I Still Don't Believe It
As of this morning, there's a new piece by Frank Ledwidge, Senior Lecturer in Military Strategy and Law, University of Portsmouth (UK), Ukraine: the battle for Donbas will be protracted and bloody – military expert . I found it by doing a web search on "Ukraine Donbas battle Kursk" and got a predictable result, and I think this is as good an example as any of the current respectable consensus: The next two months will bring what US defence officials have called “a knife fight” in the area the Ukrainian army call “The Joint Forces Operation” (JFO). We know this region better as Donbas. . . . After their recent defeat in the north, Russia has made some significant changes. . . . . the Russians will have a single command staff to co-ordinate and attempt to achieve a single focused and ostensibly realistic operational objective[.] Russia is desperately trying to replace its considerable losses, up to 20% of its force already. [No, more like 30-50%; even the ISW has ...