This is all so fucking frustrating, that i just gave up on following the war every day.. from position of a person who cant influence anything, its just too painful to watch.. its literally car crash on slow speed.
It's infuriating, meanwhile. I haven't seen a bigger bunch of incompetents on one pile since the times of the Iran-Iraq, back in 1980-1988... Even the so-called 'human wave' offensives by the IRGC (where that with 'human-wave' was actually an Iraqi 'fake news': the Iranians were infiltrating their positions by night), of 1986-1987 - were making more sense than what Syrsky & Buddies are doing.
Syrsky with buddies, Yermak, Zelensky, whom mandate has expired long time ago, they are all not incompetents, they are deliberate traitors, ruzz agents in power in Ukraine.
I agree, they all must go from yesterday in order for ZSU to successfully defeat the ruzzkies.
I don’t know why people invest in so much personal emotions here, its not a game of hockey. War is being waged as it have been done for at least 10.000 years. What we witness is (military)history being written in real time with all its sides, ups and downs, generals and presidents and so on. Some day it will end and be a page in the history book just as all the other wars on this planet no matter all non-participating peoples opinions or emotions. What matter is that no one down there is doing South Vietnamese thumb-rolling and as Kyiv is not Russian yet its bloody far from over.
Well said. People need to remember that no matter how bad the Ukrainian high command is, the Russians are far worse. They're reduced to sending troops into battle on electric scooters and pink civilian sedan cars.
Haven't seen Tom so upset in a long time, and for good reason. The problem is System Zelensky cant be reformed and cant be replaced. Regardless how much or how little political, financial and military help Ukraine gets from the west, it all boils down to System Putin against a smaller System Zelensky, a big Soviet army against a small Soviet army, Russians against just another kind of Russians (mentality wise). The best one can hope for is Trump imposing some kind of frozen conflict, and what is left of Ukraine to be capable of evolving South Korea style, over decades, under tight US and EU control and funding, while Russia remains what it always was - a savage, backward empire with a thin veneer of civilisation and culture on top.
A theoretical freezing of the front has its own issues.
I can't speak for Tom, but the frustration for me has been building for a long time. Granted, Ukraine was unprepared for February 2022 despite the obvious warnings for at least eight months, but I understand the chaos and desperation in the decisions made once the open invasion did happen. I can understand how there might not have been resources to respond to the heavy pressure and then breach in the lines at Popasna.
But by the time of the collapse at Soledar and then deciding to hold onto the last third, quarter or eighth of Bakhmut when people were dying just driving into and out of the city I started wondering. But maybe that was just a one-off incident and they will learn.
That was not the case. They create ten new brigades when units are short on personnel. People were STILL being sent to the front line without any training. The lack of training was a huge factor in why their casualty rates were so high from February-July 2022.
Avdiivka was a difficult situation. Better decisions could have been made but with the limited ammo it was always going to be a tough fight. There was no excuse for Ochertyne, leaving a gap in the lines during an incompetent relief in place between two units. There was no excuse for a battalion being surrounded at Prohres soon after, and then the local commanders had to solve the situation on their own.
And the problems keep replicating themselves and spirialing out of control. The constant fragmentation of unit cohesion by detaching battalions and plugging them into holes like so many fingers being stuck in a dyke, instead of just repairing the dyke itself. OSGT Khrotytsia, which is in the middle of all of this, is in charge of 103 brigades/regiments and 58 detached or independent battalions, from Kharkiv to Velyka Novosilka. The level of increasing disorganization and repeated mistakes is extremely frustrating, knowing that lives are being lost through incompetence.
Fortunately, the Russian incompetence is even greater and their acceptance of their incompetence drastically reduces their combat power, as well.
The solutions, entirely within the hands of Ukrainian leadership, is there. There are proven examples of competence in so many units that can be built upon and expanded. All these issues have a solution. But no one is able or willing to solve these obvious, fixable, long-term issues.
At least until the fall of 2022, the number of fighting Russian troops was determined by the number of battalion tactical groups. Based on combat experience, the aggressor army has already abandoned their use. However, it seems that the Ukrainian Armed Forces Command, by spreading out battalions, is trying to introduce these formations. By the way, there is already a theoretical basis for this.
BTG's are still supposed to be a component of a regiment/brigade and division. I have no problem with the theoretical concept of them being the main tactical component of these formations. The Brigade/Division/Corps structure still provides the ability to oversee a limited number of formations so that the commander at each echelon isn't overwhelmed by the data and scope of the operation at each echelon.
Ukraine's leadership has acknowledged the need for corps and divisions but said they only have the resources to establish corps for now. They have yet to take any measures to establish functional corp level operations and continue to fragment existing brigades. What they say and what they do are two different things.
I find the claim "we can do only corps instead of divisions" a bit disingenuous.
A division-based structure is a natural evolution from the brigade-based structure, while the corps structure is too large if it's going to manage a hundred brigades (and it sounds too similar to an existing OSGT).
To me, this sounds like a refusal to acknowledge reality.
Most likely things are bad enough without having to impose a restructuring on frontline units. Easy to do in peacetime, a lot harder in a war with a 1000Km+ front where you are stretched extremely thin.
There is no reason for Russians to accept a frozen conflict. Now that Ukraine has thoroughly thrown away all of their high cards, it would not even be advisable to accept anything less than total victory. Freezing the conflict is too obviously just a western tactic to stall for time.
Its not just that they have thrown away all of their high cards, they are increasingly getting into arguments with Germany and Poland, some of their most valuable benefactors. If they lose their support, it wont be long till the Russians reach Dnieper at which point it is game over.
In what way is Ukraine doing better than in April 2022?
A weaker country can beat a stronger country if they deliver a bloody nose right at the beginning and then negotiate a peace before the enemy can mobilize and while their public is still divided about the war.
Ukraine's male population is largely depleted, the Soviet and Warsaw Pact stockpiles are gone, and western (as well as Ukrainian) audiences want the war to end. Surely you don't think their position is stronger than two years ago?
Yes, a lot. What a load of bull. War-weariness is not the same as your defeatism.
1. Polls show support for Ukraine remains strong across most of Europe.
2. Do you know how many people are under arms in Ukraine? You obviously don't. Look it up. I won't help answer such a lazy point for you.
