Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

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Deans
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Deans »

I think winter will help Russia, but not in the military sense.

Elections in Sweden and Italy have produced unexpected results and the winners are more anti Europe and a little less rabidly anti Russia than the outgoing govt. I believe Bulgaria ( Oct 2) will also elect a govt which is willing to be more accommodative of Russia. The very pro US guy had earlier resigned. The US mid term is next. If the Reps are back, that could mean the end of more financial help to Ukraine. Europe has no appetite for more financial help either and there is no further military aid immediately available.

If by Nov, Russia doubles its forces in Ukraine and simply digs in to defend Kherson, Zaparozhye and Donbass, there will be nothing Ukraine can do to dislodge them. If Ukraine conducts any shelling / attacks on civilian areas, Russia can respond with massive air and missile strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure. That may send another 2 million refugees into Europe. If Russia then says they have achieved their objectives and are open to peace, I think NATO will be willing to discuss a settlement reasonable to Russia & NATO (Ukraine's views are irrelevant).
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Jay »

Deans wrote:The US mid term is next. If the Reps are back, that could mean the end of more financial help to Ukraine.
I do not know enough on other things but even if the Republicans gain a majority in US mid-terms, it won't change the current US/NATO disposition of this conflict. Almost all the Repub senators/congressmen support this conflict the way its going.
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Cyrano »

Yep! The US Congress approved another 12 billion aid to Ukra-een. Both Reps and Dems seem to be dipping into this gravy train to their heart's content.
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Cyrano »

Deans ji, since you mentioned field repairs etc ...
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by bala »

In Ukraine's south, fierce fighting and deadly costs
in NYT maybe in Paywall article
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/24/worl ... ussia.html
Sept. 24, 2022
October rains turn the roads here into impassable sludge. Before a nasty winter sets in, they are racing to recapture territory. The fighting is grinding, grueling and steep in casualties. Losses are high and massive, pounded by Russian Artillery. They described large offensives in which columns of Ukrainian tanks and armored vehicles tried to cross open fields only to be pounded mercilessly by Russian artillery and blown up by Russian mines. Ukr Soldier says, one unit lost 50 men (“we lost 50 guys in two hours”), another soldier says that 100+ men died on an offensive (“hundreds” of Ukrainian troops were killed or wounded while trying to take a single village, which is still in Russian hands). Missile strikes are decimating many.
// I don't pay attention to NYT, WaPo, BBC, etc. But this is a damning report on the huge loss that Ukr are facing. Truth does get out sometimes!
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Deans »

Jay wrote:
Deans wrote:The US mid term is next. If the Reps are back, that could mean the end of more financial help to Ukraine.
I do not know enough on other things but even if the Republicans gain a majority in US mid-terms, it won't change the current US/NATO disposition of this conflict. Almost all the Repub senators/congressmen support this conflict the way its going.
I agree that support for Ukraine is Bipartisan. However, that support may not translate to additional funding. There could be enough amendments and conditions to the aid to ensure that further support remains only on paper. Even the last package announced was over a 3 year period. One could argue for e.g. that arming Taiwan should get more attention, or that it may take too long to train Ukrainians on Western weapons platforms.
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by YashG »

Support is bipartisan because a lot of folks in top echelons of washington directly make money via contracts to defense companies. These folks then in turn recycle money in election funding and in other ways back to lawmakers.

Funding war is the most direct way to transfer state money to the top strata. There are no values or long term strategy involved here. Its an opportunity to make money - so whoever comes, the tap will keep flowing.

If you ever wanted to figure what makes american foreign policy so transactional - the reason is the policy is always looking to fund some war somewhere. Europe on the other hand might want to differ here, they are paying for lining up the pockets of washington bourgeois.
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by mody »

https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/th ... 333e170488

This article suggests that Russia's 144th Guards motor rifle division has suffered serious losses in the Bakhmut, Lymen area. No idea about the accuracy of the report. It is from Forbes.
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by mody »

Deans wrote:
mody wrote:Cyrano, the 100K dead and 150K wounded is just Russian propaganda. As per Russian reports, the UKA units currently fighting and advancing quite well, have already suffered more than 100% casualties more than 2 weeks back.

The air defense units in Ukraine are still performing well and recently Russian's have lost aircrafts in the conflict.

