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Returning to important world events not involving the US mid-terms and the last 5 pages of worthless banter.........
The Russians are actually pulling out of parts of Kherson Oblast according to local Ukrainian posters on various social media platforms. Videos included, showing armor being trucked out of Melipitol on the eastern side of the Kherson Oblast.This is a major Russian supply point seized early in the war way east of Kherson city. There is also video of Ukrainian soldiers strolling in the squares of suburban villages, previously controlled by Russian forces and administered by Russian installed governments around Kherson city being greeted by Ukrainian residents.
This is an essay posted in the NYT (paywalled but I'm providing the link because it is an interesting read if you can get to it). It portrays a hugely optimistic viewpoint of what the Ukrainian armed forces coordinated by the Zelenski government, aided by western arms in terms of money and military/intel support can obtain - no longer a fantasy the essayist states.
The main points are that the city of Kherson and the Kherson oblast in total is a key, strategic territory within Ukraine. The control of it provides the government that controls it the ability to hold the Black Sea Coast line of Ukraine and to the east the entire Donbas region - Ukraine's bread basket. To the SW, it is the key to sustaining control of Crimea. It may take years but the essayist opines, if Ukraine regains control of this strategically important territory, they will control the outcome of Russian imperial objectives to include control of Crimea. IOW, Putin will fail. What happens to him after that is an open question. Dictators who lose wars don't last long.
This assumes that the Russian armed forces have spent their load and there is some objective support for that view. Sanctions are hurting Russian defense industry in significant ways that are starting to have teeth. Russia cannot sustain its military adventurism.
One step at a time: Liberating the city of Kherson is the immediate military key and also highly symbolic. Analysts offer that while Russia is receiving arms support from Iran and NK those arms pale in comparison, both in quality and quantity, to what the west is providing - more lethal, survivable, technologically superior weapons. That the Ukrainians can succeed in forcing the Russians to abandon all its territorial objectives in Ukraine, including Crimea, pushing back against proxy and Russian puppet administrations and eliminating them, to be replaced by Ukrainian administrations, is possible. IMO, its a reach but the essayist paints a convincing picture this is no longer an unachievable fantasy given current circumstances involving a struggling Russian military organization, logistically crippled and rising political and civil tensions within Russia.
Side benefits include a clear victory for the current rules based status quo, existent since 1945, over autocratic states committed to militaristic, imperialistic expansion of their territory and global influence. There's no doubt the author has intent to influence government and politicians in the west to continue the massive and costly support of Ukraine's war with Putin (not the Russian people but with Putin's nationalistic ideology and the course he has chosen to implement it). BTW, western sources need to trumpet this message to counter Putin's propaganda that he is waging a war against western intent to destroy Russia. Obviously I agree with the essayist. Here's the link if you can get to it.
The Russians are actually pulling out of parts of Kherson Oblast according to local Ukrainian posters on various social media platforms. Videos included, showing armor being trucked out of Melipitol on the eastern side of the Kherson Oblast.This is a major Russian supply point seized early in the war way east of Kherson city. There is also video of Ukrainian soldiers strolling in the squares of suburban villages, previously controlled by Russian forces and administered by Russian installed governments around Kherson city being greeted by Ukrainian residents.
This is an essay posted in the NYT (paywalled but I'm providing the link because it is an interesting read if you can get to it). It portrays a hugely optimistic viewpoint of what the Ukrainian armed forces coordinated by the Zelenski government, aided by western arms in terms of money and military/intel support can obtain - no longer a fantasy the essayist states.
The main points are that the city of Kherson and the Kherson oblast in total is a key, strategic territory within Ukraine. The control of it provides the government that controls it the ability to hold the Black Sea Coast line of Ukraine and to the east the entire Donbas region - Ukraine's bread basket. To the SW, it is the key to sustaining control of Crimea. It may take years but the essayist opines, if Ukraine regains control of this strategically important territory, they will control the outcome of Russian imperial objectives to include control of Crimea. IOW, Putin will fail. What happens to him after that is an open question. Dictators who lose wars don't last long.
This assumes that the Russian armed forces have spent their load and there is some objective support for that view. Sanctions are hurting Russian defense industry in significant ways that are starting to have teeth. Russia cannot sustain its military adventurism.
One step at a time: Liberating the city of Kherson is the immediate military key and also highly symbolic. Analysts offer that while Russia is receiving arms support from Iran and NK those arms pale in comparison, both in quality and quantity, to what the west is providing - more lethal, survivable, technologically superior weapons. That the Ukrainians can succeed in forcing the Russians to abandon all its territorial objectives in Ukraine, including Crimea, pushing back against proxy and Russian puppet administrations and eliminating them, to be replaced by Ukrainian administrations, is possible. IMO, its a reach but the essayist paints a convincing picture this is no longer an unachievable fantasy given current circumstances involving a struggling Russian military organization, logistically crippled and rising political and civil tensions within Russia.
Side benefits include a clear victory for the current rules based status quo, existent since 1945, over autocratic states committed to militaristic, imperialistic expansion of their territory and global influence. There's no doubt the author has intent to influence government and politicians in the west to continue the massive and costly support of Ukraine's war with Putin (not the Russian people but with Putin's nationalistic ideology and the course he has chosen to implement it). BTW, western sources need to trumpet this message to counter Putin's propaganda that he is waging a war against western intent to destroy Russia. Obviously I agree with the essayist. Here's the link if you can get to it.
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