Ukraine War. 2022-

Interesting talk here - War Zone: Bear Grylls Meets President Zelenskyy - Network Ten
Sorry you do have to sign in to see it.

 

An academic commentary on the naval aspects: Ukraine: Russia's inability to dominate the sea has changed the course of the war

 

Frank Ledwidge writes an overview. He ends with:

Link: Ukraine war: why Russia has had such a disastrous 12 months – and what to expect next

 

Owen,

Indeed, though it is the work of the picture editor and not the author.

So, onto the next item. A short video from a MSNBC 'Morning Joe' breakfast TV show:

Interesting to see how the war is been explained in the USA.

 

Ret'd Australian general Mick Ryan's most recent tweets in one thread: Thread by @WarintheFuture on Thread Reader App

With some reservations I have posted this column by a well-known - in the USA - academic historian (not of contemporary warfare), who has different viewpoint - likening the war to the Spanish Civil War. It is a bit political too: The Ukraine War as Prelude to a Global Nightmare

A quite lengthy Wiki on the author: Victor Davis Hanson - Wikipedia

 

Professor Lawrence Freedman's latest article: One Step at a Time: The Stages of War

Incidentally, as non-military items I read in the last couple of days the Ukraine has resumed supplies of electricity to it's non-Russian neighbours and bizarrely Russian gas still transits the Ukraine, to Slovakia, so the Ukraine has a steady income for enabling this and then some of the gas is exported back to the Ukraine.

 

Back to decoys both sides
Russians Have a "Rubber Army" of Inflatable Tanks, Which are Thrown Onto the Battlefield | Defense Express

 

Not a comment on the "Rubber Army", instead and I quote the end sentence:

Link: Russian Tanks: A New T-72B3M variant? » Wavell Room

 

The BTG is dead, long life the assault detachment:
Russians Revised the Tactics And Create Reinforced Assault Battalions: Details, Forces And Military Means of the Enemy | Defense Express

 

Wow. That Austrian colonel with the spiffy videos about how the BTG was the best thing ever is going to be so sad.

Eine Runde Mitleid, bitte.

All the best

Andreas

 

Recently a film depicting part of the militia from Donetsk / Luhansk appeared on the Forum, though not here. I did watch it and cannot now recall where it was, basic searching failed too.

Some context on the situation in and involving both Ukrainian provinces, now claimed by Russia, is in this short article: Can the war end where it started - in the Donbass? » Wavell Room

 

Owen,

Small puzzle answered, thanks. The full film is still available on YouTube. It is worth a look.

 

Itdan's post (1650) and Andreas's post (1651) on BTG being replaced by "new" formations are fully explained by the original Ukrainian series of tweets:

Link: Thread by @Tatarigami_UA on Thread Reader App

The response on twitter was quite dismissive: too much heavy equipment, lank of infantry, insufficient NCOs etc.

 

Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen.

All the best

Andreas

 

Owen,

It is on Rumble

 

A good article on the US journal Foreign Policy website by two Kings College London academics: Putin Should Have Known His Invasion Would Fail

They conclude:

Link: Putin Should Have Known His Invasion Would Fail

 

In many aspects, the whole concept is reminiscent of the desperate "Kampfgruppen" emergency solutions of Anno '44:
Units are dynamically adapted to the situation = you take whatever you have on hand
no grown structures
lack of infantry
insufficient training
no organic supply units
a.s.o.

Revealing was IMHO the passage according to which the wounded are not cared for by their own forces, but their position should only be transferred to the (at least on paper) existing medical units of the 2nd echelon: nice euphemism for "God helps those who help themselves"

 

An interesting article here. It seems that they cannot quite make up their minds about the veracity of the story.

ЧВК «Вагнер» уничтожили первый немецкий танк Leopard в зоне СВО