Russian forces move into Ukraine in February
When I saw this headline today I assumed it was from the Babylon Bee (a terrific satirical blog)–Russia Has 14 Days to Break Ukrainian Resistance. Nope. It was from the New York Post Here’s a snippet from that article:
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Russian troops facing fierce opposition by Ukrainian forces may only be able to sustain their onslaught for another 10 days to two weeks before their situation deteriorates due to dwindling equipment and manpower, according to a new report Tuesday.
The Daily Mail, citing defense sources in the United Kingdom, reported that Ukraine’s defenders have the Russian army “on the run” and predicted that “the strength of Ukraine’s resistance should become greater than Russia’s attacking force” in a matter of days.
If you believe this nonsense please send me your name and address. I have a bridge to sell you in Kiev. Here’s the reality–there is a No Fly Zone over Ukraine and it is imposed by Russia.
This article is so absurd and out of touch with reality that it must be addressed. I will start by asking two questions:
- How many times in the last 19 days has a Ukrainian regiment or battalion engaged a comparable Russian unit and forced the Rooskies to retreat?
- How many times in the last 19 days has Ukrainian artillery or fixed/rotary wing aircraft attacked a Russian military column and destroyed it?
Answer to both–NONE. ZERO. ZIPPO. ZILCH.
Let me put this into perspective–it took the “mighty” U.S. military machine 3 weeks to capture Baghdad while having air supremacy and facing a demoralized, ragtag Iraqi Army. Boy, we pushed out our chests over beating up those little kids.
Consider what Russia has done. They have seized territory greater than the size of the United Kingdom. The Russians did that in less than three weeks. They have now surrounded Kharkiv and Kiev. They have cut off what remains of the Ukrainian Army in the eastern half of the country and are destroying them. The Ukrainian Army no longer has the capacity to function as a modern Army. Those Ukrainians who chose to continue fighting will do so as insurgents or guerrillas.
Russia has decimated the Ukrainian Air Force and its ground-based radars and its combat airfields. Russia is now in de facto control of Mariupol (a key Black Sea port) and is moving on Odessa.
Russia also destroyed a key Ukrainian military base in Western Ukraine near the border of Poland–Yavoriv.
Russian missiles pounded a military base in western Ukraine on Sunday, killing 35 people in an attack on a facility that served as a crucial hub for cooperation between Ukraine and the NATO countries supporting its defense. The barrage marked an escalation of Moscow’s offensive and moved the fighting perilously close to the Polish border.
The attack so near a NATO member-country raised the possibility that the alliance could be drawn into the fight, and was heavy with symbolism in a conflict that has revived old Cold War rivalries and threatened to rewrite the current global security order.
The story that is not being told is that several CIA contractors and UK special forces military advisors were killed and wounded in this strike. I believe the death toll is far higher. This was not your typical strike on a mundane base. This facility was the heart of receiving Western weapons and training Ukraines and mercenaries to use them.
Russia is behaving as a large Boa constrictor methodically squeezing the life out of the Ukrainian government’s ability to fight Russia. Without air power and functioning artillery and cruise missiles, Ukraine is now the equivalent of a boxer with both eyes closed and a savagely broken nose. The fight is not going Ukraine’s way.
Here is a terrific video commentary on the current situation and what is likely to come: