Beginning of the Reconquista of Ukraine

[cassowary]

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ukra ... -2gth30j7m

Ukraine counterattacks. Russia retreats

[neverfail]

Your damned link bails you up after you click on it and tries to strongarm you into subscribing - when you only want to read the content as a one-off.

[Sertorio]

Your damned link bails you up after you click on it and tries to strongarm you into subscribing - when you only want to read the content as a one-off.

Don't worry. It was probably a lie, in any case...

[cassowary]

Your damned link bails you up after you click on it and tries to strongarm you into subscribing - when you only want to read the content as a one-off.

Don't worry. It was probably a lie, in any case...

It was published by the Times , a reputable newspaper.

[cassowary]

Ukrainian forces expelled Russian troops from town near Karkhiv

Ukraine has pushed Putin's army back from its second-largest city in a successful counter-attack.

Kyiv's men stormed east out of Kharkiv, in north-eastern Ukraine, on Monday and managed to recapture the town of Staryi Saltiv around 30 miles away, according to a Pentagon intelligence briefing.

[neverfail]

Ukrainian forces expelled Russian troops from town near Karkhiv

Ukraine has pushed Putin's army back from its second-largest city in a successful counter-attack.

Kyiv's men stormed east out of Kharkiv, in north-eastern Ukraine, on Monday and managed to recapture the town of Staryi Saltiv around 30 miles away, according to a Pentagon intelligence briefing.

Cass, in a column located next to your quoted main article I noticed this:

"Russian President Vladimir Putin is believed to have taken full control over the war in Ukraine and is making 'impossible demands' as his forces continue to assault the eastern Donbas region."

This evokes certain instructive historical memories for me.

The first is of Tsar Nicolas the Second personally taking charge of the imperial Russian army during the First World War. He who assumes total responsibility attracts total blame when things go wrong. For Tsar Nicolas the consequence of subsequent Russian reverses at the hands of the German imperial forces was the March Revolution.

Then there was Adolf Hitler's command. In 1942 before the winter snows set in Hitler's generals pleaded with him to move his forces back from Stalingrad to a safer wintertime line of containment - and Hitler ignored their pleas. The outcome was the Stalingrad siege and loss of an entire army of up to a quarter of a million soldiers.

Now, referring back to that sub-article I mentioned above:

The Russian President has wasted no time in making a series of major demands in an attempt to secure some success in Ukraine ahead of Russia's May 9 Victory Day celebrations.

One such demand is for his troops to take Kryvyi Rih - the birthplace of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky - according to a report from the General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces.

Why was Hitler so determined to hold on to Stalingrad regardless of cost? Because the city bore the name of his nemesis Josef Stalin. The symbolism outweighed the strategic value. Likewise Putin seems to be chasing a similar symbolic gain at Kryvyi Rih; also to spite his opponent.

Could history be about to repeat itself?

It seems to happen when megalomaniac psychopaths seize control.

[cassowary]

Ukrainian forces expelled Russian troops from town near Karkhiv

Ukraine has pushed Putin's army back from its second-largest city in a successful counter-attack.

Kyiv's men stormed east out of Kharkiv, in north-eastern Ukraine, on Monday and managed to recapture the town of Staryi Saltiv around 30 miles away, according to a Pentagon intelligence briefing.

Cass, in a column located next to your quoted main article I noticed this:

"Russian President Vladimir Putin is believed to have taken full control over the war in Ukraine and is making 'impossible demands' as his forces continue to assault the eastern Donbas region."

This evokes certain instructive historical memories for me.

The first is of Tsar Nicolas the Second personally taking charge of the imperial Russian army during the First World War. He who assumes total responsibility attracts total blame when things go wrong. For Tsar Nicolas the consequence of subsequent Russian reverses at the hands of the German imperial forces was the March Revolution.

Then there was Adolf Hitler's command. In 1942 before the winter snows set in Hitler's generals pleaded with him to move his forces back from Stalingrad to a safer wintertime line of containment - and Hitler ignored their pleas. The outcome was the Stalingrad siege and loss of an entire army of up to a quarter of a million soldiers.

Now, referring back to that sub-article I mentioned above:

The Russian President has wasted no time in making a series of major demands in an attempt to secure some success in Ukraine ahead of Russia's May 9 Victory Day celebrations.

One such demand is for his troops to take Kryvyi Rih - the birthplace of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky - according to a report from the General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces.

Why was Hitler so determined to hold on to Stalingrad regardless of cost? Because the city bore the name of his nemesis Josef Stalin. The symbolism outweighed the strategic value. Likewise Putin seems to be chasing a similar symbolic gain at Kryvyi Rih; also to spite his opponent.

Could history be about to repeat itself?

It seems to happen when megalomaniac psychopaths seize control.

That’s a brilliant insight, neverfail. I wish I thought of that. For Hitler and Putin, symbolism trumps sound strategy in decision making. Bad mistake.