS. At the end of it, one country will be smiling and the other one not so much. Right now, everyone has an opinion, but I think nothing is clear.
The Harpoons should serve to deter an amphibious assault. Russia could not afford to land a piece of an invasion force and then have their landing ships sunk. Any shipping sunk cannot be replaced because Turkey has shut off access to the Black Sea. Thus, even a couple of Harpoons are a serious deterrent.
This, Speedster, is where the 60,000 plus Ukrainian troops in that cauldron I told you about die or surrender.
“preparing for what is likely to become the war’s biggest battles as refugees continued to flee the looming Russian assault.”
Those are real refugees, not the invaders storming our borders.
Defense experts in Britain say, “the part of the Russian army that is modern is not large, and the part that is large is not modern.”
This next phase of the war will be a big test.
If Russia fails to achieve its goals of seizing the Donbas territory or destroying a large part of the Ukrainian Army, then it would seem that decisive combat operations are likely over, and back to digging trenches for a slow grind (like the last eight years).
If Russia is successful in gaining some territory and in significantly degrading the regular Ukrainian Army, then they will likely recalibrate their goals again, and either press for a favorable ceasefire, or shoot for more territory - possibly Odessa/Black Sea coast, more land on the East of the Dniper River (like Dnipro or Kharkiv), and/or (Bolshoi) back to the takeover of the Government/seizure of Kiev.
My best guess is limited gains in the Donbas at high cost, and then a ceasefire before May 9th. But you never know when one side might reach a breaking point. Maybe Putin’s daughters will nag him into ceasefire, now that they are inconvenienced. By June the Russian economy should start sputtering more noticeably.
The big show in the Donbas is expected within days. It may already be underway, if it turns out to be just one BTG after another being sent down the road every once in while, to see how far they get, rather than a single giant Zhukov-like assault.
Send more Javelins.
Somebody better get the Magnificent Vindman Brothers over to the Ukraine ASAP before the Ruskkis get the upper hand.
Pooty Poot Poot looks depressed, ill and hopefully has terminal cancer.