Ag In Ok said:
So i decided to reread Barbara Tuchmans The Guns of August.
Gulped in chapter 7 when she covers French and British actions leading up to Germany's declaration of war on Russia. I'm not hearing the same words, but some of the actions are similar from the aggressors side.
I think we have passed negotiation with the current situation, and strictly posturing to our bravado Putin. As a marine friend described the Russian position, they "don't have the ass for the fight ". At some point he has to concede. The south is for grabs, meanwhile he is pushing for Mariupol. Seems like he grabs that and changes his negotiation position. Just a guess.
If he doesn't show nazi POWs or regalia, he loses his popularity.
I concur with that assessment and I believe that in the space of a couple of weeks it will lead to the Russian Army being "deflated in place". This is happening gradually but it will accelerate.
By deflated I mean that the Russians will have passed the culmination of combat power. They will be unable to move forward and holding ground will be increasingly difficult.
-Their supply lines will be less secures.
-Their ammunition, especially PGMs, will be depleted.
-They will be frozen in place and only be able to withdraw.
-As weapons with some standoff capability begin to flood into the hands of the UA, the Russian rear areas will come under regular attack from the kamikaze drones and their artillery will be constantly at risk from drone attack.
The Ukrainians must relieve the pressure on Mariupol and Kherson but aside from providing relief to encircled civilian populations they don't need to try and seize ground from the Russians on agree scale. Deflating the Russian army at a steady pace rather than trying to route and pursue the Russians may forestall Putin from making a decision to use nukes.
So what does Putin do when it is apparent that his conventional forces are not only defeated but unable to withdraw as an army? The Russians are wrestling with the tar baby and will be increasingly stuck both physically in Ukraine and diplomatically.