[TrumpCard]

I think Def Mon's assessment is probably right.  Soon, maybe very soon, Ukraine will evacuate Bakhmut, having bled the Russians for all they can.  This is similar to their strategy in Severodonetsk in the summer.  The goal isn't to hold the territory per se, but to make the cost for the Russians to take it over very high.  Yes, it is a symbolic win for the Russians, but if Ukraine did its job, they will have made it a Pyrrhic victory.

And for what it is worth, the UK is "considering sending advanced jets to Ukraine", so the training likely is a prelude.  The UK was also the first country to agree to send tanks to Ukraine as well, and though I wasn't a large number, once that taboo was broken, they and others could pressure Germany (especially) and the US to send tanks, which they eventually did.  The only issue is that the UK would need permission from the other countries that co-developed the Typhoon.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraines-ze...1675848644

BC

Note the rest of DefMon's thread too.  Russia made progress in the direction of Kupyansk.  And near Dibrova.  It's not just the loss of one town in the Donbas.  Russia is on offense and Ukraine is on defense along most of the line of contact right now, and the anticipation is that Russia is going to be stepping up its attacks even more in the near future.  Russia may be winning Pyrrhic victories, but nonetheless, Russia is taking Ukrainian territory.  It's not a stalemate right now, and even a stalemate is bad for Ukraine.  The hope has to be that Russia is exhausting its capacity to fight while Ukraine is defending efficiently and conserving resources for a Spring/Summer counteroffensive.  I hear a lot of talk about that, but until it happens, that's just talk.

[TrumpCard]

I think Def Mon's assessment is probably right.  Soon, maybe very soon, Ukraine will evacuate Bakhmut, having bled the Russians for all they can.  This is similar to their strategy in Severodonetsk in the summer.  The goal isn't to hold the territory per se, but to make the cost for the Russians to take it over very high.  Yes, it is a symbolic win for the Russians, but if Ukraine did its job, they will have made it a Pyrrhic victory.

And for what it is worth, the UK is "considering sending advanced jets to Ukraine", so the training likely is a prelude.  The UK was also the first country to agree to send tanks to Ukraine as well, and though I wasn't a large number, once that taboo was broken, they and others could pressure Germany (especially) and the US to send tanks, which they eventually did.  The only issue is that the UK would need permission from the other countries that co-developed the Typhoon.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraines-ze...1675848644

BC

Note the rest of DefMon's thread too.  Russia made progress in the direction of Kupyansk.  And near Dibrova.  It's not just the loss of one town in the Donbas.  Russia is on offense and Ukraine is on defense along most of the line of contact right now, and the anticipation is that Russia is going to be stepping up its attacks even more in the near future.  Russia may be winning Pyrrhic victories, but nonetheless, Russia is taking Ukrainian territory.  It's not a stalemate right now, and even a stalemate is bad for Ukraine.  The hope has to be that Russia is exhausting its capacity to fight while Ukraine is defending efficiently and conserving resources for a Spring/Summer counteroffensive.  I hear a lot of talk about that, but until it happens, that's just talk.