The Russians won’t stop until they reach the Dnepr River. Maybe, but that's not a worthy goal for them in my opinion. Of course I'm not Putin, but he still has a public image that requires maintenance and upkeep. Some may laugh at my suggestion that he cares about that, but I do believe he has to watch his six over political rivals that may arise.
What would be the point of making Ukraine pay more except vengeance for fighting bravely against them?
The Russians have already shown they have huge weaknesses and problems, primarily with weapons systems and corruption in the military.
No one can doubt the bravery of the average Russian soldier, but way too many have died when they should not have. Those deaths are on the shoulders of their leaders, not the Ukes.
In our military, we're supposed to care about troop casualties, some say too much. However, casualties resulting from actual corruption and graft should be one of the most mortal sins a military officer can commit.
You and I would rightly be court martialed and sent to Leavenworth for even 1/10 of the graft and corruption their chain of command showed.
The whole thing needs to be investigated and people shot.
To let it continue due to the urgency of the battle at hand just perpetuates the problem.
I really think trying to take Kharkiv and Odessa--which is not a given with the forces they have--is a worse deal than the victory they can declare right now.
In any case, anything either of us says about what happens next is just speculation. Regards.
One thing that has been shown in this conflict is crossing a river is hard with modern surveillance systems. If I were Russia, I’d assume NATO will want another run at this in near future, so would prefer to halt at a defensible barrier like the dnieper river.
Found a good updated map.
Your guess is as good as mine where the final lines will be drawn. I think Kharkiv will be taken and kept by the Russians, Odessa is more of a question. Russia may calculate that leaving Odessa in Ukraine will help Russia in re-establishing diplomatic norms post-war. Taking Odessa and leaving Rump Ukraine landlocked would be seen as pretty scorched-earth. But you cannot discount Russian anger about the 2014 Maidan Coup/Revolution, and especially the arson massacre of Russians in the trade union building. So who knows.
