(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



ADAPTIVE INDOMITABLE UKRAINE. Syrskyi, the Man Just "Makes Things Git" [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-03-19

This guy! Since his appointment by President Zelenskyy to replace the very popular General Valerii Zaluzhnyi on February 8, 2024, every month brings rumors of his pending dismissal, mostly agitprop from Russian sources. Even some here on kos believe his pending dismissal to be true. No military commander is indispensable. Their job is at once military and political. But the Russians have good reasons to want to see Syrskyi gone. Ever since he led the famous Ukrainian devastating Fall 2022 Kharkiv “Thunder Run” counteroffensive which not only shocked Russia but also surprised the entire world, the Russians have still not figured out a way to beat Syrskyi and thereby defeat Ukraine. The Russians love big set piece battles where they can bring their overwhelming numbers to bear. Syrskyi refuses to oblige. He keeps his relatively undermanned army nimble and in fighting trim. And of late regularly on the move.

The man is seemingly everywhere on the battle front all at once … regularly undertaking working visits to check in with his cadre of young but battle-tested field commanders, breaking bread(and borscht?) and awarding his soldiers who are in the van of the battles against the Russian behemoth. Skyrskyi had to work like the dickens to stop the Russian onslaught across the Donetsk tundra once Avdiivka fell and the subsequent unfortunate force rotation error which opened the way for the Russians at Ocheretyne. Up went the gnashing of teeth, tearing out of hair and the incessant map gazing, doom scrolling and hand waving … Pokrovsk is about to be encirled! Pokrovsk is going to fall! Pokrovsk will fall in days! … ad nauseam. It was as if Syrskyi, Hnatov, Tarnavskyi and lately Drapatyi et al were just going to sit there, eat peanuts and watch it happen that way. Pokrovsk might yet fall but it will not be the cake walk or easy two step jig that some envision.

Pokrovsk is now a “fortress” and the Russians have come to realize it would be a fool’s errand to attack it head on. Ditto the other re-enforced cities that are now collectively called the Ukrainian Donetsk “Fortress Belt”. Hard as the Russians have tried, Pokrovsk still stands and in classic Syrskyi fashion, the Ukrainians are now embarking on localized tactical counteroffensives and recovering a slew of critical locales previously lost to the post-Avdiivka Russian onslaught. The much anguished over left prong of the Russian Pokrovsk encirclement gambit has, for now, been defanged. It’s the Russians who are now in danger of being kettled or made to wither on the vine in that area as their troops can’t leave, are ill-provisioned and any armored attempt to rescue them is promptly blasted under Ukrainian 24/7 surveillance. Vovchansk 2.0? The Russians should have known, the Vovcha River runs all the way from Kharkiv oblast to the area around Pokrovsk in Donetsk oblast.

Syrskyi, on numerous occasions has indicated that Ukraine cannot win this war by being on the defensive all the time … contrary to some popular opinions. This ostensibly was the reason why some folks were aghast and disbelieving when the surprise Kursk advance happened last August … why go into Kursk when those brigades could be used to defend Pokrovsk?. Well, the Ukrainians saw the Russians angling to advance into Ukraine’s Sumy oblast. A preemptive counter was in order. And if the Russians obliged and let the Ukrainians stay in Kursk, well that would be a bonus and a bargaining chip in any peace negotiations. Even at this very minute as I write, the Ukrainians are still fighting in Kursk, holding down a large force of Russians/N Koreans who would otherwise be hitting Ukraine somewhere else along the 700 mile battle trace.

Now comes confirmation that some of the experienced units recently withdrawn from Kursk are now advancing into nearby Belgorod oblast, Russia:

After Kursk withdrawal, Ukraine launches surprise offensive in Russia’s Belgorod In a swift reversal, Ukraine’s new Belgorod operation goes from being labeled a fabrication to a strategic counteroffensive against Russia’s growing troop presence. euromaidanpress.com/...

Whether this turns out to be just a feint(some initially called the news “just more Russian bs”), a mere demonstration or a serious strategic move, it is clear that Syrskyi is just not going to let the Russians have the initiative and the chess board all to themselves. And if the Russians do not quickly counter the Ukrainians in Belgorod, their much vaunted counteroffensive in Kursk will face the real threat of Ukrainians ensconced on their rear, coming at them from Belgorod. Now who is going to encircle who? Classic Syrskyi play.

And his boss agrees and confirmed the advance into Belgorod. The War Zone(TWZ) reports this today from President Zelenskyy:

When asked about Ukrainian operations directed against the Belgorod region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky framed this as a defensive action: “We have observed a new buildup of [Russian] troops along the border with the Sumy region. We see what they are trying to do — they aim to strike Sumy, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions. This is what we are seeing. But we will not allow them to do this so easily.” However, there are also suggestions that a Belgorod offensive may have been in the works for some time. www.twz.com/...

ADAPTIVE INDOMITABLE UKRAINE. Syrskyi is not irreplaceable but as long as he remains the CinC of the Ukrainian armed forces, Ukraine will take the fight to the Russians all day .. including places they least expect. If Ukraine has to keep brigades on their border, then Russia, too will be forced to do the same. It takes two to play that chess game. Kursk yesterday, Belgorod today and maybe Bryansk Russia tomorrow. Classic Syrskyi style … he makes things git. Old Abe Lincoln would approve.

SLAVA UKRAINI !!

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/3/19/2311360/-ADAPTIVE-INDOMITABLE-UKRAINE-Syrskyi-the-Man-Just-Makes-Things-Git?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/

You are viewing proxied material from magical.fish. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.