Well good morning late briefing today. Sorry for missing yesterday. It’s been an interesting few days so I’ll do my best to recap the past couple of days of combat. For Russia it seems they’ve finally been bogged down fully. I hesitate to say this on all fronts, especially in the south near Mykoliav and Kryvyi Rih. However else where the momentum has once again fallen away. In the north Russian positions in Brovary have been pushed back. On the other side of the city Russia did manage to push over the M-06 highway although Ukraine claims it still controls Makariv. We also had reports of combat near Boryspil, but judging by the lack of footage I’m guessing this was between Russian forward scouts and Territorial Defence. To the east Russia has solidified gains near Luhansk this being the only place Russia has focused on taking ground not just roads. Reports from this region also remain the most sporadic. Making it more difficult to tell Russian positions. Near Mariupol Russia has renewed it’s attacks on the city after the cease fire. Pushing from west and north they’ve gained a foothold within the city itself. Russia has also strengthened defensive positions between Mariupol and Volnovakha making any counter attack more difficult. Russia also pushed west of Armyansk through Skadovsk highlighting Russia’s lack of control they have over perceived conquered areas. And around Mykolaiv fierce fighting raged throughout the day yesterday and into the night, with the Mayor of Mykolaiv claiming Ukraine has pushed Russia out of the City. However Mykolaiv is being defended by soldiers fighting a retreat from the boarder and the BTG’s in the south have proven most adapt and maneuverer and combined arms warfare. For Ukraine the past few day’s have been very successful in exploiting Russian tactical and doctrine errors. The most notable of them being Ukrainian Artillery destroying a Russian armour column. sigh Using artillery to destroy tanks has it’s roots in WWI, when tanks were slow and prone to breaking down. It has been used since though more to suppress enemy armour rather than destroy. The main disadvantage to this is the spread of artillery and the slower speed of aiming it. However if you witness an enemy tank commander drive their armour in a city in parade formation then well artillery can be very effective. Ukraine’s counter attack at Brovary pushed north forcing a wedge between the supposed forces coming from Chernigov and Rommy. And north of Makariv Ukraine released footage of a destroyed Russian CP. Footage has started to come out of Ukrainian forces organizing and conducting a counter attack in the north. While gains are unknown right now the number of destroyed tanks and armoured vehicles attributed to this suggests this could cause the collapse of the Russian front around Chenigov and Konotop. Interestingly Ukraine is using Light Infantry for this offense. A smart move with the mud but odd for a post soviet military where armour reigned supreme. Ambushes on Russian supply convoys continue to limit Russia’s supply, and while we are seeing Russia set up FOB’s in Ukraine these FOB’s will still need to be supplied by road especially in the north. In the south however with tracks fixed Russia has been able to take advantage of it’s rail network setting up supply hubs in Melitipol and Kherson. This will be considerably harder for Ukrainian forces to attack. In the Air war rumours suggest Russia is turning to it’s Navy to help win the war. With Su-33’s moving to Ukraine. If this is true this supports Ukrainian claims about shooting down a high number of Su-30’s and Su-35. Russia is now left with one front where movement is easy, the south by Mykolaiv. Early failures to exploit gains have allowed most front and cities to be reinforced. Making attacks more difficult. Meanwhile Ukraine’s counter attack could cut off the head of a snake attacking Kiev. Watch for an envelopment of Russian forces east of Kyiv. Though success is not guaranteed.