The Conflict in Ukraine Offers Old—and New—Lessons in 21st-Century Warfare; Putin Talks Deploying Satan II Missiles as Ukraine Repels Russian Attacks; Ukraine to See Decisive Battles in Spring, Says UKR’s Spy Chief; Russian Troops Refuse to Mount an Offensive Due to Heavy losses near Vuhledar, LIVE UPDATES and MORE

By admin On Feb 25, 2023

WSJ: The Conflict in Ukraine Offers Old—and New—Lessons in 21st-Century Warfare:

Morale, Russia’s unseen military weakness and battlefield transparency emerge as key issues

The war in Ukraine, now reaching the one-year mark, has reinforced some old lessons and suggested some new ones about what makes for battlefield success in the 21st century.

Among its innovations, drones, some adapted from cheap commercial platforms, have been used for surveillance and delivering munitions more than in any previous conflict. They have contributed to a highly visible battlefield and shown how inexpensive technologies can sometimes thwart more expensive custom-built ones.

“Everybody can have an air force” now, said Eliot Cohen, a military historian and strategist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Old platforms still play a role. Old-fashioned artillery systems have been relied on heavily by Moscow. “I think, as usual in the history of warfare, it’s not that one form of warfare is suddenly rendered obsolete. It takes a while,” said Mr. Cohen.

Precision and range in artillery clearly trumps volumes of dumb artillery. Ukraine’s battlefield success owes a lot to the incorporation of relatively few precise longer-range Western artillery systems, such as Himars, into its arsenal.

Tanks have also been fielded, renewing a debate about their utility. Western estimates suggest that Russia has lost more than 2,000 tanks, raising the question of whether they are simply too easy to hit with antitank weapons or whether the Russians have deployed them badly.

There are a host of unknowns. One big question is the role of space. Ukraine appears to be using intelligence from commercial and U.S. military satellites to guide its efforts, but its importance to the fight is hard to determine given the secrecy involved. —>READ MORE HERE

NY POST: Putin talks deploying Satan II missiles as Ukraine repels Russian attacks

Vladimir Putin on Thursday unveiled plans to expand Russia’s nuclear arsenal by deploying new missiles known as Satan II — as Ukraine’s forces repelled dozens of Russian assaults along the front line on the eve of the first anniversary of the war.

“As before, we will pay increased attention to strengthening the nuclear triad,” Putin said in an address marking Defender of the Fatherland Day, referring to nuclear missiles based on land, at sea and in the air.

“We will continue mass production of air-based hypersonic Kinzhal systems and will start mass supplies of sea-based Zircon hypersonic missiles,” he added.

Putin’s comments talking up the country’s arsenal came just days after he suspended Russia’s participation in the New START nuclear arms control pact with the US.

The nuclear-capable Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, known as Satan II and classified as a “superweapon” by Russia, was introduced in 2018 and first deployed in April 2022.

According to US officials speaking to CNN earlier this week, Russia carried out a test of the missile, which apparently failed, just as President Biden visited Ukraine Monday.