Currently almost no airforce in the world would be able to carry out full scale ops against a near peer adversary, who has a decent, fully networked, distributed, multi-layered air defense network. Imagine a France or a UK loosing a couple of dozen aircrafts and pilots over a 2-3 week conflict.

Except for USA, China, India and Russia almost no other country on their own would be able to sustain a full war beyond 3-4 weeks against a near peer adversary, on their own, as of now.
Russia has officially said the number of Ukrainian KIA is some 61000. Add maybe 2000 foreign fighters. That would be the max number.
Its fits earlier Ukrainian statements that they were losing (KIA) between 100-300 / day.

There was a study (will try to share the article) by a think tank that suggested that no NATO air force (excluding US) would have done any better
against UKraine's air defenses, as Russia has done. They can do better, only with with an unacceptably higher loss rate.

I don't think India can sustain a war of this intensity for beyond 6 weeks. The constraints are ammunition . In many critical areas, we will run out of ammo in 2 weeks. Also, engine /body fatigue of old aircraft, lack of spares for armored vehicles etc. Besides, political pressure to compromise, if the price of Onions or petrol goes up by Rs 10. The single biggest lesson for India in this war is IMO, to be self reliant.
One of the big Atmanirbhar push of the current govt. is with regards to ammunition. All kinds of ammunition being used, specifically by the army is being indigenized. The latest to join the list is the ammo for the CIWS AK-630 guns. It equips a lot of the Navy ships and might also be used for land based air defense units. Being completely self-sufficient in ammo is a must requirement. Having the ability to fire 10K arti shells a day will be possible only if the entire production is local, including for the high end guided shells. A desi equivalent of the Excalibur is badly needed. I think efforts are ON in this regards.
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Cyrano »

Agree. OFB has been restructured, but we haven't heard much since then. Rajnath Singh has his tasks cut out at home.
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Deans »

mody wrote:https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/th ... 333e170488

This article suggests that Russia's 144th Guards motor rifle division has suffered serious losses in the Bakhmut, Lymen area. No idea about the accuracy of the report. It is from Forbes.
144 Guards was involved in earlier fighting in the Kharkov area, but was pulled out of the line before the Sept Ukraine offensive for refitting.
I believe a single regiment of the division has now moved back to Lyman.
Bakhmut and Lyman are 2 separate areas. Wagner group is fighting at Bakhmut, along with the Donbass Militia.
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Deans »

The largest selling book in Russia in the past week (as per website) has been `Infantryman's handbook'. It passes down wisdom from WW2 onwards.

Some interesting snippets:
- If you feel sleepy, ask to be relieved from guard duty. Falling asleep will endanger the whole unit. (in WW-2 you'd be shot).
- Sugar cubes for an instant energy boost in winter.
- Absolutely no drinking during combat (which I was surprised by).
- Don't smoke if the enemy can see the cigarette glow.
- Don't carry any electronic device which gives your location.

There's a Russian TV clip where a lady officer is telling newly mobilised men to buy Condoms and Tampons, as those will not be issued. Western media will invariably snigger and say that soldiers intend to rape etc. Russian veterans commented that the condom protects the rifle barrel from moisture, or dirt and is an emergency water carrier, if the water bottle is lost. Tampons slow blood loss.
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Cybaru »

https://twitter.com/defenceu/status/157 ... bPmxJDfs0g

New T-90M found abandoned.

Probably heading straight to the USA.

T in T-90 should stand for Trash! Go Arjun!
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by IndraD »

some headlines in west media today
-mutiny in Putin army
-Putin;s army might finish him off
-people flee before conscription
-Putin sick can't take decisions, game over?

etc etc
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Cyrano »

Western media has lost the distinction between wishes and reality. They only provide comedy if not tragedy.
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Jay »

Cybaru wrote:
T in T-90 should stand for Trash! Go Arjun!
Go Arjun all the way.
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Cybaru »

Jay
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Jay »

Cybaru wrote:https://twitter.com/noclador/status/157 ... UFoijD7AVg

Expense breakdown for Ukraine war
This is such a golden opportunity for the US to dispose of its aging stuff in an exceedingly useful way by firing it off at your nemesis and also simultaneously use this moment to upgrade the entire fire power with next gen equipment.