3. You made me start to think you're just a Russian troll with your point about stockpiles. That is because only a Russian troll would deliver that line with a straight face considering you have to ignore all the western munitions production lines that are coming on line to supply Ukraine. It's especially true now that Russia's stockpiles are so depleted it has to buy shells with a 50% dud rate from North Korea. If you're not a troll, take a little time to dig deeper into the amount of aid Ukraine receives and the long-term supply chains being established for it.
4. In April 2022, no one save for a few deluded fools thought Ukraine could defeat Russia. After The Great Russian Retreat, the vast majority of serious analysts said the bulk of Ukraine's forces faced encirclement in the Donbas. Severodentsk fell, but then the frontline stabilised. Turns out the Ukrainian army was not kettled, stalemate set in, and the only significant changes since then have been Ukraine's successful counter-offensives in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Kursk.
5. If you think a peace was or is ever going to be negotiated with Putin, you're huffing yet more Russian gas. One side or the other needs to win before this will be over.
6. As long as mines, drones, and artillery still dominate the frontlines they will enforce the stalemate. The war is going to be won elsewhere. Ukraine is now mass-producing long-range strike drones. Soon Russian infrastructure and production is going to be hit very hard.
7. Ukraine's army is most definitely larger and better equipped than in 2022. The opposite applies to Russia. More than 90% of the VSRF is now deployed in Ukraine and it is going next to nowhere. In 2024 this vast leviathan you are so scared of managed to seize less than 0.5% of Ukraine's landmass.
8. And Ukraine has just announced it will extend the training of new recruits. Meanwhile, Russia, having gutted their training battalions in 2022-23, has reduced basic training to as low as three days. Tells you all need to know about the relevant trajectories of the two sides.
9. The same is true of the respective air forces. Ukraine has achieved wonders keeping ageing airframes going and restoring old ones in storage. Meanwhile, F-16s are coming into service. Next year, the Saab AWACS aircraft arrive.
10. And it's also true of air defences. Expensive GBAD that takes time to manufacture and train on is arriving at a steady rate in Ukraine. Not as fast as anyone would like, but it's a lot better than Russia's position of taking big GBAD losses whilst having to stretch ever thinner because of Ukraine's campaign against their logistics.
11. And Ukraine, with barely a navy to speak of, has forced Russia out of the western Black Sea and devastated their missile-launching fleet.
12. In 2022, Ukraine had very few drones. This year they said they would produce a million of them. They over-achieved that target and dominated the land war with them this year. Next year, they will manufacture even more.
So all these 'high cards' you say Ukraine 'threw away' turn out to be very low ones. I can back up all I've said with evidence. Can you? Of course there are failures, defeatism, incompetence, and corruption, but Russia suffers far more on all these categories. Cheer up, mate. It's not as bad as you think.
This was expected. However upsetting, the truth is that Ukrainian leadership is through and through corrupt, incompetent and unwilling to do anything that will put their own interests under fire. So they will of course put in the seats of power those that will serve the regime the best, not the people of Ukraine. The “something must be done” message will fall in deaf ears. Something must have been done years and years ago and you saw the result of it - Ukraine is a banana republc supported by western countries… for now… shame and so sorry for all the human losses.
If things are really that bad, then it is probably people like your military contacts that should try organizing a public "push for changes". However risky it is for them, they are also the only ones with first-hand information and thus potential authority to accuse their high command of incompetence.
Certainly not your civilian readers like me, who've spent the whole 2022+ part of the war sitting comfortably at home in Kyiv, some 20-minute bike ride away from Irpin. For all I know, Syrsky's decisions (as commander of Kyiv defence) might well be among the (many) reasons I'm still alive and comfortable and my neighbourhood is fully intact. However incompetent he might now be as Glavcom, people like me are not in any position to declare him as such, least of all "on demand" by a foreign social media presence with anonymous contacts, however competent that presence might be in its own field of work. :)
The failures of the last 3-4 months are enough for anyone to declare Syrsky incompetent. Plus you might have missed the calls from Prokopenko, Veres (K-2), Taras Chmut (head of 'Return Alive') all directly and indirectly calling for his replacement. Тут і без Тома ясно що Сирського треба знімати.
Wehrmacht had some of the most competent officers in history of warfare yet they were still pushed back and lost. Without enough resources there is only so much you can do.
Did you even read the article? Especially the parts where resources magically appear when it's already too late and about breaking and mixing brigade battalions which breaks the brigades' coherence and causes chaos?
They can't. All are feeling tailed by the SBU almost every step they take. Indeed, the SBU is meanwhile almost like the KGB, the Stasi, or the Securitatea: monitoring all the ZSU officers more closely than the enemy...
I'm not talking about organizing a mutiny or something. They can communicate with you, so they can also make public posts. Yes, the SBU may (and likely will) come get them then. But, to my best knowledge, SBU isn't yet in direct control of Facebook, YouTube and other social networks to "just erase" the posts immediately, and public resonance is still worth something in Ukraine. Of course, it also depends on what they can post (and how many of them)...
You should remind in this context how 2 years ago SBU with help of FBI was blocking pro-Ukrainian social media accounts, how they refused to accept the existence of Vagner operation conducted by GUR MO in 2020, when Zelensky acknowledged finally that he transfered the classified intel to Lukashenko about this operation which failed because of been compromised.
Tom Cooper, you’re probably right. How ere, what is the consequences of such articles?
1) someone in ZSU/UA leadership is reading them and is going to make these changes
2) public in the west is reading them, and getting an impressions that it is better to stop and give Putin what he wants (at least 4 oblasti), since UA is corrupted and incompetent and will only loose even more people and land.
Not that cover up of mistakes makes more sense, but emphasizing positive moves in contrast to negative ones could make a bigger impact.
As far as number 2, no, it doesn't mean giving Putin everything he wants, but it does mean having to give up something. The way things are going now, Ukraine is losing more and more of that "something to give" every day and paying for it in blood, treasure and equipment. Consider that if this goes on for another 3 months and RF takes all of Donetsk oblast aside from the Slovyansk/Kramatorsk agglomeration, they will be asking for Kherson city or Zaporizhzhie. Putin will only increase his demands as he has success on the battlefield.
I don't know what the answer to this bad equation is, and I am not a citizen of Ukraine, so it's not for me to tell. But I can see that the UA bargaining position is not getting any better.
I can see a way out in 6 months to a year, if UA can hold on for that long. At that point RF stocks of Soviet equipment and men will start running dry, while their economy will become ever more strained. Assuming they don't mobilize or find a source of equipment abroad (big ifs), they will lose initiative and UA will be in a more advantageous negotiating position. But that's a whole lot of big ifs.
