Licensed by Picryl Image of President Zelensky in Pokrovsk

Chris Snow at Medium observes:

Much propaganda surrounds Pokrovsk. Russia has been trying to conquer the town since July of 2024. Russia will likely achieve their strategic objective soon, but at what cost?

Wars of attrition are not won by capturing cities. They are won by trading land for time and by outlasting your opponent.

This story won’t drown you in maps. Instead, I invite you to zoom out and look at the strategic situation of Russia and Ukraine from a bird’s-eye view. Russia is further away from winning this war than they were three years ago.

The collapse of Russia is a process, not an event. Any Empire hoarding gargantuan amounts of wealth does not fall easily, but even the largest do fall.

I will not sugarcoat the situation. Ukraine still requires many more of her allies’ resources to win this war. Wars are violent by nature and never won through moderation.

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There is a good chance that Pokrovsk will be fully occupied by Russia before the end of this year. However, this is not a fight about territory. It is a fight to outlast Russia

Ukraine must maintain a decisive kill ratio, destroying Russian troops and armor faster than they can be replaced. As the defender, Ukraine holds the advantage; Russia must continually overmatch well-fortified lines to gain ground.

Putin’s primary goal is staying in power; this war is more about regime security and his personal survival than territory.

Most Russian subjects are brainwashed. Putin views them as expendable, conditioned from birth to expect suffering, and to obey the infallible Tsar to the point of suicide.

The West must finally understand that this ant-heap state will throw all its resources into the war — forcing schoolchildren to work in war factories, using civilians from occupied regions as auxiliaries, and employing terror against civilian populations.

Slava Ukraine!