Ukrainian Troops in Kharkiv Facing the Grim Reality of Russian Incursion

[Social Media]

 

Denys Yaroslavskyi, Commander of a Ukrainian Special Reconnaissance Unit speaking to the BBC says he is no stranger to the brutality of war. Having fought in Ukraine’s surprise offensive in Kharkiv in 2022, he witnessed the triumph of pushing back an initial Russian invasion. However, the recent resurgence of Russian forces along the border has plunged Denys and his men back into the throes of conflict.

 

Russian advances in the Kharkiv region, though modest in depth, have swallowed up significant swathes of Ukrainian territory, spanning approximately 100 kilometers. Denys, visibly frustrated, questions the absence of adequate defenses along the border. He recalls witnessing Russian troops effortlessly crossing the border, unimpeded by any semblance of resistance or fortified barriers.

 

The lack of preparedness on Ukraine’s part, despite forewarnings from intelligence sources, raises troubling questions about negligence or corruption within the country's defense infrastructure. Denys views the incursion not as a failure, but as a betrayal of trust and duty to protect Ukrainian sovereignty.

 

The plight of civilians caught in the crossfire underscores the gravity of the situation. With Russian forces encroaching on towns like Vovchansk, residents face the grim choice of fleeing or risking life under occupation. The relentless barrage of artillery and aerial bombardment leaves once-thriving communities reduced to rubble, with casualties mounting by the hour.

 

For individuals like Serhii, whose home was destroyed by a Russian glide bomb, the devastation is deeply personal. As he surveys the wreckage, contemplating an uncertain future, his resilience is a testament to the human spirit amidst adversity.

 

The exodus of residents, particularly the elderly and vulnerable, speaks volumes about the urgency of the situation. Oleksandr, a 65-year-old forced to abandon his lifelong home, symbolizes the collective anguish and displacement endured by countless Ukrainians.

 

Amidst the chaos, Ukraine grapples with logistical challenges and a critical shortage of military resources. Delays in receiving essential support, compounded by bureaucratic hurdles, have hampered efforts to effectively counter Russian aggression.

 

Denys’s anger is palpable as he reflects on the sacrifices made to reclaim territory in the past, only to confront a resurgence of conflict due to systemic failures. The toll of lives lost and communities shattered underscores the urgent need for decisive action and unwavering solidarity in the face of adversity.

 

Credit: BBC 2024-05-13

 

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[thaibeachlovers]

Denys Yaroslavskyi is a brave man to speak so blatantly against the regime. He can be posted to a less desirable position..........................................

 

Re the OP, is the narrative that the Russians are losing being discarded? I dare say no threads like this would have been on here a couple years ago.

[thaibeachlovers]

2 hours ago, Social Media said:

The lack of preparedness on Ukraine’s part, despite forewarnings from intelligence sources, raises troubling questions about negligence or corruption within the country's defense infrastructure. Denys views the incursion not as a failure, but as a betrayal of trust and duty to protect Ukrainian sovereignty.

Hmmmmm. Seems that Ukraine's reputation as supremely corrupt are not without foundation.

[BobBKK]

Oh no, don't tell me the Russians are winning. That will upset a lot of posters on here.

[Bkk Brian]

Just now, BobBKK said:

Oh no, don't tell me the Russians are winning. That will upset a lot of posters on here.

Who's telling you the Russians are winning?

[BobBKK]

1 minute ago, Bkk Brian said:

Who's telling you the Russians are winning?

 

Seriously? 

[Bkk Brian]

Just now, BobBKK said:

 

Seriously? 

? Yes seriously? 

 

Ukraine had regained more than 50% of ground Russia took by July 2023. Its lost some of that ground again. How does that equate to Russia winning?

[BobBKK]

8 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

? Yes seriously? 

 

Ukraine had regained more than 50% of ground Russia took by July 2023. Its lost some of that ground again. How does that equate to Russia winning?