Mind you that US is actually "disposing" of last gen equipment by lend-leasing it to UKR which seems to be using it somewhat effectively to stave off RU. At the same time, they are testing enough of their next gen systems in the battlefield against their supposed near peer enemy forces. Economically, this is a bonanza to anyone with their fingers in the US MIL-IND complex. Played correctly, US might recoup losses it incurred from its middle east campaigns while simultaneously leap frogging over all its enemies and friends alike.

Our civil-defense leadership should open their eyes and see the apparent benefits of a home grown MIL-IND establishment and stop their hankering for everything foreign.
Last edited by Jay on 28 Sep 2022 14:00, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Cyrano »

Well said!
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by IndraD »

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... tage-fears
Fears of sabotage as gas pours into Baltic from Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines
Gas is pouring into the Baltic Sea from three separate leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines amid claims by seismologists in Sweden and Denmark of two sharp spikes in undersea activity, possibly indicating explosions, and speculation about sabotage.

A seismograph on the Danish island of Bornholm, near where the leaks occurred, twice recorded spikes on Monday, the day on which the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines underwent dramatic falls in pressure, the German geological research centre GFZ said.

A Danish military flight over the leaks brought back striking images from the ruptures, including one showing an area of bubbling gas a kilometre wide on the sea’s surface.

The seismograph recorded near-silence until just after midnight GMT (2am local time), when there was a spike representing a tremor in the earth followed by a continuous hissing wave form. The pattern was repeated at 5pm GMT.
The steel pipe itself has a wall of 4.1 cm (1.6 inches) and is coated with steel-reinforced concrete up to 11cm thick. Each section of the pipe weighs 11 tonnes, which goes to 24-25 tonnes after the concrete is applied.

Among those pointing to the war in Ukraine was the Polish prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, who was speaking at the opening of a new gas pipeline between Norway and Poland. “Today we faced an act of sabotage. We don’t know all the details of what happened but we see clearly that it’s an act of sabotage, related to the next step of escalation of the situation in Ukraine,” Morawiecki said.

Poland’s foreign minister was more forthright, suggesting that the damage could be an act of provocation on behalf of the Kremlin.

“Sadly our eastern partner is constantly pursuing an aggressive political course,” the deputy foreign minister, Marcin Przydacz, said in Warsaw. “If it is capable of an aggressive military course in Ukraine, then it’s apparent that acts of provocations in western Europe also cannot be ruled out.”

A senior Ukrainian official also called it a Russian attack to destabilise Europe, without giving proof.

British sources said they believed it may not be possible to determine what occurred with certainty.

One UK insider speculated that any explosions were unlikely to have been caused by a submarine or underwater vehicle, because their presence would have been detected in the relatively shallow Baltic waters. Sections of the pipelines are between 80 metres and 110 metres deep.
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by IndraD »

The majority of citizens of both the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) have supported the idea to unite with Russia, according to local election commissions https://www.rt.com/russia/563562-donbas ... lts-polls/
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Cyrano »

Russian troops earlier withdrawal from Kharhov Izyum sector (but not near Kherson) now makes sense - they have folded back to get ready to defend future new Russian borders in Luhansk and Donetsk and reinforce the defensive lines there, where the terrain is woody and offers cover to attackers unlike Kherson's exposed flat plains which can be and are indeed well defended.
Ukranian forces will expend themselves on these new borders and then since they have attacked Russian territory, Russia will counter attack with increased mobilisation.
Smart moves!
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Arima »

IndraD wrote:https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... tage-fears
Fears of sabotage as gas pours into Baltic from Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines
Gas is pouring into the Baltic Sea from three separate leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines amid claims by seismologists in Sweden and Denmark of two sharp spikes in undersea activity, possibly indicating explosions, and speculation about sabotage.

A seismograph on the Danish island of Bornholm, near where the leaks occurred, twice recorded spikes on Monday, the day on which the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines underwent dramatic falls in pressure, the German geological research centre GFZ said.

A Danish military flight over the leaks brought back striking images from the ruptures, including one showing an area of bubbling gas a kilometre wide on the sea’s surface.

The seismograph recorded near-silence until just after midnight GMT (2am local time), when there was a spike representing a tremor in the earth followed by a continuous hissing wave form. The pattern was repeated at 5pm GMT.
The steel pipe itself has a wall of 4.1 cm (1.6 inches) and is coated with steel-reinforced concrete up to 11cm thick. Each section of the pipe weighs 11 tonnes, which goes to 24-25 tonnes after the concrete is applied.

