Russian Forces Push Deeper Into Northern Ukraine

[SouthBayDem]

Source: The New York Times (gift link)

In the past three days, Russian troops, backed by fighter jets, artillery and lethal drones, have poured across Ukraine’s northeastern border and seized at least nine villages and settlements, ­and more square miles per day than at almost any other point in the war, save the very beginning.

In some places, Ukrainian troops are retreating, and Ukrainian commanders are blaming each other for the defeats.

Thousands of Ukrainian civilians are fleeing to Kharkiv, the nearest big city. A reception center that hummed with a sense of order and calm on Saturday had transformed into a totally different scene on Sunday, as exhausted people shouted at each other and families with no place to go spilled out onto the grass.

As the sense of panic spreads, especially in Kharkiv, some hard questions loom: How far will this go? Is it just a momentary setback for the underdog Ukrainians? Or a turning point?

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/12/world/europe/russia-ukraine-kharkiv.html?unlocked_article_code=1.rU0.n1B9.uc1B5Z6Wem-t&utm_content=buffer686d9&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

[Irish_Dem]

1. Heart breaking.

We are watching true evil unfold every day in Ukraine.

[Evolve Dammit]

2. What is the status of weapons delivery? Does anyone know?

[ananda]

3. I thought they would have them by now.

Geez, it's way too slow.

[tornado34jh]

4. This is the consequence of the delays in the aid

We let Russia regroup and now Ukraine is on the back foot now. We never should have taken this long. Congress should be ashamed of themselves. I know I keep bringing this up, but it has to be said. If Mexico or Canada were like Russia and decided to invade the US, what would have done then? By the way, in regards to their claim that there is an "invasion" from Mexico, I'm pretty sure it is not the Mexican military. Also, I believe that the Mexican president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador supports Russia, so if anything, they would be wise to shut up lest he actually decides to do so.

[myohmy2]

6. +1...

...

[tornado34jh]

7. Keep in mind, it's not just Ukraine watching the US

Georgia, the Baltic States, Poland, and Taiwan are all watching. Also, the US doesn't really have the best standing with Latin America either, particularly South America. But it's Europe in particular that are watching. When I was in Europe from 2009-2011, I realized just how different they think. The US has had it relatively easy compared to others. Also, let's just say that Mexico wanted to do what Russia is doing, how many of these Republican politicians would go fight? Not to mention, the US has supported right-wing dictatorships in Central and South America, so we really don't have any right to complain about Mexico. But really, Russia has more support than most people realize. If we think it is just Iran and NK supporting them, they are wrong.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

14. It's not a generic "Congress" at fault, it's the fucking Russiapublicans in our House.

[tornado34jh]

15. True, but it should have never taken this long to get this done

China also is watching this, and if they see that the US is waffling around in regards to Taiwan, sooner or later they may try to attack Taiwan. Yes, I know it is the Republicans, but Congress should be better than this. How much money are Republicans getting from Russia?

[Ontheboundry]

22. There is a big difference

Between Taiwan and Ukraine. Ukraine has nearly no domestic military production which is shocking to me

After 2014 would it not have been prudent to build at least ammo factories in western Ukraine ? Now they have one but the proverbial cat is out of the bag

Sending materials to make ammo would have been far easier than finished product, not to mention far less costly

Taiwan is a very rich country, and has a large domestic MIC that they provide for themselves

[Hermit-The-Prog]

24. You're still saying "Congress" when it is specifically Republicans causing the problems.

[CanonRay]

5. Meaningless territorial gains in the gray zone

Unoccupied Villages In between the two armies. The lamestream media is pushing Putin's bs again.

[tornado34jh]

8. It doesn't matter. At the end of the day, it's territory Ukraine has lost

Russia may be trying to do a pincer movement, a common WWII tactic. If Russia gets going on the east side and they then make gains to the west of Kharkiv, that could be trouble. Right now Ukraine is on the back foot and they can't afford to lose territory. It doesn't matter if it is in the gray zone or not. The delay in aid is costing Ukraine. If they lose Kharkiv, it's not going to be good.

