10 months ago
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Everyone seems to be disappointed by the rate at which the Ukrainian counteroffensive is liberating territory … only it’s not clear that the Ukrainian military is actually part of that “everyone.” What’s happening right now could be so vital to their efforts that trying to change things by rapidly liberating more area could actually make things worse.
To understand why staying put might not be as much a necessity as it is a strategy, it helps to look at this message from a Ukrainian soldier taking part in the fighting around Pyatykhatky at the western end of the southern front.
“The Russians have been trying to drive us out of our positions for days. From the direction of Zherebyanky the Russians attack with tanks and IFV. The attacks are made across the open field, through their own minefields. By capturing high ground we have fire sovereignty over this sector.”
There’s an incident in America’s history that seems to mesh with the situation being described in this area—it was called “Pickett's Charge.”
