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The Ukraine War thread

Moscow must be worried as they have now banned YouTube on all desktops and mobile devices, something they haven't done before.
 
YouTube is not banned,it was slow downed, still works in a lot of regions. And they had it in plans for many years (I guess in order to attract more people to RuTube and VK platforms).
I won't be surprised if the Kursk situation was allowed expressly and it all won't end up good for Ukraine first of all.Waiting for a new mobilisation in Russia in September-October..
 
I'm not sure what Ukraine is hoping to achieve. I guess there must have been some high value targets close to the border? Reports suggest that it was to force Russia to redeploy troops to the region but others say Russia already had a military buildup in the area and the attack was to disrupt that. Ultimately it's the side with the larger force that can afford to fight on multiple fronts and that is Russia.

This has turned into a meatgrinder and Russia simply has more men and material to throw at the situation. Ukraine may be ground down even if NATO allies send greater supplies, which is dubious at best. A Trump presidency will all but assure Russian victory, even if much more limited than they originally intended. Europe needs to step up and stop relying on the USA and show they can army Ukraine.
 
I'm not sure what Ukraine is hoping to achieve. I guess there must have been some high value targets close to the border? Reports suggest that it was to force Russia to redeploy troops to the region but others say Russia already had a military buildup in the area and the attack was to disrupt that. Ultimately it's the side with the larger force that can afford to fight on multiple fronts and that is Russia.

This has turned into a meatgrinder and Russia simply has more men and material to throw at the situation. Ukraine may be ground down even if NATO allies send greater supplies, which is dubious at best. A Trump presidency will all but assure Russian victory, even if much more limited than they originally intended. Europe needs to step up and stop relying on the USA and show they can army Ukraine.
No one apart from the Ukrainians in charge know what they are trying to achieve as they take operational security very seriously. Everyone is currently falling over themselves to come up with a reason for this small but significant offensive and the Ukrainians seem happy to let everyone guess.

What we do know is two experienced Brigades have carried out the only real battle group type combined arms operation we have seen in the war so far from both sides. Russia has been massively caught with its pants down and doesn't appear to have a mobile reserve in the region and the strain on Putin's face says it all.

Even if the Ukrainians withdraw in a couple of days this has been a significant coup for them and the site of German armoured fighting vehicles around Kursk will have significant repercussions for a country that is obsessed with WW2 and thinks invading Ukraine was going to improve it's security.
 
YouTube is not banned,it was slow downed, still works in a lot of regions. And they had it in plans for many years (I guess in order to attract more people to RuTube and VK platforms).
I won't be surprised if the Kursk situation was allowed expressly and it all won't end up good for Ukraine first of all.Waiting for a new mobilisation in Russia in September-October..
Will take your word for it. I was told YouTube is now banned but if you know better than ok.
 
I'm not sure what Ukraine is hoping to achieve. I guess there must have been some high value targets close to the border? Reports suggest that it was to force Russia to redeploy troops to the region but others say Russia already had a military buildup in the area and the attack was to disrupt that. Ultimately it's the side with the larger force that can afford to fight on multiple fronts and that is Russia.

If they can cut the supply lines to that troop build up, then they open up options for trying to destroy them in place.

At the very least, it completely derails the original attack plan and seeks to take the initiative.

Especially if the Russians are rather disorganised and get all or bulk of men and equipment moved in first, and then look to push in consumables before commencing operations.


A few things to ponder include (i) how far can they extend? (ii) have they the discipline to avoid over-extension? (iii) are they intending to hold the ground? (iv) if so, is it sustainable?
 
Russian media at the start: we have stopped the Ukrainian assault just within the border and driven them back with Ukraine suffering massive casualties

Russian media now: we have again beaten back and utterly destroyed the Ukrainian assault now 25-30 km behind the borders. The fact we have destroyed them again and behind where we started is not something you need concern yourself with unless you like windows high up...
 
If they can cut the supply lines to that troop build up, then they open up options for trying to destroy them in place.

At the very least, it completely derails the original attack plan and seeks to take the initiative.

Especially if the Russians are rather disorganised and get all or bulk of men and equipment moved in first, and then look to push in consumables before commencing operations.


A few things to ponder include (i) how far can they extend? (ii) have they the discipline to avoid over-extension? (iii) are they intending to hold the ground? (iv) if so, is it sustainable?
Also you have to consider these are Ukraine's best armoured Brigades fighting in a very NATO way against Russian units mainly with second line troops (conscripts that can't be deployed in Ukraine and Tick tock Chechens) it's the first time since the Kharviv offensive in 2022 that the Ukrainians are being able to do what they have been trained to do in the UK and other NATO countries. If the Russians fall short here and can't contain this then it will not look good for them. They have been throwing bodies into the Donbass and gaining a few kilometres here and there and they say this is successful. Then the Ukrainians show up in Russia and show what a decent army can do. Problem is going to be Russian air power but the Ukrainians hit a couple of glide bomb storage facilities before they invaded so fingers crossed
 
Well done Ukraine. 👏 Drive those ******** all the way back.
 
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If I'm going to be objective I would say risking the 14 chally 2s in this offensive is a calculated decision. They are not much use anywhere else and take up far too much of the Ukrainian supply chain keeping them going. Get them in Russia and if they get destroyed or abandoned then so be it.
 

Ukraine seems to be really going for it in Kursk while still losing ground in Donbass. I don't know what they are trying to do but I really hope it works.
 
Someone made a good point that doing this means that rather than just Russia grabbing land and any peace involves them keeping it, any ceasing of hostilities at the moment would involve Russia actually giving up some of their territory as well.
 
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