The affect of changes of leadership, both in the Russian and Ukrainian forces, is of particular interest to me. Very good detail. Really hope some learning can be done from this on the Ukrainian side and improve things.
And as for the Russians, let's hope they keep going with that healthy self-sabotage 🤷🏼♂️👍
In last time russia soldiers must hand over their mobiles before they go to war. Without mobile you cannot complain so I am not sure if Russia can change this behaviour.
Hhmmmm, no one was going to send artillerist into the trenches if they had shells.
They will also need less infantry, if they had shells.
If they had air-defense they were going to lose less infantry.
If they were allowed to hit airfields, they were going to need less air-defense.
If they were given new fighters, they were going to be able to destroy enemy infantry spilling the blood of their own troops.
War against well supplied enemy is fought mostly with quantity, good LD will lower the quantity requirements, but in the end the resources are determining the outcome. It`s delusion that somehow the ZSU will raise their quality so massively, that it will make huge difference.
They are not fighting some random African or Arabian country.
Thanks Don and Tom, the loss of trained specialist or have combat experience specialist like AD, Int, EW, Signals, artillerymen, medics, etc results in less up to date institutional lessons learned in the war. There are even reports of Russian submarine personnel being in assault units, which is worse for the Russians if true.
Submariners are trained to stay quiet, invisible and deliver deadly sneak attacks. Russian commanders may have figured these qualities are useful in an assault unit, too.
Є така проблема. Демократія в армії неможлива. Але і самодурство командирів повинно якось обмежуватись. Але тут немає механізму. І старші командири роблять все, щоб їх необмежена влада нічим не обмежувалась і ніким не контролювалась. Командирів, які кажуть про неможливість виконати ті чи інші накази через великі можливі втрати часто принижують, називають боягузами, зневажають і замінюють більш лояльними. Витримати психологічний тиск можуть далеко не усі. Шляхів вирішення цієї проблеми наразі не видно.
Russia is evacuating residents from multiple villages in the Kursk region that are close to the border with Ukraine amid Kyiv’s cross-border incursion, the local governor said Monday.
Authorities have decided to order the “obligatory evacuation of settlements in the Rylsky and Khomutovsky districts that are within a 15-kilometre (nine mile) zone adjacent to the border with Ukraine,” Governor Alexei Smirnov said on Telegram.
These areas are to the North of the Kursk incursion and involve up to 40,000 people.
Could it be that Russia is not pushing Ukraine out as quickly as they claim?
Edit: It does align with Tom & Don's information Ukraine striking along to the junction of the E101 and A142
In my opinion shit and/or corrupt commanders should be shot and their bodies displayed as reminders to anyone else who feels like engaging in corruption or stupidity.
Leadership. Critical. It a damned shame the UA is still in the nepotism trap in terms of high level command. I think all militaries have it to a degree, but in the good ones, its severely controlled because friends or not, you have to make the cut professionally via the various schools and commands. You can never fix it so you always have a friend watching your back in the US military so you will have to stand on your own at some point. I had a commander who was pretty good, but had a massive ego that sometimes got away from him. He was initially in a smaller command, but ended up in Europe with his boss. He showed his ass really bad once in front of a lot of higher ups, and when called out, he shot his mouth off instead of being professional. He figured his buddy would cover for him. He didn't and he couldn't as in Europe there were a lot more commanders of high rank there and the guy he made mad outranked his friend. Career ended right there.
The first principle I learned when I enlisted in the U.S. Navy to attend Naval Officer Candidate School (OCS) is that you can deligate authority, but you cannot deligate accountability. The accountability for a brigade commander's leadership failures belongs to his (her) superior in the chain of command. This means that the division commander (usually a Major General for the U.S.) is responsible for the performance his subordinate brigade commanders (usually a full Colonel).
