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How Hot is Ukraine Gonna Get?


Probus

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1 hour ago, ArmouredTopHat said:

This might be something that really shakes faith in the Putin within Russia more than anything. When their Tsar has promised help and evacuation but nothing of the sort turns up and law and order utterly collapses without even a Ukrainian presence. Faith in the system cant exactly be high right now. 

This isn't the first time as I recall.  When the Russian anti Putin forces crossed the border last year the same thing occurred.  As soon as the forces that enforce law and order aren't present people go a little bonkers.  Not something unique to Russia, but that it is occurring now in their space tends to paint a bleak picture as to Putin's accomplishments and the state of the oh so special military operation.

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1 hour ago, The_Capt said:

Both sides have definitely fallen back on drones.  Here again drones really mess things up.  What is a tactical drone versus operational one when even the tactical ones have up to 20km ranges?  Based on the really sporadic deep strike capabilities of the RA, I suspect their ISR complex is 1) behind what the UA has access to, and 2) straining.  We can recall that brief campaign winter before last when it looked like the RA was targeting power generation.  They never really let off and even made a decent job of it for awhile.  But over time the accuracy of this campaign appears to have dropped off - we see more crappy terror strikes that they are likely doing off Google Earth.  Russian operational strike has always been poorly integrated.

But ISR for strike is different than ISR for intelligence - seeing a herd of buffalo 1000 meters out is a different problem than trying to hit one. The driver is sensor-shooter integration.  So the RA likely has awareness but translating that into precision strike is a bridge too far.  For example, say they are buying ISR satellite data from some Indian private company.  It is high resolution (we have seen examples in this thread) but say 24 hours old.  Well 24 hours old data is useless for precision strike on a single target, or even a unit. But formations take a long time to move around - it is another problem with heavy steel, it leaves a signature window that is really long lead.  A brigade may take a day to marshal, get shaken out and on the move with all the support in place, a Div is even longer.  So even crappy Indian satellite data 24 hours old is going to queue a formation movement.  It will likely even give a solid idea for units.

Ukraine with the HIMARs have demonstrated the opposite.  They are hitting logistical nodes and HVTs with frankly stunning accuracy, at very long ranges.  We have seen a lot of EW suites, radars, command posts and logistics getting hit.  That takes serious fast refresh rates and a very responsive sensor-shooter hook up.  I am willing to buy that RA may have been blind at Kursk...easy to do when you have only one weepy eye in the sector.  But I also know who was seeing that sector like a hawk from the border to way in depth...the UA. 

Even the good old grape vine can do work, but what it can't do is direct accurate precision strikes :). So as long as Ukraine keeps it moving somewhat and is able to deny enemy observation drones realtime ISR against their incursion, they are free to roam around as they please until they hit serious opposition. And even then they can just evade and isolate enemy concentrations IF they do have accurate realtime info (edit: assuming Russia can't (re)direct enough C4ISR assets capable of rapid precision strike along the whole Kursk/Belgorod area or full border). 
I'm curious whether UKR can utilize and translate these intangible capabilities into accurate strikes against RU reinforcements, similar to how they struck that battalion in trucks. Imo it would be an interesting strategy to go for vague incursions trying to draw RU reinforcements and then striking them with precision on the move.

Edited by Lethaface
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Russia to send evacuees from Kursk Region to Ukraine’s occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast As per the Kursk governor, a number of people evacuated from areas currently under Ukrainian military control will be relocated to Russian-occupied southern Ukraine.

 

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8 minutes ago, FancyCat said:

Russia to send evacuees from Kursk Region to Ukraine’s occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast As per the Kursk governor, a number of people evacuated from areas currently under Ukrainian military control will be relocated to Russian-occupied southern Ukraine.

Out of the frying pan... Into the fire...

I bet they will love mother Russia after that...

