@dinsdale This article and stalement is about the POKROVSK Oblast, not the Sumy Oblast. For those who don't know the difference, Sumy Oblast is 500 km away, close to the Russian border north of Kharkiv, approximately a 6,5 hours drive away.

On 6/30/2025 at 8:10 AM, dinsdale said:

A balanced analyses of May/June focusing on Sumy Oblast which Russian forces have moved into. Definitely doesn't show a stalemate. The eastern front is also moving west in favour of Russian troops and once again is not a stalemate.

 

Since you insist on reports from Sumy Oblast as well, here is the latest from Sumy (from Kyiv Independent, the most reliable Ukrainian newspaper, 8 hours ago):

 

https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-war-latest-ukrainian-forces-push-russian-army-away-from-sumy-liberates-village-in-sumy-oblast/

 

"Ukrainian forces have stabilized the situation in Sumy Oblast and pushed the Russian army further away from Sumy, the region's capital, Ukraine's General Staff reported on June 30."

 

So Ukraine claims they have stopped and pushed the Russians back and further away from Sumy city.

Your info on Russian advances is old news.

 

'The Russian plan for an offensive in Sumy Oblast is not succeeding — thanks to every Ukrainian unit operating in the area," Zelensky said after a meeting with the military leadership and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.'

29 minutes ago, thaibreaker said:

Since you insist on reports from Sumy Oblast as well, here is the latest from Sumy (from Kyiv Independent, the most reliable Ukrainian newspaper, 8 hours ago):

 

https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-war-latest-ukrainian-forces-push-russian-army-away-from-sumy-liberates-village-in-sumy-oblast/

 

"Ukrainian forces have stabilized the situation in Sumy Oblast and pushed the Russian army further away from Sumy, the region's capital, Ukraine's General Staff reported on June 30."

 

So Ukraine claims they have stopped and pushed the Russians back and further away from Sumy city.

Your info on Russian advances is old news.

 

'The Russian plan for an offensive in Sumy Oblast is not succeeding — thanks to every Ukrainian unit operating in the area," Zelensky said after a meeting with the military leadership and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.'

Ok. Not propoganda then? I'm certain Russian papers say the oppposite. 1st casualty of war is the truth.

48 minutes ago, thaibreaker said:

@dinsdale This article and stalement is about the POKROVSK Oblast, not the Sumy Oblast. For those who don't know the difference, Sumy Oblast is 500 km away, close to the Russian border north of Kharkiv, approximately a 6,5 hours drive away.

I have discussed both Povrovsk and Sumy. Both are not in stalemate.

43 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

Ok. Not propoganda then? I'm certain Russian papers say the oppposite. 1st casualty of war is the truth.

So my links, and the article in this thread, are proganda, and your links are the truth.

Okay, Sir. Got it.

17 minutes ago, thaibreaker said:

So my links, and the article in this thread, are proganda, and your links are the truth.

Okay, Sir. Got it.

My links are from analysts not advocates. Indeed DeepState maps as I have previously said is Ukrainian. He was actually shut down for a while for being too up to date. Now his maps always lag behind.

Bizarre, i could have sworn i read post here from people claimng Russia was doomed, out of ammo, out of troops, out of potatoes, using wooden tanks and donkeys.... guess that was all Bull ship then.

6 minutes ago, frank83628 said:

Bizarre, i could have sworn i read post here from people claimng Russia was doomed, out of ammo, out of troops, out of potatoes, using wooden tanks and donkeys.... guess that was all Bull ship then.

 

There is clear evidence of them using horses, domestic vehicles and antiquated equipment so they are hardly equipped like a modern army. 

 

They are using convicts, mercenaries and press ganged unfortunates to wage their war as the casualties grow hideously by the day. 

 

Even if this madness ended tomorrow, Russia is so surely screwed, both internally and internationally, that it will never recover in our lifetime. Nor does it deserve to. 

3 minutes ago, RuamRudy said:

 

There is clear evidence of them using horses, domestic vehicles and antiquated equipment so they are hardly equipped like a modern army. 

 

They are using convicts, mercenaries and press ganged unfortunates to wage their war as the casualties grow hideously by the day. 

 

Even if this madness ended tomorrow, Russia is so surely screwed, both internally and internationally, that it will never recover in our lifetime. Nor does it deserve to. 

Of course they are, their drones are from 1979 and hypersonic missiles come from acme 

Clear evidence from where? 

