Posted on 03/16/2022 10:25:07 AM PDT by marcusmaximus
Putin has a problem. His invasion of Ukraine, intended as a days-long operation, is now grinding into its third week and becoming a bloodbath. Attacks across the country are stalled amid predictions that Russia will soon struggle to hold the territory it has - let alone capture more. In short: he needs more men for the meat grinder.
But where to find them? America estimates Russia has committed somewhere between half and three quarters of its total land forces to Ukraine, and all of those are already involved in the fighting. Some 'spare' units will be involved in active missions elsewhere, while others will be for territorial defence - leaving the country vulnerable to attack if they are sent abroad.
That conundrum has forced the Kremlin to reach far from the frontlines in search of men, according to Britain's Ministry of Defence, which says reinforcements are now being drawn from as far afield as eastern Siberia, the Pacific Fleet, and Armenia. That is in addition to Syrian fighters and paid mercenaries - hundreds of the from the shadowy Wagner Group - which have already been committed to the fight.
The UK believes such reinforcements would likely be used to hold Ukrainian territory already captured by Russia which would then free up regular units for fresh assaults - almost certainly targeting major cities like Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa and Chernihiv. Another goal would likely be to encircle a large number of Ukrainian forces in the Donbass, spread out along the old frontline with Russian-backed rebel groups.
But it is unclear whether those reinforcements will be effective. Some could take weeks to reach the front, while Syrian mercenaries are likely to be poorly trained and un-used to the terrain and climate of eastern Europe.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
And their incentive will be what exactly?
They are a newspaper. No newspapers are reliable. All are owned and push propaganda for the owner. Take everything with a grain of salt. They were pushing the “Ghost of Kyiv” early on.
Now if you need info on Lady Gaga’s latest touring schedule the Daily Mail is the place to be.
dail mail propaganda is always good for a laugh.
This one is like how media said both Boosh and Rubio exceeded expectations in the 2016 iowa primRY. LOOK WHAT HAPPENED IN nH AND sc .......
How many Russians have relatives in Ukraine?... 🤔
Enemy at the gates... Marching platoons of prisoners into the German positions but ensuring that a Soviet retreat wasn’t an option by placing Soviet machine guns behind the prisoner platoons who were getting slaughtered from the front...
Overwhelm the opposition worked in WWII and tactics are still driven by technology.
Using those same WWII tactics today could produce something very similar outcomes such as using Napoleonic era battle tactics against the accuracy of the minie ball during the American Civil War.
Technically and on scale of Zero to Full on brute force... both sides are only slapping each others face.
And more importantly, there is zero credibility of any information coming out of the region. Mostly reactionary reporting thus far.
An observation....it isn’t like Russia proper is being counter-attacked. Everything is happening in Ukraine.
I fail to see how this is going badly. Badly is Russian soil is under counter attack and they are losing ground. It may not be the progress they envisioned, but it’s not a defeat either.
The Vietnam War was not popular, but around 99.99% of of drafted young American men in Vietnam followed the orders given.
“Same with China. They want to rule the world but have gutted themselves with their murderous, horrifying one child policy.”
Demographics is destiny. By 2030, China will be overly populated by grandmas and grandpas. Meanwhile, India’s majority population will be under 30-years of age.
In a land war, India will crush China. The window for ChiComm hegemony and aggression is rapidly closing.
One of the issue is Ukraine is the largest European country if yuo exclude Russia,
The maps showing solid areas controlled by Russia are inaccurate except for the Crimea and the oblasts of Luhansk and Dombas they previously invaded.
The reality is Russian forces are confined to extended penetrations along roadways w/o absolute control of the adjacent countryside.
That’s a problem.
I think the Russians want to seize the Russian-speaking area of eastern Ukraine by cutting it off from the rest of Ukraine, grab the Black Sea ports, and encircle Kiev to pressure the Ukrainian government to agree to Russian demands.
How many days or weeks did Putin burn up beans and bullets screwing around with his troops prior to the invasion? I have no idea what the Order of Battle is but it seems to me they were out of garrison for quite some time.
“Conscript cannon fodder is not a professional military. As it stands the professional Russian military is getting bloodied by a third rate military that’s mostly a dispersed guerilla force.”
LBJ sent conscripts to Vietnam. These conscripts fought well and generally beat off Vietcong attacks.
Daily Mail is an embarrassment. It’s reporting constant lies that are disproven usually within 48 hours.
“desperate attempt” “punishing losses”
I love the smell of propaganda in the morning....
Bwahahahahaha.
Agreed. All this may be true, half true, or total propaganda...but the reporting bias is clear.
I think it may come down to the civilians. Bombs and bullets may be needed to defeat another army but if you’re arguing you’re ‘liberating’ some section of their population you can’t do it without their compliance or by killing them all.
The Russian equipment does appear very dated. If it is as poorly maintained as some have claimed then this might have been a huge miscalculation of their real readiness and capability.
I heard Japan is thinking of taking advantage of this distraction opportunity to reclaim the Kuril Islands.
Occupation requires at least a million troops - control is different but fleeting
Maybe our vaunted cia should engineer a war between Russia and China.
—
Russia is doing that all by itself by leaving the Sino-Russo border nearly undefended so Xi can make good on the CCP’s claim to all of Siberia.
Putin’s corrupt and hollow army can’t beat Ukrainian farmers. We’re headed for another frozen conflict. Soon he’ll ceasefire and incorporate more stolen land into Russia.
The story might be a bit understated. Those “Z” marked combat vehicles already seem to be from the Russian far east. Remember early on Ivan was showing pics of stuff moving by rail? That’s how they had to do it since those steel tracks aren’t good for much mileage.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.