If the numbers that we are seeing are true, it’s a devastating amount of losses already. Russia so far has lost as many soldiers as France did in WWII, in about 2 years.
If someone throws a punch, stepping back a bit will not only reduce the force of the blow, but it can put the attacker out of balance.
If Russia wants to keep making these kinds of military expenditures for a few hundred square feet of gains, so be it. If Adviivka is so important, make them pay dearly for it. It's been a great opportunity for Ukraine to start more aggressive actions in the south west, IMHO.
On a sympathetic note, Russia is literally just throwing people into the fire. War is hell, but for fucks sake, give people a reason to fight. I am just trying to step back an look at this from a humanitarian point of view, is all. While I have zero sympathy for the Russian leadership, I can't help but see the recent actions by Russia as an even more pointless waste of human life.
You have to wonder how Russia still has people able to fight, considering how many they've put through the grinder by now
I guess that's why we are hearing about, for example, Cubans being recruited.
People and the media keep disparaging Russian tactics in places like Avdiivka and Bakhmut. But it has worked for them in the past, and I'm starting to think Avdiivka might get surrounded. Avdiivka is described as being 'like a fortress' which is exactly what they said about Bakhmut a year ago, and that fell to the same strategy. They'll just keep throwing more and more men into the meat grinder for as long as it takes, chipping away at Ukraine's defences every day, and eventually after a few months potentially take the town.
It reminds me of how Napoleon used to brag about how he could reliably recruit 15,000 men a week, which gave him confidence that he could keep waging war because France could sustain the losses. I wonder if something similar is being played out in Putin's calculations. Just keep recruiting and throwing away lives, and eventually you'll eek out a victory. It's fucking horrifying. Everyone expects Russia to run out of men and equipment at some point, but they never do. They seem to have an infinite supply of BMPs, men, and Kalashnikovs.
which is exactly what they said about Bakhmut a year ago, and that fell to the same strategy.
Wagner captured Bakhmut and Prigozhin sits dead, (probably) assassinated by the Russians he served. Prigozhin will never be a problem in this war again. There is no replacing Prigozhin or his elite Wagner troops.
The quality of Russian soldiers is dropping off significantly. 1st Guards Tank Army has been defeated. VDV is taking horrific losses (but still seems to be able to be fielded). Wagner is virtually collapsed, driven to the point where they attempted a coup.
I think these kinds of "trades", Bakhmut for Wagner, are well in Ukraine's advantage.
... do they expect the total to go down?
They're talking about daily or weekly losses shooting up due to the human wave offensives.
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