{"id":55882,"date":"2024-05-22T04:31:49","date_gmt":"2024-05-22T04:31:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/22\/under-relentless-russian-assault-ukraine-adopts-a-defensive-crouch\/"},"modified":"2024-05-22T04:31:49","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T04:31:49","slug":"under-relentless-russian-assault-ukraine-adopts-a-defensive-crouch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/22\/under-relentless-russian-assault-ukraine-adopts-a-defensive-crouch\/","title":{"rendered":"Under Relentless Russian Assault, Ukraine Adopts a Defensive Crouch"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/21\/multimedia\/00kharkiv-1-vlkh\/00kharkiv-1-vlkh-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Under Relentless Russian Assault, Ukraine Adopts a Defensive Crouch\" title=\"Under Relentless Russian Assault, Ukraine Adopts a Defensive Crouch\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At a high point for Ukraine in its war against Russia, when its army was sweeping Russian forces from the country\u2019s northeast, a small-town police chief proudly hung a Ukrainian flag on his newly liberated city hall.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A year and a half later, the policeman, Oleksiy Kharkivskyi, was dashing into the burning ruins of the same town, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/06\/08\/world\/europe\/ukraine-russia-border.html\" title=\"\">Vovchansk<\/a>, last week to evacuate its few remaining residents as Russian forces closed in.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cEverywhere they come is just razed to the ground,\u201d Mr. Kharkivskyi said of <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/18\/world\/europe\/russia-northeast-ukraine.html\" title=\"\">the advance of the Russian troops<\/a>, who have <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2024\/05\/15\/world\/europe\/russia-offensive-ukraine-maps.html\" title=\"\">returned to the region<\/a> with a scorched-earth ferocity, setting in motion one of the largest displacements of people since the first months of the war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Russian troops <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/18\/world\/europe\/ukraine-russia-advance-kharkiv.html\" title=\"\">punched across the border<\/a> between Russia and Ukraine<span class=\"css-8l6xbc evw5hdy0\">  <\/span>this month and pushed toward Ukraine\u2019s second-largest city, Kharkiv, which has a population of about a million people. Military analysts say Russia lacks the troops to capture the city but could advance to within artillery range, touching off a larger flow of refugees.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Militarily, the incursion seems intended to stretch Ukraine\u2019s already thin and underequipped forces by diverting troops from the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, still seen as the likely target of a Russian offensive this summer. It has also had the destabilizing effect of sending thousands of dismayed, disheartened people from the border region deeper into Ukraine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">After more than a week of fierce fighting, the Ukrainian Army has fallen back to more heavily fortified positions about five miles from the border, which they have held now for several days. Even more formidable positions \u2014 trenches, concrete tank traps and bunkers \u2014 lie farther to the rear.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Regional officials say the attack has so far displaced about 8,000 people, and a frantic effort is underway to evacuate stragglers, mostly older people, from towns and villages in the path of the Russian advance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Many have fled villages that lay in front of the defensive lines, an area given over to skirmishing and ambushes, and heavily bombarded by Russian artillery.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While hardly ideal as a strategy \u2014 and accounts from commanders and soldiers suggest Ukraine executed it with some mishaps \u2014 the tactic of defending while retreating in small steps allows a weaker force to inflict heavy casualties on attackers. Those on the offensive must storm row after row of positions as they move forward, continually breaking cover and exposing themselves to artillery.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ukraine, with insufficient troops as <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/17\/world\/europe\/ukraine-convicts-zelensky.html\" title=\"\">a mobilization effort<\/a> stalled for months and short on ammunition as the U.S. Congress delayed a spending bill, has used the strategy out of necessity after Russian forces<span class=\"css-8l6xbc evw5hdy0\">  <\/span><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/02\/17\/world\/europe\/ukraine-avdiivka-withdraw-despair.html\" title=\"\">took the city of Avdiivka<\/a> in February.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It comes, of course, at a cost of slices of territory \u2014 and of misfortune for those living on the wrong side of the fortifications the Ukrainians will probably fall back on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Vasily Holoborodko, 65, a retired airplane mechanic, had remained on his farm even as he watched soldiers build tank traps and trenches on the wrong side of his property \u2014 away from the Russian border.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When the attack came, he was soon caught in the fighting. Mr. Holoborodko made a dash for safety on Thursday, passing burning houses and blown-up tanks \u2014 and the more robust defensive lines.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe barely got out,\u201d he said. In his rush to flee, he left behind his chickens, his cat and his dog \u201cto whatever God will give them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The villages dotted around pine forests north of Kharkiv are picturesque jumbles of brightly painted one-story homes, with gardens freshly planted. The fighting retreat, however militarily sound, has meant surrendering some to ruin.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe tactics of the Russians have changed radically compared to 2022,\u201d said Capt. Petro Levkovskiy, chief of staff of the operational battalion of Ukraine\u2019s 13th Brigade, referring to the invasion that February. At that time, he noted, \u201cThey came in columns, marching to Kharkiv, because they thought they would be welcomed.\u201d Russia occupied the border area until September 2022.