In a recent Defence Intelligence update released on Tuesday, June 27, 2023, the UK has noted significant advancements by Ukrainian forces in the Eastern Donbas region.

Ukrainian Airborne forces are said to have advanced east from the village of Krasnohorivka, near Donetsk city, which is situated on the old Line of Control.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky echoed this sentiment in his overnight address, calling it a “happy day” for Ukraine. He highlighted the successful counter-offensive movements being made across all fronts, although he did not delve into the specifics.

This update indicates a potential shift in the control of the Donbas region, which has been a major point of contention since Russia’s illegal annexation of the southern Crimean peninsula and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in 2014.

According to the UK Defence Intelligence update, the Ukrainian assaults throughout the Donbas have likely strained the Donetsk People’s Republic and Chechen forces operating in the area, indicating an effective counter-offensive strategy by the Ukrainian military.

The update reads:

“Ukrainian Airborne forces have made small advances east from the village of Krasnohorivka, near Donetsk city, which sits on the old Line of Control.

This is one of the first instances since Russia’s February 2022 invasion that Ukrainian forces have highly likely recaptured an area of territory occupied by Russia since 2014.

Recent multiple concurrent Ukrainian assaults throughout the Donbas have likely overstretched Donetsk People’s Republic and Chechen forces operating in this area.”

While it remains unclear the extent of the land recaptured by the Ukrainian forces, these latest advances mark a potential turning point in the ongoing conflict.

George Allison
George Allison
George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
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112 COMMENTS

    • It’s quite funny the news coming out today is that the US knew about the Wagner rebellion in advance and only shared the info with the UK not the rest of NATO, like EU NATO members don’t know they are not part of the intelligence club. Not sure if the info came from US or UK source or if it’s possible to even tell given the large number of joint sources involving ECHELON and SIGNIT sources but it reminds me of a quote from the head of GCHQ many years ago talking about having shared European intelligence apparatus and the comment was they don’t know how far behind they are.

      However at every step of the war 5 eyes has probably know more about what’s going on with Russian forces than Putin has.

      That’s got to be quite worrying for any leader. Surely he can’t keep going for much longer.

      • Well yes. We had this nonsense when Brexit was voted for. Now I know your view on that. What I mean is, all the moans in the media from the usual suspects that it would leave the UK behind and we would be cut off from intelligence.
        Utter nonsense. The UK is part of the UKUSA agreement, where other European nations are not, or have become 2nd or 3rd party associates at best.

        So quite logically that sort of info would have been shared bilaterally with the UK and possibly other 5 eyes anglosphere nations.

        One issue then with that is, it impacts the UK having its own foreign policy as so often we take the US lead.

        “shared European intelligence apparatus and the comment was they don’t know how far behind they are.”

        Which is a difficulty in the UK forging closer ties with Europe ( EU ) without losing that bilateral exchange with the US. So much is UKUSA eyes only and being joined at the hip with them, while an intelligence boon, can cause issues.

        It is not something I’d ever want to lose.

        • I agree, much the same as I think the EU agrees, Brussels is still desperate for a UK EU security agreement which Johnson took off the table.

          In terms of separate UK foreign policy to the US I suppose it’s difficult to view anyone in the west including the USA having a separate foreign policy at-least in defence terms and there is plenty of instances of the UK (Ukraine) or the UK and France in Libya dragging the US in to their foreign policy goals but as we seen in the Falklands with the issues around the UK accessing SIGNIT satellites in the south Atlantic shared resources can be problematic. Most foreign policy these days is economic or diplomatic and we do see massive divergence between the US and UK on for example trade CTPP or Paris 2015 or the law of the sea that the US still has not signed.

          I believe we fixed the satellite issue with the UK directly buying its own SIGNIT satellite and rotating with NSA but issues can always arise.

          • Talking purely of satellites. After the Zircon debacle of the 80s, I’m only aware of the agreement we made between GCHQ and NSA where we pay into one kind of their numerous constellations to have a part share of all ( and their allocation of target ) or majority share of a single one.

            Hopefully the new UK small sats being developed under MINERVA will help.

