[Goose]

And if the Ukrainians are dumb enough to invade into Russia, sure.  But we are talking less than 50 km here.

BC

I think you are correct if they stop now but it is unlikely that is their intent. They can get in lots of trouble well short of the Russian border if they aren't careful :-) I think that they will be careful, but you never know.

Not sure if this is obvious or not, but based on everything developing in the Kharkiv offensive, I get the feeling the objective is to fully cut off all logistical routes to Izium.  That's always been a major hub for Russian forces in the east.  A long way to go to achieve this, but if Ukraine could surround, and eventually take Izium, it would be a of immense proportions blow for Russians, especially if they end up having POW's in the four to five figure range. in the overall offensive.

Exactly so. To do that though they are going to have to go north quite a bit as near as I can tell. Doing that may be possible, because when you get in the enemies rear areas there aren't many formations that can fight you. There are other possible objectives as well. In situations like this if you are meeting resistance in some directions and not others, it is real tempting to go in the path of least resistance. That's fine if it helps you reach your objective. If not, it may be better to maintain a concentration of forces.

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I wonder if a major turning point of this war was Ukrainians not having to surrender in mass during their withdrawals during the Russian Luhansk offensive.  There were many times it seemed pockets were closing on many Ukrainian troops, but it never seemed to come to fruition for Russia.

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It reminds me a bit of George Washington and the continental army somehow mostly escaping from New York in the revolutionary war, that could've and likely should've been a devastating blow, and likely the end for them.

Ukraine did a masterful job in resisting as long as possible while not getting trapped. They fought much better than the continental army did. They had no battle of Ft. Washington or similar. I don't think retreating successfully was a "turning point" in either war, but the opposite outcomes certainly would have been.

[Goose]

And if the Ukrainians are dumb enough to invade into Russia, sure.  But we are talking less than 50 km here.

BC

I think you are correct if they stop now but it is unlikely that is their intent. They can get in lots of trouble well short of the Russian border if they aren't careful :-) I think that they will be careful, but you never know.

Not sure if this is obvious or not, but based on everything developing in the Kharkiv offensive, I get the feeling the objective is to fully cut off all logistical routes to Izium.  That's always been a major hub for Russian forces in the east.  A long way to go to achieve this, but if Ukraine could surround, and eventually take Izium, it would be a of immense proportions blow for Russians, especially if they end up having POW's in the four to five figure range. in the overall offensive.

Exactly so. To do that though they are going to have to go north quite a bit as near as I can tell. Doing that may be possible, because when you get in the enemies rear areas there aren't many formations that can fight you. There are other possible objectives as well. In situations like this if you are meeting resistance in some directions and not others, it is real tempting to go in the path of least resistance. That's fine if it helps you reach your objective. If not, it may be better to maintain a concentration of forces.

---

I wonder if a major turning point of this war was Ukrainians not having to surrender in mass during their withdrawals during the Russian Luhansk offensive.  There were many times it seemed pockets were closing on many Ukrainian troops, but it never seemed to come to fruition for Russia.

---

It reminds me a bit of George Washington and the continental army somehow mostly escaping from New York in the revolutionary war, that could've and likely should've been a devastating blow, and likely the end for them.

Ukraine did a masterful job in resisting as long as possible while not getting trapped. They fought much better than the continental army did. They had no battle of Ft. Washington or similar. I don't think retreating successfully was a "turning point" in either war, but the opposite outcomes certainly would have been.