Beginning of great battle underway in Ukraine.

 PIVOTAL BATTLE FOR UKRAINE'S DEFENSE BELT

LAST FORTIFIED AREA OF THE DONETSK

 

While most of the world is focused on the Iran conflict, a pivotal battle is shaping up for  control of the Donetsk  region in Ukraine.  This area labeled "the defense belt "is comprised of 3 cities, Slovyansk, Kramatorsk and Kostianlynivka, west of this 50 km belt is little resistance or postulation to slow the Russian advance.

 

It is expected that this battle, already underway in the approaches, will last for months and may result in over 100,000 casualties.  It is the last major defensive position for the Ukrainians in this region, it has been fortified for now 11 years. 

 

This battle is reminiscent of other such battles since 2022, Mariupol,  Bakhmut,  Avdiivka, and Pokrovsk,  all claiming tens o thousands of causalities. It would likely end the battle for the Donetsk oblast. One of the four incorporated by Russia.  

 

This would then leave the Zaporizhahia, and Kherson area to the south, both already under heavy assault.  

 

Ukraine's policy has usually been to not retreat and fight until most are either killed or surrender, we can expect this will be a more intense situation as it will be a huge loss in military men, equipment and morale. 

 

There seems to be some conflict in Ukraine about how to deal with this situation and may have led to the ouster of their military commander. 

 

While Ukraine has inflicted serious damage on Russian infrastructure with long range drones ,the ground war has been a slow and steady move to the west. Many believe the drone war was a last ditch attempt to have some sort of negotiation, but negotiation seems to no longer be a viable alternative. The next possible attempt at negotiation may be after Russia has solidified its hold on the four oblasts incorporated into Russia. 

 

This war can be expected to last into 2027 and result in many more thousands of deaths.