            Regards other SIGINT, COMINT, ELINT, HUMINT, GEOINT, we also have our own assets to contribute, and we hold our own in other areas such as R&D, crypt, access, facilities, cable intercept, internet access, and metadata, which we excel at and this is valued by NSA.

            I agree with your other points Jim.

        • There were many pros and cons to Brexit. It was not the vote or the way it went that pissed me off it was the BS from both sides that irritated the crap out of me..one of those was around security and defence…like membership of the EU or not had any relation to defence or security services at all….

          For me Brexit was alway a question of sovereignty vs easy access to markets, where the rest of the EU thought Political integration was going vs where the UK through integration should end, actually what democracy and representation looks like and could something as large as the EU ever provide representative democracy ( no laws without representation is my view) and finally could the UK better sculp the future of Europe in a way it wanted in the EU or out the EU…( I still struggle with what was the correct balance…the man in me that believes democracy can only really be expressed in a smaller distinct society hates the idea of the EU integration journey, the guy who wants our society to be as wealthy as possible…wishes we had access to that free trade zone)…but the security question…that was as much BS as the NHS funding on the side of a bus..

          • Still trying to find a Brexit benefit personally, as is the government, even they can’t name one.

          • I know, only this week we learned they diverted money away from Pandemic preparedness to plugging the hole caused by extra bureaucracy in health administration caused by Brexit in 2018, and now that Co-vid is over the government are diverting the money away from health contingency preparedness to plugging the Brexit funding gap again.

          • At least you no longer pretend to be a British citizen as you have claimed previous, in your weak efforts at sad trolling.

          • I think future historians will look back at Brexit as a turning point: the event which marked the UK finally coming to terms with the end of the British Empire. Brexit provides the space for us to ‘move on’. We were using the EU as an economic crutch while blaming it for all our ills instead of taking responsibility. We are celebrating 75 years of the Windrush generation; people who came to our shores as empire Subjects who held onto their culture, identity and self respect to become UK Citizens. Empire is a memory now. We need a new constitutional settlement to move into the future.

          • Excellent post. Thoroughly agree with it. EU membership had its benefits which I miss but it also fostered a delusional sense of self importance both politically and economically. Problem I have with Brexit is the powers that be and the civil service haven’t woken up to it yet. They still seem to have a business as usual mindset and 40 yrs enmeshed in the European project has diminished our competence and reduced on capacity for independent thought – I fear this will take decades to resolve.
            No EU nation or the UK has the economic clout of the US, none has the true ability to run such high levels of debt as though they have a reserve currency. For the EU and member states to obtain this status they need a banking union and singular fiscal policy. In 2011 the markets tested the Euro and it only just survived. Debt level are at spectacular heights now; when this happens again it won’t either that or the member states will finally have to accept full federalisation. Who know how that will be managed. Reality is, the UK is already in that situation but we are running levels of debt that are unsustainable. Our debt payments presently are larger than the education budget.
            For me Brexit is about the UK taking responsibility for its actions again, establishing greater democracy and accepting its true place in the world. Sadly, I don’t see any signs that that’s happening yet – which for me is the Brexit failure.

          • I don’t think we ever lost our capacity for independent thought. Quite the contrary, lots of politicians and political activists across the spectrum think they have ‘the answer’. I think it was Winston Churchill who said you can always rely on America to do the right thing….after they have tried every other alternative. You could say the same thing about the UK. We have tried EU membership and were not happy with it. I remember David Cameron drinking a pint with Xi Jinping when China was going to be our saviour. That didn’t work out too well. Liz Truss visited India on the same day as Sergei Lavrov. That didn’t work out well either. India looks after India and if that means buying Russian jets and oil and insisting on freedom of movement for Indian immigrants to the UK then so be it. The days of Britain using India to patrol the south west frontier with the Russian empire are long gone. Biden has stepped in and is buying their allegiance by offering Pratt and Witney engine plants. We need to get real. No-one is going to save us. There is no silver bullet coming along to replace the cheap food and labour we enjoyed from empire. And Whitworth screw threads are not going to make a comeback.
            The first habit to break is that of blaming someone else. Our economic situation cannot be blamed on the civil service or the Bank of England or the NHS or the SNP or the EU or Biden’s economic policies. The current government is good at finding excuses for its failure.
            The world has changed such that the political ideologies we have relied on no longer work. Going forwards it is the nations who can adapt their political and economic models who will survive.

