The Russian commander of the “Vostok” Battalion fighting in southern Ukraine said on Thursday that Ukraine will not be defeated and suggested that Russia freeze the war along current frontlines.

Alexander Khodakovsky made the candid concession yesterday on his Telegram channel after Russian forces, including his own troops, were devastatingly defeated by Ukrainian marines earlier this week at Urozhaine in the Zaporizhzhia-Donetsk regional border area.

“Can we bring down Ukraine militarily? Now and in the near future, no,” Khodakovsky, a former official of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, said yesterday.

“When I talk to myself about our destiny in this war, I mean that we will not crawl forward, like the [Ukrainians], turning everything into [destroyed] Bakhmuts in our path. And, I do not foresee the easy occupation of cities,” he said.

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[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml 22 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I absolutely love the incomprehension on the part of liberals of why Russia didn't just throw freshly mobilized troops into a meat grinder the way Ukraine is doing. Instead, they sensibly spent the time building multi-layer defences, and training the troops knowing that the west would push Ukraine into the offensive in order to justify all the spending.

[–] Frank@hexbear.net 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It is kind of unbelievable that they don't understand a smaller country can't just send able bodied young men in to a defensive line to get slaughtered indefinitely. Vibes based world view. You'd think there are enough gamers in the world that the average commentator would understand how "camping" works as a strategy.

[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

There was an actual article in WaPo that flat out said that the west knew that Ukraine didn't have enough equipment to do the offensive, but pushed them into it anyways because they thought their motivation and gumption would make up for it. You just can't make this shit up:

When Ukraine launched its big counteroffensive this spring, Western military officials knew Kyiv didn’t have all the training or weapons—from shells to warplanes—that it needed to dislodge Russian forces. But they hoped Ukrainian courage and resourcefulness would carry the day.

[–] Frank@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

How does that saying go?

Old age and treachery will always beat youth and exuberance.

I keep telling everyone to read Sun Tzu because he's very specific, numerous times, about not doing this specific thing. : p

[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml -3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

The fact that they thought this could work shows that western sponsors of the proxy war are completely detached from reality. If they made an obvious blunder like this, one has to wonder what other terrible blunders have they been making over the past two years. It's clearly that they're completely out of their depth here. Yet, people still think they're going to win because they project this level of stupidity on the Russians.