It just occurred to me that the medieval tactic of chevauchee may be relevant here. The strategic goal was not to control territory, but to send a message to the inhabitants: "Your King (or in this case, the Tsar) cannot protect you. You owe him no loyalty." You start to work loose the connective tissue of the enemy kingdom, the people's connection to the ruler. The fact that the Ukrainians are digging in suggests to me that things are going better than expected and they see a chance to give a good, hard yank rather than a wiggle.
Buddy don't read too much into the PR stunt of the clown... Ever wondered, if Russia could take Avdiivka which was as one of the most fortified settlements in Ukraine then its not long before Kursk would be back in Russian control despite all claims by the clown prince that his soldiers are digging in.. P.S - Russia has gained complete control of New York another fortified military base of ukraine 🤣
Or maybe anger more Russians to a point where they join the army. Russia has more men than Ukraine... Putin doesn't even need to move troops from the east... But the "expects" seems to forget that part.
The territorial gains are secondary imho. Disarray and collapse of the power structures in the RU army, the Kremlin and Ru's logistics network are more important.
That was one of the real objectives that completely failed.That is why the short proxy dictator discovered the buffer zone fairytale for children like DW to believe.
@@mugenmugen9632 There can be several objectives. An announced objective may be a deception. Deception and keeping the enemy guessing is important in war.
I agree with the analysis. There is one point I disagree with however. The troops sent to Kursk are the finest Ukraine has. They would not make much difference on the eastern front, where Russia has chosen a style of warfare that nullifies Ukraine's advantage in quality. Using these troops in a mobile war is a good investment. It won't change the final outcome however, as long as Russia can supply its army in the Donbass.
The Kursk incursion affects the supply to the Donbas. Directly, by blocking the transport from the north; and indirectly by forcing Russia to use munitions in Kursk that they could have used in Donbas.
She did not answer one of the most interesting questions, at least in my opinion anyway : "why Ukraine doesn't use the the force currently in Kursk in the Donbas instead?" I think this question is interesting, because we in the west don't understand nature of the frontline in Ukraine and Donbas area in particular. I am no military expert, but I think the nature of the war there is: heavily mined territory, drones everywhere, artillery ready to smash any force concentration and so both armies use lots of small groups of soldiers supported by relatively small number of IFVs, tanks and at the same time they shoot at each other with the artillery. It means that throwing more brigades at the problem wont help Ukraine, they would probably lose them in attack quickly or start losing them slowly in defense. Its a near peer conflict, where russians have mass and Ukraine has better doctrine, equipment and west weaponry. So I think the Kursk offensive is logical and much better way to try to turn the tide.
Believe Russia is too well dug in there and have set up strong defenses while having air support and artillery so Ukraine don’t have a chance there with their current weapons. Attack into Kursk may just be an attempt to cause a diversion and so the Russian population to open eyes a bit more.
Это просто американский заказ для рисовки красивой картинки к выборам, чтобы дать Украине 500 миллиардов помощи через три месяца и растянуть войну ещё на несколько лет. Украина теряет в день 2тысячи человек, в любой момент фронт может рухнуть и американцы будут убегать с Украины на самолётах как с Афганистана.
She did answer the question, it is a PR strategy, they are trying to recruit more soldiers and need mire weapons from the west. This seams to be a “successful operation” it’s like hitting the big guy back. So that people in doubt start to believe that Ukraine can do something about it.
I always like hearing Marina's take on military matters. She is very knowledgeable and explains things without talking in circles and taking up unnecessary time. With regard to Ukraine I think they are very strategic in cutting off logistic supplies of Russia. Also it is wise to fight where your enemy is weak.
Even if Ukraine moves to the defense in Kursk they can slowly fall back without the political implications of loosing Ukrainian territory, a the same time driving up the costs for Russia.
Let's not forget about the way the Russians perceive the current events and the level of Putin's control over what is happening: some start to see weakness, others recognize lies in what is presented by the main TV channels. That's huge and could be one of the main objectives of the operation in the Kursk region.
If a buffer zone isn’t enough, a buffer state or two may need to be established on Russian soil. However, it may take months for that to happen. That buffer state inside Russia would encompass the Russian oblasts of Kursk, Belgorod, Byransk, Voronezh, and Rostov either in whole or part.
When the pro Russian posts ramble off topic, just focus them by asking how the 3 day Special Military Operation is going and why it appears to be running 915 days behind schedule. They really like that.
