‘The Russians are gone’: What this image says about Russia’s strategy

Retired US Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton says that satellite images showing the absence of Russian troops at an airport near Kyiv indicates that Putin is shifting his strategy to focus on the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. #CNN #News

68 comments

    1. @Josh Wilson i think ukraine and its comedy president are doing more propoganda than russia.
      Ukraine : only talk no action.
      Russia: only action no talk

    1. Not me either, go and fight there or anywhere you want ,, like Iran, Iraq or Afghanistan, South America, Africa..
      And make everywhere Democracy .
      Good luck 👍

    1. @Tanya Steers actually it’s only 3. Putin. A general and the secretary of defense. The general is pro Russia military all the way. Hopefully the other guy has a brain and a conscious.

    1. @Kenny 10 Ukraine and the West largely consider this the same war, just a continuation/drastic escalation from border skirmishing to full on invasion.

  1. I always appreciate the expertise of Gen. Clarke.
    It’s spring time in Ukraine and the soil is getting muddy. I think, tanks will have a hard time when they or the trucks get stuck in the mud. That could help Ukraine. Maybe.

    1. @Keen Observations “Clark bombed Serbia with “an almost sadistic fanaticism” (William Blum), making profligate use of deadly cluster bombs and depleted uranium shell, of the sort now ravaging Iraq. The Washington Post reports Clark “would rise out of his seat and slap the table. ‘I’ve got to get the maximum violence out of this campaign-now!”

      Not the hero you remember I’m sure. Just the guy revealed by facts.

    2. @Dewy Bradford He was bombing tyrants. Those munitions were precisely targeted on columns and ranks of Serbian military. You say it as if civilians were bombed – they weren’t. NATO ended the war and saved tens of thousands of lives – a bit late for the thousands shot in the back of the head and dumped in mass graves by the Serbian military.

    1. @Keith Hoss I made 100 bucks after lunch at my job today after commenting you, did you even go to work chump? Get off YouTube

  2. If Russia seriously threatens Odessa NATO should at least include Republic of Moldova in the patrol zone, to preempt an attack there.

    1. Gen. Wes Clark was my Officer during Iraq. He knows exactly about mobilizing combat Arms and Air support. We also used Diversion strategies, which help a lot

  3. Pretty much 99% of the World believes that we have witnessed appaling war-crimes. What we need is now an educated overview of what punishments to expect

    1. ​@Zedetach The U.S. went to war in the middle east after there were direct attacks on the people/government in the U.S. Russia went to war with Ukraine because of an existential “threat”. The U.S. war was retaliatory for actual damage and future potential damage. The Russian war was unprovoked without any actual damage to Russia. The U.S. did not intend to kill civilians en masse (if at all). Russia clearly did intend to kill civilians or, at least, have such an undisciplined/outdated army that they never should have been sent to war in the first place. I could go on but there’s really no point in engaging in whataboutisms further. Russia is wrong for their actions and should be held accountable. I’d vote for a couple of nukes to the face so it’s probably a good thing I’m not in charge. Of course, if he and his country got a plausible threat about it instead of “we’re going to make sure you feel this…. in a few years”, he or his people would probably make sure he backed off a lot quicker.

    1. @Veronica Rainone The WW2 Russians had weapons and stuff supplied to them…mostly from USA. Now it’s the other way around. You are “prepared” when you have weapons…not mass humans with sticks.

  4. When this whole thing started, I never would have predicted that Ukraine would actually break a full siege by the Russian army. “They will never take Kyiv,” I remember Oleksandr Tkachenko saying. He was right. The resistance has been inspiring in the face of the absolute goddamn horror that Putin’s ego is wreaking. Slava Ukraini.

    1. @Gagan Sandhu Where did you get your information? I’m genuinely curious.

      Also please learn proper (or at least minimal) use of punctuation. Your response hurts my small western brain.

      And for the record, I don’t blame the Russian people for this war. Our view on the instigator of the current political climate differs greatly however. That doesn’t mean I discredit your right to your opinion though.

      That being said, I’d still like to know where you’re getting your information. Assuming you’re not a member of the Russian government or on the front line.

      I’d also like to know your view on the recent allegations of mass graves and genocide on the eastern front of the war in Ukraine. Are you denying their existence?

      As a Native American I have a very dire view on genocide and these are very serious allegations. I’d love to hear (or in this case read) your input on the matter.

  5. Thank you for your service, Mr. Clarke! You are one of those who does explain things going on in a easy way for us to follow. And you for sure knows what are going on as well..

    1. ‘We could end US homelessness tomorrow
      but we fuel the military-industrial complex’.

      Does US homelessness not only indicate a State failure to guarantee access to safe and adequate housing for all,
      but also violates a number of other human rights?

      Why the US can’t solve homelessness?
      Homelessness is costing taxpayers a lot of money. In 2019, New York City spent a record-breaking $3 billion to support its homeless population.
      California is expected to break its record, allocating $4.8 billion to the same issue over the next two years.