Over the past couple of years during this horrible war against Ukraine I have yet to read of Ukrainian Divisions and Corps being part of the Ukrainian army. It seems to me that this is a brigade centric war, with brigade commanders having more operational authority than I am used to seeing or reading about compared with e.g., the U.S. Army (and USMC). Perhaps one of the "authority vs. accountability" problems with the Ukrainian military is the "distance" on the organization chart between the Brigade Commander and his superior in the chain of command. A good reason perhaps for having a Division Commander and a Corps Commander.
You haven't read about them because they don't exist. The ZSU does not have divisions or corps. They have groups, not to mistake for army groups, because they don't have armies. To simplify it a bit, there is nothing above a brigade. Straight above it, is the genstab-u.
Did they not formed a few army corps ? Namely the 9th army corps and the 10th army corps ? I am leaving their 7th air assault corps and 30th marine corps which appear to be strictly administrative if they have any use at all.
I guess it hardly change anything anyway since brigades are themselves constantly broken in battalions engaged in multiple directions.
Honestly, I stopped trying to understand what they are attempting to do on paper. Theoretically, they created Operational Strategic Groups, e.g. Tavria, Khortysia. These are not division level -- army level perhaps? -- but in practice these command individual brigades. That could be palatable, if not for the fact, that the genstab-u in Kyiv, routinely and proudly, micromanages at OSG or even at brigade level, whenever they feel like. Therefore, they regularly ignore and circumvent the command staff of the OSG.
The entire command structure and hierarchy in the ZSU is pure chaos. This results in absolutely no leadership, no proper strategic or operational planning, no lessons learned, and, most importantly, no accountability. How can you make the commander of Tavria accountable, if Syrskyi routinely takes over the command directly, or through his deputies?
The whole thing with brigades sending individual battalions 1000 km away from one another, is a whole different level of stupid, in addition to the lack of command structure. Who is actually responsible for the logistics to sustain these battalions? A battalion cannot command itself, so there must be some sort of brigade staff above them and certainly not one 500 km away. They must be constantly changing who they are subordinate to, it's madness.
The new commander who Ignores the advise of his first sereant is a pretty standard plot device in American military fiction. In a real fight, I’ll take the E-9s over the flag officers any day. Though in reality, the best flag officers also know that their E-9 and invaluable.
Incredible... I thought Guardian was one of the more sensible newspapers in this regard (compared especially to some German ones). It's an opinion piece, not the voice of the editors, but still I'm surprised they let it through.
Everything is political. Zelenski orders "no step back". Sirski demotes or fires any brigade commander who retreats. The brigade commanders need to force their battalions to hold the line. They send support personnel on the firing line whenever there are not enough replacement. Annoying persons are first to reveive a nice shovel and a cozy foxhole.
Ukraine will stand or fall based on the abilities or limitations of its commanders and combat veterans and NCO's. So far they're bettter than the Russians, but that's a low bar. Institutional inertia is very hard to change, but this is life or death for the country, and changes must be made. They've been training with NATO officers and NCO's for 20 years at this point with not enough sinking in.
No, Ukraine will stand or fall based on the outcome its backers want or are willing to accept. I don't think China will back Russia to the point of preventing this. The war is between RU and UA, but those keeping them in the fight are external.
Rapidly enough in the need for changes in the mil leadership culture in the ZSU, although the war also possibly contributed to the attrition of the more capable officers and NCOs, usually the best are in the forefront because they aware of the need for positive leadership.
The affect of changes of leadership, both in the Russian and Ukrainian forces, is of particular interest to me. Very good detail. Really hope some learning can be done from this on the Ukrainian side and improve things.
And as for the Russians, let's hope they keep going with that healthy self-sabotage 🤷🏼♂️👍
In last time russia soldiers must hand over their mobiles before they go to war. Without mobile you cannot complain so I am not sure if Russia can change this behaviour.
The videos of Russian complaints are pretty steady. The soldiers always seem to find a way.
These topics of leadership are far more important than the question of armament. In my pont af view...
Cannot but agree.
Hhmmmm, no one was going to send artillerist into the trenches if they had shells.
They will also need less infantry, if they had shells.