Among those pointing to the war in Ukraine was the Polish prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, who was speaking at the opening of a new gas pipeline between Norway and Poland. “Today we faced an act of sabotage. We don’t know all the details of what happened but we see clearly that it’s an act of sabotage, related to the next step of escalation of the situation in Ukraine,” Morawiecki said.

Poland’s foreign minister was more forthright, suggesting that the damage could be an act of provocation on behalf of the Kremlin.

“Sadly our eastern partner is constantly pursuing an aggressive political course,” the deputy foreign minister, Marcin Przydacz, said in Warsaw. “If it is capable of an aggressive military course in Ukraine, then it’s apparent that acts of provocations in western Europe also cannot be ruled out.”

A senior Ukrainian official also called it a Russian attack to destabilise Europe, without giving proof.

British sources said they believed it may not be possible to determine what occurred with certainty.

One UK insider speculated that any explosions were unlikely to have been caused by a submarine or underwater vehicle, because their presence would have been detected in the relatively shallow Baltic waters. Sections of the pipelines are between 80 metres and 110 metres deep.
with gas pipeline blown up, Europe is in for a Winter chill on Economy. indeed europe itself will become cannon fodder for Russ US war. Ukreen and to some extend UK would feel happy of some sorts with this act.
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Cyrano »

Biden, Nuland have said publicly months ago that they will stop gas flowing from Nordstream 1&2 one way or the other. Blinken was asked about this in the presser with Dr SJ yesterday and he was very taciturn.

We'll soon have to start calling the US the empire of evil. How this country has fallen in my esteem!
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Deans »

Lyman is looking bad for the Russians. Ukraine had broken through to the north of Lyman and penetrated about 20km into the Russian lines.
In the South East of Lyman they similarly made multiple river crossings. The defending force at Lyman is itself tied down by constant Ukr attacks for the past 2 weeks. There is also a Ukrainian breakthrough north of the town of Krupyansk.
When Russian media starts calling the situation `difficult', you know it is very close to being a catastrophe.

Either Ukraine encircles a big Russian group at Lyman, or Russia cuts off and destroys the Ukrainian thrusts. This won't end in a draw, one side is going to decisively win the battle of Lyman.

See `Military summary' on Youtube for updated maps and English commentary.
Last edited by Deans on 28 Sep 2022 11:54, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Deans »

Russian govt has started asking journalists and the people to report mistakes in mobilisation (either ineligible people called up, or corruption).
They are trying to avoid any backlash, by ensuring no one is wrongly sent to the front and mistakes are corrected.
Some of the regional heads of mobilization centres have been replaced. The traditional recruitment areas for fighters (where the money is also very useful) Chechnya, Dagestan, Tuva, Buryatia etc reportedly met their mobilization targets in a couple of days.
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by IndraD »

Crimea next? Deans sir? Also is Russian army vastly inferior or Ukros superior?
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by ks_sachin »

IndraD
The more pertinent question is which side has better leadership.

Soldiers inherently are not better or worse - leadership has a big role to play in performance this is where the RU org str and culture become an issue.
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Deans »

ks_sachin wrote:IndraD
The more pertinent question is which side has better leadership.

Soldiers inherently are not better or worse - leadership has a big role to play in performance this is where the RU org str and culture become an issue.
True. Ukraine's leadership and culture was as bad, if not worse, till 2015, but NATO training has made a difference - perhaps a bigger difference
than Russia realised.
Ukraine outnumbers Russia at least 2:1 and has since the start of the war. Half the `Russian' forces in Ukraine are Donbass militia, Russian interior ministry /Wagner etc. (though that is offset by half the Ukrainians being conscripted). Russia can't be strong everywhere and with NATO providing
perfect real time intel, the Russian line had to break somewhere - which it has, more than once.

