Source: A Son of the New American Revolution.
The writer points out that military logic is not the same as game show logic.
Bloggers, Telegrammers and commenters do not get to vote for who is the winner in Ukraine. That will be decided by who can put the most combat effective troops on the field, who can feed and supply those troops with the weapons and ammunition they need to fight, and who can destroy the opposing army, economy and political system.
Russia’s retreat from Kherson should be comprehended in terms of military logic. It is a mistake to assume that a loss of territory is the same as a strategic loss on the battlefield.
Tidewater News and Opinion Forum 
It’s also a mistake to assume that a loss of territory is a good thing.
“Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered the withdrawal of troops from Kherson to the left bank of the Dnieper. Sergei Surovikin, commander of the joint group of special operations troops, said that the maneuver to withdraw troops would be carried out as soon as possible.”
https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/5653512?from=top_main_1
But more ominous than that, he said he has “plans to create a flood zone below the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station.”
This is the first time the Russians have admitted they have mined the power station with the intent to blow the dam. It is a last resort move that will not only flood vast areas of the territory they had hoped to own, it will destroy the major water source for all of Crimea… which they had hoped to keep.
If the Ukrainians can’t stop them, they will blow that dam in order to buy time for a full retreat. And that is a “retreat” in the sense of a strategic loss on the battlefield.
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RE: “But more ominous than that, he said he has ‘plans to create a flood zone below the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station.'”
You are misinformed. Shoigu accused the Ukrainians of planning to flood Kherson by destroying the dam on the Dnieper River. It makes no sense for Russia to blow the dam.
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If the Russians are in retreat, it makes perfect sense for them to blow the dam. It would flood the area they are evacuating and bog down the Ukrainian army, giving the Russians time to fall back and regroup. It would also destroy a good part of Ukraine’s electrical grid.
It would be a desperate move because it would also destroy the water supply for Crimea, the route the Russians will have to take to get back to Russia. The bridge between Crimea and Russia has been effectively disabled so getting supplies in and getting troops out will be slow and tedious. They don’t need to add a water supply problem on top of all that. But it may be their only alternative. A full retreat with an enemy hot on their butt would be even worse. They’d need a way to slow that enemy down.
The Ukrainians have no “plan to create a flood zone.” Shoigu was speaking of the Russian army in Ukraine, not the Ukrainian army, having plans to create a flood zone. It would make no sense for Ukraine to blow the dam because it would be destroying their own land and a major part of their power supply for the winter.
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RE: “The Ukrainians have no ‘plan to create a flood zone.’ Shoigu was speaking of the Russian army in Ukraine, not the Ukrainian army, having plans to create a flood zone. ”
Sorry, your own source disproves your assertion. Here’s the relevant translation:
“Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered the withdrawal of troops from Kherson to the left bank of the Dnieper. Sergei Surovikin, commander of the joint group of special operations troops, said that the maneuver to withdraw troops would be carried out as soon as possible.
“During the report at the command post of the joint group of troops, Mr. Surovikin told the Minister of Defense that the Ukrainian armed forces have plans to create a flood zone below the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station.”
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The Ukrainians have no plans to blow their own dam. It would destroy their power grid and put them at a disadvantage in the war. If the dam gets blown, it will be by the Russian haulin’ ass, trying to escape the Ukrainian army.
And they are retreating. You did understand that much, didn’t you?
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RE: “The Ukrainians have no plans to blow their own dam.”
They have been bombing it for a month. What do you think their plans are?
More to the point, you misquoted the Russian commanders, attributing to them a statement that is exactly the opposite of what they said. Here, again, is the actual quote: “Mr. Surovikin told the Minister of Defense that the Ukrainian armed forces have plans to create a flood zone below the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station.”
You are entitled to believe any crazy thing you wish, but you are not entitled to your own facts.
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Uh, do you not understand that quoting the RUSSIAN commander as evidence of what the UKRAINIANS are planning to do could not be more ridiculous?
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I understand that the Russian commander was describing Ukrainian plans, not Russian plans, as Ms. Radford wrongly claimed.
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This is a good example of beating up a straw man. Nobody thinks that bloody war is anything like an episode of Britain’s Got Talent.
Sometimes in war one side or another gives up territory for sound tactical or strategic reasons. Russia’s victories over Napoleon and Hitler are textbook examples of that. The Russian retreat from Kherson MAY be based on reasons other than the inability to hold the territory. Maybe they could but choose not to. Zelenksy himself seems wary of a rope-a-dope tactic and is proceeding carefully into the abandoned area. So, it is possible.
