Video of Russian Defense Ministry confirming it is 'regrouping' to the south (what will Putin do now?)

As Ed pointed out this morning, the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the east has been moving faster than anyone expected, including obviously the Russians. A couple of days ago, Ukrainian forces retook the town of Balakliia and another small town called Volokhiv Yar. From there they moved east and took control of Kupyansk.

Advertisement

That was a significant win because it meant Ukraine was in control of the rail lines which supplied Russian outposts to the south, in particular Izyum. Here’s a crude map showing the location of Kupyansk and Izyum.

Saturday, Ukrainian forces surrounded and retook Izyum.

Ed noted in an update to his story earlier that Izyum had been liberated and only 24 hours after Russia claimed it was sending reinforcements to the area it reversed course and claimed it was “regrouping” its forces to the south. Regrouping in this case means running away as quickly as possible. Here’s the video of the Russian announcement.

Advertisement

This is already being widely mocked. Same clip but with a different background.

The Post has a story up about all of the developments.

As the advancing Ukrainian troops regained lost territory with shocking speed, liberating the town of Balakliya and raising their blue-and-yellow flag over the city of Izyum, jubilant Ukrainians and officials in Kyiv and Western capitals indulged in a daring hope: maybe the grinding, stalemated war was swinging their way…

The pullout from Izyum, which Russia had used as a resupply hub for its offensive through the eastern Donbas region, marked one of the biggest setbacks for Russia since its troops rolled into Ukraine in February.

With Russian troops out of Izyum, Russia’s ability to fulfill its objective of seizing the entirety of the Donbas region — the only publicly declared goal of Putin’s proclaimed “special military operation” — is now in doubt, said Kirill Mikhailov, a Kyiv-based analyst with the Conflict Intelligence Team, a Russian military research group.

Izyum is an important command and supply hub for Russia’s northern front and Russia’s only major bridgehead on the right bank of the Donets River, he said, and losing it would eliminate an entire front — the northern front — in its efforts to conquer Donetsk.

Advertisement

One sure sign of how badly things are going for Russia is how spitting mad Russian nationalists have become over these defeats.

“A major defeat,” Igor Girkin, a hard-line former commander of separatists in Ukraine, lamented in a pro-Russian military Telegram channel…

Girkin complained bitterly about extravagant celebrations for City Day in Moscow, where Putin visited a new martial arts center and presided over the openings of a section of new highway and a giant, 460-foot tall Ferris wheel called the Moscow Sun.

Here’s Putin opening the Ferris wheel while his army is in retreat.

And, in what seems like a perfect metaphor for the day, the Ferris wheel apparently broke down a few hours later.

There’s definitely going to be a lot of pressure mounting on Putin after all of these sweeping victories and Russian retreats. The question becomes what will a desperate Putin do now that his invasion is looking like an embarrassment? Open source intelligence analyst Oliver Alexander suggests he could actually become more dangerous than before.

Advertisement

He could ramp up the economic war on Europe which he’s been fighting by cutting of the gas supply.

The bottom line is that he’s not going to admit defeat. He’s going to find some way to up the stakes after what is shaping up to be a very bad weekend.

Advertisement

Two clips to wrap this up. First, another Russian intercept giving some idea of what it was like to be on the other side of the Ukrainian couteroffensive.

Second, this collection of clips from Russian TV gives you an idea of how the nationalists are responding to the bad news. This clip ends with Putin’s top propagandist, TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov, reminding the audience that Stalin said those who panic should be shot.

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on HotAir Videos

Advertisement
David Strom 11:20 AM | November 21, 2024
Advertisement
Advertisement
Ed Morrissey 10:00 PM | November 20, 2024
Advertisement