100,000 Russian Troops Facing Off Ukrainian Counteroffensive in Northeastern Ukraine

There has not been a lot of movement along the frontlines in the last few weeks. That’s for good reason, of course. Russia has had months to create fortifications that are nearly impossible to go through without amassing significant casualties — something Ukraine is not willing to permit.

Some are saying that this is a “failure” and that Ukrainians used the hype around a potential counteroffensive in the Spring of 2023 to create new conditions for further support of the war.

There are reasons to doubt this. Once we go over them, we can look at the future of the conflict and why Russia has positioned 100,000 troops in the Northeast. Truth be told, there is no other way than for a slow counteroffensive.

Let me explain.

Photo by Sonia Dauer on Unsplash

Previously, Ukraine’s strategy in its counteroffensive against the Russian occupiers on its eastern flank, was to launch “probing attacks.” The reasoning was that this would reveal weaknesses.

The frontline spanned some 1,000 km with heavy fighting and hundreds of casualties per day. On some days, as many as 800 Russians are killed, wounded, or captured by the Ukrainian military.

A more recent approach suggests that Ukraine is targeting logistics rather than…