[Kaleva]

10. RU is suffering high losses in an effort to take back territory it lost in 2022

[tornado34jh]

13. Russia could send half of their population to this war, it doesn't matter to the government, so losses are irrelevant

They will send as many people to this war whatever the cost, just like they did in WWII If the Russian losses really were that relevant, Russia would withdraw from Ukraine and take their losses. But we're assuming Russia is a sane country; that's not what Putin's government is. Also, as long as countries support Russia, whether diplomatically or militarily, Putin will continue this war at any cost. Everyone talks about Russian losses all the time, but that hasn't stopped Russia. They will send as many people as then can to Ukraine to fight a war, and for what? Putin's empire and ego.

[oldsoftie]

17. TOTALLY on point; Russia doesnt CARE about losses

And UKR cant keep up with their numbers.
Putin is just betting that UKR runs out of defenders regardless of how many men HE loses. Ww're up to around 400,000 NOW; is there a number that would matter to Putin? 750,000? 1 million? I doubt it
The ONLY chance is for the russian soldiers to start refusing to fight in large numbers. The citizens aren't going to "rise up"

[Kaleva]

19. They still need equipment

Russia has an economy the size of Canada's. Russian equipment loses are unsustainable as they don't have the manufacturing base to replace their loses.

[oldsoftie]

20. China Iran & NK are pumping equipment to them.

And they are producing their own as well, since UKR doesnt have the ability to hit the biggest mfg plants
I feel like this would be China's chance to leave them stranded & maybe even retake lands russia took from THEM, but I guess Xi feels like he needs Putin to help against us.

[Kaleva]

25. Russia doesn't have the economy to sustain this war

Last edited Mon May 13, 2024, 03:22 PM - Edit history (1)

China and NK aren't providing equipment for free.

[oldsoftie]

31. It seems they are doing a lot of "donating". Russia CAN outlast UKR

UKR simply doesnt have the manpower for a 10yr war. And because Putin doesnt care about losses, he'll send his men to the front with 70yr old tanks if he needs to

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/12/politics/china-russia-support-weapons-manufacturing/index.html
"The support China is providing includes significant quantities of machine tools, drone and turbojet engines and technology for cruise missiles, microelectronics, and nitrocellulose, which Russia uses to make propellant for weapons, said the officials.

Chinese and Russian entitles have also been working jointly to produce drones inside of Russia, one of the officials said."

[Kaleva]

35. You still need the economy to support the war effort

Russia doesn't have that.

In WWI, Russia had the manpower advantage over the opposing Central Powers but didn't have the economy to sustain the war effort.

UKR has the advantage of interior lines of communication and the support of the richest and most militarily advanced nation on earth

[oldsoftie]

36. But it doesnt matter how much equipment you have if you dont have the men

Russia basically has an unlimited number of men to throw at the front. UKR doesnt. Thats what Putin is waiting on. And the sanctions haven't hurt russia nearly as much as we'd hoped. What damage has been done is easily overcome by the constant flow from Iran NK & China. because THEY see this as a way to weaken US. And our weaker supply base HAS been exposed in the past 2 yrs. For everyone who whines about the "military industrial complex" they dont realize that the DoD has "streamlined" our defense mfg so much that we are already strained & WE aren't even IN the war. We only have ONE plant that makes black powder & its 100yrs old!
We screwed up big time by not giving the best weapons we had from day ONE of this war.

[Kaleva]

18. They still need equipment such as tanks, artillery and such

The Soviet Union didn't defeat Nazi Germany with manpower alone. They manufactured thousands of tanks, aircraft, artillery pieces, rocket launchers, trucks, munitions, etc.. Plus they got considerable help from the US.

Russia has an economy the size of Canada's or Italy's.

[tornado34jh]

34. An economy the size of Canada? I think that is a big stretch

Much of Russia is rural. If you took out European Russia and the areas around the Trans Siberian road/railway, it would be mostly rural. Yes, they may have manufactured military stuff, but they had the largest losses of any country in WWII. Also, before 2014, other than gas and oil, what else major did they produce?

[Mysterian]

30. And massive manpower & equipment losses for Russia

You forgot that part.

