Severodonetsk. bachmut. Mariupol. If Russia is able to get Ukrainian cities within artillery range, that outcome seems almost inevitable. “After weeks of massive destruction,meat green onion“The city with its centuries-old history of Russian troops rising above the rubble, its precious architecture and tens of thousands of residents remains an empty, blackened wasteland marked by the burned-out shells of broken apartment buildings, standing like giant tombstones in an abandoned cemetery. .
For an authoritarian state led by a brutal dictator who has no concerns about civilian deaths, cultural destruction, or how many troops must die to advance one meter, this is an almost perfect strategy.
Russia's idea of 'liberation' is not the kind of celebration that welcomes Ukrainian troops. Marched to the city of Kherson.. the silence of the streets bushing. Since the start of Vladimir Putin's unlawful and unprovoked invasion in February 2022, Russia has brought these consequences to dozens of cities and hundreds of villages across Ukraine.
Three weeks ago, Russian troops began a new advance towards Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. Now Ukraine is slowing Russia's progress and keeping Russian troops away from the city.
But Putin said, “It's okay.” He doesn't want Kharkiv anyway.
Whenever Russia finds it difficult to win a battle, it turns out that Russia never intended to win in the first place. them I wasn't planning on taking Kiev., they argue. Kherson surrendered all parts of the planThe military commander insists.
This time, President Putin didn't even wait to be chased across the border. He said tens of thousands of Russian troops were rushing toward Kharkiv. That doesn't mean they're going to take it. For thousands of Russian soldiers, that will be comforting. who died ~ no I'm trying to take Kharkiv.
Russia's new push into the Kharkiv region was initially an apparent success. However, from the first day, the pace of the Russian advance slowed.
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There is no indication that Russian forces are simply trying to infiltrate border areas and secure them, as Putin claims. Last week, Russia expanded its area of control west of Vovchansk and into the area just north of Lipsi, but the main fighting area only shifted slightly. According to CNN, Ukraine rushed battle-hardened troops to the front lines north of Kharkiv. Their goal is to prevent fighting from reaching places like Nove, Male Vesele, and Shestakove (positions where artillery could easily fire into the city).
As a second objective, Ukrainian forces are trying to capture Vovchansk. The region contains road and rail hubs that Russia previously utilized to support its forces throughout the region. If Ukraine loses control of Vovchansk, it will become more difficult to maintain its positions to the south and east.
The fighting in the Vovchansk region was difficult, but some claims went beyond the normal course of the fighting. According to people on site, the village is gradually changing. Another secondary, The streets are littered with civilian corpses.
Fifty kilometers away in Kharkiv, life is shockingly normal, but that could change at any time. Any mistake by Ukraine could subject the city to the kind of bombing that symbolizes Russian “liberation” ideas.
Ukraine could move more troops to defend its northern border, but doing so could weaken its defenses in the Bakhmut region, where Russia is making an equally large advance targeting the town of Chasiv Yar.
Compared to Kharkiv city, Chasiv Yar is small. However, its elevated location at a highway intersection provides panoramic views of the area in all directions. Russia has been working hard to take it over, and this week Russian troops advanced south of the town. The Russians are still at the bottom of the cliffs that make Chasiv Yar so valuable, but fighting is taking place near key positions.
As a result, the evacuation area expanded as Russian artillery, MLRS and drones brought misery to village after village.
Like many other battles of this war, the Ukrainian defense of Chasiv Yar was stubborn, courageous and tenacious. Russia lost huge numbers of troops to reach those heights.
But the same could not be said for the iron-willed defenses of Bakhmut, Mariupol and Avdiivka. Ukraine made Russia pay, but Putin undoubtedly paid the price. I don't think it's any of them his family It's on the front line.
This is a very difficult moment for Ukraine in a war made up of only difficult moments.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is clearly growing frustrated trying to fight off years of aggression by a much larger nation using patchy supplies from allies. This week Zelenskyy said: new york times We ask our Western allies why they have been so reluctant to engage in a fight against an enemy that clearly would harm them all.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed fears of a nuclear escalation and proposed that NATO planes shoot down Russian missiles in Ukraine, warning his country to the United States and Europe as his military struggles to stop Russia's furious advance. They called for more action to be taken to defend it. merit.
At this point, the decision the West must make is no longer about whether Ukraine will acquire a particular model of tank or what range of artillery shells it will deliver. What Ukraine demands at this point, and what may be needed to end this war, is direct intervention.
This does not necessarily mean “putting them on the ground” in the sense of putting Western troops on the front lines. However, this could also mean NATO forces in Ukraine deploying and operating missile defenses.
“So my question is, what is the problem?” Zelenskyy asked New York Times reporter Andrew Kramer. “Why can’t we shoot them down? Is it defense? yes. Is this an attack on Russia? no. Shooting down Russian planes and killing Russian pilots? no. What are the problems with involving NATO countries in the war? “There is no such problem.”
france has been vocal about the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejected the idea Sending German troops was proposed in February, but last month German parliamentarians argued in favor Sending some kind of force.
Like all previous steps, this may be necessary for Ukraine's survival. The best thing the West can do, then, is to make a decision before it is too late.
Tsiklon is a relatively recent addition to the Russian Black Sea Fleet, capable of firing the most modern Zircon missiles. “Was” is the operative word.
It's really starting to become a turtle on both sides.
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