The Western media (true for the Romanian media, also) ranges from suggesting this possibility to outright proclaiming it. Yet, on the battlefield, the Russians are very close to sieging Kramatorsk and Slavyansk, the only big cities in Donbas remaining under the Ukrainians.
But the battleground
success can be very misleading. I noticed before, in several articles on this
blog, including when analyzing the inane 28-point “peace” plan drafted by some
Russian imbeciles living large and impersonating “elites” in a country that
deserves much better, that Russia’s leadership’s frame of mind is not conducive
to victory, but to self-defeat and self-ruin.
Russia set out to
demilitarize Ukraine and that should still be the goal. Any fighting capability
that remains in Ukraine is bound to be used by the West to attack Russia on and
on in the future. Yet Russia is self-confiding itself to the narrow framework
of a “measured response”, a reply, a “retaliation” in kind, instead of taking
concrete actions to defeat and occupy Ukraine, the only outcome for them at
this moment.
The Russians have come to
accept attacks on their civilian targets as commonplace in this conflict. The
Ukrainians do not hide that their drone campaigns are destined to terrorize the
Russians into revolting against their rulers and force them into conceding. But
the said rulers limit themselves to half measures and parodic actions.
The burning of Russia’s
private logistics, such as Wildberries and Ozon is not a small matter. Russia
has a huge territory and real difficulties in hauling merchandise from one
place to another, due to geographical constraints. Any distortion further adds
to such hardships. Moreover, the distribution chains and the industrial chains
are fragile, if they break it could take years to rebuild, if ever. Russia,
instead of turning into an economic autarchy, is more and more resorting to smuggling,
which clearly is not the answer.
These are not postcard
victories for Ukraine, images to be served by the propaganda for a stupid Western
audience. These are feats that really bite the ordinary Russian, whom their
cretin elites count on remaining docile… For how long?
Clearly, the weaknesses
in Russia’s conduct of the war (“special military operation”, please…) that I alluded
to before, have not subsided but have amplified.
