OT: Putin's War in Ukraine

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by Ewan

While it may not be the article you're thinking off, it presents a similar story.

Thanks, Ewan. That's a very insightful article on the mentality of Ukrainian draft dodgers.

War Zone, my go-to website for military-related news, posted this article in which a former Ukrainian senior officer shared his succint take on the likely objectives of Ukraine's recent Kursk incursion.

https://www.twz.com/news-features/ku...ainian-officer

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[kato13]

Getting a little back on topic for the forum. Hummers in Russian territory. Who would have thunk it.

Could easily see this modded to a photo to pencil conversion in any of the rule books.

[Tegyrius]

Originally Posted by kato13

Could easily see this modded to a photo to pencil conversion in any of the rule books.

Here ya go.



(Two-stage process in GIMP. Filters > Decor > Old Photo, then Colors > Desaturate > Color to Gray.)

- C.

[Raellus]

@Tegyrius, that's a dead ringer for v1-2.2 art.

Sadly, it looks like the Kursk incursion is not yet slowing Russian advances in Donetsk. Ukraine is preparing to evacuate the city of Pokrovsk as Russian forces close in.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-uk...6f20080ab133e7

The article includes this very succinct analysis of Ukrainian and Russian thinking re the expansion of the war into the Kursk region of Russia.

"Ukraine is wagering it can cope with the strain on its resources involved in the attack in Kursk without sacrificing Donetsk. Russia apparently reckons it can contain the incursion without needing to ease up in Donetsk."

I really hope Ukraine's gamble doesn't come back to bit it in the butt.

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[Raellus]

Russia's advance on Pokrovsk, a critical transportation hub on the Donetsk front is picking up steam. Apparently, Ukrainian defenses in the battle area are in disarray, ammunition is in short supply, reinforcements not readily available, and operational leadership is lacking.

One Russian analyst warned that Ukraine is giving up ground so easily this past week that the UAF must be setting a trap for Russian forces. I certainly hope that this is the case. Seen on a map, the Russians have pushed a pretty significant salient towards Pokrovsk. If strong mechanized Ukrainian forces were available to launch major counterattacks, the shoulders of the bulge are vulnerable.

But with so many upper-tier UAF forces committed to operations in the Kursk area, reports indicate that only recently stood-up brigades or battalions pulled from quiet areas on other fronts are available.

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[Vespers War]

Originally Posted by Raellus

Russia's advance on Pokrovsk, a critical transportation hub on the Donetsk front is picking up steam. Apparently, Ukrainian defenses in the battle area are in disarray, ammunition is in short supply, reinforcements not readily available, and operational leadership is lacking.

One Russian analyst warned that Ukraine is giving up ground so easily this past week that the UAF must be setting a trap for Russian forces. I certainly hope that this is the case. Seen on a map, the Russians have pushed a pretty significant salient towards Pokrovsk. If strong mechanized Ukrainian forces were available to launch major counterattacks, the shoulders of the bulge are vulnerable.

But with so many upper-tier UAF forces committed to operations in the Kursk area, reports indicate that only recently stood-up brigades or battalions pulled from quiet areas on other fronts are available.

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One additional potential factor that was brought up to me in another conversation is that Russia's currently advancing over open terrain. Their swift advance is across land that's pretty much impossible to defend in either direction. The open question is what Russia's rate of advance will look like once they hit terrain more suited to the defense, particularly since many of those recently stood-up units are motorized infantry rather than mechanized infantry or armor.

[Raellus]

Over the past couple of days, Ukraine has hit some big Russian ammunition depots in the Tver region with spectacular results. According to War Zone,

"Such was the power of the detonation that a light-magnitude earthquake was reported in the Tver region, registering at 2.8 on the Richter scale."

Why weren't these depots hit earlier?

Connecting back to T2k, the number of well-stocked arms depots in Russia speaks to the massive quantities of ammunition stockpiled during the Soviet era.

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