If they had air-defense they were going to lose less infantry.
If they were allowed to hit airfields, they were going to need less air-defense.
If they were given new fighters, they were going to be able to destroy enemy infantry spilling the blood of their own troops.
War against well supplied enemy is fought mostly with quantity, good LD will lower the quantity requirements, but in the end the resources are determining the outcome. It`s delusion that somehow the ZSU will raise their quality so massively, that it will make huge difference.
They are not fighting some random African or Arabian country.
Thanks Don and Tom, the loss of trained specialist or have combat experience specialist like AD, Int, EW, Signals, artillerymen, medics, etc results in less up to date institutional lessons learned in the war. There are even reports of Russian submarine personnel being in assault units, which is worse for the Russians if true.
Waiting for the next updates.
Submariners are trained to stay quiet, invisible and deliver deadly sneak attacks. Russian commanders may have figured these qualities are useful in an assault unit, too.
Є така проблема. Демократія в армії неможлива. Але і самодурство командирів повинно якось обмежуватись. Але тут немає механізму. І старші командири роблять все, щоб їх необмежена влада нічим не обмежувалась і ніким не контролювалась. Командирів, які кажуть про неможливість виконати ті чи інші накази через великі можливі втрати часто принижують, називають боягузами, зневажають і замінюють більш лояльними. Витримати психологічний тиск можуть далеко не усі. Шляхів вирішення цієї проблеми наразі не видно.
Yup. There's no democracy in armed forces, but there MUST be accountability.
Right now there's no accountability above the battalion-command-level in the ZSU.
На жаль, це так. Немає підзвітності старших командирів. Нема підзвітності Генерального штабу - суспільству.
Russia is evacuating residents from multiple villages in the Kursk region that are close to the border with Ukraine amid Kyiv’s cross-border incursion, the local governor said Monday.
Authorities have decided to order the “obligatory evacuation of settlements in the Rylsky and Khomutovsky districts that are within a 15-kilometre (nine mile) zone adjacent to the border with Ukraine,” Governor Alexei Smirnov said on Telegram.
These areas are to the North of the Kursk incursion and involve up to 40,000 people.
Could it be that Russia is not pushing Ukraine out as quickly as they claim?
Edit: It does align with Tom & Don's information Ukraine striking along to the junction of the E101 and A142
In my opinion shit and/or corrupt commanders should be shot and their bodies displayed as reminders to anyone else who feels like engaging in corruption or stupidity.
Leadership. Critical. It a damned shame the UA is still in the nepotism trap in terms of high level command. I think all militaries have it to a degree, but in the good ones, its severely controlled because friends or not, you have to make the cut professionally via the various schools and commands. You can never fix it so you always have a friend watching your back in the US military so you will have to stand on your own at some point. I had a commander who was pretty good, but had a massive ego that sometimes got away from him. He was initially in a smaller command, but ended up in Europe with his boss. He showed his ass really bad once in front of a lot of higher ups, and when called out, he shot his mouth off instead of being professional. He figured his buddy would cover for him. He didn't and he couldn't as in Europe there were a lot more commanders of high rank there and the guy he made mad outranked his friend. Career ended right there.
The first principle I learned when I enlisted in the U.S. Navy to attend Naval Officer Candidate School (OCS) is that you can deligate authority, but you cannot deligate accountability. The accountability for a brigade commander's leadership failures belongs to his (her) superior in the chain of command. This means that the division commander (usually a Major General for the U.S.) is responsible for the performance his subordinate brigade commanders (usually a full Colonel).
Over the past couple of years during this horrible war against Ukraine I have yet to read of Ukrainian Divisions and Corps being part of the Ukrainian army. It seems to me that this is a brigade centric war, with brigade commanders having more operational authority than I am used to seeing or reading about compared with e.g., the U.S. Army (and USMC). Perhaps one of the "authority vs. accountability" problems with the Ukrainian military is the "distance" on the organization chart between the Brigade Commander and his superior in the chain of command. A good reason perhaps for having a Division Commander and a Corps Commander.
