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The Walls are Closing in on Ukraine
National Security Journal Via MSN ^ | 6-3-25 | Andrew Latham

Posted on 06/03/2025 2:19:07 PM PDT by bimboeruption

Key Points - Russia's lack of large-scale retaliation to recent audacious Ukrainian drone strikes deep within its territory does not signify weakness or fear, but rather a calculated confidence in its ongoing attritional strategy.

-Moscow is reportedly achieving its core, albeit limited, war aims—consolidating control over eastern Ukrainian oblasts, securing the land bridge to Crimea, and ensuring Ukraine's non-NATO, neutralized status—through methodical ground advances and superior industrial output.

-Russia is perceived to be "already winning" this war of exhaustion by fighting "smarter, not harder," and therefore sees no current need for dramatic escalations that could play into Western or Ukrainian hands.

Putin Doesn’t Need to Retaliate Against Drone Strike – He’s Already Winning the Ukraine War As of this writing, the world is still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Following Ukraine’s latest long-range drone and bomber raids deep into Russian territory – including an audacious strike on military infrastructure in Tatarstan and symbolic attacks near Moscow – there has been no large-scale Russian retaliation. No carpet bombing of Kyiv. No massed air campaign. No strategic escalation to match the hype swirling in Western media and Telegram channels alike. And so the question remains: Is Putin holding back? Or is he preparing to go big?

The answer lies neither in the skies over Belgorod nor in the bombastic statements from Kremlin representatives. It lies in the slow, methodical, grinding progress on the ground in Ukraine. That’s where Russia is winning the war – and why it doesn’t need to “go big” in some cinematic show... The West, trained by decades of airpower-centric wars, has become obsessed with spectacle. It expects grand escalations: shock and awe, decapitation strikes, dramatic red lines crossed in real time on cable news. But Russia’s strategy in Ukraine has long been the opposite of dramatic.

(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: ajntsa; andrewlatham; delusionalzeepers; delusionalzeeping; gaytrollmaximus; kingbobmaximus; mmmmmmmzeepertears; putin; russia; stuckinthelodiagain; ukraine; zeepershasthesads; zeepersindespair; zelensky
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Is Putin holding back? Or is he preparing to go big?
1 posted on 06/03/2025 2:19:07 PM PDT by bimboeruption
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To: bimboeruption

Or Russia has nothing extra.


2 posted on 06/03/2025 2:24:16 PM PDT by Raycpa
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To: bimboeruption

Yes.


3 posted on 06/03/2025 2:24:32 PM PDT by HYPOCRACY (Long live The Great MAGA Kangz!)
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To: bimboeruption

Neither. Putin is simply continuing to degrade Ukraine’s army and equipment while taking buffer land. The Ukraine sideshows are irrelevant.


4 posted on 06/03/2025 2:28:18 PM PDT by SaxxonWoods (The road is a dangerous place man, you can die out here...or worse. -Johnny Paycheck, 1980, Reno, NV)
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To: Raycpa

Happiness is being a Democrat Bolshevik and never having to admit you are wrong. You see Putin sent Russia’s best soldiers to die in the fields of Kyiv because he really only wanted to “consilidate control of the eastern provinces.”


5 posted on 06/03/2025 2:31:44 PM PDT by lodi90
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To: bimboeruption
fighting "smarter, not harder," and attritional strategy are inconsistent descriptions.

Bottom line is they are brute forcing at great expense, and winning because they have more to throw at it and (at present) dont care about the cost.

6 posted on 06/03/2025 2:32:19 PM PDT by Magnum44 (...against all enemies, foreign and domestic... )
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To: SaxxonWoods

“Neither. Putin is simply continuing to degrade Ukraine’s army and equipment while taking buffer land. The Ukraine sideshows are irrelevant.”

Meanwhile, Russia is going broke financing Putin’s two-week war.


