This is the beginning of the end of Putin in Ukraine
Fox News
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Generals are trying to manage a stalled, if not, failed winter offensive.
Jon Sweet is a retired U.S. Army colonel with 30 years of experience as a military intelligence officer.
The question then becomes one of where, and how does Gerasimov set his defense: Donbas, Crimea, or elsewhere? Part and parcel to that question is also one of will Russian forces put up a fight, surrender, or simply lay down their arms and return to Russia? Thus far, the Russian military has not demonstrated a propensity to defend well. The nature of the battles waged in the Kherson Oblast in the fall last year may be a good indicator of future Russian battlefield performance in the defense – and influence when and where the point of Ukrainian attack.
The Kremlin, at least outwardly, is signaling they believe the Ukrainian counterattack could come in Crimea. Commercial satellite imagery captured by Planet Labs and Maxar Technologies clearly show defensive fortifications and a vast network of trenches being rapidly built and prepared in the Perekop Isthmus. Moscow is heavily fortifying this strategically advantageous narrow land bridge that connects Crimea to the heart of Ukraine’s interior. These newly erected strongholds also tie into natural obstacles and are being hastily constructed along the beachfront to prevent any amphibious landings.