 Unbelievable what some will swallow - you can't truly believe that Ukraine is going to defeat Russia? Watch and see the utter devastation coming soon - Ukraine has run out of troops. Spend your energy pushing for peace not the total waste of innocent Ukrainian lives.

[Bkk Brian]

2 minutes ago, BobBKK said:

 Unbelievable what some will swallow - you can't truly believe that Ukraine is going to defeat Russia? Watch and see the utter devastation coming soon - Ukraine has run out of troops. Spend your energy pushing for peace not the total waste of innocent Ukrainian lives.

Indeed I relish facts not your hyperbole, I am also not foolish enough to get out crystal balls and make predictions as you obviously are.

 

Ukraine has recaptured 50% of the territory that Russia seized

https://archive.ph/9smJG

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

11 hours ago, BobBKK said:

 

Seriously? 

Apparently some posters get their information exclusively from western propaganda.

[Skipalongcassidy]

18 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Apparently some posters get their information exclusively from western propaganda.

While others get theirs exclusively from that muslim rag al jazeera

[Gweiloman]

3 hours ago, Skipalongcassidy said:

While others get theirs exclusively from that muslim rag al jazeera

Islamophobic?

[howerde]

20 hours ago, Bkk Brian said:

? Yes seriously? 

 

Ukraine had regained more than 50% of ground Russia took by July 2023. Its lost some of that ground again. How does that equate to Russia winning?

Ukraine lost the war a long time ago it has gained no lost land and continues to lose, the Russians have killed between 400 000-500 000 Ukrainian troops, it is in full control of the areas it wants, what will be left of Ukraine will be the bits Russia does not want. It will be about as useful Albania

[Bkk Brian]

1 minute ago, howerde said:

Ukraine lost the war a long time ago it has gained no lost land and continues to lose, the Russians have killed between 400 000-500 000 Ukrainian troops, it is in full control of the areas it wants, what will be left of Ukraine will be the bits Russia does not want. It will be about as useful Albania

Russia has killed 400,000 to 500,000 Ukainian troops has it? Another propaganda wizard

[howerde]

3 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

Russia has killed 400,000 to 500,000 Ukainian troops has it? Another propaganda wizard

Nope it is obvious, Ukraine has no functioning air force it has no integrated air defense system,  Russia strikes where it wants, how can you win a war if you do not control the air?

[Bkk Brian]

Just now, howerde said:

Nope it is obvious, Ukraine has no functioning air force it has no integrated air defense system,  Russia strikes where it wants, how can you win a war if you do not control the air?

You've already lost all credibility with your previous claim. 

[thaibeachlovers]

14 hours ago, howerde said:

Nope it is obvious, Ukraine has no functioning air force it has no integrated air defense system,  Russia strikes where it wants, how can you win a war if you do not control the air?

But but but all those F16s are arriving ?shortly to win the war. Not too long before Zelensky is walking into the Kremlin.

 

Oh wait, weren't the Leopards going to win the war? Seems we don't hear much about them any more. Never mind, the F16s will do the job for sure. After all, the Russians won't have taken the time to beef up their anti air defenses, will they?

[Skipalongcassidy]

20 hours ago, Gweiloman said:

Islamophobic?

No... I am merely realistic... for centuries the muslims have been the forerunners of hate and terror in the world

[retarius]

On 5/15/2024 at 5:11 AM, thaibeachlovers said:

Apparently some posters get their information exclusively from western propaganda.

Yes the lazy way to be informed.....western English language propaganda....from the BBC, CNN and other slimy unreliable sources. Now we will have AI to up the ante of how well Ukraine is doing. The best thing to do is to read the propaganda, totally discard it, then wait a few days to find out how the front line has moved. The Ukrainian terror campaign with all of its attendant hoohah, reflects little, the terror attacks are pinpricks without strategic relevance, but bolster the spirits of the know-littles. What are this crowd going to do when Ukraine sues for peace next month as it dawns on their silly season 'peace conference that Ukraine is losing badly and even the untrained recruits at the front line are unable to save the day. 