 

Lets be real for a moment, the world is moving rapidly into deeper dangerous waters and escalation delusion is all thats coming out of the EU. Though its not capable of even defending itself let alone going to war. Its a paper tiger unless you count nukes and that just means the unthinkable. No one in their right mind should be even talking about it let alone trying to peddle it as some threat.

 

Can hope all people like. Russia will continue until its objectives are met and as time goes on the price will be much higher and bloody.  This ends one way only, with concessions and loss of territory for Ukraine.. should have done it in Istanbul and not listened to Boris  and saved a lot of lives to boot.. 

 

And no its not a stalemate by any stretch, its a war of attrition and Russia has been making gains all the time in regions well dug in and prepared to fight for every village, the battlefield is more akin to ww1 then some blitzkrieg .. its also  in full war economy mode, has been for 2 years and is increasing . Just last week  Putin  Confirmed full Mass Production of Oreshnik.. you do understand what its capable of i hope ?  its both standard or nuke capable with upto  12 warheads, evades and changes its flight path,hyper tips and currently unstoppable &  im sure they would be happy to test more on the battle field given the excuse or opportunity.. Then theres the uncomfortable fact Russian troops rotate regular and has a now battle hardened army  and its growing not shrinking  .. Ukraine does not and ever shrinking, trained or able forces nor does NATO, most of it is filled with raw troops an worse military leaders .. let alone the morons in most parliaments... one thing Putin is not is stupid or inexperienced.. cant say the same for any in the rest of Europe.  

 

Trump is right, its not the USA's war  and being dragged back into another European war on behalf of  would be very bad for its own military given the other concerns it has in other regions.. better to walk away and let it happen .. thats the fastest way to peace too. 

 

US just spent 20% of its patriot stock defending Israel over a few weeks ( pentagon data )  and is NOT on any war footing or making plans to be atm so it HAS to be careful how it expends its arsenal or gives systems/ missiles , what quantity to support to who .. They cant be replaced in the local supermarket yknow and the risk of China is far more important to it than Ukraines problem.  Its also far more likely to defend and help Israel first while thats ongoing rather than be bogged down on more than one front which would be militarily a bad strategy.. it dosnt have the capacity to either. You think China isnt watching and strategic about Taiwan ?  ofc it is .. a third front would be a nightmare for  any administration.. smarter to choose one and deal with that .. currently Israel is its prime concern not Ukraine. for good reason. 

 

Poking the bear was stunningly stupid and has been disastrous for most of Europes economy, especially Germanys industrial sectors which have been gutted due to its dependency on Russian energy.  Leave the Bear alone or give it some honey ie surrender and let it be. If not  I guess history lessons are going to be learned the hard way.. again ..

 

Have a good day

41 minutes ago, frank83628 said:

Of course they are, their drones are from 1979 and hypersonic missiles come from acme 

Clear evidence from where? 

 

I didn't suggest that they were wholly fighting a 20th century war, but there is definitely a strong reliance on technology from that era, and on the use of domestic vehicles for their efforts in the meat grinder. 

 

Russian Army’s Use of Donkeys in Ukraine Underscores a Staggering Equipment Shortage

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/03/03/russian-armys-use-of-donkeys-in-ukraine-underscores-a-staggering-equipment-shortage-a88174

"Meanwhile, the Russian army has resorted to using civilian vehicles for attacks on Ukrainian positions, reducing combat effectiveness, increasing casualties and slowing their advance.

...

 

"Pro-war blogger Kirill Fedorov claimed that the Defense Ministry had sent a donkey to his unit due to a shortage of vehicles. More evidence of Russian soldiers using donkeys, horses and even camels to transport supplies emerged soon after.

Lieutenant General Viktor Sobolev, a member of the Russian State Duma’s Defense Committee, said the army’s use of pack animals was a “normal” practice."

On 6/30/2025 at 11:38 AM, thaibreaker said:

Russians have been trying to take over Pokrovsk for more than a year now, and even early last autumn, it was only a matter of days before Pokrovsk were overtaken, the media said. But they were wrong. The heroes of Ukraine have been holding the fort for all this time, against all odds, so yes, there has definitely been a stalemate outside of Pokrovsk.

