From "The Analyst":
KHARKIV: RUSSIANS SURRENDER & DESERT IN LARGE NUMBERS
With supplies short and food and water a vastly reduced commodity even by Russian meagre standards, morale in the their lines, especially in the Liptsy sector of the front has been dire. This resulted in a a rapidly increasing number of surrendering units.
Ukraine had also been targeting the barrier troops and their headquarters so that these were so reduced, they were in no position to stop the Russians retreating without permission.
The first collapse came after the 7th Motor Rifle Brigade lost most of its forces and equipment being forced into meant grinder attacks against Ukrainian defences around Liptsy.
They lost so many troops that the Russians had to withdraw them to reconstitute the unit, but they failed to replaced them with anything, leaving the remaining units feeling abandoned and vulnerable.
Ukrainian counter attacks placed extreme pressure on the remaining units and they started to collapse.
Russians have been conditioned into not surrendering in most cases, having been fed a bucket load of lies about what will happen to them, including torture, especially genital mutilation, and eye removal, so they have often become too scared to try. Instead they go AWOL, abandoning their positions and fleeing, especially without barrier troops to stop them.
The Chechens were brought in to try and restore some discipline but instead seem to have ended up in the frontline fighting, not Ukrainian but Russian troops trying to retreat without permission.
The Ukrainians quickly isolated where the Chechens were deploying from and targeted that, reducing their numbers and abilities in devastating HIMARS strikes inside Russia.
Another thing that became clear over the past week is that pieces of units form all around the front have been stationed here. Platoon level numbers have been brought up from as far away as Kherson and pretty much everywhere along the front. Detached from their units and commanders the Russian system doesn’t really work well when it comes to communications and resupply and becomes an every man for himself environment behind the lines, while being an incoherent and unstable frontline, far from ideal to defend against determined Ukrainians.
This situation has resulted in Ukrainian gains and a reduction in Russian held territory. Ukraine has opted for the attrition strategy, wearing the Russians out of equipment and progressively weakening them forcing them to keep deploying new units - here where they can contain them rather have them exploit a frontline position elsewhere.
Eventually it’s hoped they will become so weakened that an offensive retake all of the captured areas will be possible.
Yet rumours persist the Russians still want to expand the frontlines here to create their so called buffer zone. If they can’t even maintain what they have without bringing in units from
around the entire front, how will they create enough of a force to widen the operation? Let alone stabilise their own front in Kharkiv.
This farce of an operation has been catastrophically bad for the Russians. They have locked themselves into it and don’t have the humility or common sense to see this is no longer a viable campaign. One of the key aspects of being a good military force commander is knowing when you are wrong and accepting it. That doesn’t happen in Russia without severe consequences. They are too afraid to admit failure.
Kharkiv continues to be the death zone for Russian units - in an area where the commanders are seemingly nervous of new ideas or any common sense, resorting to brutal tactics to control their own forces.
Slava Ukraini !
