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| Ukrainian Armed Forces/Associated Press |
Heavy losses on the battlefield point to an ineffective Russian command structure
Drone footage taken by the Ukrainian military panned across the icy battlefields of the eastern Donbas area to reveal demolished tanks and a Russian soldier lying face down in a pool of blood.
Other footage captured nearby showed a smoldering Russian tank trampling two soldiers—it is unclear if they are dead or wounded—while trying to maneuver. In a third video shared by Ukrainian commanders, a Russian soldier, his clothing on fire, flees a tank moments before it explodes.
The chaotic scenes in the videos are from the front lines around Vuhledar, a new focus of a Russian offensive aimed at making decisive gains on the battlefield while Moscow still holds a numerical advantage there and before Kyiv receives billions of dollars’ worth of new Western weaponry.
Russia has commenced its long-awaited offensive as it seeks to turn the tide after a series of defeats since the summer. Instead of a lightning thrust, Moscow has dialed up offensives in a handful of spots, resulting in fighting that is slow and extremely costly to both sides.
According to Western officials, military analysts and Ukrainian commanders, the conflict around Vuhledar reflects broader shortcomings that still afflict the Russian army after a year of fighting in Ukraine.
Russia’s urgency to make advances now underscores the poor training of recently mobilized soldiers as Moscow continues to struggle in executing the large-scale mechanized assaults needed to advance against Ukrainian forces, they say. The new offensive, officials say, also reveals chronic problems in Russia’s command and control structure.
Those problems—which have plagued the Russian army since their botched initial invasion last year—are resulting in extraordinarily high Russian casualty rates, as military commanders send underprepared soldiers to their deaths in what has become a battle of attrition, say Western officials and Ukrainian military commanders. --->READ MORE HERE
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| Greg Baker/POOL/AFP via Getty Images |
Retired four-star Army Gen. Jack Keane said Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s Feb. 19 warning that China may send deadly help to Russia could prompt Beijing to abandon such preparations.
Blinken said during an interview with ABC News’ Marth Raddatz on the same day that China is “considering” providing lethal support to Russia as its war with Ukraine reaches the one-year mark.
Keane, now a Fox News analyst, told host Shannon Bream, “I agree with the administration for beginning to expose what they have picked up, likely in intelligence circles, that China is getting ready to provide some military lethal aid to Russia.
“And I think coming out and exposing—and I would go further and tell them—what we think they are attempting to provide, China will pull back, likely, after that public exposure,” the retired general said on “Fox News Sunday.”
Keane said China and Russia are “strategic partners” and said it’s like “China wants Russia to succeed” in their battle with Ukraine.
“Remember, China has not condemned the invasion. They have not condemned that it’s illegal. They have not come out and spoken against genocide and war crimes that are being committed,” Keane said.
“Certainly, China has been buying as much Russian oil as they possibly can and helping them with the sanctions that are imposed on them.” --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:
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