Politico: Ukraine spent € 1 billion on trenches. Russia is still advancing
Politico: Ukraine spent € 1 billion on trenches. Russia is still advancing
During the last 12 months the Russia has "advanced" so much that it controls about 0.3 % more of Ukraine's territory than it did those 12 monrhs ago. That's less than one third of a percent.
During the whole calendar year 2024 the Russia managed to conquer 0.7 % of Ukraine's total area.
0.7 % is not "advancing". The Russia is not advancing and hasn't advanced since spring 2022.
Why do reporters keep writing that the Russia is advancing when it factually doesn't?
Why do reporters keep writing that the Russia is advancing when it factually doesn't?
You are correct to point this out, it has to be purposeful spin. Russia is condemning a terrible number of soldiers to death for little to nothing, the ground lost by Ukraine is irrelevant at this rate.
Even worse for Russia, there is no armored blitz they can make to suddenly make rapid progress, since they don't even have enough unarmored vehicles let alone armored personnel carriers.
Russia is “advancing” headlines since 3 years.
Also Russia, literally still has less territory then they had on the 3rd day of the war.
@FundMECFSResearch @Tuuktuuk I'm reminded of this quote from Wasp, by Eric Frank Russell: "For months now, we have been making triumphant retreats before a demoralised enemy who is advancing in utter disorder."
where's that trigger number that makes you think they are advancing? 10%? 25%? and what will you say then? it's too late, let's forget about them, they are lost to russia? 0.7% is 0.7% to many. 0.7% of the land contains people's homes. imagine your home on the territory that becomes occupied and the narrative goes "there's no advance". do you even exist then? are you even being protected by your country?
I'd say 5 % is a good trigger number. Maybe even 2 %. Though, it would still take them decades to take over all of Ukraine even if they were to advance at a pace of 2% per year.
For losing my home, it is not relevant if that's because of the Russia advancing or not. It could be retreating at a speed of 5% of Ukraine's total territory per year, but if it manages to take over my village, I've got a bad situation all the same.
The "advancing" is a very bad phrase because it makes Ukraine's situation look hopeless to many. "The Russia has been creeping forward" is a very different story from "The frontline has been largely stagnant since summer 2022."
A significant fraction of people in many countries in the west are against helping Ukraine because they think Ukraine will not be able to regain the occupied territories anyway. They wouldn't think that way if the news were talking about a stagnant frontline as is the reality instead of talking about the Russia "creeping forward" or even "advancing". For the outcome of the war the 0.7 % advance in year 2024 had no significance over a completely stagnant frontline. A good question is: How much did the front line move during the "stagnant" phase of World War I? We could very well write in our history books that either Germany or France was creeping forward, but somehow we are writing that the frontline was stagnant, even though advances of several tens or even hundreds of metres took place more or less often.
They factually are advancing though. 0.7% is that. It may be gradual, but it's something. I would rather read headlines of Ukraine reversing it of course.
I think you're taking offence at the word "advance". It does sound "big". If they wrote "creeping forward", would that be more acceptable?
They factually are advancing though. 0.7% is that. It may be gradual, but it's something.
It is worse than nothing the longer Russia does it the more they open themselves up to brutal counterattacks.
A single well timed and planned devastating armored combined arms counterattack could retake all that ground gained in an instant and you can imagine how badly that will look for the Russian war machine with piles of dead Russians with promising futures as carpenters, steel workers, farmers and teachers lying on the side of the road dead for a tiny amount of ground gained over an excruciating grind... that was all catastrophically lost anyways.
No, this is Putin/Russia continuing an offensive they cannot afford, this will not work out for them militarily and smacks of someone trying to cheat their way into keeping the territory they gained in a war when they have no capacity to fight an effective defense of that territory and thus cannot end the war. If Ukraine decides to accept whatever exit conditions Putin defines that is a political choice, but the military reality is Russia is getting it's assed kicked as Ukraine engages in delaying action after delaying action. The Russian military should know better than anyone else why this is a losing position to be in, Russia has used this strategy defensively countless times throughout Russia's history to devastating success.
Remember the 2023 Ukrainian offensive western media decided was an inconclusive failure? (I don't agree).
Ukraine didn't have enough of these or ammunition for them during that time, that is no longer true depending on where you are on the front.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2S22_Bohdana
You do not want to attempt a disorganized infantry-only offensive into territory defended by these, the number of scared idiots with ak47s you have charging across open ground is of no concern to the 155mm shells they distribute onto the ground your infantry dies en masse on.
"Creeping forward" would be more acceptable, but still a gross misrepresentation of reality.
The 0.7 % of "advancing" changes nothing regarding the outcome of the war in comparison to complete stability. Also, in World War I the front was not 100 % stable either. There was advancing taking place all the time, but our history books write of it as a stagnant front, because it was indeed functionally stagnant, just like the front in this war has been since mid-2022.
The problem is, a lot of people assume that "creeping forward" means something like 5 % of Ukraine's territory per year, and that misunderstanding affects their willingness to support Ukraine. If they knew that the Russia has not advanced meaningfully in the last three years, their view of the situation would be dramatically different.
Off topic, but really loving "the russia", it has a great tone to it
Yeaaaah in ww1 western front there were all advances. 5 cm for 4k lifes