None of us bears the responsibility ZSU commanders have. The context is also important, and it is changing. It may be January (Trump) or most likely mid 2025- politics needs to identified key dates and ammo for discussions.
Russians have heavy losses, someone is inflicting them.
UA can easily test leadership and org options in such a huge batterfiwld. Is any of them working fine- that praise that one!
Was I? You have a quote from me to back that assertion up?
As to the point of your comment, yes, when it comes to Soviet era storage yards, they are visible from space, and it's possible to count what's left. It's not perfect, but it's a pretty decent approximation. For armored vehicles, they got another year maximum, after which they will need to either change tactics drastically or find a new source.
Jompy and CovertCabal have been doing a pretty good job documenting the drawdown of stock in storage
Oh come on lol. There have been "two men to a shovel" stories for 3 years. It is very easy to find them.
Russian stocks aren't running out despite western "experts" endlessly screaming that because production is 10, 20 or 50 times higher than prior to 2022. An this should have been very obvious from reviewing past wars. Even states that lose wars basically always have larger and better equipped armies 2-3 years into the conflict.
The ONLY thing that stops that process is when the industrial base is occupied by the enemy, which obviously has no chance of happening to Russia in this conflict.
Portraying enemy weapon stockpiles as finite is childish propaganda.
Well, there's always stupid "experts", just please don't include me, bc I am neither of those things.
The idea that "the ONLY thing that stood the process is when the industrial base is occupied" is not reflected in history. Every industrial base has bottlenecks of inputs, and in a war that goes on long enough, they eventually affect the ability to generate military power.
Take Nazi Germany as an example, when they were overrun, there were hundreds of brand new planes sitting on the tarmak never flown. They could still build planes, but couldn't get enough high octane gasoline to train pilots or fly combat missions.
For RF today, the bottleneck is Soviet armor that is fit to be refurbished. Surely you wouldn't argue that it's infinite, right?
Regarding 2), IMHO the American public is almost totally ignorant of any discusion, controversy, or reality related to the competence of the senior military leadership of the Ukrainian armed forces. I, for example, would not know much in this regard without having read this substack blog. Oh, I have seen references to leaderhip failures on the occasional youtube video of Denys Davydov and perhaps Jake Broe (most recently).
First a very strong 'Thank you' to Tom Cooper for writing a clear and easily understandable summary what is going on and culminating into a big kettle full of shit.
This sabotage by incompetence demands a strong and quick cure, otherwise IMHO the situation will worsen even further, possibly leading to the collapse of a section of the front and ultimately to a total collapse (i.e. if they don't have the reserves to fix a relative small part of the front line, they will never have the reserves to fix a major part of the front line).
Shooting the messenger of bad news is no solution at all.
Of course I also understand the reaction of civilian citizens of Ukraine, who are simply overhelmed by this situation.
This is the 'hour' of the professional commanding officers of the brigades. They have to write and sign a petition to Zelensky in clear words and with a clear demand (dismiss Syrsky & Buddies, maybe with medals to a place, where they can only harm themselves).
Supplement:
I also strongly contrdict those, who think that Ukraine itself is a hopeless case full of corruption in every single home.
Yes, there is corruption in Ukraine. That is part of their legacy from the USSR, but is has been worse in the past with still some 'miles' to go.
The situation is constantly improving (believe it or not, but the donations coming from inside Ukraine are a clear sign to me) and this is one of the main differences to the RF, where the situation is constantly getting worse.
Abandoning Ukraine because of corruption would be like throwing the bathwater out with the baby, and the people of Ukraine deserve a better fate.
Only in misery do you learn who your true friends are.
But that's precisely my point: Ukraine is NO 'hopeless case' (and, I'm surely not for 'abandoning' Ukraine).
Actually, Ukraine could easily win - if only having the 'right' people in charge.
It's the current gangs of incompetents that are in charge who are the problem: probably shaving their backsides, every morning, because they can't find their heads...
Yes I know that. But there are some weirdos in the political sphere and their propaganda talking heads who would like to use the corruption problem as an excuse to abandon Ukraine.
I understand that the Occam's razor says that when someone fucks up, the most likely cause is their incompetence and stupidity.
But I can't help wondering if this is always the case in Ukraine. Isn't it possible, for example, that the commander of the 72nd Mechanized was unpopular with Syrsky & Buddies or had some negative history with them? The story is so blatant that one can imagine it was done on purpose: they might as well have wanted to get rid of him this way.
Also, you mention at least two "buddy groups" (Syrsky & Buddies and Zelensky & Yermak et al). This implies that there are probably more such competing buddy groups in power. What if they are not (just) incompetent, but are fighting among themselves in the background?
The 72nd was commanded by Colonel Vinnik who was unceremoniously sacked in September and replaced by a TCC officer, Liutenant-Colonel Okhrimenko. Vinnik could have been sacked at any other point before that if Syrsky wanted to; the staffing of Brigade HQs is under his undisputed purview.
One has to keep in mind that the 72nd in August 2024 de facto didn't exist as anything more than a reinforced battalion. After the Russians lost the First Battle of Vuhledar, in January-February 2023, the front went silent for the next year and both sides reconstituted their respective forces. A year later, the Russians came back for Round 2 and there was vicious fighting in the area during February-June 2024, which attrited the 72nd to a husk but ended in stalemate. The Russians again reconstituted their forces during July and most of August, but the Ukrainians had nothing to reconstitute the 72nd with. The Russians came back for Round 3 at the end of August and the 72nd collapsed quickly.
The underlying issue here is that the Russians are capable of quickly reconstituting decimated formations to their former state, but the Ukrainians are only able to replace decimated mechanised and armoured formations with smaller, light infantry ones at this point.
You make many great points, but I have to disagree when you say:
" the Russians are capable of quickly reconstituting decimated formations to their former state"
Sure, they can get the numbers up, but even elite units likes the VVF and Spesnatz have taken such high losses that the replacements are ever-less training before they arrive at the front. Some motor rifle units get only three days of basic before they are fed into the meat grinder. Many once elite NI battalions have been completely reconstituted several times over and now get the same dregs as everyone else. Meanwhile, Ukraine is increasing the length of its infantry training.
"the Ukrainians are only able to replace decimated mechanised and armoured formations with smaller, light infantry ones at this point."
Again have to disagree. New mech battalions equipped with Leopard 1s and Leopard 2s are arriving on the battlefield right new. They are hardly light infantry.
