Intense offensives between Russia and Ukraine cease ahead of upcoming elections in the US and winter
Juan Pablo Duch
Correspondent
La Jornada Newspaper
Friday, November 1, 2024, p. 19
Moscow. Judging by the news coming from the battlefields in Ukraine, there are two opposing readings, depending on the analyst’s degree of optimism or pessimism, regardless of whether he initially assumes a position favorable to Moscow or kyiv.
For the former, it is worth noting that the Russian army continues to advance in the Donietsk and Lugansk region, before the rains of this time of year turn the terrain into a quagmire, and they celebrate that, practically every day, the Ministry of Defense , the only body authorized by the Kremlin to give official information about its special military operationreports the release of a new town that was under Ukrainian control. The most recent, Selidovo, known for appearing in military reports in recent weeks and little named now, rather what was left of it according to the images circulating on networks.
They claim that the Ukrainian front defense is crumblinga thesis that curiously is also put forward by some sectors opposed to the Russian invasion, but who are critical of kyiv’s decisions, such as remaining committed to maintaining its military presence in the Russian region of Kursk, where intense fighting is taking place.
They are convinced that the list of possible conquests, until inclement weather permits, will continue to grow with Chasiv Yar, Kurajovo and other towns, scattered in front of the dozens of kilometers of open countryside that must be passed to reach the urban agglomeration. from Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
For the pessimists, kyiv loses territory, but the Ukrainian soldiers do not lay down their weapons or run away, while the advances reported by Moscow – according to maps drawn up based on available satellite images – have a trajectory from the north or the south. of the most intense combat zones or occur on one of the flanks of the sites most mentioned in the war reports of the Russian and Ukrainian military.
They maintain that those squares that were bastions, sooner or later, when they are reduced to ruins and lose their strategic value, before the eventual Russian encirclement is closed, are abandoned by the Ukrainian troops, who retreat to a fortified place and better prepared to resist new attacks and cause more casualties to the enemy.
It is true, they acknowledge, that the kyiv army needs more weapons and troops, but they assure that it still has about 130,000 soldiers in reserve who, in case of emergency, can be deployed to any sector of the front.
Impartial observers could contribute to this debate that, regardless of who might be more right, it is striking that, after having been designated as a priority objective, in some cases for months, Russian units are still unable to approach Pokrovsk, without Let’s talk about the fact that the combat front line has an extension of 1,200 kilometers, where significant variations have not been recorded for a long time.
The exchange of massive blows persists
At the same time, Russians and Ukrainians – expectant of what winds will blow from Washington starting next Tuesday, November 5 – continue exchanging massive blows with drones and missiles, aware that until mid-January, when the snow should tentatively solidify, We cannot expect any more or less important offensive from either of them.
