Peace Now!

Despite months of an escalating stream of sophisticated weaponry sent in by the United States and NATO to keep the Ukrainian military fighting, the Russian military is without a doubt the stronger force.

The ongoing loss of manpower and equipment on the Ukrainian side has been substantial, maybe even catastrophic.

Now, the Ukrainian military, as evidenced by the following Washington Post interviews with soldiers involved, has apparently suffered still more heavy losses in its recent offensive in Kherson.

Buried beneath grandiose news reports about a huge turning point taking place in the war, the fact remains that the Ukrainian military cannot easily absorb manpower and equipment losses of that scale and still remain a viable fighting force.

[Excerpts]

September 7, 2022

Wounded Ukrainian soldiers reveal steep toll of Kherson offensive

By John Hudson, The Washington Post

SOUTHERN UKRAINE — In dimly lit hospital rooms in southern Ukraine, soldiers with severed limbs, shrapnel wounds, mangled hands and shattered joints recounted the lopsided disadvantages their units faced in the early days of a new offensive to expel Russian forces from the strategic city of Kherson.

The soldiers said they lacked the artillery needed to dislodge Russia’s entrenched forces and described a yawning technology gap with their better-equipped adversaries…

Denys, a 33-year-old Ukrainian soldier and eight other Ukrainian soldiers from seven different units provided rare descriptions of the Kherson counteroffensive in the south…

“We lost five people for every one they did,” said Ihor, a 30-year-old platoon commander who injured his back when the tank he was riding in crashed into a ditch.

Ihor had no military experience before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. He made a living selling animal feed to pig and cow farms. His replacement as platoon commander also has no previous military experience, he said…

Russia’s Orlan drones exposed Ukrainian positions from more than a kilometer above their heads, they said, an altitude that meant they never heard the buzz of the aircraft tracking their movements.

Russian tanks emerged from newly built cement fortifications to blast infantry with large-caliber artillery, the wounded Ukrainian soldiers said. The vehicles would then shrink back beneath the concrete shelters, shielded from mortar and rocket fire.

Counter-battery radar systems automatically detected and located Ukrainians who were targeting the Russians with projectiles, unleashing a barrage of artillery fire in response.

Russian hacking tools hijacked the drones of Ukrainian operators, who saw their aircraft drift away helplessly behind enemy lines.

Ukraine has discouraged coverage of the offensive… Ukrainian military commanders have barred reporters from visiting the front lines…

Oleksandr, a 28-year-old former construction worker, said the Russian artillery fire was relentless. “They were just hitting us all the time,” he said. “If we fire three mortars, they fire 20 in return.”

The Ukrainian soldiers said they had to carefully ration their use of munitions but even when they did fire, they had trouble hitting targets. “When you give the coordinates, it’s supposed to be accurate but it’s not,” he said, noting that his equipment dated back to 1989…

Russian electronic warfare also posed a constant threat. Soldiers described ending their shifts and turning on their phones to call or text family members – a decision that immediately drew Russian artillery fire.

“When we turn on mobile phones or radio, they can recognize our presence immediately,” said Denys. “And then the shooting starts.”…

Kyiv is hoping that the Kherson counteroffensive will boost national morale and demonstrate to Western governments that their billions of dollars in economic and military assistance is paying off…

A clear picture of Ukraine’s losses could not be independently assessed.

Denys, sitting upright on his hospital bed, said almost every member of his 120-person unit was injured, though only two were killed.

A 25-year-old soldier being treated for shrapnel wounds said that, within his unit of 100 soldiers, seven were killed and 20 injured. Ihor, the platoon commander, said 16 of the 32 men under his command were injured and one was killed…

When it comes to casualties, Rob Lee, a military analyst at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said Ukraine must make sure it retains a fighting force large enough to fend off Russian advances in the east, given Moscow’s far larger armed forces.

“If they’re taking heavy casualties and it continues for a long period of time, it can be a problem,” Lee said.

Ukraine’s reliance on inexperienced soldiers is also a vulnerability…

The Kherson counteroffensive is now testing Ukraine’s forces in new ways, Lee said.

Ukrainian soldiers who faced off with Russians over the last few months gained new battlefield acumen “but much of that experience likely involved holding defensive positions,” he said. “Conducting offensive operations is far more difficult, and it takes time and training.”…