The center of Kharkiv is ::checks notes:: 20 miles from the Russian border. A medieval army on foot with a decent cavalry contingent might expect to have the city cut off and invested in four days.
But apparently not the Russian army with trucks and BTRs.
But apparently not the Russian army with trucks and BTRs.
https://twitter.com/AlexKhrebet/status/1498041936573349890
Of course that's not the only Russian axis of advance and they are making ground elsewhere, but that's probably also the problem - too many separate prongs, with resources split too thin.
Again, fog of war caveats, but it seems like only the push in the south is moving at speed? Speed is important for Russia here - slogging it out with highly motivated Ukrainians in every town and city in the country one by one is going to impose unacceptable losses.
Deep Battle, the Soviet ground battle doctrine that form the foundation for modern Russian doctrine, does focus on multiple parallel operations, but it also relies on using them to create confusion, to accelerate tempo beyond the ability of an enemy to react.
And, uh, this ain't it, chief.
Instead, Ukraine seems able to move important supplies (and one assumes also people) along interior lines while the separate Russian operations can't yet really support each other.
Jomini would be proud. Tukhachevsky, less so.
Instead, Ukraine seems able to move important supplies (and one assumes also people) along interior lines while the separate Russian operations can't yet really support each other.
Jomini would be proud. Tukhachevsky, less so.
That said, I doubt Ukraine will hold Kharkiv and Dnipro forever so I sure hope Ukrainian forces in the Donbas have good plan for how they're either going fall back or else melt into the countryside and continue as guerillas.
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