There is no certainty in war. Niu-York, Bakhumt, Mariupol, Avdiivka, Pisky, Donetsk City, also formerly known as Aleksandrovka. All gone. Rambling back on topic. It appears the Russian’s behind schedule SMO on the Ukrainian frontlines are being overrun, swarm over destructively in Ukraine territory every day. They really don’t like that.
Maybe wait until general mud and winter is done, and if all is still good after that then we know it is a success, at the moment I would still be a bit more reserved on whether this works out or not.
Crazy how the russians went from this war is no problem at all, victory is around the corner, to ukraine taking russian territory is no problem at all, its just small part.
@@Wolfvain-qs5suyes, the amateurs that stopped the Putin’s surprise attack towards Kiev 2 1/2 year ago then after 2 1/2 year with few troops left the amateurs go into Russia. Don’t know who’s the amateurs, now imagine if Ukraine was given proper long range and better weapons from start instead of dragging it out for months/years.
The results will show soon. Russian are pushing in the south with huge losses while Moscow want to show that they will not take the ukrainian bait. They hope to gain more ground and building an army of conscript to fight in Kursk.
They probably want Putin to leave under his own will, but not with his tail between his legs; they're probably afraid that such a defeat will lead to massive consequences.
A Harrassing Dynamic always is a Superior Add-On to a slowly Eroding and Mostly Static Line-Holding Stalemate. It introduces several Pincer Movement possibles for Later. Even Better, it makes the Orcs worry and double-think every Foreward Salient they contemplate. What was so Easy once, Can Hapoen Rwice.
Russian copebots vs Ukraine delusionalbots. Russian copilots: to deal with and attempt to overcome problems and difficulties. Ukraine delusionalbots: delusional disorder is a false fixed belief that is not amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence. Unshakable beliefs in something that isn’t true or based on reality. But that doesn’t mean they’re completely unrealistic.
Genius, he has you fighting bots instead of taking stock of your own war effort. That's a recipe to failure. Imagine you are rammed by a big truck, your partner is unconscious and instead of attending him you get into a shouting match with onlookers. Just great.
A Russian expert advocated to carpet b * m b the liber@ted part of Kursk. The borders of Russia clearly are at Moscow's city limits. Imagine what happens if Ukraine liber@tes the npp.
"Ukraine wants to establish a buffer zone" on the other hand Podolyak tweets that they want force Russia to the negotiation table as well as intending to change the psychological state of the Russian so as to have them feel the war's presence. Would this guys work out work out exactly what the objective is? Fortunately Marina has been the only sane one here, much respect for her, as for the rest, it is mere narrative making.
*US directed this whole Kursks-capade. Meanwhile, Russia just took Niu-York, while Ukraine evacuates about-to-be-taken Pokrovsk, all loosing town after town for months now, from Bakhmut, to Avdiivka, to Chasiv Yar, etc...*
The kremlin was thoroughly embarrassed and humiliated---but they are over it now, and moved-on. if Ukraine wants to occupy Kursk they are welcome to it for now....
Nuland undercover US Under Secretary of State: Putin will get ''nice surprises'' on ... Jan 31, 2024 - US Under Secretary of State: Putin will get "nice surprises" on battlefield in 2024 · Source: European Pravda, citing Nuland during a meeting
Forget the "buffer zone" thing, that's just rethorics. It's about: 1. Destroying easy targeted, but important RuSSian logistics. 2: Disturbing the RuSSian population and trying to plant a seed of destabilition in the RuSSian political scene. 3. Getting some media attention in an otherwise stagnated situation. 4. Making better use use of forces than letting them defend defacto already lost Donetsk/Donbas territory. Besides that: Shame on the free world for the restrictions on the use of western weapons, the war could have been over by now.
Russian oil and gas are cheap, but low quality. Ukraine has been attacking refineries that produce higher quality products. China and India do buy, but are demanding more discounts.
@@EugeneTChu Especially cheap now because of sanctions and a cap on the amount India and China can pay. They are demanding even below that now. There is nothing low quality about their national gas. Russian oil sold abroad is called Ural medium sour crude. It is normally a blend from several regions. At best the raw product they produce is medium sour grade. As opposed to West Texas Sweet or Brent Crude some of the highest quality alone with Saudi Crude that are some of the most sought after and expensive. But here is what people don’t get. Oil is like tree wood! Different tree wood is good for different uses and not one type is best for every purpose. Each oil type is better for something. That’s true due to both the chemistry and price. The idea of a country being oil independent is a myth for the uneducated! Every country that refines oil has plants designed for each different type of oil and the product they produce. Oil is refined into different by products for different types of fuel and plastics. Countries need each product and each refinery and oil type. Every country will always import each type.
