Posted on 09/14/2022 5:14:55 AM PDT by marcusmaximus
Humiliation for Putin's troops is continuing as they begin to abandon the major city of Melitopol in the face of Kyiv's lightning counter-offensive.
The city's pre-occupation mayor said that Russian troops were pulling out of the area in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region.
Mayor Ivan Fedorov wrote on Telegram that Russian troops were heading towards Moscow-annexed Crimea.
He said columns of military equipment were reported at a checkpoint in Chonhar, a village marking the boundary between the Crimean peninsula and the Ukrainian mainland.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
How do we know this is true given that the first casualty of war is the truth...and the truth nowadays is difficult to find anywhere, anyway?
The world loves a good blitzkrieg.
Thus demonstrating that the Ukrainians really are Nazis.
How do we know this is true given that the first casualty of war is the truth.
We don’t (which is true about any thing now days).
However there are some “lies” that are easily exposed over time. This is a report time will determine if true or false.
This offensive -- especially the part in Kharkiv -- will need to take a break shortly for the sake of the troops. Don't want to push guys to exhaustion when things are going well because that's when they start making mistakes and become vulnerable.
You dont; its more of a sign to “watch this space”, because it MIGHT be true. If something happens later it might fill in the blanks of when whatever started, and its nature.
I mean, like are we talking 500 miles to the ruin of Russia or the other side of town? Is it all in artillery range or not? I have to say that is about the dumbest map portraying anything I have ever seen. Some kindergartner's could do better with crayons on a drawing board.
One thing for certain is that the Quislings are running away from Melitopol. They’re voting with their feet on what they think is going to happen soon.
I'm not at all sure we can say that is "certain" at this point. We know that is one interpretation one observer is putting on those movements. But it is going to take more time and observations to know whether or not that is actually true.
a retreat is a target rich environment. I hope Ukraine is picking them off all the way back!
We saw the lines of cars leaving formerly occupied Ukraine at the border. That was recorded by Russians.
The “Russia is here forever” gaslighting is done. Forever. Lots of reports like this out there, too.
https://twitter.com/kharkiv_warnews/status/1569902057179561985
Because they are in a hurry to get Internet points.
It is about 40 miles from the Dnipro River going South to Melitopol.
Melitopol has been noted for Ukie partisan activities before. They may have risen up, which would create all kinds of problems for the Ruskies such as cutting supply lines from Crimea to the Donbas, i.e., the “land bridge”.
Are they still looting on their way out, as in other rgions?
Patton did blitzkrieg better than the Nazis. It’s a method not a belief.
"Rommel, you magnificent bastard, I read your book!"
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/09/the-kharkov-counterattack-was-not-a-big-success.html#more
All have fallen for the believe that the Ukrainian rapid advance has caused a Russian defeat. That however is not the case.
The main Russian forces had already left the area. What was left were sentry guards of the Luhansk People's Republic and a few companies of the Russian National Guard which is more or less a police force. That is why the 'western' official talking with Reuters is quite cautious with his assessment:
"There's an ongoing debate about the nature of the Russian drawdown, however it's likely that in strict military terms, this was a withdrawal, ordered and sanctioned by the general staff, rather than an outright collapse."
...
"Obviously, it looks really dramatic. It's a vast area of land. But we have to factor in the Russians have made some good decisions in terms of shortening their lines and making them more defensible, and sacrificing territory in order to do so," the official said, adding he did not expect Russia to immediately seek to regain lost territory.
The main Russian reason for holding onto Izium southeast of Kharkov was to use it as a springboard to attack Sloviansk and Kramatorsk along the M-03 highway. However over the last months several Russian attempts to cross the Siverski Donets river south and east of Izium and to establish a bridgehead on the southern side had failed.
The Ukrainians were well established in the 'Sherwood Forest' on the southern side and had defeated all attempts to push a larger Russian forces into the area. (According to Yves Smith Alexander Mercouris had made that point and predicted a Russian withdrawal from Izium in one of his shows before the Kharkov 'counteroffensive' started.) I myself had missed that point.
The region, which is sparsely populated (Izium had a pre-war population of some 40,000), has little additional value. Russian forces that had been there shortly after the war began had been pulled out over time to rotate into other areas.
According Colonel Markus Reisner from the Austrian military the Ukraine used six full brigades (vid) in its attack. If Russian Defense Ministry numbers are halfway right the Ukrainian forces lost some 4,000+ soldiers, nearly two brigades, in the attack. These were troops that ran into areas that the Russian artillery had pre-registered. They received barrage after barrage and were destroyed.
The Russian air force caused additional damage. Hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles the 'west' had delivered to Ukraine were destroyed. Talk of large Russian material losses and of thousands of Russians taken prisoners of war are nonsense.
Patton had more and better equipment, better intelligence (Ultra), and years of reading the German Generals’ writing.
Guderian presumably as well as Rommel.
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