The Russian commander of the “Vostok” Battalion fighting in southern Ukraine said on Thursday that Ukraine will not be defeated and suggested that Russia freeze the war along current frontlines.

Alexander Khodakovsky made the candid concession yesterday on his Telegram channel after Russian forces, including his own troops, were devastatingly defeated by Ukrainian marines earlier this week at Urozhaine in the Zaporizhzhia-Donetsk regional border area.

“Can we bring down Ukraine militarily? Now and in the near future, no,” Khodakovsky, a former official of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, said yesterday.

“When I talk to myself about our destiny in this war, I mean that we will not crawl forward, like the [Ukrainians], turning everything into [destroyed] Bakhmuts in our path. And, I do not foresee the easy occupation of cities,” he said.

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[–] Frank@hexbear.net 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The US has just approved the transfer of F-16s to Ukraine. So that might change soon.

I am so hyped to see how long an F-16 lasts against the S-500 network. Whether or not NATO SEAD systems can counter the S-500 system is going to be one of the deciding factors in the course of the 21st century. It'll also be neat to see if NATO actually commits real weaponry or holds back the good stuff for fear of it failing and revealing that the Emperor has no clothes.

[–] PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmy.ml 0 points 1 year ago

I don't think there is even need to deploy the S-500 which are pretty rare still since it entered service not long ago. Especially when older systems are enough for outdated planes like F-16, especially ones piloted by raw pilots from regularily trashed infrastructure.