[Danderman123]

How many on this topic are posting from Russia?

[Danderman123]

I am sure there are elements of the US defense establishment happy to see Russian military losses, and welcome a war of attrition.

[beautifulthailand99]

Hi giys, hope you are all well. I've had a bit of a break, but I've decided to come back and help with information and insight. I've never seen anything like this throughout the war: multiple and repeated Western mainstream media (MSM) articles starting to admit defeat. The ultimate question is: will the West accept this, or will they try and escalate the NATO response with boots on the ground?

I realize that this will come as a shock to some who have taken their news from a limited set of sources, but the writing has been on the wall for a considerable period of time. The Telegraph, in particular, but not alone, has become very defeatist.I think we are very much in the sunk cost double or quits territory.

 

Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." - Mike Tyson

 

Gaps in defences are always designed to be covered by overlapping positions, with defences in depth to create a broad and deep defensive line. 30,000 Russians is no gap in any defence. There are now serious questions as to whether a defence was even properly constructed.
If so, this is deep professional negligence of the highest order, and risks raising the ugly spectre of corruption within the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Having personally met with many wounded Ukrainian veterans, I profoundly hope that this is not the case.

 

https://archive.ph/ZW2IL

 

And another from Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon who is former commanding officer of the 1st Royal Tank Regiment and a regular Telegraph commentator.

Putin could now defeat Ukraine within months
This is no longer a threat that the West can ignore. We must act now to prevent the outbreak of another world war

 

https://archive.ph/DrAoc

 

This video highlights many of the things I pointed out in a long post a couple of months ago. I think it's very important to separate propaganda from the truth. To do that with any reliability, it's important to view a wide array of sources, both mainstream and otherwise, and make a judgment on the balance of probabilities.

 

 

Edited May 16 by beautifulthailand99

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

And another from Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon who is former commanding officer of the 1st Royal Tank Regiment and a regular Telegraph commentator.

Putin could now defeat Ukraine within months
This is no longer a threat that the West can ignore. We must act now to prevent the outbreak of another world war

 

https://archive.ph/DrAoc

Having read the linked article, IMO the Colonel is a moron. He says we must act to prevent WW3, yet he proposes exactly the actions that will make WW3 inevitable- NATO boots inside Ukraine.

Furthermore he ignores that we now have nuclear weapons, something not available in 1939.

 

If idiots like this are in charge, IMO WW3 is inevitable, and a local conflict between Russia and Ukraine will be the least of anyone's problems.

[Gweiloman]

On 5/16/2024 at 5:53 AM, Skipalongcassidy said:

No... I am merely realistic... for centuries the muslims have been the forerunners of hate and terror in the world

You obviously “skipped” history lessons in school…

[Gweiloman]

On 5/15/2024 at 2:41 PM, Bkk Brian said:

You've already lost all credibility with your previous claim. 

Oh, the irony…

[Bkk Brian]

Just now, Gweiloman said:

Oh, the irony…

Oh the trolling

[Danderman123]

So, everyone believes that Ukraine is telling the truth about its defenses around Kharkhiv?

 

Why would SBU tell Russia that Russia can just walk into Ukraine?

Edited May 17 by Danderman123

[Danderman123]

On 5/16/2024 at 8:07 AM, retarius said:

What are this crowd going to do when Ukraine sues for peace next month as it dawns on their silly season 'peace conference that Ukraine is losing badly and even the untrained recruits at the front line are unable to save the day. 

I'm sure you won't reconsider if Ukraine doesn't sue for peace next month.

[beautifulthailand99]

7 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Having read the linked article, IMO the Colonel is a moron. He says we must act to prevent WW3, yet he proposes exactly the actions that will make WW3 inevitable- NATO boots inside Ukraine.

Furthermore he ignores that we now have nuclear weapons, something not available in 1939.

 

If idiots like this are in charge, IMO WW3 is inevitable, and a local conflict between Russia and Ukraine will be the least of anyone's problems.