          • So is Biden right to use capitalism to curry favour with India .
            Is might right as long as it’s the right sort of might exerted in the ‘right’ way
            I doubt that’s showing the Americans adapting their ethos or model of the last 80 years-far from it.
            Surely if America is still the worlds biggest economic power (even if only just) then we have to accept the influence that has on us, same as India has.
            Or we can align with 2nd largest economy in China, (like the EU are doing) but look at the issues that brings.
            I’m not sure where the blame lies…but all of those areas you mention above will have an impact on our economy, some more than others (you forgot to mention the influence of the climate warriors).
            Whether we can claw back some semblance of control remains to be seen.
            I would be trying to re-establish (high value) manufacturing, decreasing the use of the contractor model to increase tax and NI and removing the influence of private companies in some of our vital infrastructure for starters.

          • As you say, in its dealings with India the US is looking after itself and its world view; not forgetting that Taiwan produces 60% of the world’s semiconductor chips.
            I have to say that it’s not clear to me that China’s human rights record is any worse than India’s. To be a Muslim or a Christian in Modi’s India is not a healthy life style choice.
            I agree with your policy ideas for our economy. We do need to retain sovereign control of infrastructure: water, railways, energy. And we do need to continue the shift towards manufacturing. Security and sustainability are the highest priorities now. Pragmatism not ideology is the way forward.
            As regards clawing back a semblance of control my mother used to say ‘ grant me the grace to accept the things that cannot be changed, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference’. As a culture we are not very good at ‘moving on’, preferring instead to refight old battles. The libdem’s answer ( read the Independent) to our problems is to rejoin the EU. Pointless waste of time. You can predict the front page of most newspapers. The DT will carry articles on why we shouldn’t have had the covid lock down, why Brexit was the right decision and look how badly the Germans are doing on some metric or other, and an article blaming the Bank of England and/or the civil service for all our woes. Ground hog day. We need to follow my mother’s advice echoed by the Bard; “what’s done is done and cannot be undone.”

          • Not sure your points are making a consistent arguement for or against so I assume that wasnt your intention.
            However the issue as I see it is -as you have suggested,-that contrary to many statements from pro-eu bodies both here and in Europe the march towards federalism is the logical end point of the current path of the EU.
            That is something I could not and cannot accept.
            The fact we now have to increase our capability in many bureaucratic functions having had that capability reduced by becoming reliant on the EU functions we have now moved away from is by it’s very nature indicative of the influence that was being exerted.
            There will of course be a cost associated with that and again that is something I accept.
            Others seek to use every opportunity to bemoan that ‘Freedom’ to choose the path we take, and the financial impact and timescales that are inherent in developing those lost skills.
            As for greater democracy , I’m not too sure what you mean by that , unless you are referring to the separate countries of the UK going it alone.
            In which case ultimately I agree, but then again there was a vote recently.

          • Brexit, has fundamentally changed the views of many including myself who voted to remain in the United Kingdom. Our only way to remain in the EU , was to vote to remain in the UK. The fuse has been well and truly lit, and the demographic time bomb is ticking.

      • According to Wikipedia (so it must be true) Hollande once applied to join the 5 eyes grouping, making it into 6 eyes. However, he put a condition on this – the other 5 had to agree not to spy on France first. Fortunately this application was vetoed by the Americans.

        • I did not know that but I’m not necessarily surprised, the US and France have a pretty complicated relationship and history. Remember under Obama when they became Americas “oldest” ally. Did not last long. Unfortunately half of US presidents have a deep hatred of the UK from some perceived historic injustice they learned from some apparent ancestor from the old country or a Mel Gibson movie.

          • There are a lot of people all around the world that have a deep seated hatred of the UK. You don’t really have to look very far. You have lamb borders with them.