This doesn't undercut Tom's points about leadership but I suspect your information might be a little out-of-date.
Thank you Tom. It is good to see such a competent Western analyst as you taking Ukraine's problems so seriously. But who is being called upon to replace the country's military and political elite? Judging by the fact that both Zelensky and Syrsky are still in their posts, they meet the requirements. How else to explain the ongoing and even increasing (according to media reports) international financial aid, despite the setbacks at the front and the uncertainty about Western support next year?
Nobody is meeting the requirements just by holding to his/her post. Actually, most of those clinging to their posts, regardless the consequences, are the biggest incompetents around.
Indeed, Zelensky is remaining in his position because he 'can't' run new elections while the country is in a state of war (prohibited by constitution). Otherwise, he would've been certainly elected not only out of the presidential palace, but out of Kyiv and Ukraine, too. While Syrsky is remaining in his position because Yermak wants him there (and Zelensky needs a 'loyalist' and 'great news general').
There are enough other Ukrainians that can do the job in far better fashion. See Magyar as example: a competent businessman, and a competent commander, driving the development of UAVs forward, and forward. And that's just one out of dozens of examples. They're just not left to 'climb the ladder' - by all the incompetents at the top (and that precisely because the latter are incompetent, and they know they would all get fired if somebody who is competent would be appointed the C-in-C).
In fact you are mistaken (under the influence of propaganda I must admit). The elections are not prohibited by Ukrainian constitution while the country is in a state of war. Only the parliament elections are prohibited in constitution during short pre-war period called "military state" which is in force now blatantly against Ukrainian constitution. When the country is in a state of war there is a designated "state of war" prescribed in constitution which has no prohibition of any elections so far (Art. 106 paragraphs 19-20 of constitution).
The question is on what basis/for what purpose the "incompetent", "illegitimate" and "corrupt" Ukrainian government continues to receive very significant financial support from Western governments and international organizations. A government with such characteristics is not even capable of ensuring the proper use of these funds (except for stealing them), not to mention everything else. And yet...
Do you know of anyone in line to replace them? I agree with you, this is all tragic and you can't possibly have been the only one who has beem houling about it for the last three months.
To quote one of (seasoned) 'insiders' in Kyiv: 'Zelensky can't ... his wife without Yermak's permission'.
Sure, that's a typical, drastic Ukrainian hyperbole. But, also bringing things to the point: Zelensky can't find 'his Grant', because he's not searching for any. He's found his Syrsky - his 'General of Fantastic News', and is going to stick with him until all that's left of Ukraine is the government quarter of Kyiv...
"However, cold fact is: it’s Syrsky who is in charge. He is not only in overall command of the ZSU, but also bearing responsibility for the outcome of his own actions, and actions of his subordinates."
IOW, you can delegate authority, but you cannot delegate accountability.
I can't help but wonder if American civilian and military intelligence organizations are not fully aware of Ukraine's political & senior military leadership competency or lack therof. If the leadership situation is as serious as you have written herein (this blog), then this can only give ammunition for the anti-Ukrainian crowd of the incoming Trump 2nd Administration to cut-off political and military support for Ukraine.
IMHO, the Ukrainian war is approaching some critical nexus. Who knows what will happen next?
This is about the biggest Christmas "Bah Humbug" that I have ever encountered! :(
I was referring not to public opinion or to the opinion of the MAGA crazies, but to certain potentially influential personalities among Trump's inner sanctum picks--his cabinet and appointed staff--who possibly may exercise some serious influence on Trump's decisions and actions, at least early in Trump's 2nd Administration.
I agree with you about balm for his ego; he is a toxic narcissist after all. There are many commenters and influencers on the internet trying to look at Trump's recent statements in a way that would seem to support Ukraine or even not do too much damage to Ukraine's cause. This is fantasy IMHO. Yeah, I am a pessimist. I just don't see the results of this most recent Presidential election with any hope for optimism for Ukraine or for NATO. Sorry about that!
With Biden Ukraine had absolutely no chance to win as his goal was to keep the war itself in balance, which is perhaps the most stupid thing he could do.
In reality this goal was never achievable, it encouraged "Gollum", made Ukraine pay an extra price in blood, lives and destruction and just made everything worse.
IMHO with Trump they have a small but real chance to win and if it is only because Trump's ego is hurt by "Gollum" & Co.
I thought that the corruption issue in Ukraine disqualified the nation from joining the EU unless they cleaned up their act first. Ukraine was ineligible at the time for NATO membership because the nation had a contested border (with Russia) on their east, including Crimea.
....especially because the fact I'm bitterly criticising the Ukrainians doesn't mean the US-Americans are any better. Actually, the US system of governance and the government-control is even more broken than the Ukrainian. Which is why I call the Pentagon 'People in need of Fresh Air'.
Thanks Tom. Do not want to repeat myself, I've been criticising the ZSU genstab for more than a year now. Therefore, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you, Don and all readers. I wish Ukrainians to celebrate victory and peace next year.
Thank you
This is all so fucking frustrating, that i just gave up on following the war every day.. from position of a person who cant influence anything, its just too painful to watch.. its literally car crash on slow speed.
Exactly!
It's infuriating, meanwhile. I haven't seen a bigger bunch of incompetents on one pile since the times of the Iran-Iraq, back in 1980-1988... Even the so-called 'human wave' offensives by the IRGC (where that with 'human-wave' was actually an Iraqi 'fake news': the Iranians were infiltrating their positions by night), of 1986-1987 - were making more sense than what Syrsky & Buddies are doing.
Syrsky with buddies, Yermak, Zelensky, whom mandate has expired long time ago, they are all not incompetents, they are deliberate traitors, ruzz agents in power in Ukraine.
I agree, they all must go from yesterday in order for ZSU to successfully defeat the ruzzkies.
I don’t know why people invest in so much personal emotions here, its not a game of hockey. War is being waged as it have been done for at least 10.000 years. What we witness is (military)history being written in real time with all its sides, ups and downs, generals and presidents and so on. Some day it will end and be a page in the history book just as all the other wars on this planet no matter all non-participating peoples opinions or emotions. What matter is that no one down there is doing South Vietnamese thumb-rolling and as Kyiv is not Russian yet its bloody far from over.
