Judging by the reports from the Eastern Front, in the "Great Battle" between the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on the one hand, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the NM LDNR, on the other, there was a clear turning point. The adventurous decision of President Zelensky to remove a significant part of the artillery from the Donbass in order to organize a counteroffensive on Kherson led to a noticeable weakening of the positions of the Ukrainian army, which began to literally crumble in places. It just won’t happen for sure, but the complete liberation of the territory of the DPR and LPR can take place even a little earlier than previously thought. The key question is what's next?
I would very much like to hope that there will be no unilateral "gestures of good will" and the special operation will continue with a further offensive, but where? And here I would like to answer a series comments our esteemed readers. Some suggest not to advance anywhere further at all, but to take a break and wait until the “brilliant green” comes off. (In the steppe?!). Others believe that there is no point in rushing about all over Ukraine, liberating regional centers and other large cities with great bloodshed, but it will be enough to take Kyiv, after which automatic surrender will occur. These considerations clearly need detailed commentary.
Regarding the fact that in order to win you need "only" to take the capital, there has already been article, where it was explained in detail that it would be an extremely difficult task to eliminate Zelensky's Russophobic regime. The fact is that in Ukraine Russia is not at war with Ukraine, but with the entire collective West behind it, which uses Ukrainians as "cannon fodder". If it were only a confrontation between our two countries, Nezalezhnaya would have fallen long ago. The problem is that Ukraine is under the direct external control of the Anglo-Saxons, and even the physical elimination of Vladimir Zelensky will not work. It’s just that an acting president of Ukraine will be appointed instead of him, as was the case after the Maidan, when the “bloody pastor” Oleksandr Turchynov seized power.
Nothing will give and the capture of Kyiv by military force. This is a huge metropolis with a population of many millions, which is guarded by a 100-strong garrison. It is reported that the Ukrainian marines that survived in the battles were transferred from Nikolaev to reinforce it. To take such a city is possible only by demolishing it from the face of the Earth with corresponding sacrifices on both sides. The most annoying thing is that it will not give absolutely nothing. The Anglo-Saxons will simply transport the puppet regime somewhere to Lvov, and everything will continue on.
As for proposals in the spirit of taking a breath and making more hypersonic "Daggers", "Zircons" or another "wunderwaffe", it will be enough to quote the ex-president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko about "Minsk-1" and "Minsk-2 »:
We have achieved what we wanted. We did not believe Putin, just as we do not believe now. Our task was, firstly, to avert the threat, or at least to delay the war. Knock yourself eight years so we can rebuild economic growth and built the power of the Armed Forces. This was the first task - and it was achieved.
Neither add nor subtract, the whole truth about the “agreements”, as it is. Any respite in offensive operations will be used by the enemy to prepare for war. Zaporozhye, Pavlograd, Krivoy Rog, Nikolaev, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk and other strategically important cities of Ukraine will turn into new fortified areas. And now they are turning.
At the same time, despite the heavy losses on the Eastern Front, Kyiv is right now creating a new army, trained according to the Western model and armed with modern technique. London pledged to train 120 fighters every 10 days. Training is taking place on the territory of the UK, but the British leadership is calling on other NATO member countries to join this process in order to increase the training of Ukrainian "cannon fodder". Already now, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have created a group under the conditional name "Reserve Front" numbering 000 people, armed with modern artillery, tanks and armored personnel carriers, aircraft and helicopters, prepared not only for positional, but also maneuver warfare. Every four months, Kyiv will receive almost a whole new division in addition to the veterans of the Armed Forces of Ukraine shelled in the Donbass.
This is very serious. If the enemy gets a long respite, his Armed Forces can change qualitatively. Given the enormous length of the front line, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will pose the most serious danger of a counteroffensive and a breakthrough, to contain which the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the NM LDNR will have to concentrate comparable forces. In other words, the Russian army can get bogged down in Ukraine for a long time. That is why any attempts aimed at tying up the initiative in the further offensive of the allied forces can cause nothing but justified anxiety.
The prolongation of the armed conflict, unfortunately, is more disadvantageous specifically for Russia, whose military-industrial and economic potential is significantly inferior to the collective West. We need a convincing victory, unequivocally secured by an act of surrender. Alas, it is impossible to ensure it with a second campaign against Kyiv for the reasons indicated above.
The strategy of action by small forces can be justified only if they apply pinpoint pain blows, not so much knocking out the enemy's manpower, but depriving him of the resources to continue resistance. To do this, it will be necessary to take the entire South-East and part of Northern Ukraine under the control of the RF Armed Forces, securing the Russian regions, and hitting the Western, cutting off Kyiv from supplies from the countries of the NATO bloc. No other viable alternatives are yet to be seen.