18/ Why are the Starobilsk Russians fleeing south, instead of north to the border?
While his army is finished fighting, Putin is not.
He must establish a defensible line, to save any part of the Donbas.
There is only one place, at the existing fortifications of the 2014 line.
19/ And Putin must again follow his teacher, and go entirely on the defensive, by committing everything to a new "Atlantic Wall"
30 Offensive BTGs are in the Lysychansk area, they must be sent south.
Russia is again in a race with the ZSU to save or break the Crimea corridor.
20/ If there are really 4 Brigades of newly trained, well armed Ukrainians hiding in Vuhledar or Zhaporizhzhia, ready to head south, Russia will lose this race.
Both sides are increasingly acting like this is true.
26/ There are a lot of "known unknows" at this point:
Is ZSU in Svatove, or moving there?
Is there a ZSU group in Vuhledar attacking south, or Marinka, or entirely fictitious?
Where are RuAf from Lyman, Izium & Kreminna?
What are the 25,000 Russians near Lysychansk doing.
27/ These continued Bonzai Attacks are the best evidence for a complete breakdown in RuAF C&C.
"Ukrainian military repelled RUAF attacks near Zaitseve, Bakhmut, Bakhmutske, Krasnohorivka, Vodiane, Bezimenne and Novohryhorivka, - General Staff ZSU"
28/ Can Russia avoid abandoning all of northern Luhansk?
Probably not.
RuAf runs on rails. With reduced and degraded men and equipment they stand little chance of keeping the rail link from Valuyki - Starobilsk - Luhansk open.
The RuAf still near Kupiansk must be a rear guard.
29/ If this video represents what the fleeing Kharkiv Russians are doing, then they are now at deployment points in Luhansk City.
Tweet claims Russia wants to send them south to "DPR".
Lets hope these "LPR" "mobiks" have had enough, and will surrender.
1/4 Aleksandr Khodakovsky is the commander of the Russian Vostok Battalion and a former commander of Ukraine's Alpha unit of the SBU, who betrayed his country in 2014 during the Russian invasion of Donbas.
The following is his "final solution" for Ukraine in his own words:
1/2 If the Russians have blown the dam at Kliuchove, it means they are abandoning the area to the north, and moving into their main defense lines at Heorhiivka.
This short message from WarGonzo could be the start of something big.
Even if this turns out to be nothing, this thread will look at an action that can be what a major feint would look like, before the main counter offensive in the south.
2/ If there is a place in Russia perfect an alternative government, Urazovo is it. This town of 6500 is also a foothold in the BNR (Bilhorod People's Republic).
This area can be held and governed by the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) and the Freedom of Russia Legion (LSR).
3/ This 60 sq/km enclave is surrounded on three sides by Ukraine, and on the fourth side by Oskil and Urazova river barriers.
1/ So why is this border skirmish between Iran and the Taliban happening now?
Sure the big cause is overpopulation of young men with no future, Sunni Shiite hatred, and the command of their Allah god to subjugate all infidels, but this thread has details
2/ This May 27, 2023 skirmish, was caused by a dispute over water rights. Iran has accused the Taliban of violating a 1973 treaty by restricting the flow of water from the Helmand River to Iran's parched eastern regions.
It began when Iranian border guards fired on Taliban fighters trying to cross the border illegally. The Taliban fired back, and the two sides exchanged gunfire for several hours. Two Iranian border guards and one Taliban fighter were killed.