"Russian Gains in Bakhmut, Ukraine Overextended, & US Lectures India"
Brian Berletic
The New Atlas (October 18, 2022)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJy3B25Exfs
Overview:
Update for Russian Ops vs. Ukraine for October 17, 2022
- Russian forces are closing in on Bakhmut city - with even the Western media noting the inevitability of Russia’s victory there;
- Ukrainian offensives are grinding to a halt - whatever additional gains they make will be temporary and inevitably reversed as Russia prepares what appears to be a major offensive of its own;
- Western media is depending heavily on propaganda to paper over severe weapon and ammunition shortages in Ukraine and the implications it has on Kiev’s fighting capacity;
- The US is lashing out with an increasingly desperate tone as nations around the globe refuse to subordinate themselves and their nation’s interests to US foreign policy objectives - India being among them;
0:20 Brian Berletic: [shows map of liveuamap.com] It is very pro-Ukraine so just keep that in mind when we take a look at it. But even this pro-Ukrainian map is admitting, the continued missile and drone campaign launched by Russia against Ukrainian positions all across the country from west to east, from north to south, they are reporting blackouts. Earlier, Kharkov had suspended the Metro because of blackouts so this is a continuation, for now, over a week.
0:59 Let's look at the front lines where Ukraine launched its offensives. Around Kherson, the lines are stabilized for the time being. My last update, I talked about a push from this direction by Ukrainian forces. I said I would update my audience on how that turned out. Russia repelled it and Ukraine suffered large losses in manpower and equipment. And this has been the pattern throughout the entire Offensive. Ukraine is hemorrhaging men and equipment that cannot practically be replaced.
1:34 Many speculate that this could have been a diversionary attack. A feint. But a lot of time has gone by since that attack and there have been no follow-up attacks. So any attack that happens at this point, Russia will have had plenty of time to prepare for and then get ahead of it. So maybe it wasn't that.
1:52 Others have ssaid it was reconnaissance in force. The purpose of reconnaissance is to attack the enemy. Not to overwhelm them or to take their possitions, but to force them to fire back and ascertain information about the disposition of enemy forces. How many? What kind of equipment do they have? How much ammunition does it seem like they have? Are they trying to conserve ammunition? Are they throwing everything they have at us? You get that information and then you try to take as many men and as much equipment as possible back intact. And that is no what happened. So, if it was a reconnaissance in force, it was a botched operation. Heavy losses. Not good.
2:36 If it was just an attempted offensive, then it failed. It was repelled. Around Kherson it's not to say that Ukraine isn't going to try again. It is not to say that they're not going to have more success in subsequent attacks. But it is to say that that attack failed.
If we go back to the map, this line along here in the Zaporozia region there have been reported concentrations of Ukrainian forces. This is why everyone assumes there's going to be some sort of offensive. But so far there has not been. But keep an eye
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30:23 . . . overthrow of dlected government in Ukraine, etc, . . .]
References:
France 24 - Under approaching Russian fire in Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine (October 16, 2022):
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news...
ABC (Australia) - Heavy fighting in Soledar, Bakhmut in Donbas, Russia sends thousands of troops to Belarus:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-1...
Business Insider - Russia is making excuses for why it can't stop US-made HIMARS from shredding its military in Ukraine:
https://www.businessinsider.com/russi...
New York Times - A new package of U.S. military aid will speed more mobile rocket launchers to Ukraine.:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/05/wo...
France 24 - US ammunition supplies dwindle as Ukraine war drains stockpiles:
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news...
Politico - India’s stance on the Ukraine war makes little sense:
https://www.politico.eu/article/india...