But in the absence of any plausible strategy behind the retreat, the most likely explanation is that Putin has reached the sober realization that trying to hold on through the winter against the unrelenting pressure would result in even greater loss of support than this retreat has already caused. In other words, another setback in Putin’s illegal war of aggression and conquest.
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RE: “This is a good example of beating up a straw man.”
No, it isn’t. This post is a direct and substantive response to yesterday’s Forum post, “Bad News for Fascism.”
RE: “But in the absence of any plausible strategy behind the retreat…”
There is very good strategy behind the retreat. Russian forces north of the Dnipier River are vulnerable to disruptions of logistical support because the river itself is an obstacle.
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Nobody compares the war to a game show. It IS a straw man.
Sure, avoiding a more disastrous defeat is a sound reason to run away. But that does not mean that running way is part of a strategic plan to win the war. It is a defeat. The last in a growing string of Russian defeats which – for some reason – you people want to pretend is part of some Master Plan of the Russians. Does reality EVER get you to change what you believe?
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RE: “But that does not mean that running way is part of a strategic plan to win the war.”
Actually, it does.
RE: “The last in a growing string of Russian defeats which – for some reason – you people want to pretend is part of some Master Plan of the Russians.”
I note that planning is a key and inherent function of military operations, but who is attacking a straw man now?
I wrote, above, “Russia’s retreat from Kherson should be comprehended in terms of military logic.” It is you and Ms. Radford who insist on spinning it as a narrative of Russian defeat. You are the ones seeking to employ “game show logic.”
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Bad news for Putin’s puppet leader in Kherson.
https://www.the-sun.com/news/6637178/putin-installed-leader-kherson-killed-bizarre-propaganda/
“Former YouTuber Kirill Stremousov – reviled for a sick stunt swinging a baby round his head – had urged civilians to flee their homes while pumping out twisted pro-regime propaganda.”
He was killed in a “mysterious car crash.”
“The exact circumstances of his death were unclear, but it came as Russian troops retreat in disarray from Kherson city.
Today Russia surrendered the major city – the gateway to Crimea – as General Armageddon began pulling all his troops to the opposite bank of the Dnipro river.”
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You are the ones seeking to employ “game show logic.”
Uh, in discussion military confrontations terms like “victory”, “success” and “defeat” are common and necessary. That does not make it a game show logic.
You insist that the discussion should be based on “military logic” but refuse to do so yourself. Giving up a strategic city is a defeat. That is “military logic” 101. That it may be done to regroup or to feed starving troops does not change the “military logic” that it is better to HOLD strategic points than to LOSE them.
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RE: “You insist that the discussion should be based on ‘military logic’ but refuse to do so yourself.”
I’m happy to do so, once you have finished with your irrational attacks and denials. For example, are you aware of reports that Russia’s retreat from Kherson was negotiated with the Americans? Are you aware of reports that not a single Russian soldier or piece of equipment was lost during Russia’s withdrawl? Are you aware of the fact the Ukrainian offensive outside of Kherson has been dead in its tracks for six weeks and suffering huge loses of men and equipment?
According to military logic, the loss of Kherson may be a sign that the USA is about to enter the war on the battlefield because Ukraine is not able to sustain the fight on its own.
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So, Russia losing Kherson may be a sign that our country is about to enter the battlefield?
There is no “military logic” in that utter nonsense. Your parroting of Russian propaganda is, with all due respect, bizarre. When I see these “reports” you apparently take seriously in a bona fide news source I will be happy to discuss them. Until them, I consider them to be baloney cooked up by Russia or some Russia-supporting fantasist.
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You have nothing to say because you are aware of nothing.
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“You have nothing to say because you are aware of nothing.”
If that thought gives you some sort of comfort or you think it is a defense of your nonsense, then knock yourself out.
In my opinion, it is not the abject ignorance of the MAGA-Republican that leads to such bizarre opinions and values. No, it is the things they are sure they “know” that are simply not true which is the more serious problem.
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Your “awareness” is fully based on illogical Russian disinformation. Too bad you are too blind to realize it.
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What is the source of all that you claim above? OR are you juts saying it because it sounds good? To me it sounds like a lot more BS then fact, which is what you have been attempting to throw on the wall like so much ketchup in the dining room.
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