Read this thread. It's 100% spot on that they're making mistakes that can be fixed. Instead of wasting the limited western equipment they should regroup and resupply and then hit again.
I am not even going to pretend I am any more competent at warfare than either the Russian or Ukrainian military planners who are both using their Soviet era tactics and command structures.
From what I’ve been reading is that Ukraine is in the process of switching to NATO tactics and this offensive will be a test of that. NATO tactics though are very complicated requiring a much higher level of coordination than Soviet. The Ukrainians have only had a a few months to really train on both NATO equipment and tactics so it’s yet to be seen if they are able to execute those in battle.
The other part is that Ukraine is attacking entrenched Russian forces and it’s always an advantage to play defense.
Again it is harder to go on offense especially when the Russians have had a lot of time to build up defenses. Losses by the Ukrainians Should be expected but I think it is far too early to determine how well this offensive is going.
I think we are also seeing the limits that not having an air attack/support really has. Ukraine’s not going to be able to stand up an Air Force overnight and even if we give them a handful of f15’s, it’s just not going to be enough. Look at what the Allied forces had to must up and lose just to take Normandy. Imagine taking Normandy without the paratroopers landing behind the enemy lines and without the fight jets. I still think they can make gains and maybe push for peace negotiations within a year, but Ground only warfare is sllloooowwww going.
Sorry for the language in the post, but Russian-on-Russian violence, potentally the checkists shooting mobiks fleeing the battlefield.