You haven't read about them because they don't exist. The ZSU does not have divisions or corps. They have groups, not to mistake for army groups, because they don't have armies. To simplify it a bit, there is nothing above a brigade. Straight above it, is the genstab-u.
Did they not formed a few army corps ? Namely the 9th army corps and the 10th army corps ? I am leaving their 7th air assault corps and 30th marine corps which appear to be strictly administrative if they have any use at all.
I guess it hardly change anything anyway since brigades are themselves constantly broken in battalions engaged in multiple directions.
IMHO AFU organization does seems far too chaotic.
Honestly, I stopped trying to understand what they are attempting to do on paper. Theoretically, they created Operational Strategic Groups, e.g. Tavria, Khortysia. These are not division level -- army level perhaps? -- but in practice these command individual brigades. That could be palatable, if not for the fact, that the genstab-u in Kyiv, routinely and proudly, micromanages at OSG or even at brigade level, whenever they feel like. Therefore, they regularly ignore and circumvent the command staff of the OSG.
The entire command structure and hierarchy in the ZSU is pure chaos. This results in absolutely no leadership, no proper strategic or operational planning, no lessons learned, and, most importantly, no accountability. How can you make the commander of Tavria accountable, if Syrskyi routinely takes over the command directly, or through his deputies?
The whole thing with brigades sending individual battalions 1000 km away from one another, is a whole different level of stupid, in addition to the lack of command structure. Who is actually responsible for the logistics to sustain these battalions? A battalion cannot command itself, so there must be some sort of brigade staff above them and certainly not one 500 km away. They must be constantly changing who they are subordinate to, it's madness.
The new commander who Ignores the advise of his first sereant is a pretty standard plot device in American military fiction. In a real fight, I’ll take the E-9s over the flag officers any day. Though in reality, the best flag officers also know that their E-9 and invaluable.
The Guardian published a perfect article about the war https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/sep/16/keir-starmer-nato-ukraine-british-long-range-missiles-russia
Incredible... I thought Guardian was one of the more sensible newspapers in this regard (compared especially to some German ones). It's an opinion piece, not the voice of the editors, but still I'm surprised they let it through.
Yes... Simon Jenkin continues to write for the Guardian...
Thank you Don yes it seems the UAF has command problems to work out, lets hope something takes place
Ukraine also has plenty examples of good commanders. I hope they can build on that.
That's good to hear and seeing/reading about the good progress they make they have to have some very good officers
Everything is political. Zelenski orders "no step back". Sirski demotes or fires any brigade commander who retreats. The brigade commanders need to force their battalions to hold the line. They send support personnel on the firing line whenever there are not enough replacement. Annoying persons are first to reveive a nice shovel and a cozy foxhole.
Ukraine will stand or fall based on the abilities or limitations of its commanders and combat veterans and NCO's. So far they're bettter than the Russians, but that's a low bar. Institutional inertia is very hard to change, but this is life or death for the country, and changes must be made. They've been training with NATO officers and NCO's for 20 years at this point with not enough sinking in.
No, Ukraine will stand or fall based on the outcome its backers want or are willing to accept. I don't think China will back Russia to the point of preventing this. The war is between RU and UA, but those keeping them in the fight are external.
Rapidly enough in the need for changes in the mil leadership culture in the ZSU, although the war also possibly contributed to the attrition of the more capable officers and NCOs, usually the best are in the forefront because they aware of the need for positive leadership.
Tatarigami confirms the problems in ZSU leadership: https://x.com/Tatarigami_UA/status/1836127294114480509
1. Disconnect in Command and Combat Readiness
2. The Lack of Truth and Realistic Reporting
3. Systematic Problems with Recruitment and Training
4. Little to no Accountability
"These are the consequences of people incapable of either admitting the problem or building a plan to address these problems.
The toll of these problems is paid by those on the frontlines, who sacrifice their lives and health to protect their families and their country."