      Despite the rising budget,
      overall homelessness in the US has improved by only 10% compared with 2007.

  6. General Clark has an excellent feel for strategy, & what the Russians are trying to accomplish Militarily.

    1. @Yellowstone 2nd Trumpet well it is on the direct path to Donetsk and the UA army. Locals when they speak very fast drop the D and call it Ni pro. I have friends stuck there sadly. some with kids left

    2. ​@Yellowstone 2nd Trumpet you pronounce Dnipro as nee prow, as he did. However, they did not give him the right map since he has said in other contexts that Dnipro would be a shade too far west and the fact that the Russians just managed to take Izyum would open a more direct attack on the Ukrainian rear. Clark ( #6:10) was looking for probably Slovyansk unless they think that they have the Ukrainians pinned under the current very heavy shelling along DHK/LSK and can pincer from North & South.
      The NYT has a summary of April 4 suggested plan of Russian strategy:
      Efforts by Russian forces advancing from Izyum to capture Slovyansk will likely prove to be the next pivotal battle of the war in Ukraine. Russian forces likely intend to cut off Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine and will need to take Slovyansk as their minimum step to do so. If Russian forces take Slovyansk, they will then have the option to advance directly east to link up with Russian forces fighting in Rubizhne—a shorter drive that will not isolate many Ukrainian forces—or advance toward Horlivka and Donetsk to attempt a wider encirclement of Ukrainian forces. Both options could enable at least limited Russian breakthroughs in Luhansk Oblast. If Russian forces are unable to take Slovyansk at all, Russian frontal assaults in Donbas are unlikely to independently breakthrough Ukrainian defenses and Russia’s campaign to capture the entirety of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts will likely fail.

    3. No he doesn’t. His strategy makes no sense. If anything, he’s just bsing for guest money or at best, trying to trick some Russian commander who watches TV into doing some stupid move.

    4. @rasmasyean good to hear your insight; glad that a Russian commander is looking at YouTube videos for tactical advice.

  7. I am from Indian i Love Ukrainian peoples it’s really broken heart what Russian hunting to civilians God bless you to all of Ukrainian peoples

    1. India chose the wrong side. The world will not forget. It’s difficult to look at Indian people the same was as before.

    2. @LOL CATZ since when most agressive group of countries that make 90% of all wars and called themself NATO is the right side?

    3. @Dirtydinero the Indian government may have chosen the wrong side, doesn’t mean you need to call Modi “Apu”. Americans are depicted as racists enough as it is without you adding gas to the fire.

    1. @mpmenagerie kills me when people go off topic even when it is a valid comment. You would hope the world would have learned from wounded knee. Nope and here we are in Ukraine with a slaughter.

  8. Seasonal weather is important in Ukraine. Spring rains are expected to make fields too muddy for tanks. Stuck tanks are just targets. Putin tried to take capital and failed. The strategy now will be to consolidate forces in the east and complete goals there.

    1. Don’t let Putin the Evil walk away without punishment for what atrocities he commits in Ulkraine.

    2. I worked with troubled teens in a previous life. The worst parents were the ones who instantly denied their child had done anything wrong, and blamed us, before they even knew what it was. That’s Russia. This general is right. The only hope of saving Russia’s children is to remove the parent.

    3. @Mok Yau Kwong : Dear God I hope not too! The best way to endanger planet Earth now is to let Putin walk away from this unpunished. He has to lose the whole of Ukraine or all those innocent deaths were pointless.

    4. Mobile systems will be needed at this point in the east. Keeping up by foot would be impossible.

    1. @ColinFomCorby bro are you unable to understand what I am saying? Why would Germany increase its military spendings in times of peace when Germany can’t use it properly anyways ? Germany had bigger issues than our military. Don’t understand me wrong I personally always said that Germany should spend more on our military but our politicians thought it wasn’t necessary and they had every right to think that back then.

    2. It’s about time, that should have been done when the curtain came down, Ukraine along with other satellite countries should have been allowed to join NATO then instead of sucking up to Russia.

    3. @Leonie RomanesThe U.S. is taking in Ukranian refugees also, as well as sending Millions in money and weapons.

    4. @Kinh ho Ahh, yes, the guy that tried to withhold US$ 391 million in military aid to the Ukraine, in a vain attempt to get dirt on his political opponent. That guy? That’s rich!

  9. Aside from the Ukraine/Russia analysis, it’s nice to see the Gen. enjoying himself in Key West, one of the most beautiful places in the world. Enjoy General. Thank you for your service.

  10. Gen. Clarke, a highly intelligent Rhodes Scholar, and former commander of NATO, knows this subject inside and out. He’s been studying the Russians for years and knows what it will take to defeat them.

  11. Why is he using the pronoun “we”, as in “we cannot lose Odessa”…..?
    There is only one defender operating in Ukraine, the Ukrainian armed forces.

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