7 posted on 06/03/2025 2:32:24 PM PDT by TexasGator ('11-.1.'1'11\1I11111111111.1'11.'11/'~~'111./.)
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To: lodi90

“Happiness is being a Democrat Bolshevik and never having to admit you are wrong. You see Putin sent Russia’s best soldiers to die in the fields of Kyiv because he really only wanted to “consilidate control of the eastern provinces.”’
____________________________________________________________

True happiness is watching Putin and his Russian collaborators shed crocodile tears because Putin started the war and has lost up to a million of his “best soldiers,” along with some ships, aircraft, and a pipeline.


8 posted on 06/03/2025 2:34:37 PM PDT by Bob Wills is still the king
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To: bimboeruption

Zelensky, make sure you never agree to stop the conflict from your side!


9 posted on 06/03/2025 2:36:21 PM PDT by ConservativeMind (Trump: Befuddling Democrats, Republicans, and the Media for the benefit of the US and all mankind.)
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To: bimboeruption

The retaliation will come when it isn’t expected I would presume.


10 posted on 06/03/2025 2:39:15 PM PDT by dforest
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To: bimboeruption

Putin’s been holding back all along. He hasn’t had to go whole hog. All he had to do was sit back and let Biden’s handlers bankrupt this country, and deplete our weapon’s inventory without having to do much at all.


11 posted on 06/03/2025 2:42:22 PM PDT by mass55th (“Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.” ― John Wayne)
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To: SaxxonWoods
The Ukraine sideshows are irrelevant.

I wouldn't call them irrelevant. Those planes are EXPENSIVE. Further, because they had to be exposed per treaty, it risks getting us involved in a more tangible way than $$$, communications, and logistical support. That is relevant, and not in a good way.
12 posted on 06/03/2025 2:46:50 PM PDT by Dr. Sivana ("Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye." (John 2:5))
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To: Bob Wills is still the king
"...and has lost up to a million of his “best soldiers,”

That's a figure from the Western media, who just got done lying to us about AutoPen Joe Biden and the vaxxes, you neoconned buffoon.

13 posted on 06/03/2025 2:47:11 PM PDT by kiryandil (No one in AZ that voted for Trump voted for Gallego )
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To: kiryandil

Yep, body counts have always been greatly exaggerated by both sides in every war.


14 posted on 06/03/2025 3:05:28 PM PDT by volare737 (Diversity is something to be overcome, not celebrated. )
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To: bimboeruption

Russia is fighting a measured war because it does not want to have rebuild a bunch of things it destroyed to reach its goals.


15 posted on 06/03/2025 3:07:53 PM PDT by gibsonguy ( )
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To: Raycpa
Or Russia has nothing extra.

Putin has two choices.

Settle for a ceasefire. The war will meet a similar end to the Winter War where the Finns kicked the Soviets' @$$es.

Or during WWI where the Russian Army revolted. We had a hint of that during the Wagner Group revolt two years ago.

16 posted on 06/03/2025 3:11:48 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
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To: Raycpa

Considering they just lost billions in aircraft the other day and billions in armour, and billions in naval craft that aren’t going to be replaced, he should be consider making peace before another 40 bombers are lost on the ground.


17 posted on 06/03/2025 3:20:10 PM PDT by DownInFlames (P)
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To: DownInFlames

We all are prone to the sunk cost fallacy.


18 posted on 06/03/2025 3:23:41 PM PDT by Raycpa
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To: bimboeruption

The key take: The West should worry not about what Putin might do in response to a drone strike on a refinery or a missile factory. It should worry that he doesn’t need to respond at all.


19 posted on 06/03/2025 3:24:18 PM PDT by Kazan
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To: bimboeruption
Is Putin holding back?

Of course, he has. For three reasons:

1) The meat grinder approach saves Russian lives.

2) The objective of the Russian military is to destroy the Ukrainian army. Once that's accomplished, the Russians will then take whatever other territory they deem necessary.

3) They are holding back troops in case of a worst case scenario where Russia has to go to war with NATO.

20 posted on 06/03/2025 3:27:14 PM PDT by Kazan
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