Russia tries to learn from its mistakes, but can it?
Associated Press on the Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine:
After a Russian push to the capital failed to overrun the city, the Kremlin declared that its main goal was the capture of the eastern Donbas region. If successful, that offensive would give President Vladimir Putin a vital piece of Ukraine and a badly needed victory that he could present to the Russian people amid the war’s mounting casualties and the economic hardship caused by the West’s sanctions.
In recent weeks, Russian forces that withdrew from Kyiv have regrouped in preparation for an all-out offensive in the Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces for the past eight years and have declared two independent republics that have been recognized by Russia.
That offensive has begun. Stung once, Russians are adjusting their tactics (Washington Post):
“They are moving in heavy artillery, they are moving in command-and-control enablers, they are moving in aviation — particularly rotary aviation support,” a senior defense official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity under terms set by the Pentagon. “It appears they are trying to learn from the lessons of the north, where they didn’t have proper sustainment capabilities.”
Supply problems plagued the initial stages of the invasion, with videos emerging of Russian fighters stranded on roadsides next to their vehicles because they had no fuel. Hungry soldiers were seen looting stores for food. Troops surged in without air support, as their commanders apparently miscalculated the capacity of Ukrainians to resist the invasion.
But adjusting is not fixing.
Still, Russia’s efforts to buttress its war machinery with repair and resupply capabilities are unlikely to solve its overarching problems, the official said. Sanctions have affected restocking and resupply capabilities, “particularly in the realm of components,” the official said, and a lack of parts is affecting the viability of several Russian weapons systems, including precision-guided munitions.
“When all the loopholes used to circumvent sanctions are closed, and when even tougher sanctions are imposed, restoring Russia’s missile capabilities will be unrealistic,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Monday video address, adding that the Kremlin’s strikes effectively meant “missile self-demilitarization” for Russia.
While Tucker Carlson of Fox News is tanning his testicles, this is news:
An MSNBC spokesperson told The Daily Beast that [Navy combat veteran Malcolm] Nance is no longer an analyst for the network now that he has joined the international legion.
“I’m here to help this country fight what is essentially a war of extermination,” he said. “This is an existential war, and Russia has brought it to these people and they are mass murdering civilians. And there are people here like me who are here to do something about it.”
With bright light in his eyes at 2 a.m. local time, Nance was extremely squinty.
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