          • Oh dear you’re talking about borders again, the US border is a bad one for you, caught and detained then returned a number of times! Must be tough wanting the green card so much and being such a US fanboy but never having the feeling reciprocated.

          • Lamb borders? Is that new, a wall made up of small new born animals? Wow is that a thing from the other side of the fence is it! Learn something new every day!

    • Sergi shoigu better watch for putins force powers. Especially the neck area.
      What we do know is putin has mastered the force push as people have been flying out of windows a lot this past year seemingly with nobody touching them.

  3. Slowly but surely the Ukrainians will take back their homeland. Putin’s rule is under pressure and it remains to be seen if all the recent events will result in a change of leadership? Now is the time to maintain support for Ukraine to guarantee the supply of weapons. Sadly, I don’t see any signs that this war will end anytime soon unless Russian forces drop their weapons and return home on mass.

    • Perhaps if Ukraine can follow up any successful military campaign with a magnanimous political settlement for the liberated regions of disputed allegiances; the Russian media may feel compelled to accept the settlement and force Putin’s hands.
      Putin is only as strong as the thickness of the fog his media surrounds the people with (goes for all governments).

      • I agree. A magnanimous offer of some kind of recognition of historic rights to the Russian speakers in good faith would be a just and decent outcome.

        • It’s hard to see what kind of settlement there can ever be with Putin in charge. I think the Ukrainians would generally be happy to get rid of Crimea and their Russian speaking eastern regions especially if EU membership was on the cards.

          But the loss of face in making successions of any kind to an aggressor will be almost impossible.

          I can’t see the international community ever recognising the new boarders.

          • I agree in part. I don’t think the ‘international community’ (less than half the U.N. at a guess and then mostly unreliable) would wish to see mass expulsions either. I certainly agree nothing can be achieved in any direction until Putin is gone for good.

          • “I think the Ukrainians would generally be happy to get rid of Crimea and their Russian speaking eastern regions”

            Nope. Do a google search for “Ukraine oil and gas reserves map”, which are predominantly in the East of Ukraine and surrounding Crimea; all will become clear.

            There’s a reason Putin first annexed the East and Crimea in 2014 and then invaded in 2022. It has very little to do with a “NATO threat” to Russia which Putin knows to be a fiction.

            It was all about maintaining and growing a Russian virtual monopoly on gas supplies via pipeline to Europe. Not for strategic power reasons, but because when you’re an authoritarian kleptocracy whose main source of income is hydrocarbon exports, then preventing anyone else undermining your income is your priority.

          • Hmmm… interesting, previously unaware re gas and oil reserves. Additionally, Donbas is the principal industrialized/manufacturing region. High value (if, purchance, any remains).

      • I think the sight of crowds cheering on Wagner forces headed for Moscow genuinely shocked him, as sanctions continue to get worse more and more people will want rid of him, he looks weak and stupid. Just like Nicholas II.

      • As Rifikin so rightly said, Putin has few close colleagues in the Kremlin even the most senior discuss issues at the end of a 30ft marble desk! There comes a point when the most powerful need the closeness of friends. His sheer isolation could be his downfall if people begin to note a lack of control and leadership. Hitler virtually vanished from public view at the precise time the German people needed him most. This led to disenchantment and when the rot sets in……that’s it, folks.

  5. There has been a number of videos released by the Ukrainians of them moving forward and taking the fight to the Russians. I was watching this one of them clearing a Russian trench system, and I couldnt help but notice how well constructed they were . But, Ive got to tip my hat to the Ukrainians for actually taking the fight to the Russians in such well entrenched and defended positions , yes the apologists for Moscow can claim it is only due to NATOs help, but in the great scheme of things, the one thing they never mention is the will to fight back. There lies the main difference between the two sides.

    • Sadly, the Russians have had a few months to build their defences in depth. With some of the fighting, it does make you think how we would have coped with Mavic drones dropping grenades in you trench?

      It has also been reported that Ukraine has managed to get a few troops across the Dniepro River to the southern shore near Kherson and Nova Kakhovka. Looks like Ukraine are extending the probing to the whole front line now, especially as Wagner are no longer in the fight. Does make you believe they are fixing the Russians in place for a big surprise.

