Ukraine Watch...

[invalid]

Zavitne in Donetsk has today been liberated.

[Ralphw2]

Zavitne in Donetsk has today been bombed to rubble and invaded.

[invalid]

Niu-York also..

... I Guess this is what the comedian was intending when he redeployed so many troops to temporarily take some empty fields Up in Kursk?

[Mark]

... I Guess this is what the comedian was intending when he redeployed so many troops to temporarily take some empty fields Up in Kursk?

And destroying a couple of bridges..., with no doubt more to come...
This isn't a joke for Russia, it's showing everyone how soft their border is - where next must be their worry...?

[invalid]

Ah yes, of course. Russia is making rapid gains in the Donbas now. Oh, wait, no that's just more delusional nonsense. Do you think that if you post nonsense on Powerswitch, it becomes real?

?¿Are you actually following this conflict?

[Ralphw2]

By area, Ukraine has taken control of more of Russia in 2 weeks than vice versa in the previous 6 months. Ukraine has chosen a strategy. It will take some time to see if it works. It seems most likely that Putin will use conscripts in the counter attack in Kursk, That will lead to higher Russian casualties than if the better equipped and experienced volunteer units in Ukraine. However, Putin will put conquest of Ukraine over everything, even defending Russian territory.

[UndercoverElephant]

However, Putin will put conquest of Ukraine over everything, even defending Russian territory.

Why? That doesn't make much sense.

[Ralphw2]

Because invading Ukraine has become existential for Putin personally. He cannot contemplate failure because he has killed so many Russians already that Russia would never allow him to live.

[UndercoverElephant]

Because invading Ukraine has become existential for Putin personally. He cannot contemplate failure because he has killed so many Russians already that Russia would never allow him to live.

Gaining territory in Ukraine while losing territory in Russia is not success. If he cannot afford to lose in Ukraine, he can even less afford to lose in Mother Russia herself.

[invalid]

https://thehill.com/opinion/internation ... gic-error/

This reckless gambit, more akin to a desperate stunt worthy of a second-rate actor than a seasoned statesman, diverts critical resources from the primary battlefield while offering negligible strategic gain.

[invalid]

https://eadaily.com/en/news/2024/08/20/ ... -bezuglaya

The capture of Pokrovsk by the Russian army is a matter of the near future, and Toretsk is completing its last days, it all looks like Kiev is giving away Donetsk. This was stated by Verkhovna Rada deputy Mariana Bezuglaya.

[invalid]

Gaining territory in Ukraine while losing territory in Russia is not success. If he cannot afford to lose in Ukraine, he can even less afford to lose in Mother Russia herself.

It's a temporary loss, and the relative importance of each bit of land is clear for everyone to see(some won't take off their blinkers though).

Why would Russia do what Ukrainer very obviously wants It to do, when there is no need?

[Ralphw2]

we are at one of those stages of the war when it is unclear what the relative strengths of the two sides are. Pro Russian commenters have consistently called the fall of Bakhmut, the fall of Avdivka, now the potential fall of another city as the point where the Ukrainian morale and defensive line will implode and Russia will break through the defensive lines to victory. Each has come at immense human and military (and hidden economic) cost ro Russia, but Ukraine has not collapsed and is now fighting back in its own way, refusing to follow the Russian narrative.

Will it be successful? we do not have enough information to predict. This war has been the most filmed and analysed in history, drones makes it almost impossible to a soldier to move without being tracked, and yet we have little information about the status of each side's logistics, reserves, infrastructure, which will ultimately decide the outcome of this war.

There are plenty of online commentators predicting more Ukrainian successes and Russian setbacks and ultimate defeat, some more fanciful or simply delusional than others.

It will be interesting to see where we are in 6 months. On current performance, Ukraine will still be in Kursk, and possibly other sections of the RUssian border. The autumn mud will arrive in 6 weeks, and Russia will be unable to do much about the incursion until the spring. Maybe the current Russian push will fizzle out before it reaches the cities it is aiming for. We shall see.

[UndercoverElephant]

Gaining territory in Ukraine while losing territory in Russia is not success. If he cannot afford to lose in Ukraine, he can even less afford to lose in Mother Russia herself.

It's a temporary loss,

Ah, I see!! When Russia loses territory it is permanent, but not the other way around!

[Mark]

The autumn mud will arrive in 6 weeks, and Russia will be unable to do much about the incursion until the spring.

This is key - once the weather sets in, both sides are set for another winter stalemate to re-assess and regroup.
So..., Russia has gained a tiny bit of Ukraine for a massive loss of men and machinery....
Whilst..., Ukraine has gained a tiny bit of Russia for a smaller loss of men and machinery....
In the end it will come down to the relative loss rates on each side and whose 'will' breaks first...

What a pointless waste.
All for one man's ambition and ego.