Well said. People need to remember that no matter how bad the Ukrainian high command is, the Russians are far worse. They're reduced to sending troops into battle on electric scooters and pink civilian sedan cars.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2024/12/24/a-pink-compact-car-is-the-latest-russian-assault-vehicle/
Thank you for this. You have convinced me, am afraid it doesn’t help. (Actually I think I got the point months ago, but…’
Haven't seen Tom so upset in a long time, and for good reason. The problem is System Zelensky cant be reformed and cant be replaced. Regardless how much or how little political, financial and military help Ukraine gets from the west, it all boils down to System Putin against a smaller System Zelensky, a big Soviet army against a small Soviet army, Russians against just another kind of Russians (mentality wise). The best one can hope for is Trump imposing some kind of frozen conflict, and what is left of Ukraine to be capable of evolving South Korea style, over decades, under tight US and EU control and funding, while Russia remains what it always was - a savage, backward empire with a thin veneer of civilisation and culture on top.
A theoretical freezing of the front has its own issues.
I can't speak for Tom, but the frustration for me has been building for a long time. Granted, Ukraine was unprepared for February 2022 despite the obvious warnings for at least eight months, but I understand the chaos and desperation in the decisions made once the open invasion did happen. I can understand how there might not have been resources to respond to the heavy pressure and then breach in the lines at Popasna.
But by the time of the collapse at Soledar and then deciding to hold onto the last third, quarter or eighth of Bakhmut when people were dying just driving into and out of the city I started wondering. But maybe that was just a one-off incident and they will learn.
That was not the case. They create ten new brigades when units are short on personnel. People were STILL being sent to the front line without any training. The lack of training was a huge factor in why their casualty rates were so high from February-July 2022.
Avdiivka was a difficult situation. Better decisions could have been made but with the limited ammo it was always going to be a tough fight. There was no excuse for Ochertyne, leaving a gap in the lines during an incompetent relief in place between two units. There was no excuse for a battalion being surrounded at Prohres soon after, and then the local commanders had to solve the situation on their own.
And the problems keep replicating themselves and spirialing out of control. The constant fragmentation of unit cohesion by detaching battalions and plugging them into holes like so many fingers being stuck in a dyke, instead of just repairing the dyke itself. OSGT Khrotytsia, which is in the middle of all of this, is in charge of 103 brigades/regiments and 58 detached or independent battalions, from Kharkiv to Velyka Novosilka. The level of increasing disorganization and repeated mistakes is extremely frustrating, knowing that lives are being lost through incompetence.
Fortunately, the Russian incompetence is even greater and their acceptance of their incompetence drastically reduces their combat power, as well.
The solutions, entirely within the hands of Ukrainian leadership, is there. There are proven examples of competence in so many units that can be built upon and expanded. All these issues have a solution. But no one is able or willing to solve these obvious, fixable, long-term issues.
Thanks Don.
At least until the fall of 2022, the number of fighting Russian troops was determined by the number of battalion tactical groups. Based on combat experience, the aggressor army has already abandoned their use. However, it seems that the Ukrainian Armed Forces Command, by spreading out battalions, is trying to introduce these formations. By the way, there is already a theoretical basis for this.
http://znp-cvsd.nuou.org.ua/article/view/283595
BTG's are still supposed to be a component of a regiment/brigade and division. I have no problem with the theoretical concept of them being the main tactical component of these formations. The Brigade/Division/Corps structure still provides the ability to oversee a limited number of formations so that the commander at each echelon isn't overwhelmed by the data and scope of the operation at each echelon.
Ukraine's leadership has acknowledged the need for corps and divisions but said they only have the resources to establish corps for now. They have yet to take any measures to establish functional corp level operations and continue to fragment existing brigades. What they say and what they do are two different things.
I find the claim "we can do only corps instead of divisions" a bit disingenuous.
A division-based structure is a natural evolution from the brigade-based structure, while the corps structure is too large if it's going to manage a hundred brigades (and it sounds too similar to an existing OSGT).
To me, this sounds like a refusal to acknowledge reality.
Most likely things are bad enough without having to impose a restructuring on frontline units. Easy to do in peacetime, a lot harder in a war with a 1000Km+ front where you are stretched extremely thin.
There is no reason for Russians to accept a frozen conflict. Now that Ukraine has thoroughly thrown away all of their high cards, it would not even be advisable to accept anything less than total victory. Freezing the conflict is too obviously just a western tactic to stall for time.
What does "total victory" look like to you?
All of their stated victory conditions.
"Denazification and Demilitarization"?
Those are so nebulous that they can declare victory right now lol.
You sound like one of those people who gets upset if somebody mildly criticizes Stepan Bandera lol
No, I sound like a guy who just watched Putins press conference where he declared that Russia accomplished all its goals in Syria.
What makes you think the presser at the end of this war will be any different?
Ukraine becoming a Russian puppet like Belarus but more subservient.
All of Ukraine? Not likely at this point.
Well, the question was asking about “total victory”. I agree it doesn’t seem likely that Russia will achieve that in the near term.
Its not just that they have thrown away all of their high cards, they are increasingly getting into arguments with Germany and Poland, some of their most valuable benefactors. If they lose their support, it wont be long till the Russians reach Dnieper at which point it is game over.
Would you care to list these 'high cards' Ukraine has thrown away? Bit of an evidence-free sweeping statement to make otherwise.
In what way is Ukraine doing better than in April 2022?
A weaker country can beat a stronger country if they deliver a bloody nose right at the beginning and then negotiate a peace before the enemy can mobilize and while their public is still divided about the war.
Ukraine's male population is largely depleted, the Soviet and Warsaw Pact stockpiles are gone, and western (as well as Ukrainian) audiences want the war to end. Surely you don't think their position is stronger than two years ago?
Yes, a lot. What a load of bull. War-weariness is not the same as your defeatism.
1. Polls show support for Ukraine remains strong across most of Europe.
2. Do you know how many people are under arms in Ukraine? You obviously don't. Look it up. I won't help answer such a lazy point for you.
3. You made me start to think you're just a Russian troll with your point about stockpiles. That is because only a Russian troll would deliver that line with a straight face considering you have to ignore all the western munitions production lines that are coming on line to supply Ukraine. It's especially true now that Russia's stockpiles are so depleted it has to buy shells with a 50% dud rate from North Korea. If you're not a troll, take a little time to dig deeper into the amount of aid Ukraine receives and the long-term supply chains being established for it.
