by Larry Johnson at A Son of the New American Revolution
Bucha is the latest shiny object that the Western cats are chasing mindlessly without taking time to think critically about what Russia is actually doing on the ground. Russia’s invasion on February 24 was not a classic military attack. What do I mean? If Russia was intent on conquering and subjugating Ukraine without regard to the fate of Ukrainian civilians it would have launched massive missile and airstrikes on all major cities, bridges, airfields, railroads and communication systems. It did not do that. Not my opinion.
The first phase of Russia’s special military operation consisted of the following:
- Moved troops and armored columns into Ukraine from three directions–North, East and South.
- Deployed only 200,000 troops while maintaining key reserves inside Russia along the Ukrainian border against a Ukrainian Army estimated to number 600,000.
- Avoided attacking communication systems leaving cell phone and internet largely intact.
- Took control of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe–Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant–but kept the electricity flowing.
- Supported offensives by the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics against Ukrainian forces in the East.
- Gradually surrounded Kiev from the North but did not fight any key battles to occupy outlying cities.
- Destroyed Ukrainian ground radar, key airfields and military bases in Western Ukraine with precision missiles.
- Sealed the southern coast of Ukraine with the Russian Navy.
- Launched an assault on Mariupol, a key Ukrainian port in the South, and systematically annihilated the neo-Nazi AZOV battalion (Russia now controls all of Mariupol except for the steel plant and continues to methodically eliminate the remaining defenders).
The immediate effect of this operation divided and froze the Ukrainian Army in four geographical regions-North, South, East and West. During the first two weeks the Ukrainians and NATO did not know where Russia’s major blow would fall. Russia’s initial success in eliminating Ukraine’s Air Force as a combat effective unit and the destruction of key military bases and fuel depots made it impossible for Ukraine to dispatch reinforcements to Donbas and Mariupol.
During the past week Russia has effected a tactical redeployment of forces that originally surrounded Kiev. It is reported that those units moved west and are likely to be used as block force that will be part of a broader effort to defeat the bulk of the Ukraine Army now virtually surrounded in the eastern part of the Donbas.
With its limited ability to move troops or resupply frontline forces, Ukraine is relying on propaganda and information warfare to try to weaken Russia and entice NATO to join the fray. Here is a good summary of these efforts courtesy of Nighvision:…
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