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Major events in the Ukraine proxy war, 2025 (view source)
Revision as of 00:07, December 30, 2025
, 00:07, December 30, 2025→Pokrovsk and Kupyansk
{{Cquote|Every [[war]] ends when illusion dies, and Prokovsk is where that death begins. The collapse unfolding there is not just of a [[city]] but of a world view. From the outset, the [[Ukraine war]] was framed by [[Western alliance|Western leaders]], not as a [[geopolitical]] contest, but as a [[moral]] crusade, [[democracy]] versus [[autocracy]], light versus darkness. That framing doomed [[strategy]] to failure. Wars are not won by [[virtue]]. They are determined by capability, [[geography]], and endurance. The [[liberal]] [[Western world|West]] forgot this.<ref>[https://youtu.be/NjbQPgGRIHY John Mearsheimer: Fall of Pokrovsk - The Turning Point of the End of the Ukraine War is Near], Fans Mearsheimer Realism, Nov 5, 2025.</ref>}}
{{Cquote|Every [[war]] ends when illusion dies, and Prokovsk is where that death begins. The collapse unfolding there is not just of a [[city]] but of a world view. From the outset, the [[Ukraine war]] was framed by [[Western alliance|Western leaders]], not as a [[geopolitical]] contest, but as a [[moral]] crusade, [[democracy]] versus [[autocracy]], light versus darkness. That framing doomed [[strategy]] to failure. Wars are not won by [[virtue]]. They are determined by capability, [[geography]], and endurance. The [[liberal]] [[Western world|West]] forgot this.<ref>[https://youtu.be/NjbQPgGRIHY John Mearsheimer: Fall of Pokrovsk - The Turning Point of the End of the Ukraine War is Near], Fans Mearsheimer Realism, Nov 5, 2025.</ref>}}
5,000 soldiers were killed in a futile attempt to defend the city, and 700 prisoners were captured.<ref>https://t.me/worldpravda/24057</ref>
5,000 soldiers were killed in a futile attempt to defend the city, and 700 prisoners were captured.<ref>https://t.me/worldpravda/24057</ref>
A large concentration of Ukrainian forces has been trapped on the east bank of the Oskol river, while the Russians controlled the only river crossings that could be used for escape of the Ukrainians to the west side of the river. The Russians, as well as being active in many to most areas of Kupyansk, also control two hills on the west side of the city which give them fire control over most of the area. In addition, the Russians also control a string of large apartment blocs on the high ground. These apartment blocs are remnants of the [[Soviet]] era built after the experience of [[World War II]] when [[the West]] last invaded [[Russia]] and are almost indestructible fortresses—indestructible, that is, by ordinary [[artillery]] means. The use the Ukrainian forces have made of these fortified blocs in places like Pokrovsk is a major reason for the gradual Russian advances. The Russians have now taken to using [[FAB 3000]] [[glide bomb]]s on these structures—a [[tactic]] which has proven effective. However, the Ukrainians lack these types of [[weapon]]s to dislodge the Russians in Kupyansk.
The Russians made progress in no small part due to the Russian [[policy]] of avoiding casualties and not committing reserves simply in order to hold ground that can be readily retaken—but have not opened the crossings. A Ukrainian advance was permitted but at great expense—there have been reports of foreign [[mercenary]] casualties, including [[American]]s from [[special forces]] units. This was similar to the scenario that played out in the [[NATO invasion of Kursk]], earlier in 2025, where the Russians refused to take heavy casualties to quickly retake Russian territory and instead allowed the Ukrainians to feed more and more troops and equipment into what had become a [[cauldron]]. Nor are the Russians shifting forces from other fronts where they're made rapid progress. On the other fronts, the Ukrainian forces were starved of reserves which have been fed into Kupyansk, where they were destroyed.
==See also==
==See also==