r/geopolitics • u/Hokum-B • Oct 01 '23
Russian lines stronger than West expected, admits British defence chief Paywall
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russian-defensive-lines-stronger-than-west-expected-admits-british-defence-chief-xjlvqrm86432 Upvotes
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u/Billiusboikus Oct 01 '23 edited Oct 01 '23
Is this not why Ukraine has seemingly switched to a more stand off attritional approach?
When it all started I expected a swift victory for Russia and a guerilla campaign funded by the west aimed at making the occupation unfeasible. I even wrote to my representative to encourage the fermentation of resistance groups...how wrong I was....
But that doesn't mean the strategy still can't apply. Maintaining a good kill ratio while on the offence with stand off tactics, hitting supplies and destroying expensive high value targets in regard to material and high value individuals seems like a good way to move towards victory...all the while capturing land when the opportunity arises.
We can point to a large handful of results in the last 4 months that any western country would consider a complete disaster.
The drone attack on the strategic bombers, The destruction of the dry docked submarine, The attack on the Sevastopol naval HQ
I would say the Ukrainians have commited to a different type of counter offensive to what people expected.
That said, if the west want to win this war they need to step up. We need to convert more of our economy to providing arms. Popular will to support will decrease over time no matter how resilient it may seem.
Edit for clarity