Grim tidings. We will see a lot of this in the formerly occupied areas
Last night’s strikes on Kharkiv from the Belgorod region appeared to have started a tense discussion in NATO. There is now considerable sentiment that the informal understanding that UKR would not engage in overt combat in Russian territory doesn’t make a great deal of sense if Russia is using that as a fire platform.
Absolute animals, really the Russian people who shake their heads and claim it’s not their doing while tacitly supporting Putin have got it coming. The Germans rebuilt after WWII because they are an industrious people (who received western support); the Russians are 19 century peasants in comparison who certainly won’t get the same assistance and the country will be left to rot and end up a Chinese satellite quarry.
It’s not just Russian media peddling an alternate and utterly false reality. How the fuck these guys live with themselves, or get away with it, I cannot fathom.
I mean, that was always going to happen.
I know young Russians who really do not support this. Their parents tends to do though. Nationalism is a powerful drug and most people belive the narrative about Hobols being nazis etc. and etc.
I think everyone knew that, but as long as the Russians were using a blended force, there was a way to avoid it. They are now out of range of Kharkiv from Ukrainian territory, so the matters has been thrown into sharp relief. Targeting Kharkiv was a very deliberate provocation.
Updates being a bit slow on my side. Internet is down so just using phone and its a chore
Honestly, from all reports available. Those LNP troops are fighting extremely valiantly in the face of great adversity and lack of support from the Russian army. Very different from how low morale they tend to have outside Luhansk.
Its very tragic. They belive they are defending their country. Almost everyone in Luhansk and Donetsk have swallowed the Kool aid from Russian propaganda.
Lyman said to be contested at this moment.
thanks for the updates over the weekend, took me a few hours to catch up.
Russian will have to draw a line in the earth at some point and start defending their position, the question is where? Probably the Dnipr River in the Kherson front, and Aidar River just west of H21 highway running north/south through Starobilisk? if they cannot keep Severodonetsk…they haven’t much left to defend.
at some point, there’s going to have to be some kind of a barrage line where the Russians will have set up artillery to pound the ground to prevent advance. Similar to what the Germans did in the Ardennes in WW2.
this will be a difficult time for the northern line. if RUS army re-group in Belgorod and re-enter Ukraine after the front line has moved east of the Oskil River, into Svatove…then an southbound advancing Russian Army behind the Oskil could put the UA troops into a very difficult position.
this is what my fear would be if RUS decides to answer the call in the north
their eastern line targets the roads circled in grey with artillery from their eastern line, and if the Russians re-enter from the north using routes east of Belgorod then whatever UA advance could effectively be flanked on two sides and trapped.
https://twitter.com/Euan_MacDonald/status/1569136256134561792?s=20&t=OZnF38IbVGYDXK_Ybo49WA
Pity they have nukes.
Yeah, the border is undefended, but there are artillery positions a few kms back. I expect a blind eye to counterbattery fire at the very least.