Pokrovsk front one year ago, June 30 2024, Russian troops at closet point around 23 km and yesterday June 30 2025 just over 3 km at closet point . Please explain how the red area which is ground Russian troops have captured over the year represents in any way a stalemate.

https://deepstatemap.live/en

 

51 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

Pokrovsk front one year ago, June 30 2024, Russian troops at closet point around 23 km and yesterday June 30 2025 just over 3 km at closet point . Please explain how the red area which is ground Russian troops have captured over the year represents in any way a stalemate.

https://deepstatemap.live/en

 

 

The rapidly advance towards Pokrovsk happened in August and September, and continued heavily until November/December. You showing a map from June last year is irrelevant. Be aware, Pokrovsk OBLAST is not the city. They were in the oblast at an earlier stage.

There are many links confirmating that Pokrovsk was about to fall already in late September, ie my claim.

 

Here is from Wikipedia about the distance the Russian troops were from Pokrovsk City, two given times.

 

"By 12 December, Russian forces had advanced within a range of 3 kilometres to the southern city limits of Pokrovsk, after swift advances in Shevchenko."

 

"By early February, Russian troops were less than 2 km (1.2 mi) from Pokrovsk.[133]"

 

As you see, less than 2 km in February. 3 km in December. And they talk about the city.

 

You are obviously excited about Russia being 4 -four- km from Pokrovsk City now.. 

What do you call that? Steadily advancing? They were stopped from advancing to Pokrovsk City and even pushed back. The russian troops are farther away from the city today, 7 months later.. Even you must see that.

 

Since then it has most certainly been a stalemate. There is no other word for it. The article in this thread is 100% correct. The stalement is regarding the area Pokrovsk City, which they have yet to overtake. Even in September last year, media wrote it was only a matter of days.

 

Now, probably Wikipedia is Ukrainian propaganda too?

You guys, you're wasting my time.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokrovsk_offensive

 

51 minutes ago, RuamRudy said:

 

I didn't suggest that they were wholly fighting a 20th century war, but there is definitely a strong reliance on technology from that era, and on the use of domestic vehicles for their efforts in the meat grinder. 

 

Russian Army’s Use of Donkeys in Ukraine Underscores a Staggering Equipment Shortage

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/03/03/russian-armys-use-of-donkeys-in-ukraine-underscores-a-staggering-equipment-shortage-a88174

"Meanwhile, the Russian army has resorted to using civilian vehicles for attacks on Ukrainian positions, reducing combat effectiveness, increasing casualties and slowing their advance.

...

 

"Pro-war blogger Kirill Fedorov claimed that the Defense Ministry had sent a donkey to his unit due to a shortage of vehicles. More evidence of Russian soldiers using donkeys, horses and even camels to transport supplies emerged soon after.

Lieutenant General Viktor Sobolev, a member of the Russian State Duma’s Defense Committee, said the army’s use of pack animals was a “normal” practice."

The Moscow times ., hahaha, a foreign agent.

 

17 minutes ago, frank83628 said:

The Moscow times ., hahaha, a foreign agent.

 

 

Foreign to whom? I spent a lot of time in Moscow in the 2000s and the Moscow Times was freely available across the city; it made much more interesting reading than Аргументы и Факты or Правда, the only newspapers available in the city I lived in in the east. 

Just a point, the use of animals isnt as stupid as some may  think and used throughout wars right upto now by many nations, wherever the need or simply convenience. Camels and Donkeys etc can go where vehicles cant, they dont need refuleing  or likely to be droned & they arnt as visible as  a convoy would be, they blend in more easily and cheap to use and smart military uses whatever is can that helps or works ... a Camel or donkey can easily walk right through a thick forest under cover or mud and not get bogged down .. a truck cannot and v cheap and anyone can guide a donkey.  This isnt just  a tech or age of your gear competition its a war  and Russia learned the hard way in the 80s when  its enemies were using livestock to transport stuff. Ask the US, it had the same problem in Afghanistan, Iraq and Vietnam .. then theres the Serbian, kosovo war where animals were also used  throughout the middle east too and all the time in Africa and in transporting drugs as well as weaponry or supplies but the less said about that the better... its not a stupid thing to do but a smart & practical one.. logistics in war dont work like a traffic system in peace yknow... the point is getting stuff to where its needed not in what kind of transport. Civilians have no clue but you would very soon in a war. 😉 

 

Oh and no wiki unfortunately isnt worth much you cite wiki as a source  in academia and youll be laughed at.  As an example on news & generally on many topics it is indeed full of propaganda and edited pages or worse just plain bad info or lies.. and in some cases a lot of  it total bs.. its also why its not accepted as a link to cite in a degree program or as any kind of expert or re news unbias data.. its unfortunate but just the way it is on wiki.

 

And just today Russians have now entered Pokrovsk Agglomeration