Not similar. Pearl Harbor was a Japanese aviation raid to quickly destroy US naval assets then return. Ukraine is holding limited Russian land for disruption.
@@EugeneTChu Japanese Admiral Hara Tadaichi later summarized the result of the attack on Pearl Harbor as, “We won a great tactical victory at Pearl Harbor and thereby lost the war. Now it is starting at Pokrovsk.
Woohoo, single investor in Russia is the government! Russia produces mainly weapons and loses billions of $ selling oil. The war consumes able men from the work force, the inflation surges while the average salary in Moscow ranges from $500 up to high earners $1000. In the meanwhile the residential and commercial real estate market is steps away from bursting at a key interest rate of 18%.
@@dweb tell that to American defence budget committee and US weapon producing industries 😅😅😅😅 Russia's got the fastest growing economy in Europe. God bless Western sunctions 😁😁😁😁
@@Cecil-yc6mc Did the Westen armies take Moscow or Saint-Petersburg? It wasn't a real war, it was a political competition, and it wasn't over yet 😎 Besides, Soviet Ukranian leaders Khrushchev and Brezhnev spent huge amount of our resources and money on Eastern Europeans like Poland and Ukraine. They printed too many easy Soviet roubles, and built too many army bases around the planet. Russia doesn't make that mistake, NATO does 😁😁😁
I'm so amazed how RazzzzPutin makes it appears that they are the victims here..... sadly, some Western leaders believe that tyrant which is the reason for limited military assistance to Ukraine....
Propagandist DW do this maths: Ukraine has about 1,250 sq km of Kurst region. Russian land mass is 17,125,200 sq km. Kirsk is 49, 997 sq km. The percentage of 1,250 if total is17,125,200 is 0.0073%. Which is about 0.0073%, 0f Russian lamd mass. In term of Kursk region it is about 2.5%. Russia has about 20% of your so called Ukrainian land Dont be dumb.
Zelensky can change his intentions in Kursk whenever he wants. I don't understand any gain in dropping your best troops in Kursk while the other fronts are collapsing. Russians are getting their defense up to neccessary level. I can't see any advantages in "buffer zone" if the dynamics show Ukraine can't advance confidently towards Kurchatov and Kursk. This offensive is just pointless.
@@nathanjw940 The amount of territory they have give them no advantage. They are controlling a borderline countyside territory with little towns and villages. This territory have no power in negotiations until Ukraine captures Kurchatov and/or Kursk. For now, the dynamic of Ukraine's advantages tell they don't have any chance of capturing those in the near future. Russia keeps increasing the personnel in Kursk, so chances are not really increasing right now.
@@Random_Dude42 How about you debate me instead of leaving these snarky comments? I am trying to find the truth here and, of course, i can be wrong, as i might not always have the latest information. If you have another opinion - hit me with facts and logic. I am all ears.
When Putin invaded Ukraine he said it was to create a buffer zone. Zelenskyy is a great comedian, unfortunately the humour gets lost in translation. Saying it was to create a buffer zone is away of saying nothing while twisting the knife of irony extra hard. There’s obviously no prospect of marching on Moscow but it’s obviously gone even better than expected for Ukraine so far. Russia being either unable, or unwilling to counter attack while they had the advantage is disastrous for them. Either they care more about a few feet of Ukraine than they do more of Russia than they have taken from Ukraine this year, or they simply cannot spare enough resources to counter attack on home soil, with theoretically enormous numerical superiority.
Ukraine has set a trap for itself in Kurk from which there is no return. Unfortunately, this is the wise advice of the West, which does not die there. It's sad when relatives kill each other.
Zelensky is not responsible for military strategy. Considering they are now 900 days into fighting a war against a vastly superior military, I’d say he’s doing a pretty good job though. Could you do better?
@@shashay1344 Wouldn't have signed that US-Ukraine pact Nov 2021 that provoked the war by aligning Ukraine with NATO, I would have opted for Ukraine neutrality, as a neutral country Ukraine's energy, minerals, metals, & agriculture resources would have been available for sale to everyone. Now the soldiers are fighting for someone else's profit.
