Russia has revised its Ukraine war strategy to focus on trying to take control of the Donbas and other regions in eastern Ukraine with a target date of early May, according to several US officials familiar with the latest US intelligence assessments.

Retreat and declare victory by May 9.

  • mekhos@lemmy.ml
    136·
    3 years ago

    The pulling back so far seems to have left a trail of horror for civilians. As the gravity of how bad this looks for Russia sets in, I think the retreat will accelerate astonishingly.

    • poVoq@lemmy.ml
      43·
      3 years ago

      Everyone with some common sense knew this was going to happen the moment the Ukrainians started handing out weapons to civilians. Even if these civilians were not actual combatants, the Russian soldiers would have to always treat them as potential ones as a matter of self preservation.

      Note I am not at all trying to justifying killing of civilians or excusing the Russian side here, but simply stating the facts of how such things happen in insurgency situations.

    • Dochyo@lemmy.ml
      512·
      3 years ago

      As the gravity of how bad this looks for Russia sets in, I think the retreat will accelerate astonishingly.

      I don’t understand the mechanisms by which this would take place, could you explain it to me? It’s not like the world hasn’t been killing putin in effigy, blaiming russia for every conceivable problem accross the world since the war started, and insinuating that their government are nazis, barbarians, demons, etc. Against that kind of ideation it seems to me like actual piles of dead bodies weight very little.

  • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmy.ml
    77·
    3 years ago

    I don’t follow why western news keeps spinning this as a shifting focus. It’s literally what the official goals were stated back on March 5th. I’m not aware of any change in position since then.

      • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmy.ml
        64·
        3 years ago

        Gotta make sure that the citizens only consume state approved propaganda. That’s what freedom and democracy is all about.

          • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmy.ml
            93·
            3 years ago

            The situation between the west and Russia isn’t as different as most people in the west would like to believe unfortunately. In fact, I’d argue that western methods of manipulating public opinion are more effective because they’re more subtle. As Chomsky put it, “the smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum.”