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Ryuu96 on 28 August 2023
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crissindahouse said:

Question is what costs more lives. If you "rush" the enemy at some points and lose many soldiers by doing that or if you try it more slowly to lose less soldier per day but you need 5x as long to take some positions and give Russia even more time to build even more and better defensive lines in the rest of the occupied areas. I have no idea what's better but almost not progressing at all like Ukraine the last three months doesn't sound perfect to me either (even Robotyne is just a very small village where less than 500 people lived and the other taken villages in the South were even smaller). Maybe something between their tactics of the last months and some aggressive style others want to see would be the best way but who knows.

Those minefields are obviously a huge problem but it's not as if Russia doesn't use every extra week to place even more mines and build even more trenches. Then you overcome Russia's strongest defensive line but in that time Russia build already two new ones...

It's not like Ukraine hasn't been assaulting Russian positions, they have just been more slower and methodical about it, rather than a Normandy style charge head first into minefields and artillery like some of these unnamed Western officials seem to want. There was a lot of concern and upset at Ukraine losing a few Leopard 2's at the start of the offensive to minefields, if they took the advice here then they'd quickly end up with no Leopard 2's. Fact is, if the West was quicker at delivering what Ukraine needed then the offensive would have been faster but we weren't and it's not so we have to suck it up, it's partly our fault. War is long and we have to be patient.

As for building more defensive lines, it's a lot harder to build defensive lines while you're in the middle of being assaulted, Russia will have to lay mines whilst at the same time fighting, and in some cases, retreating, the vast majority of minefields are likely at the front with some scattered behind but they can't mass lay mines BEHIND their troops otherwise they trap them. They need to leave routes out. The biggest issue has always been the sheer scale of mines at the front and artillery to finish them off, but lately Ukraine has been obliterating Russian artillery and then they need to get a large enough force behind the minefields and things will pick up faster and be more aggressive.

Ukraine is a massive country so just looking at colours on a map doesn't tell a full picture. Each progress is pressure onto the line, the line is like a dam and Ukraine is like water pressing against that dam, at some point, a hole will hopefully be made, and if the pressure is kept up, the hole will explode and cause the whole structure to break. Tokmak is actually very small too but it is very significant tactically, hence why Russia has massively fortified it and why Robotyne despite being very small was very well defended. Russia is focused on stopping Ukraine from reaching Tokmak in the South.

I would honestly not be surprised as well because it would be peak Russia, if most of their soldiers are on the frontlines and there's not much manning the background because Putin is desperate to not lose anymore ground so sent everything to the front. Also Russia has just committed its best unit to the Tokmak axis, they're feeling the pressure.

Last edited by Ryuu96 - on 28 August 2023