Kherson

The Russian Army abandoned Kherson this weekend.  Kherson is a Ukrainian city located where the Dnieper River enters the Black Sea.  It is not just a key port, but more importantly, located close to the Crimean Peninsula.  Crimea was taken from Ukraine by Russia in 2014.  Just two hundred-twenty miles south of Kherson is Sevastopol, the home of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.  The Russian military bases there are critical to Russia’s presence on the Black Sea, and into the Mediterranean.  

Ukraine re-possessing Kherson is a huge victory for the Ukrainian forces.  But the cost is tremendous.  The city that once had a quarter-million people is down to thirty to sixty thousand.  There is no power, no water, no police and the streets were mined and booby-trapped by the retreating Russians.  The rest of the civilian population was forcibly evacuated from the city, taken further into Russian held territory, or even into Russia itself.

Strategic Failure

The fall of Kherson signals another major failure in Russian strategy.  At the beginning of the invasion in March, Russia launched a “decapitation” attack at the capital Kyiv.  That was the seventeen mile convoy, stalled for weeks along the roads north of the capital.  Ukrainians fought back against the attack, with some of the fighting in the suburbs of Kyiv itself.  Ultimately the Russians were forced to abandon that strategy.

The second failure took place in the eastern provinces, near the city of Kharkiv.  Russian already occupied some of the eastern sector, the result of the 2014 invasion.  And they leveled the city of Mariupol on the coast in order to “capture” it.   But they were unable to conquer Kharkiv, only twenty-five miles from the Russian border.  While they did make big advances to the south of the city, Ukrainian forces are now forcing them back towards the original 2014 line.

And the third failure was the Russian attempt to cut off Ukraine from the Black Sea, and ultimately to conquer the port city of Odesa.  After taking Kherson, the Russians were poised to press on along the coastline, cutting off Odesa and linking with their forces in Transnistria, the Russian supported breakaway province of neighboring Moldova.  But that line of attack failed as well, and losing Kherson means that Russia must look to defend Crimea rather than conquering territory.

War on Civilians

The one strategy that Russia seems dead set to continue, is waging war on the civilians of Ukraine.  For months, Russian missiles, bombs, and “kamikaze drones” rained down on the cities of Ukraine, taking out the power infra-structure.  Ukraine is on the same latitude line as Winnipeg, Canada.  Winter is coming, and while it’s likely that battlefield maneuvers will slow; Russia is making sure that the civilians of Ukraine are facing a long, cold season.  

And as the Russian forces withdrew across the country, they left behind the bodies of civilians and captured Ukrainian forces; tortured, mutilated, and executed.  The price of resistance to the Russian Armies is high and the people of Ukraine are paying the price.

History shows that bombing civilians doesn’t win wars.  The German bombing of Great Britain during World War II, and the American bombing of North Vietnam in the 1960’s both demonstrate that no matter how many houses are destroyed, or how much non-military damage is done:  attacking civilians unifies them against the enemy.  Civilians in history stiffen against attacks, particularly when they are directed against them, not military targets.

Russian attacks on civilians seems a lot more like vengeance rather than some military purpose.  Putin is sending a message to the world – stand against Russia, and face personal danger and destruction.  And the people of Ukraine and saying the same thing they’ve said since the Russian forces first crossed the border:  do your worst, we will fight for our country.

Ukraine Crisis

Author: Marty Dahlman

I'm Marty Dahlman. After forty years of teaching and coaching track and cross country, I've finally retired!!! I've also spent a lot of time in politics, working campaigns from local school elections to Presidential campaigns.