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According to Russia's Central Bank, the ruble took a big hit today, falling by almost 4% against the euro. Since the start of the Kursk offensive on August 6, Russia's currency lost 7.5% (EUR/RUB 93.0 --> 100.6). This will cause more inflation...

https://www.cbr.ru/currency_base/dynamics/?UniDbQuery.Posted=True&UniDbQuery.so=1&UniDbQuery.mode=2&UniDbQuery.date_req1=&UniDbQuery.date_req2=&UniDbQuery.VAL_NM_RQ=R01239&UniDbQuery.From=01.04.2024&UniDbQuery.To=14.08.2024

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Ukrainian reinforcements moving across the border to Russia's Kursk Oblast. #UkrainianArmy #RussiaUkraineWar

 

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1 hour ago, sburke said:

 As soon as the forces that enforce law and order aren't present people go a little bonkers.  Not something unique to Russia[...]

I've seen credible reports and some video of Russian soldiers looting abandoned Russian houses.  That's at least a bit unique to Russia.
And won't endear the public to them.

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Vyorstka reports that Russian conscripts evacuated from the border of the Kursk region are forced to sign contracts to be sent back to the front line. By law, conscripts in Russia are not supposed to take part in combat. Reportedly, 150 conscripts are now in one of the military units in the Kursk region, they are told "to follow the assault infantry to clean the territory” and are promised benefits and “combat” payments - $50 per day.

https://t.me/svobodnieslova/5443

 

Edited by FancyCat
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The first footage of Ukrainian Air Force airstrikes in support of the Kursk offensive has emerged. Seen here, a Ukrainian fighter drops a pair of US-supplied JDAM-ERs on Russian positions in Tetkino, conducting an effective tactical strike into Russia.

Location (51.281863, 34.276610)

 

 

Edited by FancyCat
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The ISW paper that Hapless linked yesterday was a long read (76 pages), but well worth it. I think it's essential reading for anyone who wishes to continue discussing the state of maneuver on the modern battlefield in general, and in Ukraine specifically.

https://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/Ukraine and the Problem of Restoring Maneuver in Contemporary War_final.pdf

Yes, it's a lot of reading. But it can't be more reading than is involved in keeping up on this thread.

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5 hours ago, Probus said:

Sooner or later the competent generals will rise to the top or is that not the way it works in Russia?

He was not that silly to wipe out every one of them. The most competent general was in Siberia. The unit which won the battle for Moscow. Without doubt there will be some individuals in the shadows. I don't think the Ukraine underestimate their enemy. 

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2 hours ago, ArmouredTopHat said:

Meanwhile the Russians continue to demonstrate excellent offensive technique. Literally a meat delivery. 

I just saw the same thing happening to some Donovian infantry in a recent Hapless video. I guess this goes to show that anything that happens in a CM scenario can happen in real life.

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5 hours ago, ArmouredTopHat said:

This might be something that really shakes faith in the Putin within Russia more than anything. When their Tsar has promised help and evacuation but nothing of the sort turns up and law and order utterly collapses without even a Ukrainian presence. Faith in the system cant exactly be high right now. 

It could help to replenish the meat wagons. Having run out of willing prisoners, Russia may now be creating a Precrime Division. If it happens, I imagine the police will have an incentive to arrest more and more men, adding to the social unrest side of the scale.

 

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2 hours ago, ArmouredTopHat said:

Meanwhile the Russians continue to demonstrate excellent offensive technique. Literally a meat delivery. 

I wish we could have seen what happened just before this.  The video starts with three men already out and wounded.  So what happened here?  My guess is the BMP started to unload in an area they thought the Ukrainians weren't manning, they got hammered, some either got back in the BMP or never got out, the three already out were wounded, the BMP put out smoke (rightly) fearing things were going to get worse, then drove off.

Steve

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37 minutes ago, Offshoot said:

It could help to replenish the meat wagons. Having run out of willing prisoners, Russia may now be creating a Precrime Division. If it happens, I imagine the police will have an incentive to arrest more and more men, adding to the social unrest side of the scale.

 

I read science fiction book recently where the opening hook was that you could get forcibly recruited for a traffic offense. I suspect Russia is headed most of the way there. The court has a quota of mobiks to provide...

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Another indicator RU is running out of equipment

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Belarus is transferring military equipment from its active units to Russia at Moscow's request. Russia asked Belarus for this equipment after events in the Kursk region, as Russia is facing a severe shortage of weapons in this and other areas.

 

 

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