Given the substantial losses of men and equipment and the meagre gains I do think it is safe to assume that the counteroffensive does not go as well as Kiev has hoped for.

[–] GivingEuropeASpook@hexbear.net 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Totally – but I think in the west, people were conditioned to expect breakneck speeds similar to the initial invasion and push towards Kyiv by Russian forces or the rapid advance last year of Ukrainian troops that pushed out Russians from Kyiv suburbs and northeastern Ukraine.

In my mind, a "failure" would mean that they gained nothing – not even a few small villages.

[–] mihor@lemmy.ml 9 points 11 months ago (1 children)

3 months for getting past the screening line while losing majority of your combat capability is... well... abysmal.

[–] GivingEuropeASpook@hexbear.net 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

while losing majority of your combat capability

We're watching this conflict unfold from a million miles away, how could you possibly know that they've lost most of their combat capability? That wasn't mentioned in the article. If the article is paywalled for you, I was able to read it entirely with Firefx's easy-read button.

[–] mihor@lemmy.ml 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)

You should check out Telegram and Youtube, you have numerous videos and photos of destroyed Ukrainian armor, drone strikes on radars and artillery, while analysts count everything. The brigades were already at most 50% of capacity before the offensive, but many have been rendered combat ineffective since, meaning there are too many casualties to be able to continue operations, so the reserve brigades (many of which were meant to exploit the breakthrough if it succeeded) have been rotated in already. In short, Ukraine broke its teeth on the screening line so now they are throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the front. After the offensive stalls for good and the Rasputitsa begins, Russia will most likely begin its own offensive, which will be disastrous for Ukraine.

[–] GivingEuropeASpook@hexbear.net 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

You should check out Telegram and Youtube, you have numerous videos and photos of destroyed Ukrainian armor, drone strikes on radars and artillery, while analysts count everything.

I used to in the first few months of the invasion, but I decided I'd only try to keep up with any significant developments (like if a city changes hands or something new happens, like a particularly brazen drone strike) for the sake of my own mental health.

The brigades were already at most 50% of capacity before the offensive,

Which YouTube sources were saying this?

[–] mihor@lemmy.ml 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Check History Legends, and I believe Weeb Union has been reporting it as well.

[–] GivingEuropeASpook@hexbear.net 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Subbed to both lol

Edit: unsubbed from History Legends after noticing a pattern of "anti-woke" comments from him and his weird view of colonialism (inferring that African countries shouldn't ask for reparations unless Arab countries are willing to do the same for Spain)