At the moment, the internet community does not seem to know anything about the Russian army ORBAT in Ukraine, so one does not know the strength of each side in a particular sector. What seems to be clearer is:

- Ukrainian army units have not broken under sustained and heavy artillery fire.
- Russia's elite formations did well in tasks they were designed for (air assault forces at Gostomel airport, or Chechens in house to house fighting).
However, there's no sign of of any regular Russian army formation distinguishing itself in combat. Hardly any unit has got a citation.
- Russia has done badly in conducting rapid movements of mechanized forces, which is a core part of its doctrine. Lot of vehicle breakdowns.
Gaps hammered through the Ukrainian lines are hardly ever exploited.
- On the positive side, there are very few Russian POW. They have been able to fight for a long time and got logistics flowing reasonably well.
There are many videos of Ukrainians complaining about their conditions and officers. Russians can't carry cellphones, so we don't know to what
extent this is prevalent on the Russian side.
Last edited by Deans on 28 Sep 2022 19:10, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Deans »

IndraD wrote:Crimea next? Deans sir? Also is Russian army vastly inferior or Ukros superior?
If Ukraine is in a position to take Crimea it would mean the Russian army is comprehensively defeated. If that was to happen, which I doubt,
it will go nuclear. Russian doctrine calls for the use of Nukes if the have no other way of defending their country.
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Deans »

A point about Russian army leadership:
They are following the Syria model, where they sent advisor officers, embedded with Syrian army units and also specialist weapons operators.
The Russian advisor would give tactical advice at a company or battalion level, call in air strikes or arty support etc. but the actual fighting would be done by the Syrian army, or Donbass Militia. It worked reasonably well. It was expected that officers who did well in their assignments would go on to command a BTG.

It does not seem to have worked as well with regular Russian army units. Its possible that the soldiers just don't have enough experience working with each other, or their officers. The fighting in the Donbass from 2015-21 required very different skills (which I think Indian infantry would excel in) from leading a BTG. In Syria, the Russians had complete air dominance and did not have to worry about things like their ammo dumps being vulnerable to HIMARS, or communication being intercepted. The Russians operated in the Donbass `unoffically' from 2015-21, so their officers would not risk capture (exposing Russia's role).
In Syria too, officers could not risk capture, as ISIS would torture them. I think that has created risk averseness. If an officer is not going to risk his life, neither are his men. They would rather fire 100 shells to hit a bunker, than have a man crawl forward and throw a grenade into it.
Infantry officers promoted to commanding a BTG, may have realized a bit late in the day that for e.g. half their vehicles don't run.
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Cyrano »

I suspect Ukraine's few successes have come not only with enormous Intel support and remote-copilot driving by the US but also a huge infusion of new troops, conscripts or mercenaries. While the unit designations remain the same, the soldiers are totally different replacing their dead soldiers.
I do believe they have suffered very heavy casualties especially in the past couple of months, and this kind of back filling has its limits. They will soon be scraping the bottom even if they take a town or two.

Russian forces are keeping them motivated to take casualties by ceding bits of territory which is exactly what Kiev needs to show to keep the funding scam going. As long as it lasts...
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by RoyG »

Deans wrote:A point about Russian army leadership:
They are following the Syria model, where they sent advisor officers, embedded with Syrian army units and also specialist weapons operators.
The Russian advisor would give tactical advice at a company or battalion level, call in air strikes or arty support etc. but the actual fighting would be done by the Syrian army, or Donbass Militia. It worked reasonably well. It was expected that officers who did well in their assignments would go on to command a BTG.

It does not seem to have worked as well with regular Russian army units. Its possible that the soldiers just don't have enough experience working with each other, or their officers. The fighting in the Donbass from 2015-21 required very different skills (which I think Indian infantry would excel in) from leading a BTG. In Syria, the Russians had complete air dominance and did not have to worry about things like their ammo dumps being vulnerable to HIMARS, or communication being intercepted. The Russians operated in the Donbass `unoffically' from 2015-21, so their officers would not risk capture (exposing Russia's role).
In Syria too, officers could not risk capture, as ISIS would torture them. I think that has created risk averseness. If an officer is not going to risk his life, neither are his men. They would rather fire 100 shells to hit a bunker, than have a man crawl forward and throw a grenade into it.
Infantry officers promoted to commanding a BTG, may have realized a bit late in the day that for e.g. half their vehicles don't run.
BTG concept works very well in grey zones where the local population is allied with you. The Russians were over confident and extended it to open warfare where it floundered. You need more boots on the ground and have to be careful not to extended yourself. Ignoring the biggest elephant in the room which was Ukraine's supply corridors on the western border was a huge war planning deficit which is now biting the Russian in the ass. Putin's psychology has limitations and it smacked him in the face. He really thought they were going to fold early and didn't count on the US convincing the Ukrainian leadership to turn down the capitulation deal and stay in the fight. Bottom line - he fought a conventional conflict like a spook and forgot about full spectrum dominance. Now he's spooked.