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">This month, heavy artillery bombardments from across the border in Russia announced the latest attack. \u201cThey fire artillery at long distances, destroy everything, then small groups assault, but in large numbers, from different directions,\u201d Captain Levkovskiy said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On a drive north toward the border from Kharkiv last week, pickup trucks and armored vehicles sped in the same direction, while cars overstuffed with people, bags of clothes and pet carriers raced south.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Wildfires burned through the pines, and smoke rose from burning villages farther north.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Sprays of dirt from fresh artillery strikes spattered the road. The window for evacuating civilians from areas in front of Ukraine\u2019s fortifications is closing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Scenes of anguish unfolded as people left homes, and sometimes pets, at a moment\u2019s notice.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When an evacuation team arrived at his home in Bilyi Kolodyaz, Pavel Nelup, 30, quickly threw a duffel bag into the car and clambered in as artillery rumbled nearby.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt\u2019s scarier this time\u201d he said of the latest Russian attacks. \u201cNow we understand they won\u2019t leave anybody alive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">His German shepherd, left behind for lack of space, stared balefully at him from a gap under the fence, whimpering.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A neighbor, Elena Konovalova, 58, emerged to say goodbye to Mr. Nelup. \u201cMy precious, see you later,\u201d she said. \u201cYou will be all right.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Vitaly Kylchik, a chaplain with the 110th Territorial Defense Brigade helping with evacuations, urged her to leave soon, too.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cDon\u2019t sit and wait like the people in Vovchansk,\u201d he said of the town to the north, from where plumes of black smoke were rising. The city hall where the flag was proudly hung after liberation is now a ruin, residents said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Daria Sorokoletova 40, a resident of Vovchansk, fled on Wednesday. Just as she left her home, an artillery shell hit it, blowing it to smithereens.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThere is nothing there,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is nowhere to go back to.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Even as its citizens are <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/article\/russia-ukraine-kharkiv.html\" title=\"\">forced to evacuate<\/a>, the Ukrainian government has defended the strategy of retreating to the defensive lines. Russia has advanced over about 50 square miles and captured about a dozen villages, many now in rubble.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On Friday, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said the Russian offensive had reached but not crossed a first line of defenses, beyond those villages.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe first line is not the border,\u201d Mr. Zelensky said. \u201cIt is impossible to build there because our people were getting killed\u201d by artillery fire as they dug fortifications and laid mines, an effort that began in 2022 but intensified in recent months.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A guessing game for the generals awaits. How far Russia advances depends on how many soldiers both sides commit. For Ukraine, that calculation means moving defenders from other potential sites of attack.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWar is interactive,\u201d Johan Norberg, a senior military analyst at Sweden\u2019s Defense Research Agency, said in a telephone interview. \u201cWhat the Ukrainians do or don&#8217;t do is just as important as what the Russians do.\u201d Capturing the city of Kharkiv, he said, would require Russia to commit \u201cnot just a few thousand but hundreds of thousands\u201d of soldiers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Residents have less assurances. After Ukraine reclaimed their village, Staryi Saltiv, in 2022, Mykhaylo Voinov, 63, and his wife, Olena Voinova, 54, repaired the roof, plugged shrapnel damage and replaced broken windows. In a lovingly manicured backyard, bird song mixed with the rumble of artillery.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe live our life to the fullest, even knowing at any time we might have to pack and leave,\u201d Ms. Voinova said. \u201cOf course it\u2019s very hard, but this is our land, we are ready to rebuild again and again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In one sign of the exodus, Elena Bubenko, 59, who takes in stray dogs and pets that her neighbors placed in her care before fleeing, is now caring for 116 dogs in the village of Tsykuni, north of Kharkiv.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">If Ukrainian troops need to fall back beyond her village, she said, she would understand and just hoped to evacuate the animals in time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThey should defend their own lives,\u201d not the villages, she said. \u201cOtherwise, who will be left to fight for us?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Evelina Ryabko contributed reporting from the Kharkiv region.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/22\/world\/europe\/ukraine-kharkiv-russia-defense.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At a high point for Ukraine in its war against Russia, when its army was sweeping Russian forces from the country\u2019s northeast, a small-town police chief proudly hung a Ukrainian flag on his newly liberated city hall. A year and a half later, the policeman, Oleksiy Kharkivskyi, was dashing into the burning ruins of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":55883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/21\/multimedia\/00kharkiv-1-vlkh\/00kharkiv-1-vlkh-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[10099,4760,55073,30662,55072,1461,1130],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55882"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55882"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55882\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55884,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55882\/revisions\/55884"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}