      • Read an account that stated the Russians have developed a virtual replica of the frontline defense network on the land approaches to Crimea. Almost as though the Orcs have an abusing interest in retaining that piece of turf. .🤔😳

        • … abiding interest ..though abusing interest isn’t a half bad alternative description…🙄🤔😁

    • JohninMK boasted on these pages that there would be ‘15,000 battle hardened troops’ (Wagnerian’s?) after the coup that never was free to fight in Ukraine for Putin. Well, here is proof they might be needed.

    • Well constructed trenches have well known GPS coordinates!

      If you can dig with mini diggers and backhoes then you can dig well fast – better still if you can get ready mix concrete then you can create impressive structures. Just ask Organisation Todt. But they do make such nice fixed targets..

      I think the issue is that scared and ill equipped conscripts won’t use those systems as well as you might think they could.

      • I think its a shame its taken so long to get agreement to hand over F16s the ability to get higher volumes lower cost JDAMs onto these defences would make a big difference. I stated over a year ago we should have supported Ukraine with western jets, they’d be fully trained by now. Instead it will take another 6 months to give Ukraine what it really should of had 6 months ago.

          • Absolutely, one things for sure, when this is over, Ukraine won’t find itself in this position again.

            EU and NATO membership will come. They will become the new Poland, staring the Russian bear directly in the eye and well armed and motivated too.

            I can see an eventual agreement where the breakaway regions ( what’s left of them after this appalling war) become some sort of demilitarised UN controlled buffer zone for Russian ‘leaning’ folks.

            That’s a possibility, but Ukraine won’t compromise on Crimea and why should they, drive the bloody Neo Nazi Russians out and over their bridge before it’s blown ski high…

      • SB wrote:
        “”If you can dig with mini diggers and backhoes then you can dig well fast “”

        The British army used to use the LMD (Light Mobile Digger) to quickly dig trenches and dig the basic hole in the ground for us to follow up and put up a MEXE shelter (Used as a command post)
        https://i.postimg.cc/MZ0RXsMn/Opera-Snapshot-2023-06-27-161957-www-flickr-com.png

        The only problem I see with the Russian trenches is there is no revetting (We used corrugated iron held in place with angle iron pickets) this is to reinforce them and help mitigate the effects of collapsing walls. Those Russian trenchs are quite deep and i see a lot of issues for when it rains or worse during an Artillery barrage.

        Now compare those so called front line trenches with the many vidoes of Ukrainian ones where they have revetted theirs with wood and made them very comfortable.

        • I agree that the lack of support for deep excavations is a major issue: soil naturally slumps when wet and the sides of the excavations are not battered back at all.

        • The MEXE shelter:
          https://i.postimg.cc/0Q4w13bQ/Ef80gyp-WAAAUIFk.jpg

          A right pain in the arse to recover at end ex, especially if we had followed the typical NATO exercise plan of retreating in the face of Red forces, which saw us spending most of the time of that so called retreat digging new defensive positions for troops to fall back to (Always at night) then at first light pack up and move back a few miles to harbour up, cam up and wait for night to fall to start again. Then when the Exercise finished and everybody packed up, we (silly sods) had to go back the way we came and recover all the field defences we had laid, which included picking up entire minefields of dummy mine fields which included hundreds of inert Mk7 and Barmines 

    • Whist I appreciate that the video was chosen and released to show Ukrainian excellence the poorly equipped Russian conscripts clearly don’t have a clue what is going on.

      In a lot of cases they are not even able to raise their weapon.

      One of the problems with zig zag trench systems is that aural cues are very confused.

      As always momentum is key to keep the other side off balance.

    • I watched just such a video and it was impressive to see just how clinically the Ukrainian troops cleared the trenches. You’re trench system can be as impressive as you like but if your attacker has balls of steel and your not on your game, your a dead man!

    • Shows how brutally tough that kind of fighting is. Just wondering, to my untrained eyes, did those Russian troops just basically blunder into the gunfire? They didn’t seem to use any attempt to seek cover or anything. They must have been very raw conscripts.

        • I found it awful to watch too.

          There is no glorification.

