Foreign Affairs
Related: About this forum01 Dec: Last Straw. Russian Soldiers Give Up. - Reporting from Ukraine
Today there is interesting news from the Kursk direction.
Here, Russian forces are throwing everyone available, even wounded personnel, in a desperate attempt to win back the whole Kursk region from the Ukrainians by mid-January. At the same time, Ukrainian soldiers are holding their defense lines and are refusing to be pushed out by adjusting on time with all developments of the dynamic battlefield.
Facing pressure to secure favorable negotiation terms before Donald Trumps inauguration on January 20, 2025, Vladimir Putin has ordered relentless assaults to reclaim the entire Kursk region, aiming to ensure no Russian territory remains under Ukrainian control and to bolster his domestic and international standing ahead of anticipated peace talks.
Due to these orders, the Russian military continues to sustain heavy losses while attempting to retake territory, demonstrating a strategy that appears both desperate and poorly calculated. Despite repeated failures, Russian forces persist in their offensives, deploying waves of personnel and equipment against the cleverly structured Ukrainian defense. The result was a predictable increase in casualties, which prompted Russian commanders to throw wounded soldiers, before they had been completely healed, back to the frontlines due to a dire shortage of skilled personnel.
On top of that, the rapidly deteriorating weather has put the Russian offensive to a complete halt. Russian soldiers are reporting that they are losing their tanks and armored vehicles before they even get close to the frontline because they get stuck in mud. Many of these vehicles simply cannot be evacuated and are finished off by the Ukrainian kamikaze drone before the weather gives Russians any chance to try and evacuate their tanks. Soldiers struggle to navigate the mud, losing cohesion and becoming easy targets, further degrading Russian operational capacity in these increasingly unforgiving conditions.
One Ukrainian soldier commented that the Russians continue to bet on achieving results with the same approach of frontal attacks even though it is hardly yielding any results. His statement is confirmed by a geolocated video from Zeleny Shlyah, released by the Ukrainian 36th Marine Brigade. It shows a Russian mechanized assault aimed at breaking through the Ukrainian defense and advancing the stalled offensive in the region. Two armored vehicles attempt to push forward but are swiftly destroyed by Javelin anti-tank guided missiles. The remaining troops, trying to secure nearby trenches, are bombarded by drones and eliminated in close combat, turning the assault into a complete disaster. Such failures make the Russians seriously concerned about the situation, realizing that no matter what Putin demands, they wont be able to reclaim the territory in Kursk anytime soon.
The situation has become so dire that Russian soldiers have begun recording videos urging their families never to join the army, warning that doing so would mean certain death. These harsh messages, discovered by Ukrainians on the phones of fallen Russian troops, reveal the desperation of those who sent these recordings to their relatives just before being forced again into suicidal assaults.
Overall, the culmination of several key factors has created a scenario where Russian attempts to retake the Kursk region are met with increasingly high costs and diminishing returns. Rather than adjusting their tactics to account for the harsh realities on the ground, Russian commanders appear locked into a pattern of brute-force assaults, relying on sheer numbers to compensate for a lack of strategy. This approach not only exacerbates their losses but also highlights the limits of their operational effectiveness in the face of adverse weather and resilient opposition. The ongoing campaign in Kursk thus stands as a grim testament to the flaws in Russia's military strategy.
electric_blue68
(18,689 posts)kimbutgar
(23,611 posts)Either way I am rooting for Ukraine and hope Russia and Putin get their asses kicked and Putin destroyed.
boonecreek
(178 posts)This was on AP radio news. They said Ukrainian troops
aren't coming back from leave or just flat out deserting.
Also, screw Russia and Putin.
LetMyPeopleVote
(155,517 posts)4catsmom
(291 posts)I'm living vicariously through your courageous defense, as brave people in America are particularly in short supply
LPBBEAR
(390 posts)are at their core one and the same.
At this point in time Putin is willing to send his fellow Russians to their deaths in massive numbers. He doesn't lose any sleep and never gives a thought to the number of horrible deaths he is creating. Ultimately he is responsible.
Trump has already sent thousands of Americans to their deaths due to his incompetence during Covid. He has never once said anything to indicate he regrets the loss of these Americans.
Keep in mind that in the future Trump may bumble the US into a pointless war and he, like Putin, will demand the youth of this country go to war for his agenda. And just like Putin he will not lose a bit of sleep over the thousands of Americans he will send to their deaths. If you're a Parent make sure your children avoid this fate.
Putin and Trump are one and the same. Both...monsters.