4. In April 2022, no one save for a few deluded fools thought Ukraine could defeat Russia. After The Great Russian Retreat, the vast majority of serious analysts said the bulk of Ukraine's forces faced encirclement in the Donbas. Severodentsk fell, but then the frontline stabilised. Turns out the Ukrainian army was not kettled, stalemate set in, and the only significant changes since then have been Ukraine's successful counter-offensives in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Kursk.
5. If you think a peace was or is ever going to be negotiated with Putin, you're huffing yet more Russian gas. One side or the other needs to win before this will be over.
6. As long as mines, drones, and artillery still dominate the frontlines they will enforce the stalemate. The war is going to be won elsewhere. Ukraine is now mass-producing long-range strike drones. Soon Russian infrastructure and production is going to be hit very hard.
7. Ukraine's army is most definitely larger and better equipped than in 2022. The opposite applies to Russia. More than 90% of the VSRF is now deployed in Ukraine and it is going next to nowhere. In 2024 this vast leviathan you are so scared of managed to seize less than 0.5% of Ukraine's landmass.
8. And Ukraine has just announced it will extend the training of new recruits. Meanwhile, Russia, having gutted their training battalions in 2022-23, has reduced basic training to as low as three days. Tells you all need to know about the relevant trajectories of the two sides.
9. The same is true of the respective air forces. Ukraine has achieved wonders keeping ageing airframes going and restoring old ones in storage. Meanwhile, F-16s are coming into service. Next year, the Saab AWACS aircraft arrive.
10. And it's also true of air defences. Expensive GBAD that takes time to manufacture and train on is arriving at a steady rate in Ukraine. Not as fast as anyone would like, but it's a lot better than Russia's position of taking big GBAD losses whilst having to stretch ever thinner because of Ukraine's campaign against their logistics.
11. And Ukraine, with barely a navy to speak of, has forced Russia out of the western Black Sea and devastated their missile-launching fleet.
12. In 2022, Ukraine had very few drones. This year they said they would produce a million of them. They over-achieved that target and dominated the land war with them this year. Next year, they will manufacture even more.
So all these 'high cards' you say Ukraine 'threw away' turn out to be very low ones. I can back up all I've said with evidence. Can you? Of course there are failures, defeatism, incompetence, and corruption, but Russia suffers far more on all these categories. Cheer up, mate. It's not as bad as you think.
"One side or the other needs to win before this will be over."
That I agree with.
This was expected. However upsetting, the truth is that Ukrainian leadership is through and through corrupt, incompetent and unwilling to do anything that will put their own interests under fire. So they will of course put in the seats of power those that will serve the regime the best, not the people of Ukraine. The “something must be done” message will fall in deaf ears. Something must have been done years and years ago and you saw the result of it - Ukraine is a banana republc supported by western countries… for now… shame and so sorry for all the human losses.
If things are really that bad, then it is probably people like your military contacts that should try organizing a public "push for changes". However risky it is for them, they are also the only ones with first-hand information and thus potential authority to accuse their high command of incompetence.
Certainly not your civilian readers like me, who've spent the whole 2022+ part of the war sitting comfortably at home in Kyiv, some 20-minute bike ride away from Irpin. For all I know, Syrsky's decisions (as commander of Kyiv defence) might well be among the (many) reasons I'm still alive and comfortable and my neighbourhood is fully intact. However incompetent he might now be as Glavcom, people like me are not in any position to declare him as such, least of all "on demand" by a foreign social media presence with anonymous contacts, however competent that presence might be in its own field of work. :)
The failures of the last 3-4 months are enough for anyone to declare Syrsky incompetent. Plus you might have missed the calls from Prokopenko, Veres (K-2), Taras Chmut (head of 'Return Alive') all directly and indirectly calling for his replacement. Тут і без Тома ясно що Сирського треба знімати.
How is he incompetent ?
Wehrmacht had some of the most competent officers in history of warfare yet they were still pushed back and lost. Without enough resources there is only so much you can do.
Did you even read the article? Especially the parts where resources magically appear when it's already too late and about breaking and mixing brigade battalions which breaks the brigades' coherence and causes chaos?
He is ruzz troll. Don't reply to his propaganda.
They can't. All are feeling tailed by the SBU almost every step they take. Indeed, the SBU is meanwhile almost like the KGB, the Stasi, or the Securitatea: monitoring all the ZSU officers more closely than the enemy...
I'm not talking about organizing a mutiny or something. They can communicate with you, so they can also make public posts. Yes, the SBU may (and likely will) come get them then. But, to my best knowledge, SBU isn't yet in direct control of Facebook, YouTube and other social networks to "just erase" the posts immediately, and public resonance is still worth something in Ukraine. Of course, it also depends on what they can post (and how many of them)...
You should remind in this context how 2 years ago SBU with help of FBI was blocking pro-Ukrainian social media accounts, how they refused to accept the existence of Vagner operation conducted by GUR MO in 2020, when Zelensky acknowledged finally that he transfered the classified intel to Lukashenko about this operation which failed because of been compromised.
Tom Cooper, you’re probably right. How ere, what is the consequences of such articles?
1) someone in ZSU/UA leadership is reading them and is going to make these changes
2) public in the west is reading them, and getting an impressions that it is better to stop and give Putin what he wants (at least 4 oblasti), since UA is corrupted and incompetent and will only loose even more people and land.
Not that cover up of mistakes makes more sense, but emphasizing positive moves in contrast to negative ones could make a bigger impact.
If there is no hope- weapons are irrelevant.
As far as number 2, no, it doesn't mean giving Putin everything he wants, but it does mean having to give up something. The way things are going now, Ukraine is losing more and more of that "something to give" every day and paying for it in blood, treasure and equipment. Consider that if this goes on for another 3 months and RF takes all of Donetsk oblast aside from the Slovyansk/Kramatorsk agglomeration, they will be asking for Kherson city or Zaporizhzhie. Putin will only increase his demands as he has success on the battlefield.
I don't know what the answer to this bad equation is, and I am not a citizen of Ukraine, so it's not for me to tell. But I can see that the UA bargaining position is not getting any better.
I can see a way out in 6 months to a year, if UA can hold on for that long. At that point RF stocks of Soviet equipment and men will start running dry, while their economy will become ever more strained. Assuming they don't mobilize or find a source of equipment abroad (big ifs), they will lose initiative and UA will be in a more advantageous negotiating position. But that's a whole lot of big ifs.
Number 1 is not likely, so it is really only #2, which makes you think the way you do. That reducea support and donations as well.
What's the alternative?