          However, the Ukrainians are doing what they have to do deal with an illegal and unprovoked invasion.

          I regret the loss of life.

          • I see the cold reality of what carrying out intentions based on national survival require. Kill or be killed. In the final analysis this comes down to that bast@rd Putin and those who support him on this blog should watch that video and consider.

          • I agree.

            The Ukrainians have zero choice: it is war and they didn’t start the war.

  6. Ukraine may be making slow progress but Russia is making none. Had the Ukrainians an airforce progress might be more speedy. Putin is in what chess players call ‘zugzwang’ – any move is only making things worse, mostly fatal.

  7. Many Russians do not support this conflict but dare not say or they end up gone in the night. State run by fear is no state at all and will end in doom. A new leader needed? Yes but who? All opposition have been locked up or killed off.
    This slow progress will have a high price on both sides. No one wins in war. About time this world woke up to the fact we are NOT CIVILISED by any means whilst we still wage war.

    • If Putin goes, one way or the other, his successor might be Medvedev – he is just as ruthless and obsessed with staying in power for decades.

    • Slow progress is progress clearing the tench systems. That was never going to be fast.

      Then it is manoeuvre warfare that is opened up.

      So when a decent gap in the defences is cleared, and a couple of others for misdirection, then I expect to see the main offensive start.

  8. I guess we will see soon if the Ukrainian troops are welcomed by residents or if they get similar treatment the Russians get in areas taken since 2022.
    Wouldn’t it be great if Russia pulled its forces back to Russian border and this conflict can end. The death, injuries and destruction is horrific. If the Russians won’t move willingly they will need forces back unfortunately.

  10. Aye sorry but the headline is a wee bity smokie mirrors.whilst perhaps it’s true Ukraine has retaken several acres of land however on reading the article it’s all very wishy washy.

    Quote “SMALL” advances outside a village ? Wow that’s mind blowing stuff a village? What’s next an entire town? They’ll have the Donbass back by 2089 for sure at that rate.

    Then below ….. While it remains UNCLEAR the extent of the land recaptured by the Ukrainian forces, these latest advances mark a POTENTIAL turning point in the ongoing conflict.

    & HIGHLY LIKELY …..🙈

    short of repeating myself for the 28th time I don’t support Russia so all you wee Ukraine promoters can pipe yersels doon. I would just like somebody to tell the truth on what’s happening. The above statements on here just sound airy fairy and like spin or wishful thinking at best which is standard practice these days.

    If anyones looking for NATO, Russia, Ukraine or infact any of the establishment in any country to be truthful then I’m sorry but there’s more chance of Rednex re releasing Cotton Eye Joe

    On listening to Col Douglas Mcgreggor , Scott Ritter or any number of commentators like them it doesn’t really sound like the counter offensive has gone very well? with Ukrainian forces being obliterated . Are these guys any better at the truth game? I don’t know but one thing I do know is you can bet your Granny’s pension had there been any significant gains the msm would be plastering it all over the tube instead …….dust bowls that’s kinda tells me which way it’s gone .

    still the room will be delighted I’m sure the war is continuing. 👏🏻

    🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧

  11. Not bad for nearly a month of “counter offensive” and $100billion of support from we tax payers in the west. How far until they reach the main defence lines?

    • It’s going good enough as at this time, but it’s real so you may struggle with the concept of reality vs make believe! I’m sure you could do much better.

      • You seem to operate at a very low level… Not sure what the deal is with the constant insults against everyone.

    • Had nothing like 100 billion UK money . Anyway Ukraine are beating the cowardly little midget .Putin will go down the most cowardly weak war leader of all time .

      • That’s because the UK is not actually paying for it. The UK is very good at press releases and chest thumping. Guess who’s paying for it?

      • Yo Pete can we have some evidence of this?

        I guarantee you provide nothing zip zero because there is no evidence

        I don’t say this with glee as I’m neither a supporter of Ukraine or Russia I’m just against this war and the fuelling of it by the West.

        On this subject it’s a dull echo chamber of group think by wee bah baah boys constrained by their sheep pens.

        Hilarious how the best the London boys can come away with is referring to everybody as Trolls when everybody should be simply looking for the truth………….

        🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧

    • Unlike the Orcs who believe (wrongly) that if you chuck enough meat at a problem that will solve it🙄 Ukr are rightly thinking this through and NOT just throwing their troops lives away! It really doesn’t matter how long it takes does it fast or slow the defence line will still be there but after seeing the Ukr making progress are those Orcs still going to believe in themselves?

    • It is not Hollywood or a Blitzkrieg. Neither will it be the same to the speed of territory taken when UKR retook Kherson and Kharkiv, where mobility and stretched supply lines played a role. This attack is into prepared positions that Russia has had months to prepare for, on the only realistic front Ukraine can attack from.
      I for one am pleased the Ukrainian army is still cautious with its soldiers lives and is degrading the Russians while pinning them in place with numerous smaller attacks.

    • Why do you focus on the money? That is the least important issue here.
      Ukraine has got until the late autumn Rasputsitsa to make solid progress. Ukraine must minimise its own casualties for practical and moral reasons and must hit the right places in the Russian lines – it is taking some time to locate the best places.

    • If you are that concerned about how tax payers money is spent then why are you not on NHS forums (spend £176 billion) or educational forums (spend £81 billion) which cost much more than the entire Defense budget. Indeed write a letter to Matt Hancock about poor value contracts for Covid, instead what you are really saying is Ukraine should give in and we should accept Russian conquest of lands, because you are pro Russian, and you don’t actually care about UK tax payer value for money. Otherwise why are on here?

      • He could also mention the £7m per day spent on illegal immigrants! That would go a long way on other causes🙄

        • I forgot about that one, plus Boris’s defence legal team with top KC Barrister paid by taxpayers. That would pay for a couple of missiles for the Ukraine offensive.

    • Honestly…..it could have actually been worse than it is now….the problem for the west is russian seems to be collapsing into a an almost chaotic warlordism….but it’s got the largest nuclear arsenal on the planet…that’s just a
      l round bad in the longer term.

  13. Looks like Ukraine are seriously into the shaping part of the campaign….what we are all waiting for is for the Russias start to fold to manoeuvre warfare. All those static conscript based formations are hopefully going to get isolated from supply and support and then defeated in detail. Ukraine has until late Oct to early Nov to really do this so plenty of campaign time left for Russia forces to collapse.

    • While a quick victory is preferred in combat Ukraine are doing the right thing that works for them.
      Kherson and Kharkiv had a lot of build up but when they fell they fell fast.
      It’s really some of the worst combat anyone has been in.
      Minefields everywhere, loads of artillery, dug in positions, loads of drones, some modern weapons in the mix. It couldn’t be much harder.

  14. The days of Russian propaganda making out they had a high end top military are over paper tiger power’s look good on paper in reality nothing much to offer .Its incredible a brown water navy like Russian can’t come out of port against Ukraine with no navy imagine Russian navy up against a blue water standard navy no contest. Russian air force scared to fly deep over border .. Useful idiots have swallowed all this mighty Russia rubbish for decades . Putin scared of his own shadow the weakest war time leader Ukraine could wish for .

  15. Slightly off topic , but it annoys me when our press reports that Russia is running out of weapons/troops and ordinance, it is clearly not the case otherwise Ukrainians would have pushed Russias forces back to the borders by now.

    Again, the Wagner rebellion was interesting, but does not appear to have changed the direction of the war for Russia. Some analysts are speculating it was staged as some kind of ruse to blindside Ukraine, while Wagner redeploys to Belarus, putting them within strking distance of Kyiv.

    • But they are running out, a lot of new gear is either reserve, Iranian drones or Chinese or Iranian ordnance, they did run out of men which is why they then conscripted more than 300k of new recruits and paid millions to mercenary groups. None of that would happy if all was well. The military intervention has turned into total war for them. In terms of the Wagner rebellion, I don’t think it’s a ruse, it’s too clever, they would simply redeploy if that was the plan without some elaborate hoax. Putin would never make himself so weak, for what, to just move a few thousand mercenaries to Belarus? There’s plenty of evidence that this is a fall out between warlords and generals, look no further.

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