Posted on 12/11/2023 2:33:02 PM PST by FarCenter
Valerii Zaluzhnyi is held in so much respect in Ukraine that he can speak frankly like no one else. Not even the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, can be as candid as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Zelenskiy would not praise an enemy, as Zaluzhnyi did in a September 2022 interview with Time, in which he said that the smartest military theoretician in existence is his greatest rival, Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff. In an interview with The Economist on Wednesday, Zaluzhnyi admitted that he has made mistakes, that the front has stagnated, and that there is little prospect of the situation changing: “Just like in the First World War we have reached the level of technology that puts us into a stalemate.”
Zaluzhnyi also admits that only with a supply of the most advanced technology from Kyiv’s NATO allies, and in much larger quantities than what has been contributed so far, can the deadlock at the front be broken. “It is important to understand that this war cannot be won with the weapons of the past generation and outdated methods,” the general said. Ukraine has received tens of billions of dollars’ worth of military aid, but mostly in equipment that is not among the most advanced Western defense systems. Armaments such as German Leopard tanks or the future delivery of U.S. F-16 fighters, for example, entered into production in the 1970s.
Zaluzhnyi acknowledges that this new phase of support is unlikely to occur in the near future, so the stalemate on the front will remain in place. “There will most likely be no deep and beautiful breakthrough,” Zaluzhnyi told The Economist, with characteristic irony.
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End of Ukrainian counteroffensive
Zaluzhnyi’s analysis confirms the end of the counteroffensive that Ukraine launched in June, and on which both Kyiv’s allies and Ukrainian citizens had placed enormous hopes. In five months, the Ukrainian push has only advanced about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) in the direction of the Sea of Azov, through a very vulnerable corridor. The initial objective was to recapture the city of Melitopol and from there cut the Russian logistical lines in the east and advance toward Crimea. But Melitopol remains almost 80 kilometers (50 miles) beyond the front line. The Crimean Peninsula, occupied by Russia since 2014, is 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the nearest Ukrainian positions, in Kherson province.
Zaluzhnyi admits to having made mistakes, for example, by relieving commanders he considered were responsible for the lack of results. The first three months of the counteroffensive on the Zaporizhzhia were catastrophic, according to multiple military sources consulted by EL PAÍS: the high command opted to try to break the Russian defensive lines with assaults involving large columns of armored vehicles and infantry. The minefields and Russian fortifications, reinforced to an extent not been seen on a battlefield since World War II, halted these attacks, leaving hundreds of casualties and destroyed vehicles.
The conflict has since been based on “positional warfare,” as Zaluzhnyi explains: “The war has entered a new phase, what in the military world we call positional warfare, of static fire and attrition, as in World War I, in contrast to a war of maneuver, of movement and speed.” The situation, says the general, “will benefit Russia, allowing it to rebuild its military power, eventually threatening Ukraine’s armed forces and the state itself.”
Above all, Zaluzhnyi notes, Ukraine has been assisted by its allies to resist the invasion, but not to win the war. While in Washington and Europe there were doubts about what weaponry to send, Russia was erecting hundreds of miles of impregnable triple defensive lines. The Ukrainian commander-in-chief even points out that the F-16 fighters will arrive too late because Russia’s anti-aircraft defenses are increasingly superior. Zaluzhnyi also revealed a hitherto secret fact: of the 120 warplanes that the Ukrainian Air Force had at the beginning of the invasion, only 40 remain in service.
Possibly the Europeans, especially their military, are backing Zaluzhnyi, while the US State Department is backing Zelensky.
Is there a Victoria Nuland intercept?
I’m waiting for the next war in Khalistan-India’s Sikhs. They were all out at the Golden Gate Bridge on Saturday. Nice cars. A whole lotta yellow flags. I guess they got a problem with Hindus.
Sikhs represent ‘only’ 2% of India’s population. Two percent of them makes it 20 million. Their leaders are getting bumped off in the west and Pakistan is helping them but then whadda’ I know?
How to succeed against massed artillery, tanks, drones and total Russian air-supremacy? Its almost Japanese-level denialism: expecting enthusiasm and bravery alone to succeed against overwhelming firepower.
At least they didn't need to commit seppuku.
stalemate?
Yes, that potential is there, but the deep-state doesn't want/need to stir up trouble against India at this time.
My prediction is something between Lithuania and Kaliningrad
“stalemate” is a euphemism for “losing.”
Lol. Y’all should’ve lied better and typed faster! Deep State demerits for you!
Yes, trench warfare but with drones, for viewing pleasure
It’s hardly a stalemate with Russia advancing in all sectors, but I suppose Biden needs something to cling to.
Body counts to determine if there is a stalemate.
The west started the war by saying they were going to put them in NATO….
There isn’t a stalemate. Russia carries on. Zelensky can’t help but lie. Seems like what all good RATs do.
Lol. Y’all should’ve lied better and typed faster! Deep State demerits for you!
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I did not post on that article - please take me off your ping list. Thanks in advance.
Russia was supposed to triumph in a few days, then a week, then a month, then “soon”...now a stalemate.
stalemate” is a euphemism for “losing.”
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Correct, judging by this weeks events on the fields of battle, Ivan is now just “ warming up”.
Every source like Mercouris (https://theduran.locals.com/index.php), to Weeb , to The New Atlas , to MacGregor are reporting ( with geo located video) the Ukie clobbering across all fronts.
……and the West’s preparations for “ negotiations “ will go no where. Ukraine is a US puppet, breaking all “ treaties”, not to be trusted. Unconditional Surrender is the only answer for lasting Peace.
not a stalemate, the Ukies are losing. War will be over in 6 months
nope, stalemate means not winning, but not losing either
IOW, Ukraine is not finished yet! lol
I want my Mommy!
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