Forbes writes about the incredible achievements of Ukrainian pilots, who provide the Ground Forces with much-needed support from the sky with precise strikes. On Tuesday, at least the third video in recent weeks appeared on the Internet in which a Ukrainian Su-24 dropped an unguided bomb on a Russian tank. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian air force had only a dozen such bombers, which the Russian Federation quickly destroyed. Therefore, the publication assumes that the aircraft in the video was restored and assembled from dozens of old and abandoned Su-24s in the warehouses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Now they carry out missions that can be called amazing: for such sorties, the US Air Force uses guided munitions from a mid-altitude flight and carries out such flights even when the enemyʼs anti-aircraft systems are deactivated. Ukrainians donʼt have an advantage in the sky, they carry out missions at low altitude, fly fast and use unguided bombs. Probably, writes Forbes, the Ukrainians use commercial GPS systems attached to the cockpit, which help direct the strikes. That is, intelligence receives the coordinates of the target, quickly transmits them by radio to the pilot, who very quickly flies to the point and drops the bomb. The publication believes that this is possible only thanks to the bravery and skill of Ukrainians. On the other hand, Russia reaches little in the sky. Experts point to a lack of skill among Russian pilots: they lost four combat aircraft on Saturday alone, while the Ukrainian Armed Forces have had no confirmed aircraft losses since late August.
The New York Times published a large report from the east of Ukraine, where the battles for Lyman and Bakhmut are going on ― two extremely strategically important cities in the battle for Donbas. Lyman is a rail supply hub in the western part of the region, still controlled by the Russians. Bakhmut is under the control of Ukraine, but the Russians are constantly shelling it to pave the way for the occupation of the Ukrainian-controlled part of Donbas. Time is a decisive factor, the report says, because both sides are trying to strengthen their positions before the onset of frost. It is interesting that in Bakhmut the Russians are repeating the Ukrainian strategy of offensive in two directions, and the territory around Bakhmut is mainly controlled by the Wagner group. One Ukrainian military officer told the newspaper that the Wagner soldiers send former prisoners forward as cannon fodder, they often surrender. At the same time, the Russian Federation does not plan to exchange them for Ukrainian soldiers, because it considers them deserters. Despite Ukrainian efforts, the report says, there are more and more Russians, and it is not possible to cut off their supply chains around Bakhmut even with the help of American HIMARS. Meanwhile, hard times have come for the cityʼs residents: due to Russian shelling, there is no electricity, water, or mobile communications in the city.
Phillips Payson OʼBrien, a professor of strategic studies and a contributor to The Atlantic, writes that intelligence and adaptability are critical factors on todayʼs battlefield. The idea that the effectiveness of the army depends on its ruthlessness and hypermasculinity is outdated, although it still has followers not only among Putinʼs generals but also in the United States. OʼBrien cites several examples of American opinion leaders scoffing at ideas of inclusivity in the military, and in particular increasing the number of women in the US military. Putinʼs army helps disprove these claims, and his failures reveal the nature of military power. The numerous army of the Russian Federation with great firepower and low intelligence achieved only a meaningless advance at the cost of extraordinary losses. The successes of the Ukrainian Armed Forces prove, in the authorʼs opinion, that more liberal and tolerant norms in society contribute to the creation of a more effective army. Openness to new ideas and the ability to learn quickly weigh much more than a primitive desire to kill.