More kidnapping.

Kadyrov promoted and now they kidnapp all children out of Kherson. I hope these idiots aren't that crazy to really use the nuclear option but who knows. They are so desperate but still aren't able to admit how they fail. I wouldn't be surprised about anything anymore.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/06/alaska-two-russians-flee-military-draft

Kadyrow is a very, very loose cannon. Putin has to keep him "a friend" with whatever means he has, in this case an upkick in the ranks. The best thing to do for the US would be to organise unrest in Chechnya, Kadyrow and his cronies would instantly run back home. Won't happen, though.

I think Cherson may be something too big for the Ukraine. While we have seen umpteen reports of "Russia is finished", it does not make it true. They still have the upper hand in material and personnel, though many of these consist of "village idiots" type soldiers. But even village idiots can fire a gun and kill if the defense is organised. That seems to happen currently, or has already happened, around Cherson and the Donez region. There are (Russian, but not all Russian reports are pipe dreams) reports of heavy Ukranian losses (the 128th elite brigade almost completely eliminated as admitted by Ukraine).

The problem for the Ukraine is that Russia IS getting organised finally. Sure, fast Russian retreats and tanks left behind look good on the map, obviously. Less terrain means better defenses, though. And Putin can have 5 village idiots killed for every 1 Ukranian soldier and continue with the war endlessly. There still are  uncountable Russian village idiots for the meat grinders, but Ukranian soldiers get tired and killed as well..

Kherson was always going to be a long offensive; it has thousands upon thousands of Russian troops stationed there, some among Russia's best, they can't go blasting through everything like they did in Kharkiv, the troops in Kherson region are actually somewhat competent unlike the ones in the East. It's going to be a counter offensive through attrition, not to mention Kherson is a major city.

Russia isn't getting organised, the retreats from Izyum left hundreds of equipment behind, it was a military rout and the retreats from Lyman left hundreds to thousands of dead Russians, I've seen quite a lot of videos of Russian positions around Lyman completely demolished and dead troops. You're not taking into account key factors such as morale and motivation as well. 1 Ukrainian soldier is 10x more motivated than 5 village idiots.

Multiple military experts have said that mass mobilisation will make little difference because Russia simply doesn't have the senior staff to train them, doesn't have the equipment to equip them and the mobilised don't have the motivation or morale to be very effective in battle. These messy retreats from Russia absolutely play a factor on Russian soldiers' ability to operate effectively.

The only area Russia is making small gains right now is Bakhmut (which is mostly Wagner) which is quickly becoming more irrelevant of a take as Ukraine makes gains in the North, but Russia keeps sending skilled troops to their deaths in an attempt to take it, much to the annoyance of pro-Russian bloggers.