 

Over on Reddit, where I spend most of my time now, he and Colonel Richard Kemp are widely derided for their sensationalist about-faces. The problem for the West is that they cellectively haven't been telling the truth to their people, and the rapidly developing alliance of friendship between China and Russia is unprecedented and an epoch-defining event. It is the world's largest country and source of mineral reserves aligned with the world's largest manufacturing base, with whom the West is freezing itself out. I hope and pray our leaders don't see endless war as the solution to our problems as the Chinese have nearly infinite patience and Russia an almost infinite capacity to take pain. Do I like this no , I am a child of a liberal well funded western era when it was glorious to be alive and during this boom it was the best place to be.

 

But the tanks have been running on empty for quite a while now, and we have an increasingly frightened and restless population assailed by declining wealth, social welfare, healthcare, housing, and pensions, among others problems, and waves of migration often coming from countries we have helped to destroy. Try selling guns, not butter, to them.

 

Chinese culture will not replace Western culture as Russians’ main reference point any time soon. But a profound change has taken place. From the other side of the Iron Curtain, Europe was seen as a beacon of human rights, prosperity and technological development, a space that many Soviet citizens aspired to be part of.

Now a growing number of educated Russians, on top of feeling bitterness toward Europe for its punitive sanctions, see China as a technologically advanced and economically superior power to which Russia is ever more connected. With no easy way back to normal ties with the West, that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.

 

https://archive.ph/YTurB

[thaibeachlovers]

15 hours ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

 

Over on Reddit, where I spend most of my time now, he and Colonel Richard Kemp are widely derided for their sensationalist about-faces. The problem for the West is that they cellectively haven't been telling the truth to their people, and the rapidly developing alliance of friendship between China and Russia is unprecedented and an epoch-defining event. It is the world's largest country and source of mineral reserves aligned with the world's largest manufacturing base, with whom the West is freezing itself out. I hope and pray our leaders don't see endless war as the solution to our problems as the Chinese have nearly infinite patience and Russia an almost infinite capacity to take pain. Do I like this no , I am a child of a liberal well funded western era when it was glorious to be alive and during this boom it was the best place to be.

 

But the tanks have been running on empty for quite a while now, and we have an increasingly frightened and restless population assailed by declining wealth, social welfare, healthcare, housing, and pensions, among others problems, and waves of migration often coming from countries we have helped to destroy. Try selling guns, not butter, to them.

 

Chinese culture will not replace Western culture as Russians’ main reference point any time soon. But a profound change has taken place. From the other side of the Iron Curtain, Europe was seen as a beacon of human rights, prosperity and technological development, a space that many Soviet citizens aspired to be part of.

Now a growing number of educated Russians, on top of feeling bitterness toward Europe for its punitive sanctions, see China as a technologically advanced and economically superior power to which Russia is ever more connected. With no easy way back to normal ties with the West, that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.

 

https://archive.ph/YTurB

Thanks for that response.

 

Russia does not frighten me, but the idiots in charge of the west do. We may not have had WW3, yet, thanks to MAD, but we have had war going on continuously somewhere on the planet since then, supported, of course, by the arms industry and their government lackeys. War is great business for the 1% to profit from.

 

15 hours ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

But the tanks have been running on empty for quite a while now, and we have an increasingly frightened and restless population assailed by declining wealth, social welfare, healthcare, housing, and pensions, among others problems, and waves of migration often coming from countries we have helped to destroy. Try selling guns, not butter, to them.

IMO less than empty- not only are we facing an existential crisis as a civilization, our leaders are bringing it about with barking policies- it's easier to abort an unborn child than to bring it up to adulthood, there are more than 2 genders, we caused climate change and if we pay more taxes we can change it back, we have to have more growth instead of better lives, rather than train people to do jobs we can just import the skilled people, etc etc etc.

I gave up on the west as a successful civilization a long while back, and while I had the best of it in my youth, those days are long gone.