Contrast this to what we did to the Pakistani's in 71. We hybridized and transitioned to full spec dominance. Assume that the other side will fight to the death until they give you the white flag. This is how you fight to win.

Our IBG concept has more boots and better equipped and trained. Gives you maneuvering flexibility. We also have backing of strike corps. Very critical.
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Cyrano »

I was expecting Ukraine to go all out across all the frontline to disrupt the referendum - that has not happened. Very quiet except for liman sector and a couple of places nearby, and some shelling in Donetsk.
Either they have exhausted themselves in Kherson and don't have vehicles, armour, arty, ammo and above all fighting troops or they expect a different type of escalation with NATO as a reaction to the referendum which they could not stop, but whose results they will not recognise.
Lull before a bigger storm?
TBC...
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by NRao »

Some 20 nations, claims WashPost, have decided to increase arms production in support of UKR.

We are headed for WW3. First war among nations of the world.

Previous two were among European nations, supported by their colonies, who did not have a say.
Deans
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Deans »

Cyrano wrote:I suspect Ukraine's few successes have come not only with enormous Intel support and remote-copilot driving by the US but also a huge infusion of new troops, conscripts or mercenaries. While the unit designations remain the same, the soldiers are totally different replacing their dead soldiers.
I do believe they have suffered very heavy casualties especially in the past couple of months, and this kind of back filling has its limits. They will soon be scraping the bottom even if they take a town or two.
Yes, Ukraine's success would be impossible without massive Western aid and intel. I think all Intel, Strategic decisions and technicians for complex
weapon systems are provided by NATO, as well as possibly company and battalion commanders - who will be embedded with the Ukrainian unit as
foreign fighters. However, if Putin started this war on grounds that NATO was providing massive aid to Ukraine, as a prelude to attacking the Donbass, then this should have been factored into Russian planning.

While Ukraine is taking heavy casualties, they are still showing a lot of fighting spirit with their constant counter-attacks, or crossing rivers under
enemy fire, both of which the Russians have not done. If a 2nd line (Reserve) Ukrainian soldier is showing more Josh than a regular Russian army man, that would be a serious problem for the Russian army.
Arima
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Arima »

NRao wrote:Some 20 nations, claims WashPost, have decided to increase arms production in support of UKR.

We are headed for WW3. First war among nations of the world.

Previous two were among European nations, supported by their colonies, who did not have a say.
absolutely no one is working for peace!!
every one is in a mood to fight and brinkmanship. really dangerous world silently pushing itself to Nukes!!!
YashG
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by YashG »

A russia in turmoil will lead to russia having to choose with whom - india or china will it choose to have a junior relationship with. Both India and China have enough demand to absorb russian exports of natural resources and provide russia back with industrial goods it needs.

However China is much better suited to this job but Putin may want to prefer India.

However I do not see how war in Ukraine will end in favor of Russia. Even after mobilization. Their ranks seem to be crumbling and NATO ISR is a great multiplier for Ukraine.

I had posted earlier, Ukrainian govt needs 2-3 Bn USD / Month to survive as an administrative entity. If Russia can do what it is doing for next 10 months (!!!???!!!) - US will have to call off the funding of Ukn'n government - then you could see a collapse of Ukrainian command that will split into smaller rebel groups.
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by IndraD »

Noting that while in India many channels around with different opinion, US is ruled by one opinion on every channel & news portals (CNN CBN CNBC) everyone has gone woke and pushing for war sitting far away in comforts of ivory tower (heck what even UK Europe collateral damage of this war are pushing for brinkmanship). India comes across as far more mature in nuance and stance when it comes to international problems and issues than west where no one is allowed to speak truth, not even on social media. No wonder US dumbocrats come across as brain washed zombies (even in family & friends).
So that assumption certianly has merit that US is in middle of colour revolution itself and this war is a Western liberal's imperialistic war. A circuit of corruption for MIC is being formed which no one will be able to challenge for centuries.
Only thing that can stop this madness is a full fledged implosion in the US itself.
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Re: Russian-Ukrainian War: Combat Tactics & Strategy

Post by Cyrano »

Yes, Free Texas, Free California, Free the original 13... The aspirations of people for real democracy and freedom must not be denied in a free world that respects a rules based order.
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