None of us bears the responsibility ZSU commanders have. The context is also important, and it is changing. It may be January (Trump) or most likely mid 2025- politics needs to identified key dates and ammo for discussions.
Russians have heavy losses, someone is inflicting them.
UA can easily test leadership and org options in such a huge batterfiwld. Is any of them working fine- that praise that one!
"6 months... At that point RF stocks"
Lol, you guys were saying that 6 months, a year and 3 years ago.
Was I? You have a quote from me to back that assertion up?
As to the point of your comment, yes, when it comes to Soviet era storage yards, they are visible from space, and it's possible to count what's left. It's not perfect, but it's a pretty decent approximation. For armored vehicles, they got another year maximum, after which they will need to either change tactics drastically or find a new source.
Jompy and CovertCabal have been doing a pretty good job documenting the drawdown of stock in storage
https://x.com/Jonpy99
Oh come on lol. There have been "two men to a shovel" stories for 3 years. It is very easy to find them.
Russian stocks aren't running out despite western "experts" endlessly screaming that because production is 10, 20 or 50 times higher than prior to 2022. An this should have been very obvious from reviewing past wars. Even states that lose wars basically always have larger and better equipped armies 2-3 years into the conflict.
The ONLY thing that stops that process is when the industrial base is occupied by the enemy, which obviously has no chance of happening to Russia in this conflict.
Portraying enemy weapon stockpiles as finite is childish propaganda.
Well, there's always stupid "experts", just please don't include me, bc I am neither of those things.
The idea that "the ONLY thing that stood the process is when the industrial base is occupied" is not reflected in history. Every industrial base has bottlenecks of inputs, and in a war that goes on long enough, they eventually affect the ability to generate military power.
Take Nazi Germany as an example, when they were overrun, there were hundreds of brand new planes sitting on the tarmak never flown. They could still build planes, but couldn't get enough high octane gasoline to train pilots or fly combat missions.
For RF today, the bottleneck is Soviet armor that is fit to be refurbished. Surely you wouldn't argue that it's infinite, right?
Hoping for "bottlenecks" is a fool's dream.
Regarding 2), IMHO the American public is almost totally ignorant of any discusion, controversy, or reality related to the competence of the senior military leadership of the Ukrainian armed forces. I, for example, would not know much in this regard without having read this substack blog. Oh, I have seen references to leaderhip failures on the occasional youtube video of Denys Davydov and perhaps Jake Broe (most recently).
Denys Davydov somehow left Ukraine in 2023.
Got tired of paying expensive bribes to avoid mobilization. He is based in Switzerland now i think.
You seem to know a lot about his situation. How much was he paying and how much did he save by paying to leave?
First a very strong 'Thank you' to Tom Cooper for writing a clear and easily understandable summary what is going on and culminating into a big kettle full of shit.
This sabotage by incompetence demands a strong and quick cure, otherwise IMHO the situation will worsen even further, possibly leading to the collapse of a section of the front and ultimately to a total collapse (i.e. if they don't have the reserves to fix a relative small part of the front line, they will never have the reserves to fix a major part of the front line).
Shooting the messenger of bad news is no solution at all.
Of course I also understand the reaction of civilian citizens of Ukraine, who are simply overhelmed by this situation.
This is the 'hour' of the professional commanding officers of the brigades. They have to write and sign a petition to Zelensky in clear words and with a clear demand (dismiss Syrsky & Buddies, maybe with medals to a place, where they can only harm themselves).
Supplement:
I also strongly contrdict those, who think that Ukraine itself is a hopeless case full of corruption in every single home.
Yes, there is corruption in Ukraine. That is part of their legacy from the USSR, but is has been worse in the past with still some 'miles' to go.
The situation is constantly improving (believe it or not, but the donations coming from inside Ukraine are a clear sign to me) and this is one of the main differences to the RF, where the situation is constantly getting worse.
Abandoning Ukraine because of corruption would be like throwing the bathwater out with the baby, and the people of Ukraine deserve a better fate.
Only in misery do you learn who your true friends are.
But that's precisely my point: Ukraine is NO 'hopeless case' (and, I'm surely not for 'abandoning' Ukraine).
Actually, Ukraine could easily win - if only having the 'right' people in charge.
It's the current gangs of incompetents that are in charge who are the problem: probably shaving their backsides, every morning, because they can't find their heads...
Yes I know that. But there are some weirdos in the political sphere and their propaganda talking heads who would like to use the corruption problem as an excuse to abandon Ukraine.
I fell sorrow today, for all the braves soldiers, die for this bull''t
I understand that the Occam's razor says that when someone fucks up, the most likely cause is their incompetence and stupidity.
But I can't help wondering if this is always the case in Ukraine. Isn't it possible, for example, that the commander of the 72nd Mechanized was unpopular with Syrsky & Buddies or had some negative history with them? The story is so blatant that one can imagine it was done on purpose: they might as well have wanted to get rid of him this way.
Also, you mention at least two "buddy groups" (Syrsky & Buddies and Zelensky & Yermak et al). This implies that there are probably more such competing buddy groups in power. What if they are not (just) incompetent, but are fighting among themselves in the background?
The 72nd was commanded by Colonel Vinnik who was unceremoniously sacked in September and replaced by a TCC officer, Liutenant-Colonel Okhrimenko. Vinnik could have been sacked at any other point before that if Syrsky wanted to; the staffing of Brigade HQs is under his undisputed purview.
One has to keep in mind that the 72nd in August 2024 de facto didn't exist as anything more than a reinforced battalion. After the Russians lost the First Battle of Vuhledar, in January-February 2023, the front went silent for the next year and both sides reconstituted their respective forces. A year later, the Russians came back for Round 2 and there was vicious fighting in the area during February-June 2024, which attrited the 72nd to a husk but ended in stalemate. The Russians again reconstituted their forces during July and most of August, but the Ukrainians had nothing to reconstitute the 72nd with. The Russians came back for Round 3 at the end of August and the 72nd collapsed quickly.
The underlying issue here is that the Russians are capable of quickly reconstituting decimated formations to their former state, but the Ukrainians are only able to replace decimated mechanised and armoured formations with smaller, light infantry ones at this point.
You make many great points, but I have to disagree when you say:
" the Russians are capable of quickly reconstituting decimated formations to their former state"
Sure, they can get the numbers up, but even elite units likes the VVF and Spesnatz have taken such high losses that the replacements are ever-less training before they arrive at the front. Some motor rifle units get only three days of basic before they are fed into the meat grinder. Many once elite NI battalions have been completely reconstituted several times over and now get the same dregs as everyone else. Meanwhile, Ukraine is increasing the length of its infantry training.
