‘We Cannot Win’ Says Top Russian Commander Alexander Khodakovsky
www.kyivpost.com
The leader of the Russian battalion defeated at liberated Urozhaine calls for “freezing the front” after his unreinforced troops were devastated in a rout.

https://archive.li/Z0m5m

The Russian commander of the “Vostok” Battalion fighting in southern Ukraine said on Thursday that Ukraine will not be defeated and suggested that Russia freeze the war along current frontlines.

Alexander Khodakovsky made the candid concession yesterday on his Telegram channel after Russian forces, including his own troops, were devastatingly defeated by Ukrainian marines earlier this week at Urozhaine in the Zaporizhzhia-Donetsk regional border area.

“Can we bring down Ukraine militarily? Now and in the near future, no,” Khodakovsky, a former official of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, said yesterday.

“When I talk to myself about our destiny in this war, I mean that we will not crawl forward, like the [Ukrainians], turning everything into [destroyed] Bakhmuts in our path. And, I do not foresee the easy occupation of cities,” he said.

    • @barsoap@lemm.ee
      1•1 year ago

      Stuff you don’t want to hear so didn’t hear, apparently: Russian torture cellars. Other things you might not want to hear include Russians castrating POWs.

      • 420blazeit69 [he/him]English
        15•1 year ago

        I said the war is lost and Ukraine should negotiate. You said:

        It’s not in your hands whether they fight or not, and their motive is just, so why not help them?

        I pointed out how ridiculous it is to say “why not help them” is to someone who just said they believed the war was lost. Rather than continue this conversation, you went off on a tangent. Brilliant.

        • @barsoap@lemm.ee
          1•1 year ago

          It’s not a tangent. Even if Ukraine lost (and it didn’t, and you made no actual argument on why I should believe so) with the kind of atrocities Russia is committing in occupied territories tons of people would, and, well, do, fight against the occupiers.

          • 420blazeit69 [he/him]English
            12•1 year ago

            you made no actual argument on why I should believe so

            Would anything convince you?

            And yes, bringing up allegations of war crimes is a total non sequitur in a discussion about whether the war itself is winnable for Ukraine. No war crime is excusable, but every side of every war commits them.

              • 420blazeit69 [he/him]English
                11•1 year ago
                • The front has not moved in most of a year, which includes the recent failed counteroffensive.
                • Russia views this as an existential threat. NATO will pay the bills but not indefinitely. Ukraine at some point will tire of a train of body bags with nothing to show for them.
                • Russia has much shorter supply lines than NATO.
                • NATO pulled out its economic Trump card at the beginning of the conflict and yet here we are.
                • @barsoap@lemm.ee
                  1•1 year ago

                  The front has not moved in most of a year, which includes the recent failed counteroffensive.

                  That’s not even close to a military analysis. What about artillery attrition? Logistics in the rear? What’s the average time between Russians setting up an ammo depot and it getting blown to bits? Conscription getting riskier and riskier for Putin?

                  How many reserves have the sides committed to the front? Hint: Russia committed everything quite some time ago while Ukraine didn’t and is rotating troops so they can get some well-deserved R&R.

                  Russia views this as an existential threat. NATO will pay the bills but not indefinitely. Ukraine at some point will tire of a train of body bags with nothing to show for them.

                  Putin does, certainly when it comes to regime stability. Russia? I very much doubt it because there’s also sane Russian. Europe will continue support indefinitely don’t confuse us for fickle yanks and you’re severely underestimating the morale boost incurred by fighting a defensive war. For Ukraine, this indeed is an existential war. Read Clausewitz.

                  Russia has much shorter supply lines than NATO.

                  No. Much of Russia’s production and stocks are in the east. Also that’s like such a non-issue.

                  NATO pulled out its economic Trump card at the beginning of the conflict and yet here we are.

                  …at a state where Russia, Russia, is importing metals from China. Metals. Russia. Do I need to need to use more italics. I don’t have any insight on the details but it’s well-known that Russia is lacking workers because tons are either a) dead, b) on the front, or c) in hiding to not end up a) or b), and that seems to be so bad that it affects mining and refining.

                  Now China might be happy propping Russia up, but internally the Z-patriots are going to scream bloody murder incurring debts with China. Long story short: Russia’s internal situation is becoming more and more volatile.

                  • 420blazeit69 [he/him]English
                    11•1 year ago

                    What about artillery attrition? Logistics in the rear? What’s the average time between Russians setting up an ammo depot and it getting blown to bits? Conscription getting riskier and riskier for Putin? How many reserves have the sides committed to the front?

                    Do you think you know the answer to any of these questions? I don’t see any sources. The bottom line is that Russia has shown the ability to hold its territory for quite some time.

                    Europe will continue support indefinitely

                    Lol let’s see if Europe’s support will last another winter of higher energy prices. The U.S. is the big spender, anyway.

                    …at a state where Russia, Russia, is importing metals from China

                    This paragraph is so mind-meltingly stupid I hardly know where to start.

                    • Countries regularly import metals, metals, from other countries. That’s because whether to import is a business decision based on price, not whether you have domestic access to an item.
                    • It is utterly preposterous to believe Russia is lacking workers. Soviet industrial capacity exploded during WWII, a far larger and more destructive war.