Russia’s Single Tactical Win in 2023

Result of their ability to internalize their defeat in 2022

Don’t ask Putin. He will say he won on February 24th, 2022. (Licensed Image)

I generally don’t find myself in alignment with the Washington Post. My divergence from the lead publications in the Western world has been growing for a while. But there are a few occasions I find myself nodding my head and this was the one time I did a lot more than nod my head. The opinion by post was spot on when they wrote the following story.

Screenshot from the Washington Post Story published one year ago

The Post wrote in detail about the twin defeats Russia suffered last year in Kherson and Kharkiv, which changed the Russian army. Between the two defeats, I consider the Russian defeat in Kharkiv sector as the one that left an indelible impact on Vladimir Putin and his army. There was a Russian army before that defeat and there was another one after that.

The shellacking they received last year woke up Putin to a new reality.

Russia’s actions in the Kreminna-Svatove-Kupiansk line, which in my opinion is a strategic victory for Russia in 2023, cannot be understood without taking closer look at Ukraine’s victory in Kharkiv last year and the impact it left on the Russian armed forces.