"the Ukrainians are only able to replace decimated mechanised and armoured formations with smaller, light infantry ones at this point."
Again have to disagree. New mech battalions equipped with Leopard 1s and Leopard 2s are arriving on the battlefield right new. They are hardly light infantry.
This doesn't undercut Tom's points about leadership but I suspect your information might be a little out-of-date.
It's not always the case - but it is regularly the case.
At least it's so that when 'generals' screw up, then entire battalions are wiped out. When one of local commanders screws up, it's companies...
No, these two groups of gangs are fighting only with ukrainians.
Thank you Tom. It is good to see such a competent Western analyst as you taking Ukraine's problems so seriously. But who is being called upon to replace the country's military and political elite? Judging by the fact that both Zelensky and Syrsky are still in their posts, they meet the requirements. How else to explain the ongoing and even increasing (according to media reports) international financial aid, despite the setbacks at the front and the uncertainty about Western support next year?
The financial aid is a bank run before Trump is swore in. This help could be the last one and everybody sends what they have.
Nobody is meeting the requirements just by holding to his/her post. Actually, most of those clinging to their posts, regardless the consequences, are the biggest incompetents around.
Indeed, Zelensky is remaining in his position because he 'can't' run new elections while the country is in a state of war (prohibited by constitution). Otherwise, he would've been certainly elected not only out of the presidential palace, but out of Kyiv and Ukraine, too. While Syrsky is remaining in his position because Yermak wants him there (and Zelensky needs a 'loyalist' and 'great news general').
There are enough other Ukrainians that can do the job in far better fashion. See Magyar as example: a competent businessman, and a competent commander, driving the development of UAVs forward, and forward. And that's just one out of dozens of examples. They're just not left to 'climb the ladder' - by all the incompetents at the top (and that precisely because the latter are incompetent, and they know they would all get fired if somebody who is competent would be appointed the C-in-C).
In fact you are mistaken (under the influence of propaganda I must admit). The elections are not prohibited by Ukrainian constitution while the country is in a state of war. Only the parliament elections are prohibited in constitution during short pre-war period called "military state" which is in force now blatantly against Ukrainian constitution. When the country is in a state of war there is a designated "state of war" prescribed in constitution which has no prohibition of any elections so far (Art. 106 paragraphs 19-20 of constitution).
The question is on what basis/for what purpose the "incompetent", "illegitimate" and "corrupt" Ukrainian government continues to receive very significant financial support from Western governments and international organizations. A government with such characteristics is not even capable of ensuring the proper use of these funds (except for stealing them), not to mention everything else. And yet...
Didn't call it 'illegitimate', but, considering 'the rest': yes, your question is legitimate.
Do you know of anyone in line to replace them? I agree with you, this is all tragic and you can't possibly have been the only one who has beem houling about it for the last three months.
Hard to read, but must be read. They really do need to boot some of these guys.
when the front collapses, it's not so useful searching for scapegoats...
Zelensky has to find his Grant.
But first...Ukraine have to find their Lincoln.
Right now my hope is that Russia bleeds itself to death with troop losses and money.But that isn't a viable strategy.
That is just forelorn hope.
To quote one of (seasoned) 'insiders' in Kyiv: 'Zelensky can't ... his wife without Yermak's permission'.
Sure, that's a typical, drastic Ukrainian hyperbole. But, also bringing things to the point: Zelensky can't find 'his Grant', because he's not searching for any. He's found his Syrsky - his 'General of Fantastic News', and is going to stick with him until all that's left of Ukraine is the government quarter of Kyiv...
"However, cold fact is: it’s Syrsky who is in charge. He is not only in overall command of the ZSU, but also bearing responsibility for the outcome of his own actions, and actions of his subordinates."
IOW, you can delegate authority, but you cannot delegate accountability.
I can't help but wonder if American civilian and military intelligence organizations are not fully aware of Ukraine's political & senior military leadership competency or lack therof. If the leadership situation is as serious as you have written herein (this blog), then this can only give ammunition for the anti-Ukrainian crowd of the incoming Trump 2nd Administration to cut-off political and military support for Ukraine.
IMHO, the Ukrainian war is approaching some critical nexus. Who knows what will happen next?
This is about the biggest Christmas "Bah Humbug" that I have ever encountered! :(
I don't think Trump will act according to public opinion. IMHO he wants:
1) MAGA (but by his own defintion). For me it means his interpretation of the geopolitical situation.
2) Balm for his ego.
I was referring not to public opinion or to the opinion of the MAGA crazies, but to certain potentially influential personalities among Trump's inner sanctum picks--his cabinet and appointed staff--who possibly may exercise some serious influence on Trump's decisions and actions, at least early in Trump's 2nd Administration.
I agree with you about balm for his ego; he is a toxic narcissist after all. There are many commenters and influencers on the internet trying to look at Trump's recent statements in a way that would seem to support Ukraine or even not do too much damage to Ukraine's cause. This is fantasy IMHO. Yeah, I am a pessimist. I just don't see the results of this most recent Presidential election with any hope for optimism for Ukraine or for NATO. Sorry about that!
With Biden Ukraine had absolutely no chance to win as his goal was to keep the war itself in balance, which is perhaps the most stupid thing he could do.
In reality this goal was never achievable, it encouraged "Gollum", made Ukraine pay an extra price in blood, lives and destruction and just made everything worse.
IMHO with Trump they have a small but real chance to win and if it is only because Trump's ego is hurt by "Gollum" & Co.
Back when all this started I read somewhere that joining NATO was not possible because of the problem of inbred (Soviet) corruption.
I thought that the corruption issue in Ukraine disqualified the nation from joining the EU unless they cleaned up their act first. Ukraine was ineligible at the time for NATO membership because the nation had a contested border (with Russia) on their east, including Crimea.
Good question.
....especially because the fact I'm bitterly criticising the Ukrainians doesn't mean the US-Americans are any better. Actually, the US system of governance and the government-control is even more broken than the Ukrainian. Which is why I call the Pentagon 'People in need of Fresh Air'.
Thanks Tom. Do not want to repeat myself, I've been criticising the ZSU genstab for more than a year now. Therefore, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you, Don and all readers. I wish Ukrainians to celebrate victory and peace next year.