[Kazan]

https://sonar21.com/understanding-planning-orders-and-troop-movements-in-ukraine/

So, was Russia caught by surprise? No. They had at least one week’s warning of the impending Ukrainian attack. If you want to believe that Russia’s intelligence service is incompetent or was deceived in this operation, enjoy the fantasy. The Russian planners had a couple of choices. They could have moved their forces into position earlier but that would have tipped off the Ukrainians and west that the planned offensive was compromised.

Alternatively, the Russian planners may have decided to mask their movements and made choices about which villages and cities to defend and which to abandon. If Russia had moved preemptively to reinforce Izyum that would have raised warning flags for the Ukrainian and NATO planners.

I agree with Andrei Martyanov’s take–the Russians knew it was coming and chose to let the Ukrainians flood the zone in order to eventually hit the Ukrainian forces with a massive counter attack. The Ukrainians are no longer in fortified defensive positions and their lines of communication to support the forward troops are now defined precisely. The Ukrainian attack has not destroyed nor disrupted Russia’s air, artillery, rocket and missile assets. Attacking the Ukrainian units is an easier task, not more difficult.

I am not privy to the Russian plan. But what I do know is that the planning process required to deploy the troops and equipment moving into Kharkov was not a panicked response. Hollywood can create the illusion of rapid movement of military troops, but the real world requires alerting units, making sure they are properly supplied and then undertaking the logistic task of moving those units into combat. This means the planning was deliberate, not a crisis response.

[tlozo]

So, was Russia caught by surprise? No. They had at least one week’s warning of the impending Ukrainian attack. If you want to believe that Russia’s intelligence service is incompetent or was deceived in this operation, enjoy the fantasy

[UNGN]

So the Bottom line is Russia can never do anything wrong.

Got it.

Now I know. I was worried for a minute their with all the blowing up and retreating that was happening.

[Renfrew]

“If you want to believe that Russia’s intelligence service is incompetent”

Based on the evidence of six months of a disastrous war, yes I do believe that.

[Pikachu_Dad]

Oh yeah, sure.

[Timber Rattler]

Wait a minute, Comrade Kazan, this time last week you were claiming that the Kherson counteroffensive was a total failure, that thousands of Ukrainian soldiers had been slaughtered, and that Ukraine had lost the war.

Now, you're claiming that the Russians deliberately abandoned those northeastern towns and cities as part of some masterplan that would enable them to attack the Ukrainians more easily?

I am so confused by your claims, Comrade Kazan!

[Cronos]

Kazan

your army is losing