[tornado34jh]

33. Yet, that hasn't stopped Russia, has it?

Really today's Russia isn't a whole different from Soviet times minus the whole empire thing. Manpower and equipment losses don't really mean much to the Russian government. If it did, there would have been a point where they would withdraw with Ukraine and take their losses. Really all that losses don't mean anything to Russia.

[Mysterian]

37. The destruction of the enemy army

is more important than seizing some scorched earth. If you believe Russia has infinite resources of manpower and equipment, you are uninformed.

[tornado34jh]

38. I am not saying that they have infinite manpower/supplies

But do you really think that any of this changes what the Russian government is currently doing? Russia is playing the long game, even if it means losing a lot of equipment/manpower. It's hoping that Ukraine and its allies will grow tired of the war, and then once that happens, Russia will take over, essentially a war of attrition.

[Voltaire2]

28. It's not meaningless if Ukraine's defensive perimeter's for Karkhiv have been breached.

And that appears to be the case, unless of course the BBC and NYT are just mouthing 'Putin's bs'. I guess that is possible. This BBC report, which of course is obviously 'Putin's bs' is not good:

Denys wants to know what happened to Ukraine’s defences.

“There was no first line of defence. We saw it. The Russians just walked in. They just walked in, without any mined fields” he says.

He shows me video from a drone feed taken a few days ago of small columns of Russian troops simply walking across the border, unopposed.

He says officials had claimed that defences were being built at huge cost, but in his view, those defences simply weren’t there. “Either it was an act of negligence, or corruption. It wasn’t a failure. It was a betrayal”.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c72p0xx410xo

Sometimes bad news is actually bad news.

[republianmushroom]

9. thanks to Putin loving republicans

[Warpy]

11. Seems to be a diversion

because they're not trying to take the sealed road, only a few farm villages that have been evacuated since 2022. Russia has continuously shelled those villages since then.

The Ukrainians did know it was coming and moved some of their reserve forces into the areas. It's a nonsensical plan if they're serious about taking the city: too few forces with too little equipment mounting a half hearted offense away from the one strategic item they need to conquer first: the road.

[moondust]

12. "mineral-rich"?

August 10, 2022
~
After nearly six months of fighting, Moscow’s sloppy war has yielded at least one big reward: expanded control over some of the most mineral-rich lands in Europe. Ukraine harbors some of the world’s largest reserves of titanium and iron ore, fields of untapped lithium and massive deposits of coal. Collectively, they are worth tens of trillions of dollars.
~
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/10/ukraine-russia-energy-mineral-wealth/

I've wondered since the beginning of this unprovoked invasion how much it has to do with Pooty wanting control of Ukraine's mineral wealth to broaden his economy and riches.

[oldsoftie]

21. THIS is what its been about from day one.

Putin will only agree to "peace" if he gets to keep all that.

[Drum]

16. Very frustrating!

😬 We’ve all provided so many resources and then what?

[Botany]

23. And in that newly occupied territory the Russians will die by the truckload.

Fucking republicans. Helping Putin and hurting the Ukrainian citizens. I wonder how many are on
Vlad’s teat.

[Kaleva]

26. Russia lost this territory in 2022

[Botany]

29. Hopefully with the needed weapons and the F-16 fighters they (Ukrainian fighters) and international help

…. will be able to take the fight back to the Russians. They were running out of bullets, artillery
shells, missiles, and other things. Those republican mother fuckers in Congress are openly
supporting Vlad who has kidnapped > 50,000 Ukrainian children. Dwight David Eisenhower
Is turning over in his grave. Ron Johnson (r senate Wisconsin), Jim Jordan (r house Ohio) and M.
Taylor Green (nutball Georgia) should be shipped to Ukraine to fight for Vlad/Russia.

[Duncanpup]

27. Fucking repigs and holding up aid.

Putin and Freedumb caucus have blood on their hands.

[Torchlight]

32. An unsustainable Pyrrhic victory to regain ground already lost. Great plan, Moscow.

This small series of cost-ineffective advances brings some additional context to Putin's replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defense minister this weekend. It was a feud between Shoigu and Prigozhin (the latter blamed the former for inexcusably high casualty rates) that led directly to the mutiny by the Wagner Group last year.