By liberating Artemovsk (Bakhmut) from the Kiev regime's forces, Russia is gathering momentum, but only future developments will show how control over this city "fits into the overall pace of conflict," military analyst and former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter said.
Taking control of Artemovsk (Bakhmut) was a military victory that shows Russia is winning, Scott Ritter told Sputnik.
Some have likened the grueling hostilities to secure Artemovsk to the Battle of Stalingrad in WWII in terms of its importance, the former US Marine Corps intelligence officer added, emphasizing that the big question is what comes next.
Future developments will demonstrate how successfully Russia is able to exploit this victory, and continue to inflict heavy casualties on the Kiev regime's forces. It also remains to be seen whether the Ukrainian military will manage to launch its much-touted “counterattack.”
“It doesn’t seem that Ukraine will be able to achieve major battlefield success, even though some 60,000 trained and equipped with NATO weaponry reserves have been accumulated. Many of these reserves were used in the battle for [Artemovsk], others have been neutralized during an attempt to gather near the front. Russia has developed tactical operational and strategic advantages over Kiev that make it almost impossible for Ukraine’s forces to be able to amass military power of sufficient quantity to carry out a sustained offensive operation,” Scott Ritter said.
Artemovsk was a 'military victory', he underscored, stressing that it was up to Russia to define what the political victory would be......more below
All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. Sun Tzu, The Art of War
The Empire of Chaos is relentless. Lawfare, destabilizations, sanctions, kidnappings, color revolutions, false flags, annexations: 2025 will be the year of BRICS – plus BRICS partners – as choice targets under fire.
Inestimable Prof. Michael Hudson coined “chaos” as official US policy. That’s bipartisan – and it runs across all silos of the Deep State.
In the absence of long-term strategic vision, and amidst the progressive imperial expulsion from Eurasia, all that’s left for the Hegemon is to unleash chaos from West Asia to Europe and parts of Latin America – a concerted attempt to Divide and Rule BRICS and thwart their collective drive affirming sovereignty and the primacy of national ...
While NATO may be yearning to take on Russia in the Arctic, many of its troops lack the necessary expertise for survival in such extreme conditions.
Although NATO forces regularly participate in drills in the region, many remain unprepared for the harsh realities of Arctic life.
Though NATO forces routinely participate in the bloc’s drills in the region, many of them are still not prepared to survive in the Arctic’s harsh conditions, The Sun reports citing Minna Alander, a researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.
"Not all NATO allies have the capabilities that are needed and that work in the Arctic environment and climate,” Alander said.....more below
