Sunday, May 21, 2023
Brutal Battle for Bakhmut Leaves Russia With an Uncertain Victory - WSJ
The nine-month battle for the small Ukrainian city of Bakhmut effectively came to an end on Sunday, as Russian forces finally captured the last significant Ukrainian strongholds on its western edge.
While Kyiv disputes Russia’s claim of controlling all of Bakhmut, Ukraine’s top commander in the region, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskiy, has acknowledged that his forces retain a presence only in an “insignificant” part of the city, even as they push ahead on its flanks.
via www.wsj.com
We are hearing very little about the horrors of this war, except for the Russian war crimes against civilians. But it must be horrible indeed. Perhaps we will get more stories if the Ukrainians win.
https://rightcoast.typepad.com/rightcoast/2023/05/brutal-battle-for-bakhmut-leaves-russia-with-an-uncertain-victory-wsj.html
It's the War of Putin's Neck. His plan clearly was that it should be like the Norman Conquest: an afternoon of hard fighting and then at most a few years of mopping up in remote places.
It's been 15 months and his neck is presumably on the chopping block if he can't bring it to some sort of satisfactory conclusion in (say) the next six months.
What a hellish disaster it's been. Lesson of history: don't live on the Steppes.
Posted by: dearieme | May 21, 2023 5:23:52 PM